Did Hamilton Make The Fridge, Or Did The Fridge Make Hamilton?

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bugboy

Damn Good Rat
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Dec 2, 2001
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Good question. The answer is a little of both. Coaching matters and so does talent. In the case of Joe though, I'd give more credit to the Fridge. Joe was here a good year and a half before he got the ball rolling and I don't think he'd ever have been as good as he turned out to be without Fridge.

Fridge also coached Shawn Jones, who, IMO, was a better talent than Joe.
 
Good question. Fridge has built many great qbs as a coach in college and pro ranks. He had a lot to do with how great of a college qb Joe was. Joe also has a lot of God given ability physically while also being a tough competitor and born leader. Some of those leadership skills were taught, while some were just Joe's ability. Do know that Joe struggled for a good year and a half after red shirting until he really got it going. That took a lot of hard work by Fridge pulling the right strings with him and Joe doing what it took to get it done.

I love Joe big time. One of my favorite GT players. I feel that Fridge had coached many other great if not better qbs before Joe.

That's my take. GO JACKETS!
 
Originally posted by bugboy:
Good question. The answer is a little of both. Coaching matters and so does talent. In the case of Godsey though, I'd give more credit to the Fridge.
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<font size="2" face="Arial, Verdana, Sans-Serif">Interesting, bugboy. You're thinking that Joe was the more gifted, natural, athlete?

I remember Godsey once, tired of people talking about his lack of "athleticism", remarking on how many different sports he had played, and wondering just what people meant when they suggested he wasn't a very good athlete.

My guess is that Joe had to be taught to rely on his head, not just on his feet and quick arm. I doubt godsey had to be taught much at all. They showed him the playbook and he did it, would be my guess. That's the way the best students are, as a general rule, and 1-A football players are pretty good football learners to start with.

Howevr, ahso, I do not think we can get by with monkeys on the coaching staff. Great apes, at least.
 
Belly,

I actually went back and edited my reply a little. Then, I read your reply. Yes, I do think Joe was a better talent than Godsey because of his running dimension (UGA '00 notwithstanding:-D).

But they were both great QB's...and they both benefitted from the coaching of Fridge.
 
Touche, Belly!
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I would have to say it was a little of both Ralph and Joe. Joe had the tools, but his play was enhanced by Ralph's use of his tools.

I doubt Joe would have had the same statistics and effectiveness playing directly under O'Brien without Ralph.

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I agree, ahso. I remember hearing several times during Joe's tenure that "Joe was a great student of the game." Didn't that mean that Joe's skills and knowledge were inextricably linked? His accomplishments were therefore a good balance of learning and skills?
 
Without question RF is a super-duper coach and offensive strategist...
BUT the players need to make plays and Joe Hamilton ... MADE THE PLAYS!!!
Coaches can make bad players good, and good players bad BUT coaches cannot make good players great!!!
The only person that can make a good player great is that player... Joe Hamilton, George Godsey and Shawn Jones are all excellent examples of good players making themselves great...
 
Fridge's intuitive play calling in F$U games was incredible but we had let down games (we blamed the D for those).

It will be interesting to see how MD does now b/c he is using athletes that only have his tutoring. I actually expect they will take a step back. I hope we help them take that step back this year.
 
Certainly it helped that Little Joe was talented
but Ralph seems to bring out the best in all the qb's he coaches. In the early season I watched McBrien the starting qb for Maryland this season against Notre Dame and the kid was abysmal. I watched him again on TV after the fourth game and he looked like a different qb. And by season's end
when the Terps played the Vols in the Bowl Game
this young man looked like a surgeon. Yes, talent is required but a good coach can coach a kid up several levels. That was just one example that I cited but he developed outstanding qb's ever where he has been.
 
It's a combination. Fridge has shown the ability to make QBs as good as they can be. But there are kids who weren't able to develop to a level to play D1 ball even with Fridge's coaching. Anybody remember Lee Williamson? I listened to Ross talk about him having the best physical tools he's seen since Boomer Esiason. But he couldn't get it done. Crenshaw is another example. That's just another reason you recruit a bunch of QBs. You just can't tell from what a kid does in HS how he will perform in college.
 
I'm not sure "who made who" (insert AC/DC music here...), but one thing is for certain: Joe sure made GT football fun to watch! Those come-from-behind victories where it looked like Joe and his offense could do no wrong were a blast to see. He truely was a team leader and an unbelievable play-maker.

Go Jackets!
 
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