One year from today…

which of these comments will resonate more with us?

There’s the athletic director looking back:

“If you look at the 12 [regular-season] games we played this year, I don’t think there is one of those 12 games you could say we didn’t give a great effort,” McGarity said. “I don’t think there is any question we took a little step backward [in the bowl] in our effort and our performance, and obviously it isn’t something we’re accustomed to seeing.

“If we [also] had an effort like that during the regular season, I think there would be a greater concern. But that is not what we saw for 12 games this year. I think those of us who saw our football team play for 12 games saw tremendous effort and saw fight. I think we had a lot of shortcomings [Friday].”

And the head coach looking ahead:

“There’s reasons why we ended up the way we did,” Richt said. “We’ve got to make changes. We’ve got to make sure that doesn’t happen again in the future.

“When you start saying ‘change,’ that doesn’t necessarily mean personnel. … It’s more of how we go about our business. We’re going to improve. We’re going to get Georgia where it belongs.”

92 Comments

Filed under Georgia Football

92 responses to “One year from today…

  1. JaxDawg

    Richt will get next year b/c McGarity feels that he’s “earned” it. But look at our record over the past 5 seasons – we’re 23rd in the nation in wins. That’s not Georgia Football.

    Florida/Foley would have terminated Richt after the bowl game, if not a season ago, b/c they don’t put up with this mediocrity shit (not that I don’t hope that Muschamp will fail epicly). But we’re Georgia and we take our sweet time and overevaluate the situation b/c we don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings. What’s the car running off the cliff analogy?

    Meanwhile, Gary Patterson can be had.

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    • Gary Patterson can be had? Based on what? He makes mid-twos, the program he’s built over a decade is riding high and moving to a BCS conference in another season. What does he need Georgia for?

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      • Scorpio Jones, III

        My man,
        If you are going to try rational responses to every new coach suggestion you will wear your little fingers out before the season starts.

        It is going to be a long, long off-season.

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      • TennesseeDawg

        Exactly. Why would Patterson want to leave a now top program to start at the bottom at Georgia?

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        • JaxDawg

          TCU – top program
          UGA – bottom program

          Arguably the most absurd comment I’ve ever read re Georgia football.

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          • TennesseeDawg

            Really? Look at the state of both programs right now. Patterson can stay at TCU, start in a BCS conference next year, get a hefty raise, recruit talent rich Texas while traditional powers Texas, TAMU, Texas Tech are all down or he can come to declining Georgia, start all over again, and fight off Alabama, Auburn, LSU, Florida, etc. every year. Take off the red and black glasses, he’s got a much better gig at TCU.

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            • JaxDawg

              You’re being myopic. And would make the exact same argument if AU or LSU or AL were looking to hire him. As for talent, GA produces a ridiculous amount of talent – arguably more than Texas when looking at it from a relative standpoint. That is, GA has one in-state school to compete against (and we rarely recruit against Tech) while TX has how many – 12?

              And TX Tech is not a traditional power. And TCU sure as hell isn’t the same as the traditional SEC power schools, including GA!

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              • AthensHomerDawg

                Auburn, Tennessee, Alabama, South Carolina, Kentucky, Florida…. all get their share of the Georgia Talent. (And UCF picks an occasional keeper as well.)

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                • JaxDawg

                  Of course, it’s called college football. But the state of Georgia that produces the 4th or 5th most NFL players has two major football programs within its borders. Texas has 4 times that. And in addition to all those schools trying to land the same players, you have all the schools you mentioned raiding the state too.

                  So who would you rather be: TCU in Texas or Georgia in Georgia?

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                • Mayor of Dawgtown

                  Based on the current situation? JD, you better not ask a question like that because you just might get an answer you do not want to hear from most responders right now.

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          • 69Dawg

            He is the Bear Byrant of TCU, they have a lot of Texas money and I’m sure he would rather deal with the thankful TCU folks than the most of the time irrational fan base that we have. Unless the guy just loved a challenge he would be an idiot to want UGA.

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      • JaxDawg

        That’s ridiculous Senator. You’re saying that UGA’s football program can’t be sold over TCU’s? That GA’s program isn’t a tad more elite than TCU’s? That we don’t have the resources to bring him here? That we don’t have the talent base? The facilities? The potential?

