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AJC > Sports > UGA > Blog > Archives > 2008 > October
October 2008
Save us from orange and blue!
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
My neighbor the Gator is actually a nice guy.
I always enjoy chatting with him and his wife (who’s not a Gator) and my daughter feeds their dogs (dawgs?) when they’re out of town. From time to time, of course, we also engage in some good-natured Bulldogs-Gators rivalry. When they first moved in, his wife, noticing I was wearing a UGA shirt, gave me a heads-up and said he was an ardent Florida backer and asked if I thought anyone on the cul-de-sac would mind that he had a little Gators yard banner he wanted to put next to their driveway. I told her it was a very broadminded neighborhood. So we’ve gotten along well despite his unfortunate choice of colleges.
But apparently he still hasn’t gotten over last year. We have a neon Georgia “G” in one of our kitchen windows that we light up after a major Dawgs road win. Sometimes when it’s lit and I’m sitting out on the front porch, Georgia fans driving past will honk and give a thumbs-up. Last year, after the Gator Stomp, it naturally blazed bright red throughout the night.
And right into the Gator’s brain. He’s mentioned it several times over the ensuing year and shortly before the season started he began teasing my daughter that he had some “secret weapon” planned to retaliate this year. When he put a big Gator flag up on his front porch, I thought that might be it, but at a neighborhood get-together the other night, he and my daughter were talking a little smack and he said again that he was going to “build” his secret weapon. His wife let slip that he planned to go get “some lights.”
I’m thinking something garish in bright, blazing orange and blue is in the offing, though whether this will be pre-game or only if they win, I have no idea.
This does personalize the game in Jacksonville for me just a bit. I hate orange and blue. I think it’s one of those cosmic tests for UGA folks that all three of our major rivals wear orange, two of them in combination with blue. (Yes, I know the school in Atlanta wears some version of yellow, but I’m talking MAJOR rivals.)
As for what I expect to happen Saturday, I’d say a good nickname for this year’s game is likely to be the St. Johns Shootout, considering the recent trend for both teams’ offenses. Georgia hasn’t faced an offense anywhere near as potent as Florida’s, which is much more diversified than last year. An improved game for the Georgia D from last week is a necessity, especially shutting down those additional yards after the catch or after the first hit. Georgia’s always done a pretty good job containing Tim Tebow, but this year we have to contend with Florida’s backs, who are small but fast. Our team speed will come in handy.
And while Florida’s defense is much improved over a year ago, it hasn’t yet faced an offense like Georgia’s and is considered to be a bit vulnerable to the run. If Knowshon Moreno has a big day, Georgia wins. If Florida loads up the box to stop Moreno, it’s up to Matt Stafford, A.J. Green, MoMass (one of last year’s big heroes), etc. I think they’ll rise to the occasion, as Erk would say.
I can easily see an outcome where the two offenses essentially tie and the game comes down to which defense manages to score (like last week). I do agree with my son (who’s making the trip to Jax) that it’s important that Georgia get off to a fast start and not fall a couple of TDs behind. If the Dawgs score first, that says to the Gators, “This is just a continuation of last year.” If the Gators score first, it’s imperative that Georgia answer right away.
The winner of this game likely goes to Atlanta and, frankly, I like the odds of either one of them against Bama. I hope it’s the Dawgs that get the chance to atone for that awful first half a few weeks back.
And I REALLY hope the other neighbors and I don’t have to put up with some orange and blue monstrosity blazing away in the Gator’s front yard Saturday night!
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Not enough game balls to go around
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Wow, 52 points on LSU in Death Valley.
A lot of heroes came off the field for Georgia at the end of Saturday’s coming-of-age for the Bulldogs in Baton Rouge, with Matt Stafford, Knowshon Moreno and A.J. Green all having big days, as we’ve come to expect. And Mohamed Massaquoi, Kenneth Harris, Demiko Goodman and Michael Moore snagged a few key passes, as they’ve been known to do before.
