Hey, anybody heard from Tommy Lowhorne Lawhorne and Bob Bishop lately?
We’re behind you all the way, Coach.
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“We remember the Sugar Bowl, I think it my junior year of high school, we let Alabama beat us twice,” Brinson said of a team that also lost to the Crimson Tide in the SEC Championship game. “We’re not letting Alabama beat us twice. In the Sugar Bowl in 2018, they… thought they should have been in the playoffs and lost to Texas.” -- AB-H, 12/27/23
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Get The Picture · Bloviation for the Dawgnation
Get The Picture 
Burn.
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Those two guys said what a lot of folks were thinking after an oh and two start. I’m just happy this season has ended in a manner to pretty much affirm that Richt still has the fire.
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That reeked of Adams anyway. Screw that guy.
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Wonder if this is actually Tommy Lawhorne?
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yes, it’s him, and his stock plummeted about 80 percent with me when he said that. He was a captain (I think). It’s mind-boggling when people like him and Tarkenton show their moronic side.
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Agree 100%. They have better venues than the press to make their concerns known. I always considered them DGDs, but their stock took a hit with me, too.
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Simply astonishing anyone would give, considering his reputation in the business world, a fat rat’s ass what Tarkenton thinks about anything.
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Yep, wonder what has Frannie stepping out so visibly and adamantly on this issue? He may have read the tealeaves wrong, but why take the chance?
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And for that matter where’s Fran T? He was quite outspoken at one time. Hey Fran be a man and speak up now?!
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Um…… What’s wrong with what they said?
After 6 disappointing years in a row, a losing season, and a head coach who keeps his buddies around long after they have been proven incompetent, what’s wrong with what they said there?
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Six in a row, huh? You do realize that would include the 2005 season, right? “Disappointing” is extremely subjective and is NOT synonymous with “bad” or “failure.” For instance, 2008 was disappointing, but only because pre-season expectations were through the roof. Winning 10 games is not “bad,” no matter how disappointing it might be. There’s no question that winning 8 games in 2009 was frustrating and 6 wins in 2010 is bad, especially the complete surrender in the bowl game. But to say that the PAST 6 SEASONS have been disappointing is just revisionist history. Especially when you consider that the only reason we as fans have high expecation is BECAUSE of the CMR’s success as head coach. Never, ever forget that. And since they’re so “concerned” about the coaching, can somebody confirm or deny that Tommy Lawhorne and Bruce Bishop WEREN’T involved in the hiring of Ray Goff?
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+10 !
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2009 and 2010 were unquestionably bad, and 2009 was arguably worse. There were several performances that year that were simply inexcusable. And, the expectations aren’t simply a result of CMR. UGA has all of the necessary elements to win big in CFB, so the fans were rightly disappointed about the returns from 2006-2010. Luckily, thankfully, CMR found a way to right this ship and he has done so in dramatic fashion.
But, ignoring that the questions that were over his head were rightfully there is a bit disingenuous.
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First of all, I’ve already stipulated that 2010 was bad, no question about it. The 2009 season was also disappointing, no question about it. But the folks who used those two years to indict CMR have never acknowledged, for instance, that 2009 would have been VASTLY different if Stafford and Moreno had returned. Yes, talented juniors and even redshirt sophomores leave for the NFL all the time and it’s just one more obstacle for a program to deal with. But what a genius CMR would have looked like in 2009 if he had been lucky enough to have Stafford and Moreno. Two players make the difference between winning 8 games and winning 10+ games. Ignoring details like that is disingenuous. Ignoring that the Dawgs finished the 2007 season ranked #2 in the country, good enough to earn a pre-season nod for #1 the following season is disingenuous.
Mark Richt is the dean of SEC coaches and the stability and continuity has its advantages. But because of all the changes he’s made, the Dawgs are also riding the kind of wave that usually happens with a new head coach on the way up. Best of both worlds, imo. I think having McGarity as AD has also been a big help.
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Thank you for making my point. I chose the word disappointing on purpose. I didn’t say bad not did I say failure. I said disappointing – just like you did.
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Here is why those years were disappointing:
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2005: Horrendous Sugar Bowl choke.
2006: Vandy and UK chokes. Especially after we shut out USCe.
2007: The losses to SC and Tenn were absolutely disgusting. No excuse.
2008: Started #1. Took first half off against Alabama. Sad.
2009 & 2010: Do I even need to go there?
