Shockley deserves a shot

By: T. Love

Let me preface this post by saying that I support John Joseph Harrington 100%, he is currently the quarterback of our team therefore he has my support. That being said, if you read my post Time to Dispel the Myth, watched Harrington play or just understand X’s and O’s you would know that he is flat out terrible. There is no way around it. Plain and simple. Maybe Joey will resurrect his career here, but I don’t see it happening. This city is cursed with some of the worst luck in sports. Michael Vick was not fighting dogs because he was trying to do something illegal, he did it because he was an Atlanta athlete. Had we drafted LaDainian Tomlinson in 2001, he would have been fighting dogs while Vick was crushing records left and right. I don’t honestly believe that, but it’s hard not to entertain the idea.

So here is my dilemma. Joey Harrington has done everything to prove that he is NOT a starting quarterback in the NFL, yet he was handed the reigns of the Atlanta offense. I simply do not understand why. There is a quarterback on our roster that has all the mental and physical abilities to lead this football team into a new era, but he has not received a chance and I would like to know why.

The most logical explanation would be experience, but does he really have that much? Harrington has started in 66 games during his NFL career, but his teams have never been in the playoff hunt. So he does not exactly have big game experience. There has never been any pressure for him to perform in the crunch. 77 career picks will do that to you. He is not a winner, leader or even be efficient with talent around him.

Enter D.J. Shockley, a class-act (which will keep Arthur and Rich happy as they continue to strive for the choir boy image) winner and a leader.

Shockley went to the University of Georgia as one of the top-rated quarterbacks in the country. He was promised a fair shot at the starting job and that was evident by the number of times he was thrown on the field with UGA inside its own 10 and the team deciding to go shotgun all of a sudden. Most people would have bitched and whined then transferred to Georgia Southern to dominate I-AA. Not Shockley, he stuck it out and was willing to do whatever Coach Richt thought was best for the team. Class act.

After patiently waiting for four years behind David Greene, Shockley finally got his chance to shine and he did just that. 2,588 passing yards with a completion percentage of 56. 24 touchdowns to only five picks and a gaudy QB rating of 148.25, to lead the Bulldogs to the SEC Title and a Sugar Bowl invitation. Winner.

The Sugar Bowl was a home game for the Dawgs as it was played in the Georgia Dome after the events of Hurricane Katrina and UGA was heavily favored against Big East representative West Virginia. With all those factors in place, Richt refused to watch game film, which resulted in a quick 28-0 lead for the Mountaineers. Shockley wouldn’t let UGA give up and staged a comeback which saw him go 20-33 for 277 yards and three touchdowns, while adding 71 yards on the ground. The final outcome was 38-35 in favor of the Mountaineers, but No. 3 never let his team quit. Leader.

Shockley has won on all levels of his career, from Pop Warner to the days of North Clayton high school taking the field against extraordinary players such as myself, Robert Landy and Stephen Hall to his time in Athens. The guy has everything you would look for in a starting quarterback in the NFL, but has not been given an opportunity to showcase it at the elite level. In classic Shockley fashion, he will sit by idly and do what is best for the team.

As a fan, we are in trouble this season. No depth at defensive line, a midget offensive line, weak receivers and a broken down Alge Crumpler. “Fans” will begin jumping ship on this team about Week 6 when I’ll be able to “stretch out” at the Dome.

Harrington is not the answer. This is his third team in three seasons. Why not give the hometown guy a chance? The guy that we all can root for (except for Tech fans, but they should be out building something anyways).

D.J. could be the answer to the quarterback situation. The face of the franchise that everyone can be proud of.

But we aren’t getting the chance to see it, because he continues to wait.