Some things to think about at Georgia
One of the things I learned a long time ago is that in football, you should never overreact to a good win or a bad loss.
Don’t think you are better than you are because you played well on a particularly Saturday (see Florida State’s win over BYU).
Conversely, don’t beat yourself up or panic after a bad loss. And make no mistake about it. Georgia’s thumping at Tennessee on Saturday was a bad, bad loss.
Fans look at these things emotionally. That’s what they do and that’s why the South has the best college football fans in the world. They are emotionally invested in their team.
But Mark Richt and Damon Evans don’t have that luxury. They have to be pretty calm and rational because if you make a football decision based on emotion, chances are it is going to be a bad one. Here are some things they have to consider:
**–Georgia is very fortunate to be 3-3: When Georgia was 3-1, the Bulldogs were like a stock that was overvalued because the fundamentals didn’t back up the record. Georgia was ranked near the bottom of Division I-A in turnover margin (minus-9) and penalties (over 10 per game). Georgia had knocked down a pass in the final seconds to beat South Carolina. They had won a shootout on the road at Arkansas. They needed a field goal at the buzzer to beat a bad Arizona State team at home. Sooner or later the basic shortcomings of this team were going to catch up with them. And now they have.
**–Georgia’s schedule is just ridiculous. While Florida was playing Charleston Southern and Troy, the Bulldogs were playing Oklahoma State, South Carolina, Arkansas, Arizona State, LSU and Tennessee. While it is fun to play those kind of non-conference games, there is the fatigue factor. This team never got a chance to breathe in the first six weeks of the season and it finally caught up with them at Tennessee. Still, having said all that:
**–Georgia got smacked in the mouth at Tennessee and didn’t respond. The same thing happened up in Knoxville two years ago. And if you’re a Georgia fan you can’t like it.
If you play in the SEC you’re going to get your manhood challenged on a weekly basis. For all of the high flying offenses, this league is still about blocking and tackling. And if you can’t run the ball, and Georgia obviously can’t (97.17 ypg, 104 in the NCAA), you are going to get beat up in this conference.
Here is the reality. While the offensive line lost tackle Trinton Sturdivant for the second straight year, Stacy Searels’ group has underachieved based on the talent at hand. The running backs may have been high in the recruiting services coming out of high school, but they look pretty average to me.
Georgia should never average less than 100 yards rushing per game. Never. That is simply unacceptable.
**–The defense can’t rush the passer. It can’t cover receivers. Other than linebacker Rennie Curran and tackle Jeff Owens, I don’t see a whole lot of passion out there. It’s easy to blame the coaching and there is no question that Willie Martinez has some work to do. Steve Spurrier basically exposed this defense when he threw the ball 53 times against the Bulldogs on Sept. 12. Spurrier is among the best at detecting weaknesses on a defense. And there are a bunch of them on this defense.
So this is where Georgia is, in my opinion. The Bulldogs are a very average team that played very poorly last Saturday in Knoxville. They have a chance to have a decent season. They also have a chance to have a bad season.
While so many in the Bulldog Nation want to make wholesale changes to the staff, Richt can’t even think about that now. A college football season is about surviving and advancing. You can tweak within a season. You save the big stuff until after the season.
While the fundamentals on this particular team are pretty awful, the fundamentals on Richt’s program remain strong for the most part. What Richt has to decide after the season is whether or not those fundamentals are headed down instead of up.
Is Georgia recruiting the right players and not just the guys who are highly-rated?
Is Georgia maximizing the talent they have on hand? In other words, are they coaching them up? Are players improving?
Do there need to be significant staff changes to re-energize the program? Sometimes there needs to be change for the sake of change in order to bring fresh ideas and approaches. This is something that Mark Richt will have to strongly consider.
Does the head coach need to look in the mirror? Mark Richt is a damned good football coach but every coach should self-assess from time to time. He should not try to be something he’s not. But does he need to adjust his methods and habits?
When you’re 3-3 and the fundamentals on the team are this bad, everything is on the table. And after this season is over, everything should be on the table for Georgia. And it looks like some tough decisions are going to have to be made.
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502 comments Add your comment
Mikey
October 14th, 2009
9:21 am
Thank you Tony. Well said.
Worm
October 14th, 2009
9:22 am
Spot on as usual Tony..
RAMBLE ON!!!
October 14th, 2009
9:27 am
So predictable…
HEY HOMER…THE BIGGEST GAME IN THE STATE OF GEORGIA IS THIS YEAR IS SATURDAY NIGHT.
WAKE UP AND QUIT CRYING ABOUT THE SORRY STATE OF UGAG FOOTBALL OR CHANGE YOUR FREAKING NAME TO MR. SEC FOOTBALL!!!
Who cares
October 14th, 2009
9:27 am
Ga is irrelevant
Tech is playing a team with Nat champ implications and all you clowns talk about is some crap ga team. Real nice.
