USC/UGA: My thoughts [Archive]

View Full Version : USC/UGA: My thoughts

Neo

09-10-2006, 08:22 AM

First of all, congrats to the Bulldogs for a perfectly executed game. They played a top notch game with minimal mistakes. They clearly were the better team last night and it showed. Kudos to Stafford, he is the real deal. Here are my thoughts on this game.

Bad things

Overall: We looked like a monkey trying to %$&* a football out there last night. This was the worse game I've seen since Lou Holtz's first season. There's no excuse for such offensive laziness. The offense looked so inept, it wasn't even funny. I'm still fuming about it. I figured that I would sleep on it before commenting, but apparently it hasn't done any good. How in the hell do you commit 5 fumbles? Apparently Blake Mitchell was directly responsible for two (2) of them. :angry:

Blake Mitchell: For a junior that had a great season as a soph, he looked totally dumbfounded last night. His stats may not reflect it, but he sucked and he sucked big time. He was waving that ball around like a chocolate bunny. It seemed as though he was uninspired and just didn't give a damn. If it were up to me, give another kid a chance. For the last four (4) games, Blake has played like %&*# and it doesn't seem like he's getting better. All during last night, he couldn't hit the broadside of a barn. I think his a$$ should be riding the pine and give someone else a shot. True leaders LEAD and will find a way to win.

OL: This is another joke. Some of those players which will remain nameless do not deserve a scolly. Committing two (2) back to back penalities and not being able to stop my grandma from rushing the QB is inexcusable. PERIOD!

Good things

Chris Smelley: He may be a true freshman, but he sure showed a hell of a lot more poise and leadership on that field than I've seen from Blake in two (2) years. This kid is clearly the real deal and will be a great QB in due time. He did make a couple of misreads, but that's normal for a TFR QB. Overall, very good and in my opinion he should be starting. Go ahead and give him the experience. He's earned it. (7/11 64 yards.)

Sidney Rice: Even though it was obvious that he was in pain, he still stuck it out and tried his best to play. That right there is the definition of leadership and dedication.

Syvelle Newton: Once again, living proof of leadership.

Kenny McKinley: He made some great catches against a good UGA defensive backfield.

Cory Boyd: He almost accounted for 100 total yards by himself.

Ryan Succop: Another good day for special teams. He averaged 42.3 yards per punt yesterday, but missed a 51 yard FG.

In closing, once again the UGA faithful proved they were the better team last night and I will be the first one to say it....

Bench Mitchell, play Smelley. Bench Thind, play Anderson or Eckerson.

Neo

09-10-2006, 08:31 AM

GamecockDieHard

09-10-2006, 08:48 AM

Agreed, except I think the OL was sufficient for a quality QB to make some plays. Our receivers were open on occasion but Mitchell couldn't execute. The QB position is where it all starts...to happen or to fail. We've got players in the offense, just no one to run the offense.

GAMECOCKBOY

09-10-2006, 08:49 AM

well spurrier will announce changes this week we will see what will happen...

GAMECOCKBOY

09-10-2006, 08:51 AM

GatorNation

09-10-2006, 09:00 AM

One last thing...

Defense: The defense played their hearts out last night. They held a Top-10 team to 18 points and had many good ol' fashioned stops. They also got 3 INTS and what did the offense do? NOTHING! Kudos to the defense. They played with their hearts and gave it their all.

Georgia is running their offense with a true freshman at QB. USCE's defense obviously has talent and some speed, but I think cock fans need to realize that uga isn't going to have a world-class passing attack just yet. And we'll all agree it's easier to play defense when your opponent is more one dimensional than not....

GAMECOCKBOY

09-10-2006, 09:03 AM

GamecockDieHard

09-10-2006, 09:18 AM

Georgia is running their offense with a true freshman at QB. USCE's defense obviously has talent and some speed, but I think cock fans need to realize that uga isn't going to have a world-class passing attack just yet. And we'll all agree it's easier to play defense when your opponent is more one dimensional than not....

I disagree. Stafford was anything but one dimensional. Granted he threw a few int, but that doesn't qualify as one dimensional. I haven't seen the stats, but he mixed it up pretty good. And any time a QB is throwing as much as they're running, a defense has to cover everyone. He doesn't have a "world-class passing attack" yet, but you still have to cover. One dimensional offenses have significantly more runs v. passes or vice versa.

GatorNation

09-10-2006, 10:00 AM

I disagree. Stafford was anything but one dimensional. Granted he threw a few int, but that doesn't qualify as one dimensional. I haven't seen the stats, but he mixed it up pretty good. And any time a QB is throwing as much as they're running, a defense has to cover everyone. He doesn't have a "world-class passing attack" yet, but you still have to cover. One dimensional offenses have significantly more runs v. passes or vice versa.

Well, I meant one dimensional in the sense that the passing game isn't going to be a true threat with a freshman running the show. The system won't be one dimensional, but the effectiveness of such a balanced attack will be mitigated because of inexperience, among other things.....thus the picks, etc.

Teams will have to cover, sure.....teams won't be able to put 10 in the box on every play, but uga isn't going to win games in the air if their running game is shut down.

Not yet, at least.

Georgia must have success running the ball to make things manageable for a true frosh like Mustain. And in that sense, they're one dimensional.

shanksta13

09-10-2006, 10:02 AM

OL: This is another joke. Some of those players which will remain nameless do not deserve a scolly. Committing two (2) back to back penalities and not being able to stop my grandma from rushing the QB is inexcusable. PERIOD!

