I’ve knocked Ed Aschoff for missing a point before, so let me say that when he gets something right, credit should go where credit is due. And this is spot on.
It’s easy to call Richt out, but it’s been a collective collaboration by the Dawgs. Defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt, who appeared to have most of the holes on this defense sown up before Saturday, stood in front of the media and took the blame for the Gator gashing, but neither he nor Richt were out there getting thrown around by Florida linemen. They weren’t the ones missing tackle after tackle or getting pushed over with ease.
Richt isn’t the one limited in what he can do throwing the ball. Offensive coordinator Mike Bobo has been ridiculed for years by Georgia fans, both justly and unjustly, but neither he nor Richt got blown off the line by Florida’s pass rush. They are the ones developing these guys, and have to be held accountable, but there also comes a point where the players have to accept blame and outrage.
Remember, linebacker Ramik Wilson said players “underestimated” Florida. That’s on everybody.
The underachievement is real. Georgia is a top-10 job surrounded by platinum talent, but for whatever reason, this program has been held back from breaking through to achieve consistent championship success.
No matter who you point the finger at, it’s baffling.
The only thing I’d add is that we’re all tired of pointing fingers. We just want things to work, both on and off the field, as they should at a program that believes it’s a conference power. Is that too much to ask? Or are we simply not asking the right folks?
Get The Picture 
Pray tell Mr Aschoff. After these types of loses, I start to feel better about the team as the week goes along and I’m excited about the next game. This time feels really different. I almost feel like I’ll be even more disappointed if we whip UK as suggested in the previous link as the powers that be in the BM building will point to what a great team we REALLY are.
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It’s not that baffling.
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This is the fundamental issue…
“The underachievement is real. Georgia is a top-10 job surrounded by platinum talent, but for whatever reason, this program has been held back from breaking through to achieve consistent championship success.
No matter who you point the finger at, it’s baffling”
We Internet experts can pontificate and armchair analyze the reasons, complete with all of the usual suspects (B-M, Bobo, Richt’s faith, the ghost of Michael Adams, Jan Kemp legacy, rogue SEC programs, drug testing policy, undersigning, strength and conditioning, IPF, etc.,), but the reality is it is not the job of fans to know what the issues are and how they should be corrected. That is where the highly compensated President and AD are supposed to be accountable. The program has had some modest accomplishments and it is definitively better than the years of Goff and Donnan. However, the last 10 years have been, as I stated yesterday, on par with Wisconsin, Oklahoma State, West Virginia, Clemson, South Carolina, et al. and that is not good enough. The program is not achieving to its potential and that is THE problem — whatever the reasons.
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*Losses
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I prefer “Richting” or Boboing.” “Georgiaing” sounds endemic and hopeless.
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I saw one writer describe it as “Georgia’s annual vapor lock.” That feels about right, unfortunately.
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How come Spurrier never got tagged with this? Because he won one championship were he got a rematch because a bunch of teams lost the last weekend.
He has never had an undefeated season. The only difference between Richt and Spurrier as far as MNC is Spurrier got lucky.
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Or as Mike Wilbon said for years about the Norv Turner San Diego Chargers teams: “come November, at some point, it will be nap time.”
Unfortunately, each year, we can count on a “Nap Time” game or 2 against teams we should beat. This has to be on the coaches shoulders. It rarely happens to Saban although we recruit the same players from the same region. There must be a coaching component to it b/c the players rotate in and out but it continues to happen.
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Bobo’s offense only once crossed the 50 in the 2nd or 3rd qtr… and that was because the defense gave the ball to them there. Half the game Bobo’s offense stalled.
Bobo shares just as much blame as Pruitt if not more due to his players being recruited by and brought in completely under his system. This is in no way a defense of Pruitt.
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Did our offense suck? Yes. But this is about a far deeper issue than just our OC or play-calling or a bad day. Underachievement and mediocrity have gripped the program, and I don’t think the athletic department knows how — or even cares enough — to change that.
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Gee our starting center went out five minutes into the game and people are ignoring it.
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A real strong point in light of the fact that w/o Gurley (or Michel or Marshall) the Dawgs were then incapable of getting around the tackles for any outside rushing. If you go back and watch UF began blitzing straight up thru the A-gaps almost immediately after Andrews hit the bench. (Somewhat incredibly, Bobo/The Offense still went Chubb into that buzzsaw on numerous plays including a few critical 3rd-and-shorts in the first half).
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Those points get a little cloudier when you consider that Florida’s offense was a steaming pile of shit coming into the game, where as their defense was and remains a top 10 unit.
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We are not a conference power. We are held back by coaching. The decision to let HM continue to play out of loyalty is another example of CMR putting personal relationships ahead of the program. FU had the same problem until this week when they were forced to bench Driskel.
Brice has an SEC arm. He just needs the experience. Now we are even more delayed in his development.
Normally I would think we come out angry and crush UK, but I think this loss last weekend was the kind that takes the season away from you. We are looking at one more win this season.
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I don’t think they keep going with HM out of loyalty. Richt likes the safe choice. Think fair catch.
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It’s true that HM doesn’t have the same arm as BR, but HM is better able to recognize what the defense is doing and check into offensive adjustments. Also, HM has been near perfect in protecting the ball and not making mistakes. He’s not a big arm, but he’s very efficient. And he has executed the game plan (albeit not as exciting as prior year offenses) and protected the ball all year. That’s why he’s been in the game over BR thus far.
Whether Ramsey plays more in the remaining games really is going to come down to how much this season can be salvaged. If Georgia is eliminated from the SEC race, maybe it is time to start looking ahead. But why go through growing pains of a young QB late in a season when there is still a chance to get to the SEC championship?
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What if the coaches had given Ramsey meaningful snaps from the beginning of the season? That’s where it is starting to look like the mistake was made. The coaches have talked openly about his lack of confidence and judging from how they held Mason out of the media all summer it’s obvious they suspected he might struggle.
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Yep, safe. Just like kicking a dang field goal on 4th and 2 in the wind. We all see what that got us. No risk, no reward.
