Munson opened up tonite talking about Troy barely coming up short vs. FSU, Bama needing a FG from a frosh kicker to save themselves,
Tennessee just getting by Air Force, and a few teams that scored lots of points last weekend. Also, UAB got by East Carolina a week after falling just short at Oklahoma. (All the while, Munson was complaining about a phone ringing in the background.) Finally, the Dawgs were impressive on defense vs. SC.
Munson first said it was a tough break for Joe T. CMR said he made a good decision to tuck the ball but then got hurt. Everyone kept their poise and nobody panicked. We put together another drive with Stafford then another but had the pick. We had a good bit of offense and defense in the first half. We got enough done to force them to go for TDs later on.
Scoring early and taking a lead took a bit of the edge off that crowd. Our guys handled it well.
Are there any guys left who remember how tough UAB was three years ago? Richt figures about half the team. Plus, they had Oklahoma on the ropes a couple of weeks ago, and last year they only lost 17-10 at Tenn.
Barron in Athens opened the calls again tonite by getting his 3 yr. old (Dylan) to say hi. Then he wonders how CMR gets guys to get along so well. Richt says they do a good job of cultivating it. Competition is stiff. But putting yourself ahead of the team doesn’t go far here at Georgia. They get to know each other as people instead of just as adversaries.
David in Grayson was pleased by us honoring Erk with the decals and wonders how different UAB is now as opposed to before. On UAB’s scheme, they’re similar to what they were last time. They play their cover 2 a bit different. We talked to their former defensive coord., who thinks their defense is better this time.
Chris in Rome remarked that the defensive effort would’ve made Erk and tracks crowd proud. About the game plan for this game, CMR said we plan to let Stafford have more in the game plan. We cut it loose last week, but when it got to 18-0 we decided to shorten the game.
Fred in Calhoun asked about Mikey Henderson, and what Stafford needs to work on. CMR isn’t sure about Mikey yet – questionable. We hope he at least gets to “probable.”
Lots of things Stafford needs to get better at. First off, his footwork. As the game wore on, he began to ad lib more. The fundamentals of good footwork will help getting the ball where it needs to go. Overall comfort level is what we’re working on. He could play the next 2-3 games and have new things come up.
Brent in Adrian says his wife was concerned about how Katharyn is doing. Also, what about one or two preseason call-in shows. CMR says Katharyn and the kids are doing fine. We had a rough offseason. Thankfully Katharyn had been getting her yearly physicals and the cancer was caught early on. If you didn’t know her you’d think she was 100%. A pre-season call in show might be possible if we could get Munson away from the movies. (chuckling)
Wayman in Winterville wonders why we don’t give Brannan Southerland the ball close to the goal line. Why didn’t we punch the ball down their throat when we got to the 4 yard line. SC assumed we were going with our “big” personnel on the goal line. We had completed a fade but it was out of bounds, and got ourselves in position to have to throw on 3rd down. We did give Brannan the ball a couple of times when we were backed up against our goal line and he got it out of there both times.
Jackie in Lyons (first lady caller) – one of the Football 101 ladies. Is there a strategy for giving more of the playbook to Stafford? CMR says there is, and Stafford understands it. If you give one or a few at a time, it can be handled. But if you give a bunch at one time, it can get confusing. Little by little, we’re giving him more and more. We’ll plan for more than we would probably use. We’re trying to go at his pace. And he probably feels like “you can do anything you want with me on that”.
Terry in Macon asked about the no-huddle. Also, who was #98? We ran the no-huddle a lot in both games. But in the second half, we were thinking to not go conservative on play calling but use some time. We went stale on offense for a couple of series and went back to no-huddle.
#98 is Tripp Taylor. He’s what we call the “wham” man in our heavy set, to take out a LB or someone to open it up for the FB.
Terry in Amity thinks only one of the INTs was Stafford’s fault. CMR gave details. The first one was a crossing route. Stafford was supposed to bring him in motion but didn’t. The angle made it easier for the DB to close. The one on the goal line (slant to MoMass) – ball was well thrown but it richoceted. Richt thinks MoMass was getting held on the play. The last one, we blocked so well Stafford looked all over the place and finally just launched it. He should’ve thrown it out of bounds.
William in Bowling Green asked about injuries – especially on the OL. Turner hurt his ankle and is doubtful. But hopefully he would miss only this game. Watts hurt his knee but has a good chance to make it. Inman and Smith return from suspension.
Greg in Athens asked about using Ware at slot receiver some. Richt says you’d be surprised how long it takes to get really legit at it. Ware does a great job running the routes out of the backfield.
Andrew in Murrayville wonders who will return punts. CMR says it will be Flowers, since Henderson is still hurt.
Greg in Athens (different one) asked about the three-headed monster in the backfield. Then he asked about Caleb King. The caller said King’s top choice is UGA. Richt reminded the caller he can’t discuss prospects.
Chris in Deering asked about LB and DB play. CMR likes what he sees from the LBs, with 3 seniors starting. They’re all just good football players. Miller, Washington and Dewberry also getting work. Both safeties played well vs. SC, Oliver strong at CB, several young guys getting work on the other side. We can’t complain with what we’ve seen.
Brett in Albany thought it took guts to run the “trick” play (faking the reverse) deep in our end. The deception slows down the rush if done right.
Lewis in Hawkinsville asked about Charles Johnson, who had a great game vs. SC. CMR said he played like a big bully. Richt has been calling him that for about a month, since he’s been wreaking havoc in workouts. Now he’s playing just the same. He just got serious about football. He had to learn to practice hard, get in the right condition and do the things needed to dominate like he has.
Mitchell in Jacksonville asked about Mikey Henderson (again). CMR said the earlier discussion was about punt returns. Mikey is now a WR full time. He could probably play more than one position since he’s a sharp kid. CMR thought he was pushing for a starting spot until the hamstring problems started.
Elimae in Waycross couldn’t see what happened to Joe T on the replays. CMR said it happened when he was getting tackled. It’s a relatively severe ankle sprain called a high ankle sprain. No surgery needed but there is some ligament damage. The doctors say 4-6 weeks but knowing Joe T he’ll come back quicker.
Mitchell in Baxley has a question for Munson – fondest memory of Erk. Munson’s is swapping cigars with Erk the morning of the
Florida game.
Andrew in Athens wonders what CMR thinks the next difficult road game will be. CMR is shocked at how much success we’ve had on the road. That’s even though we’ve had trouble in Jacksonville. We’re 20-2 on the road and the losses were to
LSU the year it won the national title and
Auburn when they went 13-0. CMR thinks we focus better on the road than at home sometimes.
Scott (SC fan) wondered about the toss sweep when SC was trying to come out. Any handoff means taking the ball back. Even going to the FB may mean only a yard or two.
Munson wonders if CMR is bothered having to start a frosh QB. CMR isn’t bothered since Stafford came early and has learned a lot. In closing, Munson wanted Richt to remind the team this opponent really bring the wood. Richt said that lecture has already begun.
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