Mark
October 14th, 2009
9:31 am
Good insight Tony. You didn’t come out and directly say it, but your comments point out that this is a very poorly coached football team right now and that is a reflection of the head coach. Everybody seems to put the blame on poor coordinators, but ultimately that’s the responsibility of the head coach who functions as the programs CEO. Mark Richt has done a very good job at UGA overall, however the recent trend evidenced by the last two seasons is very disturbing. I have no problem with his calm demeanor, but when you are in a difficult situation as the team is now his poor communications skills tend to exacerbate the problem. I hope the players are not affected in the same way the fans have been by his lack of perceived fire.
Dooley's Cardiologist
October 14th, 2009
9:32 am
Tony,
That sounded a lot like a pep talk from Dr. Lou Holtz. Minus the Daffy Duck voice and the spitting.
SC Dawg
October 14th, 2009
9:33 am
I couldn’t say it better myself.
martin
October 14th, 2009
9:33 am
If there isn’t any significant changes before the next season starts, it will not look good for our Dawgs! What is so frustrating about losing to Tennessee like we did is that I’ve never seen UGA get beat that bad since I’ve been able to see them play live or on TV. Something has to give or the fan base will disappear, just like all the fair weather Tech fans when they lose to Georgia a couple times in a row. By the way, this isn’t a dissing of loyal Tech fans, only the fair weather ones that pop out when tech wins 8 or 9 wins and beats UGA once in every eight years.
GMan
October 14th, 2009
9:33 am
C’mon Tony, don’t bring the strength of schedule thing into play here. Oklahoma State, Arizona State?! Oklahoma State has played 5 games with wins over Rice, Grambling State, Texas A&M, and GEORGIA – they loss to HOUSTON a team that had a short-lived high and was exposed! I certainly wouldn’t call them a top 50 team. Arizona State is 3-2 with wins over Idaho State, Louisiana-Monroe, and Washington State – they loss to GEORGIA and Oregon State – certainly not a top tier team. Therefore, when you start comparing bodies of work for other teams, be sure to call it what it is rather than making excuses. Lets face it, UGA hasn’t been able to coach up the talent that they’ve brought in and although the recruitniks put alot of effort into placing stars next to recruits, you have to tune that out and spot REAL talent on the field and coach it up. Face it, UGA is now mediocre. I don’t see that changing unless MAJOR changes occur. That probably won’t happen under Richt’s leadership. That means UGA will be an average team for some time.
Gator Mike
October 14th, 2009
9:34 am
As a Gator, I always consider UGA a huge threat. they have the talent, and when they put it together thye will be very dangerous. Mark Richt is a very good coach, and Tony makes a lot of sense. UGA will put it all together, and I hope it is not in Jax. I, for one, will never underestimate UGA. If the Gators underestimate the Dawgs on 31 Oct, we will get embarrassed.
Saint Crompton
October 14th, 2009
9:34 am
((((( 45 19 ))))) ((((( Crompton for Heisman )))))
hahahahahahahaha
The Other St. Simons
October 14th, 2009
9:34 am
tech is having a “good” year. I will give them that, but where is the NC they all promised on beating the Dawgs last year (by 3 points – see ‘ring’)
Who Cares: UGA is irrelevant?…then why are you even wasting 3 calories typing about it.
TECH is NOT a NC team. Sorry.
martin
October 14th, 2009
9:35 am
Tech will not win the national title this year. They aren’t that good either despite the 5-1 record.
Jeepers
October 14th, 2009
9:35 am
Well stated Tony. UGA fans are used to top 10 finishes, so this year is shocking. Being UGA though, they will probably rebound and be much stronger next season.
Brad
October 14th, 2009
9:35 am
Glad to see that someone who writes for the AJC isn’t suggesting that the sky is falling ( a la Mark Bradley). I think some reshuffling of the coaching staff is in order, but like you said, Tony, that will need to wait until after the season. Most UGA fans I know expected this year to be more of a rebuilding effort anyway. The Dawgs will be back, folks. And this year isn’t over by any stretch of the imagination. As a Gator fan, I remember 2007 vividly and by the end of the season, the Georgia Bulldogs were, in my estimation at that time, the best team in America.
Keep your chins up! Like my father said, ‘this thing ain’t over!’
George O'Leary
October 14th, 2009
9:36 am
CMR needs to kick players in the head,punish them brutaly and lie on his resume’
Heywood Jablome
October 14th, 2009
9:36 am
Hey Nerds! Enjoy your little 1-2 year advantage over the Dawgs. I can assure you it won’t last long. Richt will make the necessary changes and order will be restored to the universe. I can’t wait for you maggots to crawl back under the rocks you are now coming out from under. Oh and…..Tuck Fech!
