Spring Break
CHOMPED: Cox takes blame for latest loss
TYLER ESTEP
Issue date: 11/2/09 Section: Sports
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Not quite an apology, but an admission of guilt.
Right or wrong, he takes all the blame for Georgia's 41-17 trouncing at the hands of Florida Saturday, and, by extension, the Bulldogs' unprecedented 4-4 season.
"I lost the game with three picks," said Cox, the Bulldogs' embattled quarterback. "That score does not reflect how we played, how we moved the ball. It's the truth. Any time you turn the ball over that many times and give people chances to score, a good team's going to score. And they did. That's why we got beat."
Coming into the season, everyone was pulling for Cox -the fifth-year senior who loved Georgia so much that he stuck around, sat and watched Matthew Stafford.
He was the impassioned redhead, the fiery leader that Georgia needed after a season that saw the Bulldogs begin at No. 1 and finish with missed expectations.
He was the Elite 11 quarterback who never lost a game in high school, and was just waiting for his chance on the college level. He was the good guy, the one that harbored no dreams of the NFL and just wanted to be a football coach.
He had no dreams of personal grandeur for his one shot - he just wanted Georgia to be as good as it could be.
And now, after throwing three interceptions Saturday in Jacksonville, he's blaming himself, for his own missed ambitions and Georgia's struggles.
"It's tough. You work so hard for a moment and when it doesn't go your way, especially with everything you put into it, it's as bad as you would imagine," Cox said.
"Not a lot of people have to deal with that and know what it feels like. And it's not just me. It's all these seniors. And all these young guys too. This isn't the way that Georgia should play football. I feel bad for the whole senior class … And I feel bad for everybody in our program. We know how we're supposed to play, and so far we haven't clicked at all and gotten done what we were supposed to do.
"It's disappointing."
Cox has had his high points this season. He was named a national offensive player of the week after his 375-yard, five-touchdown performance against Arkansas. He led a similar aerial attack against South Carolina.
But the Charlotte, N.C., native has thrown 12 interceptions now. Fans' clamoring for highly-touted freshman Aaron Murray to get a shot under center is getting louder. And head coach Mark Richt is no longer in "Joe Cox is the definite starter" mode.
"Any decision I make or we make as a staff, it's based on the best chance we have to win this year," Richt said in his weekly Sunday teleconference. "We owe that to our seniors, our fans, to everybody who busts their tails every week."
Two of Cox's interceptions against the Gators were the result of tips at the line of scrimmage. His third found receiver A.J. Green vulnerable to a big hit over the middle. He got it, and Florida got the ball again.
A lot of his turnovers this season have been poor decisions, he'll tell you. And some have been bad luck too.
Whatever the coming weeks hold for Cox, his teammates know that he's not the only reason for their collective struggles.
Said wide receiver Michael Moore: "The game should never be put on the shoulders of one person. There's 22 people on the field, 33 if you count special teams. There's so many people that have that chance to make that play, make that catch, make that block, make that run. He shouldn't [take all the blame]. Everybody's got to look at themselves."
Said tight end Aron White: "I love Joe to death. Everybody on the team loves Joe to death. We've got so much respect for him. A lot of guys have been saying, 'I'm playing this season because this is Joe's shot.' We love the guy that much. Everybody's made mistakes across the board."
White's statement is true. The offensive line, perceived to be a strength coming into the season, has been inconsistent. Cox hasn't had much of a running game to take the pressure off him, and, outside of Green, he doesn't have a consistent second threat through the air.
In his time, sophomore quarterback Logan Gray has struggled too, capped by an interception late in the game against Florida. That, coupled with this week's opponent (Tennessee Tech), would lead you to believe it's not out of the realm of possibility for Murray to make his Bulldog debut this week.
"[Cox] has been taking on the leadership of this program since January," Richt said. "I think men, in general, want respect … Joe is a very respected man in our locker room and in our program. And even afterward you could tell how badly he hurt about this thing. I can't tell you how many guys, offense, defense, freshmen, sophomore, juniors, seniors, came up to him and wanted to let him know how they felt about him."
But, Cox knows, how they feel about him may not be enough anymore.
"I beat the team with my mistakes," he said.
