The Georgia Illusion

The Jacket

The Jacket

The Coat
Joined
Jun 17, 2002
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Someone in another thread said something about Georgia that made me realize how perfect Alabama's thrashing of Georgia truly was.

The comment was that 'in spite of Saturday night, this is a truly exceptional Georgia team', which is something that I disagree with and strongly so. There's no doubting that they have a good team. They will probably compete against Florida, Tennessee, Auburn and LSU. So will Ole Miss, Mississippi State and Vanderbilt. But exceptional teams don't need to question week in and week out whether they'll be able to play this game like they did against (_Insert Florida, Auburn or Arizona State Here_) or if they'll have to worry about laying an egg.

I understand that teams sometimes lose games that they shouldn't (and of late, more frequently), but this UGAg-Bama game fits in with the USC-OSU thrashing, not the subsequent game where the other OSU upset USC.

An exceptional team doesn't play a home, inter-top-10 conference game like they just woke up from a week-long bender. The perfection in Alabama's win is that they took the Blackout concept to midfield of Sanford Stadium and shot it square between the eyes. The gimmicks are over. Endzone dances and fashion secrets may give you the momentum for a late season run over mostly mediocre teams (a la last season. You want to tell me that we were good enough last year to compete with/nearly beat the team that should have played in the National Title game?) but it's not going to work for a full season and let you win a national championship the right way.

Stafford is a joke. Knowshon is a talent, but nowhere near as invincible and unstoppable as everyone has painted him to be. The team has no discipline whatsoever and they'll end the season where they are now, leading the country in penalties and personal fouls. UGA VII really is an ugly, ugly dog.

You cannot discard what happened against Alabama for Georgia. It wasn't a misreading of the script, it was the curtain being pulled back.

Georgia wasn't caught with their pants down - they were never wearing any to begin with.
 
Let me sum this up. UGA has the best skill players in the nation. The problem is their DLine is overrated and their OLine is inexperienced.

Great teams have superior Lines. Prior to the UGA/Bama game I was over at my neighbor's house who is a UGA fan and I told him that I thought UGA's lines would get worked by Bama. I told him that both offensively and defensively, their lines are big and strong and will dominate UGA's. He laughed me off.

Well this is exactly why UGA lost. They got hammered in the trenches. Look at the year we won our NAtional Championship. Our OLine was huge and they were all juniors and seniors. Our DLine had two All American's on it and one of the best DT that has ever played for GT in Kevin Battle.

There is no previous National Champion that had an inferior line either defensively or offensively in any way.
 
Just curious, but which UGAg skill players do you believe are the best in the nation?
 
3 loss? Knowing their history, Florida, Tennessee, LSU, and Auburn, could be legitimate chances for loss. Not to mention the ass-thrashing that we are going to hand them... could be a 5 or 6 loss season for the deserving national champs.

THWG
 
buzzdoc said:
3 loss? Knowing their history, Florida, Tennessee, LSU, and Auburn, could be legitimate chances for loss. Not to mention the ass-thrashing that we are going to hand them... could be a 5 or 6 loss season for the deserving national champs.

THWG
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I've thought that 3 was the most likely for them. I've pulled back on my thinking that Tennessee can compete with them. But if they lose to both Florida and LSU, Auburn and ourselves become very, very possible. Talk about demoralization. That fanbase will go from insufferably arrogant to intolerably whiny instantly.
 
I think Bama did us no favors by not routing UGA completely. Bama allowed UGA back into the game, allowed them some respect and I assure you that they are focused for the foreseeable future.

If Bama played them better in the second half then I would agree with the posters above, but they didn't. UGA threw the ball at will and very successfully.

Here's hoping that ALA's DB are not very good because otherwise we will be in trouble now.
 
The Jacket said:
I've thought that 3 was the most likely for them. I've pulled back on my thinking that Tennessee can compete with them. But if they lose to both Florida and LSU, Auburn and ourselves become very, very possible. Talk about demoralization. That fanbase will go from insufferably arrogant to intolerably whiny instantly.
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In my neck of the woods, they are always both arrogant and whiny.
 
I agree with BOR on this.

Time and again...the team that can move the line of scrimmage at their will wins the game. If your DL gets a 2-3 yard push/penetration...it blows up 90% of the offensive game plan.
If your OL is blowing their DL off the ball 2-3 yards...you only need average to slightly better than average TB's and WR's to win the game...and a QB that is just smart and does not make mistakes.

