So last night I’m perusing the blogs and read David Hale’s piece about Reshad Jones’ decision to stay in Athens for his senior year (kudos to him for being on track to graduate early, BTW) when I come across this little tidbit buried within:
Some quotes from Mark Richt, who seemed a bit defiant with reporters today on a number of levels, even interjecting to point out the team’s academic accomplishments as well as the fact that they finished No. 10 in the country. He later said he felt like “the local paper” was playing up negative things about the program by hyping the No. 13 AP ranking rather than the No. 10 Coaches’ Poll.
Getting a bit testy with the media, are we? Good. Not because it’s a good idea to get into a running battle that you have no chance of winning, but because Richt needs to shake himself out of this sense of complacency about last season – that whatever tough times the program suffered through can be laid at the feet of the schedule and the injury situation – and find an edge to get the coaches and the players focused again. If it takes getting a little pissed off to get there, so be it.
Get The Picture 
If he is sensitive now, just wait until he goes on the circuit visiting all of the booster clubs. It has been a picnic so far.
LikeLike
Maybe I missed something, but I’ve gotten the feeling his testiness lately is BECAUSE he wants to remain complacent about the year – sticking to his mantra of “its the schedule & injuries”. He’s gotten defensive when the press points out other reasons besides injuries & schedule for this year’s disappointments.
I don’t know, I just don’t think the push from the press is helping him to see their side. I could be way off base, so forgive me, that’s just the impression I’ve gotten.
LikeLike
I don’t care if he sees the press’ side or not. I just want him to find something that fuels the fire this year that was lacking at times in ’08.
If the team stays healthy and kicks ass this season, he can always go back to the press and say “see, I told you so”.
LikeLike
I think there’s a couple of meta-conversations going on here.
1. Speaking as a former member of the fourth estate, the media loves to draw contrasts to at least get some brackets around the truth. Things are either coming apart at every nail, or they couldn’t be better. It’s not a bad starting point, as long as you realize the truth is somewhere in between. Richt is probably weary of the “all hell’s breaking loose” meme. Doesn’t help that Florida provides a pretty sharp contrast to us right now.
2. System vs. Circumstances: Contrast our situation with Spurrier, which is a clear case of a system no longer working, as the game passes him by. Most of what made us successful from 2001-2004 is still applicable in 2009: effective play action-based offense, violent defense that gets pressure with the front four and tough-as-nails offseason conditioning. Our offense largely thrived despite injuries, but our defense suffered and special teams was abysmal. If Georgia football were a public company filing an annual report, most of what ailed us falls under “extraordinary items.” Whereas the programs that truly became unhinged — South Carolina, Tennessee, Miss. State, and Auburn — had ongoing operational issues. Richt may feel that he sees that distinction but no one else does.
LikeLike
Isn’t Reshad only going to be a Redshirt Junior?
LikeLike
A redshirt junior would equate to being a “true” senior as he took a redshirt his “true” freshman year.
LikeLike
I don’t know how much any of you have riding on next years season, but I can’t help but think CMR has a little more on it than most of us night readers or even work readers. I also think he knows a little bit more than we do about the personnel and the assistant coaches. I even think he is working at improving it all just a little harder than we are. Maybe even spending more time at it than we are. I think I’ll go with CMR.
LikeLike