Todd Grantham decisively lost the SEC war on the field against South Carolina, but the Georgia defensive coordinator is doing his damndest to “win” the “battle of words” with the Ol’ Ball Coach off of it.
A day or so after his Gamecocks -- or, more to the point, Marcus Lattimore -- ran over, through, around, back over and through again Grantham’s Bulldogs defense, Steve Spurrier took a thinly-veiled shot at the first-year coordinator and his extensive experience at the NFL level.
“That little inside play (we ran), the NFL doesn’t run that play,” Spurrier said Sunday. “That’s a new scheme I guess. I’m sure they knew we’d run it. But they certainly didn’t stop it much.”
Tuesday, the target of Spurrier’s latest verbal jab took a swing back at the veteran coach.
“Yeah, that was texted to me,” Grantham said of Spurrier’s shot. “I appreciate his assistance, you know. But we actually knew what plays they were running. And they actually run that play in pro ball, and our offense actually runs that play, too. So we’re kind of on top of our game.
“It was kind of an out-of-left-field comment. I kind of took it more as a shot at the NFL. I really wasn’t sure if it was because of his lack of success there or what. So I kind of took it more like that than anything.”
So, yeah, in your face Mr. 12-20 Washington Redskins coach.
Of course, if Grantham’s defense could’ve hit back like that on Saturday, perhaps the final stat line wouldn’t have read 37 carries for 182 yards for a true freshman.