Mark Richt is all in on fit and trim. Or at least finding a happy medium.
In the offseason training program, Georgia did more running than any other year in Richt’s tenure, the head coach said this week. So more guys dropped weight, but some of them were asked to then put it back on in muscle mass.
“We’ve gotta get stout enough to stand up to teams we’ll play defensively and be able to move people offensively,” Richt said. “But I think we’ve identified the guys we want to gain the weight. We’ve still got one or two guys that might need to trim up a bit. But everybody who’s a little heavy is not far from their target.”
Yeah, yeah, Florida and Georgia Tech. I get it. Except I’d argue those games were as much about poor execution as about beef… more, really.
In those two bad games, the edges were as much the problem as up the gut. Georgia’s front was physically beaten too much, but the back was late to the ball and didn’t make plays.
“Two things can happen, really,” Richt said. “One is physically we get thrown around. And the other one is to maybe not make your run fits exactly as they should be, and then a big run spits out of there. There was probably a little bit of both in those games, with the amount of rushing yards that happened. The bottom line is, we’ve gotta be physical enough and play with good pad level and good fundamentals enough to keep from getting moved.”
Florida was a case of outside contain being poorly maintained (maybe more a case on occasion of not being maintained at all). And while Georgia Tech was more about getting gashed up the middle, Johnson did a good job running his offense at gaps Georgia created with its line shifts.
If physical size were everything, then Georgia wouldn’t have gotten pounded like it did in the 2012 SECCG. That was just a mashing. It’s not every day you see a team convert a two-point play by running the ball up the middle.
It wasn’t that Jenkins and Geathers were stiffs; they were just worn down. Which is why Mark Richt’s current attitude makes sense. You can adjust your schemes mid-game. There isn’t much you can do about durability once your linemen get winded.
Get The Picture 
Jenkins and Geathers weren’t stiffs, but they played with horrible technique because Garner sucks dong as a position coach. Good riddance Rodney.
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The 2012 defense had no depth, while Alabama had tremendous depth and an offensive line that should have been hunted by cavemen.
Maybe the UF and Tech games’ defensive lapses weren’t due to size, but we play Alabama this year, and they’re going to have a huge line and Derrick Henry this year. I want a conditioned defense, but I think we need some beef up front, too.
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It seems to me that our Nutrition/S&C program has been all over the place the past couple of years. I hear that we need to be thinner and faster, then we need to be bigger and stronger. I was also alarmed slightly by Lorenzo Carter saying he was aiming for 15%body fat. That may be what NFL linebackers generally are (according to Carter), but I think playing so much with body composition is too disruptive. He was a 5 star recruit as a lean 7%. Ride the horse that got there, I say. I’m also mostly talking out of my ass.
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I agree with Pansy. The S&C program goes though a change each and ever year. I can’t even keep up with it anymore. What happened to the ex-military trainer that was hired a couple of years ago that was supposed to bring all these “newfangled” ways that would give UGA the edge? That never panned out…
Until we see results on the field I’m skeptical off all S&C talk. It just seems like hot air every year as there is always a game or two were UGA just looks more winded than the other team by the 4th quarter.
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If there are a game or two where UGA is the more tired team in the fourth quarter aren’t there 11 where the other team is the more tired?
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yup. I feel like we generally won the 4th quarter pretty resoundingly last year. See Clemson.
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I agree – I thought the guys were in great shape last year.
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So you are happy with poor conditioning that resulted in the 2 losses at FU and the Nerds?!?
I mean, come on man.
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FU and Tech was not so much conditioning, in my opinion.
FU was we got hit in the mouth and did not bring up any run support when it was clear FU was just going to keep running it. Head scratcher, there.
Tech was mostly the fumbles, bad coaching (not just the kickoff and prevent defense, but no adjustments for that stupid option from the edge coming in) and players being out of position. Yeah, they may have been tired at the end of the game, but even elite athletes will get tired chasing elite athletes from sideline to sideline for four quarters, regardless of their conditioning.
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Oline was terrible at picking up run blitzes for the middle of the NATS game too. Getting held under 30 points by that defense was easily the biggest offensive WTF of last season for me.
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Asking someone to lose ten pounds while giving them a 24 hour pass to Snelling is cruel and unusual.
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Can’t bitch about wanting our players to be in the best shape possible. And there are very few teams that will exceed our size as it is. Continuing to build depth will pay dividends when we run into size issues. If we’re wearing the opponent down, then we need to adjust our scheme to be more aggressive as the game goes on to take advantage of better conditioning.
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It is called a football TEAM. When Grantham was here only 3-4 guys played in the D-Line. Of course they were gassed by the 4th quarter. You have to play subs like it or not. That was Grantham’s greatest failure as DC IMHO.
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Lets also not forget about not coaching up the secondary! I can understand being a little confused the first couple of games. But by mid season those kinks should be worked out. It seemed to me that the last 2 years of Grantham our secondary was making the same mistakes in game 12 as they did in game 1. There was absolutely no improvement in play!!
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I think technique/contain was a bigger factor in the FU loss but we need to keep a couple of whales on the squad to fill space up the middle against the triple option. Unless you get penetration from the lightening-speed, slim guys, they will get pushed back 2-3 yards on the A Dive and Tech will drive it as they go for 4th and short so often. I understand the need for speed against the spread offenses and teams that get to the perimeter fast but Bama, SC, Arky, LSU, etc. will challenge your manhood up the gut. Tough for a DC to prepare for the diverse offenses you can see over 14 games these days…and a key part of why scoring averages for defenses have been rising. May need to increase the number of schollies to allow for two different defensive fronts.
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FU was about not containing as the Senator pointed out. GT was about a dumb ass decision to squibb kick. If the ball was kicked deep Tech scores 21 for the game and goes home a loser.
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Them two fumbles down close, there did not do much to help the cause, either.
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Fumbles happen. Tech had some, too. Those 2 Georgia fumbles happened near the beginning of the game. After 59 minutes 30 seconds of play Georgia took the lead and had the game won. The game was over until the Georgia coaching staff self destructed with the squib kick-off. THAT’S what lost the game. GR is right.
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