        So he can stay at TCU and be a hero or come to a place like GA and potentially be a god.

        But to your point directly, I’d prefer to hire a coach that needed us less than we needed him. That means that we’re attempting to hire a VERY GOOD COACH. I don’t view our program as a place where some guy “gets his shot”. We are a major, major program that’s going through some shit right now, and we don’t need to fuck around and replace Richt with some asst. So no, Patterson doesn’t need us – we need him. And to get a guy like that you need to entice him with pay, potential for wins, a deep talent base, and an administration and fanbase that is singularly committed to the program’s success. We offer all of that. TCU might, but to a lesser degree.

        TCU, please Senator.

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        • gastr1

          While I don’t agree with JaxDawg’s statements about over-evaluating–I think Richt has earned 2011-12 to get it back on track, and that the over-evaluating has been by Richt himself–I do think he is right about UGA being a place that should be an easy sell over TCU. They just went 13-0, won their bowl game, stayed in the top 5 all year, and were never really in the hunt for the NC.

          But this is Gary Patterson we’re talking about, and that fact alone affects whether he can be had a lot more than program strength and all the other noise. The man has made it pretty clear he likes it where he is.

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          • Again, TCU moves to the Big East in another season. He’ll be in the hunt for MNCs once that happens.

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            • JaxDawg

              name the last big east team to win the NC.

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              • By that standard, he could go to Vandy, since the SEC has won the last four.

                RichRod was in the hunt, he just couldn’t quite get there. TCU will dominate that conference, or at least duke it out with WVU. And that will be enough to get them where they want to be in the national title picture.

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              • Biggus Rickus

                Miami, though WVU would’ve gotten a shot in ’07 if they hadn’t melted down against a Wannstache-coached Pitt.

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                • JaxDawg

                  But they did melt down, so they didn’t get a shot. So to reiterate my point – Patterson and TCU go to the big east where they belong like Rhode Island belongs in the southwest conference and they get no closer to playing for or winning the MNC than before. Senator assumes (wrongly) that playing in the conference (the one we legitimized in 2005) and winning it assures a shot.

                  It doesn’t. Doing that at GA does.

                  See the difference guys. So don’t give me some bullshit about the big east version of TCU being equivalent (or better as some fucking doorknob says above) as UGA.

                  If I have to debate this with anyone it’s probably a lost cause from the get go.

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                • 81Dog

                  if you go by that theory, Rich Rod to Michigan was a no brainer, guaranteed success. How’d that one work out for them?

                  there is a lost cause in this discussion, it’s just not the one you think it is.

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              • Stoopnagle

                West Virginia is in the Big East and they were one win away from the game in ’07. If you think an undefeated WVU or Pitt wouldn’t get more consideration than Utah’s ’04 or TCU ’09 or ’10, then that’s fine. I think you’re wrong.

                Hell, L’ville got some mention during their Orange Bowl run but couldn’t go undefeated.

                A Big East team is much more likely to get into the BCS title game than an undefeated MWC or WAC team. All day long.

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                • JaxDawg

                  You’re stating the obvious. But the fact is that the MNC does not flow through the Big East. Maybe in Basketball.

                  And let’s not forget the point which is Patterson and TCU (who is nothing close to anything “east”) may do well in their new conference, but the fact remains that coaching and winning at GA offers a shitload more recognition, money, and prestige than TCU and the big least. But if he’s content with not competing with the big boys of the SEC year-in, year-out then great. I want a coach that wants the challenge of beating the best and being the best. Patterson strikes me as that kind of guy. If not, then fine. Enjoy the stinking big east.

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                • Gary

                  And what recognition, money, and prestige is he not getting right now at TCU? I mean the man coached his team to a Rose Bowl victory and had a realistic chance at the National Championship this year had either Oregon or Auburn fell.

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              • Gary

                WV in 2007 was a touchdown away from playing for the MNC. Last year Cincinnatti was a second away(literally) in the Nebraska-Texas game from playing for the MNC. Miami played in back to back title games in the early part of the decade. Trust me, with the media power of Texas, if TCU were to go undefeated – not a long shot by any stretch of the imagination – then they would be in line to play in the national title game.

