Mark Richt, on his defense:
“You’ve just got to be careful not to change too much because (then) you have no continuity,” Richt said. “If you’ve got a guy who’s going through some growing pains and then you decide to make a change with another new guy, then he’s gotta go through his growing pains as well. And before you know it you’ve got no continuity at all. So we’re not in any kind of position where we think we need to make a bunch of wholesale changes right now.”
I’m not sure continuity is the key thing to be focusing on right now. In fact, maybe Georgia should be thinking about the opposite.
Hire that man!
Get The Picture 
At least the North Texas coach can teach tackling. What is Gary Gibbs doing these days? He helped put out a dumpster fire in Athens before.
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Gibbs rarely gets mentioned, but I liked Gibbs and was sorry CMR didn’t keep him on staff. Let a very good coach go so he could make room for no-talent buddies like Willie, Eason.
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I liked Gibbs too, but Richt brought in Van Gorder who did a damn good job at DC at Georgia. The only team that scored more than 30 on a Van Gorder defense was the 2003 national championship team, LSU in Atlanta, we had stymied them in Red Stick the same year but they had just gotten damn tough by the time we rematched them in Atlanta.
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I missing Erk Russell…
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+1. Truth is we haven’t had a great DC since Erk. Van Gorder was good-not great-and was a flash in the pan anyway as subsequent events have shown.
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BVG was selected as the #1 assistant coach in cfb while at UGA. Does it really matter to a Dawg fan what he’s done elsewhere?
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No. But it does show that if he had stayed at UGA he might not have continued to be “the #1 assistant coach in cfb.”
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Well said, Mr. Mayor…the picture I have of BVG is standing on the sidelines at Awbun…He may have been fine here with Jim Donnan’s recruits, but he may very well have been coming unglued when he left as evidenced by the track record you allude to.
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BVG was a finalist for Broyles award & selected Valvoline #1 assistant after 2002 season. After 2003 season he was winner of Broyles award. The fact is, as Donnan recruits moved on, BVG got better results.
Ya know, I can understand trashing Willie because he inherited a top 10 D and ruined it. But I just don’t get any true Dawg fan trashing BVG. He did an outstanding job for the Dawgs. Looking objectively at his record, it’s pretty hard to find a flaw with his performance as our DC.
I’ll ask again, why would a Dawg fan give a shit about his record at GaSouthern, Falcons, or awburn?
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Maybe that’s an idea. Hire back BVG. I’m certainly not opposed. And Westy, saying that a guy was a good but not great DC isn’t exactly trashing him. My other point, that he didn’t do so hot after he left Athens, was merely editorial. We do not know and can never know how he would have done at UGA in later years had he stayed. That said, I stand by what I said earlier. The last great DC at UGA was Erk Russell.
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BVG got ambitious and moved to Jville, then more ambition and on to GaSou as HC…where his talent caught up with his ambition..after that, he was on a skid but the Falcons saved him until another attack of ambition and off to Auburn where everything turned to poo poo. Who knows..maybe the Shadow…what his state of mind is now. BUT, with the right HC like CMR, maybe his ambition can be held in check and his mind activate again. And, yes, where is Gibbs? I like Olivadotti, Wilson…where is Belin (sp)? Still at Charlotte? Good LB, good ST, and probably has picked up DC skills, too. Tangled web, but still think Richt needs to have a staff conference and show some positive leadership to those coaches!
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Look, Richt has done a great job rebounding us from the disasters of 2009 and 2010. Having said that, if he pulls a repeat of the Willie fiasco and lets this clown Grantham hang around after this year, then it’s a disgrace. Let’s hear the Richt sycophants defend him if he holds onto Grantham moving forward.
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” Why don’t you just say it straight up what you’re trying to say.”
Richt sycophant-
1.a person who acts obsequiously toward someone important in order to gain advantage.
synonyms: yes-man, bootlicker, brown-noser, toady, lickspittle, flatterer, flunky, lackey, spaniel, doormat, stooge, cringer, suck, suck-up.
