Sanders Commings sings the tune you’ll be hearing all the way to Jacksonville, at least.
“Honestly, that team isn’t four touchdowns better than us. Tonight they were. I think it was because of mental mistakes that we made and giving up big plays that we shouldn’t have given up. Stuff we rep all the time in practice. I think we can correct those mistakes. We still have a long season to play. With some help from other teams we can be in Atlanta playing for the SEC championship.”
I agree with his first thought, but question his assertion about correction. They’ve been saying that since the Buffalo game. As for the SECCG, I’ve felt all along that the team who won last night’s game was making the trip to Atlanta this season. After the way this weekend played out, I see no reason to change my mind about that. (Which is probably good, since last night’s Georgia team would not look pretty against Alabama.)
The reality is that Georgia is a very talented, second-tier SEC team right now. With the remaining schedule, that’s likely good enough for another 10-win season; if the Dawgs manage to surprise and show up for either the Florida game or the bowl game, they’ll win more.
I’m not calling for anyone’s head – it’s not my style and I’m not a decision maker, anyway – but I doubt any school dumps a head coach coming off back-to-back double-digit winning seasons. My advice in the short run? Root for them to get better this year. It’ll be better for your digestion.
Get The Picture 
Out coached, out hussled, out played. Period. Less talk UGA players and more action in big games. This was just a humiliating beat down.
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yep. we have plenty of big games left on the schedule and winning one would be a good start.
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As positive as I try to be, I can’t shake that longstanding feeling that this is as good as it gets. The annual post-game spin of having a lot to play for, while technically true, does not ameliorate this feeling as it relies on other teams having to fail for our success. A little help form other SEC-E teams is fine unless it just sets us up to be embarrassed by a markedly better team that shows up prepared and ready to fight.
If we are going to lose (and everybody does) we should at least walk away feeling like we fought to the death. I saw a Carolina team fight like their lives depended on it. Georgia, not so much.
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I don’t agree with the longstanding feeling , but everything else you said drips with truth. You have expressed my disappointment precisely. It’s the fight they didn’t show at the time needed that rests on the team’s and coaches’s backs.
This is the half-way mark. Start all over with the two weeks of break.
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Well said, Senator. Richt is not going anywhere any time soon. May as well try to re-calibrate our expectations and hope for improvement.
I thought earlier that Murray would be gone after this year, but now I think he’ll be back next year again. He is not NFL material.
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Whatever draft status Murray may have had probably took a big hit last night. That isn’t fair but……..
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I think it’s plenty fair. More evidence that his apparent improvement only applies to teams who don’t pressure him.
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As much as I hate negative statements, your statement is rooted in truth, not supposition; therefore, it doesn’t fit in a negative slot. Both of your statements were pretty much spot on.
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I don’t blame Murray. He got rattled but so would have just about any other college QB in the same situation. There was no protection at all and his receivers were getting jammed at the line, plus there was virtually no running attack to take the pressure off him. I wonder what a college senior Peyton Manning would have done, particularly after being mugged repeatedly by Clowney and Co.? Drew Brees?
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He is a “small game” QB. It is painfully evident but there are apparently no other options. I still would have liked to have seen LeMay in there when there was no longer a reasonable chance of comeback in the 4th.
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“The reality is that Georgia is a very talented, second-tier SEC team right now.”
Agree. Except I’d add that this has been the case, with a few brief exceptional periods (both better and worse), for the past 15 years. We’ve been second-tier for longer than that, but I don’t know if we had as much talent run through the program then.
The fact that we laid another egg in a big game against Spurrier just rubs salt in the wound. No doubt that the guy is a complete asshole, but all his little digs and quips about Georgia over the last 20 years are pretty much dead on.
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That’s what makes them sting–the fact that they are true. If we beat him 35-7 and he said that he’d look like a fool.
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We will always be average to slightly above average with CMR as coach. Never great. If 9 to 10 win seasons beating poor to average opponents gets your heart racing then CMR will fulfill your desires. We should be on a first name basis for next 5 -7 years with the Outback Bowl selection committee.
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Yep, except that half the time the Outback folks pass us over for another team with a worse record.
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Frankly it reminds me a lot of my time in Athens, the late 80s with near-retirement Dooley. We’d always beat the snot out of the bad teams but were never good enough to beat the best ones. 2-4 losses every year.
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Agree – got there in 86 & it was much the same as this, just less talented…which is what makes this so frustrating.
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We beat a pretty good auburn team in 1986.
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We have been, at best, an average to slightly better than average program for the entire history of the program but for 1980-82. With Richt, we have been consistently better than under any coach ever. Maybe that’s not good enough, but it’s as good as we’ve ever been without Herschel.
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I think “slightly better than average” is underselling a little bit. I’d say a second-tier program, one that wins consistently but is rarely an MNC competitor. Like many programs the last 30 years…Clemson, Michigan, Auburn.
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Auburn? They’ve been undefeated twice the past 10 years with a NC.
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Over the last 30 years.
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Gastr1, Michigan won the National Championship in 1992 and Clemson won it in 1981. Wanna try for 50 years?
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Fair enough. There barely is over a handful of programs in the last 30 years that you can place ahead of us. Of course, half of them are in our own conference. And for the moment, add South Carolina (which is, perhaps, the thing that makes me feel the worst).
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“We have been, at best, an average to slightly better than average program for the entire history of the program but for 1980-82”
—————————————————————————————————Not true. We have had other undefeated teams besides 1980, we have had other teams win at least a part of a national championship, and we have played in, and won, major bowl games in the days when only a handful teams went to bowls. Look it up.
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We also have the 13th best all-time winning percentage in the nation and are tied 2nd for most SEC Championships all-time. Look it up.
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Thank God for cupckes, Vandy and UK.
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Sure about UK are you?
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Those are the same cupcakes that every other team in the SEC, particularly the SEC East, plays every year–not just UGA.
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I’m pretty familiar with the program’s history. I was speaking to the comparison of what “we’ll always be” with Richt at the helm with what we’ve always been. I think we’ve had exactly three undefeated seasons, and one of those was in the nineteenth century. That we haven’t had one in the last twelve years is not exactly a horrifying aberration.
It’s impossible to compare bowls today to bowls in the 1920s through 1950s or 1960s, but if you look back at how many one-loss, two-loss, three-loss seasons we’ve had, the Richt era is at least as good as we’ve been forever.
I’m not trying to run the program down. I’ve never known anything but being a Georgia fan my entire life. I just resist the notion that Richt is holding us back from our true selves, unless every coach prior to Richt did the same thing.
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What is different about the last 15 to 20 years from before is that Georgia has dang near doubled in population, and the state produces about triple the number of D1 prospects. The same can be said about the surrounding states that UGA recruits from.
During Dooley’s tenure this was not so, and Bear Bryant and Shug Jordan came and took whoever they wanted about half the time, and Tennessee always got their fair share from Atlanta and north Georgia too.
CMR has had the benefit of a much greater talent pool than those coaches that came before him. For that reason alone I think that CMR’s reality is much more advantageous, and thus our true selves is something much different and much better than before. It’s not that Richt has held us back. It’s that Richt has not moved us forward to where we should now be.
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“and if I swallow anything evil, put your finger down my throat” …five weeks of kool-aid came up . I feel considerably better now.
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Excellent reference…And spot on comment…Bitter after taste and all.
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You can use my coat anytime.
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The Big Picture—–we’re smack dab in the middle of some of the best recruiting grounds in the galaxy and we can’t compete with the big boys. In college football, coaching is probably 75% responsible for success and Richt is a good coach with pretty good results. But “pretty good” isn’t nearly good enough under the circumstances. You might not win them all, but you’d better show up and compete. In all of Dooley’s 25 years, the Dawgs got routed about 4 times. We get routed about twice a year under Richt. Bit the bullet and call Kirby Smart (or some other possible hungry up and comer) and set the basis for a renewal.
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Absolutely NOT!!!! If a change has to be made (and I do not agree that one should be made right now) then for goodness sake get a proven HC who is a winner! The “best assistant” route is what got us to where we are now.