                Also, if Patterson were to want to coach in the SEC so badly, then he has had ample opportunity over the last several seasons with high profile jobs like Florida, Auburn, and Tennessee available and was never mentioned as a coaching candidate. I am sure he wouldn’t jump to come coach UGA either. I love the Dawgs, but I know our limits nationally when it comes to looking for a coach.

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          • Richt earned it how?

            We’ve been in the crapper ever since the 2005 Sugar Bowl.

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            • gastr1

              Really? You think 2007, finishing #2, and 2008, winning 10 games after starting #1, are “the crapper’? Mark Richt has the best winning percentage of any UGA coach–STILL. You think he hasn’t earned the right to demonstrate, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that he has lost the program before getting the axe–after 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008?

              I agree with the Senator. He needs to field a team that shows up ready to play every game next year. If the results are as bad as this year, I agree he needs to go, and if we have a weak and uncompetitive 8-5 with blowout losses to our biggest rivals, I think he will need to go. But he absolutely has taken this program to heights unseen in 20+ years, and for that he gets 2011-12 to show if there is any gas left in that tank.

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              • dudetheplayer

                What about 2008 was a successful year? 10 wins? Because we were pre-season #1? Does that matter at all?

                We got annihilated by the 2 best teams we played that year, lost to Tech at home in embarrassing fashion, and we didn’t come close to contending for the SEC East. Furthermore, we scraped by several lousy teams by the skin of our teeth. Was there one quality win that season that any of us felt good about? Even the UT win felt hollow.

                If this is what is some of you consider a successful season, then I think I pretty well understand why Florida has continued to own our ass for the last decade.

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                • gastr1

                  Dude, are you saying 10 wins is not a successful year? I can’t tell. I think that’s what you’re saying, but I can’t tell. Help me out a little here, I’m kinda slow.

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                • dudetheplayer

                  I’m saying 10 win seasons are not created in a vacuum. 2005 =/= 2008.

                  Losing in horrible fashion to your 2 biggest rivals does not a successful season make. Getting embarrassed on national television AT HOME in a game where no one should be lacking for motivation does not a successful season make. Not even sniffing the division title when expectations are through the roof does not a successful season make. Scraping by against terrible SCU, UK, and AU teams does not a successful season make. We were a goal line fumble by SCU, a red zone stand against AU, and a miraculous Staff to AJ catch at UK away from being 7-5 that year. Think about how many games could have gone differently this season if plays like that were made like those in ’08.

                  That team was not a well-prepared or fundamentally sound team in any way. They won games because of the tremendous talent we had on offense. They were able to overcome lesser teams through sheer talent, not because we were the better coached team. This trend has continued to the present day.

                  So yes, that season was rough, my friend. The “10 wins” thing does not tell the whole story.

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                • JaxDawg

                  don’t waste your breath dude.

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                • gastr1

                  So the answer is no, then? Or am I putting words in your mouth?

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            • AthensHomerDawg

              “We’ve been in the crapper ever since the 2005 Sugar Bowl.”

              I don’t think we’ve been in the crapper. Honestly, do you care at all for the facts or do you just intend to press your point of view regardless of them?

              2005 Georgia 10–3 6–2 1st (East) L Sugar † 10 10
              2006 Georgia 9–4 4–4 T–3rd (East) W Chick-fil-A 23
              2007 Georgia 11–2 6–2 T–1st (East) W Sugar † 3 2
              2008 Georgia 10–3 6–2 2nd (East) W Capital One 10 13
              2009 Georgia 8–5 4–4 T–2nd (East) W Independenc

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            • Gary

              Yeah that 2007 season was a total crapfest. Who doesn’t like putting 40 on Florida and Auburn and beating the crap out of a team in the Sugar Bowl. I would take that over what we got this year or before Richt came to Athens.

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        • He’s payed well. He’s in position to win BCS conference championships and be in the national title hunt on a regular basis. It’s also a program he’s built from scratch. Again, why leave?

