The two biggest plays of the game?
Athens — So much stuff happened on Saturday: a 100-yard kickoff return, a 61-yard touchdown on a reverse, a safety on a punt snap that went out of the back of the end zone. As Mark Richt said immediately afterward, probably 100 good things and 100 bad things.
I asked Joe Cox on Sunday what, of all the things that happened, he considered the biggest play of Georgia’s 41-37 victory over South Carolina.
“I’d probably say there were two,” Cox answered. “The blocked extra point, which didn’t seem huge at the time. And then Carlton [Thomas] diving on the fumble.”
The blocked extra point –- by DeAngelo Tyson –- came after a South Carolina touchdown (on Eric Norwood’s 35-yard interception return) cut the Georgia lead to 38-37 with 12:56 to play.
And the Thomas fumble recovery came a few minutes later when Cox coughed up the ball upon being hit from behind by South Carolina’s Stephon Gilmore. By retrieving it, Thomas prevented a turnover – and kept the Bullogs in position for a 42-yard Blair Walsh field goal that stretched the lead to 41-37 with 6:23 to play.
Both plays proved critical as South Carolina drove inside the Georgia 10 yard line in the final minute.
If Tyson had not blocked the extra point, Georgia’s lead would have been just three points come the final South Carolina drive, and the Gamecocks could have kicked a field goal to tie at the end of regulation.
Or if Georgia had lost the fumble that Thomas recovered, the UGA lead would have been just one point, and the Gamecocks could have kicked a field goal to win it at the end.
“When Joe got hit and the ball got on the ground . . . Carlton Thomas might have saved the game right there,” Richt said Sunday. “DeAngelo Tyson might have saved the game when he blocked the extra point. Rennie Curran might have saved the game when he batted the ball in the end zone [on South Carolina's final pass of the night on fourth down from the Georgia 7] There were so many plays that you could say saved the game. Blair Walsh just drilling them from considerable distance.”
A few more things:
– This is hard to believe, but in a series that dates back to 1894, Saturday’s 37 points were the most South Carolina has ever scored against Georgia.
– The game lasted three hours and 54 minutes, the longest UGA regular-season game in seven years (or since a four-hour, one-minute game vs. South Carolina in 2002).
– Tyson’s blocked extra point was the first by Georgia since Kedric Golston blocked one in the 2003 SEC Championship Game against LSU.
– Georgia has committed six turnovers in two games, leading to 26 points by the opponents. On the other hand, Georgia has forced just one turnover in the two games, leading to three points.
– Richt’s day-after assessment: “Winning is very, very positive. It is the most positive thing that can happen in any game. You can measure everything else you want, but the victory is certainly the one thing that is most meaningful [to] create or deflate momentum, so we have definitely created some good positive momentum and want to build on it. We want to get better at some things that can get you beat and could have gotten us beat but didn’t get us beat, but we also want to build on the things that helped us win. There were some unbelievably good things that happened that we can point out and build on. So we’ve got to have a nice combination of that – correct and praise.”
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106 comments Add your comment
Tom in ATL
September 14th, 2009
12:08 pm
Lots of new faces – in lots of new places – Dawg fans need to chill and be happy with the win. We are going through a lot of growing pains right now – replacing maybe our best QB/Tailback combo of all time – UGA is vulnarable right now – but I expect as the season wears on – you will see dramatic improvement. Cox and Samuel played much better than week 1, there are many young playmakers cutting their teeth but showing great upside (Boykin, Smith, Charles, T. King, Tyson, etc)
Harp on WIllie M all you want – the Defense won that game – they were on the field the entire game – USC ran 82 plays – UGA 52 – that is an insane disparity. Garcia played a hell of a game – Dawgs got pressure up the middle numerous times and he eluded it and either ran or made great throws on the run – UGA defense was worn out – constantly put in terrible field position – and forced 5 drives to stall and result in FG’s. And held in the closing seconds with the game on the line.
This is not a National Championship contending team – but one with great promise once we get our feet under us. Too many turnovers and penalties, missed assignments, clock management, burning time outs – all this stuff makes me want to pull my hair out – but when you sit back and realize so many of these guys are getting their first taste of on field competition, give the guys a break. If we’re still making the same mistakes in week 10, then by all means, rant – but Coach Richt’s track record is pretty good – I’ll take my chances he knows a wee bit more about football than the bloggers who want to fire the whole staff anytime we don’t blow out an opponent.