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You’re possibly right on the assistant route. But we also don’t want another Jim Donnan. The AD gets the big money to pick the next guy, so I’ll defer to his judgment. But unless we want this underachievement to go on forever and ever, something must be done. Top notch programs do NOT melt down like this on a regular basis!
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But Kirby has seen it done, year in and year out, and been a big part of it. Alabama is institutionally committed to having the best football program they can be. Georgia… well, we like being the most profitable program in the land (percentage wise… cause Bama beats us on gross numbers now too). Richt will never win it. Something is missing that always comes up to bite him in the ass… every year. Special teams fail or poor recruiting over a couple of years. Never seems to be on top of the ball. Seems to lack the killer instinct. And this is what Georgia is going to be as long as Richt is here. I say, go after Kirby, and revamp the whole damned thing. Burn it to the ground, if we have to, and rebuild it. Probably can’t do that because UGA is not institutionally committed like U of A is.
So be it. I’m not going to Athens again… my money has voted.
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Kirby Smart=Derek Dooley. Think about it.
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Good. Don’t need the type around anyway. Don’t let the door hit you in the ass on the way out.
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What? No musical palette cleanser?
I know this is old news, but probably not emphasized enough, CMR’s greatest failing starts with O-line recruitment. How much talent has gone through Athens that was forced to make due with an sub par line? I know its not a flashy observation, but without this foundation you will never have a team that consistently wins and wins big games. Period. I mean for goodness sake, we started a kid who was playing high school football last year and lined him up against an NFL player.
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Sir, you have put your finger on the specific problem.
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We all bit the bullet with Theus having to play. It isn’t him, specifically, but the unavailability of someone else who should be better. He is there because we have no one better. Recruiting is part of it, but not all. We should push to recruit a dream O line, but who is to say what injury plays in this predicament thru the years.
Our (fans) puny coaching effort, telling the coaches to get RBs and FB help to the line was tried, but to no avail. Our suggestions didn’t work either because SC was built up to a ferocious energy game that worked for them. They were hyping themselves to the point of this being the most important game of the season. We shoud have also.
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I got my ass kicked by my own delusions. Tennessee should have been a portent and I, caught up in the delerium, ignored all the signs. I worried early on this was a team just good enough to break my heart. This turns out to be pretty accurate, but I sure helped in the heart-breaking.
Much as it pains me, and it sure as hell does, I gotta tip my bad hat to Steve Spurrier…so here’s a tip of the wrong hat to you, you evil muther fucker.
Now comes the big question, the heart of the matter. I got this hat that is 5-1. Do I dump it and start over with the great hat search or do I dust it off and put back on my head and move off, limping, down the road?
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You dust it off, put it back on (dust yourself off, too), and go on down the road acting as if nothing happened but secretly using it as motivation.
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Did throwing your hat out work before? I thought that you said throwing it away before started this whole mess. I’m just going to end up eating mine.
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No, throwing one away did not work…thanks for reminding me of that, I think the Mayor’s suggestion is the best course, and that’s what I will do.
I think it is really a good hat, that I was slightly delusional in reading the signs was not the hat’s fault.
Sounds like it is time to stick with the hat that got us here.
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I could only get to about six of the wife’s chickens. I felt like our team trying to limp after them as they scattered, but arthritis is my excuse. Can’t kick like I used to and the chickens stop only 5 feet away, knowing that is far enough. Like our team, my chicken kicking is over by the end of my first qtr. as they go about their business of pecking at the ground while smiling secretly that I’m not going to get to them. There are some smartasses to the side that I would like some help with to wipe the grin off their peckers. Volunteers can expect beers on the patio.
Similar to last night, no chickens were harmed in the preparation of this blog.
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Per your hat and heart: What would Munson do?
“Our hearts they was torn out and bleeding, we picked it up and we stuck it back inside.”
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Dear Larry,
This morning I am feeling a little dazed and confused. Once again I have been disappointed by my hat’s performance when measured against my own hopes and expectations.
I don’t want my hat to be a second-tier hat, and I know my hat does not want to be second-tier, either.
It has been suggested I just pick my pore old battered hat up, dust it off, put it back on and walk on down the road.
So here’s the deal, Larry my old friend, you did not tell me that sometimes the Bitches just win and there is nothing hats and hearts and sinew can do.
You did, however warn me over and over about that fucking evil shit Steve Spurrier…I just did not listen.
Hope you are catching lots of fish up there…do you get to eat them?
Best,
Scorp
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Forget the hat, try the visor.
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Visors don’t work well with my….ah….hairstyle?
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So far nothing about the D is mentioned above.
The OL was totally outmanned & Murray & Gurshall never had a chance.
Still, except for 2 WRs the entire O is coming back. Maybe they can get better.
In my opinion, the D sucks. Preseason the Dawgs were highly ranked because the D from last year was coming back & should be dominant.
9 senior starters on D plus 3 Juniors that will leave early. 12 0f the top 15 D Players will soon be gone.
Senior leadership & winning attitude should be coming from the Defense.
The Dawgs have 3 weeks for Jones’ groin to get better & for Grantham to get the Defense to play up to their potential against a ranked Gator team.
A semi – sucessful season is still possible but a win over the Gators is the one criteria that will allow that to become a reality.
I still believe that it is still up th Grantham & the Defense even if the OL never plays as well as is hoped or expected..
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Again folks, I don’t want to get stuck in this “small picture” debate. We can criticize specific plays, specific failures of the O line or D line, or special teams, or whether we should have sprinted out left instead of right. The BIG PICTURE is very bleak. With our talent base and fan support, we should be solid top 5 or 10 every year. Look at Bama—-they had fallen apart until Saban showed up. If we could get a Saban or Spurrier, we too would be back among the elite. And Richt ain’t no Spurrier or Saban. So prepare yourself for more of the same as far into the future as we can see……
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I don’t think either Saban or Spurrier would take the job. Neither would Urban Meyer, the only other coach in that category. So we dance with who brung us, for now.
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“I don’t think either Saban or Spurrier would take the job. Neither would Urban Meyer, the only other coach in that category.”
—————————————————————————————————
Thanks for that blinding glimpse of the obvious. The point is to find the next Saban or Spurrier, neither of whom came in as guaranteed successes. And before you even go here, no I don’t know who the next Saban or Spurrier is, but our AD should have some good ideas…that’s his job.
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The next Saban/Spurrier/Meyer is Boise State HC Chris Petersen and I suspect our AD knows who he is. And Saban, Spurrier and Meyer DID come in with guaranteed success based on previous success at other places. All 3 were great hires.
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Can’t wait for Dan Hawkins v.2. You have a coach with the 4th best winning percentage among active coaches and you are convinced that change will bring the results you want. These whining little idiots are what led bama to be a train wreck for so long. Count me among those who doesn’t want years of losing hoping that someday, somehow, the guy who craps crystal footballs shows up.
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I can literally name 6 different coaches off the top of my head that have better winning percentages than Richt over their careers. I have no idea where this “4th best winning percentage” figure keeps coming from.
Bob Stoops, Urban Meyer, Chris Petersen, Chip Kelly, Gary Patterson, Bret Bielema.
And after looking it up, guys like Saban, Miles, and Spurrier are just percentage points behind Richt. Just seems like such a bogus figure to keep throwing around to try and prove a point.
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Bobby Petrino is available
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Cheap, too.
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You mean his contract or his manners?
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I also do not think the big picture is bleak. Bleak is where UK finds itself in football.10 win seasons are not bleak and that is what we are probably looking at for this year. This program can win (and has won) 8, 9, 10, 11, games with regularity (and sometimes more) and that ain’t bleak. If you want to see bleak go to Indiana or Illinois, schools a lot like UGA academically and resource-wise and see what’s going on there. That’s bleak.
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10 wins sounds nice, but that was the worst 10 win team in history last year. All wins against mediocre or worse teams and they lost all games against good teams. That trend is continuing this year I’m afraid.
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UK, Illinois, and Indiana are poor analogies. Those states put out miniscule amounts of big-boy football talent compared to Georgia, and none consider themselves football first schools. They are what they are, and any success cannot be sustained.
