The Future of Georgia Football

I won't spend too much time dissecting the Stafford and Moreno decisions. But I'll break it down like this. I certainly would have liked for them both to have stayed. If I had been advising them, I would have told Moreno to go ahead, but for Stafford to stay put another year. I won't speculate what I would have done if I was them, since I'm not, but I must admit if I had the chance to go in the NFL and make millions, I'd probably take it. I could always come back and finish college 10-15 years down the road. I will say this about Stafford. Listening to him in the press conference, I didn't get the vibe that he is mentally ready for the NFL. (Not Moreno either for that matter) But at least Moreno stands to go to a pretty good team. The highest I saw him possibly going was 12th overall to Denver, and that's a playoff potential team. Some other potential suitors (Chicago, New York Jets, New Orleans, New England) are close to being playoff teams. Stafford will probably wind up in one of four places: Detroit, St. Louis, Kansas City, San Francisco. But let's assume these experts are right, and the Lions do take him first overall. He will step into the league's worst franchise in a city with the bleakest of bleak economic outlooks. And he will be expected by many Lions fans to be the savior. Is he ready to take that on? God help him. But that being said, what's done is done. I wish them nothing but the best in their NFL careers.

Now in regards to the future of Georgia, I certainly don't believe it is one of despair. Regardless of the officious prick Jim Rome's opinion, Georgia has more than a chance to have a very successful 2009 campaign and success even further down the road. Joe Cox, a nation turns its lonely eyes to you...uh, the Bulldog nation anyway. I'm comfortable with Mark Richt and Mike Bobo's full endorsement of Cox as a perfectly capable QB, and I think in many ways, he could be more successful than Stafford. Many are likening the situation to DJ Shockley in 2005, when in his one and only chance to lead the Bulldogs, he helped bring in an SEC championship. Cox certainly doesn't have Stafford's arm strength, and he's not going to be the sexy first round draft pick. But I'm thinking he'll probably be much more than merely serviceable. Cox does throw a more accurate deep ball, and he will probably make much better decisions than Stafford did.

Also to keep in mind is that the Bulldogs will have a veteran and seasoned offensive line coming back, all of it to be exact, that will protect Cox. This includes their best lineman Trinton Sturdivant, who missed all of 2008 with a knee injury. And I would say that an offensive line like the prospective one for 2009 certainly would have helped Stafford out much more. Cox will have a multitude of good receivers to throw to, the biggest target being AJ Green. But remember that Mike Moore looked really impressive this year, and Kris Durham, Tavarres King and Israel Troupe should all contribute as well. That's not to mention a couple of recruits coming in that could see time. Cox should be fine. He knows the system, and he should manage it well. He's led the Bulldogs to victory before. (Colorado 2006) I could even see Georgia mixing Logan Gray in similar to the way that Florida mixed Tim Tebow in in 2006, and LSU Ryan Perriloux in 2007. And keep in mind incoming freshman Aaron Murray, who I think we'll see in 2010, and who I think we'll be a stud.

Perhaps the biggest area of concern is the running back position. Who will step up in Moreno's place? There's talk about moving Richard Samuel to linebacker, but who knows? I would expect Caleb King will have a chip on his shoulder during the off season, but he definitely has the ability. Dontavious Jackson and Carlton Thomas, both of whom were red shirted, have the talent, and Washaun Ealey could make an impact. It may be a running back by committee thing, until one of them steps up as the guy.

Georgia's defense stands to improve for next season. With all of the defensive tackles, except Corey Irvin returning, the Bulldogs will have plenty of depth. Geno Atkins is back, along with Jeff Owens, who will be returning from a season ending injury. Rennie Curran, Daryl Gamble and Akeem Dent will all be back at linebacker, even though the Dogs are losing Dannell Ellerbe. Let's just hope that players like Darius Dewberry, Akeem Hebron and Marcus Dowtin can step up and be reliable backups. The secondary should be improved, providing Reshad Jones can become more disciplined at safety. Look for incoming freshman Branden Smith to make an immediate impact. The biggest concern on defense will probably be at defensive end. Who will step up at that position? Demarcus Dobbs? Justin Houston? Maybe incoming Toby Jackson?

As for special teams, I would hope that Blair Walsh can get his kickoffs under control, and I think Georgia will be fine.

The team could benefit from a little more favorable schedule. Starting at Stillwater will be tough, but the Dogs also get Arizona State at home and LSU at home, even though the Tigers could creep back up to prominence next season. Biggest of all is that Georgia gets a bye week before Florida. Can't complain there. There are of course the tough ones, like the trip to Knoxville, but I'm still more comfortable with the 2009 schedule than the 2008 one. And finally with Stafford and Moreno now gone, the media's expectations for Georgia will drop. So almost certainly no pre-season number one ranking, maybe not even top 10. And the Bulldogs have done much better when they were lying under the radar. Don't set your sites too high that Georgia may win a championship next year, but absolutely don't write it off as a rebuilding project.

Just remember the striking similarities between 2005 and 2009. After a disappointing 2004 in which the Bulldogs failed to meet their high expectations, they lost David Greene, David Pollack, Fred Gibson, Reggie Brown, Odell Thurman and Thomas Davis among others. The jury was still out on DJ Shockley, and yet the Bulldogs won the SEC.