I just heard the crew on 790 the Zone discussing Paul Johnson’s reaction to questions about his play calling on the last series of the game as well as his approach to the game during the prior week.
Evidently, somebody’s a wee bit sensitive to criticism, because CPJ responded by asking (and I’m probably paraphrasing here) “what has Georgia done since 1980?” and advising any Tech fans discouraged by mockery to smack the other party in the face.
In case you haven’t figured it out yet, I’m not quite ready to move on. I mean, faced with a choice of continuing to enjoy things like the absurd rationalizing that’s totally absorbed the Tech message boards (made even better in comparison with the equally absurd pre-game bravado) as opposed to indulging in the is-Martinez-gonna-go rumor mongering/speculation (hey, how did that whole he’s- going-to-resign/be fired-Sunday thing work out?), well… it’s not much of a choice for me.
So here are a few more nuggets worth sharing while there’s still a glow from the game:
– A caller said Tech coach Paul Johnson downplayed the importance of the Georgia game early last week and asked Richt, who is 8-1 vs. Tech, his thoughts on the magnitude of the rivalry.
“All I can tell you is our boys and our coaches don’t need a whole lot of motivation, I guess, to get fired up about this game,” Richt said. “And I’m not going to sit here and deny that what happened a year ago [helped] fuel it. It did; there is no question that it did. Them tearing up our hedges and doing some of the things that they were doing after the game at our expense didn’t sit too well with us. And we wanted to do something about it, and we want to continue to do something about it in years to come. And I’ll say this: I’ve always had a respect, a very healthy respect, for Georgia Tech and their football program, and we will continue to have that respect because they are an outstanding team and they do a great job over there. But it’s very, very big to us.”
Great sentiment, Coach. Almost, dare I say it, Corch Meyer-ish. Now, how can we bottle that sucker and take it to Jacksonville next year?
Also, Richt really didn’t like the Gator Powerade bath he got from Bryan Evans.
And if you’re ever feeling down, feel free to dial this clip up at the 2:40 mark. It’ll cheer you right up.
Thanks, Bebe.
Those clips remind me – if you haven’t seen the ABC/ESPN broadcast (I’ve watched it twice now), you really should. I knock the WWL a fair amount, but I’ve got to give the Disney folks credit for a good job Saturday night. In stark contrast to what we were subjected to in the Auburn and Kentucky games, the broadcast team was involved and attentive to the play on the field, excited at the right times without coming across as biased (Sean McDonough’s call of King’s 75-yard run is great) and the camera work was excellent.
No, it wasn’t the same as being there, but the coverage of the last three minutes of the game starting when Tech got the ball back one last time was as good as I’ve seen this season. The highlights in particular: Rennie Curran’s guided-missile tackle of Roddy Jones on Tech’s last running play of the game; Reshad Jones’ coverage on the second and third down incomplete pass plays; Thomas’ reaction upon dropping the fourth down pass; Mark Richt’s passion in his post-game remarks. Well done, people.
Oh, and speaking of Caleb King’s touchdown run, if you didn’t get to hear Wes Durham’s call of it on the Georgia Tech radio broadcast, that’s too bad. Durham, who specializes in making the routine two-yard Tech gain sound like Larry Munson calling “Run, Lindsay!, run” (ed. – there you go, Malcolm!), sounds like he falls asleep during King’s jaunt downfield. It’s of a piece with the rapidity to which Tech resorts in taking a losing result off of the BDS scoreboard three seconds after the game ends. When the going gets sorry, that just how the Jackets roll.
Paul Johnson explains away why Saturday night’s disappointing loss doesn’t diminish the excitement and significance of the World’s Smallest Outdoor Cocktail Party aka the ACCCG (kudos forever to Jim Donnan for that crack):
“We’ve played six SEC teams since I’ve been here, and I think we’re 4-2. I can tell you Clemson has got players every bit as good as Georgia. Don’t think for one minute they don’t. It is what it is…”
Georgia and South Carolina, teams from the middle of the SEC East, defeated the ACC’s division champions, Georgia Tech and Clemson. Gamecock defensive coordinator Ellis Johnson said the passion of in-state rivalries isn’t the reason. “That conference is really down, especially in the area of the box, offensive and defensive line play,” Johnson said. “It’s just not very good. I thought (before the game) we were a lot better than they were up front, and we were.”
Outside of the top two slots and the last one, I think we’ve reached the point where monkeys flinging poo could come up with as credible an order to this set of rankings as anyone. Although I do want to assure PETA that no animals were in fact harmed in the making of this ballot.
Alabama. I’m sure many people took the close brush with Auburn as a sign of weakness. Me, I couldn’t help but be impressed with the poise they showed during the flawless execution of the winning drive. This is a solid, solid team. Still a 1 and 1-A situation with Florida, though.
Florida. On the one hand, the offense got untracked in an impressive way. On the other hand, FSU is a shell of its former self, especially on defense.
LSU. The Tigers have been here by default most of the season. They’re just less underwhelming than any other school not playing in the SECCG.
Ole Miss. Jeebus, does this make me wince.
Tennessee. So does this.
Georgia. The only SEC team outside of Florida and Alabama to have a win over a top ten opponent this year is also the only SEC team to lose to Tennessee by more than twenty points. The Dawgs define middle of the pack this season.
Auburn. Blowing two straight 14-0 leads to your biggest rivals isn’t exactly the best way to wind up the regular season. Still, they got farther along than most people thought they would before the season started.
Arkansas. The only team in the conference that failed to win a road game this year.
South Carolina. Nice win over Clemson, but this offense is a mess.
Mississippi State. These Bulldogs beat Kentucky, so I gave them the nod here. Getting three conference wins out of this bunch? Wow. You can make a solid argument that Dan Mullen is the SEC Coach of the Year.
Kentucky. Still can’t beat Tennessee. With all the injuries, though, Rich Brooks has nothing to be ashamed of.
Vanderbilt. Even when they don’t play, the Commodores fall farther behind the rest of the conference. No other SEC team finished within three losses of Vandy.
Outside of the top two slots and the last one, I think we’ve reached the point where monkeys flinging poo could come up with as credible an order to this set of rankings as anyone. Although I do want to assure PETA that no animals were in fact harmed in the making of this ballot.
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