The Vanderbilt Rivals site is reporting that whether James Franklin stays at Vanderbilt or goes to Penn State, his new contract will pay him more than $4 million per year.
I predict Greg McGarity has another sleepless night tonight.
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UPDATE: This is even better.
That’s right – Bobby Petrino is making more than Mark Richt. I guess nice guys do finish last sometimes.
Get The Picture 
“Franklin’s new deal, by several inside reports, does in fact include a commitment to make substantial changes to Vanderbilt Stadium.”
How can they do right by Dudley Field? They can’t demolish Hawkins Field, Memorial Gym, the Holiday Inn, the Marriott or the Parthenon. Maybe any expansion will be vertical like an outdoor Superdome.
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My understanding is that it’s not a capacity expansion. It’ll actually lose some seats. Supposedly going to all chairback seating, upgrading & renovating the concourses, restrooms & facade. Adding food courts, club seating etc.
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That’s a luxurious concept that even I can understand.
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If we had all chairback seating, it would just make it easier for our crowd to sit on their hands. Also, you couldn’t charge for the Bulldog Seatback 😉
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Off topic here, but anyone know what’s going on with Coach Lakatos? Reports are he has resigned for personal reasons – hope he and his family are well.
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Yeah, and it’ll be even tougher for me to slide over from Section 334 and squeeze into The Senator’s section.
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I will be pissed off until UGA brings Richts’s contract up to where it is in line with the rest of the conference.
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On the bright side, at least he’s got a higher base pay than Bielema
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Why?
I mean, he’s not leaving for more money. I’m not sure I get why we would pay him more to do something we already pay him a lot to do and he is willing to do it at that salary?
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Why in the hell would an AD pay Petrino that much? Seems he needs the school as much as they need him right now. Makes no sense to me
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Me either. Could’ve gotten him for less than that.
~~~
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Probably $1M less a year + a new Harley would have done the trick
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To be fair, Mark Richt is much less likely to ever end up losing 50% of it in a legal proceeding.
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Maybe vandy can hire a genius like PJ from tech…i hear he can recruit
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Both Franklin and Petrino have vastly less resources at their disposal and are roughly as successful as Richt. Franklin a little less and Petrino much more. Franklin is clearly doing more with what he has to work with at Vandy than Richt is at Georgia. Petrino had Arkansas in the 2011 Sugar Bowl. We haven’t played in a BCS bowl since 2007. They’re both better coaches than Richt is. Not saying I’d trade Richt for either, but they’re both better coaches.
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The man was 4 points and 5 yards from a national championship last year and beat one of the guys 48-3 15 months ago and lost this year due to a blown call.
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FWIW, the best litmus test for a football coach is the measure of how much he can get out of his players. Does he overachieve, underachieve, or is it about what it should be, playing to the talent level he has.
That old coach’s saying about Bear Bryant is true, and it applies here … “he can take his and beat yours, and he can take yours and beat his.”
Understand when talking about Richt I’m talking about the last 8 years. Not the first 5. That was a different Richt, IMO, or at least his program was systemically different.
But James Franklin has overachieved at Vanderbilt, a very difficult place to overachieve. He got more out of his players than the talent they had. Petrino is just a great offensive coach, and his defense usually suffers for it. I don’t think the same thing applies to him.
But there’s no question that right now, Franklin is a better coach than Richt. That should be clear to anyone who thinks about it. Even in his first 5 years, Richt didn’t overachieve, except maybe a few times in 2002. Maybe.
What would Franklin have done with Georgia these last few years? IDK, but it would be more than Richt has done. Because Franklin’s teams are disciplined, well-coached, and don’t compile stupid mistakes and consistently beat themselves.
And BTW, until Richt can figure out a way to stop that, nothing at Georgia will change. That, too, should be obvious to anyone who thinks about it. You can’t go around beating yourself in this League and expect to win the championship, or stay around at the top of the League. You can’t expect luck just to go your way and open the door for you every few years. Maybe “Ole Lady Luck” wants to help you some years. But it can’t, because you can’t get yourself out of the way.