Bleak is looking up at teams like Alabama and now South Carolina with no real plan to get to that level.
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OK, is Ole Miss a good analogy? Or Arky. They are in the same conference with UGA. Look at them now. How about UVa from the ACC? These are all schools that are similar to UGA in many ways that can’t win sh!t. Don’t give us that crybaby BS about “looking up at” Bama, South Carolina or anybody else. UGA has been on top plenty. “Bleak” is New Mexico where they haven’t won a game in a couple of years. This is one loss for cryin’ out loud!!!
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I am of the opinion that bleak = entering huge games knowing Richt will not have his team prepared to play. Bleak is South Carolina passing this program by. Bleak is having a roster filled with top level talent, yet playing at a JV level. Bleak is entering season after season knowing in your heart of hearts that there are 2-4 losses waiting on you. That is the bleakness of UGA football under Richt.
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Bleak is having Daryl Hannah naked in bed with you but you can’t get it up because you arbitrarily decided that you don’t like blondes. SD, that is the perfect analogy for your football logic.
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What scares me the most about going to Jax is that CMR has showed that nothing has changed at Georgia. As harsh as it sounds, for us to expect anything other than a loss from a team coached by Richt is poppycock.
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What kills me is the lack of preparation and seeing a team out on the field time and time again for a huge game that looks absolutely lost. I can understand and can get over being beaten by Clowney and this USC team. Hell even Connor Shaw. What I can’t get past is how our team looks so unprepared for every one of these games. I can’t remember the last time Georgia came out and looked like we were the ones that were most ready for the game. I would have to say it was Hawaii in the Sugar Bowl. But again, we whooped a lesser team. So seriously, when was the last time Georgia came out and beat a team or looked prepared to beat a team that was as good or better than we were? I’m racking my brain and can’t come up with anything in the recent past. Anyone, anyone…?
I do really feel like its time for someone else to take over. I was all in on CMR and the gang, but now I’m just a disgruntled alum who is bitter toward what Oregon has become and scared to death of going to Jax.
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Auburn 2007. Florida 2007.
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5 years is a long time.
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Aren’t you glad now that McGarity got us out of that home and away series with Oregon?
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Not really sometimes the shock needed to show change is needed can be painful. Oregon might provide that shock.
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Somebody scoffed at me saying that I was worried that Spurrier would school Grantham. Can anyone say, “blinding flash of the obvious…”
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We are looking at a beatdown in Jax, imo – and probably one or two other “unexpected” stinkers (Tech? don’t be surprised) in the homestretch here – our D is more likely to basically check out/look forward to the NFL than to buckle it up and take over. This looks a lot like 2008 to me.
CMR’s got to go – one of the beat writers tweeted that ADGM sat in on CMR’s postgame presser for the first time…interesting.
I haven’t seen anyone talk about CMR’s comments during the week in the ESPN interview – something about football being not the most important thing once your wife has had cancer – no doubt that’s true, but when the rest of your organization sees and hears that coming from the top, it’s hard for me to think the same attitude doesn’t wrinkle into their approach. Keep it to yourself, Coach!
Strange to see so many of our players tweeting within a couple of hours of gametime too….
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Tech?!!!!! I know things look grim but surely it is not that bad. Paul Johnson’s confidence is so shaken at this point that he is probably squatting to pee.
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Ahhhh man, that image is a terrible thing to have pass through your mind.
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By far the funniest thing I’ve read all day!
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As far as losing to Tech goes…we’re now the Clemson of the SEC and they gave them a game yesterday.
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Maybe your right. Maybe we are Clemson. We are both 5-1. Tech is 2-4. We aren’t who I thought we were Saturday night. Clemson beat the techsters by 16. I don’t know if there was any doubt who was going to win that game. We have a tune up for the option and cut blocks a week before playing Tech. I feel pretty confident that we beat Tech by 16.
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Jeez! we lost a game to a team that was jacked up all week by their coach, who makes it his mission every year to beat us. Seems to me a few years back. We Lost to SOS @ home, got ass raped on the road @Tennessee, yet at the end of the year we couldn’t be beat. 2007 it was. You people need to take a deep breath and let the season play out. USCe put their all in this game like in 2010 against ‘Bama. Remember what happened the next week? they lost to Kentucky. Put your money on LSU next week, for USCe is in for a big emotional letdown in Baton Rouge.
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USCe also is catching LSU as it comes off a loss. LSU will be HIGHLY motivated. Then USCe plays FU the week after and UT (a better team than everybody thought they would be) the week after that. I’m thinking USCe loses at least 1 and maybe 2 of those games.
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I can’t believe that I agree on every post you are making today. They are right on for looking forward and there is no reason not to after everyone vents their butts off. This was the hardest loss that I can remember (and there’s a reason) and it has hurt a lot of fans deeply.
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Things must be pretty bad out there when I am the voice of optimism.
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Don’t lose it now. It’s needed badly by us all at this time of our greatest fan need. It gives strength while we cringe in pain. I can’t even throw out a “Smoke’em if you Got’em” tension loosener, but my glaucoma tells me to use my own advice when stressed like this.
While your optimism is unexpected, it certainly is useful for us to use with the wounded egos requiring a ton of bandaging. Keep up the good stuff, Mayor. Our team seems to respond to it if the past year is any indication.
Senator, your blog’s a good dose of fair reality today. Your “Second Look” article won’t be out this week, will it? Too bad, since there was a lot of good blogging going on; like puppies in a big litter, we had playful growls but mostly we were frolicing and playing. Think the fans can come back this year?
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“While your optimism is unexpected….” Hell, I’m the same guy that I was before the game. It’s everybody else who has jumped off the bridge. I just look more optimistic because everybody else is sounding so pessimistic. It is what it is–only one game lost. The sky isn’t falling. Everybody get a grip.
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Boys, boys, boys…LSU is a offensive nightmare…South Carolina’s defense is better then Florida’s and Spurrier’s offense makes the Gators look inept….It is a nice dream you guys got there, but don’t get to believing it.
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Even if you are right, so what? If we beat FU and the rest of the teams on our schedule plus win the bowl we win 12 games this season. Only 1 team in UGA history has won more (13-1 in ’02) and 1 team in history has won 12 before (12-0 in 1980). That’s still pretty good company. I’m ashamed of you SJ,III–one bad loss and you want to jump ship. Grow some backbone.
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Dude, if I could jump ship Ida done it a long time ago, I am just trying, as I have been all year, to be more realistic about this football team. I can’t jump ship, Mr. Mayor, I can’t swim.
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Finish the drill! Get on the bus! Any other catchy t-shirt phrases??? How about we got drilled before we got run over by the bus.
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lol…
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Those 80-82 teams had some great O lineman who got it done. In those days Florida had all the talent but could not stop the Dawgs running game.
USC has a very good O line and ground game. 10 passes all night, most people think Spurrier throws a lot. maybe after last night people will understand that Spurrier understands how important an O line is. 2 of the 10 could have been borken up or intercepted. You have to remember the secondary was a concern going in and Rambo missed a fourth of the season due to suspension.
For me it is about coaching at the next level. Do think we will get it under CMR. He can not manage a roster, game prep, and game plan. If they had a plan for USC I would like to know what is was. Wahtever they had will not work against their front line D. Does anyone know who there secondary or linebackers are. No one does, but they shut us down for good.
Time to stop wasting good money, good seasons, solid alum support, and very good players. After the Dream Team recruiting [how many are still there], lost to Boise, Carolina, LSU, Michigan State, and Carolina.
Start bearting Carolina!!! And things could get better.
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It is VERY hard to gameplan if your o-line is a weakness.
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Like the falcons during the Vick days…pay some QB millions, but refuse to guy some damn linemen to block for him. Thank god Vick got caught in the scandal…who knows how long we would have kept him around otherwise.
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I don’t know…for me,something about this one feels different. Not sure even what that means. Only that this one stings more that most of the others.Maybe inflated expectations.
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“Maybe inflated expectations.”
