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AJC > Sports > UGA > Blog > Archives > 2007 > November > 11
Sunday, November 11, 2007
What a difference a coach makes
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Since Jacksonville, we’ve begun seeing the dividends that Mark Richt’s decision to hand off the playcalling is having for the Dawgs. (Besides a more sustained commitment to truly balancing the running and passing games, that is.)
With his head out of the playbook and more into not just the game but his players’ heads, Richt is showing the kind of empathy for his team and motivational skills that his past Mr. Calm persona never really hinted at.
It’s not just about getting the players jacked up (though it’s certainly done that, not always to our advantage) or kicking the home crowd into high gear (though it’s done that, too; when the team came sprinting out onto the field Saturday in those black jerseys, the reaction from the blacked-out crowd was the loudest I’ve ever heard at Sanford Stadium).
No, Richt sensed that this particular set of Bulldogs performs best when they’re having fun, and he’s set out to make Georgia’s games a good time to be had by all but the opponents. “That has made us all more relaxed and let us show who we are,” is how Matthew Stafford put it.
It’s doubtful Richt the playcaller would have had the time to get to know his team well enough to realize this was what they needed to break out of the sleepwalking that led to the Knoxville debacle.
Even after the SEC officiating crew had done its best to clamp down on the Dawgs’ high spirits, indirectly helping Auburn score 17 unanswered points to take the lead, the Georgia team kept its goodtime buzz, doing the Superman dance as Soulja Boy’s “Crank That” blared through the stadium speakers (a new home-game tradition that has evolved this season). Players dancing after their team has scored a touchdown is one thing; dancing when things aren’t looking so good is quite another.
And yet it was just what the Dawgs needed.
Forget the penalties, let’s have some fun and go for it! And, in a nice touch, they did it with Richt using his head-coach bigfoot prerogative to order Mike Bobo to call the same pass play that beat Auburn in 2002. The resulting 45-yard completion to injury-oblivious Sean Bailey set in motion the 28-point Georgia response that said to heck with the refs and the visiting-team hex in this series, this is our house!
Crank THAT!
Bailey, Mohamed Massaquoi, Knowshon Moreno and Kelin Johnson all played big, big roles Saturday, but give the game ball to Coach Richt.
YELLOW FEVER: Whether all those flags thrown on Georgia Saturday by the same heavyhanded crew that officiated the Florida game were deserved or not (and a couple of them definitely looked like ref overreactions designed to keep control of the game firmly in their grasp, including a pass interference call on an uncatchable ball), what really irritated many wearing black shirts was the fact that the officials were not calling the game evenly. They called a facemask penalty on the Bulldogs yet missed a blatant facemask by the Tigers that even Auburn fans sitting near me said was “a bad call.” A Georgia player got an unsportsmanlike conduct flag after a sack despite the fact he was running away from the play and toward the Georgia fans and yet Auburn’s Quentin Groves could run his mouth while standing over Stafford with no flag thrown. I’d say it’s likely that what Richt said to the officials when he made a very high-profile trip to midfield at the end of the first half to confer with them was something like this: If you want to call it close, fine. But call it fair. At this point, if the SEC wants to avoid even the appearance of officials taking retribution against Georgia for the Jacksonville Dance, they should make sure this particular crew of refs doesn’t officiate any more Georgia games this season.
POOCH KICKS: I’ve been wanting to see the Bulldogs in black jerseys since the Goff era, when I used my then-young son’s colored pencils to sketch what a Georgia jersey would look like if you reversed the red and black. Finally seeing it on the field Saturday was a thrill. And it was a nice touch having AC/DC’s “Back in Black” played right before kickoff Saturday and again at the end of the game. When will the Dawgs (and fans) be back in black? Richt said the players would like to do it again for the next game, though that is doubtful. But that’s certainly not the last we’ve seen of the black jerseys (which even Auburn’s voluble Groves said “sure did look good”). More likely is one Blackout per season. … I was just noting Saturday that Stafford was getting better finding his secondary receivers when he threw an interception into triple coverage. OK, so he’s still got room to improve. But anyone who saw him scramble a bit and then sling that 58-yard touchdown pass to a wide-open MoMass should understand why Richt is so high on this still-young QB. … Too bad a stupid illegal shift cost Georgia a TD when Moreno took a page out of Darren McFadden’s book and threw successfully into the end zone. I think we’ll see that again, too. … Kudos to Tripp Chandler for another couple of key catches Saturday. He’s turned his game around remarkably this season. … The Sanford Stadium layout makes a Lambeau Leap impossible, but it was great fun to see the Georgia team up on the cheerleaders’ platform after the game. And Kelin Johnson got to direct the Redcoats. A well-deserved honor. … Watching the Florida-South Carolina game Saturday night, I was thinking how uncool it was of the Gators to still have Tim Tebow in the game at the end and throwing for the end zone when victory was already locked up. Then I remembered who was standing on the other sideline. Reaping what he sowed. … So what if the Dawgs beat Kentucky but the Vols don’t lose one of their last two and we don’t get to go to the Dome? It won’t all necessarily be for naught. There’s a good chance that if Georgia continues its offensive ways of the past three games and wins out, an at-large BCS bowl bid could come their way. First, though, there’s Kentucky and another spread offense to deal with. …
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