          That’s not a knock on Georgia. It’s just that he’s so close to achieving his lifetime goals from building that program. It doesn’t make any sense for him to go on a rebuilding kick.

          BTW, if you know anything about the guy, he’s not on a god kick.

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      • dboy

        Why does C. Weiss need UF?

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        • I don’t have a clue – ask him (or his agent).

          I hope you’re not suggesting it’s an equivalent situation to Patterson’s.

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          • gastr1

            Apparently he was not getting along well with others in KC and bailed. I think he has serious ego issues, personally…wants to be the resident genius bathed in golden light.

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  2. Joe

    IMO our coaching staff failed the players. We have a few problems.

    One Richt hasn’t held the kids to the standard he established discipline wise. Remember 2007? Everyone was happy but it led us here. Richt loosened the reigns and here we are. During this season, the OC didn’t wouldn’t build the offense around the one bright shining light we had AM and Richt’s comments in the Bowl were that they have to let AM open it up more. ???. Its clear both our OL and DL underachieved as well as our OC. C-ya. At the end of the day however it falls on Richts shoulders. I do believe that he has one year to right this mess. That’s it. IMO he has earned that, but that equity is quickly evaporating.
    One last note on “us” fans. I remember our fans lamenting that Richt was too conservtive and needed to be more emotional etc…well he did that in 2007 and they applauded, failing to reliaze that it was out of character for him and it would land us here. Our fans are the most overdemanding fickle, ignorant, know it alls I have ever seen. They ALL think they know more than the men in charge. I guess they are all the one’s who voted for Obama. Sounds good “lets run with it”

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    • Jim

      Part of me gave up on Richt after the 2 early losses and the embarrassment of the vandy game in the ’07 season. part of me knew that in spite of the glorious run to end ’07 that Richt was grasping at straws even then.

      Joe, i’m not sure where you are on all of this. are you jumping out of the car even though it will hurt or are you staying on board as it goes over the cliff?

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    • AthensHomerDawg

      We need to do something….this is something… lets do it… mantra has never worked.

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    • Slaw Dawg

      Joe, although I take issue with your specific analogy (as an unabashed Obama supporter than and now), I do think you are on to something re: the 2007 season. I, too, have been reflecting on the fact that we seem to have been sliding steadily downhill since the Hawaii blowout and wondering why that has been the case. What happened in ’07 that was different from previous Richt years? The answer does seem to be the use of “rah rah” gimmickry, and giving the players more of their own head. Long term result: turnovers, penalties, growing off the field problems, lack of personal discipline. Example: was it just me over-reading, or was Ealey practically gasping for breath towards the end of that first drive? How can the guy who KNOWS he’ll be carrying the rock not be (pardon me, Joe) “fired up, ready to go” when he has a chance to be the hero? Thomas Brown, possessed of much less than Ealey’s natural physical attributes (but recruited and schooled in the earlier Richt years), would have driven himself relentlessly to prepare and be in tip top shape for this game. Ealey’s apparent lack of readiness reflects a lack of discipline and intensity that has become the hallmark of my favorite sports team, and that may indeed be the result of a culture change from ’07.

      Still, I, too, come out on the side of Richt having another year, but I, too, am increasingly skeptical that we’ll actually see improvement. 2011 is likely to be a long, ugly lurch through another mediocre season by very good talent with access to first rate facilities and coaches with very high salaries. I’m dreading it, and haven’t done that since pre-1995.

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    • dudetheplayer

      “Our fans are the most overdemanding fickle, ignorant, know it alls I have ever seen.”

      Of course we are. Georgia fans are the only ones like this. Clearly you’ve polled and sampled members of every other fanbase across the country.

      Nice work.

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    • W Cobb Dawg

      Joe, WTF are you babbling about??? Obama voters have something to do with CMR, Dawgs, or cfb? Should we check CMR’s birth certificate? Must be a conspiracy to keep the Dawgs from the mnc.

      And speak for yourself when saying Dawg fans are ignorant or fickle. The Dawg fans I know are the most loyal fans in the USA. And smart – Dawg fans have to be highly perseptive if they can notice when CMR goes from conservative to emotional – as nothing in his appearance or demeanor gives a hint.