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no risk, no reward? Like when all the fans wanted DJ to replace David Greene. Remember how that one series went in Jax? I do…. a pick 6 by the Gators that cost the Dawgs a victory. Let the coaches put the players they think can win the game on the field. I was also wanting the Dawgs to go for it on 4th down; but I also understand trying to pin them deep. It didn’t work for CMR; so it’s easy to criticize.
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But the same strategy of playing Shockley won us the Clemson game earlier that year. So that argument cuts both ways.
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I think the problem for me is that it feels like the coaches are playing the player they think is most likely not to lose the game for them, rather than taking a chance with a guy who can make the throws a pro-style offense requires to be able to stress a defense.
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That reminded me of the field goal from inside the 5 on fourth and one against UCF a few years ago. The 3 point mindset has cost Georgia too many times. This is the ONE area where Paul Johnson earns my admiration..he believes his team can make fourh and short..but he has to have that philosophy our of desperation. I’m afraid CMR has that philosophy out of a false sense of security. In the instance against UF, he stood a better chance of making that first down than he did getting 3. Even if the chance for 3 was better, it’s still a measly 3…or zilch.
THIS has been his biggest hold back…”playing is safe” ESPecially when the other guy’s back is against the wall and he is desperate.
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But also many people just seem to assume that the FG in question was in fact NO GOOD when in reality there is a serious possibility that Morgan made it. Maybe the 3 doesn’t help all that much, but it was still some kind of emotional hit.
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HM had a good game passing for yards everyone has been crying about. You should read about a guy and his achievements before accusing a coach of not putting the best man out there. Where the hell do you come off criticizing a player by diminishing what he has already accomplished for this team when it was a team loss?
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Food for thought. Hudson threw for 319? but 220 of those cam in the 4th quarter? Now I added this up in my head as I reviewed the box scores last Sunday. We both know what can go wrong up in there. 😉
We are a running football team and Florida somehow took us out of our comfort zone. Bobo didn’t step up the tempo and turn Hudson lose until it was too late. Hudson can sling it when Bobo lets him.
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That and the Gators are the best in the SEC against 3rd down. WLOCP meme: 3rd and Bobo
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Bingo, why wasn’t there more before the game was out of hand. Was it he didn’t read it or Bobo didn’t call it? Either way the coaches made the decision to play him or what they called.
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Like I opined yesterday, I think the 7 – 14 halftime deficit didn’t concern the coaching staff so the original game plan was in place and no sense of urgency was in place. Not until we were very suddenly down 24- 7 did we start throwing, and our blocking was poor and receivers started dropping passes. Things just went downhill fast from the sideline perspective. Not defending…in fact, this is what I take issue with and it starts with the HC, DC and OC.
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The wind died down in the fourth quarter. Our center went out in the fist quarter and was not mobile at all. Bobo did what he could with the playing conditions there were. The D hurt us.
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The game reminds me of Tenn. ’07 where Bobo apologized for not leaving the run sooner and throwing the ball down field. The last possession before the half tells it. Completely indecisive, and leaning toward playing it safe.
The D hurts, the O hurt us, the special teams with poor kick returns and a missed FG hurt us.
The center was calling blocking scheme. Again maybe the back up should have done better but the O wasn’t lighting it up before.
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or did Mason need the Gators to play prevent defense?
I don’t have the answer, but in the 3rd qtr I think we all knew that Mason wasn’t going to be able to lead the comeback.
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I watched a replay last night. In fairness to Mason, and Bobo also, it is awfully hard to have any kind of effective passing game when your O-line is pushed back into the QB’s face on every passing play.
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+1
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Yeah, the injury to Andrews was a big part of that.
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+1
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I absolutely agree. The TV announcers even commented on it. When Andrews was injured that was the start of FU gashing the Dawgs up the middle.
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Get angry much?
I wasn’t speaking about a single game. My bigger point was about CMRs loyalty to a person above the team. It is a trend that continues. HM is not an SEC caliber QB.
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Don’t take the angry tone of voice personally. That’s just how some people feel they need to talk on the internet.
I still don’t know that it’s loyalty.
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Who you calling “some people” lol!
There’s probably a lot of truth on your post. Cojones isn’t a yeller. He’s a very loyal and passionate fan. He’s just taking up for his side. We are split into several faction on this issue. Don’t let it chaff you. 🙂
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Totally agree. I can’t believe Mason allowed all those rushing yards. Really thought he would shore up the defensive line better than that.
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1 TD scored until the 4th Qtr
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This isn’t a defense of the defense just that there were multiple problems. Speaking of which how many times did UGA’s return team not make the 20 or 25 yard line? …and this after a bye week which should have the special teams sharp.
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I would imagine CMR believes, and probably rightfully so, that HM gives us the best chance of winning right now. And that’s why he is starting, not because of loyalty. They haven’t given up on this season yet, unlike some fans.
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I believe he may think that. However, even Patrick Garbin predicted 10-2 with an unexplainable loss. It is the trend. I had hoped great RBs would overcome a mediocre OC, and there would be enough depth for Pruitt to work some magic. Bobo thrives when he has a great RB. He can not adapt to the talent he has. The depth was kicked off the the team, and RBs again injured or suspended. It is the trend with CMR. I do not expect anymore from him and have not for about 5 years.
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Big picture, their RFr. QB defeated our 5th-yr. SR QB and that stinks to high heaven.
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That QB did not beat UGA. That line and the RB’s did. For practical purposes, they were running the wildcat all game.
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I get your point of course, but mine is that even with a compliant defense and diminshed offense you would hope that a Bobo-Richt QB could use his football smarts to create something, ANYTHING, for UGa when it mattered.
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I think I disagree, slightly, that we are ALL ready to stop pointing at people, for some of us, that’s all we know how to do.
“The program has had some modest accomplishments and it is definitively better than the years of Goff and Donnan.”
With the exception of three years, 80-83, the program is also better than the years of Dooley…more consistent, better managed off the field and in the classroom.
Am I disappointed we let Florida get away? Of course. But I am not going to let that game take the joy out of this Dawg’s life.
Since I think Chicago’s point about letting the folks who know how to do this do their jobs is well-taken, I choose to do that.
If you want Georgia to be something it has never, ever been, you are doomed to an unhappy life.
