Gruff & Grump - We are more talented ...
by Gruff & Grump - Chad White and Al Hickson
photo by Rob Saye
Dawgs beat the Nerds … again. It
never gets old. Now, moving on …
11-1. You’d have to admit it does
have a nice ring to it. The boys have come
a loooooong way from that dismal night in
early October. Who would have believed
this that night? Not us. Not you either.
What many have waited a lifetime to
see is now before us. Those that have seen
it, have not seen this situation in 30 years.
For the first time since the days of Herschel
Walker, the University of Georgia
finds itself in an after November matchup
with real and honest to goodness meaning
in the chase for the Crystal Ball.
Let us not cloud these waters. This is
what it is all about. SEC championships
are great. National Championships are
better. Like a wise man said over the
weekend, an SEC championship game is a
business trip. It is a time to get to work
and get it done. But, unlike the previous
four trips to the Dome, this time it is even
bigger. This time we are on a business trip
that happens to be to play in game for the
National Championship.
So, first things first.
Big, bad Alabama awaits us. We say
bring em on. Apparently so does Bacarri
Rambo. It probably is not the best thing
that ajc.com has his words on the front
page. Surely, they have found their way to
the walls of the Alabama locker room.
“We are more talented,” says Rambo.
Well, you know what? We think so
too. We are loaded. Totally and completely
loaded. Our defense has NFL
players all over the place. Jarvis Jones is
the best football player in the country and
if there is a better linebacker than Alec
Ogletree not named Jarvis it could not be
more than one or two. We could rattle off
all the rest of the names on our defense but
we all know them. And, yes, we will print
Shawn Williams. We should probably say
Shawn Williams just as many times as possible.
You know, Shawn Williams really
does appear to be the spark of this resurgence.
Just like that, Shawn Williams was
said three times. Or was it four? Either
way it is still not enough.
The challenge is that talent is just that.
Talent. Will it go unrealized is the question.
Alabama has plenty of talent, as well,
rest assured. And, they have the best head
coach in college football. They are a team
that plays with incredible focus and execution.
Let’s be real about this, a lack of
focus and execution has derailed many a
dream of Dawg fans in the past.
This game will be huge in the legacy
of Aaron Murray. Clearly the record books
will forever show him as an all-time type
quarterback. That is not why we play
though. We play for championships. We
play for the ring. If Murray can play as he
is capable, he can jump to the front of the
line in the discussion of Dawg quarterback
greats.
The last time we squared off with Alabama
has become infamous and also a
game that many point to as the point in
time that the Dawgs lost their way. That
will all change with a victory Saturday
Night. It will not be easy. We see three
keys to this game:
1) How will Aaron Murray play and
can he give us a complete game in the
biggest one of his career?
2) Playing a clean game and avoiding
sloppiness in turnovers and penalties.
This goes without saying every week. But,
it REALLY is imperative this week.
3) Stopping the Bama run. Their offensive
line is tremendous. It is the critical
matchup, we believe.
The way we feel is like this. We could
not have scripted this any better. Saturday
night we will get to play right down the
road from our campus against the premier
team in all of college football. The Dawgs
will have their chance to take the next step
to becoming that team. We get to drive to
the game. They will have to fly. Granted,
the temperature will be the same for both
teams. Nothing we can do about that.
And, who better to beat for the SEC
title than Alabama? They are pretty much
just a lower life form of people (excluding,
of course, our friends from that state) who
happen to have played a higher form of
football than have most in the past century.
We say that all ends this coming weekend.
It is time for the University of Georgia Bulldogs
to take what should rightly be ours.
The time is now. Let’s get to it boys.
We will be hollering for you.
Go Dawgs!
Tagged: gruff grump, chad white, al hickson, georgia sports news, sec football, alabama crimson tide, sec championship
