Well, a Win is a Win...

I haven't seen the game from the TV's perspective yet, but I can assure you that as sober as I may have been at the game, I've got a bad taste in my mouth.

And for several specific reasons.

While I am happy we escaped a very emotional battle in Columbia and very glad to see some strong points, there are a few glaring questions I have for this team. And unfortunately the bad may very well outweigh the good. I should probably wait to address my concerns until I watch the game from a different perspective (and mindset, for that matter), but here are a few things that immediately come to mind.

1. Mother f@$%ing dropped f#@%ing passes.

Sure, Stafford throws a laser. It's a heat seeking bullet traveling over the line of scrimmage. But my God, when it hits your hands when it really counts, it has to count. This is the f-ing SEC. This ain't no ACC. In my opinion, Chandler's first two dropped passes almost cost us the game. One was even a pivotal 3rd-down conversion that put us within scoring range in the first quarter, which would have given the entire team a confidence boost. Stuff like that puts the offense out of sync, and maybe gets into Stafford's head a little bit. If he can't rely on his tight end, a man that is supposed to be a consistent and stable option and the quarterback's best friend, it puts the quarterback in a difficult position. Stafford then feels that he has to rely on the power of his arm, maybe forcing a throw here and there or trying for the deep ball when it's not available. Durham probably shouldn't receive as much heat, as his ball, if caught, would have been a spectacular catch in the endzone in my opinion. Still, it did hit his hands, and we all know that if the ball hits your hands then...

2. The play of the defensive backs under pressure

For three quarters Georgia's defense was swarming. Save what appeared to be a beautiful ball delivered to the corner of the endzone from Smelley, Spurrier was throwing fits. Stephen Garcia had to be inserted several times to attempt to change the pace of the game. Nothing seemed to be going right for the SC offense. Rennie Curran and crew were swarming the field, attacking every player with the football. The rushing defense held the 'Cocks to under 2.0 YPC, an extremely valuable stat in SEC play.

But with 10 minutes remaining in the game, a 7 point lead, and the pressure on, they looked like dog crap. Slants, zone reads, screens, out routs... everything seemed to work. 6'5" TE Jared Cook seemed to be everything Tripp Chandler isn't - a match-up nightmare for the defense. He looked like an 8' tall superman, grabbing all sorts of passes and running all over the field. Moe Brown also found the holes in the defense all game for several big gains. Now I can understand a few break downs here and there from a defense, but it seemed like there was one every play in the last 10 minutes, whether it be a huge completion or a penalty (which is another story). If there is one thing that makes a team champions, it's their ability to shut down an opponent in crunch time. And this game didn't look good. Good thing Spurrier doesn't have a Matthew Stafford, or we would have been torched. A few bad throws by Smelley is what eventually won us the game.

3. The penalties

118 yards? That should be the total over at least two full games. Unacceptable. Practice tomorrow better not be fun, or we're going to continue to have issues. While there were a few phantom calls here and a few bad calls there, which you'll see every game, there were too many bad ones. And costly for that matter. 118 yards of penalties will not win you the game against the LSU's and Florida's of this world. Hell, may not even beat the Vandy's or Kentucky's. These issues should have been sorted out by now, which makes me wonder how much better it's going to get.

Now, I've got to be pleased with the way this team fought the emotional roller coaster. I have to be especially pleased with the play of Stafford, Knowshon Moreno, and A.J. Green. Stafford fought through four sacks and several dropped passes to deliver some great plays, including some incredible runs. Knowshon fought extremely hard and deserved every last inch of his yardage. A.J. Green continues to impress me with his downright God-given ability to go out and grab a football. Stafford's beautiful hook-up with Green for 39 yards in the first half saved us from a 3rd and 20 or so.

To continue on the A.J. Green note, him and MoMass absolutely deserve to and need to see the field more. No more of this rotation. Stafford seems to have a unique rhythm with these two, and they're the ones that have gone out there and made plays on a consistent basis. Michael Moore and Kris Durham have proved valuable, but Green and MoMass are the ones getting it done every chance they get. Keep them on the field for God's sake, let them get their touches and see the big plays increase.



Now that I've vented, it's time for some sleep. I still need to watch the film, but man were there some glaring issues in person.