Well I'm not sure I would compare Charles Johnson and Quentin Moses to your grandma, but then again I've never met her! :biggrin:

I agree with the rest of your analysis, though. Mitchell does not seem like the guy to be running yalls offense. Too many stupid mistakes. The QB sneak on 4th was a bad call and he wouldn't have made it anyway, so the fumble really didn't matter. But I definitely changed my opinion of him after he rushed for nearly 20 yards on 3rd down and decided not to slide, instead fumbling the ball away. With everything that Spurrier has said about wholesale changes, I wouldn't be surprised at all to see Smelley get the nod next week.

scfan5338

09-10-2006, 10:19 AM

Bench Mitchell, play Smelley. Bench Thind, play Anderson or Eckerson.

exactly what I think. Thind sucks period. One of the freshmen will be better than him. Smelley looked good later in the game but obviously UGA's defense was playing all out towards the end. But if we are going to lose, we are going to lose with freshmen.

hmsdawgs

09-10-2006, 10:58 AM

Neo...good analysis and pretty much right on. I was at the game last night and the USC offense looked pretty pathetic with Mitchell at the helm. I doubt he will be the starter for much longer.

From a UGA fan's perspective I think we are building on something that could be pretty dang good the next few years. Stafford definitely has the ability to play a great game. He threw some picks but being on the road in a hostile environment you can expect some mistakes. Our running game looked very good. D. Ware is definitely having a great start to the season and our O-Line played very well considering some suspensions and benched players.

Our D was definitely the cream of the crop last night. True, Mitchell looked out of whack last night, but credit a good defense and a very good young secondary and line backer corp.

Hopefully we can keep the momentum going into the UT game...and you never know with spurrier, he may just find the missing link in the Offense before the cocks have to face UT and UF later in the year.

NineInchCock

09-10-2006, 11:04 AM

Bad things

Overall: We looked like a monkey trying to %$&* a football out there last night. This was the worse game I've seen since Lou Holtz's first season. There's no excuse for such offensive laziness. The offense looked so inept, it wasn't even funny. I'm still fuming about it. I figured that I would sleep on it before commenting, but apparently it hasn't done any good. How in the hell do you commit 5 fumbles? Apparently Blake Mitchell was directly responsible for two (2) of them. :angry:

My feelings exactly. SOS even deserves blame for some bad playcalling. What the hell was he thinking by pitching the ball back to Davis in the endzone? Or better yet, what about a QB Sneak with skinny-ass Blake Mitchell with 1-yard to go? Everything that could have went wrong on offense, went wrong...

Blake Mitchell: For a junior that had a great season as a soph, he looked totally dumbfounded last night. His stats may not reflect it, but he sucked and he sucked big time. He was waving that ball around like a chocolate bunny. It seemed as though he was uninspired and just didn't give a damn. If it were up to me, give another kid a chance. For the last four (4) games, Blake has played like %&*# and it doesn't seem like he's getting better. All during last night, he couldn't hit the broadside of a barn. I think his a$$ should be riding the pine and give someone else a shot. True leaders LEAD and will find a way to win.

Blake was, unforunately for us, crap last night. I don't understand how he made the Elite 11 QB group and such. I really was a fan of Blake in the preseason, and thought he would be better this season, but I'm apparently wrong. He checks off and releases the ball waaaaaaaaaay too slow, and that is clearly what seperates him from Smelley. For one positive note, he showed some good poise during one drive the entire game, and made some good passes during that drive, but other than that, he was pretty pitiful.

OL: This is another joke. Some of those players which will remain nameless do not deserve a scolly. Committing two (2) back to back penalities and not being able to stop my grandma from rushing the QB is inexcusable. PERIOD!

I disagree with you on this one. I thought the pass protection was much, much better from the MSU game, and Blake clearly had some time to throw this time around. However, what the OL didn't do was open up lanes for Davis and Boyd, and we had absolutely no rushing game as a result. Georgia didn't have to stack up the DL to stop our rushing game, and as a result, Blake sucked it up in the passing game. The penalties and snap over the head are inexcusable as well.

Chris Smelley: He may be a true freshman, but he sure showed a hell of a lot more poise and leadership on that field than I've seen from Blake in two (2) years. This kid is clearly the real deal and will be a great QB in due time. He did make a couple of misreads, but that's normal for a TFR QB. Overall, very good and in my opinion he should be starting. Go ahead and give him the experience. He's earned it. (7/11 64 yards.)

I'm kinda sketchy on this. The team seemed much, much more responsive with him in, and his passses were more crisp and his check-offs lightyears fasters than Blakes. However, almost all of his passes came from short screens to Newton, and Newton definately made the best of them. The misread in the endzone was fine IMO... he's a true freshman, and that will get better in the future with SOS. It wouldn't hurt to go ahead and start him for the Wofford game and let him get some major experience under his belt... not to mention Mitchell bruised his throwing hand against UGA. The bottomline is, the only thing holding Smelley back from the starting spot is the knowledge of the playbook, and while Blake will probably start most the games the rest of the season because of that one factor, Smelley will take the reigns in 2007. You heard it here first.

Sidney Rice: Even though it was obvious that he was in pain, he still stuck it out and tried his best to play. That right there is the definition of leadership and dedication.

Totally agree. And better yet, just throw the ball to him from now on. Who cares if it's triple coverage... he's good enough to come down with it regardless in the endzone, and with leadership he's displaying, he deserves more than he's getting right now.