We won the natl title in 1990 because our OL owned people in the 2nd half...it was an obliteration and we ran the ball down peoples throat with holes so wide you could drive a truck through it.

Our DL was dominant as well.

The trenches do not make for good board fodder...or fan tailgate chatter...but they usually determine the winner.

When you look at a team with Moreno at TB (Caleb King is the backup!), Stafford at QB, and AJ Green + others at WR...you are looking at 3 future NFL starters. Only a poor OL can mess that situation up.
 
I note that it seemed every time the announcers praised Mongo Lloyd Stafford, he threw an interception.
 
I agree with BOR. UGAg has exceptional talent at the offensive skill positions. Stafford has as good an arm as any QB in the country. Moreno is as good as any back RB in the country, and King is very good also. Green is as good as any WR in the country, and Massaquoi is very good also. Those 5 players place UGAg at the top in offensive skill positions. There are others who can match them, but none better as a set.

Likewise, their LB's with Ellerbee and Curran is up there with the best. I do think their DB's tend to underperform.

Their OL/DL are not up to the standard of a top 5 team, though. IMO, they were far better in the trench in 2002. This will continue to haunt them, and is the sole reason that we have been competitve with them since 2004.
 
The Jacket said:
Just curious, but which UGAg skill players do you believe are the best in the nation?
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Why are you asking me pointed questions that have easy answers unless you want to disagree with me?

As a whole group, they have the best skill players in the nation on offense. They have the best if not one of the best QB's in the nation. Their Runningback is one of the best in the nation if not the best. Hell most experts will put Knowshon up there as the best RB in the nation. Nothing new here. Receivers are some of the best in the nation.

Defensively I'd say they are in the top 10 with their secondary and linebackers. As a total group, it would be hard to argue that they are not one of the top 5 teams at the skill positions. Not many people would argue this but apparently you will. We can argue this until the cows come home, but most anyone would agree with me that isn't biased.

As far as lines go, that is another story and they got worked. It just goes to show you that it doesn't matter how flashy the skill players are, if they don't have supportive lines, they don't = greateness.

Thanks for wasting my time on responding to that question.
 
hiveredtech said:
I agree with BOR on this.

When you look at a team with Moreno at TB (Caleb King is the backup!), Stafford at QB, and AJ Green + others at WR...you are looking at 3 future NFL starters. Only a poor OL can mess that situation up.
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Don't forget Massaquoi and Samuels. They'll be on NFL rosters. Bottom line is if you don't think UGA has the best set of offensive skill players, you're either a biased GT fan, or a complete idiot about college football.
 
One thing I know we can agree on...is that we have always done more with less at GT because our players are smart...and our coaches are smart.

This has been consistent with Ross, O'Leary, Gailey, and now Johnson. Only Bill Lewis (a Dawgie) could screw up a great run.
 
BarrelORum said:
Don't forget Massaquoi and Samuels. They'll be on NFL rosters. Bottom line is if you don't think UGA has the best set of offensive skill players, you're either a biased GT fan, or a complete idiot about college football.
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I'll give you Massaquoi, Samuels, Green, and Moreno. But, I just don't think Stafford will start in the NFL. I just don't he's that great. Just my opinion.

They definitely have one of the best sets of offensive skill players. The key will be pressuring Stafford with our front four, and keeping Moreno and Green out of open space.
 
GTROY said:
I'll give you Massaquoi, Samuels, Green, and Moreno. But, I just don't think Stafford will start in the NFL. I just don't he's that great. Just my opinion.

They definitely have one of the best sets of offensive skill players. The key will be pressuring Stafford with our front four, and keeping Moreno and Green out of open space.
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Starting in the NFL is not near the qualification for the best college QB. Just to name few of the many top college QB's who never played or rode the bench ibn the NFL:

Spurrier (Heisman) rode the bench. Pat Sullivan (Heisman) rode the bench. Danny Wuerffel (Heisman) rode the bench/quit. Tommy Frazier never played QB. Ryan Leaf rode the bench. David Greene rides the bench. All incredible college QB's.

Happens all the time. I agree that Stafford's height will hinder him in the NFL, but he has the arm to play for sure.
 
Greene > Zeier > Stafford
Hamilton > Godsey > Stafford
 
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