GMan
October 14th, 2009
9:37 am
Enjoy the Music City Bowl
Reggie Ball
October 14th, 2009
9:37 am
Saint “you sure got a pretty mouth”
Otto
October 14th, 2009
9:38 am
I hate to say it but GMan has a point with the schedule further fundamentals cost UGA the Okie St game.
Matt
October 14th, 2009
9:38 am
Tech fans need to realize that just because you are having a good year, and beat UGA last year does not mean you get coverage every day. Tony is known for his SEC coverage, GET OVER IT! UGA is a bigger school in a better conference. So when there are problems there they are going to get the headlines. Negatives sell more papers that positive’s, just facts. UGA has more supports in Ga than Tech does, bigger school=more supports=more coverage, again just facts.
Mitch Cumstein
October 14th, 2009
9:38 am
The whole problem is, we all saw it coming in previous years. The trend has changed alright, its gotten worse. This defense couldn’t cover their granmothers, not because they don’t have talent, but because of the half-witted coaches that refuse to adjust.
Speaking of grandmothers, mine and I were watching the game Sat and she said, “why don’t they just put a man on each eligible receiver?” If my grandma can figure it out why can’t Willie?
Sun Devil
October 14th, 2009
9:39 am
Some good points but… You can’t say Arizona State is a bad team in one bullet and then turn around and use them in the next bullet as part of an example of how “tough” Georgia’s schedule has been.
SecIsFootball
October 14th, 2009
9:39 am
RAMBLE ON….the biggest game in the state of GA happened opening weekend and that was BAMA vs VT. Sorry.
Rush Limbaugh is a Junkie
October 14th, 2009
9:40 am
Is Richt headed to FSU?
Phoque Tech
October 14th, 2009
9:40 am
Ramble…….GT is gonna get their a$$ handed to them this week, just like they did against “Da U”. Thay have no PASS DEFENSE! A bad FSU team got almost 400 yards thru the air last week. If it weren’t for your weak conference, you would have been exposed more than one time…..Just like UGA. Now, shut up. I am betting we won’t hear from you again for a few weeks after Saturday’s beat down is over.
goalinestalker
October 14th, 2009
9:40 am
Wow a blog on UGA football and here comes all the Tool’s from GT. Go figure…stop humping our leg at Georgia! Your defense just gave up a million yds to a really bad FSU team and your acting like your program is elite? Saw on Ebay your players are trying to sell there “We beat UGA ring’s” WTH? Good stuff Tony!
erictin
October 14th, 2009
9:40 am
The incompetence of our defensive coaches was revealed to me following the Tennessee game when I heard some of our players say “They did some things we weren’t expecting”!Duh!Isn’t that the idea?Good coaching goes into a game prepared for anything!Good coaching adjusts to what the other team is doing and doesn’t hope that the opposing team is going to hopefully come back to our game plan.The third time they run the naked bootleg off of play action pass,call a freakin time out and make an adjustment.At the very least do it at halftime!
Joe Daddy
October 14th, 2009
9:40 am
Tony is talking about UGA because Tech is still irrelevant. I’m a fan of both UGA and Tech, but Tech has to win something before they get any hype… Georgia is still the team of the state so get over it!
N SABAN
October 14th, 2009
9:41 am
TECH at 10-2 will get few headlines. People outside of their circle ( and in India) just don’t care, note a pretty good team and a lot of empty seats in a city of 5 million. Nuff said.
Georgia’s problems are a lot bigger than last Saturday. We have a problem at the top…I know , I know, look at the record…………But, the bar has been raised and we have made no Scheme or philosophy or hands on coaching changes sine Meyer and Saban arrived. No innovation what so ever. Crompton, the Tennessee QB was quoted in the paper as saying” We knew exactly where they would be on every play”. So does everyone. We are becoming FSU. Same coach’s calling the shots, same schemes from 10…..15 years ago and a ho hum here is another season. Does anyone remember all of Richt’s quotes from last season. A bigger, better , smarter more focused Georgia football team. ANYONE SEEN IT. LIP SERVICE AND EXCUSES and a vote of confidence in the morning paper for Martinez. Mark’s toast.
Secondguesser
October 14th, 2009
9:41 am
Man, TB, I’m kind of disappointed in you to bring up the tired old argument of the the UF schedule as a gauge to UGAg’s misfortune. I know you love your pups, and I’m glad to see you go out of your way to report on what a special player Tebow is, but UF has proved that they can beat the big boys too! I’m saying that in two weeks the UFoffense could be rolling which might make them dawgs painfully aware of just how far the gap is between the two teams. Of course I could be wrong. That’s why they play the games!
