When Kirby’s not happy, ain’t nobody happy.

From Chip Towers’ story about yesterday’s presser:

Throughout Smart’s 12-minute remarks, the noise below gradually increased. By the end of the session, it had grown to a full-blown ruckus. It got so loud that members of the press began to laugh. One reporter finally asked Smart what in the world was going on down there.

“Locker room,” Smart said sharply. “They’ve got more excitement than they did at practice, that’s for sure.”

Smart tried to smile when he said it, but his face was having none of it. You could tell he was perturbed on some level…

Smart’s news conference wrapped up abruptly and he disappeared in a quick walk out the side door. But the noise continued below.

And then it stopped.

Who was saying what to whom was unclear, but there was one booming voice that drowned out all the others. Then there was silence.

Hard to say who that says more about, but given that Smart noted last week’s practices were meh and that carried over into the Nicholls game, perhaps we’re seeing this week’s proverbial canary in the coal mine.

On the other hand, maybe somebody’s ass is really tight after an embarrassing game.  Either way, it sure would be nice to see this team take it out on Missouri.

125 Comments

Filed under Georgia Football

125 responses to “When Kirby’s not happy, ain’t nobody happy.

  1. Kirby shouldn’t be happy this week and that starts with the person he sees in the mirror every morning. It should then move to the 8 guys he sees in a morning staff meeting. Then he can take that same frustration to the 100 guys in the locker room.

    I get the feeling he’s doing that.

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  2. Charles

    I’m concerned that the players aren’t buying what this coach is selling. And it’s not like he’s making it easy for people just to go along with it. He’s pushing them hard, and that can lead to people quitting on you if it’s not done very skillfully. Then again, that may be the ‘culture change’ we need, but if that’s what’s responsible for the game last Saturday, we may be in for a very rough season. Then again, there was the UNC game.

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    • Positively Munson (Formerly Skeptic Dawg)

      Winning early in college football creates confidence and trust more so than any other sport. The UNC win was huge for the staff and even more so for the players. Last Saturday’s performance was an example of supreme over confidence following that win. No, one big win does not make a program great, but I trust in Kirby to find the proper motivation and coaching. This team will be fine and they will hammer Mizzou.

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      • @gatriguy

        This team isn’t talented enough to hammer anyone except USC last year. They might beat Mizzou (I’d say it’s 50/50), but it’ll be ugly if they do.

        Kirby knows this team isn’t good enough to f around. That’s the cultur change he’s talking about b

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        • I'm right, you're wrong

          Yes, culture change. Kirby’s in there changing the culture so we can beat Nicholls by 2. Me likee.

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        • RocketDawg

          “Not enough talent to hammer Mizzou”

          Such bullshit. Quit making excuses. As much talent as anyone in the East and probably only behind Bama and LSU in the entire SEC.

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          • @gatriguy

            I didn’t say “not enough to beat Missouri”, I said “not enough to hammer Missouri”. We beat them at home at night last year by 3 points and didn’t score a touchdown.

            If you’re expecting a beatdown of the Tigers on Saturday, you’re going to be disappointed.

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            • Rocketdawg

              What I expect is the team to at least match last years win total. This is essentially the same team with an “upgrade” at Head Coach against an easier schedule (swapping Ole Miss for Bama. Although I guess no one knew about that juggernaut Nicholls when we scheduled them) should yield at a minimum the same results. Kirby wants to whine about not having talent, what he meant to say is that he doesn’t have Bama talent. There is plenty of talent on this team to win the East and yes to hammer Mizzou. It is our crack coaching staff to put those players in a position to succeed.

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            • Derek

              How much different is our roster in 2016 than it was in 2014? We’re only the team that won 9-6 when Greyson is out there. With Eason I think we’re closer to the team that won 34-0 in Columbia.

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              • @gatriguy

                Malcolm Mitchell, Michael Bennett, Chris Conley, David Andrews, Theus, Jordan Jenkins, Leonard Floyd, Herrera, Wilson, and Ray Drew were all better than their current counterparts. Plus Mizzou started a cokehead at QB and turned the ball over 5 times during an 11:00 start.

                Other than that, it’s basically the exact same..

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                • Derek

                  Wasn’t talking about their guys just ours.

                  Drew? Seriously. I’ll take Trent.

                  I like our inside LBs better.

                  #7 is narrowing the gap at olb.

                  Andrews was great but I don’t think Kublanow is a liability there.

                  I was never impressed with John Theus.

                  Inexperience at wr is offset by the fact that Eason > Mason. Plus McKenzie and Godwin ain’t exactly terrible. Not as good at run blocking though.

                  It’s close to a wash with 2014 at least on our side of the ball in my view.