Syvelle Newton: Once again, living proof of leadership.

I'm not going to the extent I did with Rice, but Newton deserves the ball more as well. Great senior leadership, and he seemed to be a lot more excited to Smelley in at QB... for an obvious reason of course.

Kenny McKinley: He made some great catches against a good UGA defensive backfield.

He's reminding me a lot of Rice last year, which of course in itself is a huge compliment. He makes incredible catches in the stride. With the way everything's going right now, he'll be this season's leading receiver.

Cory Boyd: He almost accounted for 100 total yards by himself.

Disagree. 9 carries, 17 yards is pitiful. Davis actually did better technically (6 carries, 17 yards), but it's very clear our running game is overrated from the preseason. Unfortunately, most of this is due in part because of extremely poor run blocking by the OL.

Ryan Succop: Another good day for special teams. He averaged 42.3 yards per punt yesterday, but missed a 51 yard FG.

It was a 51 yard FG, but he had the distance to make it from the 60. We finally have a real FG kicker in Succop. Sure, he missed the FG, but he is the LAST person that deserves any blame for this loss at all.

Bench Mitchell, play Smelley. Bench Thind, play Anderson or Eckerson.

Smelley will see his time against Wofford simply because Blake has a bruised hand. I wouldn't be too quick to call for Blake's head for the rest of the season since he clearly knows the playbook better than Smelley, and it'll actually limit our passing attack... which is an extremely bad thing with the way our running game has turned out. When Smelley gets the knowledge of the playbook down though, he'll start.

As for Thind, I have to honestly say he didn't play all that bad. Moses was quiet the entire night, and he held his own against him I believe. I thought this was one of the very few bright spots of the game last night. The other DE, however, had some pretty good stats, and we didn't do a wonderful job of containing him, but the running game and Blake killed us this game... not the pass blocking. Of course, I'd be absolutely thrilled with the idea of Anderson starting, since I personally went to school with Garrett and we're pretty good aquanetinces!

Another note: Where the hell was the crowd last night? I thought they were extremely lackluster, and I was very dissapointed. UGA had to put in a true freshman QB for Christ's Sake, and it got so quiet in WB at times you could hear a pin drop. I know there wasn't much to cheer about, but we should have made it more difficult for him... plain and simple.

On a final note, I'd like to say that UGA was clearly the better team last night, and even if we got the right breaks with the refs and such, I just don't think it was meant to be for us to win the football game. Dawgs... you have a hell of a QB in Stafford in the future, and while he didn't have the best game in the world last night, he'll only get better as the time goes on, and he'll be a canidate for the All-SEC team in due time.

End Rant...

Georgiadogs2009

09-10-2006, 04:29 PM

Georgia must have success running the ball to make things manageable for a true frosh like Mustain. And in that sense, they're one dimensional.Mitch Mustain went to Arkansas I believe. Matt Stafford is UGA's true freshmen QB.

And I disagree that UGA is one-dimensional. UGA has a four good backs(Ware, Brown, Lumpkin, and the FB Southerland), and the passing game is still pretty good even with a true-freshmen behind center. If the recievers would just catch the ball...

UGA will never beat teams like Florida or Auburn, when Martrez Milner is dropping passes in the endzone. I think that if Stafford does become the starter, he will gain confidence and learn what passes he should try to make and what passes he should throw away. It's a learning experience.

shanksta13

09-10-2006, 04:33 PM

Dmldawg782

09-10-2006, 04:37 PM

Good game by UGA. We made a lot of mistakes, but our "D" was there to keep them from turning into points. Stafford looked good at times, but made some dumb freshman mistakes. He does have poise, that crowd had no effect on him. He is only going to get better. He runs better that I thought he would. Those two scrambles and what a gutsy call by Richt on the snek up the middle from the goaline. That was awesome.

USC OL needs a lot of work. 75 is a joke. Spurrier made a lot of changes specifically to help the OL, with shorter drops and screen passes. You can't blame Mitchell for that. Spurrier calls the plays. Some of the calls really baffled me. Mitchell does lack the fire you want in a leader. He is really shaky with his confidence. Wokring under Spurrier can do that I guess. I still don't think you can pin everything not working on Mitchell. It takes all 11 out there to make something happen. He didn't have a lot of time. Our DE's were camped out in the backfield all night even though we didn't get a lot of sacks.

Your run "D" still needs work. We ran it easily.

Enjoyed the game. I'd love to be a member of that other Gamecock Website. They were talking a lot of trash leading up to this game.

I didn't think we pitch a shutout, but it was a typical slugfest between UGA and USC. Enjoyed it. Good luck Cocks on the rest of the season.

GamecockDieHard

09-10-2006, 04:51 PM

GatorNation

09-10-2006, 04:55 PM

Mitch Mustain went to Arkansas I believe. Matt Stafford is UGA's true freshmen QB.

And I disagree that UGA is one-dimensional. UGA has a four good backs(Ware, Brown, Lumpkin, and the FB Southerland), and the passing game is still pretty good even with a true-freshmen behind center. If the recievers would just catch the ball...

UGA will never beat teams like Florida or Auburn, when Martrez Milner is dropping passes in the endzone. I think that if Stafford does become the starter, he will gain confidence and learn what passes he should try to make and what passes he should throw away. It's a learning experience.

Yes....Stafford. I don't know why I keep mixing them up....

I agree with your post; I just think STAFFORD, as a true freshman, needs the run to set up the pass more than, say, Shockley or JT3. If teams can stop the run out of their base package, not blitzing or loading the box, then things will be more difficult for MS in the passing game.

