Quarterback Joe Cox and the Georgia offense are having fun these days.

In their last two games against South Carolina and Arkansas, the Bulldogs have put up 10 touchdowns, 93 points and 838 yards of total offense.

The newest threat in Georgia’s arsenal is the deep ball. Cox, this week’s national and SEC offensive player of the week, threw touchdown passes of 21, 25, 28, 44 and 50 yards last Saturday against the Razorbacks.

He still may not zip balls through tight seams like Matthew Stafford did. But dropping those deep touch passes in for long gains?

Check.

“He’s been slinging it,” said receiver Tavarres King. “I told him the ball that fell in front of me a few yards, that was probably the most beautiful ball I’ve ever seen him throw.”

That’s nothing new. Head coach Mark Richt says he’s been seeing it in practice every day for five years. King too.

“He went to high school with [former Georgia receiver] Mohamed Massaquoi and [former North Carolina receiver] Hakeem Nicks [who are both now in the NFL],” King said. “Those are two guys that you want to throw those balls to. I’m just really excited to be able to play with Joe and have the opportunity to catch those long balls.”

The criticism of his arm strength, as well as the hubbub surrounding a chronically sore throwing shoulder, are something Cox uses as motivation every week.

“Anybody that’s a competitor, if you have people saying you’re not good, you want to play good,” Cox said. “And that’s something I say to myself before every game. These people don’t think I’m any good. And it’s been driving our offense too after Week 1.

“People said we had a terrible offense, we don’t have Matthew [Stafford] and Knowshon [Moreno], it’s the end of the world, we’re not going to be able to score any points for the rest of the season. Obviously we want to prove people wrong.”

And proving people wrong they are.

Even with a scholarship receiver set only six deep, Cox has made the most of all his weapons, distributing the ball evenly and going for the deep ball when it’s there.

“It’s just reading the defense and whatever comes open he’s going to hit,” said tight end Aron White. “I think it’s more fun for me personally. I can’t speak for the whole team, but it seems like guys are having a lot of fun playing this year.” A quick-strike, high-scoring offense is one of the last things critics expected of Georgia this year. But it’s here.

“It’s been crazy,” Cox said. “But obviously it’s gotten better since we’ve won, and we don’t want to turn it around and the other way.”