Greene, Murray Talk Shop

On Thursday, Aaron Murray chatted with reporters for about 20 minutes, discussing his approach to his new role as Georgia's starting quarterback. Among other things, he mentioned he had spent some time chatting with former Bulldogs QB David Greene this offseason -- and planned to talk to Greene a lot more about how to approach life as a starter when you're a redshirt freshman.

As fate would have it, this morning I chatted with David Greene, and I asked him many of the same questions Murray was asked yesterday.

While Murray says he hopes to learn a lot more from Greene in the coming months, comparing what the two had to say leads me to believe he's already taken some very good notes.

Here are some highlights:

David Greene on how a freshman QB should approach his role…
“Both of our situations are pretty similar in the fact that we were playing as redshirt freshmen, and the good situation that he’s in that I also had was that he’s going to have an experienced offensive line in front of him. That’s such a big advantage to have that, and I’d rather have an experience offensive line with a freshman quarterback than I would an inexperienced line with a veteran quarterback. So the key really for Aaron is just like what Coach Richt told me when I was a freshman: ‘You’ve got good players around you, you’re just kind of steering the ship and distributing the ball to guys who are open. You don’t have to do too much, just take what they give you. Just take care of the football, manage the game and go from there.’ Sometimes that’s harder said that done because we’re all competitive, we want to make plays, but at the end of the day, he does have a pretty good supporting cast around him on that offense.”

Aaron Murray on his approach to the job…
"It’s pretty much being smart with the football. What Coach Richt always says is respect the football. That’s pretty much the main goal going into this year is not to be a superstar or make spectacular plays. It’s to respect the football, make plays, make first downs, just utilize the great weapons I have around me. Great plays are going to happen just from ordinary plays because of the athletes we have around us. You can give a 10-yard curl to A.J. Green and he’s going to turn it into a 40 or 50-yard play. Me respecting the ball and making the right decisions and letting those guys do the dirty work – I’ve just got to be smart.”

David Greene on the progression of a young quarterback...
“I don’t think Coach Richt or anybody wants to hold him back from going out there and being the type of player he is, but at the same time, you’ve got to play smart. You want him to think things through, where if you’re in the red zone, you don’t want him forcing a ball and throwing an interception. You’ve just got to play smart, and as a redshirt freshman, you don’t exactly know the speed of the game yet, and you really are learning on the fly. It’s going to be no different than anybody else. There will be bumps in the road, you’re going to go through a little bit of growing pains. But at the same time, the thing I like about Aaron is he’s a kid that’s tough, he’s a kid that wants to be great. He’ll call me up and ask about studying film. He asks a lot of questions because he wants to be good. I’m excited about him. He’s definitely accepted the challenge and is working hard.”

Aaron Murray on how he thinks he will progress…
"Coach Bobo always jokes with me that you’re going to be what Matthew Stafford was in 2007 when we won the Sugar Bowl. You’re going to have to show me what you can do and gradually earn more trust. What I’m going to have to do is continue to learn the defense and become a better quarterback."

David Greene on playing in front of a big crowd, as opposed to practice or G-Day...
“It’s definitely different going out there and practicing and scrimmaging vs. playing in a game. But most people probably won’t remember back in 2002, we had the worst spring game probably in the history of spring games. I played terrible, the team played terrible, and that was probably one of the greatest years we had. We went 13-1. A lot of times, you can’t tell what’s going to take place from the G-Day game. That’s really the first time Aaron got introduced to Georgia when everyone was wondering how this kid’s going to be. You can’t tell that off of one performance. A lot of times in those spring games, coaches are pretty vanilla because it’s on TV, so I wouldn’t put too much stock in that. But also, when it comes to game time, he’s going to have to be ready to go because it’s full tilt.”

Aaron Murray on his expectations for what game conditions will be like…
“I’ve pretty much envisioned by now all the games. I’ve gone through every team and pretty much pictured the stadiums in my mind going to bed at night – just thinking about my goals for every game. I’ve definitely envisioned that first game, but it’s not going to be anything compared to when we actually get out there in front of 90,000 fans. I’m definitely excited about that.”

David Greene on handling the responsibilities of the job as a freshman...
“Sometimes being young and naïve is a plus. When I was a redshirt freshman, what Coach Richt taught me – I thought I knew everything. By the time I was a senior, I realized I didn’t really know anything, I just thought I knew everything. Sometimes being naïve and having a young guy on the field is good because he doesn’t know any better. It seemed like every year, Coach Richt gave me more and more responsibility. Later in my career there were a lot more checks at the line of scrimmage, but my first year, it was Football 101. I was on a need-to-know basis. If this guy comes, you throw hot. Don’t ask why, just do it. That’s the way we did it.”

