November 24, 2015 · 12:38 PM

Regrets, he’s had a few.

Hello, hindsight.

61 Comments

Filed under Georgia Football, Strategery And Mechanics

61 responses to “Regrets, he’s had a few.”

  1. Flukebucket
    November 24, 2015 at 12:45 PM

    It is boneheaded shit like that decision that keeps the fans on his ass. As long as I live I will never forget falling face down on the floor and screaming NO! when I saw that unfolding before me. It still pisses me off to think about it. What could have been the most heartbreaking loss Tech has ever had from UGA turned into a nightmare. I will never be able to get the taste out of my mouth and the stench from my nostrils from that brain fart.

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    • 3rdandGrantham
      November 24, 2015 at 1:05 PM

      Just curious, the all-consuming, unbrideled passion and emotion you just conveyed to us; do you exhibit the same when it comes to, say, your health or hobbies?

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    • Irwin R. Fletcher
      November 24, 2015 at 1:15 PM

      I didn’t have that reaction until the defense gave up the long play. I applaud you for being able to recognize the ensuing 50+ yard field goal from just the decision to squib tho.

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      • 3rdandGrantham
        November 24, 2015 at 1:18 PM

        I’m guessing he’ll tell you he could just taste it or smell that long FG coming.

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      • MDDawg
        November 24, 2015 at 4:40 PM

        I can’t speak for the original commenter, and I’m certainly not gonna say that I “knew” we would lose the game after the squib kick. I did immediately think that it was a bad call when it unfolded though. As I recall, Tech hadn’t had a good return all day, and they weren’t known for having a strong return game. And beyond just that day, I don’t think Tech had taken a kickoff for a TD all season, and I don’t think we’d given up a TD return all season.

        So given those factors, why would you squib kick in that situation? Kick it deep, cover the return like we’d been doing all day, and force them to drive the length of the field with the clock working against them.

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        • scottdavid329
          November 24, 2015 at 9:57 PM

          Agreed. Sad that it took MR near to a year to have a no shit Sherlock moment.

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        • Minnesota Dawg
          November 24, 2015 at 11:06 PM

          Yep. This is not simply 20/20 hindsight. Hell, as I recall even Scott Howard on the radio broadcast knew it was a bad decision right after it happened. Immediately, he nervously said something to the effect of “Boy…I wish we had kicked that one deep.” Like a lot of bad coaching decisions (and there were several at the end of this game), it didn’t lose it outright…just lessened our chance to win.

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    • HamDawg11
      November 24, 2015 at 2:42 PM

      And, for good measure, why not call a time out as their kicking team is rushing onto the field to attempt the FG as the play clock is down to less than 5 seconds. So we could, you know, “ice the kicker”.

      So many things wrong with how that game ended.

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    • TennesseeDawg
      November 24, 2015 at 2:59 PM

      We also fumbled the ball away twice on the 1 yard line

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      • Ben
        November 24, 2015 at 3:29 PM

        Exactly. The squib kick takes too much heat there, especially after the turnovers. If we’d kicked it deep and been fielded at the 5 with a long return, people would say, “Why didn’t you squib kick it?!”

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        • Normaltown Mike
          November 24, 2015 at 4:24 PM

          Any fan that has heard of CPJ or watched a CPJ coached team begs to differ.

          The ONE thing it’s known for is the ability to gobble up yards quickly while controlling the clock.

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        • MDDawg
          November 24, 2015 at 4:48 PM

          I think the squib kick takes a lot of heat because it’s a decision over which Richt had complete control. The fumbles at the 1? No way he can control that, plus Chubb and Michel are typically excellent when it comes to ball security. Our defense giving up a good chunk of yardage on the next play after the squib kick? That’s not necessarily on Richt either, since Pruitt calls those plays and the defense wasn’t horribly out of position, they just didn’t execute well. But the decision to squib kick in the first place was totally on Richt, as well as the decision to call the timeout before the FG attempt, as several commenters below have said.

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        • Cojones
          November 24, 2015 at 9:29 PM

          The problem that none of you will entertain and have gotten so absorbed in has been now resolved; except, after he kicked it away on the rethink, the Tech receiver ran it all the way back for a TD and the win.

          Next time, squib kick it so they can’t win the game in one shot, dummy.

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  2. dudemankind
    November 24, 2015 at 12:49 PM

    This reply string should be good! I guesstimate 200 by the end the afternoon.

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    • Jared S.
      November 24, 2015 at 12:54 PM

      Ha. Yeah, here comes a lot of frustration-venting…. I was at a friends house for dinner during the game – couldn’t watch it. Kept checking updates on my phone. I said. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing in the last few minutes and OT.

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    • 3rdandGrantham
      November 24, 2015 at 1:17 PM

      This is coming from someone who has been calling for a HC change since 2010, but I’m already envisioning a bunch of, “I told yall we need a new coach” or “just proves my point again that its time for CMR to go.”