There also were the unexpected names called. Fred Munzenmaier (two career carries; two touchdowns). Aron White (injured in practice and not supposed to make the trip but a clutch 48-yard reception when it seemed like years since we’d thrown to a tight end).
And Darryl Gamble’s star turn was spectacular. Two interceptions and 13 tackles. As Mark Richt said after the game, “If we gave game balls, he’d be the one to get it.”
But I don’t think enough can be said about the game that the Dawgs’ much maligned offensive line put together Saturday. With the Georgia OL riddled by injuries, having played fruit basket turnover in positions and starting three freshmen and two sophomores, the expectation among media observers and, yes, fans was that LSU’s strong, veteran defensive front would overwhelm the young pups and make life miserable for Stafford and Moreno. Especially when the Tigers’ much-feared LSU Express formation, rushing four defensive ends simultaneously, was utilized in most third-down situations.
The reality was something quite different. Yeah, at times it was almost impossible for Georgia to run up the middle, but that didn’t stop Moreno from dancing through what holes the Dawgs linemen managed to pry open. And the pass protection was nothing short of phenomenal, with the Tigers only getting to Stafford one time all day and the junior QB making some big strikes with LSU blitzing its brains out.
So, Mr. Gamble, please let the OL guys hold your hypothetical game ball for a while, OK?
POOCH KICKS: That final score looked like something from the Big 12. And it was mostly a day of big plays, good and bad, for the Dawgs. The one major negative to take out of this game was the Georgia defense’s susceptibility to the big play, especially the yards they gave up to LSU receivers after the catch and LSU runners after the first hit due to poor tackling. … A.J. is benefitting from some on-field coaching by his quarterback. After being held without a catch in the first half, the frosh dropped one in the second half. You could clearly see an exasperated Stafford say to him, “C’mon!” Next play, Stafford hit Green for a 49-yard touchdown that is one of this week’s nominees for the Pontiac Game Changing Performance (to vote for it, go to ESPN.com and search “Pontiac”). … Besides Moreno’s “call me” gesture to the LSU student body after his touchdown run (taking a cue from Tim Tebow last year, who also was victimized by Tiger fans calling his cellphone the week before the game), my favorite TV shot Saturday was head cheerleader Knowshon fanning and toweling off Gamble after the linebacker’s second interception-touchdown. (A sidenote: One of my son’s roommates found a cellphone in front of their house near the UGA campus this week and she punched the most recently called number to try and identify the owner. Knowshon answered; turns out the lost phone belonged to a friend of his who lives next door). … My son, seated in the upper level Saturday, noted that the noise made by the famed Death Valley crowd wasn’t all that fearsome, probably because it was an afternoon game and they hadn’t gotten all likkered up yet and also due to Georgia’s fast start. … It was obvious the Dawgs put on the brakes in the fourth quarter offensively, trying to keep the ball on the ground against a stacked box to try and eat clock, and also that our defense was getting a little tired. It didn’t turn out to be a major problem, but maybe Richt and Mike Bobo ought not to try again to sit on a lead, even a three touchdown one, with six minutes left in a game. Especially against an explosive offense. … Brian Mimbs did a great job punting Saturday, and Georgia pretty much held LSU’s returns in check, but one of those short kickoffs, with a late-hit penalty tacked on, gave LSU the ball in Georgia territory and resulted in a quick scoring drive. That’s precisely what those of us who are critical of Coach Fab’s kickoff philosophy are talking about. Why make it easier for them in terms of field position? … Not only did Lou Holtz and Mark May not have any snide comments about the Dawgs on ESPN’s college football wrapup Saturday night, but Gamble got singled out for one of their helmet stickers at the end.
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It’s crunch time
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I’ve talked to a bunch of UGA fans this week, and I’d say the mood about Saturday’s game is cautiously optimistic, with the two keys being whether our young, injury-riddled, patchwork offensive line can keep the Tigers’ “Express” rush out of the Georgia backfield long enough and, conversely, whether the Dawgs can mount enough pressure on LSU’s two young QBs without having to resort to the blitz constantly.