David P
October 14th, 2009
9:42 am
We should be 6 and 0….bad calls by the refs cost us games against LSU….OK State…and UT…..relax once we beat UF all will be forgotten……
Big Dawg
October 14th, 2009
9:42 am
Great article. Richt has been and will continue to be a premiere coach in the toughest conference. He does have some tough decisions to make, and he will make them. A few changes and tweaks offensively, and a major overhaul defensively are needed. We desperately need a running game. This will take place and we will emerge once again as yearly contenders in the east. Richt is the man for the job, but needs a lot of help around him. Help that he is not getting right now.
Richie
October 14th, 2009
9:42 am
I hope he lets the younger players play more and see where we are at the end.Some coaches will have to go.But make sure it is the right ones………..About Tech. they run a wishbone out of the shotgun…….The football Gods will catch up to it.
RAMBLE ON!!!
October 14th, 2009
9:43 am
Sun Devil, you can if you went to UGAg.
Guys get real
October 14th, 2009
9:43 am
As a Tech fan, I’m disguested at my fellow Tech brothers talking trash. Yes I know when we sucked UGA fans always bashed us, shoot even when were good. But were not them! So please show some class. It’s easy to kick them while there down. Let it go and root for our team instead of trashing the Dogs. Dogs, you guys will rebound, trust me I know Richt. Too good of a coach. Look forward to Clean ole Fashion Hate. And I’m gone.
Power Football
October 14th, 2009
9:44 am
Great article, Tony.
To compete in the SEC, you need to have a team built for power, not finesse. UGA is a finesse team and I don’t think that Richt, based on his Miami and FLA ST lineage, has the capacity to build or coach a team built for power. Ultimately, UGA won’t be able to consistently compete as a top football program in the SEC and Richt will have to go.
Although it take a few more seasons to play out, this is the endgame for Richt at UGA.
Andy Coleman
October 14th, 2009
9:44 am
The running game is bad because there is absolutely no fear of a below averaged QB. AJ is all that defenses worry about. They are on their toes, and good offenses have the D on their heels. Let another QB have REAL shot. The D is just bad.
jason
October 14th, 2009
9:45 am
Tony, great article as usaual. I agree with everything said, but I am one of the emotional DAWG fans who is very upset with the state of the program.
Is Georgia recruiting the right players and not just the guys who are highly-rated? That is a very good question. I don’t know the answer. I think they are recruiting the highest rated, or they are not properly evaluating. Seems to me that they are recruiting what they think are 5STAR recruits, but actually they are 4STAR or less. As someone said, there is a huge difference in a 5STAR (MLB Spikes UF) and 4STAR (Gamble UGA).
Is Georgia maximizing the talent they have on hand? In other words, are they coaching them up? Are players improving? This is obivious that they are not. The players being recruited are showing no signs of improvement during their stay at UGA. You can tell by the fact they are making the same stupid mistakes yaer after year. Is it coaching? Sure, UGA has one of the cheapest and inexperienced staffs not only in the SEC, but the entire nation. It shows in the quality of play we see on SATs.
Do there need to be significant staff changes to re-energize the program? Yes, not neccessarrily wholesale, but they do need an experienced coach somewhere on this staff (preferrably at DC) to help CMR. Everybody talks about how good of a coach that CMR. I tend to agree. I also think he has nade some horrific decisions that have really hurt the program. CMR can’t go it alone, and that is pretty much what he has done the past 5 years.
Does the head coach need to look in the mirror? This is a big YES. As I mentioned earlier, CMR has made some big mistakes the past few seasons such as promoting within without looking outside the program for experience for our OC and DC. Also not having a STC, but allowing multiple people be responsible for the third phase of a team. Also, the penalties and lack of fundementals and discpline running throughout the team.
In the end, it’s not about a 3-3 record. I know it is tough to take and we are not used to it. No, It’s about more. It’s about the way we play, not only in losses, but also in wins. The losses just stand out more, especially a losss like TENN when UGA showed up unprepeared 9players and coaches). Also when it looked like the team quit in that game. The players often look confused and not confident on the field. It shows on defense as many times they are not ready at the snap of the ball. They are always looking to the sideline for direction. I do not know because I am not on the field, but my perception is there is a total lack of confidence in CWM’s system.
There as been a slow downward spiral to this program over the past 5 years. Maybe earlier, just not as noticable until the talent level has shifted. I think CMR is an excellent coach, but with the decisions he has made, I din’t know if he will be able to right the ship. If he admits and makes a change to both the oC and the DC,what does that say about him. Also what does that say to Bobo and CWM? If all UGA’s problems were in one area (CWM) it would be one thing, but when the problems run from the offense, defense, and STs, that says something entirely different.
Buzzzz
October 14th, 2009
9:45 am
DP are you on Crack, Cocaine…or both…
reebok
October 14th, 2009
9:45 am
UGA is fortunate to be 3-3. And there is a real chance the Dogs could lose to Vandy in Nashville. If that happens, the wheels are going to come off completely.
