Official Post-Game T-shirt (Click to Buy)
First off, God Bless Mikey Henderson. Now, some rambling thoughts from Saturday night.
The Good:
- Counter Punching: The hardest thing to do when punched in the mouth is to get back up and throw another punch. When Alabama tied the game 10-10, the Bulldogs immediately responded with a long TD drive. When the Tide tied the game 20-20, we again immediately drove down the field without flinching. To counter punch a physical team like Bama on the road is a very good sign for the program's future.
- Guts: Our defensive ends and linebackers were completely worn out in the fourth quarter. You couldn't completely see how tired they looked on TV, but from up close it was evident. When Andre Smith leans on you for 60 minutes, it takes its toll. Richt's timeout with around 3 minutes left wasn't just to let the defensive "regroup" as Todd Blackledge pointed out on television. They flat out needed a blow. Richt, Fabris and Martinez were constantly encouraging them to dig deep for just a few more plays. Great show of guts by those guys to keep digging. I didn't think we could get a three and out in Overtime with them so tired, but they did it. Like I said last week, tougher team wins it. Our guys were just flat out tougher.
- Offensive Line: Georgia started three freshmen offensive linemen on the road in front of 92,000 blood thirsty fans, and they didn't give up a sack. Incredible. Granted, the Bama defensive line isn't the greatest we'll play this year, but the work that Coach Searels has done with this group is amazing. By the way, I found out that his name rhymes with "girls" or "squirrels" not "quarrels." (Per his extended family)
- Linebackers: Washington and Ellerbe made a bunch of plays, and they showed much more aggression and violence than in weeks past.
- Sean Bailey: He is quietly having a great year. I see a lot of clamoring for Knowshon to get more touches (which I'm all for) over Thomas Brown, but Saturday their stats were almost the same. Where is the screaming for Bailey to get more catches? He's dropped two this season, but so what? He's making more plays than any UGA wideout since Reggie Brown's senior year. Get this guy the ball!
- WR blocking: Mo Mass absolutely crushed Bama's best CB early in the game. He's another guy having a quiet yet effective year.
- Kickoff Coverage: our best job of stopping the return that I can remember in years.
- Asher Allen: Allen made some real whiffs on the tackling front in recent weeks, but that wasn't an issue on Saturday. His tackling was so strong that Martinez used him on corner blitzes to offset Bama's stretch running plays behind big Andre Smith.
- Painful TE Drops: I don't want this thread to turn into a Tripp Chandler bashing fest because I don't think that's a fair response to a game that we won. But as Richt said in his Sunday press conference, Chandler has to improve. Or someone else needs to play.
- Killer Penalties: The penalties we earned on offense were brutal, and the ones we didn't earn (but still got flagged for) like the pass interference call on the uncatchable ball in the fourth quarter nearly cost us the game. We have to play smarter than that.
- Traffic Post-Game: the residents of Tuscaloosa, the Alabama fans, the City and County Governments of the Tuscaloosa area, Mal Moore, the Alabama Department of Transportation, the US Department of Homeland Security and Forrest Gump should all be kicked in the balls for letting the post-game traffic problems continue. They've been playing football in T-town for almost 120 years. Are you seriously telling me that they haven't figured out how to get people out of town yet? Do you honestly not have a disaster evacuation plan by now that can be applied to post-game traffic? At least partially if not fully. The crazy thing...that WAS their new and improved plan! I guess the money that should be spent on new traffic plans is all being spent on Nick Saban's salary. Hopefully, Cordy Glenn (OT recruit) found himself in the same post-game traffic that I did. That would've been enough to decide between UGA and Bama for me.
- I've been to Tuscaloosa three times ('94, '02, and '07). Each trip has been just that drama packed. Their fans were great, the environment was amazing and the rain mostly held off. Everything great about college football was on display for the world to watch. I'm loving our chances for a 10-2 season entering the bowl. Let's get Haverkamp healthy, destroy Ole Miss and head up to Knoxville for a a shot at a fourpeat.
- -- Scott Howard's Call - some fan uploaded this
-- Stafford's moment in T-town - Tony Barnhart
-- Dog Pile fun, but Hairy - AJC
-- Sunday Teleconference Transcript - David Ching
-- A defining Moment - ABH
-- A last look back - UGASports.com
-- 142z Takeoff - Get the Picture
-- An Open Letter - DawgSports.com