Pi$$onaDawg
September 14th, 2009
12:23 pm
Have any of you people seen the movie MAJOR PAYNE? I think Willie should make all the D players SHAVE their heads Bald and make them keep it that way until the D has no penalities and keeps a team under 14 points. When I say TEAM I mean a real team not the week SEC sisters or the OOC teams UGA plays.
Franklin Dawg
September 14th, 2009
12:37 pm
Willie’s defense did not give up 37 points. 7 came from an INT return. 7 came after Cox’s fumble near our own goal. In fact, the UGa defense gave up only one TD drive, and forced USC to kick five field goals. Given that they were on the field for the entire first quarter and were clearly gassed before halftime, they played with a lot grit.
Tallcarl
September 14th, 2009
12:44 pm
Thanks Hungry Dog, I live in Madrid Spain and only get the Bulldogs on their radio show on the web page. I can get teams in India playing (soccer) football from one town to another but to be able to actully see a SEC college game is impossible and I have paid for so called webtv but that cost me to find out it was bogus. I wish I could see my Dogs as believe this team will get better. Go DOGS, Woff Woff
CT_Jacket
September 14th, 2009
12:44 pm
Of course I was pulling for USC, but that was a very exciting game to watch. I think that UGA redeemed themselves after the loss to OkSt. Arkansas is a question mark but could be tough. LSU hasn’t looked very impressive yet. Worst case, you’ll lose 5 and 3 or 4 is probably realistic. UGA should still have a season that most schools envy.
Dan
September 14th, 2009
12:45 pm
Any word on the gametime for ASU?
Negative=Reality
September 14th, 2009
12:48 pm
Take away the pick 6 Cox threw and the D still gave up another 30 points to a team known for the defense. Not like we were playing a high powered offense. We make average players look like Heisman candidates. We had to score 41 points to beat S.C. How many will we have to score to beat LSU, UT, Florida, Auburn, Tech???
They were tired, bad field position, etc. EXCUSES, EXCUSES, EXCUSES. It’s always something isn’t it??
Acworth Dawg
September 14th, 2009
12:48 pm
Hey BugKiller,
Do you have anything else to add to these pages except fire CWM? We get. You don’t like CWM. You want CWM fired? You don’t like winning if the other team scores abunch. WE ALL GET IT!
Negative=Reality
September 14th, 2009
12:53 pm
By the way, they did not redeem themselves by beating S.C. With a top 5 recruiting class year in and year out we should beat them. OSU had 45 points put up on them by HOUSTON!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That should make you sick BOBO!!!!!!! A record that most schools would envy???? I don’t want FIU to envy us!!!! I want Texas, Oklahoma, Florida, Ohio St., USC to envy us!!!!
Negative=Reality
September 14th, 2009
12:55 pm
I’m with you BugKiller. And no Acworth Dawg I don’t like winning when the other team scores a bunch. You know why??? We won’t score 41 points every week!!!! We know going into every game that the offense better score a bunch because the D is damn sure going to surrender a bunch!!
Skeeter
September 14th, 2009
1:00 pm
Was any Dawg fan out there satisfied with saturday’s defensive effort? I see nothing but hard times ahead if something or someone doesn’t turn the defense around.
HBTD
September 14th, 2009
1:03 pm
Negative=Reality. Are you really as misarable as your comments sound?? Man, take a vacation? Following your team should be a FUN experience. I pity anyone who’s around you after a game. You sound like you need to get a life outside of following football.
crs
September 14th, 2009
1:03 pm
My thoughts after the first tow ball games:
UGA looks like a 7-5 type team as I suggested preseason. I see little upside to that prediction, Cox is even more average than I gave him credit for, he is not a great decision maker and his arm is in the bottom quarter of the SEC. Defense was unable to get any better with the offseason and many of the problems from last year continue, penalties and poor d-end play and corners that are ill suited for the UGA style of route recognition and disguise.