      I mean, you can literally sit back with a bag of popcorn and watch them all stream in.

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      • Flukebucket
        November 24, 2015 at 2:24 PM

        Personally I do not give a damn if Richt retires from coaching for UGA at age 75 after 35 years with them and 2 SEC championships and 6 Eastern Division titles. And I will be glad to sit back with my popcorn and watch anybody get in line to defend a damn squib kick to a shitty triple option team that had 18 seconds left in the game and no time outs. Since he had absolutely no confidence in his special team then kicking it out of bounds would have been one hell of a lot smarter. At least they would have started at the 35 instead of the 43. And I ask this of one and all including Richt lovers, haters and those indifferent. Has he ever made a dumber decision than that one? And yes I do know that there is a list. But any coach after 15 years is going to develop a list. But in my opinion that was the dumbest thing I have ever seen him decide to do and I would not be surprised if he wouldn’t at least rank it in the top three.

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        • dudemankind
          November 24, 2015 at 3:01 PM

          Even though Richt has admitted it was a mistake and would do it differently there are some who will still defend it. I’m not gonna call out any names, but one of these folks has a syllable is his name that is the same as a famous hamburger joint…….and he is just a few posts down from this one STILL DEFENDING the call!! Anyway, one of my top 3 would be the field goal attempt in the strong winds at Florida last year. That was pretty dumb.

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          • Irwin R. Fletcher
            November 24, 2015 at 4:05 PM

            I think because it is defensible. I mean, just because it was wrong doesn’t mean it is indefensible. It isn’t the ‘he is so stupid, no coach in America would have done that’ kind of call that some want to make it out to be, IMO.

            By the way..no one ever talks about the fact that it was an absolutely awful squib btw…it was short but had enough hang time for the back returner to run up and field it at the 25 and then return it to the 45. That’s not a squib kick at all. It was AWFUL execution. The ball either has to either be a line drive with bouncing OR it has to be short and high enough to induce a fair catch. Seriously…he kicked a low hanging pooch to the 25. I give Richt all the credit in the world for taking the blame, but if Morgan does it right, there is no way they have the ball on the 45.

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            • Reverend Whitewall
              November 24, 2015 at 8:00 PM

              Irwin, see my comment towards the bottom of this page. The execution of the kick was very much Richt’s fault as well.

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              • Irwin R. Fletcher
                November 25, 2015 at 9:20 AM

                IF that’s story is true, then I get your point. I would still assume that the kicker knows enough not to kick it to the 25 yard line on a soft loop so that it is playable by the returner and unable to be covered by the coverage team. But I’ll also concede that’s coaching, as well.
                And we had a timeout…if we needed to re-tee, we should have called it, right?

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        • HamDawg11
          November 24, 2015 at 3:02 PM

          The timeout to give their kicker time to relax was just as bad. Go back and watch the replay. The play clock is at 3 seconds and their line isn’t even set. So what does he do? Calls our last TO to give them time to get their heads on straight. Geez!

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        • lamontsanford
          November 24, 2015 at 3:30 PM

          Richt’s dumbest decisions: Hiring Schottenheimer #1. Holding on to Martinez #2.

          The squib kick alone did not cost them the GT game last year. But Martinez and Schottenheimer cost several games.

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        • Irwin R. Fletcher
          November 24, 2015 at 4:08 PM

          The dumbest decision is the run with :17 left against Auburn in 2001. By far the dumbest decision of his career.

          Second might be the Grambling helmets. 🙂

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  3. @gatriguy
    November 24, 2015 at 12:54 PM

    You mean he didn’t turn around and blame it on poor execution? I actually consider this progress.

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  4. mikebozo
    November 24, 2015 at 1:04 PM

    oh he’ll do it again just not against Tech

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  5. Kevin
    November 24, 2015 at 1:14 PM

    And if I had the ball first and goal on the South Carolina 4 yard line, I would hand it to Gurley………..you get the picture!

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    • Macallanlover
      November 24, 2015 at 1:55 PM

      Yep, hindsight is a wonderful thing. From my decades of watching football, I would estimate the majority of coaches I have seen face that situation would have squibbed it. But it bit them in the ass with a return outside the 40, followed by a 20+ yard run, and the kick of his life from the FG guy….yeah, I would have tried something else too.

      Also, would have done anything but try a pass play at SC in 2014. Now that I think about it, would have spiked the ball against Bama in 2012. This is fun, we can all be brilliant after the fact. Feel the same way about stock decisions and lottery numbers I buy as well.

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      • scottdavid329
        November 24, 2015 at 10:04 PM

        How many of those teams that coaches have squib kicked against and had bad results have been playing teams that are 90% run based?

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        • Macallanlover
          November 25, 2015 at 7:57 AM

          Couldn’t tell you, no stats are kept on things like that. But the strategy is based more on not kicking to the more explosive return men.