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  3. Scorpio Jones, III

    A side note to our Professor of Crimson, BD…..

    Man, now that’s some process at work. To look like that after the Awbun loss is the sign of a great, great program.

    Envy does not even begin to describe it.

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    • Ben

      Word. I couldn’t believe that game yesterday. Well, actually I could. Saban’s not a dummy (not saying Richt is), and he got his charges ready to go for a big time game that wasn’t as big as they wanted/expected.

      To put a shellacking like that on Michigan St. was just astounding. As I watched them play, I longed for the days when the Dawgs played with such fire and ferocity and precision.

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    • Paul

      You’re right, Saban sure knew how to get his team back against Utah in 2008.

      Fact is, they have a small sample size of bounceback games coming on the heels of embarrassing losses. That’s where my envy kicks in.

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      • Dawgfan Will

        1

        If you want to say Richt is a terrible coach now, go ahead; the evidence seems to be mounting. If you want to say he was never any good and only won with Donnan’s elite players, go ahead, but I would think that logically that would mean that Saban and Meyer have been winning with Shula’s and Zook’s players. Can we please stop comparing Richt at 10 years with Saban and Meyer at half that length? I would think that the much steeper decline of the Gators this year would put some of that to rest.

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    • Bryant Denny

      Well, I must say I predicted Sparty to roll yesterday (i.e. win by 3-7 points). I didn’t see the beat down coming – at all.

      Is Michigan State really that bad? Seems a little hard to believe.

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  4. Will Trane

    70 offensive plays in the Liberty Bowl. Over half of the TOP was the Dawgs. Just 2 field goals. No production from passing and running game.
    Strength and conditioning. That is one change CMR has made. Just perhaps he saw something, after everyone complained about it.
    Back to Memphis. Dawgs opening drive. 15 plays starting from G2, took 9:13 off the game clock. 95 yds, 3pts. Opening drive for Dawgs in 2nd half starts at G15. 15 plays, 61 yards, 3pts, 5:33 off the clock.
    Kindly note when those two drives occurred. Opening of the game and opening of 2nd half. Nothing else happened for the O until the end. Then they ran 12 plays, went 40 yds in 2:20. Also look at the poor field position they started on the other drives.
    Those numbers say the same thing I’ve seen for 2 years. Lack of good game plan, poor strength and conditioning, lack of a passion to score and score often, and players taking a “holiday” during the game and drives. All that falls back to the offensive coaches. Again you have to question the play calling (why did Bobo come down from the booth in 2nd half). Zeir stated during the broadcast the O coaches expect the D sets CF used. CF bent alot during the game, but never broke. Bobo never has a play to flip the field or get the ball in the endzone from the 15 to 30 yards out. Too many Ds make the Dawgs drive down where they can shorten the field and stop the medicore running game.
    CMR here are the suggestions or changes I have. First, be bold and cut loose your O staff and implement the spread. You have 2 QBs that can run it. Your passing game is too slow and too long on routes. It is all WRs and FBs (and FB are not built for catching). How productive have FB been the past 3 yrs. Your pro sets are not working. Your O line can not hold out the D forever on long routes and the O line if not properly conditioned can not protect the QB.
    If you want to hold onto your O staff for another season, I’d suggest this. Bring Mickey Andrews up from Tallahassee, let him review the film with the O staff from what a D is doing and what the O thinks they are seeing and attacking.
    Plus for the O line I’d devote time during the season to LSA. The O line needs more agility, quicker feet, better pad and head level. Your O telegraphs too many plays.

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  5. S.E. Dawg

    I seriously hope that recruits don’t read much of this stuff. If they do we’re screwed. Our own fans can’t even help in the recruiting process by at least giving some ray of hope for these kids to come to Georgia.

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    • JBJ

      Richt on the chopping block has a huge affect on recruiting, not the complaints from fans. Also, go check out any other fan site where a team has lost their bowl game and had an underperforming football team the past three years. Michigan comes to mind. We are not unique in our criticism of our program. CMR put himself in this position.

      A ray of hope would be McGarity coming out tomorrow and announcing CMR has been let go.