It's that "necessity" for the success of the running game that I use as a synonym for "one dimensionality."

GamecockDieHard

09-10-2006, 05:38 PM

Well, I meant one dimensional in the sense that the passing game isn't going to be a true threat with a freshman running the show. The system won't be one dimensional, but the effectiveness of such a balanced attack will be mitigated because of inexperience, among other things.....thus the picks, etc.

Teams will have to cover, sure.....teams won't be able to put 10 in the box on every play, but uga isn't going to win games in the air if their running game is shut down.

Not yet, at least.

Georgia must have success running the ball to make things manageable for a true frosh like Mustain. And in that sense, they're one dimensional.

Come on GN, admit it. You were dis'ing our D. "Cock fans "need to realize???" Let's be honest, we played horribly, no doubt about it, but I don't think you can say we had any idea what a true FR QB would or could do?? Especially one as highly rated as Stafford. I think you're just projecting what you HOPE is true regarding a future head to head you'll have with Georgia. That's understandable, but you don't have to put us down to build yourself up, IMO.

Georgia is running their offense with a true freshman at QB. USCE's defense obviously has talent and some speed, but I think cock fans need to realize that uga isn't going to have a world-class passing attack just yet. And we'll all agree it's easier to play defense when your opponent is more one dimensional than not....

OmahaBound

09-10-2006, 05:45 PM

My thoughts on last night? Those new ribbon-boards are SWEET! I was too entertained by all the pretty colors to pay attention to the game. How'd it go?

OmahaBound

09-10-2006, 05:57 PM

Mitchell and Smelley for that matter, can be faulted for missing Jared Cook, wide open and TD bound. They missed him. Mitchell missed alot more than that. He threw awful passes most of the time even when they were caught. He had time, he just didn't make the right decision nor did he make the pass. That's not the coaches fault.

Yeah, Mitchell was pretty terrible last night, but he did have one of the coolest passes I've ever witnessed live. He threw it to the left of a Georgia DB when Kenny was a good 4 yards to the right of said defender. I know this play happens all the time, but from my angle it looked incredibly impressive. Kenny disappeard behind the DB then showed up to the DB's left to catch the ball for a simple 10 yd gain.

That being said, Blake is incredibly timid and I have changed my tune on the Smelley situation. I thought it was crazy for people to be calling for Smelley so quickly, but I think it's in the best interest of the '08 Gamecocks to get him on the field now...unless someone can give us some unknown reason for Blake's timidity out there. UGa's line is something to fear....but our O-line was improved last night and Blake had a lot more time this week.

pc72687

09-10-2006, 06:31 PM

I don't think it was as bad as everyone said it was. The offense moved the ball well at times and if they can execute the plays when they get into the red zone we could have had as many as 21 points.

shanksta13

09-10-2006, 06:33 PM

I don't think it was as bad as everyone said it was. The offense moved the ball well at times and if they can execute the plays when they get into the red zone we could have had as many as 21 points.

I thought the same thing, but after seeing how some of the Gamecock fans got nailed for pointing it out, I decided I would just keep that to myself.

OmahaBound

09-10-2006, 06:51 PM

I don't think it was as bad as everyone said it was. The offense moved the ball well at times and if they can execute the plays when they get into the red zone we could have had as many as 21 points.

I agree, it wasn't as bad as most are making it out to be and I'm sure my post was a little exaggerated as well. I still think Blake looked very uncomfortable back there no matter how much protection he was given and there were only 2 or 3 passes I can remember saying, "that was a nice pass" after. That's why I would not mind a QB change at this point. I just don't see any improvement from Blake at this point so I don't really expect it at this point either. The one thing that I would hope to see in the future is more shotgun formations just give any of the QBs a little more comfort back there.

Quick question....did Blake really fumble the ball or was he down? I know the officials reviewed the call but being at the game there's really no way for me to know whether it was just hard to tell and therefore they couldn't overturn it or if he clearly fumbled. From the replays at the stadium it looked like he was down.

GatorNation

09-10-2006, 09:40 PM

Come on GN, admit it. You were dis'ing our D. "Cock fans "need to realize???" Let's be honest, we played horribly, no doubt about it, but I don't think you can say we had any idea what a true FR QB would or could do?? Especially one as highly rated as Stafford. I think you're just projecting what you HOPE is true regarding a future head to head you'll have with Georgia. That's understandable, but you don't have to put us down to build yourself up, IMO.

Georgia is running their offense with a true freshman at QB. USCE's defense obviously has talent and some speed, but I think cock fans need to realizeAnd we'll all agree it's easier to play defense when your opponent is more one dimensional than not.... that uga isn't going to have a world-class passing attack just yet.

I don't think I put you down any more than some of your own fans have since yesterday...even if that's what I intended, which I didn't.

Anyway, I just called it like I saw it. We're all down on true freshmen QBs in the big, bad SEC.....the learning curve is too steep, top-flight speed and all that. It takes time to adjust. SO, if a team gives up the running game to uga, it's going to be easier for Stafford to have early success in the passing game: play-action will work better, more man-free coverage in order to pay more attention to the run, etc. It loosens things up for him. Stafford won't yet be able to beat teams in the air and bail out a stalled running game. If you stop the run, you greatly increase his level of difficulty. You didn't stop the run (5.1 ypr), and that allowed uga to use a more balanced attack. Funny thing is: Stafford STILL turned it over.