I think our defense stacks up pretty well against LSU’s offense. On the other side of the ball, LSU’s defense isn’t as highly ranked in the conference as some we’ve faced this season, but you know they’re going to bring the house against Matthew Stafford, especially if it’s third and long. And we didn’t handle third and long too well against Vandy.
What Stafford has to do is get rid of the ball quickly, but I’m hoping Mike Bobo will rethink all those screen passes he’s been calling lately. I still don’t understand why we’re not dunking it over the line to backs and tight ends. Heck, put both fullbacks in or both tight ends in, keep one to block and toss it to the other. At least, it’s positive yardage, unlike those screens. Like they tell running backs, move north-south, not east-west. The screens haven’t worked that well and at times haven’t even been well-designed plays. Like last week when we threw it out to A.J. Green without any blockers near him. What’s the point of that? Even if he gets past the first man, he’s nearly always double-covered and his odds of getting past the second are slim.
That’s kind of how a lot of fans seem to be viewing Georgia’s schedule: While we may get past one of the next two teams, they say, the odds are long against winning both games. If Georgia loses one, it would hurt less for it to be to LSU, since they’re in the SEC West and beating Florida would keep us alive in the East, which is the most important thing. But, at least on paper, the LSU game looks like the more winnable one.
Then there are the fans who refuse to even consider such scenarios. Georgia’s got the talent to win out, they say. The Dawgs just have to finally put it all together and have that breakout game everyone’s been expecting, and then success will feed on success, like late last season.
Great team or good team? The next two games will tell.
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Still waiting for a complete game
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Last week, I walked out of the stadium after the Tennessee game feeling pretty good about the Dawgs. Sure, they’d left a lot of points on the field, but they’d more or less much moved the ball at will and played well on defense.
This week, the results were much the same, with Georgia racking up a lot of offensive yardage, if not points, but I didn’t feel nearly as good about the win. My brother Tim said the same thing.
I think the difference was this: Against UT, it was just little mistakes keeping us from blowing them out. Against Vandy, the problems were more systemic. Forget the missed field goals (those can happen to the best of kickers) and the dropped interceptions (if they could catch that well, they’d probably be playing receiver). What bothered me was the three-and-outs and the utter predictability of Mike Bobo’s playcalling much of the time that left the Dawgs facing too many third-and-long situations. And as we’ve learned the hard way in the past, converting just one of eight third-downs isn’t good enough to beat the LSUs and Floridas.
All in all, it was a mixed day. While the young, patchwork offensive line isn’t opening holes up the middle very often, Knowshon Moreno still managed to get 172 yards and the pass protection was good; Vandy, known for sacking opposing QBs, didn’t get to Matthew Stafford.
Stafford was hot and cold. Only one of his two interceptions was his fault. One was a tipped ball; on the other, a long throw downfield, MoMass was open, but Stafford waited way too long to throw it. Stafford also underthrew a couple of other times and zoned out on a screen-pass play, throwing it over the blocking receiver instead of the intended recipient. But his two touchdown passes were expertly thrown, as was that 49-yarder to young A.J. Green, who continues to impress with his Sunday-level catching skills, though Stafford still has to tell him from time to time on which side to line up.
The defense came up big when it mattered in the fourth quarter and pretty well kept the Vandy running game in check. But teams are coming into games against the Dawgs with a plan of picking on corner Bryan Evans, who lets receivers get behind him much too regularly, and that’s exactly how Vandy got its two scores. Evans was pulled for much of the second half Saturday and that seems to have been a good move.
So, yeah, Georgia played good enough to win. Against an improved but still not top-of-the-league Vandy. Asher Allen said after the game that he’d grade the Dawgs a “C” so far this season, and that sounds fair. But to make it past the next two opponents, the Dawgs and their coaches are going to have to lift their game several notches above that.