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                • Jp

                  6 new of the front 7 true freshmen all over the place . Let me know when our current center starts for the Patriots and when one of these tackles play for SF 7 narrowing the gap on Floyd or JJ. You must be smokin a J

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                • Rocket Dawg

                  And what is hilarious is the defense hasn’t been a problem…..yet. All kidding aside the defense has played really well so far this year.

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                • Rocket Dawg

                  Stats from 2014 Missouri game:

                  Chubb 38 rushes/143 yards (still on the team)
                  Douglas 13 rushes/65 yards (still on the team)

                  Bennett 5 catches/53 yards
                  Mitchell 6 catches/27 yards
                  Connelly 1 catch/8 yards
                  (none of them exactly tore it up against the Tigers. I will concede that they are all better blockers than what we have now)

                  Floyd 1 sack/1 FF
                  L.Carter 1 sack (still on the team)
                  Mauger 2 INT (still on the team)
                  Sanders 1 INT (still on the team)

                  Team stats
                  UGA 210 yds rushing/169 passing
                  Mizzou-50 yds rushing/97 passing 4 INT

                  The defense is a push. Roquan Smith, Reggie Carter, and Natrez Patrick are just as good as Herrera and Wilson. The Oline has been average to below average for years so I don’t think the loss of Theus or Houston is that big of a hit. Andrews was a great center and I would agree that Kublanow isn’t at the same level.

                  Quite honestly it is virtually the same team that beat the 34-0 in ’14. Do I expect 34-0? No more like 38-17, 31-10 type of game.

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                • Andrews wasn’t even on the squad last year, he left at the end of 2014!

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                • @gatriguy

                  Right. We were comparing the 2014 team to this year’s team. It’s tough, I know, but try to keep up.

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                • sorry, thought you were talking 2015, I don’t dwell in the past, new year, new coaches!

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          • PTC DAWG

            Not on the lines of scrimmage, you’re fooling yourself if you think otherwise.

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            • Derek

              Wasn’t the 2014 team the one that got their asses beat at the LOS on both sides in Jax? If this team gets that manhandled in Jax in 2016 we’ll talk.

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              • PTC DAWG

                We have been lacking on both lines for the last 10 years. I think we beat Mizzou….Ole Miss will be another test altogether

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                • @gatriguy

                  11:00 kickoff against Ole Miss coming off a tough physical game vs Bama. Not as bad as it could’ve been.

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                • Derek

                  We’ve been lacking on the LOS to the degree that we can’t beat anyone decent with Greyson lambert or Hutson Mason. I don’t think that we’ve been so bad along the LOS that a decent qb couldn’t have us playing vs. the best. 2012 proved that.

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          • DawgByte

            RocketDawg – I think you either have your red & black Coke bottle glasses on or haven’t been paying attention to all of the talent and recruiting analysis articles that have been published over the last 8 months. We in fact DO NOT have the type of talent or depth to be a SEC Champion. We have very good talent in certain areas, yes. However, we don’t have it across the board and two to three levels deep at each position. I think Kirby will address those talent and depth gaps over the next 3 recruiting classes.

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            • Derek

              Nor did we in 2014. What’s your point? I’m saying that were better than the 2015 team that beat Mizzous 9-6 and more comparable to the 2014 team that won the belk bowl. Am I exaggerating?

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            • Rocket Dawg

              I didn’t say we had the talent to be SEC champions. We don’t and haven’t since maybe 2012. If you want to look at it that way only Bama and LSU have had that talent year in and year out. We DO have the talent to win the East. UT is not nearly as good as the sunshine pumpers have them believing (I have watched both their games this year and if the other team holds on to the ball they lose both), UF has a decent defense and looks to have some pulse on offense but across the board they are not more talented. USCe, UK, Vandy and Mizzou are dumpster fires. Why can’t we win the East and why shouldn’t we expect that of our hot shot new coach?

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        • I don’t buy the talent argument. If recruiting rankings are a reasonably accurate measure of the raw talent of a football player entering college, here are the facts about our 2-deep entering Nicholls (the numbers don’t add up to 44 because I didn’t include fullbacks, counted players only once who appear in multiple spots, and included the star position):

          5-stars (5) – Eason, Thompson, Michel, Godwin, Nauta
          4-stars (20)
          3-stars (11)
          Other (3) – Catalina, Davis, Choates

          64% of our 2-deep consist of players that were considered blue chip prospects per Rivals. Most coaches would drool over a 2-deep that looks like that. Is the depth chart full? No, but it should be good enough to handle Nicholls whether you mess around or not.

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    • Noonan

      UNC is very average, and their run defense is complete garbage. If their coach had the sense to call 40 running plays instead of 40 passing plays, they would have embarrassed us.

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    • PTC DAWG

      He only recruited one of these classes….culture change doesn’t happen overnight.