Aaron Murray on his expectations of his role…
"I’ve never played a game before, so I can’t just go out there and he’s going to have me throw 40 or 50 passes a game. (Bobo) is going to slowly build me up in the offense. The better I do, the more I show him I’m capable of completing certain plays, the more he’s going to trust me in the offense.”

David Greene on how a young QB earns a leadership role...
“When you come in as a freshman and you haven’t really played and you’re surrounded by a bunch of guys that have played, you have to lead by example. You can’t come in there and talk in front of those guys like they don’t know what they’re doing. You have to go out there and earn their respect. That’s the only way you’re going to get it is to go out and work hard every day. Hopefully your play on the field will earn their respect. That’s the only way you can do it.”

Aaron Murray on how he's trying to earn respect…
“It’s not going to be given to me right away and I’m not going to earn it in a week or two from just working hard. It’s going to take some time because we have a very senior group – a bunch of seniors who are good leaders on this team. I just need to be me, not be someone I’m not. I’ve got to find my way of being a leader on this team, my way to motivate people and figure out ways to push them and make them do stuff they never knew they could do. That’s not going to come in a week or two. It’s going to take some time to better understand the guys and what they can do and motivate them and hopefully by this summer hopefully I’ll make some strides in that category.”

* I also want to remind fans that David Greene will be part of a Bulldogs charity auction in Buckhead tomorrow night. You can find details on the event HERE and I'll post a bit more on that this afternoon.

Catching Up With... David Greene

I've been doing this "Catching Up With" series since I started the blog last year, and pretty much since the first one, I've been wanting to track down former quarterback David Greene. As it turned out, he tracked me down (or at least, the publicist for his charity did) last week, and we chatted about everything from the great charity work he does to the future of the Cocktail Party game to his recent retirement from the NFL. It's a pretty long interview, so this might be one you want to print out and read somewhere comfortable (or at least take it back to your desk and pretend you're reading some important work documents so your boss doesn't get wise to your slacking off)...

David Hale: You were out doing a little promotion for your charity event today along with Matt and Jon Stinchcomb. For the fans, it's called Countdown to Kickoff and it brings current and former players and fans together to raise money for Children's Healthcare of Atlanta and the Georgia Transplant Foundation. What's it been like for you coming back and working on that project?

David Greene: It's been amazing really. Last year was the first year I was really involved from the very beginning, and I was amazed at how well they have put this thing together and the support and the amount of fans that show up and the sponsorships we get from corporations. Last year, I think we doubled the proceeds we had the year before. I think last year alone we raised almost $200,000, which is really impressive for any charity being in its third year. So it's really been exciting to be a part of it, and the part that I think is really neat is the way that we can come together and sort of bring together the Georgia fans and Georgia players and actually be able to raise money in the process. It's a win-win for everybody because if you go down this year and see the interaction between the players and the fans, and at the same time we're raising money in the process, it works out good for everybody.

DH: After having moved around a lot to a bunch of NFL cities, it must be nice to come back and be surrounded by so many Georgia fans who probably treat you like you never left.

DG: That's the great thing about it is once you're a Dawg, you're always a Dawg, and we're obviously extremely appreciative of that. And what's neat for us is the way we get current and former players together. We think that's a great aspect where you can have guys who are playing right now alongside guys who were on the 1980 championship team. It hits all age groups as far as who we're appealing to because we're appealing to the kid that has never seen Scott Woerner play, but he knows Mohamed Massaquoi. Well, he can get his autograph, and the dad who was in school with Scott Woerner can get his autograph. It's neat how it appeals to all age groups.

DH: What's it like for you to be around the team these days?

DG: It's good because the atmosphere is pretty much the same because it's the same coaching staff, and obviously it brings back a lot of good memories of exciting times, but it is different because for so many years I was used to coming back and knowing players. Now, this is my fifth year away from it, so I really don't know but just a handful of the guys personally. So when I come back, it's almost like I'm introducing myself to these guys because they weren't there when I played.

DH: What's the reaction you get from that new crop of players? Are they excited to get to meet legendary quarterback David Greene?

DG: Oh no, that's definitely not it. I think it goes both ways. I'm excited to meet the guys that are playing now, and probably some of those guys watched us play when they were in high school.

DH: Well, on the subject of this year's team, I'm curious to get your thoughts on Joe Cox. A lot of people seem to want to make the comparisons between him and your longtime backup, D.J. Shockley, because both waited so long to finally get their chance to start. Do you think those are fair comparisons?

DG: I think they both had experience starting and playing in games. They've been around for a long time, know the offense backwards and forward. And I know Joe is extremely confident in what he can do, and that's half the battle is believing you can do it. Obviously Shock did that. He won an SEC championship the year he started. But I think Joe's going to have a great year. He does a great job of running the offense. He understands his ability and who he is as a quarterback and that's a big key.

DH: There's been a lot of talk recently about moving the Georgia-Florida game out of Jacksonville. As a veteran of a number of those games, including some tough losses, do you think playing it in Jacksonville is unfair for Georgia?