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(You left off these) synonyms continued: ass-kisser, groupie, adulator, backscratcher, backslapper, fawner, groveler, hanger-on, minion, puppet.
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Wow…aren’t we being a little harsh? Think I’ll stay on sabattical.
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If you think you can win the East with who you got then this makes sense. People are talking about next year but this year is still here.
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That’s exactly it. People who are willing to trash this season are undervaluing our shot to get to Atlanta warts and all. I’d also say we’ve got some seniors, Murray in particular, who deserve a chance to let this thing play out as best we can.
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I have to disagree. While Ive never been in this arena, I have been in an arena as a coach. Its very tempting to try to change schemes and personnel, but at this stage, you might as well stick with what you have. I understand the frustration and I think there should be some sort if change, but I feat its too late in the game for it to bear any more fruit than sticking with what we have – for now.
I cant think of a situtation where wholesale type changes during the season has worked, can you? Not being trying to be snarky.
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I wish to preempt any and all references to Texas. Pointing to that win over OU as a model for what should be done is like pointing to an example of a team converting a 4th and 20 to say that we should always go for it on 4th and 20.
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Yeah, changing coordinators in mid season has always turned out smashingly for Auburn.
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kind of hard to change horses in the middle of the creek. stay the course for now, and address trading horses in January.
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I second that, pard.
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I agree. Let the season play out. There will be no national title, and there will be no SEC title (we ain’t beating Bama or LSU on a neutral field), but we can still get to Atlanta. So the course of action is to keep CTG through the year, then fire his sorry butt after the season.
My comment before in terms of “moving forward” was a reference to moving forward after this year. The concern is that Richt is slow to pull the trigger with pathetic coaches (please see the great Willie Martinez) , and if he moves forward with Bozo Grantham after this year that we will be doomed.
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Well, I was being snarky, so that’s okay. 😉
There’s obviously a lot of talent on the defense and for whatever reason, it’s not getting optimal results on the field. If Richt didn’t can Willie and Co. mid-season, he’s not replacing any of the staff now, so that’s not really an issue. Nor is it reasonable to expect wholesale changes with personnel – for one thing, the line is doing okay and for another, who’s left to bring in at, say, safety?
But as I said the other day, Grantham’s got to do something to shake things up, because this secondary isn’t capable of holding up in the absence of a pass rush and because the defense as a whole is struggling with third-down conversions.
You can sit there and cross your fingers hoping things are going to get better on their own, but that’s wishful thinking, not coaching.
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So, Senator, are you saying it is not reasonable to expect wholesale changes, in general? Or are you saying that just for midseason but that we should expect Richt to make wholesale changes at season’s end? I just don’t see how anyone can justify keeping Grantham after the year plays out, assuming the status quo holds through January.
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I’ll put it to you this way: in time, what do you call a Georgia head coach with bad defenses? An ex-coach.
Mark Richt knows his history. I can’t say I know for sure when he’ll pull the trigger, but pull it he will at some point if things don’t improve.
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http://blogs.ajc.com/uga-sports-blog/2012/06/08/georgia-defensive-coordinator-todd-grantham-gets-3-year-2-475-million-deal/
Good to know we have reserves.
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This I agree with. Often, if the kids arent getting it, its because the teaching isnt there. I am willing to think that Grantham needs to dumb it down a bit. Grantham can coach, I think he may be over-coaching.
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That’s an intriguing suggestion and one that I’ve heard quite a bit. Still, I’m wondering whether there shouldn’t have been ways of evaluating that and making an adjustment prior to the start of the season or at the very least, prior to this point. Of course, if Corey Moore can’t figure it out after 3 (?) years in the program, it may just be a lost cause with him.
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Corey Moore was loafing around the whole damn game. Def not a result of overcoaching
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Not seeing “a lot of talent on the defense.” Seeing “some” talent, but not “a lot.”
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Agree on the wholesale change but CMR, while primarily an offense position coach/OC surely has a qualified opinion on what is wrong, Hell, look at all the opinions floating on this blog. Tweak the system, make key changes. While I played around the arena, I, too, don’t like massive change…never works–confusion and discontent. Just do something!