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      • Jim

        Amen. No recruit in his righttmind would come to Athens now but then again I have reservations about our recruiting strategy the last few years too.

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    • Uh, losing 7 games hurts recruiting a helluva lot more than random fan comments on blogs.

      And getting recruits is meaningless if we have garbage coaches to coach them.

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    • dudetheplayer

      Won’t someone please think of the recruits???????

      If recruits are basing their decisions to come here based off what they read on message boards and blogs, then they can go ahead and look elsewhere.

      That is a silly thing to worry about.

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    • Stoopnagle

      I wouldn’t overly-worry about it. Spend some time on blogs and message boards for all the teams we recruit against and you read the same stuff. Maybe not everything on all of them, but if you were a recruit and you read the blogs to determine security for coaches, then you would pretty much determine no one is safe.

      “I don’t think Saban is the rite man fer the job, PAAAAAWWWWLLLLL.”

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  6. Will Trane

    One year from today. We will once again be subject to the bloviating from ESPN game crew about how great those Big 10 teams. And once again we will witness those teams getting their asses blown out in another game. Way to go SEC.

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  7. will

    Rich Rod in, Bobo out.

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  8. crapsandwich

    Senator, is the answer neither? A little tired of the we are going to “change “mantra from Richt. Did Richt really demonstrate that with putting Coach T in charge of S&C? Is that it?

    McGarity, what is a “step backward”? One can only assume he means the players quit, the coaches didn’t coach or maybe both? I think the fans deserve a little more red meat than this from McGarity.

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  9. crapsandwich

    Senator, sorry one other comment. Is it just me, or do I feel like a customer on a Used Car Lot being sold a lemon?

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  10. Jim

    Everybody just needs to relax.

    We’ve won 96 games in 10 years and two conference championships.

    We were just a coup,e of plays here and there, a few bad bounces from being in the hunt. We were in contention for the east tile in november.Everything is going to be ok.

    This hot seat meme is getting a little out of control…

    How many times did we hear that or something similar the last year or so?

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    • 69Dawg

      Wow. Everybody just be calm help is on the way. If I’m not mistaken that is a line from Titanic. If you could stomach to look at the games this year and think there is nothing wrong then you know nothing about football. We are not a good football team, we are mediocre at best. We are going to be the 4th best team in the East next year and maybe 5th if UK can get it’s stuff together. Mark does not have a magic wand and has apparently not got much attention from the divine one lately given his record so I’m not going to believe it until he actually does something this time.

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      • Jim

        69dawg – my comments were tongue in cheek. My post above was a typical response I heard when I bitched and moaned about the direction of the program over the last 16 months.

        I agree with everything you said and just wonder why it took everyone so long to see this when it was obvious in early 09 that we were headed in the wrong direction

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      • Jim

        LALALALALA I have my head in the sand and want to keep our coach based on what he did five years ago Instead of what we are being put thru now and what the next couple of years looks like LALALALA

        Anyone else notice we’ve had a guy who is probably one of the top receivers to ever play college football and having nothing but his highlight reel to show for it? Stafford and more no – two first round picks, but again, nothing but individual highlights to show for it?

        After BVG left the dawgs could “out Athlete” opponents and win. That worked for a couple of years but when the team stopped getting leaders and became just a bunch of individuals that stopped working too.

        If you look at the totality of it all, especially and including the off-field issues,a rational mind can’t help but conclude this coaching staff has been walking dead for several years now…

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    • JBJ

      Wow you are serious aren’t you? A 6-7 season where we get embarrassed by Conference USA in Memphis. A continual decline in the program and the exodus of AJ but you have hope. They could have used you at the Alamo.

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    • Are you on crack?

      Most of those 96 wins came from 2001-2005, not 2006-2011.

      Wake up. Its not 2004 any more.