If you want Georgia to achieve some mythical potential only you understand you ain’t gonna get much joy outa being a Georgia fan.
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Scorp, you just lined up in the Favorites Box. Using Chicago Dawg’s post was an outright good memory job. A lot of folks agree with you, but specifically, the call to let’em coach is the right one at the right time.
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You may be right. It might be pointless to ask for anything other than an occasional big win. I certainly have grown to expect a baffling loss — or two — every season. What irks me is a total lack of belief that we can ever even compete for the brass ring again. I’m not saying we might not somehow get there despite ourselves (remember the old battle cry of 5-yards!). But it is hard indeed to support a team (especially financially) that you know has distinct limitations. I have already divorced myself from from many of the emotions that used to grip me during games, as I was starting to let them get the better of me. And continued results like last week’s only confirm that I must continue to let go and simply try to smile when we do somehow manage a big win. It is sad, but we have been largely reduced to the role of the talented spoiler.
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I think that’s a pretty myopic view of Georgia football history. Frank Sinkwich, Charley Trippi, Fran Tarkenton, Jake Scott…68 All-Americans …the fifth most bowl appearances of all time…top 15 in all-time wins…14 SEC championships. And if we counted MNCs the same way Alabama does, we would have six, and Dooley would have two. Unless I’m mistaken, Vince Dooley also never went 10 years without winning an SEC title.
I also think that the statement “If you want Georgia to achieve some mythical potential only you understand you ain’t gonna get much joy outa being a Georgia fan,” is making a huge assumption about all of Richt’s critics. I’ve defended Richt in the past, and would never criticize him for not winning a MNC. There’s a lot of luck that goes into one that a coach just can’t control. What a coach can control is motivating his players to play hard in every game. I don’t expect us to always win a championship; I do expect us to always play competitively, and to hold our heads high knowing that, win or lose, we gave it our best shot.
On Saturday, we didn’t “let Florida get away.” We let our egos get away. We got flat-out embarrassed by a team that had been a dumpster fire up until that point in the season. We failed to show up. It’s inexcusable, and it’s not an isolated incident. It’s a trend that happens at least once every season. And it seems that all anyone ever does about it is make excuses.
And, just to be nitpicky, 80-83 is four seasons, not three. 🙂
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Dooley coached in an era when you only had six conference games. As for your observation about not going 10 years without winning a conference title, he was well on his way to that when he decided to retire.
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You think? The Dawgs were 5 points away from going undefeated and playing for an SEC title in 1992. Either way it’s just conjecture, though. The fact still remains.
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Dooley didn’t recruit those kids. Take a look at his last few classes.
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That was sorta before my time, so I’ll bow to your knowledge about Dooley’s latter years recruiting, but isn’t it true that Dooley COULDN’T have recruited those kids, given that 1992 was four years after he retired?
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My point is that recruiting had steadily declined during his last five seasons. No reason to think it was suddenly going to upswing.
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That would be post-Kemp. With new rules and “unilateral disarmament”
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Yup. Destroyed the program at the time. Still is having a negative effect.
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Sigh.
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Also, how does only having six conference games diminish the achievements of winning the SEC or having a winning record when every one in the conference plays by the same rules and you play quality out-of-conference opponents like Clemson, South Carolina, and Georgia Tech regularly?
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I didn’t say it diminished anything. But he coached in a different era from when you had to play nine conference games to win a title.
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So, you’re saying comparing the two is an apples v. oranges type of thing. Got it. I’m not the one who originally made the comparison, though.
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If I misunderstood what you meant by “Vince Dooley also never went 10 years without winning an SEC title.”, I apologize.
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I was trying to defend Dooley more than I was trying to slam Richt.
No problem either way. Thanks for the replies. As a long time lurker and rare commenter, it’s an honor talking with you.
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Dooley didn’t coach at what was regularly among the most profitable programs in the country while also being located in a state that is 4th in producing football talent, and unlike the top 3 does not share multiple national title contending programs. The dynamics have changed.
UGA fans can demand a top level coach. Like many in here I am more annoyed with constant season after season complaints, and unexplainable let downs than national titles. Why does UF and Tenn have decades long winning streaks over the Kentucky and Vandy yet UGA does not. UGA does not demand it. People get fired when those streaks end at other programs. I am ready for change but understand much of the fan base is not. I fully expect Richt to eventually put together 1 magical season, and all the Richt followers will feel justified. However, he reminds me of Mack Brown, running a program with many advantages over their rivals but OU somehow manages to have the upper hand more times than not. Mack Brown calmly ran a program his way with teams that reflected him.
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Bruce, if you don’t understand that almost all of this “Frank Sinkwich, Charley Trippi, Fran Tarkenton, Jake Scott…68 All-Americans …the fifth most bowl appearances of all time” was pre-Kemp, I am sorry, but if you don’t understand that Georgia is now in post-Kemp mode, there is no hope of understanding where I am coming from.
Here’s my take on Kemp.
Georgia was about to create a whole curriculum for athletes…had it in place and it was working to get kids in school, who, possibly should never have been in school. And many of the kids in this program never graduated.
Along came Fred Davison who, when confronted with Jan Kemp, promptly stuck his head up his ass.
And the rest, as they say is history.
Quoting pre-Kemp records is irrelevant.
In fact, anything that happened athletically pre-Kemp, is probably irrelevant.
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I’m sorry, but this whole “historical expectations” and “mythical” argument completely misses the boat. Georgia was favored in both the USCe and UF games and lost both, the later one in embarassing, historically bad fashion. The team can’t play to realistic expectations. Can’t beat the teams we are supposed to beat. That is the problem.
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He’s down a rabbit hole of logic that is so pointless and stupid that it’s hard to ignore. It’s basically this….no matter how badly Georgia plays or underperforms on a given Saturday or loses to an double-digit underdog, this performance is reality. And to expect otherwise is by definition is “unrealistic.” And therefore any expectation or even hope for a better performance is/was unrealistic.