THIS AND THAT: A lot of fans in the stands were puzzled by Moreno’s absence from the field on some key plays, but it turns out he had taken himself out of the game rather than it being the coaches. No explanation, but as brother Tim noted, when you’re zipping around as the head cheerleader as well as running for 172 yards, you probably get tired. And the way he answered the video review taking away an 11-yard TD run to one side by simply doing it again to the other side was a real highlight. … I know we’re hard up at tight end right now, but on some of those third-and-longs when we ran the ball, why couldn’t we have had a back or one of the receivers run a little short route across the middle for the yards needed? And why is it that Bobo seems to prefer those hard-to-make sideline routes and long shots downfield to dinking and dunking? … Georgia’s special teams play continues to be spotty. Kickoffs again were better, but while Vandy had a great punter, you got the feeling we weren’t too sure about receiving them, no matter who was back there. That returns-by-committee approach needs rethinking. … It was encouraging to see another long fourth-quarter drive, even if it again bogged down at the end. The surging Shaun Chapas was the sparkplug much of the time on this one.
HOMECOMING NOTES: My brother Jon, who was down on the field with the alumni Redcoats, said D.J. Shockley was signing autographs on the sideline before the game. … I don’t know if this was a onetime Homecoming thing or not, but I liked that they brought back Uga’s old red fire hydrant. … The hundred-year-old “Red and Black March” revived by the Redcoats at halftime sounds a bit too much like generic college football music from the movies, but it may grow on me with time. A shorter arrangement might help. … Why isn’t Sanford Stadium a more intimidating place to play? Could be because so many of the non-student fans sit on their hands except on third down. I thought it was a nice touch that Mark Richt went over to the main student stands after the game to thank them for their support. … Driving down Milledge Saturday morning, it came to me that I really miss the old days of the elaborate and humorous Homecoming displays on the front lawns of the sororities and fraternities. Nowadays they opt for floats in the homecoming parade, and even that got rained out this year.
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What a Dawg fan wants
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Here, at the midpoint of the season, are some random thoughts on where Georgia stands and things this Dawg fan would like to see:
One of those things is a return to the no-huddle offense. Mark Richt tried no-huddle when he first came to UGA but it didn’t last. Mostly these days Mike Bobo only uses it in the two-minute hurry-up mode. But when the Dawgs have been in it, they’ve generally moved the ball well, and in Matthew Stafford they have a quarterback well-suited to no-huddle since he calls a lot of signals at the line. Unless we’re looking to eat up clock (as in the fourth quarter last week), the no-huddle looks appealing to me.
Speaking of that fourth quarter against UT, that had to be one of the best drives a Richt team has engineered. I mean, 11 minutes! It ate up so much clock and was such a vintage Georgia drive that it didn’t really matter that it eventually bogged down and only produced a field goal. It had already accomplished its goal. I don’t know how much of a role fatigue on the Vols defense’s part played in it, but you’ve got to wonder whether maybe bringing in both fullbacks to block and running student-body left is something Bobo should use a bit more often to give Moreno and King a chance to eat up some yards.
And speaking of having both fullbacks in at the same time, that might be something we ought to do more often considering Georgia’s precarious tight-end situation. I don’t know if Bruce Figgins was pressured to hold off on surgery and continue to play or decided that on his own, but obviously the Dawgs need him badly. The much-traveled and apparently underperforming Kiante Tripp is back on the OL, and a friend who paid closer attention than I did to the tight end play last week said the undersized Aaron White was getting tossed around like a rag doll. We need Tripp Chandler back soon.
On the subject of fullbacks, it’s great to have Brannan Southerland back because he’s such a great player, but it seems also to have lifted Shaun Chapas’ game. Those yards he got after the catch last week were big!
I understand Bobo is having Stafford throwing all that wide stuff to allow him to get rid of the ball quickly before his protection breaks down and to try to get the ball to someone out in space since our line isn’t opening up huge holes most of the time. But last week we seemed to rely too much on those screens (and got bitten by it with that interception). With Vandy known for its success sacking quarterbacks, it’s likely to be an issue again this week. Wouldn’t quick dump passes to running backs serve the same purpose as the screen? And at least it’s positive yardage even if they don’t break loose after the catch.