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The difference is that I understand that there will be disappointing moments from time to time over the course of several seasons. Some of them bigger than others. But focusing on the disappointments while deliberately ignoring the successes does not make a valid argument. If you want to go on a game-by-game comparison of the coach’s performance then you must give equal attention to the victories. Yeah, the Sugar Bowl loss to WVU sucked. But it doesn’t change the fact that the Dawgs were SEC champs. Losing to UT in 2007 SUCKED! But I prefer to remember beating Florida, beating Auburn in the original Blackout and beating the hell out of Hawaii. If it were up to the Lawhornes and Bishops of the world Vince Dooley wouldn’t have lasted long enough to enjoy the Herschel Walker years. Bear Bryant would have been fired at Bama following the 1970 season and missed out on how many national championships in the ’70s?
So no, I’m not interested in being sympathetic to the embarrassment that the anti-CMR crowd is experiencing now.
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Your absolutely right Muck. If we don’t go undefeated, we should fire the coach. Because it’s the fans that demand the most who get the best. (cough-tenn-cough).
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Add cough-Maryland-cough to that fan group.
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Damn straight! We should’ve hired Coach BOOM! when he was still available. Now we will never be able to wrestle him from those Gators!
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Muck east, that Payton Manning guy has been a disappointment as a QB, hasn’t he? Why, he has thrown an incompletion on 33% of his passes! He owes the Colts his salary back. You are right. Only the rational fans look just at the failures. Only fools evaluate the entire body of work. By the way, that Babe Ruth guy who set a major league record for most times having struck out? What a disappointment!
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Yeah! The Babe actually got hits less often than he made outs! Terrible!
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Of course they were.
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That was wrong!
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I had the same thoughts. These guys owe Mark Richt a public apology-especially since their negative comments were rather publicly made. If you’re a big enough man to cast stones, then you should be man enough to pick them up and put them back into your bag.
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Apology for what?
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Mark Richt owes the State of Georgia a couple million bucks he embezzled to his buddies Martinez and Van Halanger when they got to keep their jobs YEARS after they were clearly incompetent and unqualified.
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Hey, do you write for another blog? You sound just like those douche bags. Glad to see you people are still alive and kicking. Get over it dude, we’ve won 10 in a row.
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Maybe you should file a police report. 😉
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MB, this is WAAAAAY beneath you.
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Really? Think these crusaders aren’t crushed by UGA’s improved status? They were more interested in getting their agenda passed and being right, so much so they don’t care what damage they do to the program. Damaged their reputations at cocktai parties as their friends recall the doom they forecast for UGA. Embezzling, jeesh! Bunch of fanatics that remind me of another radical group that is oblivious to the damage they are also doing. All for the cause komrade.
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Damn! Am I too late to this counterattack? You guys are doing well. Are some of these halfassed “fans” showing their other cheek? You bet Richt, his staff and more importantly, the team that remained solidly behind him through the maelstorm of crass and ignorant criticism, are all owed an apology. While your at it, go out and recruit those players you scared away because they feared they wouldn’t play for Richt. You have done this team and this school a disservice with your Big Man prattle. Every criticism aimed at our team could have been repeated for every team in the country. And every coach and every staff. Your arrogance is outdone by your ignorance of recruiting sensitivity and what rumors do to stop our competitiveness for coming years. We don’t know the extent of damage your bullshit has produced yet, but there will be an accounting. I doubt that many of you program faithless are alums or ever attended the Georgia campus.
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You da man! Never too late for you to show up and stand tall. The overreactive brigade is scarmbling for cover and, amazingly, taking credit for the turnaround.
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My very simple point is “when you are wrong, SAY you were wrong.” This is one trait of a true gentleman-and one our head coach has displayed consistently. However, I am not surprised that you missed the point.
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Thanks; I was looking for the post you had on it. I remember I got into it with (I think) JaxDawg. I still believe Bishop and Lowhorne had no business saying that at an open door, open record meeting. Fortunately it seems like things are okay now, but leaders casting public doubt two weeks into the season is jerkish and asinine.
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I can’t recall if it was you and me Ben but I didn’t share many people’s opinion then regarding this matter and still don’t. It’s debateable that Bishop and Lawhorne spoke up in the wrong forum, but I think we can all agree that everyone’s patience level was at a low at that time. I was one of the people that thought Richt has lost it since most managers/coaches/leaders that get you into the mess more often than not fail to get you out. Thankfully I was wrong and I admit it.
With that said, Tommy Lawhorne is one of our University’s most distinguished alumni and has the capital to express sentiments that most affiliated with UGA cannot.