Of course this works on a macro level too. You expected a better record last year? Totally unrealistic, because in REALITY our record was 8-5! You expected an SEC championship in the last nine years?! Again unrealistic, because in REALITY, we haven’t won one. Stupid, unrealistic fans!!! Take what is given you and like it…..No, love it, just like he does! Because he’s the best kind of fan!
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Good grief, dude. And you say OTHER people are doomed to an unhappy life? That’s the most depressing thing I’ve read all day. You sound way more despondent and pessimistic than the people upset about the loss Saturday…
No offense meant, but people like you always want to characterize all critics of Richt as “win-at-all-costs” fans. That’s not me at all. Quite the contrary. I would rather lose with dignity than be like the 2008 team that won 10 games, but was hollow inside when it counted. No heart. No spirit. No willpower. If having only players who are damn proud to wear the glorious G means not being able to get the 5-star guys, so be it. I’ll take heart any damn day of the week. And there’s no way you can tell me that that ideal is incompatible with a post-Kemp environment. If anything, it’s more compatible than what we have now, with highly-touted players who can’t stay out of trouble.
Me? I’m proud of my school and ALL of its accomplishments, Kemp or no Kemp. They all matter, they are all sources of pride, and they will always be “relevant.” The accomplishments of those who went before are a guiding light, inspiring us to be better. Walking Herty Field on a crisp fall day, I cannot help but be stirred with emotion. When life is kicking my ass, I hear Munson’s exhortation to “Hunker it down one more time.” The phrase “Georgia Football” isn’t just a school and a sport to me; it’s a way of life. It’s our boys fighting in the fields of France while Tech boys were dallying with girls in Atlanta. It’s making a 60-yard kick; it’s making a goal-line stop; It’s being the underdog and making the improbable come true. It’s Dan Magill, it’s Lewis Grizzard, and it’s beating LSU fans with miniature baseball bats. It’s winning when the whole world tells you you ought to lose. So, to me, all I want is a team that reflects that SPIRIT, not necessarily the wins and losses. A team that shows up, plays hard, hits the other team in the mouth, and, win or lose, leaves everything on the field. A team that doesn’t give up, doesn’t slack off, and doesn’t embarrass itself like this one did on Saturday.
If you don’t understand THAT, then I am the one who is sorry. I’m sorry for you. I’m sorry that you’ve given up. And I will be praying for you.
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Spare me your prayers you supercilious shit. Obviously you can’t read.
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Ha. Ok, so your short answer to the Senator’s question “Is that too much to ask?” is “Yes, that is too much.” Gotcha. Why? Because that’s the way it’s been, so that’s the way it should be.
Of course, you can characterize potential as “mythical” and dismiss high expectations as unrealistic. But articles like this underscore what many Georgia and college football analysts and fans already know: Georgia consistently underachieves relative to its talent. And for serious Dawg fans, asking why and expecting more (at least commensurate with other, similarly talented programs) is not particularly outrageous or unhealthy.
The stuff about taking the “joy out of life” may be appropriate for a few fans, but, come on, it’s a little overdramatic. This is a Georgia football blog, not a mental well-being assessment. Obviously, things that are written are going to overly-skew one way or another depending on the success/failures of the team and the state of the program.
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Handy chart re: talent vs. results
http://regressing.deadspin.com/chart-which-ncaa-football-teams-outplay-their-recruit-1640831522/+benes?
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“This is a Georgia football blog, not a mental well-being assessment. ” Thanks for clearing that up.
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You’re welcome. I’m sure you’ll remember that next time you’re tempted to suggest someone is “doomed to an unhappy life” based on their expectations of Georgia football.
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If your expectations are unrealistic based on the historical perspective you are doomed to an unhappy life as a Georgia fan.
If your expectations are that Georgia should compete for national championships on a regular basis, this is unrealistic and you are doomed to an unhappy life as a Georgia fan, always whining and bitching and complaining that we shoulda, woulda, coulda if only if this and that and the other thing.
Even you, up there in the wilds of the northern midwest could be a happy dawg if you just take it as it is, not what you intimate you want it to be.
We are not, nor will we ever be Bama, or Auburn…because, institutionally we do not want to be.
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Regardless, we were still favored by Vegas/experts to win USC and UF. It is not unrealistic to expect to win those games. It’s just not.
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Well. All the experts picked us to lose ARK and Mizzou. What does that really say about experts?
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Jesus, the do-nothings in B-M must love fans like you. Do you get the annual “Take It As It Is” motivational calendar from the UGA athletic dept each year? I hate to tell you, Scorp, but you have been conditioned to expect underachievement (happily, apparently). Conditioned to expect to lose the big games. Conditioned to be satisfied with less when more IS realistically attainable. It’s like the dog who loves the owner who periodically kicks the shit out of him for no reason…because he still gets his regular kibble….and the opportunity to purchase red and black license plate holders.
As to your historical perspective, too bad Florida didn’t get the memo in 1989 that they could never win the SEC, much less be a national power (that goes for Florida State and Miami in the mid-80s, too). On a more recent note, you might want to tell most of this year’s college playoff contenders to gracefully bow out now, too. Looking at the Top 12 teams in the current playoff rankings, it looks like eight of them have no reasonable expectation of being in the conversation (from your historical perspective).
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“I hate to tell you, Scorp, but you have been conditioned to expect underachievement (happily, apparently). ”
What underachievement dog of the North Country?
Your underachievement?
Realism has always been hard for the ignorant to deal with on any level.
You may not like the historical perspective because it deflates your expectations, or makes your equipment harder to live with, but that’s your problem, don’t try to make it mine.
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Ok, I’ll get specific. Winning a game when you are favored against a bad South Carolina team. That’s realistic. No?
Winning a game when you are a double-digit favorite against a bad Florida team. That’s realistic. No?
My underachievement??? Read the ESPN article again. Do you understand that it isn’t just MY sense of underachievement? And as for your “realism” jab…I appreciate that the consistent level of underachievement is REALITY. I do expect it, as any Georgia fan with a brain should. I just prefer not to smile and wrap myself up in the stained sheets, like you do, when we shit the bed once again.
I don’t like your historical perspective view because it is flawed as I reasonably pointed out. Nor does what Georgia did under Dooley, Goff, or Donnan change/deflate my expectations or should cloud anyone’s expectations of what the team should do each year. Good idea to put your head into the sand on that.