I would like to add, “based on faulty sample size” to that.
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There should NEVER be a day that beating SC falls into the category of “inflated expectations”. This program has fallen far, and a new coach is needed to lift it back up.
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As quoted above Scar has an O line and UGA has Swiss Cheese. Living as a Dog in Charlotte for a few years, I can see how losing to Scar could make you feel like the program is doomed. Give the Cockys their due they dominated and are good but this is a bad loss not a harbinger.
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It’s not a harbinger of what? Of the fact that the program has plateaued under Richt, and we will never challenge for a championship with him as our coach? Seriously? How about being 2-14 against ranked teams the past few years? How about our 2 consecutive bowl losses? How about our record against Florida? How about our 6-7 record in 2010? Any of the a harbinger? Hmmmm?
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Besides Florida, how many more plausible losses are on the schedule? Firing a 10-2 coach gets you a mercenary like Kiffin. The firing that you so crave isn’t going to happen. If it was who do you think would take the job?
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dude, it’s not our job to know who is available, interested, etc. but this notion that we can’t get anyone better than Richt is ridiculous. no one had ever heard of chip kelly until he got his shot, but he’s turned out ok. there are plenty of good coaches out there other than the names everyone recognizes. Richt is lazy and complacent. it’s time for a change. McGarity seating in on Richt’s presser last night was very, very telling. Richt better not wet the bed again this year.
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The way that the contract that was signed in June is worded, CMR will have to decide when to step down. He’s not getting fired and will be here until he decides to leave or his contract is up. Whether or not you still believe in the guy has no bearing on his job.
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my understanding was that the new contract eliminated the buyout. maybe not. but whether i believe in him or not isn’t the question, it’s whether mcgarity believes in him. and if a man as smart as mcgarity let the coach of the most important athletic program on campus negotiate a contract that he can’t be fired from, then he is too incompetent for his job as well (although i really doubt this is the case)
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No, the contract eliminated the penalty that Richt would have to pay if he left the University.
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ok, but that’s still a long way from “he decides when he goes”. a 41-10 loss to UF, and i’m pretty sure he’s gone whether he wants to be or not.
look, i don’t think Richt is a bad coach. But i don’t think he’s an elite coach either and i certainly think he is complacent and still believes in the FSU “out-athlete” people philosophy. he would be a terrific ACC coach. UNC or UVA would be a fantastic fit. but it’s time for a change.
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This is the first time I’ve ever been completely, 100% down on Mark Richt as head coach. The buck stops with him, and he didn’t get this team where they needed to be just to play this game, couldn’t pull them back into it. All the stuff the Senator mentions is to blame, but the biggest is leadership. I could live with losing a typical close game, but this was maybe the biggest and most embarrassing loss by a Georgia team under Richt. Shouldn’t have been this way.
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A loss is a loss. But this felt like 3 losses rolled into 1. Ultimately Richt is responsible. Bobo and TG too, but it starts at the top. He’s lost his fire. I hope I never have to watch a game like that again.
A great man. A good coach. An average motivator.
Sucks to say Spurrier, Miles, Saban, Meyer, Chizik, Fulmer all have done something Richt will never do. I’m officially off the CMR bus. I will never cheer for the Dawgs play bad, but I hope Richt is gone sometime soon.
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I was optimistic after the turnaround last year, but I’m now convinced that Richt will never get back whatever it was he had early in his tenure. However much longer he’s here, he’ll get talent and win a decent amount of games, but they’re not going to get back over the hump. I could have accepted losing the game last night. Losing like THAT was simply awful.
The troublesome part is that if Richt isn’t replaced with the right guy you can end up with a lost decade. And that would suck.
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While we are at it, the D coordinator, the O coordinator, the RBs and both line coordinators belong in that group with Richt. If you are blaming Richt’s cheerleading you have to question what others were doing also; looking up and sitting on their hands?
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This. My fears from before last year are realized, they’re just a year late. That in order to maximize the given resources that Georgia has, Georgia would need to fire its previously good coach and replace him with a great coach. But in doing that the process is fraught with peril. Stick with Richt and you’re settling for mediocrity. Screw up replacing him and you’re wandering the wilderness for a while. For every Stoops and Meyer story, there’s 2 Lane Kiffins and Rich Rods.
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I agree completely. Look at what has happened to Tennessee and Arkansas. Having said that, I raised the question in 2010 about Coach Richt having list his fire after Kathryn had cancer. I don’t blame him one little bit if that’s true but it will translate downward to the rest of the team. I really thought he had regained that spark last year but how do we not show up ready to play on such an important game?
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+1 I have long felt and have written it on this blog that Kathryn’s bout with cancer changed him. He had always been very religious but he was suddenly selling his lake house to give the money to charity. Kathryn is in nursing school and we all know his feelings for the mission in Central America. The man is marking time as a HC and we are left with a leader that has let the staff take over the heavy lifting. I pray, literally that he will resign and enter the mission field before UGA goes down the drain. He will be happy and we will be left to whatever the AD wants to do.
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Lemme get this straight. Last season UGA won the SEC East and had a 10-4 record. This past week UGA was 5-0 and ranked #5 in the country. Now the Dawgs have had 1 loss (a bad one I agree) and you are worried that the UGA football program will go “down the drain” unless the current coach quits–right? Take one Xanax and back away from the keyboard, slowly.
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fair point, but losses don’t occur in a vacuum. I think a fair question is, given this game and really given the last 4 years. When have we looked like the better program and better coached team for 60 minutes in a big game? Auburn last year maybe? Even then the quality of said opponent was questionable. Now think back to all the big games of the past 4 years or games against quality competition, how many times have we not only lost but looked awful doing so? Yes, it’s one loss. I could even live with USC just pulling it out in a tight game. But we got absolutely embarrassed in every facet of a game we knew was critical since the end of the Outback bowl. What on this coaching staff right now gives you confidence that Georgia will not continue to underachieve as judged by the resources the program has at its disposal.
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I expressed very similar feelings in the last thread, including the injunction for us to get used to it or find a different sport to follow. The only thing more annoying than adapting to a ceiling on expectations is to spend all our time arguing with each other about Richt’s job security. Who knows, he may quit one fine day and become a missionary. But he won’t be fired if he’s winning ten games a year. You know it and I know it.
I’m also reminding myself this is by no means the most embarrassed I’ve been as a Dawg fan. There’s another time we had immensely talented teams and inferior coaching. So maybe the way to look at the Richt Era is that we are returning to the overall positioning in the conference of the Donnan Era, but with occasional dips into the slack-jawed incompetence of the Goff Era, when coaching along could cost a couple of touchdowns in a game.
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You left out a return to “the Johnny Griffith era” from your dips into slack-jawed incompetence.
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Best play in past two years. Greg McGarity and Mark Richt’s contract. Maybe we have a prescient AD.
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I thought Grantham got the only promotion with pay last year. Mark Richt was very publicly kicked in the ass after a 10-win season, demonstrating that the past enmity buildup toward him was used as reasoning. It was stupid and it hurt us in the eyes of many recruits. I thought the Bd of Regents having the door open for Tommy Lawhorne’s remarks were low class on GM’s and Adams’s part and they did the program no good.
Don’t build the whole year around one game just to lengthen the process again.
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The Bd of Regents didn’t prepare the team to play in Columbia last night.
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James Carville said of Pres. Obama’s Wednesday night debate performance “he looked like a man who didn’t want to be there.” Similarly, last night, our Georgia Dawgs looked like a team that had something else to do, somewhere else to be. They did not seem to be a team that had prepared to play the actual opponent they were scheduled to play. As others have pointed out, this has been a recurring theme in the second half of the Richt era. It seems unlikely to change, but we have the coach we have, so 10 win seasons, 11 in a good year, is about the best we’re going to get.
Right now, I’m glad we have the extra week to prepare for UK. After all, they gave the ‘Cocks a much stouter battle for 3 quarters than we did, and were a tough opponent for the Dawgs last year.
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I purposefully didn’t watch the debate and am thankful since they got an actor to impersonate Romney. Turned last night’s game off after the 1st SC passing td. At that point I knew that Grantham had been shining us on. I didn’t see the energy from the git-go.
