Richt believes Georgia is poised for a bounce-back season
Georgia coach Mark Richt believes the Dogs can avoid some of the problems that plagued recent teams. (Curtis Compton/AJC)
Here’s a sneak peek at a column that will appear in print in this Sunday’s special AJC College Football Section. The 34-page section will preview Georgia State, Georgia Tech and UGA seasons, the SEC and ACC, top games, Heisman candidates and more.
Nine years ago, Mark Richt lost his first SEC game as a head coach (to South Carolina) and started 4-3 in a conference that generally doesn’t allow for long honeymoon periods, at least not outside of Vanderbilt.
It wasn’t the usual backdrop for what would happen in the next four years. Richt went 44-9 overall and 25-7 in the SEC. He won two conference titles at a school that hadn’t won one since 1982. He won a Sugar Bowl.
What has occurred since at Georgia is less a market correction than it is a changing landscape. Think of the SEC as a boulevard of resort hotels. Richt built what seemed like Xanadu in 2002. The problem came when Les Miles, Florida and Alabama built more lavish structures down the street.
LSU, Florida and Alabama didn’t just win SEC championships. They won national championships — the last four, in fact. Over that same period, Richt went 20-12 in the SEC without making it to the conference title game once.
Xanadu began to look like a slightly weathered Marriott.
Which brings us to 2010. Georgia is not crumbling and Richt is not on the firing line. There has, however, been a leveling off in Athens. To deny that would be like a hotel owner ignoring the other properties that are stealing his business.
The Dogs are somewhere back in the vapor trail left by Florida and Alabama. Richt’s not in denial — otherwise he wouldn’t have fired three assistant coaches after going 8-5 (4-4) last season.
The question now: Is this the bounce-back year? Possibly. Richt may never have a better chance to quiet critics.
The potential pitfalls of starting a redshirt freshman quarterback, Aaron Murray, should be minimized by an experienced offensive line and two key weapons for Murray to feed: A.J. Green and Washaun Ealey. The defense should be significantly improved under Todd Grantham (who is switching to a 3-4).
The schedule? Instead of opening against Oklahoma State in Stillwater, as in 2009, the Bulldogs open against Louisiana-Lafayette in Athens. They don’t play Alabama. They don’t play LSU. They do play Florida, but it would be surprising if the Gators didn’t feel the loss of nine starters in the first five rounds of the NFL draft, including: Tim Tebow, Joe Haden, Maurkice Pouncey, Carlos Dunlap and the serial eye-gouger, Brandon Spikes.
There’s also this: Richt just feels better about his team. Granted, all coaches like their team before opening kickoff, but Richt’s confidence is rooted in something legitimate: strength and stability on his offensive line.
“I like our maturity on offense,” he said. “You see it especially up front, even the non-glamour positions if you want to throw in the fullbacks.
“There’s something about when your offensive linemen are your sages, your veterans, your leaders. When they’re running it, things tend to go well. They’re pretty grounded. They’re not glamorous. They’re really the most unselfish guys on the team. ”
Glamour seldom is Georgia’s problem. It seldom gets more glamorous than Matthew Stafford and Knowshon Moreno in the same backfield. But that was in 2008, and a pre-season No. 1 team wound up getting drilled by Alabama and Florida, losing at home to Georgia Tech and settling for the Capital One Bowl.
Georgia’s problems have been in other areas: a lack of discipline, sometimes passion, sometimes just a seeming willingness to punch the opponent in the mouth.
Experience and the arrival of Grantham, who’s far more fiery than Martinez, should help in those areas. But fire starts at the top and Richt needs to light one with his team.
This season could start well — very well. If the Dogs can get past early tests against South Carolina and Arkansas, they could be 8-0 going to Jacksonville. But Richt knows better than to play “the schedule game.”
“I used to do it more than I do now,” he said. “What year was it – Stafford’s freshman year [2006]? I kind of did it that year a little bit. We didn’t have a great season. Everything looked different than it was. So I don’t do that any more.”
The Dogs were coming off Richt’s second SEC title that year but they went 4-4 in the conference in 2006. The landscape changed. Richt, going into his 10th season, realized Georgia required some renovation.
Now we find out what the place looks like.
♦
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283 comments Add your comment
GameTime
August 29th, 2010
8:26 am
Chan Gailey could win 9 games with Georgie’s schedule this year. Anything less would be a big disappointment.
Washon
August 29th, 2010
9:46 am
Illiterate jerkoffs, thugs, and morons.
Winners of the Fulmer/Richt Cup.
#1 party school.
That sums up UGAy pretty nicely.
THE CESSPOOL OF THE SOUTH
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August 29th, 2010
12:54 pm
[...] ♦ College football special: Richt says Georgia is poised for bounce-back season [...]
I am happy about
August 29th, 2010
4:06 pm
I am happy about our D D scheme and staff of D coaches. I am happy about Aaron Murray as QB.
I am happy that Wooten, King and Durdne and Troupe are on the receiving crew, along with Marvelous Marvin Brown. I am happy about our tight ends. I am happy about our new crew of solid safeties, like Hamilton and Rambo and Sanders and Ogletree.