DG: I don't really think it's a disadvantage. I understand it is closer to Gainesville than it is to Athens, but you also could make the argument that Coach Richt has had a lot of success on the road. So I don't think that really matters, plus the stadium is split half Georgia and half Florida fans.

I kind of like the way it's played, but who knows? It's hard to say. Obviously the travel is a little more for us, but we travel for so many games that I really don't think it's that big of a disadvantage.

DH: Speaking of Florida, the Gators just won their second national title. LSU has two in the past few years as well. You were on the Georgia team that came the closest to getting to that level, but there have certainly been a few that have had opportunities. Why do you think the Bulldogs have continued to come up short under Mark Richt?

DG: We've kind of been in a position where we've been right there tinkering on being the best. There's been plenty of years since Coach Richt's been here when we've finished in the top five, and it's just been one or two games that have kept us out of the big games. One of the main things ever since we've been there is we've got to win the big games. We've got to win all of them. I don't know the last time we actually been Florida and Tennessee in the same year. I never did it. It was always one or the other. Eventually we're going to have to win against a national championship contender. We've got to be able to pull them out.

And we play in a tough league. Florida's won national championships. LSU's won national championships. But there's no real slouch. Nobody's in the division that is a gimme. Every single game is hard throughout, so you've really got to play a perfect season. That one year when we went 13-1, we didn't make it to the national championship game. We lost to Florida. It kept us out. So it's hard to say what they've done and what we haven't done. Some of it is a little bit of luck. LSU, fourth down and they throw a fade route for 40 yards and win the game. It's a game of inches, but it's also a little bit of a game of luck and you have to hope that it falls on your side.

DH: Were you surprised at the anger that some fans -- probably a pretty high number of fans -- had about how last season unfolded? The expectations were set so high, but that seemed like the first time there was real anger on the part of a big group of Georgia fans aimed at Coach Richt and his staff.

DG: It's a tough situation to be in because the expectations are set so high year in and year out. I wouldn't necessarily say I was surprised because he's done such an excellent job. He's got a tremendous coaching staff, top-five recruiting classes every year. There's a lot of expectations, but if there's any coach that can pull it off, it's him. He's been a part of national championships, he knows what it looks like, he knows what it takes. He was a part of the best college football that was ever played at Florida State. But he's just got to put it all together. When you have those unbelievable seasons, there's a lot of things that have to fall into place. You've got to keep guys healthy and you've got to win the close ball games. You've got to find a way to do it.

DH: While the on-field outcome wasn't exactly what everyone had hoped last year, the Bulldogs did end up with a quarterback going No. 1 overall in the NFL draft. Have you talked with Matthew Stafford since he was drafted about what it's like playing in the NFL? Have you passed along any advice?

DG: I've talked to him a little bit. Nothing too in depth, I just congratulated him. The main part for him is just to understand that there are going to be a lot of bumps in the road. He's playing at the pinnacle of football. He was the first pick of the draft, so there's going to be a ton of scrutiny, there's going to be a lot on his shoulders. You've just got to be able to take it in stride and not take yourself too, too serious. You just have to understand that there's going to be a lot of scrutiny and hype, and you just have to concentrate on getting better and stick with it.

DH: Speaking of the NFL, after four years, you decided to retire this offseason. What was it that made you decide to give it up?

DG: I got to the point where I just got tired of moving around from city to city. I was with the Colts last year, and in January, it had just been eating at me a little bit. I got a call from the Giants wanting me to come up there and work out, and I really just didn't want to go. I was kind of dreading it. I wasn't looking forward to doing it anymore. I eventually had to just be honest with myself. I wasn't enjoying it as much or looking forward to running and jumping on an airplane for a tryout. When you've already got that feeling, you're not going to be successful at it because at the NFL level, you've got to be at the top of your game, you've got to love it, you've got to have passion and want to work hard and be the best at it. For whatever reason, between moving places, I just got burned out a little bit and I just said to myself, I think it's time to call it quits. I've got a family, I have an 18-month-old son, and I just wanted to settle down in one place. So I'm back in Gwinnett.

DH: So what's in the future for you now that you're done with the NFL?

DG: Right now I'm actually working with Matt Stinchcomb. We have a risk management company. I was a risk management major at Georgia, so that was kind of a natural fit. We're excited about where things are going. Our company is only about six months old, but things have been going well. We're excited about the opportunity and the possibilities out there.

DH: Is there any chance we'll see you back in football one day, maybe as a coach?

DG: I think I always want to be involved with it in some way. I don't think I would ever completely rule out coaching just because I love the game so much. But at this point, I don't really think I would want to be a coach. I have family, and I know that in the fall when you're a coach, you really never get to see your family, and I want to spend as much time with them as possible right now. Of course I love the game, and I would love to help out, but maybe a local high school team or something like that.