Joe Cox suddenly has critics, but he really doesnāt care
Athens ā A week ago he was D.J. Shockley, the senior quarterback who waited his turn and would lead Georgia to the SEC championship. Today some folks are wondering if Joe Cox is actually Joe Tereshinski III, the senior quarterback who waited his turn and wound up losing his job.
Memo to those folks: Joe Cox claims he doesnāt hear you, and even if he did he wouldnāt be bothered.
āIām sure there was [negative] stuff said,ā Cox said Tuesday, three days after Georgia laid a substantial egg in Stillwater, Okla. āHalf the people who are saying things have never played a down of football in their lives. Iād never criticize somebody like that, but they might think itās their place to say how someone is doing even though theyāve never done it. I consider the source, whoās talking. If itās someone who hasnāt played football, I could care less.ā
Joe Cox was OK in Week 1. He completed half his 30 passes for 162 yards. He threw one touchdown pass, one interception. He lost a fumble on a sack. āI did some things well,ā he said. āI didnāt do enough to win the game. There are a lot of things I can do better.ā
Lest we forget, it was his first start in nearly three calendar years. Heād had ample time to envision the moment, and he was, he said, disappointed by the arrival of reality. āTo have waited so long, I expected to play better. I didnāt do what I needed to do.ā
Georgia had seven snaps beyond the 50 on its first drive; it had seven more thereafter, and two of those were kicks. Obvious question: Was Coxās much-discussed health an issue? āI was OK. I was good enough to play.ā
He might or might not be D.J. Shockley, but Joe Cox will never be confused with Alibi Ike. He expected to lead this team to great things and expects it still. For that to happen, though, he sees one thing that must be different. āJust offensively, at times we were playing not to mess up rather than just cutting things loose,ā he said. āThatās what to needs to change.ā
Georgia might or might not beat South Carolina this weekend ā I like the Bulldogs, for what thatās worth ā but donāt count on its starting quarterback going down quite so meekly this time. And donāt count on him losing his job anytime soon. Heāll be OK. Maybe not great, but definitely OK.