I have been a long term defender of CWM but given his inability to improve with the offseason, I feel a change is best. I would love to see CWM return to the secondary but he would probably move on at this point.
I feel UGA as with Coach Searls coming on has an opportunity to get better by approaching Tommy Tuberville. By all accounts he and Richt get along well and with how things soured at Auburn he may well be open to a coordinator job. Tommy is a very good defensive mind and his success against Florida is hard to deny.
I believe a Richt and Tuberville team would lead to more SEC championships and given other factors a mythical NC for UGA.
Coach Richt and Damon should pay Tommy a visit IMO.
Phil
September 14th, 2009
1:12 pm
crs,
Good point about Tubberville, that never crossed ny mind. Might be worth thinking about.
Branden Smith. I truly believe he would return a kickoff from the 3rd row in the stands if it was legal. Can’t somebody on the coaching staff sit him down and explain when/when NOT to try a return? Especially after
last weeks game against Oklahoma State! Geez.
OldSkoolDawg
September 14th, 2009
1:16 pm
Some Observations:
Our kickoff team finally got ‘the memo’ WRT kicking the ball into the endzone… Halleluhah! Perhaps the special teams coach finally realized we couldn’t cover the short directional.
Some people ask “Why don’t we blitz?” From my perspective, it only seems like we don’t blitz, because we don’t get sacks.
I saw us blitz many times Sat, but they were ineffective, because (like most Saturdays) we don’t execute a blitz play well; we don’t hide them, we don’t come with reckless abandon, and the RBs are there to stop the extra rushers with ease. In fact, our numerous blitzes aided SC’s short passing game (which made their #5 look like a Heisman candidate).
I see our DTs stunting on many plays, too. But this tactic is ineffective for us as well; the OLs seem to expect them and/or adjust to pick them up. Is it a schematic problem or execution? I’m not smart enough to know.
This little excerpt with 5 minutes left in the 2nd Qtr seems to sum up our D’s mindset. SC has 3rd and goal from our 5-yd line and SC calls time out. When play is about to resume, our guys are walking onto the field and doing a bunch of cheerleading, while SC hustles into position to run their play.
The ball is snapped while we’re still trying to get set. The fullback is open near the pylon, but luckily the pass gets batted down.
The play’s result is inconsequential to my point, which is: We should be focused on SC and our assignment on the upcoming play. Instead, we’re asking with our arms for more noise, as if fans, not players, will determine the outcome.
Slightly less so in the 2nd half, but Joe Cox had the “deer in the headlights” look in his eyes. I love #14 to death, but that’s not a good sign.
The ESPNing of America has created an obsession with the ‘Big Play’ within football which is evident at all levels of the sport. So much so, that some teams value ‘big play ability’ over the ability to execute fundamentals.
I’m sad to say that I feel this phenomenon has penetrated the UGA football program now, too. It’s obvious that we are fielding players based on how fast they are, how big they are, or how high they can jump, regardless of whether they know what their assignment is, or how to execute it.
For example, when tackling, several DBs don’t wrap up a ballcarrier, we launch ourselves at him with our shoulder (this approach makes for a more impressive hit and better ESPN hi-lites). Some ballcarriers go down, some don’t. “Whatever,” we seem to say. Our #3 and #9 are the worst offenders here (I have watched them make this mistake repeatedly for 2+ years now), but there’s a whole new wave of DBs like #25 and #19 who are starting to get the hang of this ‘bump’ tackle.
Note: The ‘bump’ worked to our advantage on the 100-yd kickoff return, where SC had our #2 bottled up near the 30, but didn’t wrap-up, so Boykin was off to the races.
Some guys don’t block, miss blocks, or block the wrong defender. Some don’t know when to bring a kickoff out of the endzone, some don’t how to hold the ball when they do.
Our opponents believe the ‘fake punt’ is ALWAYS there. Why? Because, IT IS!!! The only time we seem prepared for a fake punt is AFTER they run one successfully. Our punt-return team seems to believe “Fool me once, shame on you; Fool me twice…”
Is it too much to ask for our offense to produce one drive — ONE DRIVE!!! — without a false start, illegal motion or 12-men-in-the-huddle penalty? Is it really that hard to run eight or nine plays in a row without one of these mental mistakes?