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yeah, hard to stand here right now and act like Grantham is getting the job done. Everyone has injuries, everyone has guys leave and not everyone gives up 40 points like it was their job.
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Good to see that we still are consistent in our reactions. Everyone knows the drill. (Courtesy John Feinstein, WAPO)
“Stanford and Georgia were the most prominent teams to suffer losses Saturday, the fifth-ranked Cardinal going down at Utah while seventh-ranked Georgia was embarrassed at home by Missouri.
That might be a little bit unfair to Georgia, given that Missouri is both unbeaten and ranked and the Bulldogs have played the toughest schedule in the country to date: losses to Clemson and Missouri and wins over LSU and South Carolina are on their résumé.
Still, the loss no doubt will bring about yet another round in the continuing saga known in the South as “How Mark Richt Turns” — or doesn’t win quite enough to keep Georgia fans from complaining about him all the time. Richt is in his 13th season at Georgia and has a record of 122-42. On Planet Earth that’s a pretty good record. On Planet SEC, it keeps him under fire almost nonstop. Georgia was 12-2 a year ago but did not beat Alabama in the Southeastern Conference title game when it had a golden chance to play for the national championship.
Richt isn’t going to get fired; he’s just going to hear considerable whining. ”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/colleges/virginia-one-of-several-ncaa-football-teams-to-show-some-losses-are-worse-than-others/2013/10/13/8c878838-3205-11e3-8627-c5d7de0a046b_story.html
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I hate it when John Feinstein is right.
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I think it is completely justified to say that we got embarrassed at home.
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28-26 in 4th quarter until we forgot to play at left tackle.
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I believe it was Artie Lynch that got beat bad on the rush. Which actually makes me feel worse, because he should be better than that.
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Kudos to my alma mater, the Running Utes…”even a blind pig”, etc
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I am pretty sure he is talking about players and reading between the lines he is saying they have no reason to believe that the guys behind the current starters on the depth chart are going to be one iota better, he thinks our current guys for better or worse are still learning what to do. With this being the sixth game of the season I think that falls on Grantham but it is what it is at this point. Richt is not going to discuss and critique Grantham in the middle of the season with the damn press, so in no way do I read these comments as being in any way predictive of what he is thinking on those terms so no one should get all hot and bothered over them. When it comes to players Richt is voicing a philosophy very similar to what Bobby Cox always had, as long as the effort is there showing confidence in a struggling guy particularly a young one is more likely to lead to improvement at the position than continually rotating players in and out at the whim of message board posters. The latter philosophy probably lost Tennessee their Florida game this year.
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“The latter philosophy probably lost Tennessee their Florida game this year.”
In addition to surrendering to the reasonable demands of message board posters* that Butch negotiate with them, Butch also discovered that his new Davey Crockett hat was in actuality a rat hat and a poorly made one, even by rat hat standards:
* “I have no choice but to recommend your prompt termination to the board of directors. Nothing short of the approval of Peterman himself will save you this time.”
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+1
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So here we are, mid-season in another year of Georgia football. Again, it is clear we are not Bama, the reasons for US not being Bama are several and some are institutional in nature and not likely to change.
It is clear this is not the year we get to the national championship, but if Mark Richt can get the attention of his team, something he has shown an ability to do, we should finish strong and go to a good bowl game, maybe even the Sugar Bowl.
For a brief moment there even I, understanding the role of Kharmic Bitches as I do, had delusions of grandeur.
But, rationally, I was pretty sure Missouri was gonna be forty miles of bad road…injuries alone, then maybe at least partly because of the new players, when you add turnovers, you just get beat.
Now that the delusions of grandeur are gone and I am back to being a Georgia fan…I worry about our version of Pat Dye’s A-men Corner, Auburn, Florida and Tech and figure we have a shot at winning all three of those, a shot.
As for something more than that, well, there is always another year and another phase of the moon or whatever it is that enables Georgia to get to the big game.
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I hear the institutional limitations argument a lot, and out of genuine curiosity, not testiness, could you bullet point these for me? What of it is speculation and what is known? Thanks.
