Richt (and Spurrier) impressed with Georgia defense
To kick off Georgia-South Carolina week, some notes from the coaches’ Sunday conference calls:
- Mark Richt still wasn’t talking about the A.J. Green situation, but he did have some things to say about another wide receiver who missed Georgia’s first game. Tavarres King was suspended for the opener but will play against South Carolina and will “definitely have an impact on this game,” Richt said.
- King “has been practicing extremely well,” Richt said. “He’s in great condition. He had a super summer. He seems to be a lot more confident than a year ago. He’s beginning to become more physical in the blocking aspect.”
- Richt liked a lot that he saw from the defense in its debut under Todd Grantham, including the welcomed fact that it had no penalties. “I thought our guys had some very good judgment on not taking a shot on a guy when he was on his way out of bounds,” Richt said. “Or after he let the ball go.”
- Georgia had five penalties against Louisiana-Lafayette, four on offense and one on special teams.
- The defense held La.-La to 14 yards rushing and 114 passing. More from Richt on the defense: “I think they seemed very locked in mentally. They played extremely hard. There were very few loafs . . . very few mental errors . . . and we tackled well as a team.”
- The defense’s glaring error, of course, was Bacarri Rambo allowing the Ragin’ Cajuns’ only score, a 60-yard TD pass. That brought quite a scolding from Grantham, who was generally animated on the sideline. “I was grinning,” Richt said of Grantham’s demeanor. “I liked it. I think the players liked it, too.” Even Rambo said he appreciated it.
- Richt was even more impressed when he saw Sanders Commings‘ fourth-quarter interception on film. “About as fine an interception as I’ve seen,” he said.
- Caleb King had only one carry in the second half Saturday. He “got dinged up just a little bit,” Richt said. “I don’t think it’s anything serious.”
- Linebacker Richard Samuel was on crutches before Saturday’s game to take pressure off an injured knee. Samuel was getting “close” to returning to action when the knee “just sort of swelled up on him,” Richt said. “We don’t think it’s anything long-term.”
- South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier said Georgia’s defense “looked well-prepared and positioned to play pretty much every snap except one.” You know which one.
- And then Spurrier got hyperbolic, saying Georgia “has maybe as good a pass rush as anybody in the country right now, the way it looked this past Saturday.”
- Spurrier, who had a free Saturday to watch football since his team played on Thursday last week, was asked if any teams across the country particularly impressed him. “You mean other than Jacksonville State?” he replied.
- Spurrier on what’s coming up Saturday in Columbia: “It’s extremely important and should be a heck of a game.”
- Have a great Labor Day, everyone.
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290 comments Add your comment
Dawg 1
September 6th, 2010
11:47 pm
I love a South Carolina fan calling a Georgia fan dillusional – priceless…
Ahmed
September 7th, 2010
12:14 am
I wish one of you AJC writers would grow a set and quote your world famous “source” and explain whats going on with AJ. The whole situation stinks
GaCracker
September 7th, 2010
12:44 am
This team looked solid and well coached. Arron Murray seems to be an ideal college QB; one that can make plays scarmbling as well as throwing. The offense looked solid and it was without Sturdivant, both starting wide receivers (Green and the guy Richt bragged on), and Ealey.
Few penalities and the interception was the receiver’s fault.
Kicking game may have the best punter and place kicker in the nation.
AUGTUHOUCSULBUSD
September 7th, 2010
1:55 am
Well, UGAG just swallowed its first creampuff of the year. Taste good? Others are coming, but in the meanwhile why not play a REAL (non-high school) game next week? The loss to South Carolina will make the next creampuff taste even sweeter.
Doc Love
September 7th, 2010
2:14 am
La. Lafayette is no powerhouse but they were 6-6 with returning qb and an all-star receiver. A much bettr team than Jax St. and you seen what happened there. Fla. struggled against a very simular opponent. Oklahoma like wise and they are top 10 teams. Only 1 bad play on defense and last year we would of had 10 or 12 bad plays or more. Like were we are headed
barneyb
September 7th, 2010
6:53 am
Agree with DawgGrad ‘89. Caleb King has largely been a huge dissapointment. Slow, always injured, unfortunately has not developed like anyone would have hoped. I sure hope this young man finds a place somewhere, but I don’t think UGA is the place for him.