I never criticize playcalling. When your offense can execute, it doesn’t matter what play is called, and when your offense is inconsistent, as our is currently, you’re damned if you do, damned if you don’t.
But I’m a firm believer that you stick with what’s working. And you could tell from Richard Samuel’s first few runs that #22 was on a mission Sat nite (including the 1-yd TD run). So, what do we do next possession, stick with the hot hand and give it to #22, right? Wrong.
Instead, we go with the change-of-pace freshman RB with ‘big play ability.’ SC will never never expect that. Result: 1-yd loss, incompletion, sack (#30 didn’t pickup the blitzing LB), punt.
Hey, I have nothing against big plays in general or Carlton Thomas in particular… And Coach Bobo, I’m all for a 50/50 run-pass balance, but sometimes it seems we’re too focused on tricking the opponent, and we end up outsmarting ourselves.
It’s nice to be able to win a game with trickery and finesse when it can’t be won with execution and power. Our Offense came out of the tunnel wanting to ram the ball down SC’s throat, but we didn’t let them. We wanted more big plays. And it almost cost us the game.
Phil
September 14th, 2009
1:24 pm
OldSkool,
Speaking of special teams, did you notice the absolutely pathetic attempt, if you can call it that, by Blair Walsh on the long kickoff return by South Carolina? He ran over there and looked like he was going to get in position to try and make a tackle. But then he just stands there near the sideline and watches the guy go past him! Didn’t make an effort to tackle him or even get in the guy’s way! What the heck was that?? Never seen anything like that before.
And where was Caleb King? I thought he was supposed to back for this game.
crs
September 14th, 2009
1:30 pm
On Caleb, im starting to wonder if he is exploring transfering and talking to other schools. I assume if he does not play in a game for UGA this and transfers this would be his sit out year. I don’t see him playing another down for UGA.
OldSkoolDawg
September 14th, 2009
1:45 pm
Missed that one, Phil. Guess he was worried about getting hurt. Too many of our guys are looking out for number one and the NFL $$$. As for ‘doing whatever it takes for the team,’ not so much. Wonder what ol’ Vince Dooley would’ve done to Leavitt, Robinson, Butler, et.al., if they had pulled a similar stunt.
Baffled?
September 14th, 2009
1:52 pm
Did anyone else happen to notice the fact that we finally forced a kickoff to be taken at the 20 by kicking it deep? For the past 2 years I constantly wondered why Blair Walsh, a guy who can hit 55 yd + off the ground, couldn’t kick it 10 yds deep on a kickoff using the tee. Our special teams kick coverage has been weak at best. When the defense is giving up as many points, yards, as we have been why wouldnt they be forcing the opposition to take the ball at the 20 everytime? Even if we did get 1 out of 10 coverage kicks inside the 20, we are still talking about the ball being at the what 10-15 yd line? When the defense is giving up 300, 400 yards, what in the coaches right mind says “5 or 10 yards” could really help us on the kickoff. PUT THEM ON THE 20 EVERYTIME! Kick coverage has not been one of our better areas.
big dawg 89
September 14th, 2009
2:15 pm
i have to say, the ole ball coach was doing us a favor when he ran the ball.. they ran it a couple of times there late in the game and i was saying thank you very much…
i got a call from a friend out in BIG 12 country during the game, he wanted to know exactly how does CMR stay so calm during the course of the game.. Spurrier was being himself, and they would show Richt and he hadn’t even broke a sweat.. i told him i guess he’s a better man than i am, cuz i was acting like the ole ball coach in my living room, with my in-laws at that..
but a win is a win..and truly, they should’ve only scored about 20 on us.. pick 6’s and turnovers DEEP IN OUR TERRITORY don’t help our D out much….
