Aaron Murray thinks a lot of Mark Richt, his head coach. Here’s his comparison of the program under Richt and under Kirby Smart:
“I think the main difference right now is the mentality that Kirby has brought,” Murray said. “It’s the mentality that Alabama has where they walk into every game and they know they are going to win.
“That’s already a `W’ in the win column in the mental state of the game, where they’re not walking in scared. They’re walking in going: ‘We know we’re better, we know we’re better-coached, we have better talent and there is no way you are going to beat us.’”
When he was at Georgia, Murray said the mentality was most any SEC game would be a tight battle.
“You kind of psych yourself out that it’s going to be close, that it is going to come down to the wire,” Murray said.
That Florida game is going to be an interesting test case, no?
Get The Picture 
Am I the only one that read this as an indictment of Richt (whether intentional or not)?
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Nope.
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Agreed, and Miami is winning close.
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No. Aaron’s comments provide confirmation of something that was pretty apparent to outsiders. After 2005, we were rarely dominant under Richt and often inconsistent. While we can rehash and debate the reasons why, I would rather focus on where our program is and its positive momentum.
In response to the Senator’s comment about JAX, if we focus on the actual matchup of the two teams that will take the field and the coaching staffs that will lead them on that field (as opposed past players and coaching staffs that have little to no relevance to the game), it is hard not to like our chances for winning comfortably. Yes, sports are uncertain. Yes, there are college kids involved, but this team has consistently showed up to perform to a high standard. I expect them to do so next week, and we should all be very happy.
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No. He was just an unindicted co-conspirator in making SEC games NFL field-goal tight types of battles just like Zook and McElwain
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Except we put up record breaking offenses under him during the Murray and Gurley era but don’t let the facts get in the way of your perception.
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So much the better for the “Smart” hire; no pun intended.
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And we wonder why we always had the proclivity for playing down to our level of competition….
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My first thought, too.
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Wow, interesting remarks. It all kinda makes sense looking back at all of those Sunday morning CMR shows, where they would show the coach and team celebrating/dancing in the locker room afterwards after just winning an ugly game against a Vandy or Kentucky. I always wondered why they were celebrating…now it makes far more sense.
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Especially in the Florida game last year, I felt like our players went in with a new mentality and hit Florida in the mouth. Unfortunately we didn’t have the talent/coaching/mental state/whatever to maintain it. This year will be different.
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Mainly, the offensive line could do nothing to keep Florida’s front seven out of the backfield. Some of that was talent. Some of it was growing pains, adjusting to a new style of play. I’m glad to see the line gel in year two.
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I enjoy hearing Kirby’s locker room talks about hitting the other team til they quit, be physical and tough, impose our will on the other team, etc. A lot different being the hammer instead of the nail. Jacksonville will be a test but the real test will be in the SECCG against bama.
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UGA will crush the gayturds this is not the same UGA team
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Gay people have done nothing to deserve being associated with Florida.
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I would SO LOVE to see us POUND the Gators into submission.
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I wonder, though…how does this mesh with clips of Kirby in press conferences and in the locker room telling the team that they should all expect a four quarter fight from every team they play?
We’re better and will beat you by forty, but we expect a four quarter fight? It doesn’t quite add up unless you interpret “four quarter fight” to mean that the same effort that is present at the beginning of the game will be there in the end.
I think what it all comes down to is the mindset of the players who are actually in the games, and I’m not sure how much of that is actually coachable. Leadership within the team plays a huge role…and this year more than any other year I can remember, we have four seniors who gave up NFL money to come back and play that final season: Chubb, Michel, Bellamy, and Carter. Two leaders for the offense. Two leaders for defense. That’s the most solid group of leaders we’ve had on a single team that I can remember.
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Teams take after the personality of their head coach. It’s more than words.
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Needs more cowbell
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“I wonder, though…how does this mesh with clips of Kirby in press conferences and in the locker room telling the team that they should all expect a four quarter fight from every team they play?”
Was kinda thinking the same…but seems there’s press conference / coach-speak CKS and private / locker room CKS…which is fine.
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It is striking that balance between confidence and arrogance. Believe yiu are going to win. Respect you opponent by setting a goal of winning every play, 1st or 4th q.
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We’re going to make it hell for 4 quarters because that’s how we like it. Doesn’t mean we’re going to struggle, means we’re going to go very, very hard.
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There was nothing complicated or hidden about CMR. He said, “We’ll be honest with recruits, get the best we can, trust them to make a play and do what I’ve done at FSU and here.
Stubborn trust = Mark Richt
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Richts mentors style = Bowden
We will beat you with more talent
Smarts mentors style = Saban
We will beat your with more talent + more toughness + more coaching
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We had gotten weak under CMR….we all knew it.
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I was going to chime in…but nuf said.