This 8-year slide (with the late 2007 & 2012 spikes that were exceptions) did not happen because of bad breaks, or injuries, personnel problems, or bad luck. Sure, there are areas that need some serious work, as several have pointed out in this thread. And some of these thing do become involved. But that’s not the inherent problem, it’s the byproduct or outcome of a broader, systemic problem.
There’s something systemically wrong with the way our boys are coached and/or managed. And until Richt figures that out, he remains a good coach, but not quite good enough. And not in the same class, strictly as a coach, as Franklin and some other SEC coaches.
It pains me to say that because I think Franklin is a jerk, most of the time. And I love Richt. Just hope he can figure this thing out now, this offseason, and get it corrected before it’s too late.
~~~
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Ivey, I love your writing (we go back to commenting on another blog). It’s apparent you know the game. I also know you have the best interest of the program in mind. I just have the mindset that a lot of the people who comment negatively about the program right now would also be the ones who would have celebrated if Joel Eaves had run Vince Dooley off in 1979.
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I suspect you are absolutely right. I haven’t found a lot of company over the years, in terms of trying to see things as they are, and then hope, and sometimes even call, for sensible solutions that don’t involve firing coaches.
There’s a few guys, and they’re mostly former players or coaches, that see it the way I usually do, but your point is well taken. Most of the criticism you hear comes from the ‘fire a coach’ crowd.
And sometimes they are right. That was true of Martinez, and it may be true with Grantham. I haven’t called for his firing, and won’t, but IMHO there is no credible excuse for him not to be fielding a solid defense by now. And it should have been solid before this year, but never has been.
But most of the time, that’s not the best answer. I won’t go any further, except to say personally I want Richt to fix it. Not only for who he is and the ethical standards he’s instilled and given us a reputation for, but because if you get a guy like that who can really coach you have the best of both worlds .. a guy similar to the Richt we saw in 2002-03.
Not that he’s forgotten how, but somehow things got off track. It’s not an X & O thing. When his rebuilding began in late 2009 I knew it would be a few years. And many of us thought 2012 was the breakthrough year, not because of the record and the SECCG, but because we were more solid. We thought Richt was getting it.
But we found out this year that wasn’t the case. And it appears, if anything, we reached for it, didn’t make it, and now we’re sliding back down. I hope that’s wrong, but the signs are there. You may remember, I fired a warning shot in early 2008 when the first signs of that collapse began, but they were ignored because we won 10 games or whatever.
I hope I’m wrong because if not, Richt’s days are numbered. At some point, maybe next year, or the next (likely depending on luck), the Dawgnation won’t be able to take any more.
Unless, of course, Richt identifies the problem, and takes the drastic steps (IMO) to correct it. I don’t know exactly what those things are because I’m not there everyday (if I was, I wouldn’t be able to see the things I see now, but having been around in the past helps). A little distance help clarify things sometime, but unfortunately that’s a luxury Richt doesn’t have.
I want Richt to succeed. That’s why I hope he’ll do whatever it takes to get it fixed. NOW.
BTW, I thought you looked familiar, did you have another handle, another name?
~~~
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Sort of – I comment at another blog using my FB account
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Gotcha. Good to see you here.
~~~
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Definitely agree with your perspective – some things have to change or the current administration will run out of time. I’m sorry to say that there appear to be people who want that to happen for whatever reason. I do want him to get things back to 2001-5 because a nice guy like him should get the opportunity to finish first.
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Agreed
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And what if he had? Herschel won that title, not Dooley. Dooley didn’t even want to let Herschel play RB.
Dooley worship is pointless. One guy made his entire career.
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Can you ever be happy about anything?
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DK, IMO, you have slipped loose of reality. What years did either win a division or conference title? Which years did either play for a conference championship? How many players have either coach had drafted in the first round of the NFL draft?
Petrino much more? WTFF?
They’re both better coaches than Richt is I have no words for the stupidity. Trollin hard, ain’t ‘cha, dude?