Coach Beamer
October 14th, 2009
9:46 am
Can’t wait to see Paul Johnson on the sidelines this week all slobbering mad, dropping f-bombs for the camera to see when we break it off in his a$$ and expose GT as the fraud they are. I also hope there’s a microphone around to catch him calling his players stupid again. You just know it’s gonna happen!
Free Willie
October 14th, 2009
9:46 am
If CMR intends to replace his coordinators at the end of the year, and IF those replacements will be hired from within, why not give them a shot now. If you can bench starters (especially seniors), who are struggling to produce, in an attempt to give younger players some experience for next year, then why not do it with coordinators?
Coach Kiffen
October 14th, 2009
9:46 am
EXCUSES EXCUSES EXCUSES. Good grief it gets old, face the facts, your a mediocre team. How many more years can you use the Sturdivant excuse? He didnt even play last year, who took his place!! Arizona State? Give me a break, for the first time in your fraking mediocre history you play some teams outside of georgia Southern and you cant handle it!
Im gonna puke over the EXCUSES!!!!!!
tom
October 14th, 2009
9:46 am
Two Words Bulldog Nation: Brian Kelly
gdawginkalamazoo
October 14th, 2009
9:46 am
I would like to thank the Bulldogs and the coaching staff for relieving me of my seasonal anxiety disorder so early this year. Heck it is only mid-October and as a Dawg fan I don’t have to worry about anything again this season. If Florida puts up 50+ on us, hey no sweat it won’t matter. If Tech puts 500+ yards rushing on us and beats us by 3 again, I’ll just be relaxing. Bowl game selection? I probably won’t get that network up here unless we are playing somebody on the Big Ten network.
I prefer to have the high anxiety all the way to Jacksonville but I guess I can take it easy this year. Thanks Coach Richt and go dawgs!
MVP
October 14th, 2009
9:46 am
One bright spot in 2010. uga will give 1 million to new mexico state for a win or will uga choke?
Starring Kam Fong as Chin Ho
October 14th, 2009
9:48 am
I don’t see Martinez surviving as DC, he may stick around to be secondary coach (something he is very capable at). Fabris might survive, I hope not. Bobo will more than likely get another year based on the last few years of offensive production. I would personally put Martinez in the booth the rest of the year and let Garner try calling the defensive sets on the sidelines. Maybe he has a knack for it and I don’t see how it could be much worse that what we are currently doing. Not that I know much but that’s what I would do.
JB
October 14th, 2009
9:48 am
Well said Coach Saban ( or whoever)………The last 6 games and our performance will tell a lot.
Can/will Mark take over the minute to minute handling of this team and make a showing and win 3 or 4 of these last six games…………………………or will he fold with them. That will speak volumes !
Coach Kiffen
October 14th, 2009
9:48 am
SHREVEPORT, here come the ugag dawgs! lolololololololol
Tony another Georgia Homer
October 14th, 2009
9:49 am
Making pathetic excuses for the mutts.
Coach Beamer
October 14th, 2009
9:49 am
That bull-sh1t Veer option isn’t gonna work this week, Paul….We actually play good defense at VT.
Coach Kiffen
October 14th, 2009
9:50 am
You didnt “DANCE” in my house!
GO BIG ORANGE
October 14th, 2009
9:51 am
@ David
re: “We should be 6 and 0….bad calls by the refs cost us games against LSU….OK State…and UT”
I would suggest that you would be 2 – 4 except for some bad calls in the SC game, maybe 1 – 5 because of the refs in the
Arkansas game perhaps. But then I forget that under Richt you have never lost a game because you got beat, we all get to read your excuses every Monday.
Coach Kiffen
October 14th, 2009
9:52 am
I didnt see any “G” flags while recruiting in Georgia yesterday. Bwahahahaha, put them back in the attic to collect dust.
RAMBLE ON!!!
October 14th, 2009
9:52 am
Phoque Tech…who the Phoque are you and where did you come from?
oh, just one of the many names you keep using.
I’d be ashamed to admit I was an UGAg fan as well, LOSER.
GMan
October 14th, 2009
9:52 am
We can always put on the tape from TWENTY NINE YEARS AGO and watch BB throw a 10-yd pass to Scott that turned into a legend or hand the ball to HB in the years when we were relevant. Sigh!
JB
October 14th, 2009
9:53 am
Jason, as a “seasoned” blogger people on here don’t like to read novels. They like to see a lot of opinions in about one paragraph. We all want to here your take, but most quit after the first paragraph. I took Journalism. most quit reading the article after the first paragraph. Make your points early. Not bashing, just truthful.
Coach Beamer
October 14th, 2009
9:54 am
Wake up and get out of the 70s, Paul.