Dawg_Mike
September 7th, 2010
8:28 am
What the hell is going on with the AJ Green situation. Are we not going to see him against SC….Arky…..WTF ???
takedowndawg
September 7th, 2010
9:05 am
meline, pack up and move to Stanford, California. Where you will indeed be happy and the rest of us Georgians are verrry happy you are leaving!!!!!!!! Mel, life is tooo short to be sooooo miserable!!!!!!! Go where you are loved and you love everyone and everything is in a state of bliss. Life is just too short mel Please move for your own stake!!!!! We will be all smiles here, as you leave in your battery powered match box car with ten inch tires!!!!!! Sanford, here comes Melllllll!!!!!!
Jborodawg
September 7th, 2010
9:12 am
My god, men. Did you see how S.C. just MANHANDLED that southern miss squad? And they’re a pretty good team…just watch em go and win their conference this year. We just don’t have the EXPERIENCE at quarterback that carolina does. Yeah yeah our D looked fairly stout but that kid Gracia or Garcia has HUGE potential and Spurrier has been schooling him for ALL these years now. We just better watch out and we just BETTER be ready for those guys. And ya know we’ve gotta travel up there and it’s a noon kickoff and I just don’t know if our fans can be up there and ready to go so darn early. And ya just KNOW it’s gonna be hot as the dickens up there.
Well, gotta go see that new Russell Crowe thing…and Tiffany and Barb and Jeannie say it’s gonna be a real burner of a movie.
Ace
September 7th, 2010
9:15 am
Looked good against a high school team, USC will kill the puppies.
ApopkaDawg
September 7th, 2010
9:16 am
WILLIE AT OKLAHOMA!
Did anyone happen to catch Willie’s first game as the Secondary Coach at OU? The highlights of that game was a scary flashback to what UGA fans had to endure over the last several years. The Utah State QB had 341 total passing yards and 2 TDs. Utah State almost came back and beat OU. The highlights on ESPN feature one touchdown pass where the OU defender was badly out of position. Again, sound familiar?
Thank you Lord in Heaven for giving us Todd Grantham.
OU fans, obviously Stoops did not look at Willie’s resume before hiring him. Your only hope is that he reacts faster than Richt did at UGA. Otherwise get use to your D-Backs being 10 yards away from the play and opponents having wide open receivers. Get use to blowing close games and giving up an average of 30pts per game.
My only regret is that Florida did’nt hire Willie, because he would make Aaron Murray lookn like a Heisman Candidate (similar to the Utah State QB).
suwaneedawg
September 7th, 2010
9:17 am
Bborodawg…DAMN SON, should UGA even take the field Saturday? Good Munson impersonation though.
Jborodawg
September 7th, 2010
9:21 am
Well men…I did get the movie thing wrong. I’ve just been told it’s a new George Clooney thing.
Yellow Jacket 89
September 7th, 2010
9:28 am
How many more players will be arrested before Saturday?
suwaneedawg
September 7th, 2010
9:29 am
Yellow Jacket 89, not enough to lose to you guys in November. Damn, sucks to be you!
Yellow Jacket 89
September 7th, 2010
9:30 am
suwaneedawg,
so…i guess you don’t want to hazard a guess….
what the heck go with 4
Jborodawg
September 7th, 2010
9:34 am
For all you idiots saying “…Georgia played a HS team..”; just about every FSB team played that type game last week. My meager research shows most have three of those on their schedule and the Dogs only have two (CO is after all an FSB team). But, how ’bout that Jacksonville State?! Ya gotta take every game seriously. Yeah, it was lowly La-La and I’m not quite ready to drink the cool aid…but there were a LOT of positives from the game. I think mainly, we don’t have to worry nearly as much about the QB nor the D. I was proud for all of em; but I bout shed a tear when Mason hit Gray for the TD. Thanks for hangin’ in there Logan; ur a Damn Good Dawg!