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Frankin is at Vandy. He’s never playing for a conference championship there. But what he’s done and at a perennial doormat is impressive. And put Georgia in the SEC west and tell me how many divisions we would have won. Saying Petrino never won a division at Arkansas isn’t fair. He was kicking ass at Arkansas before getting fired. They beat us if you remember. And seriously, conference titles? Please don’t tell me something we did 8 seasons ago is what you’re holding up as proof Richt is a great coach.
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I’m not the one making claims here, you are. Let me rephrase your last sentence there…
Please don’t tell me something Alabama did 35 seasons ago is what your holding up as proof Bear Bryant is a great coach.
Get it?
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He beat a team with a RS freshman QB, whose best WR happened to be out due to a BS investigation by the NCAA. Also pretty sure that loss was by just a few points as Arky hit a late TD to take the lead.
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He beat the worst team Mark Richt has had by a touchdown in the last second of play with his best team…his Sugar Bowl team, which by the way was the only SEC team to EVER lose to Ohio State in a bowl game. ONLY team. Give us a break with the nonsense.
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Cox and Samuels lit up Arky in their house. Was that with Petrino? I believe so.
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Yep
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Having a revolving door in Knoxville didn’t hurt either.
Not to mention that when the new SEC money started rolling in, Vandy decided it wanted to win and changed it’s attitude towards football. In case you haven’t noticed, they have an AD again.
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Franklin has had the easiest schedule in the history of the SEC the last 3 years and lucked up and beat us and Florida this year because we had more injuries than I have ever seen by two college football teams. Who did he beat that had a pulse in the last 3 years?
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+1000
Have you looked at Vandy’s schedules the last few years? Franklin’s signature wins are beating Georgia and Florida when they both were decimated by injuries. Not to mention they barely beat Georgia at home with some very helpful calls from the Zebras.
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+
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So how many SEC championships has JF and BP won? How many appearances in SEC title game ????
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I want Petrino’s agent. Louisville is the ship of fools. They could have had Petrino for next to nothing.
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It’s all about the hypnotic effect of the goatee
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/main/photos/1305/most-influential-sports-agents/11/
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“Not saying I’d trade Richt for either, but they’re both better coaches.”
I just don’t even know how to respond to that. Goodness.
“With Franklin at the helm, Vanderbilt won 11 SEC ‘s games and appeared in three straight bowl games, winning two.” That is 3.6 SEC wins per year.
David K………..http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0MRmxfLuNto
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He’s made Vanderbilt fucking competitive. They’ve finished ranked the past 2 seasons. They beat us this year and 2 years ago we lucked into them fumbling or we would have lost that one as well.
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There’s a certain part of our fan base that deserves CMR to tell us all that he would rather be in Honduras than Athens.
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That would be amazing, so we could get a real coach.
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I don’t even know how to respond to that. Just amazing.
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+1
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my +1 was for eethomaswfnc–not the gurleyman comment
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I thought so, RD79
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That is so ridiculous it hardly deserves comment. The Petrino thing is a joke right? You think defense is bad at Georgia…check out Bobby P in Fayetteville. Give me a break..
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They caught Ole Miss, Auburn, Florida, Missouri, Georgia, and yes, UT, in historically low seasons and thus the wins. It is a blip on the screen, a confluence of luck, nothing more.
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You understand that a Richt critic could say the same thing about Georgia, right? If that’s what you think, you must admit that it should equally take some of the shine off of Richt’s 2012 season.
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methinks you are not part of the WE. you speak to. Comparing CMR wife to Frankies wife is not fair. So there! CMR is obviously a much better coach.
Just sayin’
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Do you seriously think that if you put Richt at Vanderbilt after the 2010 season where Vandy won 2 games, and 3 seasons later he’d have them winning 8-9 wins a season and finishing ranked twice?
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Yeah he would. Next question.
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Have you taken a good look at Vandy’s scheduling?
Franklin’s a good coach, but let’s not go overboard.
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Yes. Do I think he could do better? Maybe not. But if you put Richt in the same situation with the sense of urgency a young coach has to prove himself so he can move on to a better job? I absolutely think Richt could match what Franklin has done.