Starring Kam Fong as Chin Ho
October 14th, 2009
9:54 am
For all of the GT Tony bashers, his job is to get responses to his articles. Tech posts get 85 to 100 responses. Ga posts get 300 to 500 consistently. Seems to me he is doing his job very well. Go read a Mark Bradley article, he seems to have a bromance going with GT this year
Big Earl
October 14th, 2009
9:55 am
Georgia will beat Florida this year!
Coach Kiffen
October 14th, 2009
9:55 am
TWENTY NINE years and counting since ugags phony title over a 7-5 notre dame team in 1980. Get in the back of the bus because I guaran damn tee I will win a title at rocky top before anybodt does at georgia!
Phoque Tech
October 14th, 2009
9:56 am
Nambla on……..Who said I was an UGA fan besides you?
Coach Kiffen
October 14th, 2009
9:56 am
I will never lose to georgia, start thinking of excuses for next year.
Bird Dawg
October 14th, 2009
9:57 am
I wonder what our chances are of getting Will Muschamp back to Georgia ?
birddawg92
October 14th, 2009
9:57 am
I read your column religiously, Mr. Barnhart, but I’m getting pretty weary of the notion that somehow, those of us who advocate wholesale changes are somehow making knee-jerk, “emotional” reactions.
Mark Richt has been at Georgia NINE seasons now. Here are some observations from a former season ticket holder (I did not renew this year), and someone who has seen every game for close to 30 years:
1) During his entire tenure at UGA, Richt’s teams have not been able to cover kicks, keep them in bounds, or cover kick-offs on anything other than an average basis.
2) We abandon the run too easily. This tendency mitigated briefly when Bobo took over play-calling in ‘06, but it has returned, most markedly this season.
3) On a positive note, our receivers have suddenly begun to catch the ball consistently. I always argued to the Stafford critics that part of his perceived wildness resulting in interceptions was a combination of a bad O line and WRs and TEs not making plays for him. Guess what happened to change things: Tony Eason is no longer WRs coach—changing to Coach Ball has yielded some results.
4) Willie Martinez should have been fired 3 seasons ago. His first two years, we got run over by anybody decent we played, and now, he’s over-corrected to the point that we get no pass-rush and our secondary hasn’t the faintest CLUE.
All of these problems have persisted for 9 YEARS, except for Martinez, which has been the past 5. Both are more than adequate intervals for a championship coach to make necessary changes—you don’t see Miles and Saban waiting around—and I’m no admirer of Miles coaching ability, but at least he had the sense to get John Chavis when we could have had him.
Bottom line is Mark Richt has dragged his feet on making changes that have been obvious for years to even an armchair Georgia Southern QB like me. That is not championship coaching. We allowed this same situation to drag out with Goff. The University administration should be thinking post-Mark Richt now, and as I posted on Bradley’s blog yesterday, my vote is for the young DC across the line in Alabama. He happens to be a former Dawg, and has been working for one of the best CFB coaches in the country (who will probably get another NC this year) for most of the last decade.
HIRE KIRBY SMART!
http://www.saturdayinathens.com
RxDawg
October 14th, 2009
9:58 am
Nice post. I didn’t give that much consideration to the fatigue factor, but I’m sure it did have a part to play. Truth is though, we’ve been playing sloppy ball all year. We played that way last year only we had some excellent talent in spots to make up for it in most of our games. That talent left us and we now have a void that just got filled up with sloppy play. I don’t know what to do, I don’t have to. But I have faith that the Dawgs will get the right players back in there eventually and we’ll be back up top. This decade has been very good for the Bulldogs. We were bound to slip up and have an off year eventually.
gdawginkalamazoo
October 14th, 2009
9:59 am
Coach Beamer, give him hell man. Don’t take any crap off those guys. We have to because lost the right last year.
GMan
October 14th, 2009
9:59 am
Wow Coach Kiffen (and it’s spelled Kiffin by the way), you win ONE conference game and all of a sudden you are back? Let’s see the whole body of work first. I say 6-6 at best and the Music City Bowl trying to figure out if it will take UGA or TN due to fan turn out.
#1 BAMA FAN
October 14th, 2009
9:59 am
“They were who we thought they were”. RTR
JB
October 14th, 2009
9:59 am
Getting Muschamp back. ONE WAY…………………AS HEAD COACH…………………..He’s got a sweetheart deal as assit. or Head Coach at Texas.
Big Earl
October 14th, 2009
10:00 am
Is Kiffin playing with a full deck?
Phoque Tech
October 14th, 2009
10:00 am
Yes……who said I was an UGA fan? I’ve hated the Ol Urine & White since Bear Bryant used to whip their a$$ and make em like it.
RAMBLE ON!!!
October 14th, 2009
10:01 am
Starring Kam Fong as Chin Ho, seems to me he needs to quit masquerading around as Mr. College Football.