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Rather than bullet anything I suggest you look at the control Nick Saban has over the football program at Bama, then ask yourself if you think any president could, or board of regents would, allow that to happen at Georgia.
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1. size of staff and willingness to pay for “consultants” and “directors” who are really coaches, but aren’t because NCAA.
2. meeting or exceeding 85 recruited* scholarship players, then paring down to 85 when the time comes thru various legal but not altogether ethical means
3. IPF
4. Coaching & support staff salaries
5. Athens/Clarke County Police (that’s an institution, right?) but maybe more realistically, UGAPD (What up Jimmy!?)
6. LOOK AT OUR RESERVE! /sarcasm
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Thanks. Is our “undersigning” a school or Richt decision? If school, who’s call is that? I’ve seen UA’s big staff of consultants, but are they the only ones?
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There is also the priority of winning vs. other things. In Tuscaloosa they put winning above all other things, even money. Do you think that the Bama Administration would ever agree to play its main division rival, LSU, in New Orleans every year so their fans can have a fun weekend at the beach? How about if New Orleans offered to sweeten the pot with some extra dinero? You don’t see Bama flying off to the west coast at midseason to play an OOC game do you? You also don’t see Bama opening up the season on another team’s home field either. Neutral site games, sure. But you not on the other team’s turf to be fodder for the season opener. And if somebody sent some mail a day early, do you really think the Tide would blow the whistle on themselves to the NCAA? What we are talking about here are 2 different mindsets altogether–one dedicated to winning and another that sorta, kinda wants to win as long as they can maximize profit and it’s not too much trouble.
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And a large segment of fans that are content with the status quo because their head coach goes to church.
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My bitch is not that CMR is not doing these things…it’s that NS is. There’s nothing wrong with having scruples, but wishing to be like those who don’t (by emulating) their behavior is a sad road to travel. Are you really saying you want to win at any cost?
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SJ3, you oughta mayhaps forward the Kipling poem you posted last week Grantham’s way. I assume he’ll be under a withering attack until the end of the season, much like the UGa defense.
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I don’t know man…If I have to send it to him, do I want to send it to him?
I hope he has it plastered prominently on his wall…if he does not, then would it not be wasted?
Now the players….there’s an idea.
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It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; because there is not effort without error and shortcomings; but who does actually strive to do the deed; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly. So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.
Theodore Roosevelt
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Great quote. Very apropos. Thank you for that.
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Yeah, AHD.
Kinda like filling the unforgiving moment with sixty seconds worth of distance run?
Other than this blog, I am trying to wean myself from the WWL and all its clones. Instead of watching Lee Corso make a babbling boob out of himself on Saturday mornings, I watch two or three episodes of Friday Night Lights because it puts me in touch with the Zen of the game.
I have come to enjoy watching games with the volume muted, Georgia games with the radio on.
It is interesting how Gary and Verne, and they are among the least offensive, color judgement, which is why, ultimately, I gave up my season tickets some time ago…got tired, not of the game, or even the hassle getting in and out, but the fans.
The future seems much brighter with hope, rather than expectations, but then I am, By God, a Georgia fan.
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Requiem for a Fan, “The past is never dead. It’s not even past.” That’s why things keep reappearing, like Lane
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Lucky for us South Carolina and LSU were in our arena not theirs. That would have been a rough ride
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Is it my imagination or is playing at home more important now than in the past…more complicated offenses disrupted more easily by crowd noise?
Excluding, of course, turnovers, injuries, etc, etc. Seemed like Misery did better with a quiet crowd, or is that an illusion?
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Speaking of away games, anyone got a rec for good earplugs so I can save myself from 3.5 hours of “Sandstorm” this weekend?
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Absolutely agree with the comment that Grantham needs to dumb it down. If the defense costs us 2 more losses (not including the SECCG), CTG should be and most likely will be gone.