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I was one you got into it with Jax. I watched Tommy Lawhorne play. He played with intensity and ferocity and sacrificed his body and brain on many occasions. He was from the same county that I grew up in as well and I enjoyed watching the local boy make good, including a year as a Rhodes Scholar. But none of that can excuse kneejerk reaction to a coach and team trying to find it’s way. He wouldn’t have appreciated it being done to Dooley while he was playing on the team , that I’m sure of because they had down moments as well. He didn’t leave Grantham out of it either (when he made the remark), but some of you certainly did and some continue to go after Bobo. He set a bad precedent with the remark and left a corrosive burn mark most fans still feel.
Thanks for bringing up the subject, Senator. It should be vetted further by the fans until the idiots flee the bandwagon.
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Cojones,
I actually lived in “Slyvester” many years ago, and still have strong ties to the area. Lawhorne’s accomplishments are still somewhat folklore to my father’s generation that played with/against him growing up.
All I’m saying is that he deserves some slack even if he was wrong to say what he did. I generally believe most people are overreacting to this subject but I’ll just leave it at that. I’m sure Tommy is proud what Richt has done this year.
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You didn’t live there long enough to know there’s nothing sly about a country town in Worth Co. When I went into the service, I was stationed in Wash St where I bought a car. I sent back to get it registered and licensed in Georgia and asked about fees. They sent me a license plate free gratis “for our local boys in the Service of their country”. I’m sure Tommy is held in high opinion “back home” and if you couldn’t tell, I have high opinion of him as well. I disagree totally with his pronouncements taking on an artificial weight among alums. He is not above regret for such a pronouncement and feel that he should ameliorate his remark with a public backing of Richt and this team before this SEC championship game.
What years were you there and did you know a classmate, Jim Henry Andrews, who was an iconic figure in Sylvester? My older brother is retired outside Sylvester and is married to a Wingate whose family has been there as early settlers. Since my sis-in-law has been active in local history/ Southern Veterans( going back to Confederacy/DAR) would think we have a connection somewhere. “Your folks know my folks” sort of thing. You wouldn’t be one of those ahole Jeter boys , would you? Jus kiddin’.
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If they had said that about Urban they would have lost their season tickets.
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Maybe they should lose their UGA season tickets.
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Think they’ve donated enough to get’em? I doubt it.
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While we’re on the subject, here’s a question I’d like to hear Richt answer now: “Coach, is this a must-win game?”
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UGA hasn’t done jack yet. They haven’t beaten a ranked or a winning team. We’ll really see what they’re made of over the next ______ games.
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Where you been, Puffdawg? Missed your shining sarcasm. And where is Red Blackman? You guys went out to Arizona, didn’t you? By the way, the wine cellar is finished in the bunker and am looking forward to a celebration soon. Course I’m only stocking it with tequila. And funny lookin’ seeds from the mescal cactus. They are found on golf courses in Arizona, that’s why they call them pay yo tee.
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Lawhorne and Bishop couldn’t be reached for further comment.
Don’t hold your breath waiting for these clowns to man up and admit that they were stirring the pot.
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Don’t hold your breath waiting on Tarkenton either.
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Tarkenton never said a good and printable thing about his alma mater. He scurried around so much in that cold part of the country that his balls froze to his uniform. That’s when he got the nickname of “Frantic Fran”.
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Unless there’s some back story that I’m missing, it seems pretty clear that the only thing these guys did wrong was to share those thoughts so publicly, given their positions, etc. Aside from that, though, you certainly cannot fault them for being concerned about the state of our football program at that point in time. You cannot praise Richt for righting the ship while also denying that the ship ever needed to be righted. Either those of us who expressed concern about the state of the football program were right to do so, or else Richt really hasn’t done anything particularly noteworthy.
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Well… yeah. Which is why the rest of your comment is irrelevant.
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Love your website Senator and pass it on to other dawgs. To answer your question, yea I’ve heard from Dr.Lawhorne lately. To tell you the truth, he was expressing the sentiments of many DGDs. CMR wanted the game with Boise. The team was not prepared. Greg was very unhappy with the dome performance as well as the bowl game. In fact our AD was rumored to have said that he would have fired CMR had he known the outcome of the bowl game but at that point it was too late. I really think we ought to leave this one alone given the recent success and look forward. The inner workings of our atheletic board are complex with all the recent mishaps going back to the Dooley-Adams mess followed up with Damon. The problem began with reporting of inaccurate comments. Let’s leave Dr.Lawhorne alone. He’s a DGD; I can assure you.
