Mixed weekend for Bulldogs QB clubbers Stafford, Shockley, Cox

Stafford: Well, I got named starter for the Detroit Lions even though I've never played a real game. The coaches say I developed a rapport with Calvin Johnson, the greatest receiver on the planet even though he went to Georgia Tech. Some people say the Lions have to start me because of my $72 million contract, but I'd prefer to think that I earned it.

Shockley: C'mon, Matt, you gotta admit guys who go first overall in the draft get preferential treatment. Then there's the plight of the seventh-round pick, such as me. I made the Falcons every year starting in 2006 but never got an opportunity to show my stuff, what with Mike Vick and Matt Ryan in front of me. So, I get waived. They did invite me back onto the practice squad, which I accepted. Where else am I gonna go?

Cox: At least you're getting paid, D.J, and have a temperature of 98.6. I take over for Matt in Athens this season after four years of thumb-twiddling and, before my first game, I catch the flu. Had to fly to the middle of nowhere (Stillwater, Okla.) late Friday and take the field with my stomach churning -- and not just from butterflies. We get 10 lousy points against a defense that ranked 98th last year. Who catches most of the guff? The QB, of course. Now we gotta play South Carolina with my left tackle out for the season.

Stafford: Hey, it's not all swine (flu) and roses up here. Sorry, Joe. Remember, we were 0-for-2008 and the city is hurtin' bad. But, hang in there. You, too, D.J. Join us next week when my fellow alum Fran Tarkenton tells us why he's better suited to play QB for the Vikings than Brett Favre.