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Yup
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If we beat Florida like a drum. I may believe things have changed. But we still have to beat Tech and Auburn for me to believe.
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Essentially you’re saying you won’t believe things have changed if we don’t win every single game. We haven’t been 7-0 since 2005. Things have definitely changed.
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But we beat Vandy, a bad UT team, a good ND game and a bunch of nobodies. Seriously, in the last 30 years, I have seen good teams lose to UF.
But if we beat Florida badly, I will start believing, but we still need to win GT and it would be nice to not let Auburn think they can turn our series around. Although, it may help Gus keep his job, so that is not a bad thing. We can not lose 2 in a row to GT, that is unacceptable.
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So now we need only not lose to Florida, but beat them “badly” for you to start believing?
Some people just get off on being negative, I suppose.
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Indeed. If you put Charlize Theron or whomever in a room full of fat chicks, that same mentality would basically be like, ‘nah, she’s not that attractive and not my type…she just looks hot becauae of all the ugly chicks in here. Stand her next to Rosie Odonnell, then get back to me.”
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It certainly looks like we’ve got a much more talented, better coached team than Florida this year, so we should beat them badly. If we squeak by with a 1-point or 1-score victory, will it really feel like we’ve turned a corner in this rivalry or with the mentality of the team?
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Sorry. After the results of the past 26 years I will be happy with any victory, including one point. That said, I would love a blowout win even more!
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I agree in that I’d take a win any way we could get it, but my point is that a close win wouldn’t instill confidence that we’d turned a corner in any way. We’ve seen this team beat up a cupcake “like they should” and blow out Vandy “like they should”, but if they don’t whip the Gators next week it would only be because the team isn’t over the hump mentally, not because of any lack of talent.
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We already lost 2 out of the last 3 to Tech. Was that acceptable?
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No. But one was Richt and one was Smart. First season, I give him a break.
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Go find even one season where we started off this well under Richt, regardless of the level of competition. We almost always had a struggle game against some sad team.
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Right. We’ve also beaten 4 consecutive SEC opponents by 25 or more points. Even Saban has never done that.
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You don’t have to enjoy the season…feel free to doubt..
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Yep. About what I suspected.
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And Murray’s comment only scratches the surface. Practices are a whole different topic, for example.
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Don’t forget S&C. Back in the day, there was far more dancing and general goofing off than there is now.
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Totally. The list goes one. Recruiting is another one.
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Do we really believe that Murray showed up scared to play SEC teams?
Arent most SEC games tough close games, isnt that sort of what makes the SEC?
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He certainly played tight in his first three Georgia-Florida games.
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Are talking about the Murray that was 3-1 against the Gators? That one? He was scared to play them?
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Yeah, I believe he is…..it’s the same guy who is the all-time SEC passing leader. Amazing how a “scared” fellow could do all that….probably just lucky and scared.
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I didn’t say scared. I said tight. Go back and look at the numbers from those three games. I think Aaron Murray is the best college QB to ever play at Georgia, but he wasn’t perfect.
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And in the one loss rallied us from behind to get to overtime?
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7 picks in his first three trips to Jacksonville.
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Of course not, one of the best that has played in the SEC. Kind of fun watching some of these guys crow. Will be interesting to see how quick their tune changes after our first loss……hope I am wrong, but it will eventually happen. We were very fortunate to have Richt, a helluva coach….and very fortunate to have Kirby. He seems to be developing into a HELLUVA coach. Not many would have said that a year ago (Smart). The future looks bright….
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+1
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If we were to lose to Florida, I highly doubt the ones “crowing” would “change their tune”
Rather, we’d see the Kirby hating mouth breathers coming out of the woodwork saying I told you so.
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Yup. Guy you were responding to included. He’s just waiting for his first chance.
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So it was Richt who threw eggs at Murray’s house after the USCe game! This all makes sense now.
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Hey, you have 38mil hits senator. Have you noticed a big up tick in your traffic ove the past month or two?
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Whatever Smart’s secret formula is, I wish I could take a drink of it before work each morning.
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12-0 going into the defacto national championship vs Bama. No doubt about it. I was a skeptic, I’d gave up and you did too, but this team is special. Getting 4 draft picks to stay for their senior year was the key. We will roll the gators. Going to be a good time in Jax, Auburn and Bobby Dodd.
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It’s interesting that Richt said something similar about his Miami team in a press conference this week. Don’t remember his exact words, but it was something like “we’re not good enough right now to just line up and whip whoever we play.” I think it’s an honest assessment, but it could lead players to doubt themselves. It could also be used as a way of telling your players that they have to give their best every single play for a full 60 minutes because you can’t just expect to out-talent the other team.
Like a lot of things, I think it’s about striking the right balance. You have to respect your opponent, but not so much that you psych yourself out. And you have to have confidence in your preparation (practice, strength & conditioning, etc.), but not so much that you become overconfident.
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