This is a very familiar feeling. It’s midseason, we’re out of the MNC hunt, but still in the hunt for the East, if certain chips fall the right way. I don’t see a Mauk-led Mizzou going 4-1 or better against UF, SCar, Tenn, Ole Miss, and TAMU. Therefore, if we hold serve, we’ll be in ATL. That said, there is not a gimme among the three remaining SEC road trips. Unless the D improves, we will not hold serve.
Years of many and varied heartbreaks have engendered this as my personal Dawg philosophy: 9 wins is Par. 10 wins is Birdie. 11 wins is Eagle. 12 wins is Double Eagle. 13 or 14 are so rare there aren’t even words for them. SEC East is like winning the PGA Championship. SEC Title is like winning the Masters. MNC would be like winning a Grand Slam.
Still have a great shot at breaking par this year, and adding a major trophy or two to the case. Can’t give up now. Go Dawgs!
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Feinstein irritated that he did not think of your next to last paragraph
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I like and agree with your golf analogy. Good stuff.
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And blunts are just the sand traps along the way.
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+1.
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I believe mizzou was a watershed game for CTG. I think he lost CMR’s confidence. That’s the impression I got from CMR’s very brief halftime interview with lugenbill. It wasn’t the scheme CMR was upset with, it was plain ole tackling – and CMR was more pissed than I’ve ever seen.
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Yeah that was my impression, too. Thought Richt’s frustrated answer spoke volumes.
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Coach Richt is as responsible for our defense’s personnel situation as our defensive staff.
They know we have a numbers deficit in our Senior and Junior classes. Some of it is discipline-related. Much of it is tied to recruiting policies set by the head coach.
With the number of first year players we are playing, we know have to spend more time than our opponents on practicing fundamentals, leaving less time for schemes. We have a lot of catching up to do.
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Our fan base being in a fire Coach Richt mode hurt recruiting too no one wants to come to a school with a head coach on the hot seat. We need to own our part of the issue.
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+1, Bulldog Joe
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That may be part of it, but CMR was letting the refs have it at the end of the half about the clock running out without a measurement too. His frustration with that may have spilled over as well.
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I thought the same; but really what would it have mattered?
Then I began to type about “no way Morgan can hit a 66-yard FG”, and had to pull up. That was probably the plan.
Still, Conley needed to get that extra half-yard to stop the clock legitemately.
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it was reggie davis.
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Then that is a better explanation for coming up a foot short. Haven’t been able to view the replay. Don’t know if I should.
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No doubt he was fussing about the refs but to me it also seemed clear that he was frustrated with the “usual problems” with the defense.
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On defense, Texas started 4 SRs, 4 JRs, 3 SOs, & 0 FR against Oklahoma.
On defense, Georgia started 1 SR, 4 JRs, 3 SOs, & 3 FR against Missouri.
With 1 JR playing his first full season on defense, 3 FR starters, and another FR likely to start next week, Georgia doesn’t have the luxury of having 3-year, 4-year, and 5-year players with college-level fundamentals already in place. I can see Georgia’s course being different than Texas.
Everyone knew there was going to be a price to pay for Georgia’s failure to recruit the numbers its opponents did, and this is the year it bit the hardest. More focus on the fundamentals of coverage, tackling, containment, and defeating blocks appears to be the best course for this defense.
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Are those the same dudes they played vs Ole Miss?
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Texas made a change at LB and Free Safety, but the rest of the lineup is the same.
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Agree with Bulldog Joe again
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Not to go all “I know someone close to the program” but….he’s already on double secret probation for playing the flirt earlier this year. And the rub goes to the man above CMR.
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Well, I don’t know anyone that close to the program. McGarity was once my neighbor but we don’t talk today. That is about as close as I got. SO why the 75,000 a year raise and the contract extension for Coach Todd “use to be Damn” Grantham?
“Also, as was the case with Richt, Grantham’s buyout stipulations were decreased. He can leave for an NFL coordinator’s job or college head coaches’ job with no penalty. Meanwhile, should he make a lateral move to another college job, he’d have to pay Georgia 15 percent of his base salary ($400,000) in year one, 10 percent in year two and 5 percent in year three. That’s down from previously.