Ordinarily, Georgia fans might need to worry about whether the team would be looking ahead of Vanderbilt toward the LSU and Florida games, but thanks to Vandy’s record and the SEC East race this year, that ought not to be a problem Saturday.
At least, that’s what we’re hoping!
NOT KIDDING AROUND: It was interesting to read the perspective of the MOMania blog about games at Grant Field being more family-friendly than those at Sanford Stadium. Of course, part of the problem with crowding and parking and pricing is that UGA tickets are in demand; Tech tickets aren’t. But what caught my eye was the complaint about UGA making even a babe in arms have a ticket. Here’s the problem: The blog assumes a college football game is a suitable outing for young children and babies. Nonsense. The games run way too long and much of the season, unless you sit under an overhang, it’s too hot. Plus the little ones don’t understand what’s going on and quickly get bored and uncomfortable, which means they begin to bother the other fans around them. Not to mention the numerous trips to the restroom, concession stand, etc. that also disrupt the folks sitting in the vicinity. And all of that applies no matter which stadium you’re talking about, but it’s particularly a problem at a sold-out game. School-age kids are fine. That’s when I started taking my children to Georgia games. But when it comes to pre-schoolers and babies, I feel the same way my late lamented colleague Mr. Smithee felt about cinemas: Babies have no more business being at a college football game than they do at a movie.
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Half empty or half full?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I understand why a lot of UGA fans are calling the Dawgs’ victory over the Vols Saturday an “ugly” or “unsatisfying” win.
Georgia had an opportunity to run up a big score against an SEC opponent in a blowout, and didn’t.
The Dawgs moved the ball up and down the field against Tennessee but sputtered in the red zone, leaving enough points on the field to have more than doubled Georgia’s score, thanks to a dropped pass in the end zone, two red-zone interceptions (one in the end zone and both leading to UT scores), and three other badly botched fade routes. And while at least two of Georgia’s 11 penalties Saturday were strategic calls by the coaches, the Dawgs again kept a drive alive for their opponent with an infraction. (Of course, on one Bulldog drive there also was the matter of Georgia’s least favorite SEC officiating crew blowing a defensive holding call in the end zone that should have given the Dawgs an automatic first down at the 3.)
Granted, barring the defense pitching a shutout, Georgia can’t do things like that against Florida or LSU and expect to win. And despite the Red and Black’s total domination of the game, a 26-14 score doesn’t have the style points that today’s pollsters reward. The old-school days when all that mattered was that it was a win have fallen to the ESPN-ization of college football.
No, it wasn’t the kind of victory that had many Georgia fans buying those instantly printed scorecards after the game. But while I’ve been accused from time to time of harping on what the Dawgs need to improve, I left Sanford Stadium Saturday feeling like the souvenir cup was half full, rather than half empty.
I mean, look at the other side of the coin: The Vols came into the game ranking first in the SEC in total defense, allowing 244 yards a game, but Georgia racked up 458 yards of offense, with Matthew Stafford throwing his first 300-plus yard game despite those two picks and Knowshon Moreno topping a hundred yards rushing. The Dawgs had 29 first downs to Tennessee’s 10 and an amazing 42 minutes of possession time. On defense, Georgia held the admittedly anemic Vols to 1 yard on the ground and 208 yards in the air, the bulk of that on a couple of long completions.
And then there was The Drive: Looking to eat up clock and secure the win in the fourth quarter after letting Tennessee get its second score when the secondary left the receiver uncovered, Georgia ground out 76 yards on 17 plays, holding the ball just short of 11 minutes. Dooleyball had returned to Sanford! And that was despite losing another key offensive lineman to injury earlier in the game. It may have only produced another of Blair Walsh’s four field goals, but it iced the game and was the kind of drive that wins championships.
So, yes, Georgia has a lot it still needs to work on to fine-tune its performance. But those are all things that can be fixed.
