I was driving down 400 a few days ago and on every bridge I went under there were several Georgia Bulldog football fans threatening to jump. It seems like one loss and already this group is grumpy. I think I even saw friend and former AJC colleague Mark Bradley up on one of those ledges, writing, “And if it takes another penalized end-zone dance for this team to remember who it is and what it represents, then I say, ‘Dance away, Dawgs.’ Because if this is to be a true Georgia season, something needs to change.”
Seriously, I’ve never seen a group of fans from a school get so down on their team after a loss. Whenever Georgia loses, you hear the same things: “Well, not sure if Richt is the right coach,” or, “Man, they’re never going to move the ball.”
It’s one loss, people, to an Oklahoma State team that truly is top-10 quality and possesses one of the most potent offenses in the county. It’s one loss, Bulldog Nation, on the plains in Stillwater, where they have problems keeping prairie bush from skipping across the field in high winds. It’s one loss, you maniacs, and your starting quarterback hadn’t played in a meaningful game in more than two years.
So before getting out the hara-kiri sword, let’s wait and see what happens in Athens this Saturday night against South Carolina and the following week at Arkansas. The bet here is they win and then come back home and knock off Arizona State before a key early-season matchup against LSU on Oct. 3.
While it was easy to watch the game Saturday and immediately say this is a 6-6 team at best, there are several things to consider:
• The game was a season opener and much more important to an upstart Oklahoma State program. And by the way, the Cowboys went into the game ranked ninth nationally (Associated Press), so it isn’t like the Bulldogs were playing Baylor.
• For the first time in three years, the Bulldogs were without quarterback Mathew Stafford and running back Knowshon Moreno, who are know counting their millions in the NFL. There’s bound to be some transition time.
• Senior redshirt quarterback Joe Cox didn’t exude a tremendous amount of confidence, but he is the same quarterback he was in 2006 when, as a redshirt freshman, he led the ‘Dogs to wins over Colorado and Ole Miss. He threw just 26 passes over the next two years.
• Finally, with Stafford and Moreno, this team went just 10-3 last year.
So, what happens? It’s way too early to panic. This team came into the season ranked 14th because there wasn’t anyone out there thinking this team could win a national championship or even a conference title. The Bulldogs are now in rebuilding mode, but should still improve week-to-week and, come early November, should be a pretty good team. Remember, Richt tends to do much better when the expectations are lower.
And if I’m wrong, I’ll join all those Bulldogs fans on the bridge with a parachute on my back.
WHAT SHOULD THE BRAVES DO? …
How do I put this the right way? I have always been a big Bobby Cox fan, covering him for many years on a daily basis when I was at the AJC. But now, after managing this club for 20 straight years, it is time to bring in someone new, perhaps young bullpen coach Eddie Perez, who should be able to relate better to the younger players. I remember being at Alabama when Bear Bryant decided to retire. It was a very difficult decision, but it had become apparent at the time that Bryant wasn’t the coach he once was and, in the best interest of the program, stepped away. Bryant was 68. I know how much Cox, now 68, loves the games and I don’t question that he can still manage. But the Braves, who haven’t made the playoffs in three years and appear as if they will not this year, need to go in another direction. Doing so is never easy, but I’m just not sure Cox still has what it will take to build this team into the great franchise it was back in the 1990s.
A GREAT KICKOFF …
Hats off to the Chick-fil-A Bowl Committee for a great kickoff game at the Georgia Dome between Alabama and Virginia Tech. I took my son and the atmosphere was incredible. What impressed me the most was the number of Hokie fans that came down and filled the Dome. The amount of money the game brings into our economy is tremendous and next year should be no different, with LSU and North Carolina coming to town. I also like the fact that the teams opened the game by crossing the field and shaking hands. This was the idea of Grant Teaff, president of the American Football Coaches Association. Some are doing it, others, as the AJC’s Furman Bisher said, “want no part of such a show of softness at such a delicate time.” God forbid these schools show some signs of sportsmanship.
Rosenberg will do his first Sunday football radio show of the season this Sunday afternoon from 1-4 on 790 The Zone. Rosenberg can be reached at 404-256-1572 and ijrosenberg@scoreatl.com.
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