“It is lower than it was,” McGarity said. “In Todd’s situation, it just gives us protection from a lateral move. The NFL is a different story; that’s a different world. And the aspiration of any college coach is to be a head coach and we wouldn’t have a penalty for that. We want to help him become a head coach. That’s our job.”
I may be naive here, but isn’t his job to win football games and graduate some athletes while doing it? If he need protection get him a pack of Trojans. We need production and we have needed it for a while. All the CTG yelling doesn’t seem to work. Didn’t work for Van Gorder while at the Falcons. Lot of rumbling coming from that pro locker room while he was there…We are playing in a semi-pro league now it’s called the SEC. After playing the “Rodney Garner Card” on CMR/UGa and dallying with other suitors did he not cost us a few recruits? LSU has a O coordinator from the NFL he doesn’t seem to be struggling. I am a Georgia fan but the CTG dancing us around when he did cost him with me. Not that that matters.
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‘”We want to help him become a head coach. That’s our job.” I may be naive here, but isn’t his job to win football games and graduate some athletes while doing it?”
Those are secondary concerns. Our Head Coach Apprenticeship program was classified until Greg’s inadvertent disclosure. It has now been reclassified and shall never be spoken of again
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Here’s a question for the group:
If Georgia’s defense finishes the year ranked at or near the bottom of the conference like it is now, will Richt fire Grantham at the end of the year? Just for giggles, let’s assume they lose to FU and lose in the SECCG. I’m not asking what you think SHOULD be done. I’m asking what you think Richt WILL do under those circumstances. Me? I think Grantham would survive that scenario.
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If they lose to FU and fail to make it to the SECCG, I think Richt would fire him in that scenario.
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I think Grantham might be gone even if we beat the Gators, if it’s only because we outscore them. Also, I don’t think the Gators are the biggest threat on the rest of our regular season schedule. We match up pretty well against them. It’s Auburn that will ruthlessly victimize our pass defense and problems with running quarterbacks–we will have to have Bennett and/or Rumph (and healthy Conley and Gurley) for the shoot out we’ll need to win that one. Wouldn’t surprise me for Ga to get to Atlanta with 2 conference losses, or for us to lose comfortably there against Bama or LSU.
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Since when can Nick Marshall throw the football?
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After our D grants him the SEC offensive player of the week award.
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The other guy can.
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He throws as well as a Mizzou WR.
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Ughhhh… But grudgingly, +1 with a cymbal crash!
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I have a few nightmares where a 3-way tie in the West happens and somehow we wind up matched up vs. TAMU. Of course their D is almost as bad as ours, so it could look a lot like that Baylor-WVA game last year…
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This assumes that there is no CTG-orchestrated smokescreen of NFL interest that would complicate the evaluations? Though, I guess after this fiasco his leverage using that is nearly nil.
I bet Richt cuts him loose. CMR ain’t getting any younger and needs some competence if he is to win the Big Prize.
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There’s going to be a lot of movement in the coaching world this off-season, starting with the domino effect from USC’s hire that may likely come from the pro’s. That opens-up opportunities (and convenient excuses) to let CTG go, on either Richt’s terms or CTG’s own. Gotta believe, barring an unbelievable run from this point forward, both sides will certainly “explore their options”.
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I think CMR cuts him lose too. Considering previous fires Martinez and Jancek landed on their feet and Fabris was offered a job by Louisville (turned it down), its not as if CMR has to agonize whether CTG & family will end up in a gutter if fired. From a management viewpoint, I can’t see how CMR could keep CTG based upon performance. If CMR acts professionally, I see little choice in keeping CTG unless the D makes a dramatic turnaround the remainder of the season.
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Respectfully disagree and think the only way CMR would ever cut Todd loose would be if CMR’s job is in jeopardy. That’s not the case now and if it ever were again, we’d be well into Year One of the Fourth Five Year Plan
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Lemme get this straight, DIF. You don’t think CMR’s job is in jeopardy now, even if the Dawgs lose to Vandy, FU, Auburn, and Tech? How about if they lost to Kentucky, too. The D I saw last weekend can’t stop any of those teams, even UK, and we don’t have enough offensive firepower to outscore anybody right now. Where is Oral Roberts? We need somebody to heal these guys fast. Oh, that’s right. Oral’s dead (and I’m not feeling so good myself).
