Good Quote, Bad Quote: Pre-Spring Edition

We got to pepper Georgia's players with a lot of questions yesterday, and to prove they weren't anywhere close to midseason form when it comes to dealing with the media, we actually got a few good, candid answers. They'll be sick of us soon enough, though, no doubt.

Of course, mixed with the great quotes were a few not-so-great ones, too. So, let's trot out the first edition of our new feature at Bulldogs Blog… Good Quote, Bad Quote.

GOOD QUOTE:

“I was talking to Coach (Mark) Richt about being All-American. I believe that if I would have stayed healthy last year, I would have easily gotten that. So that’s my goal is just to be an All-American.”

That's from A.J. Green, the only guy I know who can use the phrase "Just an All-American" and I wouldn't suggest he might be underselling the accomplishment.

BAD QUOTE:

I asked A.J. what it's been like for him that, entering his third year at UGA, he'll now be playing with his third different quarterback. He said it was definitely a bit odd, particularly since he played with the same QB all through high school. So my follow-up question, of course, was this: "So, does that mean you'll definitely be sticking around for your senior year so you can play with the same QB twice?"

Sadly, there was no such commitment coming from the star wide out: “I don’t know, man," Green said. "Whatever happens.”

I think we all have a pretty good feel for what might happen.

GOOD QUOTE:

“Tell Darick ‘pretty boy’ Rogers he doesn’t have to know me but I bet he will feel me!! Lol”

And…

“I compete against the best receiver in the nation everyday at practice. Why should i worry about that guy.”

Both of those quotes came from Bacarri Rambo's Twitter page in the days following Da'Rick Rogers' last-minute departure from his commitment to UGA and his eventual decision to head to Tennessee instead. Funny stuff, and we all love a little trash talk, right?

Of course, that leads us to...

BAD QUOTE:

“I wasn’t really directly talking to him. I was just shocked that you would say you were going to one school and then change your mind at the last (minute). It wasn’t directed to him. It was directed to no one. I was just confused and curious as to why they would do things like that. But if he wanted to think it was him, I can’t stop him from thinking that, so it’s whatever.”

That's Rambo on his explanation of the war of words with Rogers. Hey, I'm all for trying to throw some water on the fire now, Bacarri, but it's hard to say you didn't direct your comments at a guy when you used his name. Of course, I guess when you hit like Rambo does, who's gonna argue with him?

GOOD QUOTE:

Kris Durham was on hand for interviews, all dressed up in khakis and a button-down shirt. The reason for the nice duds? Well, he said he got dressed up for us, which we of course appreciated, but in fact it's because he has been student teaching at Oconee County Middle School.

Anyway, Durham said he's had the occasional behavior problems with his students, so I asked if he ever threatened to send Bacarri Rambo after them to get them to behave.

“No," Durham said, "I don’t have him using his Twitter page very much.”

Burrrrrrrn!

BAD QUOTE:

Tell me if you remember hearing this before…

“I believe we’re working harder than last year. Last year, we had a lot of leaders and we thought things were just going to be handed to us and didn’t work as hard as we should, I thought at least. This year, we’re working hard.”

That's not from Joe Cox or Rennie Curran or any of the guys who spoke on the subject last offseason. That's from A.J. Green yesterday.

Sorry, A.J. I'm just not buying in this year.

GOOD QUOTE:

“From what they said the other day, they gave more A’s than they’ve given in a long time. The guys are really going to work, just really trying hard to impress the coaches and trying to get better. You can tell everybody’s excited around here, especially the defensive guys. We’re ready to go to where I feel Coach (Todd) Grantham and the defensive staff will just let us play and let us have fun out there."

Now, I'm definitely going to be a bit more skeptical of the hard work and leadership quotes this offseason, but I gotta say, this quote from Marcus Dowtin is pretty encouraging.

While I'm sure every offseason is The Best Offseason Ever, I think there probably is a good bit of truth to what Dowtin said. In fact, it was obvious just from talking to the defensive players how enthusiastic and excited they are about the new regime and the new scheme.

In fact, here's one last quote I think every UGA fan will be excited about, courtesy of Mr. Rambo...

GOOD QUOTE

“It’s a whole lot different, especially with the footwork that Coach (Scott) Lakatos is teaching us," Rambo said of working with his new defensive backs coach. "Most of the people in the NFL run the same thing as Coach Lakatos is teaching us. It’s a whole different footwork thing from Coach Martinez.”

And not to bash Willie Martinez, but here's how Branden Smith discussed learning that new footwork:

“Backpedaling, coming out of the breaks, turning – those are different," Smith said. "The footwork that Coach Lakatos is teaching us right now, I’ve done it in high school, so it’s nothing new and it’s easier to learn.”

I can only assume if it was good enough for the five-star player in high school, and it's good enough for the pros in the NFL, it's going to be a nice addition to the secondary at UGA.