It has been my opinion for a while now that what Richt struggled with before 2011 was complacency. When one achieves at a high level, especially quickly, it is difficult to maintain that level of achievement because one begins to think that what worked in the past will work again, and that isn’t always true (see Urban Meyer as an example; he was at the beginning of a similar dip at Florida and buggered off before it could bottom out like we did in 2010).
Some fans still think that he is complacent. I say he is contemplative. He is never going to overreact and throw the baby out with the bathwater. He is NEVER going to drop a struggling coordinator as quickly as others (such as Muschamp) would, but his firing a close friend like Martinez shows that he will eventually cut someone loose if they don’t perform. That’s pretty cold-blooded; I don’t know if I would be able to do something under similar circumstances.
I started to wander there at the end. Sorry for rambling; I didn’t get much sleep last night.
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Hey dip shit, if we didn’t have über talent leaving their junior and some, their sophomore years, we win a title and all the bowl games. This years team could have included, Rambo, Jones, Ogletree, and Geathers…a few years ago, Stafford and Knowshon…Ah whatevs’…
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Lame argument. You know how many players that leave early in other programs around the SEC? You realize the number of talented guys that have left Alabama, LSU, Florida, even S. Carolina…. If you want to play the “what-if” by changing the rules, you’ve got to change them for everybody. And I suspect that if you did, we’d see about the same outcome.
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I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. ADGM will NEVER spend enough to get a top-tier coach if Richt were to leave, retire, whatever. Georgia fans should be thankful Richt is willing to work for so cheap because he is worth more than his current salary on the open market.
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I don’t believe that for a minute. He would know that the hire of a head football coach would be the decision that would affect his own job security. The only constraint would be how much people (the president and the athletic board) above him would be willing to spend.
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So then why hasn’t he opened up the reserve fund for an indoor practice facility and larger support staff? If success in football is the most significant thing tied to his job security you would think he would take a win at any cost mentality.
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If Richt wants support staff, I imagine he will ask for it. I don’t think McGarity says no.
The IPF is a different animal altogether because it probably needs multiple approvals to make happen. McGarity can’t just take out a checkbook marked reserve fund and ask CMR, “How much should I make the check out for?”
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Richt has been asking for an IPF for years and only recently has ADGM even hinted that it is a possibility. If it was only “multiple approvals” that were holding it back don’t you think ADGM would have been a little more candid publicly about it being a major priority? Look, I’m not trying to get into an argument about the approvals needed to get a project like that up and running because I have no idea. But I will still be shocked if Richt’s replacement isn’t a coordinator or a head coach from a smaller school. I refuse to believe Georgia will ever throw $6 or $7 mil at a top tier coach like a Chip Kelly or Saban or whoever is the hot name at the time. But a portion of the anti-Richt crowd seem to think that the only thing keeping that type of coach from being hired at Georgia is Richt doing just enough to stay employed.
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Billy, that’s fair. I have no idea about the IPF and what it would take to build it. I certainly don’t want to get into the discussion about whether or not it’s worth the investment. That horse has been beaten to death.
I really don’t think Georgia will go for a coordinator or a head coach from a smaller school unless it’s Mike Bobo to replace a retiring CMR.
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Hope he stays. Will come around.
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Franklin is a lucky idiot.
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And, Lakatos is gone.
http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/2014/01/09/2892587/lakatos-resigns-as-georgia-secondary.html
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If McGarity wants to shake his spendthrift image, now’s the time to offer $375,000/year to Tavaris Robinson. Improves UGA recruiting and our secondary, plus it hurts Florida. See if he’d take an $85,000/year raise to jump off Chump’s sinking ship.
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Now that is a hell of an idea. +1.
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Absolutely!
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I know that some of you are going to get you panties in a wad when I say this but telling the truth has never been very popular with some on this blog. You know who never gets mentioned for any coaching vacancy? Mark Richt, that’s who. I wonder why?
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I always consider it very telling that barely anyone seems to be coming after any of our coaches really.
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Because he’s a good Christian man, Mayor. That’s all that really matters
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I’ll try not to get my panties in a wad. 😉
I may be wrong, but wasn’t Richt asked both about Miami and FSU in the last decade when they came open? I seem to remember both of those.