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“Good idea to put your head into the sand on that.”
But, of course, ignoring the history, the changes in institutional mentality the history brought…that’s not putting your head in the sand, good sir, that’s putting it up your ass.
I am really sorry the experts at ESPN cause you so much grief, why don’t you quit reading them?
“Nor does what Georgia did under Dooley, Goff, or Donnan change/deflate my expectations or should cloud anyone’s expectations of what the team should do each year. ”
Sand, please meet the gentleman from Minnesota’s head.
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You should contact Vegas to provide them your historical insight. I expect the line for Oklahoma/Baylor would move from a 3 point spread to a 30 point spread. You know, based on your historical perspective (Baylor is 2-21 against Oklahoma), Bud Wilkinson, Barry Switzer, etc. It’s completely unrealistic to expect Baylor to compete, much less win. Why are they even playing? Baylor winning is completely unrealistic.
Michigan fans, however, are getting very excited about the rest of the season because, you know, Bo Schembechler.
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I have a question. A serious question, no snark intended. Before1989 Florida was where Georgia seems to be now–a decent team that won more than it lost, went to bowl games but didn’t really win championships (in fact, never had won an SEC Championship). Something happened that changed all that. Was it just as simple as hiring Spurrier? Was it a change in the FU Presidency or their AD? What was it? Bear Bryant used to say that if FU ever woke up they’d be really formidable. Maybe we can figure that out and do it ourselves. It seems to me that Georgia has at least the same recruiting advantages that FU has had, maybe even better. We are the lead team in a state with a population of 10,000,000 people and great HS football. The only other Power 5 conference team in the state is Tech and they recruit a different type player and nobody good wants to go there anyway. Alabama is half the size of Georgia and Bama and Auburn split the recruits. Mississippi doesn’t have particularly good HS ball and also has 2 Power 5 schools plus a much smaller population, too. South Carolina, the same. I just don’t get it. What are we doing wrong?
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I’m dead serious. If this string is too long please answer my question on another string.
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The failure was a team effort no doubt. It’s the coaches job to have the team ready so the buck stops with them. At least Pruitt stood up and accepted blame and acknowledged it was unacceptable.
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Senator, I only see five games in this week’s slate for the Fabris Pool. Is that correct? Or am I goofing up something on my end?
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Thanks for catching that. Glitch that should be fixed.
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I made my picks on those games and thought…Wow I should be 5 -0 this week, but alas I got a message that my picks were due today ….and I’ll be lucky to go 6-4…😞
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.We’ve chewed on the “why” of not winning the crystal football for so long that it has become the sports blogging cud for Georgia fans every year. It’s led to partisan groups self serving and self-congratulatory depending on the season’s won loss record.
Today’s Wednesday. We travel to Lexington for a nooner on ESPN. Cinderella hasn’t won an SEC game yet. Georgia has won the last 6 of 7 and is the 13 point favorite.
Scorp find your hat. And I have one request. Burn last week’s cap please.
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Homes, I don’t know… Should I ditch that hat? I gotta think about that.
That hat is proly a lot smarter now…proly has learned some things about being a hat…maybe learned to not be a selfish hat.
See, I think, maybe, a hat is only as good as the head under it…maybe it is my fault my hat looks bad…maybe I believed the stupid shit about we were gonna beat Florida like a rented Sentra.
Whaddayagot Homes? 🙂
Do you, by the way, realize what a genius kicking coach Bill Hartman was?
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I think we whip up on Cinderella and stick that rabbit foot in Malzhans eye. Land in a decent bowl and wonder how in the hell we lost to a 5 win uSC and 6 win Florida.
Bill Hartman was underpaid and was quite the DGD!. 😉
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Got to agree. Think we’ve got a good shot at winning the next two with the people we’ve put on the field up to now. You don’t change quarterbacks in the middle of the season unless you are desperate (and FU was very desperate). These guys can play and I suspect the attitude will be much improved.
I also miss Bill Hartman.
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Regardles of who’s to bless and who’s to blame, there is one aspect fo this season that cannot be overlooked. When we have a season where our division is weak, and we have a relatively easy draw from the West (Auburn not withstanding, but we play them every year) as well, we have to take advantage of it. We can’t lose to two divisional teams whose programs are at their lowest point in years.Sure, four conference road games in a row is no piece of cake, but overall our SEC schedule hasn’t been nearly as tough as it could be or has been. In that context it really feels like a wasted season to me.It’s a season we never should have let get away from us. They won’t get any easier.
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Every day is a new opportunity. You can build on yesterday’s success or put its failures behind and start over again. Bob Feller/Sports,Life, Success.
Still a lot to play for. We got the Barners between the hedges.
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And we’ve been doing this regularly and, unfortunately, predictably for several years now. The SEC East has been ours for the taking repeatedly. Our response, repeatedly, has been to inexplicably drop one or two games to conference rivals. Usually in a manner that can most charitably be described as embarrassingly bad. Our players say the same thing each year. We weren’t prepared, we underestimated them. And then we do it again next year. And the year after that. That’s what drives me crazy.
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SEC East drop-off from FL to USCe and Mizzou was not that dramatic…they both had some NFL talent, could score and play D, and yet it was last year’s injuries that kept us from being in the SECCG 3 years in a row. This is the outlier year of being very weak throughout the division.
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And in the offseason we’ll hear the same old shit and MR will talk about how he’s gonna personally focus on something that won’t get fixed and then next year we’ll gag away a few games we shouldn’t and the year after that will be the same.
But to say such a thing is heresy to half the people on this board and probably the fan base in general and the guys and gals that are “All In” with Richt will burn your house down if you say the slightest negative thing. I ain’t saying fire the guy but I could give a crap if he was a dick or worshipped satan as long as he won something of consequence.
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Worshiping Satan would be a stretch for me. Although one of my college roommates was into
Meher Baba and I didn’t have a problem with it. But HEY…you copped a plea of goofy per that last rant of yours . And it’s not like anyone called your Mom and requested she stop packing your lunch for you now is it? Besides you had lady GTP’er Dawgs calling you out over your “posts”. That means you stepped in it son.
