FOOTBALL
Coach Mark Richt
It depends on the day, it depends on the game. If they do what they’ve been doing and score at the pace they’ve been scoring, it puts pressure on all offenses to keep up. That’s what I was saying earlier, you have a plan going in and you want to stick to your plan, but if the points get so far out of whack that you just have to flat out try to chunk it every down to stay in it, it can put a lot of pressure on you. It’s been well-documented; everybody seems to remind me once a week that when we start slow, we don’t win. You don’t want to start slow in this one. Last year we started out down 14-0 and came back and won it. This offense here is more prolific than a year ago. It would be tough to get in that situation.
On whether he expects Cam Newton to be distracted:
I don’t know. It didn’t seem to bother him last week, so I doubt it. Usually when you start playing ball, whether you are practicing it or playing it, no matter what’s going on around you it’s usually kind of a haven for an athlete to able to just be in his element and be able to shut everything out, shut the world out, and just go have fun playing ball.
On who Georgia will use to simulate Cam Newton in practice:
Parker Welch, just because he’s been our scout team quarterback all along, and one of the best similarities I guess I can say he has to Cam is he wears No. 2 this week. Parker is a great scout team quarterback. He throws the ball real well. He’s doing great for us, but he’s not 6-6, 250 and it’s just a little different.
I hope so. When you call certain plays that you know he’s primary, you also know that coverage's can dictate a ball going somewhere else. What you don’t want to do is purposely all day long throw into double coverage, but you also want to make sure there is enough in your system where he is going to get those opportunities. I did go back and study that pretty good. I know we called 16 plays (against Florida) where he was primary and we had another six that he could have easily gotten the ball. You can just stand up and throw that quick screen or some plays where you think he’ll be able to catch it and get some good yardage from it, but he’s a vertical threat. You want to get the ball to him vertically, so hopefully we’ll get it to him more than we did against Florida.
On Auburns defense:
You know what the biggest problem is? The biggest problem in my opinion is Nick Fairley because he makes it very difficult. We talk about getting the ball downfield to A.J. (Green), but to do that you have to hold the ball a little while. Its hard to hold the ball a little while when that guy is coming, because he is relentless. I think Ben Jones is a pretty good center, and I think Cordy (Glenn) is a pretty good guard. But this guy is a lot to handle. Fifteen quarterback hurries, 18 tackles for loss, seven and a half sacks, those are huge numbers for a interior defensive lineman. Those are Warren Sapp kind of numbers. We played him at Florida State, and at Miami in those days played a 4-3 stack defense cover two almost every single down, and they had these four defensive linemen ends and Warren who would just blow up your running game and blow up your passing game. They just were that good. Nick, he’s the closest thing I’ve seen to Warren Sapp in all the years I’ve been coaching. He’s that big of a load. You have to have some kind of plan for the guy, and even that doesn’t always work. He’s a good one.
QB #11 Aaron Murray
It’s huge. They’re a very tough offensive team and have put up some unbelievable numbers this season. I have total confidence in our defense that they’ll be able to hold them in line. We need to make sure were hitting on all cylinders when it comes to running, passing, and protecting. We’ve done a great job the past five or so weeks. I think we’ve scored 30 or more points in five straight games. We’re feeling good and feel like we can move the ball against anyone. We just need to go out there and execute like we have been.
On what it will take to do that:
We just need to stay focused and stay disciplined. We can’t go out and think we need to score 100 points. We need to keep doing our thing, keep pounding the ball when we run and get those extra yards whenever we can. We don’t need to score touchdowns every time we touch the ball. It will be about managing the clock and keeping their offense on the sideline. If we can keep our defense resting, keep them off the field, that’ll be huge for us. We need to win the time of possession battle, execute, and keep doing our thing like we have been.
On the teams recent slow starts:
I’m hoping the last two games [Florida and Idaho State] were just two random days and that that won’t happen anymore. I need to stay focused anymore. I’ve not been as accurate as I wanted to be to start games off. I’ve had to correct myself mentally during the game and figure out what I’ve been doing come the second quarter or second half. I need to make a mental note to do that before I get out there and I’ll be fine.
TE #7 Orson Charles
On Auburn QB Cam Newton:
I’m pretty sure our defense has something going on to stop Cam. We have a lot of good athletes. It’s Georgia vs. Auburn. Cam Newton has to throw to somebody, so it’s Georgia vs. Auburn their 11 vs. our 11.
On being the underdog:
To tell the truth I feel like everyone will be turning CBS on to see Auburn. The Bulldogs have to come out and just play. That’s the whole mindset, just to go out and play. You cant worry about Auburn and TV and everybody looking for Auburn to beat us. We’ll just have fun and go out and play ball.
On his connection with Aaron Murray and the clicking of the offense recently:
The coaches have been calling good plays, and I’ve been getting open. It’s been sort of pitch-and-catch and everyone’s going out and having fun. Were more confident in what we’re doing, buying into what Coach [Mike] Bobo is saying. We’re practicing hard. Aaron’s doing a great job of carrying the offense.
This is a great blog. I read you every day since I found it. Lots of information just straight up. Thanks, Danny!
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