Really, he needs to call himself, Mr. UGAg Cry Baby.
10-5-09
I have been covering college football as a professional journalist for 32 years and, without being too dramatic here, there is a good chance that the excessive celebration call on Georgia’s A.J. Green last Saturday against LSU is the single worst officiating mistake I have seen in my three decades of covering the sport.
I still love reading that.
uga_b
October 14th, 2009
10:01 am
How about these:
The best special teams unit the kick-off return unit is not coached by John Fabris. Also, everytime we go after punts we seem to block them but never go after them consistently. I know the element of surprise is at work here but if you are just going to fair catch it anyway…
RE: “cant cover receivers” you really mean; can’t play man-to-man see smallish corners and no pash rush and can’t play zone see no pash rush and out of position/lack of wrapping up.
The defensive talent is there but it is all young. What happened to all those big name LB recruits?
One bad defensive performance does not make a season, but a year and a half of it leads to no quality wins against good (and not so good) competition.
Why not let Chapas or Frank M. (dont know how to spell Munzenmeir) run the ball?
Big Earl
October 14th, 2009
10:03 am
David Pollock as assistant defensive coach.
gatorrashad
October 14th, 2009
10:04 am
UGA is looking at its worst season under the Richt tenure…one that could go down as 6-6….
Larry
October 14th, 2009
10:04 am
Hey Who Cares……pooor baby….That’s because people care about what is going on with UGA…good and bad. the Jackettes??? a good year every once in awhile doesnt put you on the map. Get over it clown!
Big Earl
October 14th, 2009
10:04 am
Erich Zier to sit in booth with BoBo.
J
October 14th, 2009
10:04 am
I love how UGAY sucks so bad that the fans try and attack Tech. How bout you face reality and realize they are a much better team. UGAY is lucky to have that good of a record. UGAY will be starting over next year with some new coaches and QB. The pups will be down for the next 3-4 years. Keep in mind UGAY only has 1 NC!!!!! Tech has more. Tech will also win another before UGAG. Good luck B!tChe$!!!!!!!!!
PS- Was that Manning out there Saturday? Laughable!
JB
October 14th, 2009
10:05 am
I agree… Kirby Smart…..$ 1,000,000 a year and title Assit head coach/DEF Cord and let him hire his on staff. Pay Garner 650,000 a year as director of recruiting. Put Bobo back at QB coach, and you Mr. Richt, take over play calling again. Hire the best special teams coach in the Country and pay whatever it takes to get him. DO IT !!!!!!!!!!!
Tech sucks
October 14th, 2009
10:06 am
Ramble On, no one cares about Tech. You guys can’t get 20,000 people in your sorry ass stadium.
dedliug
October 14th, 2009
10:06 am
hey dawgs!
i wonder….how does Lane Kiffin’s a$$ taste?
JB
October 14th, 2009
10:07 am
J ,win something and come talk to us. How many ACC titles since you joined it ? I thought so.
Take some extra medical people this week.
Homer
October 14th, 2009
10:07 am
Suicide watch needed for Barnhart. If Florida or Alabama don’t make it to the BCS, he will throw himself from the top of the Dome.
Freddy
October 14th, 2009
10:08 am
UGA Should be 1-5 . They had some saves at the ends
RAMBLE ON!!!
October 14th, 2009
10:08 am
Phoque Tech, that’s really funny, but if you new WTF you were talking about, you’d see the Ol Bear a$$ was whipped by you favorite boy Bill Curry last time we played.
Sorry, I’ll just call you Dumba$$ instead of loser.
I wonder why a Bama fan would have a name “Phoque Tech”?
please explain
m
October 14th, 2009
10:09 am
The sec is the most overrated and overhyped conference in history. And it is the weakest I have ever seen it in my lifetime.
There are only two decent teams in the sec and the other 10 are average to pathetic.
But there is so much hype by idiots like Tony that he would have you think they are all the 1966 Green Bay Packers.
TECH is voluntarily playing 3 of the sec teams…and will easily defeat all 3 ( already beaten missy st by more than lswho did).
The fact that Ole Miss or lswho could have been ranked in the top 5 shows how the sec hype is gone INSANE.
Bottom line is this…the sec is the weakest it has EVER been. And for sec homer-gomers like Tony to keep hyping the league at warp speed just shows how biased he really is.
Tech will be the honorary sec champion this year after going 3-0 in the sec. Trust me…beating a bunch of scrub sec teams is nothing to brag about.
And most importantly, Thank God and Greyhound that chan gomer gailey is gone forever.
jason
October 14th, 2009
10:09 am
JB, You have a point. I usually don’t get long winded, just alot of points to make.