Con cuidado hijo.
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Eh. Honestly whatever man. Whereas I respect your right to have a different opinion than yours if you can’t give me the same respect and not make it personal than I suggest just not reading my posts. I’m not even sure what your insults mean but yeah, I get it. You’re a true fan and I’m just some whippersnapper that doesn’t think being a fan means being blindly loyal to the point that if someone says something you don’t agree with you attack them. So have fun.
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Than mine*
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You’re exactly right. My first thought the first time I saw Georgia’s 2014 schedule was that for a good (not even great) team, it had the makings of SEC championship and national championship possibilities. Except for the away stretch, it really set up well…about as good as you could hope for in the SEC. And bye weeks in front of our biggest SEC East rivals (and those closest to our talent level). As we stand right now, it’s even more favorable considering how unexpectedly bad South Carolina and Florida have been. As you point out, it’s a squandered opportunity…and it may never be any easier in terms of schedule as it is/was this year.
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I think the bye weeks usually screw us. Gives the guys a chance to read their press clippings and lose the momentum they had going. Though maybe a bye week after a loss would be different. I haven’t looked up the stats.
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wondering where the leadership is,wheres the kick n the pants when you see half assed effort ,vince dooley had erk,bobby bowden had mickey I think the main reason we are all pissed is that when we see the dawgs look like they did saturday all you see is calm,and i want to see somebody on that sideline in a position to do something,to get hunker down junkyard dawg gata mean,and just as pissed off as i am.just tired of getting the same dose of ritalin inspired drivel to explain another uninspired effort ,we deserve more than just another “we’ll get em next time” i want some body getting a check,to be just as mad as me ,and willing to show it .go dawgs
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It’s too damn perplexing………….
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This isn’t that complicated. Coaches evaluate, recruit, manage, develop, prepare, &deploy players. Failure by the team is a failure of the coaching staff. All excuses: we had attrition, we’re really young, we didn’t execute the game plan, weren’t focused are all areas the staff controls and ultimately is responsible for. The fact that we have a brand new defensive staff is on Richt because he hires and fires. We underachieve because we’re mismanaged from mcgarity on down. Period.
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Agree. Coaches and admin get paid to perform a job. This is their profession and most of them get paid extravagantly for their services. They should be held accountable when there is a clear failure on or off the field. Seems to me the players are held to a much higher standard than the guys getting the big checks.
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Mack Brown and the Texas meltdown may offer some insight…their locker room got so soft and easy playing for a “good coach” that all discipline was lost. No responsibility, no on field leadership.
Richt’s greatest strength is also his weakness, while Saban’s greatest weakness is arguably his strength.
Richt loves his players and they love him. But they take advantage of that and get “soft” mentally. We see this and hear them comment on it repeatedly. When CMR walks through the locker room after practice, I doubt it gets cold and silent.
Using the stereotype of Saban (maybe he’s different in real life), I suspect that he really doesn’t care all that much for his players…just pieces in a process. When he enters the locker room, you can damn well bet it gets quite in a hurry. But that only works for so long, and his players, especially seniors, can get overconfident and quit trying a little from having “paid their dues” for so long. Outside of winning, where’s the joy?
Clearly, Saban is winning that ongoing battle…hate me, but perform for each other. Richt on the other hand, can’t suddenly force a sense of urgency, commitment, team responsibility for their own actions. I also suspect that a lot of the Grantham problem was the dissonance between his and Richt’s personality in the locker room. Todd may be yelling and screaming, but as long as you can run to the HC to confirm you’re still loved, those screams are ineffective. We know Bobo is not a screamer, but he gets leadership from his QB’s. Pruitt may or may not be the right mix, but at some point Richt needs to instill a different type of mental discipline on these kids or he can’t ever avoid these let-down games.
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SO let me see.
If UGA ends the season with 2 losses, it is b/c Richt is soft.
If AL ends the season with 2 losses, it is b/c Saban is bad at chess?
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Soft on disciple is not our problem.
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Swings and misses… I’ll take the blame for not being more clear. Let’s try again. I’m wondering if Richt, like Mack Brown, allows a relaxed locker room. Sure, when rules are broken he punishes, but the kids aren’t very afraid of taking chances for whatever reason. That can percolate into a loss of mental focus. Texas sure did get way too complacent.
I just doubt Saban has that problem. His kids break rules and commit crimes too, but I’m not talking about that. It’s the little stuff like horseing around and not paying attention to small details his tighter environment helps squash.
So when we see UGA lose 2 games, we hear a lot from the team themselves about being too lax. I’m suggesting that it’s because they are taking advantage of Richt allowing a more relaxed atmosphere. When Bama loses 2 games, you read about how “tight” they were more than not taking their opponent seriously.
IDK…it’s definitely something more in the intangibles than the X’s and O’s.
Dear God, now I sound like Ivey. Forgive me…;-)
P.S. “…bad at chess”…???
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The problem has been aptly pointed out by the Senator in an earlier post so I won’t go over it again;
Ed Ashroff is spot on; baffling. Well look no further to support or lack there of and meddling by big money boosters.
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I feel like a parent. I’m just going to love them anyway.
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Stop saying it’s baffling. It’s the opposite of baffling. It’d be more baffling if we made it through a season without shitting our pants at least a couple times. No one should be surprised by what happened in Jacksonville, and certainly not Georgia fans.
My advice: If you own a smartphone, set a reminder for Friday, September 4, 2015, that says something like, “It’s definitely not going to happen this year.” Whatever you’ve got to do to keep from having too much faith in this football program. Like most things in life, it’s all about perspective. If you go in simply hoping to be bowl-eligible by December, 9-10 wins is an amazing season.
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Man…can you remember what it was like to get to the end of the football season and think….Holy shit, momma, we are going to a bowl game!!!!!
And to have beaten Tech, AND go to a bowl!!!!
Course that was before full-time TV bullshit, and the Web and unrealistic expectations.
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Unrealistic according to whom?
You’re basing your entire view on history, even though you admit in some posts that history is irrelevant.
What’s good for the goose, I suppose. . .