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Again, it’s not the sentiment that I object to, it’s the public expression by a Board member that wasn’t appropriate.
And if you’re saying that his comment and Bishop’s were inaccurately reported, then they should have taken immediate steps to correct that.
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I’m saying inaccurately reported. Sometimes making additional statements only fuels the fire. I love all the stats posted below. Let’s face it, CMR has been successful. I am really impressed how he has turned things around. Credit needs to be given to CTG and CMB as well. My only concern is can they keep it up? Is CMR 100% committed over the next 5+ years or is this a swan song followed by him pursuing other endeavors? CTG is very happy in Athens, as is his family. He says with another recruiting class like the last one, we will have THE best defense…better than Alabama.
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So now CMR is suspect because he’s not committed to the next 5 years? Are you kidding me with that? Apparently any rationale will do to further the agenda. So we can expect the next loss will be used to provide an excuse to start up the hotseat crap all over again. So in the meantime the powers that be would prefer that their vendettas not be mentioned anymore. That’s convenient.
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You’ve missed the point. I hope he’s here 5 years from now. Why don’t you put your money where your mouth is and make a contribution.
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Who is Greg Lawhorne?
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Count me as one who thinks that the public expression itself was the actual message. Especially since if what Columbus Dawg says is true, it could’ve been McGarity just as easily as Adams behind those comments.
Senator, though, I’m honestly confused by your reaction. At worst, this is an intrigue. But it’s still just as easily a tactical decision, even if those comments were misprinted–we want CMR to know exactly how serious we are to see if that lights a fire under him. In the end, CMR’s a public figure making over $2 mil; expecting “appropriate” conduct at that level is like expecting meat at Taco Bell.
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And you think the appropriate way to convey seriousness to Richt was through a couple of board members making public comments? Does that even sound like the way McGarity works?
Besides, cdawg said the comments were misreported.
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Yeah, Turd, irrelevant.
I, for one, can find fault with a couple of pretentious blowhards, given their positions.
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With all due respect, Senator, I think your post here could (very easily) be interpreted as implying something like the following meaning: “Those doubters and naysayers sure look stupid now, don’t they?” And in fact, judging by some of the comments, a number of readers have already interpreted your meaning in roughly this way (… despite your having made it perfectly clear on a number of occasions that you, too, were seriously concerned about the state of the football program at the time these comments were made.)
My comment is/was directed at those who would use this as an occasion to deride those of us who didn’t share their blind, thoughtless faith after an 0-2 start (not to mention the miserable seasons that preceded it); and as such, it is clearly not irrelevant.
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Maybe it is precisely because those things were said publicly – over the last few years – that Richt finally stopped being complacent and made the changes necessary to improve.
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Congratulations on saving the program.
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These comments were made about 1.5 years after Richt replaced Willie and about 8 months after he replaced VH. Unless Richt can see the future, not sure they had anything to do him taking measures to shore up our weaknesses.
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What changes did Richt make after the comments were made?
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Dang, Senator, you done gone and used his “irrelevant” word back on him. Man, you have a long and precise memory. Remind me not to mess with you; – again.
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“only” making public comments? That is pretty damned serious to me. It is one one thing for yokels on mesage boards and call-in shows who know nothing about the scope of the issues to fuel a fire that could have long term ramifications against the program, it is another entirely for Trustees to use their position irresponsibly. They should be replaced, not for their opinions, but for their reckless use of their position to publicly undermine the job the coaches are charged with. Recruits read message boards but their parents also read news stories about places their sons may spend the next 5 years of their lives at, perhaps, the most critical point of their development into an adult. What good could come from those quotes?
In addition to being premature, and at a very significant time in the season, these comments do not reflect the handicap our coaches operatre under relative to their peers. I speak of the handicap Adams, the Trustees, and other adminsistrators impose upon our ability to get recruits, and keep them eligible. I am not against having higher standards than our rivals, but it should be factored ino the evaluation of CMR and staff that UGA has a tougher time qualifying recruit for admission (several have been “passed along” to other SEC and D1 teams), and our Zero Tolerance on alcohol and drug violations are the toughest in the conference. Only UGA and KY suspend on the first failed drug test, and only suspends the first time for simpossession of a beer for a 20 year old. I support a tough stance on bad behavior, but no one else would have suspended the players we have often seen miss games for first offenses. That not only impacts the performance of that one game by the team and CMR, but it contributes to the negative publicity we get around the country from the media. Think about the three LSU players that were suspended for one game earlier this year, that was thei 2nd bad test so they would have to have already sat one game, and then would have been kicked off for 6 more games. By the way, they will all play aginst us next week, and they played against Bama. Think that doesn’t make a difference? And it goes on every year.
