From OnlineAthens.com
September 23rd, 2016 02:26 PM
The plan was for Chuks Amaechi and Lorenzo Carter to hear but not see what turned out to be Georgia’s latest example of its early season ability to pull out tight games.
The Bulldog outside linebackers turned to face the crowd last Saturday at Missouri with their backs to the field at a crucial fourth-and-10 and Georgia trailing by six. That’s when freshman quarterback Jacob Eason delivered a 20-yard touchdown pass to Isaiah McKenzie with 1:29 to go.
“I was pretty much watching that whole drive just holding my breath,” Carter said. “On fourth down, I saw Chuks and he wasn’t looking. I was like ‘You can’t watch this?’ Once I saw how crazy it was, I had to turn around and just trust the offense. I turned around at the end after I heard everybody cheer.”
Amaechi looked at Missouri fans after the play and “saw wide mouths and heads in laps.” He said he thought Carter “caved in and turned around.”
The 28-27 victory put the No. 12 Bulldogs at 3-0 heading into Saturday’s game at No. 23 Ole Miss.
Georgia overcame a second-half deficit to win for the third straight game for the first time since 1990. The Bulldogs did it 26 years ago in home wins over Southern Miss, 18-17, Alabama, 17-16, and East Carolina, 19-15.
The Bulldogs’ three wins this year have come by a combined 12 points.
“I was proud of how everybody reacted and nobody really got down and we just kept fighting,” Carter said.
Fullback Christian Payne said the team has a mindset of it will “keep chopping” until the end.
The message coming from coach Kirby Smart and defensive coordinator Mel Tucker to players on the field is similar to what graduate transfer defensive back Maurice Smith heard last season from Smart and Tucker at Alabama during the Crimson Tide’s national championship run, he said.
“Just resiliency and just forgetting the last play,” Smith said. “You may make a bad play on the last play, but it’s about the next play. … It makes a lot of difference for the players. It makes us feel we can mess up full speed and still have another chance to fix it.”
Said Carter: “Our coaches have made it a mindset and created a culture where we’re not going to give up, we’re going to keep fighting for 60 minutes. That’s what we’ve been doing.”
Inside linebacker Natrez Patrick says a lot of what has happened is player driven.
“Honestly, although the coaches are a big factor, I feel like the players kind of stay in it as well,” he said. “We’re kind of leaning on guys to keep your head up. Basically, just staying motivated.”
Georgia overcame a 24-14 third-quarter deficit to beat North Carolina, 33-24. It held on to edge Nicholls State, 26-24, after trailing 14-13 in the third. Of course, that isn’t something to pound your chest about considering the Bulldogs were favored by more than 50 points against the FCS opponent and didn’t score in the fourth quarter.
Patrick points to Georgia’s strength and conditioning staff’s offseason program for the Bulldogs finish out games.
“Being able to sustain in those late hours,” Patrick said. “We never stopped fighting. We’re never going to stop fighting.”
“You think about definitely in the fourth quarter, when it starts to get hard and all the monkey start jumping on your back,” Carter said. “It’s when you really have to think about all the hard work you put in over the summer.
In-game coaching adjustments certainly play a role in any game like when.Georgia inserted Quincy Mauger for Aaron Davis in the second half and the safety had a pair of interceptions, but Smart downplayed that so far.
“It’s like, we make them but sometimes you make them and they’re not right, sometimes you make them and they are,” he said. “Maybe they move a chess move and we move a chess move..You try to create advantages for yourself, but there’s nothing that I can point to that was like the greatest thing ever..If you can’t run inside, you try to run outside. If you can’t throw it across the middle, you try to throw outside. Try to find a way to protect certain guys on defense..Where’s the best receiver?. Where are they hurting you the most?.We always try to do that. We try to do that halftime. I really try to challenge the coaches because that’s something I learned from my old boss (Nick Saban) of always trying to be ahead of the curve in that area..So, what are you doing up in the box?. Are you watching the game or are you trying to help the offense?’’
While Georgia is finding ways to win, Ole Miss has found a way to implode while holding leads of at least three touchdowns.
The Rebels led then No. 4 Florida State 28-6, but gave up 30 unanswered points in a 45-34 loss.
It was almost a carbon copy against top-ranked Alabama last Saturday when the Rebels blew a 24-3 lead and lost 48-43.
“Their whole team, you’ve got to give it to them, they play hard despite the two losses,” Smith said.
"We're hungry and ready to get back on the field," Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze said. "It's disappointing any time you're in a competition against some of the nation's elite and don't get the job done when you had a chance to and we did not."
They get another shot at a ranked opponent in Georgia.
Inside linebacker Reggie Carter said the Bulldogs are establishing an identity this season of a team “that always fights and plays hard.”
Not that they wouldn’t rather win by four touchdowns.
“You always want to plan for the worse,” offensive guard Lamont Gaillard said. “We play four quarters for a reason.”
