Yo D.J.
A few days ago, when I was pointing out some of the headlines on ESPN.com, the top college football headline at the time (on Monday night) was “Georgia’s Shockley cleared to practice Tuesday,” which shouldn’t necessarily stand out…Yet, after reading an article on CBS Sportsline this past Sunday, a couple quotes from D.J. Shockley did grab my attention:
"If they really needed me, I would have played."
Well, after watching a few of UGA’s offensive possessions against Florida last Saturday, it seemed pretty clear to me that they really needed you…Even on one leg, I think Shockley—the SEC's highest-rated passer—could have been more effective than Joe Tereshinski, a first-time starter who had thrown 23 career passes.
"It was one of those situations if something did happen, I might be out the rest of the year. Maybe it's a good thing I sat out."
Yeah, maybe it’s a good thing you sat out, but like Bill Walton says, “You’re playing for the ultimate prize, big fella….” Sure, you may be out the rest of the year if something happened and your current injury worsened. But with the loss last weekend, any chance that UGA had left in regard to playing in the national title game has almost certainly vanished, even if the odds were heavily against them in the first place…
Sure, it is still very likely that UGA could win the SEC title and go to a New Year’s Day bowl, if not a BCS bowl…Yet, when its been 25 years since your last national title and you start the season 7-0, shouldn’t you treat every game as the biggest game of the year? Shouldn’t you play for now and not for the rest of the year? As the Sportsline article said, chances like this don’t come along every year…
I should point out that by no means do I want it to sound like I’m calling Shockley out, nor am I questioning his heart and toughness…I actually have a lot of respect for him after he has been so patient over his years at Georgia, waiting for his chance to start after sitting behind David Greene for the majority of the last three years, this despite coming in as top QB recruits in the country…
Still, I don’t think he did himself any favors with his post game comments—at least with Georgia fans and others in SEC country—by saying he could have played against Florida if his team really needed him…Sure, some of [UGA Head Coach] Mark Richt’s play-calling should be called into question after last Saturday’s game, but it was pretty clear to me that the ‘Dawgs really needed D.J.
As the article above pointed out, Florida had the nation's No. 5 defense, while Georgia's offense was second in the SEC, and Shockley was the conference’s highest-rated passer…Yet without Shockley, UGA was held to 134 yards and 21 points below its average.
Shockley would later add, "You always gotta think when you're out, what would have happened if you had played? It's hard when you're team is out there fighting and you really can't help them."
I guess we’ll never know what would have happened if he had played…However, at least it’s good to know that he could have played if they really needed him…
On a side note, Georgia can take solace in the following quote from Tereshinski following the tough loss, “[L]uckily, I do get one more shot at these guys next year."
"If they really needed me, I would have played."
Well, after watching a few of UGA’s offensive possessions against Florida last Saturday, it seemed pretty clear to me that they really needed you…Even on one leg, I think Shockley—the SEC's highest-rated passer—could have been more effective than Joe Tereshinski, a first-time starter who had thrown 23 career passes.
"It was one of those situations if something did happen, I might be out the rest of the year. Maybe it's a good thing I sat out."
Yeah, maybe it’s a good thing you sat out, but like Bill Walton says, “You’re playing for the ultimate prize, big fella….” Sure, you may be out the rest of the year if something happened and your current injury worsened. But with the loss last weekend, any chance that UGA had left in regard to playing in the national title game has almost certainly vanished, even if the odds were heavily against them in the first place…
Sure, it is still very likely that UGA could win the SEC title and go to a New Year’s Day bowl, if not a BCS bowl…Yet, when its been 25 years since your last national title and you start the season 7-0, shouldn’t you treat every game as the biggest game of the year? Shouldn’t you play for now and not for the rest of the year? As the Sportsline article said, chances like this don’t come along every year…
I should point out that by no means do I want it to sound like I’m calling Shockley out, nor am I questioning his heart and toughness…I actually have a lot of respect for him after he has been so patient over his years at Georgia, waiting for his chance to start after sitting behind David Greene for the majority of the last three years, this despite coming in as top QB recruits in the country…
Still, I don’t think he did himself any favors with his post game comments—at least with Georgia fans and others in SEC country—by saying he could have played against Florida if his team really needed him…Sure, some of [UGA Head Coach] Mark Richt’s play-calling should be called into question after last Saturday’s game, but it was pretty clear to me that the ‘Dawgs really needed D.J.
As the article above pointed out, Florida had the nation's No. 5 defense, while Georgia's offense was second in the SEC, and Shockley was the conference’s highest-rated passer…Yet without Shockley, UGA was held to 134 yards and 21 points below its average.
Shockley would later add, "You always gotta think when you're out, what would have happened if you had played? It's hard when you're team is out there fighting and you really can't help them."
I guess we’ll never know what would have happened if he had played…However, at least it’s good to know that he could have played if they really needed him…
On a side note, Georgia can take solace in the following quote from Tereshinski following the tough loss, “[L]uckily, I do get one more shot at these guys next year."
posted by Charles De Mar at 6:34 PM
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