Only a mediocre bowl performance was needed for Murray to set Georgia’s single-season efficiency record, but Bobo’s mark of 155.8 in 1997 remains the school standard. Murray entered with a 162.7 rating and left at 154.5.
And, no, I don’t blame the gloves either. Unless he was wearing one on his brain, too.
Get The Picture 
i despair.
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We used to get insulted when someone would refer to Georgia as the “Wisconsin of the SEC”. Now it would be a huge compliment.
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I am certainly willing to give a generous portion of the blame to our fat, lazy, perennially-overrated O-line, as he spent a fair amount of the last thre quarters running for his life. And yet….a good number of those plays, there was apparently NOBODY open? What does A.J. mean when he says that a freaking mid-major “had a good plan to bottle me up” whereas he could get free against SEC competition such as Auburn, Florida and Tennessee? And finally, I don’t know what happened to Murray after that first drive; but a noticeable number of his throws were just WAY off target. Something’s just not right here. I don’t know what’s going on but something is rotten on this team. That is all on the coaches and Yes, on the departing seniors as well. Durham is the only one of the latter who looks like he gives a damn. I feel sad for him but as for our senior-laden O-line, not so much.
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murray was not good, but that was the worst ol performance i can remember seeing. i have no idea what the hell circumstances have conspired to produce this completely dysfunctional ol, but it has eclipsed the defense as the team’s biggest obstacle. and that’s not because the d has improved all that much.
i stopped counting all of the times i saw linemen look over to the sideline after a play and make that open-hands gesture that says “what am i doing wrong?” what the hell has searels done with these guys?
but i forget myself: he’s the best ol coach in the country, right?
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And what’s more perplexing is about 4 of those lineman may get drafted into the NFL. We outweighed the UCF D-line by 30 pounds also. Coaching and motivation. It looked to me the offense threw in the towel after Richt’s bullshit FG from the 2.
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It is certainly a close race between the OL and Defense as to what is the biggest failure, but we knew we would not be very good defensively so the dismal performance by them is the biggest disappointment to me. We had problems with this the past two years.
I watch the OLs in the Big 10, specifically Wisconsin and Iowa, and I don’t see the belly-dragging 300 pounders. I don’t see them at Oregon either. Are we missing something here? We just haven’t looked athletic along the OL or DL recently. I just think an in-shape 280 pound guy can hold his own against a 5′ 9″ 305 tub (the numbers can be off a few, but you get the point.)
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I’m willing to give Murray a pass (no pun intended) on his poor performance.
My devotion and admiration of Mark Richt has reached the end.
Like many of you, after 40 years of giving money to the Athletic program, Building programs, Scholarship funds and other special giving for the Academic side….I am furious. As a Letterman, Alumnus, and most importantly FAN this bleeding has got to stop.
Over the years we have had major disappointments, losing seasons, but this Season was the absolute worst. This program lacks coaching, guidance and discipline, and HEART. Folks, we have hit rock bottom.
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You have to suffer, or so they say, if you want to sing the blues.
If that is true, and it probably is, then Georgia fans should be ready for prime time.
If Mark Richt can right the ship, great, get the fuck with it.
If he can’t then let’s move on before this gets any worse (I suppose it could get worse, although I am not sure how.)
Murray had a bad night for a lot of reasons, but mainly because we can not run the damn football. I don’t know enough to explain why this is so, but no quarterback in our system can look good if his team can’t run the football.
Until we can line up and get a one-yard first down against anybody we play, we are not going to be competitive. In this Mark Richt is absolutely right.
I hope getting outcoached by a senior citizens’ group gets this staff off its collective ass, cause if it did not, they may be out of a job by the middle of next season.
I certainly don’t claim to know what is wrong, but I can sure as hell see some of what is not right.
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It’s time to find a new coach.
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Bobo said UCF did a good job of containing Murray. It’s not hard for a defense to contain your quarterback when 1) their D-line blows through the O-line on almost every play and 2) you only run the same 3 or 4 plays the whole game. This offense is very predictable and the team played very uninspired the whole game. What have they been doing for the last month?
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I agree, Georgia football has hit rock bottom. The ol looked pitiful. It’s time the coaching staff quit pappering these prima Donna recruits. Start getting tough. Instill some fear. Be held accountable. If you negate your talent by committing bone headed decisions then the coaches should set your ass on the pines till they get it right. Seems to me the mind set in Athens has to change. Team first. We have too many players worried about playing on Sundays.
