Sidenote: QB race rerevisited

I am completely alone. I realize that. I must be the only person who thinks that Matthew Stafford is not the second coming of Jesus Christ.
Even opposing fans are saying, "Whoa, that guy's going to be great one day." Granted I'm not a football guru, but I have yet to see what everyone else sees. But he's the starter now, so let's update:

Game Five vs Ole Miss - Another game we should have lost. Joe Cox started, but Stafford finished. I think we all knew that would happen. Also, I remember reading from some pretty smart Dawg fans that we were in real trouble for the year.

Game Six vs Tennessee - Though we were up 24-7 with about two minutes to go in the 1st half, we wound up losing 51-33. Second biggest ASS-whoopin ever laid on the Dawgs at Sanford Stadium. Joe Tereshinski started this game (back fresh from his ankle injury), however it wouldn't have mattered if Brett Favre was the QB - we just could not stop them from moving the ball. Erik Ainge had his coming out party. Matthew Stafford was given some mop up duty their at the end ( 2 of 5 for 11 yards, 1 int), but I'm not sure why. Joe T wasn't awful, but it became apparent that even his great senior leadership was not going to do special things for this team.

Game Seven vs Vanderbilt - this is the game when things stated to get ugly. Joe T started and had (again) DECENT numbers (11of 17, 151 yards, 1 TD), but lacking the ability to have sustained drives has really started to expose some weaknesses in our defense, mainly because they are out there on the field way too long. This loss must have stuck in Richt's head because he named Stafford the starter two days later.

Game Eight vs Mississippi State - Another game, more mediocre play against an inferior opponent. I guess Richt has decided to stick with Stafford from here on out. Maybe Cox is just not cutting it in practice, maybe he sees that Stafford is really going to be da bomb one day ('cause he sure ain't now), but he's it for the rest of the year. Stafford still slings the ball around (20 of 32, 267 yards, 2 TD, 3 int) and though everybody says he has a lively arm, that "gun" doesn't seem to have any control.

Game Nine vs Florida - I was lucky enough to attend this in person. I thought we would get taken to the woodshed, but it was a close game until the last minute. Stafford was 13 of 33, 151 yards and 2 INT. These are the stats of the greatest Georgia recruit since Hershel Walker. Now I will tell you that I distinctly remember Mohamed Massaquoi having one drop and Martrez Milner having THREE drops. But take those away and he's still 13 of 29. Wonderboy, huh?

Game Ten vs Kentucky - We just lost this hours ago. I'm surprised I'm not back on the wagon. Stafford was 16 of 28, 230 yards, 1 TD, 3 INT. Last year right after the SEC Championship game, Coach Richt made mention that rebuilding this year would be harder than rebuilding last year. We just didn't believe him, did we?
For the year, Stafford is 96 of 186 for 1230 yards with 4 TD's and 12 INT's. Any questions as to who's heading up the turnover brigade?

Well, it doesn't matter, Stafford is it for the rest of the year. My only hope is that playing so much this year benefits him, and by him I mean US, next year. Blake Barnes has gone awol, maybe Joe Cox will give him a run in the spring.
I just gotta say it one more time - Joe Tereshinski, III was and is a DAMN GOOD DAWG!!!

Game Twelve: Revenge of the Nerds?

November 25^th

Vs Georgia Tech

Ask a Georgia fan to say one word about the Georgia Institute of Technology and you’ll likely get one word – Nerds. Or NATS (North Avenue Trade School). Or Yechs. Ok, so there’s no shortage of names to call those guys. What makes the last few years so interesting about this in-state rivalry is not that the Dawgs have won the past five. It’s that the Nerds, er, the Yellowjackets had won the previous three before then, yet had to “vacate” the wins because they played ineligible players. So truly, the last time Tech beat us was in 1990. That was the year they won the National Champ………I’m sorry, that was the year they won the CO-National Championship.

This year the game could go either way. Seems like Coach Chan Gailey over there has figured out how to win some big games. Well actually, he’s already done that (Auburn, Miami), but now he’s figured out how not to lose the ones he shouldn’t. Tech has an all-world receiver in Calvin Johnson. Even the sorriest of quarterbacks can get the ball to this guy. He’ll be playing on Sunday next year. But their defense keeps getting better and better and better. The only reason I like the Dawgs this year is that the game is at home and we have our only open date before this game. Two weeks to heal and strategize. Or, two weeks to lay around and get stale.

I’ll tell you one thing. Georgia fans sure will miss Tech QB Reggie Ball. He’s basically GIVEN us two games and was ineffective in the other. Does being a senior allow him to finally develop his leadership on the field? Does being a senior give him the experience to not make the mistakes that he’s made in the past? Who knows, but I’d rather stick 3 guys on Calvin than 2 guys on Reggie.

Am I optimistic? Yes. But the Dawgs have lost quite a few games that they shouldn’t have because the other team wanted it more. I just feel like it’s our turn. I’m sure Tech feels like it’s their turn, too. But to quote Bernie Casey in “Revenge Of The Nerds”:

“…..but I feel that I must tell you, you have very little chance. I mean, after all……you’re nerds”