Nick Saban’s name has been (supposedly) attached to Texas this season, but nobody else in the last few years. Why? Well, it sure as heck isn’t because he can’t coach. It’s because Texas is one of the only programs (if not the only program) that could offer him the equivalent of what he has at Alabama.
I realize that this is immensely homerish of me, but there are only a handful of programs that are “better” jobs than Georgia, and Richt has experienced a high level of success here while show absolutely ZERO interest in going anywhere else. Why would any program short of Texas, Oklahoma, USC, Michigan, Ohio State, Alabama, Miami, FSU, or Notre Dame (and there may be some other schools I’m not thinking of) even bother asking?
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As I recall, CMR was also bandied about as a candidate at Kansas a few years back because his dad is from there or some other tenuous connection.
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Probably because he tells his agent not to float his name out there. Mare you clueless as to how the process works?
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No senator. Shitty coaches finish last.
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Over the past 2 years, Kevin Sumlin’s team has managed to lose close games to Florida, LSU, Alabama, Auburn, and Missouri and a not-so-close game to LSU again. They squeaked by Ole Miss twice and Duke. But, they beat Alabama once, so Sumlin must be a GENIUS. Notice how the one signature win controls the overall narrative. Relative to expectation, Sumlin isn’t a coach who has lost far more coin-flip games than he has won with a generational talent at QB. Instead, he’s a hot property.
And that, more than anything, is what Richt lacks and what Richt needs. Since 2008, his narrative has been defined by signature losses, bookends to Alabama – the first a wipe-out and the second a what-might-have-been. In between, we had the 2009 wipe-out against Florida, 2010’s 1-4 start, and 2011’s “couldn’t beat a Top 20 team.” Detractors point to these negative narratives as self-evident proof of underachievement, while supporters see those points as selectively negative. Both sides have merit.
I would like to see something unexpectedly positive in 2014, but I suspect what we will get is a slow start as the QB position develops some experience and a fast finish with Ws over Florida and Georgia Tech, yet another mixed-bag season with plenty of reasons to look at 2015 optimistically.
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Good points all – definitely a +1 here
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I was thinking about Sumlin just the other day. I think he’s a good coach, but if there is ever a coach whose success for a two year period has been dependent on one player…I mean, seriously, how many games does A&M win the last two years without Manziel? For Sumlin to get the raise and extension he got is, well, I’ll just call it questionable judgment on someone’s part.
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And, in reference to your last paragraph, I think how we start will be entirely dependent on the health of Gurley and, to a slightly lesser extent, Marshall. If we feed the ball to those two regularly while Hutson develops, we could be pretty good even early in the season.
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Very good points. Agreed with all except the “mixed bag season with plenty of reasons to look to 2015 optimistically.” Another mixed bag season will point to more mixed bag seasons down the road in my opinion.
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Nice post, ASEF. Agree with everyone’s comment so far.
Count me among those who have never bought into the Sumlin hype. I also think A&M has overreacted, similar to some underclass athletes who suddenly end up with millions of dollars in cash.
Yeah, I like David K’s point here. Georgia is too talented, and Richt is too good of a coach, not to at least be a pretender most years. To lose more than 3 to 5 games with Georgia’s talent and resources requires the whole thing to be falling apart, as we saw in 2010. Combined with the talent, and Richt’s popularity, it’s only natural that will be enough for optimism within the fanbase.
IMHO, the question right now is whether Georgia is on a downhill slide or just treading water. I hope it’s the latter, but there are some disturbing signs (though a few of those signs have a potential fix with the
firingresignation of Lakatos).Either scenario, however, doesn’t bode well for Georgia’s, or Richt’s, future. I just sense we’re approaching the point where the fanbase as a whole is finally realizing there’s something wrong. That 2012 and late 2007 were the exception, not the rule.
Georgia, under Richt, will always be close enough to pretend. And given a good deal of luck, if everything falls its way, be a serious contender. But if Georgia wants to reside around the top of the SEC, and win its fair share of Titles, it’ll have to figure out how not to beat itself.
Unless and until that happens, all other efforts are futile.
~~~
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