All of our ashes-in-the-hair protestations should now go to what we want the team to be from here on out. We can’t drop support from one game loss, no matter that it was so sad.
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Too bad we can’t get south Carolina to get an actor to impersonate Spurrier–preferably one who doesn’t know sh!t about football.
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“Turned last night’s game off after the 1st SC passing td.”
So you turned the game off with 12 and 1/2 minutes left in the first quarter? Before we even got the ball the first time? What the hell kind of fan are you anyway? Seriously. You clearly spend hours a day posting on this board, complaining about and trying to belittle fans who don’t adhere to your kind of cheerleading “support,” but you can’t be bothered to watch more than a couple minutes of the biggest game of the year. Do you even like football or are do you just like identifying yourself as a fan? I’m pretty sure I know the answer.
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Look on the bright side: No one’s going to pay us any attention from this point forward. Until next year, when we’ll be over-hyped again.
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SC busted down a door last night. Georgia thinks it already belongs in the room if it can just find the ticket stub.
The tweets bother me more than they should. The talk coming out of a locker room can be revealing. This does not sound like a team searching for ways to get better individually and collectively. It sounds like a team convinced that it belongs in the elite where it stands right now – despite any evidence for that feeling whatsoever.
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It Is what It Is.. Can the Dawgs get a coach who will have a better record than Richt has? Personally I doubt It.
Anybody out there who still wants Grantham to take over as HC ?.
Be careful what you wish for ..
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Good point. There aren’t many coaches that I think can win at a higher percentage than Richt has. Let alone, ones that are available. Consistent 9-10 seasons are great (which is where we’re heading this year). But this fan base and alumni are tired of just 10 win season. It compounds the misery when the school around you are doing well.
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I don’t want to begrudge us all our right to vent, but it may be helpful to remember that the day after a demoralizing loss doesn’t usually find us in our most objective frame of mind to make pronouncements on the metanarrative of Richt’s tenure in Athens. It’s not nearly as good as the Disneys tell us, but it’s not nearly as bad as Goff’s or even as pedestrian as Donnan’s.
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“metanarrative”….dad gum boy….that is a good danged word. I like me some a that.
Oh, the other stuff is cool too.
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Pedestrian. That’s a good word, too.
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This was as bad if not worse than any of Donnan’s loses. This was 1999 Auburn or 2000 Tech bad.
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First, usc’s front is a lot better than those opponents and Jim didn’t have the offensive, offensive line we have.
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Don’t forget ’98 TN bad……two borderline top 5 teams with Gameday in town and TN spanked the Dawg’s butt. Yesterday was another bed wetting on national TV. Blah.
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Our record under Donnan was 40-19 (.678). Our record under Richt since 2006 is 59-26 (.694).
I’d say the Richt tenure of the past 7 years is just as pedestrian as Donnan’s.
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And don’t forget Richt gets an extra cupcake game every year due to the permanent extension of the season to 12 games.
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Take away those extra 7 cupcakes and its 52-26 (.666).
Eerie, huh? And worse than Donnan.
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Er…not exactly right. Sometimes the cupcakes win (see Colorado) and you’ve already got that counted in the loss column.
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You get the point, brah.
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Hell, you got the idea from me Muckie, you just don’t remember. I wrote a post about that in 2010. Dooley, CMR and Donnan (if you only count his last 4 seasons–that’s only fair since he had to have 1 year to get the “Goof” out of the team) all have basically the same winning percentage, which is pretty close to the all-time winning percentage for the school. Do you really think that things will change radically if a change at HC is made? They might–but most likely for the worse. Exhibit “A” : Ray Goff.
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Last night’s performance was not an isolated event; for several seasons, we’ve seen players come and go but the results stay the same. This indicates the problems are mainly at the top. I lost confidence in Richt after the debacle in Bolder in 2010. I think he’s a good man (uncommon in this world, especially so in coaching), but he’s not a very good coach anymore. The talent at his disposal means that the Dawgs will usually win nine to ten games a year against lesser opponents, but the lack of focus, preparation and mental toughness that have characterized Georgia teams over the last several seasons guarantee we’re not going to excel.
I wasn’t even mad last night. I expected a dud and my expectations were rewarded.
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Auto +1 for use of Beggars Banquet
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One of my favorite songs, and sadly appropriate to the occasion. I agree with everything you wrote. I don’t think Richt is getting fired, but I’m pretty damn sure Georgia’s not getting any better under Richt. Do I mind having a 10-win team? Depends. With this schedule, yes, I mind it. If the Dogs were playing everyone in the east and one or more tough ones out of the west, 10 wins would be better. And even with this schedule, 10 wins isn’t horrible, but when the losses are complete meltdown ass-whippings, then I grade it on a curve. I’m not going to say, as some have, that Richt is lazy or that he doesn’t care. For one, I don’t think that, and for another, I don’t work with him and can’t make that call. But I do sometimes suspect that he’s more of a delegating CEO than one obsessed with the details of his business. And as such the Dogs will always seem to be reacting to the competition rather than dictating to them.
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Yes. Your note of the schedule is on point. This might be the weakest/most favorable schedule in the last 30 years of Georgia football. When the dust has settled at the end of the season, we’ll have played only two good teams. Carolina and Florida. And by no means are these teams great or without exploitable weaknesses. 10 wins against this schedule essentially means that we’re better than average (UT, Missouri) but certainly nothing special.
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I’m a UGA fan so I’m sure ill be watching the next game but I’m sick of this “we still have lots to play for” crap…brings to mind another saying about pissing on me and telling me its raining. I certainly agree with the Senator that calling for people to be fired is stupid bc we all know that no one will be, but damn, I no longer have any confidence in this staff. Every year like there are at least two games where the whole team is utterly unprepared…and that’s on the coaches.
Last night’s abomination was ten times worse than the Blackout game or any other bad loss…at least that team fought back. Last night the team came out in the third quarter like they had all spent halftime having tea. No fight, no real adjustments…just more of the same.
And freaking Aaron Murray. He’s like that old gf that you know is crazy but you keep giving chance after chance to because she looks good, and you think this time will be different, and of course it never is. I had bought into him being more mature, better mechanics, etc, etc. obviously he’s a good kid and his coaching and o-line gave him zero help, but he just can’t handle the big game. Like the Senator mentioned elsewhere, he couldn’t even throw the quick pass to the guy standing still 10 yards away from him w/o the WR having to dive to the ground and take a loss just to catch it.
Yes, the O-line was a turnstile, but even when he DID have time, Murray couldn’t hit water in the middle of the ocean last night. We’re all used to him getting rattled in big games but last night he never came out of it. When your team leader looks like a deer in headlights, you’re probably not going to win the game. I’m ready for the Murray era to end.
So yeah, still lots to play for..ie..another Outback or Cap One Bowl against a mid tier Big 10 team, maybe 10 or 11 wins…yippee. I don’t advocate firing anyone bc we all know it won’t happen, but at what point do we as fans just get tired of the same story every year: decent record and maybe a 2nd tier NYD bowl and two games or so where the team comes out completely unprepared and wets the bed. I shudder to think about this current regime sneaking into a playoff game once that starts…can you imagine how badly they could bungle a game that big?
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118 teams will end this season short of their goal. Given that we are passed dreaming of a sec east title are instead only satisfied with sec titles or better, I’d say that our “more of the same” this year is a higher bar than it was before CMR.
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I’ve been holding back and thinking about last night. The one thought that keeps coming back is if this had happened in Athens last year after the Boise game, we probably would have a new staff this year. I’m not off the bus, but the lack of execution has moved me toward the door.
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The Richt era has to end. It should have ended after the 6-7 2009 season and the absolute THEFT from UGA that was his keeping Martinez on staff because he was a friend.
We are not a top tier program and there are *NO SIGNS* we are moving in that direction.
It is really that simple.
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The coaching staff is SO BAD that you can’t even keep track of which losing season is which.