That was the whole point.

OleMissPike

09-10-2006, 09:44 PM

We looked like a monkey trying to %$&* a football out there last night.

Never heard that one before, but I like it

pc72687

09-11-2006, 09:14 AM

From what I saw it seemed that Blake was stopped and tossed the ball hoping a gamecock player would jump on it.

shanksta13

09-11-2006, 09:19 AM

On the goalline one it looked more like he was trying to stretch the ball across and his arms got hit at around the elbows, loosening his grip on the ball. It didn't look like he tried to do it to me. If he did that's just one more reason he shouldn't start. That's a huge mental mistake, unless he just didn't know the rule. I knew exactly what they called when the Gamebock player landed on the ball.

bullittmcqueen

09-11-2006, 09:24 AM

From what I saw it seemed that Blake was stopped and tossed the ball hoping a gamecock player would jump on it.

he should know (as a college football player) that is an illegal play and results in Georgia getting the ball.....

pc72687

09-11-2006, 09:29 AM

Blake Mitchell isn't really a college player to me. I just have never been impressed by him. He seems to force it way too often and it goes unnoticed because Rice is all world and makes the catch. I'm tired of seeing a player in double coverage make the catch when there is another wide open somewhere else on the field. I know I am being an arm chair QB but I feel the only reason Mitchell is starting is because the others are so young that they make more mistakes overall. Blake is a redshirt junior, the next closest in age is a reshirt freshman. I don't think he'll start next year.

roosterbooster

09-11-2006, 09:45 AM

exactly what I think. Thind sucks period. One of the freshmen will be better than him. Smelley looked good later in the game but obviously UGA's defense was playing all out towards the end. But if we are going to lose, we are going to lose with freshmen.

Thind showed a lot of improvement from 1st half to second half and MSU and I thought he had a solid performance against some good UGA athletes. Did you see what happened when Sorenson came in. I thought Thind showed improvement.

OmahaBound

09-11-2006, 09:53 AM

From what I saw it seemed that Blake was stopped and tossed the ball hoping a gamecock player would jump on it.

i was actually referring to his fumble after the 18 yd run....but thanks for responding anyway. any thoughts on that one?

SPURED

09-11-2006, 10:21 AM

i was actually referring to his fumble after the 18 yd run....but thanks for responding anyway. any thoughts on that one?
he fumbled it. they got the call right. but mitchell just lacks something. i just dont think he is smart enough to carry us to the next level. he makes the same mistakes every game and nothing changes. we need Bigger Dlinemen. they are too small and get pushed around way to easily. Losing our best in Hall for the season isnt going to help any. :brick: however i do think our D is very good, we have only given up 1 touchdown in two games. that is pretty impressive considering they were on the field ALL night against UGA. this was a very ugly game on our part and i sure hope Spurrier can make the right changes or we are going to be in trouble the rest of the year.

pc72687

09-11-2006, 06:59 PM

I was told by the person behind me (who was on the cell phone with someone watching it at home) that the ESPN footage showed it was a fumble plain and simple. The jumbo tron had a bad angle.

shanksta13

09-11-2006, 07:03 PM

I was told by the person behind me (who was on the cell phone with someone watching it at home) that the ESPN footage showed it was a fumble plain and simple. The jumbo tron had a bad angle.

Even on ESPN it was tough to tell. It looked like the officials made a good call, but had they not called it a fumble I don't think it would have been overruled.

bullittmcqueen

09-11-2006, 08:25 PM

it was a fumble, which could have easily have been avoided by the QB sliding. i know college QB's dont realize this as much as pro QB's (minus mike vick) do

geechee

09-11-2006, 09:13 PM

I think that if Stafford does become the starter, he will gain confidence and learn what passes he should try to make and what passes he should throw away. It's a learning experience.

There is no if about it. Richt left Stafford in the entire game, even when the outcome was no longer in doubt, that speaks volumes. Richt wanted him to get all the downs he could because he has obviously made up his mind that Stafford is the guy from here on. There has never been any doubt that Richt was going to turn it all over to him at some point in the season. Fate stepped in and forced Richt's hand a little earlier than expected. It is Stafford's job to lose from here on but the kid ain't gonna lose it. 2 of his 3 INTs were insignificant in Richt's eyes. He will only get better from here on now that he is will be practicing with the first string.

GO DOGS!!!!

Chief Broom

09-12-2006, 09:05 AM

From the Athens paper:
COLUMBIA, S.C. - Mixed in between the political conjecture and the cocktails, the chatter percolating among some South Carolina pre-game revelers early Saturday was the Gamecocks' reasonable chances of winning the SEC East.

The sober reality - as Georgia proved in its 18-0 win hours later - is that reaching the SEC title game is still a far-fetched notion for a program with just three bowl wins in its long history.

The talent disparity between South Carolina and the rest of the SEC's elite teams (Tennessee, Florida, Georgia, Auburn, LSU) is as wide as ever. The Gamecocks have Sidney Rice, whose all-around talents are as good as anybody. But the marquee teams each have five or six Rice-like players.

It's no secret that it goes back to recruiting, which in a state like South Carolina is more difficult than finding a trash bin outside of Williams-Brice Stadium.

The state is small and not only does Clemson battle South Carolina for the state's best, Georgia, Florida, Florida State and the North Carolina schools pluck some of the top talent. It's been that way for a while now.

This situation is much different for coach Steve Spurrier. At Florida, he had top-flight recruits galore at his disposal, and even coaxed a few top guys out of South Georgia. At South Carolina, he's lucky if he can land one five-star player within the state.