UGA 28; SC 26
Yellow Jacket 89
September 7th, 2010
9:36 am
If UGA can keep their players out of jail, they will win 10 games this season.
Jacket 98
September 7th, 2010
9:37 am
If UGA can keep their players out of jail, they will win 10 games this season.
suwaneedawg
September 7th, 2010
9:38 am
Ok yellowjacket, let’s go with 12. Still not enough to lose to you guys. Maybe an SEC team but, not the reigning acc champs. Come on, why are you on here talking trash when you have nothing?
saban
September 7th, 2010
9:45 am
South Carolina will be your new daddy come Sunday morning.
Hear Richt is dressing the team in black uniforms and red panties for the beatdown in Columbia.
takedowndawg
September 7th, 2010
9:52 am
saban, I know, any perceived threat to you crim. tide must illicit a negative from the faithful. There is a season ahead and let us see how it plays out.. I think Todd Grantham will cause indigestion for quite a few offensive coordinators in the SEC. He has the Van Gorder attitude of, “take no prisoners” that we DAWGS have been needing. Better for a DC to be feared than liked!!! Go DAWGS.
Bid dawg fan
September 7th, 2010
9:57 am
Why does every one think Spurrier is such a offensive genius?
I havent seen any thing special about Him since moving to SC.
How many times has He beat GA since the move? Take all that talent that He had @ FLA away from Him,Then He is just another couch. Will be another close game but the same result. GO BIG DAWG.
Dirty Dawg
September 7th, 2010
10:27 am
I sure hope Spurrier ends up being ‘the old ball ‘couch’ (thanks for that one ‘biddawgfan’) this weekend…in that I mean let’s give him reasons to be looking forward to laying back on his ‘couch’, and wondering what happened. Then again he’s done it to us so many times over the years I can never be confident…and given that SC always seems to give us a hard time, particularly in Columbia, I’m not making any bets and for sure I wouldn’t be giving any points.
Once again I think back to that time in ‘95 when a stoic Tom Osborne was asked by the sideline blondie/mic carrier at halftime of the NC game between Nebraska and UF, where Neb was leading by some five or six touchdowns, ‘Coach, you seem to be handling Coach Spurrier’s and the Gator’s offensive schemes pretty well, why is that?’…to which Osborne deadpanned and headed straight to the locker room, ‘It’s not about schemes, it’s about athletes!’…so remember fans, it’s not about our defensive scheme, it’s about the guys we’ve got playing it and how they’re coached…then again, Spurrier probably has the best collection of athletes he’s had at SC, so it should be a good’un.
Knight's Gambit
September 7th, 2010
10:32 am
South Carolina wins this week, 31-21.
Green has likely played his last game, so stop thinking about him.
It’s kind of sad to see all the Dawg fans getting so excited this year (just like the year before, the year before that, etc.). How long is it going to take for UGA fans to realize that UGA is simply no longer relevant in the SEC? In the national picture, UGA isn’t even a blip on the radar, and hasn’t been since the preseason #1 ranking two years ago.
Sit back and be grateful for the seven or eight wins you’ll get every year. Coaching genius Mark Richt may take you to 8-4 or even 9-3 occasionally, but Florida will still win the SEC, meaning no BCS bowls and no top 10 final ranking. Most years, UGA will be very lucky to finish in the top 25, and only after a big bowl win over a nobody opponent.
It’s a different world now, and Dawg fans need to adjust their expectations downward to reflect reality.
Unfortunately nothing is going to change until UGA changes its mediocre coaching. That’s where the difference is, and that’s why everyone outside Dawgtard Nation just laughs at Dawg fans getting so excited year after year about what a great recruiting class UGA gets. It doesn’t matter how many blue chip high school players go to UGA, they simply don’t get the coaching they would get at Florida or Alabama, to name two schools whose programs are far ahead of UGA. And that’s not going to change as long as Mark Richt is in Athens.
Get your heads out of the sand and face reality. And mediocrity and irrelevance.
And watch the red panties falling from the sky.