Big Dawg
September 14th, 2009
2:20 pm
Seriously and other Fellow Dawgs
While it was great winning the the game, we are not a good team at this point. Yes they are 18 to 23 year olds who have been playing organized football in most cases since they were 8 or 9 years old and all of them were highly prized and recruited by a lot of teams. Charley Strong at Florida is a very close and dear friend of mine and we have had some pretty frank discussions over the years concerning the Gators and the Dawgs. A couple of years ago while discussing defensive philosphy he told me that Georgia should have won at least 4 to 5 SEC Championships and 3 to 4 National Championships with all the defensive and offensive talent we have consistently had since Coach Richt came to Georgia. He also told me quite frankly that while Brian van Gorder was a very good defensive coordinator and not only taught players to wrap up when tackling but demanded it just like he does and if a player didn’t tackle properly they were quickly shown the bench. Willie Martinez on the other hand has no clue and is an arrogant know it all or at least he thinks he does. Two years ago Coach Richt got things turned around by putting all these guys on notice, he gave them a pass last year because of all the injuries, I’m just wondering how long before he threatens firing a few of them. Injuries do not answer undisplined play i.e. penalties, lack of tackling, missed assignments, and lack of hustle which we have seen in abundance in both games so far. I sure hope he doesn’t wait until we lose a couple of SEC games before righting the ship because quite frankly we should be looking at a third SEC and MNC in row this year instead of just hoping they improve enough for us to beat Tech at the end of the season.
Go Dawgs
West Coast Dawg
September 14th, 2009
2:30 pm
Defense was absolutely horrible, and not from a players standpoint. C’mon, South Carolina ran the same pass plays over and over and over. Georgia’s Defensive coaching staff has not a clue on adjustments. YOU MUST ADJUST TO PREVENT WHAT IS BEATING YOU! My grade for Coaching staff once again. F!
Sanford Drive
September 14th, 2009
2:33 pm
We’ll have to score big every game to compensate for our terrible Defense. Too bad that’s not going to happen against big time opponents.
Otto
September 14th, 2009
3:03 pm
Correction We’ll have to score big every game to compensate for our mistakes and turnovers. Too bad that’s not going to happen against big time opponents.
The defense played just fine given the field position and turnovers. The exception is CWM falling into the Chavis perfected prevent defense on the final drive.
41 38 49 38 45 24 37
September 14th, 2009
3:06 pm
So of you idiots apparently are fooled by South Carolina having a good defense. Does this apply when they play UGA? Clemson sure does shred them about every three years and that goes for Florida too. SC sure got smacked in their Bowl game last year too. Why does it seem that the last few years that UGA had to hold its breath and hang on to win against these clowns. Houston , Okie State and South Carolina ? WOW big deal and our defanse played well now pass the koolaid please!
41 38 49 38 45 24 37
September 14th, 2009
3:09 pm
Otto…. seemed we played that same defense all game long. We cant even disguise a blitz or even fake a blitz. Willie is clueless and it will continue . Mark it down!
Chained Dawg
September 14th, 2009
3:18 pm
watched the game again on replay on Sports South. Our defensive front at time were just horrible. Akeem Dent at times got out of position. Not much penetration at all against a young offensive line. Jeff Owens at times looked like a pin ball being knocked around into his own team mates. Willie is just not getting it done and everyone in dawg nation and our opponents knows this. We are becoming a laughing stock.
big dawg 89
September 14th, 2009
3:21 pm
let me ask y’all a question or two,,,1) did we win?? and 2) did the defense stop them from scoring at the end of the game??? the answer to both is obviously YES….don’t get me wrong, i hate the prevent defense, but the fact is, it worked and we won the dang game… another thing, we did blitz all night long, and was that working, didn’t look like it to me..also,, how many points did they score,,37, right?!? well lets look at this,, minus 6 for the pick 6(defenses fault, NOT), minus 2 for the missed snap(defense,right, NOT), minus 7 for the fumble on our own 8(D? NOT). minus 7 for the fumble on our own 25(again,D? NOT).. so, that’s 37-22=15.. and i’ll even throw in a couple more field goals,since that’s all they were getting while having to DRIVE the ball downfield, so we’re now at 21… how many points should OSU have had??? 14… me, i’m fine with giving up 17 pts or so a game… if we can’t score that, we dont deserve to win…my point,,,IT’S NOT THE DEFENSES FAULT..again, i’m not a martinez apologizer, but the D is playing pretty well…
Jared Jones
September 14th, 2009
3:30 pm
David Pollack made BVG look good: please see Falcons current defense, though they had a good game Sunday I’ll give them that. The defense only gave up 29 points saturday, 8 points were pick six and safety. they also had great field positions on a couple bad kick off coverages, and ST had a bad punt coverage play where they allowed a first down by the punter. its not necessarily our D, the “bend but don’t break” mindset is actually the exact mindset of the Falcons D now (or, last year)…which is run by BVG.