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You can always count on Muckbeast to show up and crap on the team after a bad game. Funny Muck you have been strangely silent so far this season until the past couple of days.
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Sorry for merging two points without typing the second date.
2009 was the end of the disgusting Willie Martinez theft.
2010 was the losing season that continued as part of the general lack of accountability.
I’ve been posting here since the beginning of the season Rocket.
But what was there to post about? We beat a bunch of bad teams. We showed serious signs of weakness. I was honestly afraid to talk about them.
I was drinking the kool aid and was afraid if I mentioned the glaring flaws in our team I’d somehow make them bigger. 😦
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I believe you guys would beat a DEAD HORSE. No one should be calling for anyone’s head because of last nights loss. We cannot be SEC Champions every year. No one can. I cannot understand why ya’ll huff, puff and rave like you do. I pray the TEAM never sees this blog!
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They don’t read this blog, they’re too busy on Twitter.
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“We cannot be SEC Champions every year.”
Just fyi, we haven’t been SEC Champions in 7 years.
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Question: How many times since CMR arrived in Athens has Bama been SEC Champion? I’ll get off now and listen to the answer on the radio.
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Once, 3 years ago (they’ve also won 2 national championships to our zero). LSU has won 4 (to go with 2 national championships). Auburn has won 2 (with a national championship). Florida has won 2 (with 2 national championships). What is your point? Care to examine the numbers since our last one?
I’ll hang up and listen to you continue to attempt to spin the relevance of our 2 SEC Championships from 7 and 10 years ago.
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OK. So to sum up, UGA has won twice as many SEC Championships during the Richt era as Bama, the same number as Auburn and Florida but trails LSU by 2 (and if UGA had won the SECCG last year against LSU would be tied for the most SEC Championships during that period). It appears that the deficiency of titles in the National Championship category is the primary complaint, where UGA has finished only a measly 2nd (2007) and 3rd (2002) under Richt’s watch. Sh!t, that’s lousy! Fire the SOB immediately!
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I like how you inserted what you wanted as the “primary complaint”. Spin that record baby, spin it.
In reality, a world in which you clearly don’t reside, there are actually several “primary” complaints. Here are a few:
– we haven’t won the conference in 7 years (we’ve only been to the championship game once in that span and we got beat by 32 points)
– our record in that span is on-par with our record under Donnan (you know, the guy we canned after only 5 years)
– we haven’t won a big game in 5 years
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One loss?
ONE BAD, EMBARRASSING LOSS?
2005 Sugar Bowl vs West Virginia (played Jan 2, 2006). didn’t show up for first quarter (0-21)
2006 blowout to Tenn – didn’t show up for 2nd half (9-37)
2006 lost to Vandy at home for Homecoming!
2006 atrocious choke loss to a bad Kentucky team
2007 horrible choke loss to a bad SC team (finished 6-6). didn’t even score a TD. didn’t show up for 1st quarter. (0-7)
2007 even worse choke loss to Tenn that cost us national title shot. didn’t show up for 1st half vs. Tenn (0-28)
2008 Alabama “black out” game. didn’t show up for 1st half (0-31)
2008 destroyed by Florida 49-10. didn’t show up for 2nd half. (7-35)
2008 ugly choke loss to GaTech (we were #11, they were #22). Didn’t show up for 2nd half. outscored 7-33. Gave up 16 pt halftime lead.
2009 choke to Ok State. outscored 3-24 in final 3 quarters.
2009 blown out by Tenn 19-45 (Tenn finished the season 7-6)
2009 blown out by Florida 17-41
2010 choke loss to SC (6-17). Didn’t score a single TD. Scored 1 FG per half. SC finished 9-5.
2010 choke loss to MissSt. didn’t show up for 2nd half. outscored 0-17 before garbage time.
2010 unforgivable choke loss to lowly Colorado
2010 possile worst loss ever for the program, 6-10 to U. of Central Florida!!! on the way to a 6-7 losing season
2011 loss to Boise State that wasn’t even as close as the 21-35 score. totally unprepared for the game.
2011 gave up 28+ points on turnovers and special teams to lose to SC by 3. Sad.
2011 blown out by LSU. Quit after 1st quarter. outscored 0-42 in final 3 quarters.
2011 completely pathetic meltdown choke to MSU in the Outback Bowl.
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Next year we open with Clemson. We have LSU on the road, and Alabama at home. Plus the usuals. This was the year to get it done.
I have to say I am continually amazed at how calm and classy The Senator can remain through thick and thin.
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May want to check your schedule grapevine there, buddy.
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I didn’t mean in that order. Please correct me if I’m wrong.
http://www.fbschedules.com/ncaa-13/sec/2013-georgia-bulldogs-football-schedule.php
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Unless we go to a nine game slate, yes, I think you are wrong.
Missouri wasn’t even mentioned.
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SEC schedule is not even set yet.
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Precisely. The wages of expansion.
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Ok bloggers I don’t comment regularly but do enjoy the blog. UGA is as proud a program as there is in the land, period. Look at the 1940’s or 80’s squads; we shaped the game with some of those teams. Now honestly if you look at much of Dooley’s/Goff’s/Donnan’s tenures we under performed badly. Last night Herbie/Musburger pointed out the future NFL’ers on UGA’s roster and to say we have the pieces is putting it lightly. This squad has plenty of upside, if they can continue to improve. USC could very well drop their next two games and honestly we could take Jacksonville along with the rest of the schedule. We gotta hope that’s the case as another loss not only eliminates us from the Dome trip, but kills the moral of the fans. Look the real issue isn’t whether or not this team is mediocre, it’s that as a fan base we don’t believe in Richt anymore. As much as it saddens me to say. Case in point: I’ve been contributing to the Hartman Fund since 1979, and for the first 10yrs of Richt’s tenure couldn’t get away tickets to Auburn or South Carolina…until this year. I’ve not changed my level of contribution since the mid-90s and this off season basically got told I’ve jumped WAY Up the donor’s score. Look I know several factors come to bare on this donors losing their job/donors above me dying etc.but when you add in the unfilled stadium for Vandy or the season opener, a clearer picture emerges…we don’t trust Richt with our beloved Dawgs anymore. He shouldn’t be run off after this season, no he should get One more year, but with our schedule the next two seasons how likely will it be he can take this program any higher???
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Do you think it’s too soon for a Global War on Marks (GWOM) thing? Me neither…
Global War on Marks (GWOM) Crisis of the Day (COD) Piece, “Spurrier: What Is He Good For?”
1700 hours, 7 October 2012
Underground Bunker, Butts-Mehre Defense Complex Film and Cinema Room
CMR who now has time to study more film submits a memo to Greg asking him to reschedule getting tied to the whipping pole by Spurrier to the first week in September. CMR decided to make the request after he, the other Mark and Todd studied some awesome film from the Saturday Night Massacre
Greg replies that CMR needs to spend more time doing something (although no one in the Butts-Mehre Defense Complex is quite sure what that could possibly be) and that if CMR doesn’t get this squared away within five years (a/k/a Year Two of the Fourth Five Year Plan) there will be blood or perhaps bowling
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Well then we might as well as bring back that ol’ fan favorite….DAWGVENT!!
FIREMARKRICHT!!1!11!!
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Yet another big game where we weren’t ready for the intensity from the get-go.
This actually happens a lot in lesser games but we get away with it b/c the other team isn’t very good.
Our program is the definition of mediocrity.
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In the south we have a saying when your Grandmother wanted to speak nice of a person she really thought was in over their head and that was “Bless his Heart”. Well Bless Mark’s heart because he has acheive the Peter Principle. Bless Arron’s heart because he can’t throw a plain screen pass or a wheel route to save his own lfe. He could not help himself against the rush because he can’t coplete the passes that are required to take the presure off. Bless Ranbo’s heart for the first two TD’s that he screwed up on. Rambo serves as a future example why you should take the NFL’s money and run, he lost a lot of draft spots last night. Bless CTG’s heart because he still thinks his guys can play NFL D shemes when they just don’t get it, bless their hearts.
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Been thinking about the 9/10 win thing…. In the end, I just think the nature of the losses outweighs the W-L record.