We have now won 10 games seven times with CMR in his eleven years. We have 5 East titles (and ties) in those eleven years. We will be playing in our fourth SECCG, and third SEC title next week. And all this in the golden days of the SEC. And some of you have had him roasting on the spit for 3+ years. So yeah, I think it is damned pompous of you, and others, to expect us to think you haven’t acted like village idiots!
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This
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Yeah, what Mac said.
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This. and watch how espn will turn LSUs player issues into ‘trials’ that les miles had to ‘overcome’ on the way to a national championship. Hell be painted a saint for enduring it. But hey, at least he is funny.
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Good Dawg, Mac. And yeah, have you seen any in-depth reporting about the “other” team playing in an SEC championship game? They already are taking care of the arguments to place LSU/Bama together again. Did anyone get the idea that maybe that’s why no one placed us higher in the polls?
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AMEN Brian Dawg great post–another lesson that we should not be so quick to Judge–We are very fortunate to have Mark Richt as our Head Coach–we have a shot! LSU is already thinking bout Bama–no matter what happens the future looks bright-GO DAWGS!!!
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In 07 we had arguably the best team in the nation.?. 4 times to the SEC Title game in the last ten years More than any other team. 7 ? 10 win seasons in the last 10 years .?.
Only LSU has won more games & more SEC games in the last ten years (than the Dawgs). 09 & 10 showed that the program needed to be put back on track. IT WAS. There will be blips for every program. I never saw any reason to hit the panic button. Maybe because of the 20 long years with no SEC title before Richt came along & started the Dawgs winning them again.
Looking forward to more wins & more titles under the current coaching staff. Go Dawgs.
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Can we all agree to ignore Muckbeast? Somebody obviously pissed in his Cheerios this morning and he can’t find a thing positive to say, EVER.
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You should read more thoroughly then. I say positive things all the time.
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Go back under your bridge.
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Sound of snoring, now.
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My criticism of Lawhorne and Bishop is their positions. Lawhorned is a former player. He should have seen enough plays in the 0-2 start to see this team was better than that. Bishop, you have to question this person’s abilities and decision making process. It has faults.
They should apologize for their comments considering their positions.
CMR started changing stuff in his mind about half way through 2009. The hire of his DC was a big party of the puzzle. The maturity of his OC and wanting to run more plays is another huge part. The linebacker and offensive line coach were also big hires. This is a very good staff.
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“CMR started changing stuff in his mind about half way through 2009. The hire of his DC was a big party of the puzzle. The maturity of his OC and wanting to run more plays is another huge part. The linebacker and offensive line coach were also big hires. This is a very good staff.”
And this is what everyone seemed to not pay attention to. Yes we all had questions about the direction of the program, but no one really stopped to think that Coach Richt basically blew this whole thing up in late 2009. He saw a team that had the talent, but lacked the preparation especially on the defensive side of the ball. The Georgia offense was where it had always been under Coach Richt, but the defense was not considered “The Georgia Way” and a change had to be made and a drastic one at that. Coach made those changes and the team had the talent to rebuild rather quickly. Our 2010 season was the first to try out these new changes and see what other tweaks needed to be made. While it was a bad season, it was no different than those years for Bama in 2007 and Florida in 2005 when they were in essence “rebuilding”. This season has shown that the defensive changes started to pay off and that the young players we started the rebuilding effort with last year are coming into their own and will be even better next year. In essence, Coach Richt has rebuilt our program twice and that in and of itself is a distinct accomplishment.
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“Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain and most fools do.”
just sayin’
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I do not like this MUCKBEAST I do not like him one little bit
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LOL!
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He probably would go better with green ham and eggs.
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I think people should have the right to speak their minds. I love the blog, but the inner mother-in-law is peaking out on this story.
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I thought at the time that it was inappropriate. It turns out it didn’t really matter. It didn’t seem to impact the team in a negative way. Perhaps it helped to snap them into reality regarding the seriousness of the situation.
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…….and perhaps it helped to snap a few good recruits out of our grasp. Why should it be brought up publicly two games into the season. Are you going to fire a coach with a good history mid-term? How stupid is that? Bobby and Tommy were wrong. Bad management.
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