Spurrier was furious following Saturday night's loss to Georgia, which was the first time he'd been shut out in 193 games dating to 1987 during his first year at Duke. Two years into this gig, Spurrier must realize that matching Florida, Tennessee and Georgia in the East, at least for more than a couple of consecutive seasons, is a task wrought with little chance of success.

If he doesn't know that, maybe he's had one too many cocktails.

Neo

09-12-2006, 09:58 AM

This is a post that's just trying to flame. That's all, but since he posted it, lets analyze it for a moment.....

From the Athens paper:
COLUMBIA, S.C. - Mixed in between the political conjecture and the cocktails, the chatter percolating among some South Carolina pre-game revelers early Saturday was the Gamecocks' reasonable chances of winning the SEC East.

We lost to a Top-10 team in the nation. That doesn't exactly eliminate us from contention, but it doesn't help. If I remember correctly, UGA needed us to beat Florida last year so they could win the SEC east. Remind me again what place did USC finish last year? :whistle:

The sober reality - as Georgia proved in its 18-0 win hours later - is that reaching the SEC title game is still a far-fetched notion for a program with just three bowl wins in its long history.

See above response. Remember, last year was Spurrier's first year also.

The talent disparity between South Carolina and the rest of the SEC's elite teams (Tennessee, Florida, Georgia, Auburn, LSU) is as wide as ever. The Gamecocks have Sidney Rice, whose all-around talents are as good as anybody. But the marquee teams each have five or six Rice-like players.

Once again an opinion and not fact. One upset you could argue, but to upset Tennessee and Florida in the same year and win 6 straight SEC games is NOT a fluke no matter how much you spin it. I don't feel that there's a talent "disparity", I think it is hinged on experience. Then you have to factor in the four (4) straight Top-25 recruiting classes.

It's no secret that it goes back to recruiting, which in a state like South Carolina is more difficult than finding a trash bin outside of Williams-Brice Stadium.

Really? Well that's news to me. According to Rivals.com, we've recruited the following top-tier players from SC....

2007:
#15 4-Star TB Brian Maddox/Anderson, SC
#5 4-Star OL Quintin Richardson/Columbia, SC (RivalsTop100)

#3 5-Star CB Gary Gray/Columbia, SC (RivalsTop100) (We're in his Top-2)

2006:
#8 4-Star OL Garrett Anderson/Irmo, SC (RivalsTop250)
#56 3-Star WR Moe Brown/Anderson, SC
#19 3-Star LB Rodney Paulk/Columbia, SC

2005:
NR 4-Star JUCO DB Brandon Isaac/Blackville, SC

2004:
NR 3-Star JUCO DB Johnathan Joseph/Rock Hill, SC (1st rd. NFL Pick)
#32 3-Star ATH Kendrick Lynch/Spartanburg, SC

2003:
#5 4-Star WR/QB Syvelle Newton/Marlboro, SC
#3 5-Star Demetris Summers/Lexington, SC (RivalsTop100)

All schools are going to recruit nationwide. As I have shown you, it's not like USC doesn't get their fair share of South Carolina players. Now keep in mind, the list above is listed at 3-Stars or better and/or are ranked nationally. The trend of keeping talent instate is actually getting better. Hell, UGA can't even keep their talent instate, so what are you jumping on us for the same thing?

The state is small and not only does Clemson battle South Carolina for the state's best, Georgia, Florida, Florida State and the North Carolina schools pluck some of the top talent. It's been that way for a while now.

See this is where your judgement gets cloudy. From day one, Spurrier has said that his recruiting would focus on the states of GA, FL, AL, TN and NC. He said he would pick a few here and there from SC, but he has more recruiting channels open in those other states. I'm still wondering what NC schools you're referring to about plucking SC talent???? :unsure:

This situation is much different for coach Steve Spurrier. At Florida, he had top-flight recruits galore at his disposal, and even coaxed a few top guys out of South Georgia. At South Carolina, he's lucky if he can land one five-star player within the state.

There aren't that many 5-Star players here in SC this year smart-guy. The only one that I'm aware of is Gary Gray and we're in his Top-2.

Spurrier was furious following Saturday night's loss to Georgia, which was the first time he'd been shut out in 193 games dating to 1987 during his first year at Duke. Two years into this gig, Spurrier must realize that matching Florida, Tennessee and Georgia in the East, at least for more than a couple of consecutive seasons, is a task wrought with little chance of success.

Tell that to Tennessee, Florida and the other teams we beat last year. They will tell you that when we're prepared, we can play with the best of them. We don't know what can happen for the rest of this season. We started off 0-3 in the SEC last year and look where it got us.....2nd in the SEC East.

If he doesn't know that, maybe he's had one too many cocktails.

Maybe you have because you're the only one that can't see the writing on the wall. To automatically count us out because of one loss is insane. Now with that, consider yourself.....

http://img78.imageshack.us/img78/4250/mjisnotonlythekingofpopownedjpgjd2.th.jpg (http://img78.imageshack.us/my.php?image=mjisnotonlythekingofpopownedjpgjd2.jp g)

Chief Broom

09-12-2006, 10:50 AM

Look closer, as indicated this is part of a column from the Athens GA newspaper. The smart guy is John Kaltefleiter.

Neo

09-12-2006, 10:53 AM

Look closer, as indicated this is part of a column from the Athens GA newspaper. The smart guy is John Kaltefleiter.