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          • scottdavid329
            November 25, 2015 at 9:10 AM

            I don’t remember Yech having Devin Hester on last year’s team. And you know the best way to keep it out of the return guy’s hand? Kick it through the end zone. Something MR has stubbornly refused to do even with current NFL kicker Blair Walsh and even before they changed the touchback rule to take it to the 25. But yes I get it. MR can do no wrong in your eyes even though he admitted in this case that he probably did.

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            • Macallanlover
              November 25, 2015 at 11:47 AM

              Certainly he can do wrong, but I try to balance it with the overall picture, something hat escapes the haters. And you rearranged his words, in hindsight, he would do it differently. I think 100% of all fans/players/coaches would change actions that blew up on them. Who said we could kick the ball through the end zone at will? That ability varies wildly with various kickers, wind, and temperature. It’s not Comcast, there is no On Demand.

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  6. ApalachDawg
    November 24, 2015 at 1:25 PM

    i think Richt should have our first kickoff executed with a squib kick, just to get everybody fired up…

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  7. ApalachDawg
    November 24, 2015 at 1:31 PM

    For our first offensive series, he should have lambert run the spread option, then rotate in Faton to pass it and Ramsey will be brought in for kneel down duties at the end of the half…

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  8. Dawg Stephen
    November 24, 2015 at 1:31 PM

    you know.. we last won a SEC title in 2005… we last had a full year of CMR playcalling in…. 2005….

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  9. Russ
    November 24, 2015 at 1:44 PM

    Of all the bandwidth that Twitter has wasted, this has to be near the top of WTF tweets.

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  10. PTC DAWG
    November 24, 2015 at 1:56 PM

    Hindsight is usually spot on.

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  11. Uglydawg
    November 24, 2015 at 2:25 PM

    Is there anyone who doesn’t have some regrets?
    Big ass news.

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  12. Brandon
    November 24, 2015 at 2:40 PM

    Senator… you complain about the constant negativity and immature name calling on your comment thread… then post this – just dangling a bag of flamin’ hot cheetos in front of the trolls.

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  13. J.G.
    November 24, 2015 at 4:19 PM

    Custer’s ghost says if he could do Little Bighorn again, he wouldn’t have begun the battle by shouting “Hurrah, boys! We’ve got them!”

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  14. Lakatos Intolerant
    November 24, 2015 at 4:21 PM

    I know I’ll get tarred and feathered on here for this … but I really don’t disagree with the decision to squib it. I thought it was a completely rational decision that a lot of coaches make in that situation. IMO the bigger issue is that Morgan squooched it – he approaches the ball as if he’s going to pooch it and then seems to change course and kinda drives through the ball with a half-ass effort. I just rewatched it 10 times and can’t figure out what the hell he was trying to accomplish, which makes it difficult to know what the coaches told him to do. I didn’t take SQUB1101 at Georgia but I always thought the purpose was to drive through the ball as if it’s a normal kick off but obviously strike the ball further up so as to keep the trajectory at about 10ish feet; let an oblong ball do its thing along the way; hopefully land in the hands of an upback; and ultimately remove any rhythm from the return. None of that really happened. Again, hard to tell if that’s what the coaches were looking for; either way, very frustrating outcome.

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    • Gaskilldawg
      November 24, 2015 at 6:05 PM

      Thank you.

      Had we kicked it deep and GT got a,long return thd complaint would have been that he should have squibed it.
      Sometimes coaches make calls that work and sometimes they make calls that don’t. GT scored and ultimately won. Of course anyone would take a do over and try kicking it deep.

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    • Reverend Whitewall
      November 24, 2015 at 7:55 PM

      There’s a lot more to this story than most people know, and the execution of the kick was also very much Richt’s fault.

      Kickers tee the ball up differently when doing a regular kick vs a squib kick, a squib kick is tee’d up to make it take more funky bounces and so forth. When the kickoff team was sent onto the field, the instruction was to kick it deep, and Morgan tee’d it up that way. At the last second, Richt got his attention and told him to squib it.

      So here’s the rub – Morgan had NEVER kicked a squib kick with it tee’d up the way he had it. That’s why it looked like he didn’t know he was doing. Richt put him in position to fail there by having him execute something he literally had never practiced.

      And those of you who see my comments here know that I don’t throw this type of info out there lightly, and rarely do I have “inside info”. I have heard this story through 3 different players (2 who graduated last year, one still on the team) though through somewhat chance encounters via family friends and a G-Day tailgate, have no doubt that it is what actually happened. The story goes deeper than that, but I don’t want to get into the rest of it. Just wanted to come to Morgan’s defense as yours wasn’t the only comment on this post that criticized his execution. It was a very poor decision by Richt – not just the decision to squib, but the way he did it last second after the ball had already been tee’d for a deep kick.

      Incidentally, I don’t know what the rule is regarding re-tee of the football. I mean if it blows off then they re-tee it, but I don’t know if Morgan could have legally gone and changed the way it was tee’d after he had already backed away from it. But I’m assuming he couldn’t.

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