Wallet sized playmaker?
Last week, I apparently missed some interesting comments from David Ching and Groo regarding the need for true playmakers on the Georgia football team. I'd argue that we've definitely had playmakers in recent years, but they've all been on defense. David Pollack, Thomas Davis, and Sean Jones were huge play makers for us.
But it's true that we haven't had that traffic stopping Mr. Electricity on offense since Garrison Hearst. Sure, Hines Ward, DJ Shockley and Robert Edwards had their moments, but as Groo said...were they consistently the kind of players that you expected to go the distance at any time?
Heck, our most consistent offensive playmaker the past few years was Reggie Ball. You could always depend on Reggie to ignite the Dawgs.
Matt Stafford can be that kind of player, but he'll need more consistent play at WR and OL to really shine. AJ Green certainly looks like that kind of prospect, but he won't be here until 2008. Will it be Moreno? Caleb? Someone else?
Who's the next guy that's going to keep us on the edge of our seats and blow open games for us?
See Also:
-- What Georgia needs -- DawgsOnline (Groo)
-- Georgia Needs Play Makers -- David Ching
PWD
11 comments:
Moreno will be a playmaker given the chance. A.J. Green appears to be the real deal and he seems solid about coming to UGA. He to should be a playmaker.
Any word on Caleb? I think he should be red-shirted with T. Brown and Lumpkin coming back. With the recruits who have said they would attend next year we seem deep at the running back position.
Moreno is not getting much pop in the national media but look for big things from him this year.
I think the picture says it all.
Mikey Henderson is the kind of kid that has the vision, speed, and agility to take the ball to the house any time he gets it. There are, however, two things working against him:
1) Right now he's mainly used in punt return situations. This, obviously, is not a great way to get the ball in his hands consistently.
2) He's trying to be worked in more with the offense as a WR, but his size and Stafford's ability to get the ball are what will really tell the tale.
Other than him, Knowshon is really the kid that's going to have "star" written all over him. Give him a little bit of room and he finds a way to "make himself thin."
He needs a nickname though...with a name like Knowshon Moreno, the possibilities are endless. Here's a few of my suggestions:
1) Kno-better
2) Kno-money
3) Kno-mopoly
Any others?
Here's an obvious nickname: Kno-Mo. With regards to Mikey Henderson being a playmaker, I would argue that we have to do a better job of getting him the ball in space. Whether this means handing the ball off to him on a reverse or throwing him wide receiver screens, we need to find creative ways to utilize his talents. I'm sure the coaching staff realizes that he has ability to be an explosive playmaker for us, and hopefully he will be the big play threat that our team so badly needs.
I'll tell you what, looking at that photo, that TD return was one of THE most electric, exciting moments I've ever been privy to in Sanford.
It would be one of the all-time UGA plays had the outcome been different (same with Tyson Browning's screen in Red Stick in '03)
I think Matthew Stafford is our playmaker on offense, but he has to respect our opponents a lot more first with the manner in which he carries the football (10 fumbles 6 lost not flopped on by his OL to his only 3 rushing TDs) and second with the manner in which he clearly forces the football in there yet has to show for it only 7 TD passes to his 13 interceptions.
If we were not the Number 90 NCAA Total Offense, moving the football with Matthew Stafford throwing the football downfield, we would open up the running game so much more and perhaps could overcome the obvious loss of 8 players on our defense from last season now today instead on NFL rosters.
Whenever that "playmaker" discussion comes up, I feel like no one ever defines the word. Is a playmaker:
1) A player capable of single-handedly dominating a game?
2) A player whose sheer athleticism allows them to sometimes score from anywhere on the field?
3) A player who often swings the momentum of a game strongly to his team?
4) Something else?
What's a playmaker? Tony Taylor was certainly a playmaker for us on defense last year.
LowerEastSideDawg,
I'd define it as #2 which leads to #3.
We used to use the Tunnel Screen all the time to get the ball in the hands of our playmakers in open space. Richt doens.t seem to like that call, but maybe with Bobo calling the shots this year we might see it make a resurgence.
What the Dawgs need is somebody to show our receivers how to create space. Every year it looks like we would be better off with UT's or UF's # 3 or 4. Dallas Baker was a playmaker last year and the main reason is that he uses his hands to creat space - we don't look like we teach that. Is it legal, no, but it sure doesn't get called a lot; and it works. Watch film to see what I mean.
I'm going to reach back into the James Bond catalogue for my nickname suggestion: Dr. Kno.
Everything I've heard about Moreno says he could be that playmaker we've been looking for, though I wonder how much of the "playmaker" discussion really boils down to leadership. I mean, when you get right down to it, isn't a "playmaker" something who makes things happen on his own, who doesn't wait for circumstances to open up or allow him to make a move? That pretty much sums up guys like Pollack, Stinchcomb, Greene, Shockley et al. Part of the frustrations we all bitched about repeatedly over the course of last season had to do with the fact that nobody on the '06 squad was exhibiting that kind of leadership; I have a feeling that when somebody does in '07, we'll have found our "playmaker."
Call me crazy, but I think a dark horse for that title could be Sean Bailey. He's talented, he's experienced, and after having to sit out a year you know he's hungry. Had he been able to take the field last season, he probably would've been one of the few guys who could catch the ball consistently; I'm hoping he'll be taking some time over the spring and summer to show the rest of the guys "how it's done."
I cant wait to see some playmakers emerge under Bobo's playcalling. Remember he played for one of the most creative playcallers around, Donnan. Go back and watch the beat down of Fla in 97.
Sometimes its not the player, but the play!
LowerEastSide,
Maybe the right word is Gamebreaker. Not PlayMaker.
PWD
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