I know who wrote it and I think anyone with half a brain can figure out what you were trying to say/imply. :unsure:

Wizard of Orange

09-12-2006, 11:12 AM

GAMECOCK_FAN

09-12-2006, 11:18 AM

Good win , Georgia.

And SC actually played a better game than I thought they would coming in.

I was at the UT game, so I didn't get to watch any GA-SC. QUESTION: How did Joe T look when he was in there? How would it have affected the game had he stayed? Opinions?
If I remember correctly, Joe T. was only in for one series. He wasn't in long enough to come to any conclusions on how he did.

As far as how the game would have been affected if he had been there the entire game instead of Stafford, I won't even speculate. When a team scores 0 points in an entire game, that team will go home with an L, regardless of whether Stafford, Tereshinski, or Gomer Pyle was the opposing team's QB.

ColonelKurtz

09-12-2006, 11:22 AM

Neo........that's a hack piece from the get-go. You should email the author with your rebuttal as I'd love to hear his reply.

Yea, you and I have our different views and such, but calling a rock a rock ain't one of them. Sadly, there is a portion of our fanbase who intake such stuff and just like the automatons who believe all they read, won't bother with the "trust..but verify" part of it.

From the Athens paper:.......your
COLUMBIA, S.C. - Mixed in between the political conjecture and the cocktails, the chatter percolating among some South Carolina pre-game revelers early Saturday was the Gamecocks' reasonable chances of winning the SEC East.

A reasonable assessment of partisan thought pre-game. I would think few in attendance from either side would have discounted their chances regardless.

The sober reality - as Georgia proved in its 18-0 win hours later - is that reaching the SEC title game is still a far-fetched notion for a program with just three bowl wins in its long history.

You and I and many others watched it. Though I think SC is too young in the trenches yet, anything can happen over the next 10 games. Never say never until all the games have been played.

The talent disparity between South Carolina and the rest of the SEC's elite teams (Tennessee, Florida, Georgia, Auburn, LSU) is as wide as ever. The Gamecocks have Sidney Rice, whose all-around talents are as good as anybody. But the marquee teams each have five or six Rice-like players

Since Spurrier has only had one class of his own thusfar (and he wasn't on board to oversee the whole process) and which was a Top 20 ranked bunch (I think), the assembly of 3 star or better guys as a majority of the roster is still several classes away quite honestly. As far as top shelf guys go, I still think SC can stand toe to toe with its skill guys, not a jabrone among them in my view. I wouldn't agree that UGA has any more assumed star power either, jmho.

It's no secret that it goes back to recruiting, which in a state like South Carolina is more difficult than finding a trash bin outside of Williams-Brice Stadium.

The state is small and not only does Clemson battle South Carolina for the state's best, Georgia, Florida, Florida State and the North Carolina schools pluck some of the top talent. It's been that way for a while now.

This situation is much different for coach Steve Spurrier. At Florida, he had top-flight recruits galore at his disposal, and even coaxed a few top guys out of South Georgia. At South Carolina, he's lucky if he can land one five-star player within the state.

This was mean spirited and not well considered. Can't go there since SOS is really just getting things started. While true that others raid the State's talent, as the new culture takes hold, that will change bigtime. And as you stated, SOS isn't going to be restricting his search for the guys he needs to accomplish his goals, there are simply too many available to not succeed.

Spurrier was furious following Saturday night's loss to Georgia, which was the first time he'd been shut out in 193 games dating to 1987 during his first year at Duke. Two years into this gig, Spurrier must realize that matching Florida, Tennessee and Georgia in the East, at least for more than a couple of consecutive seasons, is a task wrought with little chance of success.

If he doesn't know that, maybe he's had one too many cocktails.

Hell, the guy's not interested in anything but winning, I'd have been hacked off too. I'm surprised he was able to hold back, I might not have the self control he has. The author makes a silly supposition, for if anyone knows the state of affairs, it is Steve Spurrier. You rightfully pointed it out.

Hack local piece for the joyous Athenians who read it, but a hack piece just the same.

azamugg

09-12-2006, 11:52 AM

First of all, congrats to the Bulldogs for a perfectly executed game. They played a top notch game with minimal mistakes. [/B][/SIZE]

you certainly have the right to be disappointed in your gamecocks, as I wish the Tide was performing at a higher level but to say the Bulldogs played a perfectly executed game w/minimal mistakes is crazy........they frankly didn't play well at all, just 18 points better than you guys. They showed some promise, Stafford is the real deal but he gave you the ball three times via interceptions.

blues_cap

09-12-2006, 12:01 PM

you certainly have the right to be disappointed in your gamecocks, as I wish the Tide was performing at a higher level but to say the Bulldogs played a perfectly executed game w/minimal mistakes is crazy........they frankly didn't play well at all, just 18 points better than you guys. They showed some promise, Stafford is the real deal but he gave you the ball three times via interceptions.

i wasnt going to be the one who ruffled the feathers, but i was wondering what the definition of a "perfectly executed game w/minimal mistakes" is??

i wouldnt call 3 interceptions and 6 penalties "perfect", but to each his own.... :whistle:

pc72687

09-12-2006, 01:46 PM

Stafford made some freshman mistakes that in time he won't make.

azamugg

09-12-2006, 01:57 PM

Stafford made some freshman mistakes that in time he won't make.

thank you Nostradamus

Wizard of Orange

09-12-2006, 02:06 PM

.... and I see whiskers growing on his chin ...all in due time, my son.

blues_cap

09-12-2006, 02:09 PM

Stafford made some freshman mistakes that in time he won't make.

hence, the "game was not executed perfectly" posts.