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The O line. Back in August CMR said words to this effect, “I’d be surprised if we don’t run the ball real well”. A lot thought this was a high powered offensive machine in the LL game. But go back and look at the file and see how many times those guys penetrated our O line. Way too many. It never changed thru the season. You saw it again in Memphis. LL exposed the weakness in the offensive and every team thereafter followed suit. If O line player thinks they are NFL caliber they need to seriously rethink that. Better yet they need to get a huge signing bonus and be thankful there is no crime for fraud in the NFL.
Just perhaps Coach T understands that the O line is overweight, weak, slow, lacks technique and footwork. How many times did this O line get penalized for chop blocks, allowed the QB to be brutalized, and simply looked beat and worn down? I understand they can not run block, but that is because there are no RBs in Athens. Not one. Like I said many times on this post, Caleb King’s scholarship should have been pulled at the beginning of the season. Why have players on scholarship if they are never available to play.
All this brings me to CMR. He has to know that Bobo is substandard. Look at the numbers against top Ds and the W-Ls. Hell look at the sets and formations Bobo uses. Look at the O line stance, pad level, head level. On that first 97 yard drive you could see there was going to be an issue with the O line. Maybe CMR was just damn frustrated at the 2 on 3rd and one. When CF stopped them there I’d settle for 3. There are some serious issues with this offense. Coaches, players, sets, formations, play calling at times in the game, understanding what a D is doing (heard Zeir comment the coaches knew what CF would do with their D scheme) are constant problems that never get corrected or changed. And for Bobo, it aint in “rededication”. Rededication is a strong of being clueless and not knowing what to do. But rededication is third on his list. First is wearing black head gear. Second is deciding between being in the booth and the sideline.
Just how damn long will the AD put up with this kind of work and performance. The lack of ticket sales to the bowl should be a bright line red warning to the AD that the “house money” is in decline,too. Perhaps if those coaches had their salaries cut by 50% (6-7 season) that get smart and productive.
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OL play and running game were just piss-poor. We really could have used C. King, sad to say. D looked gassed from the late second quarter on, we needed a running game to both slow things down and speed up the clock. Ealey looked good at times in the open field (who doesn’t) but, he continually gets tackled by one defender. Thomas just doesn’t seem to fit in; maybe if we had some successful North/South running backs, he’d work as a change of pace.
I put some of the blame on Murray’s gloves, I don’t think he had the touch he usually has. I think he also looked unsure in the pocket in the second half and scrambled rather than looking for the hot or throwing it away (I think the two interceptions and shaky pocket got the better of him).
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Maybe if this team spent less time worrying about FACIAL HAIR and more time worrying about losing like bitches we would be better off.
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Richt showed that after the team pounded the ball 95 yards he had no faith they could go another couple of inches to get a first down then finish it by going 2 yards in 4 plays. The team just fell apart after that vote of no confidence by Richt. There is a fundamental problem with this program. Nobody has confidence in one another. Yes, the Bulldog Nation has hit rock bottom…I have lost my confidence in Richt as a football coach, as a leader of this program.
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Now it makes sense: Bobo was working to protect his record.
I can’t think of anything else that explains it.
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I definitely would have gone for the score from the 2.
That definitely sets the tone for the whole team for the game. It shows you are going for broke, letting it all hang out, with nothing to lose. It’s funny how a season or a career can turn on moments like these.
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Yep.
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But the gloves didn’t help. He wore the gloves in the bowl and G-day….hmmm.
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Maybe its my aging eyes, but the gloves looked like something off a medieval knights armor.
The Senator’s right, it wasn’t the gloves. Just a new way to loose by a head coach who seems determined to find creative new ways to screw up at every turn.
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I am so glad that the UGA nation is finally realizing the problems we have with the O-line. By my count, this is at least the 3rd straight year with really substandard O-line play. However, this year has clearly been the worst. Time for Searles to go… maybe the entire offensive staff to go… maybe the entire staff.
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The Ol & its coach. The Dl & its coach. We consistently lose in the trenches on both sides of the ball. Also the Fourth quarter woes continue. We are consistent with all of the negatives. Time to completely revamp the entire coaching staff. Max of 1 more year for Richt. The buck does stop there.
This from a Fan who has consistently touted Richt as the best HC the Dawgs have ever had. He was but that is no longer the case. Time to move on.
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There was something wrong with Murray’s arm. At the end of the game did you see those wounded ducks he threw into the endzone?
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