Iron Bowl quarterbacks relying on short memories

Posted 6:10PM on Monday 13th November 2006 ( 18 years ago )

John Parker Wilson drew a blank when asked after the LSU game what happened on a key interception. The Alabama quarterback had long since moved on to the next play, the next series, the next game. No sense dwelling on bad plays, or good ones, he figures. ``I have a really short memory,'' Wilson said. ``I think that's important.'' It's especially important for Wilson and Auburn's Brandon Cox entering Saturday's Iron Bowl in Tuscaloosa. Both had costly turnovers in last week's losses. Wilson would like to forget two plays from an otherwise strong performance. Cox would just as soon wipe away the entire game against Georgia, when the normally reliable quarterback completed as many passes to Bulldogs as to Tigers. They're both adopting similar attitudes to avoid having those mistakes carry over into preparation for the Iron Bowl. ``That's part of the position,'' Cox said. ``You've got to just put it behind you.'' That's especially challenging for him. Cox passed for just 35 yards in the 37-15 loss to the Bulldogs. Of his 12 passes, one-third were completed and one-third intercepted in easily his worst game at Auburn. His struggles didn't start against Georgia, though. In fact, Cox had thrown six interceptions in a 19-game stretch since getting picked off four times in his starting debut against Georgia Tech last season. He has thrown seven interceptions in his last three games since then. ``This one was worse than Georgia Tech, but you can compare it a lot to that one,'' said Cox, who still passed for 342 yards in that game. ``Everybody's been telling me everybody has a bad day, and that one was definitely one of my bad days.'' He took a hit on his sore right knee on Auburn's first offensive play. It might not have affected his throwing arm, but it didn't exactly soothe his psyche. ``Every time I get hit on it, it swells up and tightens up on me,'' Cox said. ``I was wanting to not get hit on it all game, and the first play of the game I got hit on it. I kind of got frustrated after that. It was hurting, but I don't want to say it affected my throwing.'' Despite his two costly mistakes, Wilson actually had one of his better games in the 28-14 loss at LSU. He passed for a career-high 291 yards and two touchdowns. For the record, however, that interception by Chevis Jackson came on third-and-10 from the LSU 23 in the third quarter, after LSU had scored to take a two-touchdown lead. But coach Mike Shula, a former quarterback, likes how Wilson handles his mistakes. ``That stuff doesn't bother him,'' Shula said. ``He's not going to be one that's going to sit there and argue about this and that, or I thought this or I thought that. ``He says, 'You're right. I've got to do it better and I'll do it better next time.' That's what makes it so easy to coach him and so fun to coach him.'' Likewise, Auburn's Tommy Tuberville said his confidence in Cox has not wavered. He even cited as a sign of his competitive fire Cox's shoving of Georgia defensive tackle Charles Johnson, who was blocking him after one interception. Both were flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct. ``He'll be fine. There's no better competitor on this team than Brandon,'' Tuberville said. ``He's tough physically and mentally. Just talking about that guy going after him in the end zone that didn't faze him one bit. If he could run, I'd play him on defense.'' Both Wilson and Cox have some experience in the Iron Bowl. Cox threw two touchdown passes in last year's 28-18 win, though Auburn mostly ran in the second half with a sizable lead. Wilson got much less exposure. He played in one late series in relief of a battered Brodie Croyle. Wilson set up his 1-yard touchdown run with a long pass to DJ Hall still his favorite target a year later. He doesn't put too much stock in that experience helping him on Saturday. ``The game was kind of out of reach,'' Wilson said. ``Coach just told me to warm up. It happened real quick. I didn't have time to think about what was going on.'' Besides, he has a short memory.

http://accesswdun.com/article/2006/11/100259