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Friday, Jan. 02, 2009

Adams: Martinez’s defense produces strong closing statement

ORLANDO, Fla. — It’s not as if Georgia defensive coordinator Willie Martinez had to fight for his job Thursday since head coach Mark Richt had already come out and said there will be no staff changes in the offseason, but Martinez sure coached as if his position was on the line.

The much-maligned assistant was strapped with the tall task of trying to stop Michigan State running back Javon Ringer — one of the top backs in the country.

The running back with the most carries in the FBS this season, however, became a secondary weapon. Georgia made it known all week that its game plan was to put the game in the hands of Spartans quarterback Brian Hoyer, and that’s exactly what the Bulldogs did in Thursday’s Capital One Bowl.

Ringer was shut down consistently, becoming a surprising non-factor as Michigan State tried to do what it could with its passing game to hang with the Bulldogs.

The Spartans did that for the first half of the game, but it wasn’t because of a lack of strength on Georgia’s defense. The unit held strong during a tight first half as Michigan State received enviable field position because of the inability of Georgia’s offense to find an early rhythm.

Because of that, the onus was on the defense, and Martinez’s crew rose to the occasion. Perhaps the biggest stop Georgia had came in the first quarter after quarterback Matthew Stafford threw an interception that just tipped off the hands of Michael Moore.

The Spartans started that drive at the Georgia 6-yard line and the Bulldogs toughened up, allowing just 3 yards and forcing Michigan State to settle for a field goal.

All told, the Georgia defense surrendered just 31 total rushing yards and 169 through the air while racking up six sacks from a pass rush that had been a model of inconsistency all season.

After the game, Georgia’s defensive players were quick to come to Martinez’s defense, saying that this was a statement game for them to show the fans how confident they are in their defensive coordinator.

“For Coach Martinez, we heard the kind of criticism he was getting, and we all knew in our hearts that he was a great coach, that it was us that made the difference,” Georgia linebacker Rennie Curran said. “We had to come out and execute, and that’s what I think we did.”

Said cornerback Asher Allen: “(The fans are) going to be with you when you’re doing good and trying to bring you down when you’re not, but Coach Martinez has done a great job since he’s been here, and I think everything he’s done for us on and off the field showed in how we played today. I think we should have been doing it the whole year, but playing four quarters like we did today was good.”

In a 60-minute season finale that lacked a lot of the excitement expected out of a Georgia-Michigan State matchup, it was Martinez’s defense that perhaps made the greatest difference.

The coaching staff, for one of the few times this season, showed an overwhelming ability to adjust to what an opposing team was showing them, and that proved to be essential to Georgia walking away with another 10-win season and the Capital One Bowl trophy.

It’s tough to say whether Thursday’s performance completely wiped away the memory of some poor defensive showings in a season riddled with high expectations, but it has to be nice for Georgia fans to know that, since they’re stuck with Martinez for the foreseeable future, he may not be as inept as he has sometimes been made out to be.

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