Chief Broom

09-12-2006, 02:29 PM

Gee NEMO I really get under your skin don't I. Maybe you should see that as part of the downside for all of the pre-season crowing.

I don't think the UGA looked very good Saturday night. The D played very well probably due in part from Erk Russell inspiration. I hope our younger D-backs improve. Recievers were getting open but still dropped catchable balls. MoMAss quit on a couple of long routes that Stafford had enough arm for. The running game was solid but Brown needs to break more tackles.

I agree with the writer as far as where the USC program is but I think there is a better chance of it getting upgraded than he does. Recruiting is the key and its not just the number of 5-4-3 star recruits but the quality of the bulk of the classes. That is where the big gap is.

I actually disagree with the writer on this "The talent disparity between South Carolina and the rest of the SEC's elite teams (Tennessee, Florida, Georgia, Auburn, LSU) is as wide as ever. The Gamecocks have Sidney Rice, whose all-around talents are as good as anybody. But the marquee teams each have five or six Rice-like players"

I would add Newton and Bennett to the mix and say that SC has three marqee players this year. The problem is the big drop off from there. You've got two backs good enough to play in the conference and a decent QB but oustide the center the OL is not SEC quality. On Defense most are SEC caliber players but quite a few should have a couple more years of developing before they are starters.

Last year you got by the worst TN team in a generation and pulled off a big upset of FL. This year you guys need to worry about ARK, Kentucky and Vandy so you can go to a bowl. If you don't win two out of those three and/or get blown out by the remaining big four teams (TN, FL, Auburn, Clem) recruiting will suffer dramatically.

As for UGA Stafford might cost us a couple of games this year. I was hoping that JoeT would start all year with Stafford and/or Cox getting lots of reps in games. Starting out, I considered it optimistic for UGA to win three out of the big four (TN, FL, Auburn and Tech) now I hope we can go .500 with them and not get upset by one of the other six (particularly Ol Miss or UAB). The Dawgs still have a shot at the east and the conference but they will have to get better and stay healthy over the next three weeks. Like Dylan says;" time will tell who is right and who is wrong and who gets left behind"

Trinity

09-12-2006, 02:32 PM

Just keep swimming....just keep swimming......Don't fall offf that broom of yours....Long drop! :laugh:

azamugg

09-12-2006, 02:48 PM

Just keep swimming....just keep swimming......Don't fall offf that broom of yours....Long drop! :laugh:

incoherent babbling

blues_cap

09-12-2006, 04:04 PM

incoherent babbling

:yelrotflm :yelrotflm

pc72687

09-13-2006, 11:56 AM

thank you Nostradamus

Glad I could help out. You have to write it in crayon for some people I guess.

SPURED

09-13-2006, 03:52 PM

2 of those INT's Stafford threw werent really bad plays. they were just like a punt on 3rd down.

geechee

09-13-2006, 03:57 PM

Like Dylan says;" time will tell who is right and who is wrong and who gets left behind"

Don't need time to tell me anything. Freshman or not, Stafford is the Dogs' best hope at success this season. He will get better each and every week. This week he will get the most time in practice with the first team and that will begin to show. He has the best teacher a QB could hope for and if Richt is confident with Stafford in the game, so am I.
GO DOGS!!!!

Georgiadogs2009

09-13-2006, 04:26 PM

Glad I could help out. You have to write it in crayon for some people I guess.I agree...I know some teenagers more mature than some posters, but whatever...
2 of those INT's Stafford threw werent really bad plays. they were just like a punt on 3rd down.Exactly...Mark Richt said himself, that all of the interceptions weren't Stafford's fault. Richt said he (Richt) was looking for things downfield that just weren't there. Still, a QB has to know when to just throw it away.
Don't need time to tell me anything. Freshman or not, Stafford is the Dogs' best hope at success this season. He will get better each and every week. This week he will get the most time in practice with the first team and that will begin to show. He has the best teacher a QB could hope for and if Richt is confident with Stafford in the game, so am I.I agree with you...it is unrealistic to expect a true freshmen QB to have a almost perfect first game. It's possible, but unrealistic.

SPURED

09-13-2006, 06:11 PM

I agree...I know some teenagers more mature than some posters, but whatever...
Exactly...Mark Richt said himself, that all of the interceptions weren't Stafford's fault. Richt said he (Richt) was looking for things downfield that just weren't there. Still, a QB has to know when to just throw it away.
I agree with you...it is unrealistic to expect a true freshmen QB to have a almost perfect first game. It's possible, but unrealistic.

On one of those INT's Stafford threw it right were it needed to be however Massaquoi slowed down. i believe it was Bennett covering him.

Chief Broom

09-13-2006, 07:37 PM

I realize I am probably in the minority in the Bulldog nation because I wanted Joe T to start all year with Stafford and Cox getting regular reps depending on who played best, much like Greene & Shock. I think that would have provided a ball control offense to balance our stingy D. I also believe that it might have been the best recipe for Stafford's development. It could provide the best W/L record for 2006. That rotation may still happen when Joe heals up. Stafford has the tools and will be a big time QB.

I don't think we will know how good the Dawgs can be this year until Oct.7.

But pleeze don't mistake my opinion for any lack of confidence in Richt and Bobo's abilities in developing a QB and an offense. I wouldn't trade our staff for anybody else's.