I would find that a compelling argument if there weren’t any programs out there with miserable football histories who now perform very well. But, there are, aren’t there? Many, in fact And we don’t even have a miserable history.
You’re just another in a long line of internet personalities who comes up with narratives to support their dogged support of Coach Richt, regardless of what he produces.
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Pointing fingers is a waste of time now. Plenty of time to address motivational techniques in the off season.
The key reference point going into this week is last year’s game against Vanderbilt.
We pretended our personnel losses were not an issue and assumed we would beat Missouri without giving an extraordinary 60-minute effort.
“Business-as-usual” didn’t work when we discovered too late that Missouri’s talent level was greater than what we brought to the field that day. The team was genuinely surprised we got beat as bad as we did. They shouldn’t have been.
Then we go to Vanderbilt, underestimating the Commodores’ ability to score points and played our offense in a conservative shell. Players were unmotivated by this limited offensive approach. They played well below their capabilities and lost again.
This year, substitute “Florida” for “Missouri” and subsitute the Kentucky Wildcats for the Vanderbilt Commodores. We started this week headed to the same spot.
We need to take a completely different offensive approach this time and let-er-rip. Our players will feed off of it. Learn from last week’s loss but don’t let it beat us twice.
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Damn, Joe…you sound like a Georgia fan…so whaddaya think I should do about my hat?
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I dunno. Does the UGA womens soccer team even wear hats?
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I dunno, I think maybe they wear headbands, but then they got more hair than I do…all of them.
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Here’s where my finger points…
2; Over confident without cause and not prepared for the intensity and desire of the other team.
Not having back-ups ready. Georgia has top ten recuriting classes but never seems to have much depth…attrition is high in this program and I understand and accept that, but it’s even more reason to prepare back-ups.(And I’ll admit the depth at tailback is the pleasant exception to this point).
And this is really huge…..Officiating has hurt this program. I insist that there is an anti-Georgia bias among SEC officials and also in the NCAA. These two institutions (SEC Officiating and the NCAA) have screwed us like a yard dog since (it seems like) VD quit coaching. From the phoney Florida time-out call on Zier’s two point conversion pass in the pouring rain against Florida, to the Jasper Sanks’ no-fumble, to the call on AJG that cost UGA a game against LSU, to the phoney holding penalty that negated the win against the Game Cocks this year, to the negating of the field goal against Florida this year…and many, many more instances (all teams get screwed…well almost all, but Georgia has been getting gang-banged for a long time).
That’s my finger pointing. These have been themes in all many of my posts since the early days of blogs in the ABH. These things are all fixable and all fixable almost immediatley without any cost, firings or hoopla. #5 is toughest but a AD that would raise mortal hell would help.
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OK, FWIW here’s my take. Sorry about the length, can’t be helped……
[The following quotes are mine from last week, leading up to the game, and reflect the theme of everything said all week. They are necessary to the point and substance of the post, and are here for no other reason.]
So. Georgia lost to Florida, and got beat up and embarrassed the way we did, because we were not ready for the fight we entered. That’s it. The story of this game is all about the FIGHT. Any other central theme will miss the point. I noticed Gentry Estes did a nice job of placing the game in exactly that context on their radio program Monday. Kudos to Estes, because that’s what happened.
There’s been a number of things pointed out here about the game – “not ready to play”, “lost momentum”, “not our day”, etc. – and they’re all true and valid. But all of them – all of them – are a subset of this one primary thing: Georgia simply wasn’t prepared for the fight Florida was bringing. There is simply no escaping it.
Therefore, the question is .. why wasn’t Georgia ready for it? Because it wasn’t just the defense. It was all 3 facets of the game. Georgia got off to a decent start with a couple of first downs, then next drive a couple more and Chubb busted one. The defense got a couple stops, then a TO.
But like so many games, it takes a quarter or so for things to shake out a little, to see what you have. Then Florida started to move, got into FG range, the faked FG scored, and the beatdown was on.
The point to understand is, though the juice and momentum from that play was a trigger, that is not enough to sustain a beatdown. It doesn’t explain what happened on either side the rest of the game. Florida brought their fight with them from Gainesville – you can’t just juice that up – and Georgia, for whatever reason, left theirs in Athens.
Just as in 2007, the juice from the celebration helped Georgia, but Georgia brought what was needed to win that game with them from Athens. And just as Florida couldn’t just juice their fight up, neither could Georgia just manufacture enough fight to respond on the spot. Even at halftime. As often happens in football, if you don’t bring the fight with you, by gametime it’s often too late to do anything about it.
So then, why wasn’t Georgia ready for the fight? IMHO, it has to come back to Richt, because his team was not prepared for what Florida was bringing. Why not? I believe it’s because Richt didn’t see Florida coming – not in that way. And he should have. If he had, he would have had his team prepared and ready for it.
The same happened in 2004, BTW, in eerily similar circumstances, when he didn’t see Tennessee coming. But he was a young SEC head coach then, who was new to the League. To that point, he had never seen that phenomenon. There’s no excuse this time. You HAVE to be able to see when an opposing coach or team has it’s back to the wall, know what that means, and consequently expect more than you normally would.
And it’s the job of the HC to perceive and see such things, in order to make sure his team goes into a game properly prepared. Oh, we went through the usual prep routine – always a tough game, etc., even prepared for a close game, no doubt.
But these kind of situations are not routine. And they’re not all like this one, they come in various shapes, colors, and sizes. But you have to see them coming, by knowing your opponent and having a handle on his particular psyche at the time you play them. Have to know what they will be bringing, in order to prepare your team likewise. And of course, you have to know the current psyche of your team. Otherwise, you just set yourself up for an opponent to occasionally sneak up on you.
And for whatever reason, Richt has never been able to get a handle on that as a head coach. I suspect it’s because his mentor never really understood it either. But Bowden wasn’t in the SEC, and had overwhelming talent, only having several competitive games per year. Different thing, altogether. We all know this League is different. But that’s just my guess.
Everything else, it should be pointed out, Richt has done well. Very well, IMHO. But the one thing he still hasn’t been able to do, is manage the psyche and mentality of his team throughout an entire schedule. And the reason gets back to this thing right here. There’s a lack of perception, a feel that’s required for a HC in this League, for lack of a better way of putting it.