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      • Rocket Dawg

        So which is is it culture or talent? You folks that screamed the loudest about CMR keep moving the goalposts when someone criticizes Kirby. For the record I felt like it was time for a change as well and I hope that Kirby turns out to be the coach we all want him to be (and he very well may, 2 games is a small sample size). That being said he deserves every grenade that has been lobbed his way this week after that atrocity on Saturday. I am just tired of the “we don’t have any talent” crowd. It’s bullshit and you all know it but it makes a convenient excuse.

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        • Normaltown Mike

          this is the same juggernaut of talent that went to OT with Georgia Southern, right?

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        • PTC DAWG

          If everything was so perfect before, how come no title since 05? How come no BCS type bowl since 07? Why can’t folks see why we changed?

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          • Rocket Dawg

            No one said everything was perfect before. If you read my previous post I welcomed the change at HC. I think as good a coach as CMR was (and still is) his time at UGA had run it’s course. What I am tired of hearing is that Kirby should get a few years to bring in his players, we have no talent, etc. Kirby didn’t take over a 3-8 team or a team that had been sub 500 for many years. He took over a team that was favored to win the SEC East for the last 6 years by the media and coaches. According to many of the “Fire Mark Richt” crowd the problem was we have all this talent and CMR didn’t know how to use it. Now all of the sudden we don’t have any talent and we need to give Kirby time before an expectations are placed on him. Sorry Charlie that isn’t how this works. There isn’t a team in the SEC East that is more talented. There just isn’t. So if CMR was such a shitty coach and we upgraded at that position, logic would dictate that anything less than a trip to Atlanta at the end of the year would be underachieving.

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            • PTC DAWG

              Many folks, including many on this board saw the lack of quality OL recruits starting years ago. It is just not there. Not against the best teams for sure. Your logic on no steps back escapes me…sometimes eggs must be broken. That said, the year is still young. I’ll believe we are out of it when we are.

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        • MGW

          Why should a coach 2 games into his career at 2-0 need any excuses? At this point its way WAY too early to judge pretty much anything about a new head coach.

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      • dawgman3000

        That fact doesn’t fit their narrative PTC

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      • Derek

        I agree about the culture and have described at length that forcing a change there might costs wins. However, don’t tell me we lack talent. That’s just not true. We may lack toughness. We may not be an Alabama yet, but we’ve got players. More players than anyone on our schedule IMHO. More of our guys will play on Sunday in 2020 than what either UT or UF will have. Feel free to track that.

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        • @gatriguy

          Yeah, I’ll take that bet bro.

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          • Derek

            Book it. I’ll calendar it for the second Sunday in September 2020 and we’ll check it out. Just so its clear, I’m talking the entire roster not just starters or even guys that are playing. In other words, Holifield and Hardman count.

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        • PTC DAWG

          Talent is there at skill positions for sure. QB is unproven though, combine that with a mediocre line, and who knows?

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  3. I'm right, you're wrong

    It’s just good that we got rid of that non-yeller for a yeller. I mean, leadership is all about the volume of your voice…and details! Like not allowing any yelling in the locker room. That non-yeller’s calm demeanor was just sickening, even though it’s what all of dawg nation was smitten with through ’05. I remeber comments like “the team has taken on his even-keel personality and that why they’re such a great road team!”

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  4. HW

    I hope Kirby makes the whole team run stadiums for the entire practice. I think last weeks game was more about effort and attitude than talent and execution, or lack thereof.

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  5. W Cobb Dawg

    Here we go again. ajc blows anything and everything out of proportion to generate negatively on UGA. Same story, different day. Now it’s f#*king locker room noise of all things! And coming off a ‘disappointing’ win, of course that devolves into a b.s. meme that Kirby’s lost control of the whole shebang.

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    • If the AJC ever closes shop I wonder what will be the new target for fans upset at an underachieving program.

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      • D.N. Nation

        *When

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        • Nah. AJC will be fine. Just smaller. That’s the way it works in media today, unfortunately.

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          • D.N. Nation

            I would’ve agreed with you maybe 5 years ago, but the specter of big-city papers closing the print product completely gets larger by the month. Though I suppose Schultz/Bradley would make the switch to digital-only just fine. The grunts on the floor will be the ones who get tossed aside. As usual.

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            • D.N. Nation

              No newspaper is really doing well, subscription-wise, but the drop has been especially precipitous for the AJC. These days it boasts the numbers of a small suburban newspaper, which- well, it is.

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            • As funny as it sounds, Terrence Moore might have been the smartest guy in that room when he jumped ship to online publications before anybody else did.

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            • Yup. And the AJC (and others) will keep laying off editors because bean counters don’t understand their importance. Then you get sloppier work, more shallow work and more negative attitudes about the quality of the work from outside and within.

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  6. Chris Austin

    Senator I suggested you change the header pic to one of our Lord and Savior Kirby. I would suggest one with Kirby holding a football and and a halo over him. Since we worship him.

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  7. HW

    Go Dawgs! Beat Mizzou!