Creed
September 7th, 2010
10:34 am
Serious Dawg fans need to start organizing and demanding that Richt be fired. Otherwise, sports writers will be asking the same question this time a year from now.
Richt represents mediocrity. Saban and Meyer represent excellence and championships. Richt simply isn’t in their class, nor will he ever be. Richt would have to be incredibly lucky to win the division, and the odds against him winning the SEC championship would be at least 50:1.
Those are the simple facts, and there’s no amount of enthusiasm or cheerleading or Top 5 recruiting classes that can get around it.
As they say in poker, “Read ‘em and weep.”
DawgDad
September 7th, 2010
10:48 am
In years past many very good and very talented UGA teams did not look half this good in tune-up games. Yes, the offense was not exactly a well-oiled machine, but when has a Georgia defense ever looked as good, even against a patsy? I was VERY impressed with the coverage, which excepting one play was as good as it can possibly get, the pass rush (some serious speed and athletic ability up front), the pursuit and the discipline. Admittedly, these were not pro-prospect opponents, but a Richt-Bobo offense teamed with a legitimate defense would make for a very fun season, and likely a trip to the SEC Championship game. This week will tell us all we need to know.
Delbert D.
September 7th, 2010
11:01 am
The upcoming South Carolina game betting line is a really good test of the national perception of the University of Georgia as a football power. The opening line is favorable, as South Carolina doesn’t get the typical 3 point home field advantage (the line is 2-1/2 points for Carolina). As that line shrinks as Saturday approaches, that will indicate that bettors around the country are putting their money on the Bulldogs.
dawgpoo89
September 7th, 2010
11:12 am
SC gave up 400+ yards…. almost half of those came in the 4th quarter against 2nd and 3rd stringers vs SMU’s 1st team offense… and D Brown was shut down until they got on the field… he’s a heck of a lot better than any UGA reciever not named AJ
Red Roosterette
September 7th, 2010
11:16 am
SC and the Dawgturds played easy teams on Saturday. At least SoMiss has a winning past and bowl tradition. Week 2 will tell the tale for both teams. SC will win 17-14 and this will open the door to the SEC East. People wonder why we SC fans are committed & delusional. Those who wait will reap the benefits. Our patience will pay off – This is our year! Nothing could be finer than to be in Atlanta in December!
takedowndawg
September 7th, 2010
11:21 am
knightsgam, SC WINS, maybe honorable mentioned for the game! As usual, SC will probably play their best game of the season but will come up short by 7 pts. Turnovers, will make up the difference. Grantham, for PRESIDENT!!!!!!!! Garcia, will be running for his life from Coach Todd’s hounds all afternoon!! He will be sacked no less than three times and rushed at least 10-12 times. It should be noted that coach spurrier will allow all suspended players, particularly TE Sonders(sp?) return for practice immediately, and be ready for the game! Wishful hoping on your part on A J Green! You would like to never see him on the field again. By the way, wasn’t he recruited away from usc and spurrier from Charleston?
dawgfacedboy
September 7th, 2010
11:51 am
Lets keep it in perspective folks. We beat the crap out of a far inferior opponent. Now, that beings said, we usually win that game somewhere in the neighborhood of 40-21 so from that perspective it was nice to actually beat the crap out of someone, even if we were supposed to.
S.C. looks much improved on offense this year. This is going to be a very tough game for the dawgs. Murray’s first test, on the road, conference opponent. I’m trying not to bite my nails all week so i’ll have them for Saturday.
I’d feel better if we had Ealey and Green but it still wouldn’t be easy.
dawgfacedboy
September 7th, 2010
11:53 am
We have no threat of a running game. King is incapable of being the feature back and I’m not putting my hopes on Carlton Thomas (although he did look good Saturday)
Mike Bobo 17 INT
September 7th, 2010
11:54 am
Let’s see how you do in real traffic this weak. Beating the Agnes Scott Girls School does not count as a solid win, so just calm down and wait for Spurrer to take it to you.
SEC Babette
September 7th, 2010
12:00 pm
South Carolina wins by 30.
They’re not that good, but make it 10 points at least.
Phil Spector
September 7th, 2010
12:05 pm
Looked good against a high school team, USC will kill the puppies.