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“Oral’s dead (and I’m not feeling so good myself).”
Using the historical precedent of Oral’s death watch combined with how long it took for Willie to leave so we could pull a hairpin of our battleship, by reason of the key casualites sustained this season and last season’s moral victory over Alabama, no way Richt is gone even if he loses all those (plus we’re too cheap on the buyout, if any).
Besides, only a pessimist or a municipal politician could even imagine a disaster scenario of losses to Vanderbilt (Todd will win this one because there is absolutely no way he will let his BFF James Franklin beat him); Florida (the Corrines are either tied with or ahead of us in big name casualties this season, so we’ll beat them. Plus on general principles we can’t let Boom get his first W in the Gator Bowl); Auburn (a win just because we can’t let Gus beat us in his first year because it’s unfair that they’re keeping Kristi in captivity. They need to unleash her) and Tech (seriously). Kentucky though may pull a colossal upset on us just to even things out for the Stoops gang since Big Game’s loss gave Mack a couple of extra years on the job.
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UK? No way!!!
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Well we are consistent at being inconsistent. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.
In his defense, I don’t think that we have started the same back 4-5 this season each game. Think about it Norman, Matthews, Langley, Swann, Wiggins, Moore and Mauger have all started at different times.
No consistency in that respect.
Also our LB’s SUCK at getting off blocks. No way a 235 pd LB should get blocked by a WR. Why we don’t rotate in our younger faster LB’s is puzzling.
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I think we have to go with what we’ve got on D. Keep playing them and hope, like with foreign language acquisition, learning happens in steep curves after long levels.
Survive Nashville, get #3 fully healthy, and beat Florida. Then I’ll dare to think about getting to ATL.
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In classic fashion, the hopes of the Dawgs’ season is AGAIN tied to results from the Cocktail Fest! Funny how that works.
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Eh … “are tied” gr.
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… and then there’s this:
http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/eye-on-college-football/24082846/floridas-matt-jones-is-out-for-the-season
Shaping up to be a real comedy of errors in J-ville.
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Umm. Well I am not feeling sorry for that if that is what you are intending.
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No sympathy for the devil here, PDC. Just pointing out that it’s looking to be third string versus third string is all.
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UGA is experiencing the same thing that Texas defense has experienced, the sudden lack of fundamental football. We can’t tackle, we can’t cover and we can’t catch the damn ball in the few times we actually were in position to intercept. I truly think that our DB’s are now playing scared. They are not living in a vacuum. They have commented on Twitter about it getting ugly. Even the Dline has missed a lot of tackles for loss because of poor technique. This D like Texas has gotten itself in a deep hole and I’m afraid they can’t get out. All the screaming in the world now will only get them more afraid of making a mistake. Unfortunately, at some point coming down the track the offense will get tired of the D and ST giving up points in bunches. At that point CMR will have lost the whole team for the year. I grant you this is the “Worst Case Scenario” but when one unit has to overcome the other two units screw-ups it gets real old real fast.
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69, Texas completely did an about face in the tackling department. If they can do it so can we. I think CMR should call Mack Brown and ask him what the hell he did, then do the same. I’m betting they had tackling drills all week before the Red River game.
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Did a recruited FS even play against Mizzou? Norman [Sr] or Matthews [Fr]. Both out. Did Langley [Fr] play? Not in the game stats either. Leading tacklers in loss. Wilson [Jr] 8 , Swann [Sr] 7, Herrera [Jr] 5, Drew [Jr] 5, Mauger [Fr, & TG’s guy] 5, Harvey-Clemons [So] 2, Wiggins [Fr] 4. Understand MIzzou scheme, but where were these guys…Smith, Jenkins,.
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TH-C shoulda had 3 tackles if not for the “horse collar-that-wasn’t” penalty. Still, 2 seems a low number unless CTG had him hanging back to help the other flailing DBs.