THIS AND THAT: How about a game ball for freshman kicker Blair Walsh, who not only responded in pressure situations Saturday, but did so after suffering a migraine headache and having to go on an IV earlier in the day. … It was great to see Brannan Southerland back in the game and punching in another short-yardage score, but Shaun “I Can Play Fullback, Too” Chapas came up large, particularly with his running after the catch on a couple of long pass plays. With the current weakness at tight end, it’s good to see Stafford dumping the ball off to the fullbacks and getting big results. … A.J. Green at times looked unfortunately like the freshman he is Saturday, but senior receiver Mohamed Massaquoi was magnificent, even after he got his bell rung on an illegal helmet-to-helmet hit. And Demiko Goodman had a couple of really nice snags, too. … Let’s hope Willie Martinez makes this point with his secondary: When you get your hands on the ball, catch it. If you can’t, knock it to the ground, don’t tip it up in the air where the receiver gets a second shot at it, which nearly happened a couple of times Saturday. … The fade definitely isn’t working for Georgia right now. Saturday, the receivers didn’t seem to understand that Stafford intended to put the ball in the far corner of the end zone. … While Georgia’s offensive line responded well when challenged by Stafford to step up on that fourth-quarter drive (particularly Clint Boling, who took Vince Vance’s place), the injuries and constant flux in positions continued to make the Dawgs’ blocking and protection spotty, with Tennessee defenders harassing Stafford and Moreno in the backfield on way too many plays. Whether the young line matures and gels fast (and avoids any further injuries) is going to play in big part in how the Dawgs’ season finishes. … On that screen-play interception, you could clearly see that the Vols defense had read the play before Stafford even threw the ball. … Georgia’s kickoffs, aided by a bit of breeze at times, were the best they’ve been this season. … Moreno has obviously become the team’s spirit leader, racing around congratulating and revving up his teammates even on plays that don’t involve him. … There was nearly a real dog fight before the game when UT’s hound Smokey and Uga VII got within a few yards of each other. Smokey started yapping and straining at his leash. Uga tensed into what looked almost like a defensive lineman’s position and then lunged toward Smokey before their respective handlers decided to head in opposite directions.
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Friday night lights
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
It had been about nine years since I’d spent a Friday night watching a high school football game, but when I found out one of my vacation days this week coincided with off-week plans that my son and my middle brother Jon had made to drive over to Elberton to see the Oconee County Warriors take on the Elbert County Blue Devils in the famed Granite Bowl, I couldn’t resist.
The trip sounded like a great idea for several reasons. First, I’d spent a lot of time over the years in Elberton, where my wife Leslie is from, and young Bill and I had heard lots of tales of the Granite Bowl from her days as captain of the Elbert County cheerleaders, but we’d never actually been to a game in the unique venue that claims to be the state’s largest high school stadium. Jon wanted to go because he lives in Watkinsville and he’s a longtime supporter of Oconee, where his youngest daughter, Caroline, is a senior. And to top it all off, Oconee’s senior quarterback, Zach Mettenberger, is a highly ranked prospect who plans to enroll at UGA in January. So it was sort of a back to the future kind of thing: Family roots and a future Dawg QB.
It got even better when my other brother, Tim, arranged to get off work early and came over from north Fulton to join us on the trek from Athens down Ga. 72, where we passed through our Madison County roots (my Dad is originally from Colbert) on our way to the Granite Capital of the World.
We arrived early, so we walked around the town square a bit and decided to grab a quick supper at Bojangles, only to find ourselves in the slowest fast-food joint we’d ever encountered. After waiting 15 minutes in a line where no one seemed to be getting any food, we were informed it’d be another 15 minutes for Dirty Rice. Cole slaw is fine, I said.
The Blue Devils started playing in the Granite Bowl, built by supporters and the local granite industry in a ravine behind the county courthouse, back in 1954, though the stadium wasn’t finished until 1962. Its granite bleachers, which form a horseshoe around three sides of the field, give it a seating capacity of at least 15,000 (the city claims 20,000). The scoreboard would look familiar to UGA fans because it’s the old Sanford Stadium board, donated to ECCHS during the last Sanford renovation.