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      • Jim

        Guys my posts above are called sarcasm. BUT are very similar to a lotof what I saw on this blog last summer when a moaned and groaned about the direction of the program. Point proven I guess

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  11. 69Dawg

    Mark is coaching for all the wrong reasons now. He is trying to protect his staff from the axe and will say anything that he thinks will calm the storm for another year. I truly think he has lost the desire to do the things necessary to get us back and he is merely stalling for time for his staff. The trouble is nobody in Div I wants our staff except maybe on the D side. Gardner can come up with a few phantom jobs to get a raise but his bad boy recruits are not going to get him much action. Bobo, what a joke he can’t get a sniff from any other school where his wife’s family is not involved. The good head coaches lose their assistants to HC jobs Saban, Myers etc. coaches like Richt and even Dooley never have a head coach come out of the program ( I know Callaway got UAB but that’s because of his Alabama connections not Mark).

    I guess what I’m saying is that we have heard this song before and Mark really is insulting the fans by singing it again. He either does not know what’s wrong or he knows and can’t fix it. There is the third possibility that he knows whats wrong and refuses to fix it. The last one would be the worst possible thing that happen to UGA. Lets hope that the last two years were just his mid-life crisis of coaching and he will reinvent himself and get it going again. I for one am not holding my breath.

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  12. Jim

    One year from today we’ll all be complaining that richt wasn’t fired after the 2010 season.

    One year from today we’ll be wringing our hands about the rumor mill of coaches that have turned down our program due to it’s sad state

    One year from today we’ll wonder how we can ever contend for the east again given the talent drain that has taken place and the lost recruiting wars with a lame duck staff

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    • JaxDawg

      Disagree. McGarity can and will manage the process well enough to avoid the coaching scenario you describe.

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      • Mayor of Dawgtown

        JD, I hope you are right about that. I have a lot of confidence in McGarity but, for the life of me, I cannot see that he has any course of action left that is an improvement over the status quo without getting rid of CMR.

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        • anon

          McGarity will force more changes from Richt, IMO. There is a new sheriff in town, and the vibe inside B-M has changed big time. Firing the volleyball coach, albeit a small move in the grand scheme of things, sent a “get your S in order” message that didn’t go unreceived.

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  13. DawgByte

    We’re snake bit guys! Mullen is building a new beast in the SEC West and won’t leave Miss. St., Patterson is staying put, Kelly wouldn’t dare leave Oregon and it’s unlikely we could lure Boise St.’s HC to Georgia. If Tenn. couldn’t get a better candidate than Derek Dooley, what makes any of us think we can find a diamond in the ruff.

    We’re in for a bumpy road for the next few years, so we might as well get real.

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  14. Biggus Rickus

    Eh, they’ll improve or they won’t. Richt will get another year and be fired if he doesn’t improve pretty dramatically. I’m not going to worry about quotes.

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  15. PNWDawg

    Hey, remember that time we were #1 and on the cover of Sports Illustrated? Yeah, that was cool.

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  16. Keith

    Senator,
    You can say that Patterson have what he needs to play in the MNC game once he gets to the Big East, but their are a couple of points that prove you wrong.

    1- TCU was ranked #3 in the BCS and no matter what conference they are in, they would have still been ranked in the same spot.
    2- A one loss Big East team will finish behind a one loss SEC, BIG 10, BIG 12, PAC 10 and possibly the ACC.
    3- An undefeated Big east team would more than likely stay behind a one loss team from several other conferences.
    4- Several non BCS conference teams have made it to the BCS bowls in the past few years, so it is opening up to them. So the Big East affords them an automatic birth but you picked a bad time for your argument when TCU is coming off a win in the Grand Daddy of them all, the Rose Bowl without being in the Big East.

    Not saying that Patterson would consider coming here, but to compare TCU in the Big East to UGA in the SEC and the opportunity that it presents ,is laughable.

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    • 1, 2 and 3 are pure speculation on your part.

      WVU was in position to play for a national title in 2007, so it can be done.

      The move also benefits TCU significantly from a revenue and recruiting standpoint. If there’s a gap between the Big East and the SEC, it’s far less of one than he’s had to deal with in previous seasons.

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      • Mayor of Dawgtown

        Plus, TCU can pretty easily beat the teams in the Big East. Not so in the SEC. Put TCU in the SEC West and give them Ole Miss’ schedule and they probably win only 8-9 games or so and do not even win the SEC West. Were they gonna beat Auburn during the regular season? Bama? LSU? Even Miss State? Maybe one or two on an isolated basis but having to play all of them? My point is that Patterson has had an easy schedule to deal with at TCU and will as TCU moves to the Big East. He’s no fool. Coaching in the SEC is an entirely different thing.