Two 10 win seasons for 2011 and 2012 would mean Georgia went 20-7 over that stretch. Right now, things stand at 15-5. Three of those 5 were blow-out losses, and one was defeat snatched from the jaws of victory (Michigan State). if Georgia adds two more losses this year – say, an SC-like loss to Florida and an uninspired effort against a Nebraska or Wisconsin in a bowl game – then I could Richt getting fired on the heels of two 10 win seasons.
I’m not advocating it, and the debacles at Tennessee and Auburn in the wake of Tuberville and Fulmer would be strong arguments against making that sort of decision with a reasonably successful coach.
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By Tuberville debacle do you mean winning a National Championship in 2010?
I’ll take that debacle any day of the week.
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I won’t. If we fire Richt (which right now I agree there does need to be a change simply for the sake of a new voice in the locker room) and hire a Kirby Smart-type then I will never contribute to the Hartman Fund or the University again. Say what you will about Richt and his coaching methods (and Lord knows I have) but he runs a clean program. There isn’t even a hint of impropriety around UGA, who else in the SEC can say that?
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There also isn’t a hint of being prepared to play big games in this program either. Make Richt the team chaplain if you want, but we need a real football coach.
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Clean program? With 60-something players and tons of suspensions? No thanks.
And I have no interest in Kirby Smart. That would be a disaster. That defense is Saban, not Kirby.
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Yeah, Kirby Smart has Alabama deep in probation.
Good grief. Some of you try your absolute best to make it sound like Mark Richt is the second coming and everyone else is going straight to hell as soon as their coaching career is over. Unbelievable.
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Tronan is right. Five or six years ago when we’d lose to Florida horribly, my patio furniture would take a terrific beating. Lawnchairs would be found out among the tree limbs and the yard would be filled with unidentifiable pieces. Last night, I just turned the channel to watch Star Trek or to check The History Channel. It’s no longer a surprise when this football team embarrasses us in front of the nation. My favorite stat——Dooley’s team choked horribly 4 times in 25 years. These days, we choke probably twice a season. The only winners out of this is South Carolina, our bowl opponents and my patio furniture.
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I posted last night about pulling for FSU tro win it all and then they craped their nest. So now I have a choice between pulling for Saban, pulling for SOS, pulling for the Gators, pulling for the Ducks, or pulling for nobody. Well, come on Ducks. At least we can make fun of the ugly uniforms. My old friend War Eagle that used to post on the AJC blogs said that CMR would never win a BCSCG because he always had at least one inexplicable loss every season. Old War played for an undeafeated AU team in 1958, so he should have known what he was talking about. He said that Richt can’t win the big one. I don’t believe in the “can’t win the big one” meme because I have seen so many coaches that “can’t win the big one” win the big one. Take Roy Williams, he could not win the big dance at Kansas but he goes to UNC and wins two. However, I am starting to lose faith in CMR. As the Dean of SEC programs and a damn good coach there is no way his team should be caught with their pants down. I can make no excuse for their performance. The O line was out maned but the D should have stood up.
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Well, where to start? Ahem. I had a sense the game would not be close, but figured UGA had just a good of chance at a >10pt win as they did a >10pt loss. This, unfortunately, speaks to lack of consistency that has come to typify this season and the last 6-7 for that matter. What is absurd and frustrating all at the same time is it would not be a complete shock if GA won in Jacksonville.
The lines of scrimmage, on both sides of the ball, continue to frustrate as does the on-going propensity for the secondary to give up big plays with blown coverage — with seniors playing safety no less. I am not sure if it is over-confidence and/or lack of discipline in an effort to make highlight reel plays, poor instincts or bad technique but the secondary is a mess relative to where it should be.
The talent in the state of GA is too deep and the advantages available to the University too plentiful for the ongoing just-better-than-average performance that they come to be identified by. There really is no good excuse for this program to so consistently miss on big time OL prospects or inability to develop the ones they are signing — none. I am not looking for anyone to lose their job yet, but something has to change. I thought (hoped) the corner had been turned with Grantham, whereby no matter the circumstances, the defense would keep GA in every game. Unfortunately, it feels like things are back to where they were during the Willie-era or Donnan-era and it will come down to whether or not the offense “is on” or not. Not a good place to be.
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“I simply believe that 12 years as head coach at a major university in the SEC is long enough. “–Steve Spurrier, 2001.
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Well, I’m guessing some commenters here are determined to get Georgia fans into Brian Cook’s This Week in Schadenfreude, against tough competition from Auburn. And speaking of Auburn, anyone want to trade places with The Barn right now? Give me the “mediocre” 9-10 wins a year over the questionable MNC followed by an absolute dumpster fire. The Plainsmen did about as well as we did yesterday, but it was against Arkansas, fresh from multiple disasters.
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Rumor is that Jay Jacobs is trying to trade Gene, Trooper and Football Points to Jeff Long for John L., Pork Rind Jimmy and StuckInTheMudd
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Uh, no thanks. I’d rather have a national title that maintains the long term reputation of our program.
A bunch of above average 10 win seasons are junk in comparison. With 4 OOC cupcakes and 2-4 in conference cupcakes, that’s 6-8 wins of that 10 that don’t mean much.
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Have you seen Auburn’s reputation lately?
Not so good.
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Better than ours.
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You mean a National Championship that nobody respects and even Auburn fans are ashamed to bring up because of how sleazy they had to be to get it?
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Who doesn’t respect it?
Jealous fanbases like ours?
Everyone else simply acknowledges they won the 2010 national championship and for all intents and purposes also the 2004.
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Used to have this argument all the time with a Mets fan who dismissed the Braves’ division titles because they were so feckless in the post-season, whereas his team was mostly bad but had more recently one The Big One. It’s just a matter of taste, I suppose.
But I did want to add some perspective by mentioning the relative current positions of Georgia and Auburn. All kidding aside, The Barn is a big bad SEC program with vast resources and regularly outstanding recruiting, all in every respect equal to Georgia’s. Their performance yesterday was indeed as disastrous in every respect as Georgia’s, with the difference that ours was on the road against what is now the number 3 team in the nation, while theirs was at home against an Arkansas team totally left for dead and not going anywhere soon. There was no Clowney terrorizing Auburn’s hapless QBs.
You can’t just constantly compare Georgia to whoever is playing better than us in the SEC. I’m not happier than anyone else with the game yesterday, but the reality is that we still still have a chance to win our division and you can’t say that about Auburn or Tennessee.
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Just read that Aaron Murray’s father has thyroid cancer. He is scheduled for surgery. It helps put a game into perspective.
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Actually no it doesn’t put the game in “perspective”. It may partially explain why AM didn’t play well, but it really means nothing in regard to the importance of the game, one way or the other. If the game was important to you before you found out about Mr. Murray’s illness, then it’s still important, and visa versa. I am sorry to hear of his illness, and I hope for a full recovery for him. But it doesn’t have anything to do with my perspective on the game, or the importance I place on it any more than my mother’s death from cancer in 1975, my fathers aortic anyerism (sp?) this past May, Kathryn Richt’s cancer diagnosis a few years ago, or Larry Munsons recent death. We are humans…we are born, we live, we get sick, we die. We know that. Its nothing new and has nothing to do with football, sorry.
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Thanks for weighing in Dr. Spock.
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You’ll have to explain that…
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You have a great conclusion, when viewed exclusively through the cold lense of logic. Unfortunately, humans aren’t automatons operated exclusively by logic. They act with emotion, they are unpredictable, they have different life experiences, relationships, etc. that equip them in different ways to respond to life’s circumstances. What affects one person in a profound way may not affect someone else equally. How you or I may react to the loss or illness of a parent in our professional lives has zero impact to how someone else may respond under similar circumstances. I have no idea whether or not Aaron was impacted last night or not and more importantly it is not up to me to determine how he should or should not have responded to the news of his father’s condition.
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As I said below, Debby’s comment had nothing to with on field performance. Obviously you missed that. And Dr. Spock was a pediatrician, FYI.
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Fine, thanks for weighing Mr. Spock.