This 8-AAA matchup between the Blue Devils and Warriors was Homecoming night at ECCHS, but their program has fallen off some from the days of its 1995 state championship (when T. McFerrin was the coach), so even the home side of the stadium was far from full. I did notice, though, that the Elbert stands filled in quite a bit as the first quarter progressed. “They were waiting on the Dirty Rice at Bojangles,” Jon quipped. We sat on the Oconee side with lots of parents of players, band members and cheerleaders. Jon pointed out country singer John Berry among the Warriors supporters.
The Elbert band marched onto the field for the national anthem and “Devil With a Blue Dress On” (something they didn’t play back in my wife’s day) and then brought their team on to the strains of the traditional school fight song, “Hoorah for Devils,” which I’ve heard Leslie sing numerous times over the years. They played the ESPN “SportsCenter” theme when the Blue Devils blocked Oconee’s first PAT try. Oconee’s pep band stayed in the stands for this game but was also quite active, frequently playing the war chant/tomahawk chop popularized by FSU and the Braves (one of Oconee’s mottos is “Fear the spear”). At times, both bands created a cacophony by blaring out competing fight songs at the same time. Ah, high school football!
As Tim noted, one of the pluses of watching a high school game in person is that you’re so close to the action you hear all the sounds of the game and occasionally even can make out what the coaches are telling the players on the sideline. Elbert came into the game 2-2 while Oconee was fresh off its first win, a comeback over Franklin County, after opening the season with three nonregion losses against Blessed Trinity, Dunwoody and St. Pius X. But it was obvious from the start that the bigger, faster team from Watkinsville was several notches above the home team in terms of talent.
Mettenberger, wearing No. 6, stood out from the start, if for no other reason than he appeared to be about a head taller than most of his teammates, at 6 foot 6 and 233 pounds. Ranked the No. 10 QB prospect in the country by Rivals.com and Scout.com (behind Georgia’s other QB commitment, Aaron Murray of Tampa), Mettenberger is considered a classic pro-style prospect, but though Oconee is running a no-huddle spread offense under first-year coach Mitch Olson, it’s predicated on the short passing game, so we got to see a lot of his very strong arm. Mettenberger can really put some zip on the ball, a la Matthew Stafford. Jon said he looked much improved over last season, when he was still growing and wasn’t very mobile. Friday night, he looked comfortable and confident, and generally made good decisions, frequently dumping the ball off to a back when his four wide-outs were covered. He does need to work a bit on looking off his receiver, and Tim noted an occasional slight hitch in his throwing motion. He chunked it 46 yards with ease on one play, though he overthrew his receiver. On another long pass, this time a TD, he showed great timing.
Unfortunately for the home crowd, the only thing they really had to cheer all night was the bevy of beauties escorted across the field by family members during the half-time Homecoming Court ceremony. Otherwise, it was all Oconee, with Mettenberger completing 17 of 28 passes for 183 yards and three touchdowns (and that was with three passes dropped), and the Warriors’ tough little scatback, Jamie Stephens, running for 122 yards on 20 carries. Final score: Oconee 38, Elbert 0. Oh, and this wouldn’t be to Jon Fabris’ liking, but Oconee routinely put its kickoffs into the endzone.
With two highly ranked QBs coming aboard (in addition to the ones UGA already has), there’s no telling whether Mettenberger’s future includes a lot of time holding a clipboard or Saturdays of triumph Between the Hedges, but I got a kick out of getting an early view of a future player, sort of like in the days of the Bullpups’ Thanksgiving game. I hope those were just the first three of many touchdowns I get to see him toss.
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A flag for insufficient coaching
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgia was obviously woefully outmanned on both lines Saturday against Alabama, but that didn’t have to spell defeat for the Bulldogs. With adjustments, there are ways to play around such personnel mismatches, as was shown at least some of the time in the second half. But besides the line play and injuries, Georgia also was plagued by a poor game plan, what appeared to be insufficient preparation and coaching errors.
