Comments (0) | |

Thursday, Jan. 01, 2009

Adams: Take one final, good look at this group

ORLANDO, Fla. — A day after ESPN’s Chris Mortensen reported that NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said there would be no rookie salary cap instituted before the 2010 season, Georgia running back Knowshon Moreno was asked about his thoughts on the new developments.

Instead of answering the question, however, Moreno posed one of his own.

“Who’s Goodell?” the sophomore back said.

Yes, it’s true. Moreno had no clue who Goodell was or why he was in a position to declare that the rookie cap was a moot point for the foreseeable future. Moreno freely admits that he doesn’t watch NFL games and his knowledge about the league extends as far as the Madden video game series.

Yet that likely won’t stop him from declaring himself eligible for the draft in the next few weeks, leaving the Bulldogs behind for the millions of dollars expected to come his way in the NFL.

Call it a hunch, but on pure body language alone Moreno seems like he has already made up his mind about leaving. Georgia quarterback Matthew Stafford, however, seems to be more reserved and needs to be convinced about one path or the other.

Either way the two decide, today’s Capital One Bowl will mark the end of an era for this Georgia team.

With most Bulldogs fans enamored with the problems and disappointments of this year’s team, what has mostly gone unnoticed is the amount of talent wearing red and black on display each Saturday. Of course, Stafford and Moreno are a huge part of that, but it will be the final time they take the field as a group with senior wide receiver Mohamed Massaquoi and freshman receiver A.J. Green.

The amount of talent packed into those four bodies is staggering. While Massaquoi will be gone, Green definitely will be back, and Stafford and Moreno are on the fence about their futures.

One thing is certain. Today is the final time the four will play together.

“They’ve been great,” head coach Mark Richt said. “If you can have that kind of production every year, you’re going to win a bunch of games. You’re going to enjoy coaching them, too. And it’s fun for the fans to run the ball and throw and catch the way that they have.”

Yes, they have been great. Yes, they have been productive. Yes, they have won a bunch of games.

But it’s tough to believe Stafford, Moreno and Massaquoi likely will leave Georgia without so much as an SEC East championship. With so much talent on one team, it seemed as if earning an SEC championship game berth was a foregone conclusion this year.

Of course, we all know how that worked out. It’s nothing necessarily to be ashamed about, but it’s certainly sad to see one of Georgia’s most talented teams in recent years go without some sort of title.

Today’s game could at least provide a consolation prize of sorts for the talent-ridden Bulldogs should they beat Michigan State.

The Spartans are good, make no mistake about it, but on paper, they’re not more talented than Georgia. They have Javon Ringer, but they don’t have Moreno, Stafford, Massaquoi or Green.

It’s likely the final chance for three of those four players to cement their legacies in the annals of Georgia history.

While the season will likely be remembered for what the Bulldogs weren’t able to accomplish, a footnote to be proud of is how well these four played together, even if it ends up only being for a short time.

Contact Jay Adams at 744-4401 or jadams@macon.com