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You’re welcome Oprah.
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No it doesn’t. Brett Favre dominated on MNF the night his dad died.
There is no connection.
That said, I hope AM’s father comes out in good health. AM seems like a great individual and I am a huge fan of him personally.
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The condition of Aaron’s dad had little to do with the defense allowing receivers to get behind them, or the DL/LBs allowing Shaw to break the pocket for big gains, or special teams allowing 6pts on a return, or the OL not getting consistent push up front or pass pro, etc., Perhaps it had nothing to do with Aaron’s poor play or it may have had a huge imact. Whatever the case, comparing to how Farve (an adult at the time and professional) reacted or how we may have reacted in our professional lives when our mom died, is irrelevant to how it may or may not have affected Aaron.
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Debby’s comment wasn’t intended to say anything about how Mr. Murray’s illness may have affected the outcome of the game, merely that we shouldn’t care about the outcome of the game in light of that illness. I think that is silly, and offered other real life examples of similiar situations that while also sad, also do not change one’s outlook on Georgia football. Sorry all that went over your head.
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Ugh… that is precisely what she said, if by “Debby” you mean “Muckbeast”, who wrote “No itdoesn’t. Brett Favre dominated on MNF the night his dad died. There is no connection.” The presumption being that if Bret Favre dominated MNF on the heels of personal tragedy, Aaron should have been able to do the same.
If there was some deeper point here, that “went over my head” fine, I will stand by for someone to break down the interpretation of how Bret Favre has anything to do with this discussion.
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I never said you shouldn’t care about the loss I said it puts it in perspective. Dealing with cancer is much more important than a football game. If someone’s life is so out of balance that what happens on Saturday is more important than life or death then they need to step back.
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And I didn’t say that what happens on Saturday is more important than life or death. I merely pointed out that life and death happen, as does football. There is no connection between them.
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Sure doesn’t sound like it. Just sayin.’
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In the last 20 years, the SEC has won the national title 11 times (yes, with USC’s taken away, undefeated Auburn counts for 2004 over 12-1 Oklahoma and 11-2 USC)
Alabama – 3 (1992, 2009, 2011)
Florida – 3 (1996, 2006, 2008)
LSU – 2 (2003, 2007)
Auburn – 2 (2004, 2010)
Tennessee – 1 (1998)
And yet nothing for UGA. We haven’t even PLAYED for the title. UGA is 10th in total wins and 10th in winning percentage for the history of college football (div I teams). Only Alabama and Tenn are ahead of us.
There’s no excuse for a 32 year span without a single title. And in a 20 year period of SEC dominance, there’s no excuse for one of those 11 titles not being at Georgia.
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Every team ranked ahead of us in total wins has at least 1 national title win in the last 25 years.
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It’s an absolute joke that with the resources/facilities in Athens and the treasure trove that is high school football in Georgia that there are folks who are trying to put a spin on the underachievement of the last several years. People are happy about 10 wins last year against that schedule? Please. They lost every game that mattered. UGA and Texas are the most underachieving programs in America, anybody that doubts it is just falling for the excuses and bullshit. I’m flabbergasted about last night so I’m probably ranting a bit, but ripping people for having high expectations is wasted criticism in my opinion.
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And at least Texas has a national title in the last 25 years.
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A final thought. I have been a fan of Spurrier as a HC since he was at Duke.
I still think Saban & Spurrier are the 2 best coaches in the SEC.
Les M. & Urban when he was at UF were /are pretty good too.
Other than the ones that I have mentioned I think that there are no other HCs out there that are better than Richt. 20 years without an SEC title was a long time for me.Richt brought the Dawgs back & I have doubts that the next HC can keep them there.
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It is asinine to believe that Richt is the only coach in the country that we could get that can take/keep UGA to it’s early 2000’s level.
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+1. Wow, it’s hard to believe that someone thinks that Richt is the 3rd best coach in all of football…especially after last night (and after last year’s Michigan State choke, the LSU debacle, the USC give-away, the Boise State no-show…I could keep on going by naming every big game disaster over the last 5 years, but I think you get my point).
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Agreed. Even if you don’t think Richt is as good a head coach as Saban, they ain’t too many Sabans out there. As a DAWG since 1969, I’ve seen a whole lot worse than what we’ve had for the past 11 seasons.
That said, I think the Senator’s prognosis at the top of this column is spot-on. We should’ve seen the warning signs, especially on defense, since the Buffalo game.
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UGA isn’t going to make any major decisions about anything – especially football – in the next year or so. Perhaps everyone has forgotten, but we’re in the market for a new president.
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Damn, that’s right. Where do I go to apply?
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I think the thing that really gets me is not that we haven’t beaten a team that has finished the season ranked in 4 years, but the fact that we haven’t even played competitively against a good team in 4 years or so.
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Murray was out of the game at the coin toss,it was painful on the radio (he seemed shaken). Grantham only understands a pro-style o.
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Gloom, despair and agony on me….
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Deep dark depression, excessive misery….
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Here’s a coach who takes accountability for doing a poor job.
Mark Richt, Mike Bobo, et. al. need to follow his example:
http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/8475417/colorado-rockies-manager-jim-tracy-resigns-record-losses
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I am glad that in times like these we can fall back on the notion that at least our coach is a good guy. That completely makes everything better….
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Alabama dumps 10 win Coaches. Look where they are now all you sunshine pumping MF’ers.
Richt needs a new job. Same ‘ol same ‘ol, and it’s never going to change as long as he is HC.
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Obviously Nick Saban isn’t leaving, so who do you think will lead Georgia to your vaunted Bama status?
Gene Chizik? Lane Kiffin? Bobby Petrino? Will Muschamp? Bill Belichik? Gruden?
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Rhodes is looking good at Iowa State. Mullen if he is clean of NCAA problems has Miss. St rolling. Urban had no SEC experience. What did Les Miles do before LSU?
Fear of a new coach failing is no reason not to make a change if you believe the program can not get past the best of rest with the current staff.
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I am in agreement with those who say we need a change of coaching staff. It will be painful, but at least there will be some hope for a brighter future. Enough is enough.
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I don’t expect a SEC title every not even an East division win. However last year and 10-2 this year is as best as I expect to see.
Since 2008, Georgia’s record against teams who finsh ranked in the Top 25 is: 2-14 since ’08?. S. Car will likely make that 2-15. We’ll see what Florida and a Bowl Game add to that record.
UGA is one of the most profitable programs in the country, Georgia as a state is in top 5 at producing NFL talent with Florida being top 3. There is no reason to go 2-15 against the top 25. Bama would not take this, Florida did not keep Zook. Auburn fired Tubbs who had a perfect ’04 season. If a change is made hire someone with HC expereince and SEC experience is preferred, not another coach in training.
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Everyone here has made a valid point or two, and I am proud that we are venting our opinions on the internet harmlessly instead of vandalism like a bunch of assholes. I have my own gripes. I get my fur ruffled when we start playing the “real fan” game. We want fans that are passionate and loud, who get there early and stay to the boring end, who are loose with their money, constantly supportive no matter the outcome, and not in the least demanding of anything in return. Those fans do not exist. So, in the hypothetical “real fan” game, everyone is a loser. I digress.
We can piss and moan and spin ourselves silly with this stat or that one, but like the Senator mentioned above, nothing will change. Ten-win coaches, no matter how disappointingly they arrived at those ten wins, do not get fired. Fans who have decided that change is necessary will not be so overcome by your passionate rebuttal that their minds will change. I don’t know that I want to give up winning ten meaningless games to start losing six. Hiring for any position in any company is a crapshoot, and hiring a head coach can be even more so. But, on the flip side, I sure as hell don’t like getting punk’d on national television on an annual basis.
Like the Senator said, the only thing to do is hope for improvement, hope they beat Florida, and hope that USCe craps the bed and Georgia backdoors their way into the championship game again. I would rather have a puncher’s chance of an SEC title than no chance. So, the only thing we can do at this point is to say, “fuck it.” Find some way to care less. That is the only way to make it through without completely losing your mind. Maybe we should try bowling.
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