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First three named did not even play. Matthews came out of spring as pretty much a starter. Think he started Clemson, LSU, USC, then out due to injury. Norman out 2 games. Langley has had PT in games. Taylor, like Langley did not hit the stats. So what is going on with the roster and depth? Stops against LSU and USC, but not UT or UM.
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I can make little sense of the makeup of the roster nowadays.
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UF holds LSU to 17 on the road. But LSU QB looked limited and only threw 17 passes. Called the return of the Hammer and Nail game. But UF could not stop Tigers running even when it was coming. Anybody who had UM and UA schedule would look good this far into the season, more so when you retunr alot of letterman.
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So does TG stay or go. Franklin could make an offer. Even Jancek and Martinez came back into the SEC. Gardner is at AU, along with the former QB. How did Ellis Johnson get to AU from USC. And does Arkansas cash in their DC after OBC put 52 on them. And how many is A&M giving up now in the SEC? How many did LSU adn USC give up to Dawgs.
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The only outcome that would satisfy my sardonic bent this season may be Grantham coordinating D for Lil’ Jimmy Franklin. Don’t see it though.
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No matter what actually happens, or does not happen with Grantham, or any other assistant that “moves on to explore other opportunities, named or unnamed” we will never know the full story…cause that’s the way a good guy does binness.
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True ‘dat.
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Ellis Johnson was hired away from USCe to be Southern Miss head coach. He lost every game in his first year and got canned. Malzahn snatched him up.
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D has played 4 ranked very good teams. Young, inexperienced, injuries. Does not have a playmaker or leader yet, but they sifts out with experienced players having more PT than these guys have at present.
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That was an impressive roll, Mr. Trane.
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When Will is on an impressive roll,
It’s better not to break his flow
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I agree with Blutarsky that maybe we need to shake things up.
IMO, the DL is playing well. I’ve been very impressed with them. They attack, they play fast, and they play hard. Their technique is much improved. They are fundamentally sound. They seem to know what they are doing.
And for the first time under Grantham, we have a position group that is actually rolling players in and out. Not just talking about it doing it, but actually doing it. Kudos to Wilson. He is doing a great job.
But he’s the only defensive coach who is. The second and third levels of the defense are a terrible mess. Not only do they not know what they’re doing half the time, they are often fundamentally unsound when they do find themselves in position.
And the second level includes the OLB’s. Only the DE’s and DT’s are where they should be by now. Jordan Jenkins is pathetic. He looks like a completely different player than last year .. slow and sluggish, weak, soft, and just late all the time. Floyd has done well, perhaps the best of the second level guys, but even he would be much more effective if the other LB’s were effective themselves.
By now, you would think the defense would be coming together. Or at least getting better every week, and looking like they’re close. But we seem to be going backwards. The only good thing Saturday were the two stops coming out of the half. That was really good. But of course, the offense couldn’t take advantage of the opportunities, and the defensive momentum was lost.
If it were just mental mistakes and missed assignments by the new guys, tolerating the defense would be much easier. Instead, we have poor tackling, missed assignments, lazy coverage (Swann), poor fundamentals, and things like loafing (Jenkins) by the supposed leaders of the unit.
The inevitable conclusion has to be .. something isn’t right. So yeah, why not shake things up while you have a chance.
~~~
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I have a theory on poor tackling. So much emphasis is placed on stripping the ball these days, players get more focused on the pigskin than the humanskin. Shaq Wiggins had as close to a picture perfect form tackle as I’ve seen recently in the game the other day, so maybe there’s hope. Poor tackling makes me crazy.
But I said in August, and you did too, that we might have to win a bunch of games 45-42 this year. Offensive injuries to key skill players and an O-line that goes all matador at the most inopportune times may make it difficult for us to get to 45 every time.
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Sadly though it was Wiggins who flailed at air as that MU back went in around right end from 30 yds. out. Of course, so did Moore and a few others.
I get what you are saying re: looking for the “big play” at the expense of making the needed one. Still, the only rational way to approach defensive football is to execute tackles. It’s imperative.
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