It’s hard to say whether Mark Richt and his staff got too caught up in Blackout fever the week before the game or just got outcoached. And no one who wasn’t on the sideline can really say why things were or weren’t done during the game by the Georgia coaching staff, but there was plenty to wonder about.
Why was the Georgia offense getting up to the line so much later than usual, eliminating much of Matthew Stafford’s time for reading the defense? Was Bama giving the Dawgs looks Mike Bobo didn’t expect? The result was that Stafford obviously lost faith in his line, often bailing out of the pocket prematurely and causing himself problems reminiscent of his freshman year (like overlooking open receivers while he locked in on a man in double- or triple-coverage, and lobbing a desperation pass into coverage that, naturally, was intercepted). And why, when the vulnerability of Stafford became apparent early on, did it take Georgia so long to switch to a max protect formation?
On defense, Willie Martinez was again slow to make adjustments and even then rarely blitzed and kept Georgia in a loose zone rather than playing man to man. The Dawgs didn’t shut Bama down in the second half so much as the Tide simply relaxed until it needed to tack on a couple of scores … and then it did so easily.
But the biggest problem, particularly in the first half, remained Georgia’s ridiculous penchant for drawing penalties, which played a big part in Alabama’s first two scoring drives and deprived the Dawgs of the fast start they needed against the Tide. Part of the problem was the lack of focus on the part of the players. Part of it is Georgia’s reputation, which means officiating crews have the Dawgs under a microscope and are going to throw every flag in the book with no wiggle room allowed.
But the chief blame for the penalty problem, at least in the Alabama game, belongs to Mark Richt. The head coach said on his Sunday TV show that the team obviously didn’t get the message from him about penalties. Maybe that’s because what he sent them after the Arizona State game was a mixed message. On the one hand he said that the Dawgs needed to cut back on penalties, but then he said that rather than any lack of discipline, the flags were a result of “playing hard” and noted, “You don’t want to take away the aggressiveness of your team.”
After the Bama game, he put it this way: “I’ve got to send a stronger message than I did before.”
Too bad it took him five games to figure that out.
Some of the calls in the Alabama game were really picky, but Georgia needs to recognize that’s how it’s going to be when you come in as the nation’s most penalized team. The officials are going to call everything in the rule book. And against SEC teams, the Dawgs aren’t going to be in a position where they can give their opponents any unearned advantage.
As I wrote Sunday, the Dawgs’ national title hopes are not dead, and that’s backed up by ESPN.com’s mock BCS standings, which have Georgia at No. 7, the highest ranked one-loss team. But players and coaches alike are going to have to pick up their game considerably to keep the Dawgs in contention. And keep their fingers crossed for more Top 10 upsets, too.
BULLDOG BITS: The black jerseys and Blackout were, of course, not responsible for Georgia’s loss. The Blackout did its job, which was to jack up fan fervor; the team just didn’t execute. That said, I think Richt should tell his team he isn’t going to bring the black jerseys out again until the players have earned them. And that means winning the big games, especially when they’re in Athens. … Georgia’s approach to kickoffs continues to be perplexing. Blair Walsh obviously is capable of putting it in the end zone. So just let him! Why give the other team the ball at the 38 or 40 when a touchback puts it at the 20? … The Georgia coaching staff may not have told punter Brian Mimbs to avoid Bama return man Javier Arenas, but I had the same thought Kevin Butler had watching Mimbs shank a couple of key punts Saturday, that he was trying to kick away from Arenas. Even if it wasn’t a conscious plan on anybody’s part, that’s what it looked like. … The Redcoat Band is competing in ESPN’s Battle of the Bands competition, along with Auburn, Clemson, Florida, LSU, Southern Cal and Texas, with each band playing the “Indiana Jones” theme and the winning school getting $25,000. You can see the performances and cast your vote at http://promo.espn.go.com/espn/contests/indianajones/voteBand
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