Call it South Carolina 27, UGAy 17.
Hobby
September 7th, 2010
12:09 pm
Since dawgtards seem to love living in the past, how about remembering the Jan Kemp trial, which exposed UGA and Vince Dooley for the jokes that they were. My favorite quote from the trial was this one:
O. Hale Almand Jr., a lawyer for the defense, offered a justification for the favorable treatment accorded the athletes, citing a hypothetical player. “We may not make a university student out of him,” he told the jury, “but if we can teach him to read and write, maybe he can work at the post office rather than as a garbageman when he gets through with his athletic career.”
The best thing about the trial was that it completely killed Vince Dooley’s shot at Congress, since he was exposed as a fraud and a cheat during the trial. Make no mistake – Dooley knew everything that was going on.
Nothing has changed in the almost three decades since the trial. If anything, the abuses are even worse. Exhibit #1: Jim Harrick and son.
Today the players are even more illiterate and felonious and, well, just plain stupid, as evidenced by their arrest records and record number of penalties. Even Vince Dooley couldn’t have controlled this mob, much less Mark Richt. And now even the most recent AD was a drunk debaucherer.
There’s a reason why UGA is known as The Cesspool of the South.
And perennial winner of the Fulmer/Richt Cup.
Mike Bobo 17 INT
September 7th, 2010
12:12 pm
I think the Dogs should open with Jax State, but then again, they are way too competitive for a program who seeks easy openers at home and gets all excited when drilling a local HS team.
Dogs have practically the easiest schedule in D-1, so if they go 8-4 or 9-3, which is the prediction, then they will continue to have that mediocre label.
After watching the quick defensive attack and offensivness explosiveness of Boise, there is no doubt that they would crush the Dogs and just about anything their path. Boise is loaded with California top-talent and the reason the UT finally quit attempting to open with Pac-10 schools…UT got tired of getting waxed in their openers.
suwaneedawg
September 7th, 2010
12:13 pm
please disregard any of my moronic musings…i am a dawg fan wantabe that likes to wear red panties
Mike Bobo 17 INT
September 7th, 2010
12:14 pm
Ditto Hobby, keep em coming!
Mike Bobo 17 INT
September 7th, 2010
12:14 pm
Suwaneedawg, anyone seen my motorcycle helmet? This program had to go to Florida to get their AD….sad…very sad.
Mike Bobo 17 INT
September 7th, 2010
12:15 pm
South Carolina by 10, easy.
Willie Martinez
September 7th, 2010
12:15 pm
Miss me yet?
You will before the end of the season….
dawgfan
September 7th, 2010
12:16 pm
I like how Caleb King and Carlton Thomas turn in the exact yards-per-carry average and Caleb scores but everyone says Carlton looked impressive and Caleb looked slow… Just shows there are folks who pick and choose who they are going to find a way to criticize no matter what.
Kirby Smart
September 7th, 2010
12:17 pm
Face it…before the season is over, you will be begging me to come back to UGA and bail you out of this mess
gss303
September 7th, 2010
12:17 pm
Its fun to see the dawgs play some defense…..
they are greatly improved……
southern miss and ULL would be a great game
dawgfan
September 7th, 2010
12:18 pm
exact *same* yards-per carry average. And the one carry C King had in the second half with his injury was ill-advised. Don’t forget runners are told where to go on certain plays AND they are only as good as the O-Line. the blocking on Saturday was NOT good.
Damon Evans
September 7th, 2010
12:19 pm
I am the one responsible for UGA’s success…I make one mistake and everyone turns on me.
DawginLex
September 7th, 2010
12:21 pm
Hey interception idiot,
Notice that florida juggernaut Saturday?
36 yards of offense in 3 quarters against a team that won 3 games in 3 years?
No Tebow=no titles.
Last time Boise ventured into Athens it was 48-13.
Get back to me when they play 9 real teams and 3 cupcakes instead of the other way around.
King Rat Roy
September 7th, 2010
12:21 pm
Elect me and I promise you that UGA will win 10 or more regular season games every year that I am your Ruler.