Jared Jones
September 14th, 2009
3:31 pm
AND they didnt give up a TD after the first quarter
Jared Jones
September 14th, 2009
3:35 pm
AND you cannot expect to win football games with a 3 to 1 turnover ratio, though we did manage to pull this one out, the score is going to reflect that ratio
Jared Jones
September 14th, 2009
3:37 pm
Enter your comments here
Techjock
September 14th, 2009
3:48 pm
Good game dawgs.
crs
September 14th, 2009
3:48 pm
And the Falcons have who on defense??? With no names, the guy is week after week helping the Falcons win games. Do you even watch football?????
As i made mention earlier the Dogs would be wise to atleast see if Tuberville has an interest in the DC job at UGA.
SagaciousSamDawg
September 14th, 2009
3:56 pm
The correct answer to the question is: any two plays in the game. The outcome of the game could be just as different if any two plays produce different results. ( In a close game, this is true of just one play and it could be any of them)
SagaciousSamDawg
September 14th, 2009
4:13 pm
Luck has more influence on the outcomes of games than talent, coaching, preparation, and enthusiasm. Luck trumps everything else with respect to outcomes. Notice that what is not claimed is that any of these factors can’t and don’t influence a games outcome. Luck just eclipses all of them in influence. Luck is the only non-subjective factor. The concept of talent, coaching, preparation, and enthusiasm are subject to a myriad of opinions. Luck is subject to no opinion. Without it, you don’t win many ball games and certainly no championships. The National Championship Tropy should have the phrase “Luckiest team in College Football” engraved on it, if it wished to impart the most truth. Georgia was, indeed, very lucky to win as would have been South Carolina had they won. I would prefer to have the luckiest football team in college football than to field the most talented team. If a team is the “luckiest”, their luck will a far greater advantage than the ablilties of the most talented team. Actually the talent difference among the top teams is insignificant. The luck factor is quite significant, significant enough to determine the outcome.
OptimisticOmarDawg
September 14th, 2009
4:15 pm
UGA 52 Arkansas 17
PessimisticPeterDawg
September 14th, 2009
4:16 pm
Razorbacks 52 Dawgs 24
RealityRonDawg
September 14th, 2009
4:18 pm
UGA 31 Arkansas 27
Johnny Test
September 14th, 2009
4:18 pm
Lots of passion and opinions about what’s right and what’s wrong on this UGA team. Pretty much a field day for the teck faithful that love to see UGA have a tough go of it. Net, net a win is a win. I ain’t interested in how pretty it is. I’ll take 10 or more ugly ones evey year if I can get em. I guess that makes me like CMR.
I thought BIG DAWGs comments were interesting. Charlie Strong says we should have won 3 to 4 National Championships since Mark Richt has been at UGA. Well we did finish #3 and #2 in 2002 and 2007. Close but no cigar. I think maybe Charlie was exaggerating to make a point.
BR
September 14th, 2009
4:22 pm
I completely agree with TBone. Martinez never makes adjustments. That’s the ONLY reason the nerds beat us last year.
Tube Steak Shapiro
September 14th, 2009
4:27 pm
I hope all of you, the great unwashed, got to read my article in the Sunday AJC. What did not come out was that my family ran with the Kennedy clan & summered at Hyannis Port & wintered at Palm Beach with them. A lot of you need culture in your lives. That is the express purpose of this post. I shall sit on my throne and worship at the altar of the great Mark Richt. GO DOGS!!!!!!!!! I AM THE GREATEST.
JD
September 14th, 2009
4:35 pm
Big Dawg 89: Completely agree with you. You don’t want to apologize for the Defense but it’s hard not to when the offense is literally creating most of the issues. There has been 5 TD’s and 6FG’s scored against the Defense this year. I think 2, maybe 3 of the scoring drives required the opponent to even cross the 50 yard line. You can’t fault the Defense for not “holding” the opponent time after time when the opponent is in FG range when they take possesion. Not to mention the time of possession is so lopsided in favor of USC and Okst that our defense is constantly worn down.