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  8. josh

    Georgia is fully capable of beating Mizzou…I also believe Georgia has the talent to be a championship football team (yes, under Smart’s 1st year) ,BUT…the Dawgs have got to have the mindset that they are one. That performance last Saturday made me question whether or not they actually want this? There was no passion or toughness there. I was disgusted! But, its only 2 games folks and every fan in college football including myself knows anything can happen on any given Saturday, the past can confirm that. Keep your head up and your eyes open Georgia fans….We got a wild ride ahead!

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    • doofusdawg

      It’s always been survive september. We are on track to do that. At 2-0 if we can get even a sloppy win in Columbia then we are right where we need to be. Week four everybody should be healthy and back… the freshman will have hopefully gotten some reps on the d line and in the backfield. If Eason gets meaningful snaps again saturday and starts to get some chemistry with any of the receivers then anything can happen in Oxford.

      Coming home for ut 4-0 or even 3-1 will be a successful opening month in my book… given the new staffs and players. Ut looks beatable… especially at home.

      Our running backs need to stay healthy… our defensive line needs to continue to grow and get reps and Eason needs to keep coming along. If our kicking game can just be average then we could be heading for another showdown in jaxonville for the east… at which point I will put everything I own on the turds.

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      • josh

        That’s very true. A win this Saturday will put us where we need to be with 3-0. Although, I want to see some dang hustling out there!! That goes for every team we play this season. I really hope and pray Smart is getting this through the players heads. I will be happy with a loss knowing Georgia played their hearts out and left everything they had on the field. And yes, coming off a when with Missouri should give more confidence to the players coming into ole miss. Like you said, as long as our players stay healthy( especially chubb) and Eason keeps coming strong and performs to his ability, we could definatley see Georgia playing for the SEC title and possibly the national championship. They have to stay positive and have the drive to get this done!

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  9. Cosmic Dawg

    Unimpressed so far with the new coach’s “new shurruf in town” posturing and failure to take responsibility. It’s borderline cartoonish.

    Also, not talking about this particular story, but Kirby seems to be going out of his way to have an unnecessarily adversarial relationship with the press, and I think it’s telling. Not a great sign, someone who just started their job willing to be rude and abuse people whom they know have little choice but to sit there and take it.

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  10. SAtowndawg

    Houston 33 OU 23
    Houston 43 Lamar 0…..but he wouldn’t have been able to recruit Georgia…

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  11. SMARTCHOICE???

    Bottom line here in Dawg Nation, and I’ve been speaking with many people about this. Folks need to get real…get a grip on reality. The reality, and bottom line is this, I have no doubts…and I mean with all due respect for CMR over the years…I have known the man, and his family. Great people…fine class, and wish nothing but the best for him. Bottom line is Richt, I am not sure he would have won these first two games as this years coach. I can probably be safe to say that he might not have beaten Missouri this week either. Think about that for a moment…let that sink in. The mess he had gotten UGA into in the middle of last season after Chubb went down, and the mess of our QB situation went from bad to worse. We could very well easily be looking at 0-4 if Richt had stayed. He did not know how to change the ship because there were so many glaring holes as far as depth is concerned. Whether that’s his fault, or Butt’s Mehre I have no way of knowing.

    Now let me say this. The SENATOR is correct that Kirby under no circumstances should be accepting winning by 2 points over a non conference team whose ass we should have spanked. Bulldawg Nation does not like changing coaches for more of the same, and I don’t either. I don’t doubt for one second that Smart knows his X’s and O’s….his time with Saban was well spent. He needs to get his head out of his ass, and understand that here in Bulldawg nation the purpose is to win and defeat at all costs.

    This is one of the reasons I quit spending hard earned money to attend games after the Boise State game in the Dome to which we got our asses handing to us four or five years ago. That lackluster performance really did it for me as far as wanting change. I am willing to give Kirby a chance as all of us should….but don’t insult our intelligences when we have some serious problems because Richt did that on numerous occasions which did piss me off and numerous people quite a bit.

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    • HVL Dawg

      Good grief

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    • Derek

      This is just chock full of just insanity.

      So we were 5 yards short vs. Bama for a Natty in the dome the year AFTER you gave up. Was that dumb luck?

      We are where we are but this idea that the program is some dumpster fire is just crazy. We needed a damn qb. When we had one- Murray in 2011 and 2012 we won the east. 2013 was knees exploding everywhere and hardly poor coaching.

      Things got tough the last two years with very poor talent at qb but we still won 20 games over those two years.

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  12. Jp

    Hey Derek was it a YouTube video or a protest ? Or what difference does it make ?

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  13. fred russo

    Kirby has to clear the program of all CMR thinkers!The man was a loser and his thinking killed the program. Kirby must install the Saban winning attitude or UGA will remain at #16 forever!!!!!!

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