5) AJ Green, for all his talent and character, has to be the most selfish individual we have. Why? He knew what he did was illegal. Still, it was all about him, all about AJ. I say bench his ass for the season and force the other wide outs to step up. I'll bet there are kids who rarely get to play who would give testicles for the opportunity. What the hell? There might be some diamonds in the rough there.
The AJ Green situation is the most telling to this Dawg fan. There seems to be a selfish and entitled attitude for many of the present and past Dawgs. AJ Green is just the latest example. Lets not forget Matt Stafford or Knowshon Moreno. Neither Matt nor Knowshon were leaders. They were only interested in their NFL careers and they did not inspire the other Dawgs on the team. I don't remember who the quote came from when Stafford and Moreno were on the team team but the gest of it was that there was no leadership in the lockeroom. Really? Two top quality NFL prospects and we had no "Leadership". Stafford is a QB. If he can't be a leader, who can? This aint much of a prediction but Matt aint destined to be a starting QB in the NFL for much longer. Forget the injuries. He just does not have it mentally. Moreno will fair much better.
Enough of the Stafford\Moreno soapbox. Back to addressing the attitude of our team and our program. How many players have found themselves in trouble with the law this year? 9? That is pretty disgraceful. This is not the U of M. I know Ricth prides himself on the personal character as well as the athletic ability of his players. If I was Richt, I would be kicking butt and taking names. What about the fact that we have led the nation in penalties over the past few years? This is another example of poor discipline. I hate to say it but discipline is the head coach's responsibility. No, I am not saying it is time to get rid of Richt by any stretch. I would say that I would like to see Richt as our OC vs Bozo. We need a HC that can inspire and demand selflishness and discipline. I really don't know if Richt brings those two qualities to the table.
I hate to say it but Meyer had it right when he was quoted as saying that UGA gets all this talent but does nothing with the talent. Gnash your teeth all you want but he is right. UF gets plenty of talent but how much of their talent was as touted as Stafford, Moreno and Green? Tebo and Harvin would be examples. How is that UF gets players that want to play for UF for all 4 years vs leaving early to play in the NFL? I don't begrudge anyone who wants to play at the next level. It just seems that players in other programs want to finish their 4 years of eligbility first. I just don't see that at UGA. I see it at UF.
I am definitely not ready to throw in the towel at such an early point in the season. It is too bad we lost to USC as my experience is that USC peaks at the begining of a season and then fades as the season progresses. We have a very good QB in Murray. As he continues to develop, I predict he will be very David Greene-like. He may or may not get the same number of wins as Greene but he seems to be a leader. We have some solid RBs in Ealey, King, etc. Our offensive line is th best it has been in years and our Defense is much improved. So we have the pieces in place to be a solid team. Could we be beat UF, UT, AU, LSU, Bama? Not likely. We still need more time for our players to develop. Back to my point on coaching. We still need to make a change and that change is Bobo. I don’t know if his play calling is just too predicable or his game plans are not what they need to be. I do know that our program seems to marginalize great talent. Is it the talent that goes bad? Is it the program that does not encourage the right kind of behavior? Maybe a mix of all of the above?
No question that we struggle against a very potent Arkansas team. The good news is that we have a decent offense and a much improved defense and we are playing between the hedges. I think this game will come down to how well our D plays. If we can disrupt Mallet by putting him on the ground and knocking him around, we should do fine. Funny how knocking around an exceptional QB changes the dynamic of a game. Ever see what happens to the likes of Tom Brady when he is hitting the turf? He don’t do so well.
Regardless of the USC loss and the fixes that needs to be made in the clubhouse, this UGA fan will be watching his team.
Go DAWGS!!!