Our offense has to shoulder 1/2 the blame. They don’t “grind out the clock” during a possesion- way too many 3 and outs, they turn the ball over and can’t seem to get their act together with all the costly penalties.
The whole team is playing horrible and the defense is not the main issue. It’s just one of the issues. Bobo, the special teams and whomever is in charge of fundamentals of holding onto the ball needs to face the music as well.
This is no different than the AL game last year when everyone complained about the D, when the Offense committed 2-3 turnovers and gained only 1 1st down in the 1st half.
Washington high fan
September 14th, 2009
4:35 pm
For all the people that wants Branden Smith to take a knee when the ball is kicked in the endzone, get over it. I watched him do things that alot of people dream of doing on special teams. He must have the green light to do it, and he should because at any given moment he can take it the distance. he’ll have more positive than negative plays i can tell you that. UGA fans whine to much ……………………… And i watch all the games UGA, TECH, and the Falcons. Calm down it’s just game number 2.
RealityRonDawg
September 14th, 2009
4:36 pm
If you win a game, what difference does it make whether the team played well or not? Few individuals would rather lose a game while playing superbly than win a game while playing poorly. The National Championship trophy last year did not note that Florida played poorly against Ole Miss and they never do. Nor does it note that they played poorly in any of their other games which could be a possibility. It does not make any such distincions although it is entirely possible that Florida could have played poorly in some of its wins. Wise individuals are far more economical with their worrying. Wasting time worrying about poor playing when you win is not economical and therefore, unwise. It is far better to use time worrying about whether or not your team will continue to be lucky. I sure hope UGA is lucky enough to not lose any more players to injury and that they are lucky in getting favorable spots by the refs and that the official timers continue to manage the timekeeping in a manner that is favorable to UGA and that the fumbles bounce into the hands of our players. The players problably play with about the same intensity, skill, and knowlege every game. The factor that is worth wasting your time with worry is luck. It determines the outcome of most athletic contests, when the talent level on both teams is fairly balanced. Luck trumps all.
Fletch
September 14th, 2009
4:40 pm
His name is Richard SAMUEL!!! not Samuels. Why is that so difficult for people
longDawg
September 14th, 2009
6:02 pm
this game really was not close only a bad snap made it that way. see how easy it is to lose
DirtyDawg
September 14th, 2009
6:21 pm
I had noticed, and pointed out several times on this site over the past couple of days, that Mr. Walsh acted like he was afraid to get in the returners way on that kickoff…as opposed to the SC kicker that pushed Boykin out of bounds on the one that could have gone all the way. Don’t quite know how to describe it, but I’ll bet he caught hell in the film room.
dawgvent.blogspot.com
September 14th, 2009
6:35 pm
Mike– I agree completely. I wasn’t trying to lay poor defensive performances in the hands of the players, as I believe they have executed what they have been given very well. It’s just my humble opinion that the coaching staff needs to be able to scheme the way you would expect a D1 staff to do. I am a proponent of the “bend but don’t break” style of coaching, as I believe it is the absolute best way to limit huge plays by the opposition, I just think there are way too many holes in ours at this point. Being a successful coach requires making in game adjustments on the fly, not just at halftime. Willie is pretty good when it comes to halftime adjustments, but his in game changes need to improve significantly. As I said before, I think our offense will be fine and continue to improve as the year progresses, and they will keep doing enough to win games by limiting mistakes. We have to improve on defense monumentally to be a successful team the remainder of the year, and I just don’t know that I see that happening. A good showing on the road this weekend will do wonders for our confidence as a whole. Go Dawgs!
We are in trouble
September 14th, 2009
7:10 pm
I chuckle at those who think all is right now that we won…. Wake up you idiots, we were extremely lucky to win and should have lost if their QB would have even tried to run on the last 2 plays.
USC outgained us by well over 100 yards and had 2 TD’s called back…. just face it, we should be 0-2 and our first opponent was just throttled by an unranked team.
Get off the kool-aid folks it is time for change.
Does Obama coach football too?