Larry
October 14th, 2009
10:10 am
Bird Dog 92. Thanksfully, you are not a season ticket holder anymore. Why someone like you would even bother being a season ticket holder amazes me. All you do is bash the last nine years- you are a complete and utter idiot! Tell me birdy, give me a brief on the 10-12 years before Coach Richt (you being a ticket holder should be able to do that). Tell me about doolys “down years” yes- there were a few. Loss to Miami of Ohio…..hmmm…loss to KY and Vandy also…hmmmmm. People like you that call yourselves “fans” truly amaze me. Oh, and as for Kirby. be careful what you wish for-
collegeballfan
October 14th, 2009
10:10 am
Good article with good points.
And yeah the schedule is a big part of this. Six straight tough games.
No Troy or Jax State to ease the burden. It is hard to be “up” 12 weeks in a row without a break.
But it all comes back to the players. As you say, it is a game of blocking & tackling & UGA does not have enough players doing those two chores. Solve this problem & there is no reason UGA cannot run the table on the remaining schedule. There is no one on the schedule UGA cannot beat.
We Tech fans have a part of the same problem staring at us – no one is tackling. Blocking has improved, but how much? We will find out Saturday.
As General Neyland used to say, “this is really a pretty simple game.”
Hokie in waiting
October 14th, 2009
10:11 am
Good article Tony, we will be proving who is the real Tech this weekend. The best game this year, in the State of Ga was the UGA/AZ State game. The best two teams were us and Alabama. The biggest beatdown in Ga will be this weekend. The best game will probabally be in Dec when it is Alabama vs Fla, as much as I hate to say it.
A couple of years ago, and then about 10 years ago, we were all mad at Beamer. We had a down year, we were supposed to be great the year before UVA had a couple of good years, blah, blah, blah. A few changes were made, but look where we are this year, and last. UGA is kind of like we were then, and GaTech is kind of like UVA was then. Gimmicky, with a new coach, and then back to the same old, sam old. It looks like the same thing in the Great State of Ga.
Bama vs VPI for the MNC of the BCS, mark it down.
Sausage Party in Athens
October 14th, 2009
10:12 am
I’m a Georgia fan, but I agree that these are all excuses. The team just flat-out sicks. The coaching on Defense (especially) and offense is terrible. Joe Cox is average. We have one good player on offense. The running backs are terrible. The offensive line was supposed to be some saving grace, and they suck. The team has no fire and no heart. It’s painful to watch.
Vandy could very well be a loss. Allowing 40 PPG is unacceptable anywhere in college football. You’re not giving your team a chance to win, so the Defensive coach must feel the brunt. I’m sure he will be fired after this season, but not during it. Hence, we will continue to give up 40 PPG and be humiliated by the likes of Florida, Auburn, and even Tech. I don’t think this team can win more than 6 games this year.
Go FALCONS!
Hokie in waiting
October 14th, 2009
10:13 am
Ramble on, after reading this m guy that is from your school, how can you call it a school?
Jeff
October 14th, 2009
10:14 am
Hey Birdie Dog- nice rant and rave. classless at best. Agree with post above- good to know you’re not a ticket holder anymore. Hate to waste tickets on a moron like you. Help me understand how you can look at the last NINE years and complain?? Your so called 30 years of Bulldog experience certainly remembers 89-2000. You are the type of “FAN” we can do without. Hopefully you are stinking up someone elses stadium now.
UGA’s problems are 9 years old « Saturday in Athens
October 14th, 2009
10:14 am
[...] UGA’s problems are 9 years old By birddawg92 Leave a Comment Categories: Uncategorized Post in reaction to the AJC Barnhart column today: [...]
JB
October 14th, 2009
10:15 am
hum…………………………………………………..m came up off that camel for air.
Desert Dawg
October 14th, 2009
10:16 am
Organizations take on the personality of their leaders….don’t believe that just look around…especially in the military, successful companies, and certainly FOOTBALL PROGRAMS.
Mark Richt is a great person, gentleman, family man, knows football and has had great success. But, I wonder if his personality isn’t part of the problem. Sometimes you need some “Fire” and I just don’t see it in him. If he doesn’t have it, he needs to bring in some assistants that do.
This program has too much talent to be playing so poorly and leadership and direction have to be questioned.
m
October 14th, 2009
10:16 am
Hokie in waiting:
You are going to see what a fluke your tainted win over the REAL TECH was last year.
Paul Johnson is going to stomp a mudhole in your sorry arses that will make your loss to alabammer look like a win….MARK IT DOWN you FAKE TECH wannabees.
Freehawk
October 14th, 2009
10:17 am
Interesting the split of comments. Lots of “good jobs” and a bunch of negatives. I don’t care a bit about UGA, but this column rings true, and it has applicability to all football teams. Sometimes fans think and especially say what would they do (panic, find scapegoats, pass blame, fly off the handle, fire a bunch of people)instead of “what should the head coach we HAVE do.”