...READ MORE HERE...
September 23rd, 2016 02:26 PM
The plan was for Chuks Amaechi and Lorenzo Carter to hear but not see what turned out to be Georgia’s latest example of its early season ability to pull out tight games.
The Bulldog outside linebackers turned to face the crowd last Saturday at Missouri with their backs to the field at a crucial fourth-and-10 and Georgia trailing by six. That’s when freshman quarterback Jacob Eason delivered a 20-yard touchdown pass to Isaiah McKenzie with 1:29 to go.
“I was pretty much watching that whole drive just holding my breath,” Carter said. “On fourth down, I saw Chuks and he wasn’t looking. I was like ‘You can’t watch this?’ Once I saw how crazy it was, I had to turn around and just trust the offense. I turned around at the end after I heard everybody cheer.”
Amaechi looked at Missouri fans after the play and “saw wide mouths and heads in laps.” He said he thought Carter “caved in and turned around.”
The 28-27 victory put the No. 12 Bulldogs at 3-0 heading into Saturday’s game at No. 23 Ole Miss.
Georgia overcame a second-half deficit to win for the third straight game for the first time since 1990. The Bulldogs did it 26 years ago in home wins over Southern Miss, 18-17, Alabama, 17-16, and East Carolina, 19-15.
The Bulldogs’ three wins this year have come by a combined 12 points.
“I was proud of how everybody reacted and nobody really got down and we just kept fighting,” Carter said.
Fullback Christian Payne said the team has a mindset of it will “keep chopping” until the end.
The message coming from coach Kirby Smart and defensive coordinator Mel Tucker to players on the field is similar to what graduate transfer defensive back Maurice Smith heard last season from Smart and Tucker at Alabama during the Crimson Tide’s national championship run, he said.
“Just resiliency and just forgetting the last play,” Smith said. “You may make a bad play on the last play, but it’s about the next play. … It makes a lot of difference for the players. It makes us feel we can mess up full speed and still have another chance to fix it.”
Said Carter: “Our coaches have made it a mindset and created a culture where we’re not going to give up, we’re going to keep fighting for 60 minutes. That’s what we’ve been doing.”
Inside linebacker Natrez Patrick says a lot of what has happened is player driven.
“Honestly, although the coaches are a big factor, I feel like the players kind of stay in it as well,” he said. “We’re kind of leaning on guys to keep your head up. Basically, just staying motivated.”
Georgia overcame a 24-14 third-quarter deficit to beat North Carolina, 33-24. It held on to edge Nicholls State, 26-24, after trailing 14-13 in the third. Of course, that isn’t something to pound your chest about considering the Bulldogs were favored by more than 50 points against the FCS opponent and didn’t score in the fourth quarter.
Patrick points to Georgia’s strength and conditioning staff’s offseason program for the Bulldogs finish out games.
“Being able to sustain in those late hours,” Patrick said. “We never stopped fighting. We’re never going to stop fighting.”
“You think about definitely in the fourth quarter, when it starts to get hard and all the monkey start jumping on your back,” Carter said. “It’s when you really have to think about all the hard work you put in over the summer.
In-game coaching adjustments certainly play a role in any game like when.Georgia inserted Quincy Mauger for Aaron Davis in the second half and the safety had a pair of interceptions, but Smart downplayed that so far.
“It’s like, we make them but sometimes you make them and they’re not right, sometimes you make them and they are,” he said. “Maybe they move a chess move and we move a chess move..You try to create advantages for yourself, but there’s nothing that I can point to that was like the greatest thing ever..If you can’t run inside, you try to run outside. If you can’t throw it across the middle, you try to throw outside. Try to find a way to protect certain guys on defense..Where’s the best receiver?. Where are they hurting you the most?.We always try to do that. We try to do that halftime. I really try to challenge the coaches because that’s something I learned from my old boss (Nick Saban) of always trying to be ahead of the curve in that area..So, what are you doing up in the box?. Are you watching the game or are you trying to help the offense?’’
While Georgia is finding ways to win, Ole Miss has found a way to implode while holding leads of at least three touchdowns.
The Rebels led then No. 4 Florida State 28-6, but gave up 30 unanswered points in a 45-34 loss.
It was almost a carbon copy against top-ranked Alabama last Saturday when the Rebels blew a 24-3 lead and lost 48-43.
“Their whole team, you’ve got to give it to them, they play hard despite the two losses,” Smith said.
"We're hungry and ready to get back on the field," Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze said. "It's disappointing any time you're in a competition against some of the nation's elite and don't get the job done when you had a chance to and we did not."
They get another shot at a ranked opponent in Georgia.
Inside linebacker Reggie Carter said the Bulldogs are establishing an identity this season of a team “that always fights and plays hard.”
Not that they wouldn’t rather win by four touchdowns.
“You always want to plan for the worse,” offensive guard Lamont Gaillard said. “We play four quarters for a reason.”
...READ MORE HERE...