I voiced concern about this, pointing it out a number of times this preseason, along with the many credits and accolades for all the great changes that were made (those are real, BTW). And noted that as far as any of us knew, everything – every issue we knew of – Richt had addressed by this summer (and over a period of several years, most of them this year), except for this one. And because of that, the concern was whether or not we could get through this whole schedule without laying that annual egg that often bites us in the arse and ruins our season.
Of course it’s so common now that everybody across the country expects it. This didn’t surprise many of those people, if any. They were expecting Georgia to do its annual thing. The only question was when. It’s almost common parlance now. As in previous years, I was hoping for the best, that Richt had addressed it without us getting wind of it. That IS possible, of course. But now we know.
I wish Richt could get a handle on this issue – the psyche-mentality thing, how to perceive it, and then manage it successfully through an entire schedule. Because then, with everything else that’s happened – all good and necessary – we might not consistently lose games to teams we shouldn’t lose to. It could become a rarity, and not the annual rule.
Our chances of winning a championship, getting to the playoffs, etc., would increase remarkably. And we would very seldom, if ever, walk off a field embarrassed.
Losing is part of the game – no problem at all. But to walk off the field after a loss, with your head held high, knowing you left everything you had on that field, that is the way it should be done at a place like Georgia. It’s been done before, and it can be that way again.
~~~
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Great post, as usual, Ivey.
It’s the regularity, predictability, and on-the-field inexplicabilty of these performances (and the subsequent, corresponding excuses) that is so discouraging to fans. When it happens, again, I think it makes us all have to acknowledge “No, still haven’t figured it out…” which almost certainly means that we can expect it again, and again… Depressing.
And some wonder why certain Dawg fans enter most game weeks with a certain level of (seemingly unwarranted) trepidation.
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Have to agree. They’ll drive you batty. I’m especially disappointed with something Richt said afterward, and I’m paraphrasing because I can’t find it. But I saw it in two different places, from major news sources.
Richt said, “sometimes you just have a game like that”, and that’s the way it is. Or something very close to that.
Not saying that’s an excuse, and Richt doesn’t believe that, there’s no reason to think he doesn’t. The man isn’t know to lie and mislead. I honestly think he just doesn’t get it, as hinted at in the post. Just doesn’t see it.
But apparently Jeremy Pruitt sees it. Someone read my post and sent me this. I hadn’t seen it, or heard about it. About the game, Pruitt said:
“It wasn’t a matchup issue against Arkansas,” the first-year Bulldogs defensive coordinator said about a Razorbacks team that led the SEC in rushing but was held to 126 rushing yards in the previous games. “It was a choice (Saturday). Florida had more fight than Georgia. That’s on the defensive coaching staff.”
http://dogbytesonline.com/georgia-must-find-its-fight-again-down-stretch-88609/
I mean, how refreshing is that. Pruitt not only identified the problem, but took responsibility for it personally. IDK know how much blame he actually deserves. Maybe some. But as discussed already, that’s usually the head coach’s territory. He’s the one who gets the bucks to watch out for those kind of things.
Richt is such a fine man and does so many things well as a HC. But taking ownership and telling it like it is when it goes bad has never been his thing. Too bad. His fan base would appreciate him even more for just being honest about it.
But again, I still have to believe Richt doesn’t see it, as explained in the post. It’s high time he did, and dealt with it. It would save him, and the rest of us, a lot of pain and heartache.
~~~
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🙂
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+1 nice post, Ivey!
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I agree with pretty much everything in your post. Every freaking year there’s one or two games where the Dawgs overlook someone and we hear the mea culpa afterwards like from Ramik where they admit as much. If you have a common problem then you must address it. I don’t have the solution but to me it doesn’t seem to be a huge deal. It’s always lack of execution or focus. At some point the buck has to stop with someone be it senior leaders or a coach.
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I dunno, but in the last 10 years we have seen players and assistant coaches come and go. Even the A.D. is different. When it comes to the product on the field over that period, there is a common denominator. Point fingers in that direction.
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The once or twice a year let down against inferior opponents is not exclusively a Georgia thing. Lots of team have it and lots of teams lose games because of it. TOSU lost to a terrible VT team and I don’t for a minute believe VT was a better team. TOSU just took them for granted and got steamrolled. This is a problem inherent in 18-23 year old males. They think they are bullet proof. The great coaches can soften this by making the players aware that they are replaceable. Georgia has had this problem for years, not just under Richt. We old heads can remember VD loosing to Richmond, Miami of Ohio and others. Goff lost his job because he couldn’t keep it from happening. Donnan lost to I think it was Mississippi after the great win over Auburn in the 5 OT game. Our players know that they can’t be replaced for the most part because of our lesser overall numbers.
Now I do think that this year Mark and the staff decided that given our RB’s we would run the ball. This worked find until we played the Evil One. Let’s face it our QB and his available WR’s didn’t scare anyone. So when we couldn’t run over a team we had no WR’s that could open it up. Also I think HM has had the theme of “just don’t screw it up” pounded into him since Aaron left. He appears to more afraid of making a mistake than any of Richt’s QB’s ever. He is the product of a spread quick pass high school team. They didn’t make reads they throw to a spot quick so reading the post-snap defense was not needed. All human beings revert to what makes them feel safe. He looks at his primary receiver too long and he gets sacked or he panics and throws the ball down. I can’t remember any QB getting as many intentional grounding calls in one year.
In summary we are in for a long four games if Gurley doesn’t come to the rescue. He is the leader of this team, not Mason. He may have screwed up but he’s our only chance to win out.
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This is a team.
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So what’s up HomerDawg….Scorp….Ivey…Mayor. New dude named The Bruce, brought his own definite article.
Thought I’d come by….you guys still talkin’ about that Florida game and culture and all, I see. Devil worship, Herty Field, Jan Kemp, World War 2.
Heavy stuff….heavy stuff. Got your mind off Gurley, anyway.
Y’all keep it down and let the dog out before you turn in.
Kentuckyas on Saturday…..
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