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  17. AthensHomerDawg

    I’m watching the Falcons right now. Nice to see a team wearing Red and Black kicking butt.

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  18. ““When you start saying ‘change,’ that doesn’t necessarily mean personnel.”

    No Coach, that’s exactly what real change means. We’ve already had 6 years of re-arranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. Now its time to jump ship.

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    • AthensHomerDawg

      Jumping ship is what happened when we fired Goff. His replacement…jumped ship and we scrambled and hired JDonnan. Finding a good head coach is not to be taken lightly. We are not Tennessee, at least not yet.

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  19. W Cobb Dawg

    Seems to me McGarity and CMR are talking out of both sides of their mouths. One side of the mouth says ‘we are going to change things’. The other side of the mouth says, ‘but we are giving everyone another chance’ (‘cept Van Halanger – he gets a new job (and probably an increase in pay)). What the hell exactly is going to change??? Is Joe T expected to turn everything around – because that’s the only change I think we’re seeing. Does anyone really expect CMR & staff to change into motivated, smarter coaches in 8 months? Does anyone expect underachieving players to respond to these same coaches?

    I think we’re going to have 8 months of happytalk from coaches, followed by another lackluster season. That’s where we’re going to be 1 year from now, Senator.

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  20. Bryant Denny

    It seems that Richt has worn out his welcome with you guys. Remember (we’ve had this discussion before), there were literally 3-4 plays this year, that if they went differently, the season would have a totally different feel.

    The reality is that it is hard to get up for UCF, in Memphis, in the cold, with bad weather looming. I can see how they came out and played flat. I big part of bowl games is how a team handles where they are.

    I think year two under Grantham will be much different. Call it “regression to the mean.” 🙂 I think Aaron Murray is gonna be a heckuva a player (already is). Next year could be a good one for the Dawgs.

    Hang in there,

    BD

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  21. Olddawg55

    Re the Patterson chatter..If you’ve never lived in or played football in Texas you just wouldn’t understand Patterson turning down HC offers in the SEC or anywhere else. Football is a religion of true believers out there..Bum Phillips had 9 coaches on his staff..no, not in pro ball..in high school ball at Needles, TX. And, yes, the fan base is different out there, they can be tough but also much more loyal..no so whiney! Gary P. has the right school in the right town, Ft Worth, in the right state. They don’t lack for money..recruiting is great even with competion from 15-20 four year programs. Georgia is a great state with recruits who drag their commitments out over months..UofTexas gets a full commitment in just weeks…that’s state loyalty..something we lack and it shows..DaRick R., etc. As for CMR, his personal and professional pride has been challenged and I feel that he will answer with an overhaul and massive change..if not, he’s gone! 2011 is the Year of the Dawg..count on it!!

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  22. Tenn_Dawg

    I’m tired of Richt pissing down my back and telling me it is raining. We have heard this same speech every year since 2008 after the Tech loss. Richt has had enough time to get this corrected and he has not. The proof is in the pudding. The trend line “Richt’s record” over the last 4+ years is steadly falling. He either can’t or does not know how to fix it.

    Sometimes you just need to start fresh. Nothing wrong with it sometimes it is just the way it is. Richt has always said that he will stay in Athens as long as he is wanted. Well he needs to wet his finger and put it in the air. Surely he does not feel like he is wanted. Fulmer stayed too long and it split that fan base. It would be a shame if Richt hangs on too long only to ruin all the good he did in his first 5 years which is what he should be remember for.

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    • Mayor of Dawgtown

      I hope you are right. The schedule in 2011 is the most favorable one in years. All the tough games are in Athens (except for the Jax game of course) and we do not play LSU or Bama and Arkansas drops off the schedule. If we can get by Boise and USCe we may be undefeated going into the FLA game. The Miss State game in Athens is a real potential stumbling block, though, based on what I saw of them in their bowl. All that said, if the Dawgs lose to Boise and USCe, then to Miss State in Athens, it will be another long season.

      Like