I am very happy that we have a professional AD ………..one that is a man that knows the ins and outs of big time college athletics and a family man. I am happy that he will be evaluating them all, starting with ladies basketball head coach, the Diamond Dogs coach and the Lady Gym Dogs coaches.
Go Dogs.
GA TECH NATIONAL TITLES 5 (THE MUTTS 1 1980)
August 29th, 2010
4:53 pm
JUST WALK THE WALK RICHT!
GA TECH NATIONAL TITLES 5 (THE MUTTS 1 1980)
August 29th, 2010
4:55 pm
IM TIRED OF NICK SABAN AND URBAN MEYER BEATING THE CRAP OUT OF GEORGIA!
P.S. FIRE MIKE BOZO AND CALL THE PLAYS YOURSELF MARK RICHT
69dog
August 29th, 2010
6:50 pm
Does anyone else miss the days when we had stud backs who could really run? Now, the best blocker gets to start. Let the line block. Let the backs run.
McCann's homer helps Braves overcome Florida and Lowe | Jeff Schultz
August 29th, 2010
7:00 pm
[...] ♦ College football special: Richt says Georgia is poised for bounce-back season [...]
James T. Kirk
August 29th, 2010
9:49 pm
Gag me. UGAy isn’t even the second best pig skin team in the state anymore since Ga. State now has a program. What exactly are the Mutts “bouncing back” to? A typical 5 loss season?
dawgfan13
August 29th, 2010
10:23 pm
This team should beat South Carolina and Arkansas. When you look at both rosters and compare the two Georgia on paper is better. the true question about this team will be can they cause more turnovers than they make, can they cut down on the crucial penalties, and can they be a little more creative on offense? they need more three receiver sets and more crossing routes to get the better receivers on the field at the same time. I understand the pro set mentality but you have to keep the other defense guessing. Also, the goal line offense has to be effective. More touchdowns than field goals. I am ready to watch them this year. Finally, I feel when we get up 31-0 against Lafyette, Hutson Mason should get some snaps. Do not red shirt this guy. We have to start getting our QBs some game experience. Let the guy play a few series in case something happens to Murray.
Big D Dawg
August 29th, 2010
11:00 pm
Jonathan Owens OT RED SHIRT Sophmore!!. 6-4 303 Blountsville, Ala.
He’s a back up, will be missed only for the depth for the line rotation.
Big D Dawg
August 29th, 2010
11:03 pm
tech fans keep yelling red panties cause they’ve never seen any!
Bill Bradsky
August 29th, 2010
11:31 pm
Richt never said anything last year about feeling we were going to be good. I really think he knew last year was not going to be our greatest season. What really concerns me is that he has not been saying anything about Aaron Murray. With redshirt freshman David Greene, he used to say that he feels he is mature beyond his years. Not a word being said about Murray, which is definitely a concern.
Columbus Dawg
August 30th, 2010
6:22 am
Yeah 69dog, I for one miss those days,and Richt had better find those days if he wants to remain in Athens. I saw the article in the AJC about five players to watch. They keep talking about our tailbacks being pass protectors. I remember the days when our tailbacks were tailbacks. Richt needs to let that big, bad OL that we have been hearing about for the last two years worry about pass protecting. It says that King has improved, well in pass protect mode. King is not a UGA caliber tailback. Richt will more than likely make the wrong decision about who gets the handoff. I know Ealey screwed up, but he will suffer the punishment for it. That being said, Richt had also better suck it up and give Ealey the majority of the carries if he wants to win. Ealey needs to get the ball early and often against SC, in order to get it going for the season. South Carolina’s Gamecocks, and the Arkansas Razorbacks are hardly our biggest worries, and if our ground game is not 100% better this year it will be a long season for fans and Alum, and a very long toasty season for CMR. The money people are very anxious, for a lack of a better word, and Damon Evans is gone. I hope Richt makes the right decisions.
Danielle
August 30th, 2010
8:19 am
It’s not easy to summarize the problems at UGA in a few words, but if I had to be lean with my words, I would just say that everything about the place is sleezy, tawdry, or phony.
Mark Richt is all three, of course.
Rad Penties
August 30th, 2010
8:21 am
Oh, look at the red panties falling from the sky. Almost like sugar once did!
Urban Meyer
August 30th, 2010
9:33 am
Jeff, you and Bradley are to Georgia football what Tucker and King are not, objective. A marque player like Washun Ealey is involved in a hit and run and Tucker and King tighten up more than a new coat of paint on Uga VIII’s doghouse. Bill you and Tim need to grow a pair. Tucker and King are good at dishing it out when it’s a Florida or GT player but retreat to “lock-down” mode when a Dawg player get’s in trouble. C’mon boys, if your gonna play with the Floridas and Bamas of the world, your going to have to be able to dish it out, and take it.
Tech Man's Dream
August 30th, 2010
9:42 am
The dream of every Tech man: to actually see a chick’s panties (any color will do).
Reid in EAV
August 30th, 2010
12:03 pm
To the folks saying, “Well, what do you expect a head coach to say, that his team sucks?” Well, there are some head coaches who do exactly that, either as a motivational ploy or as a matter of style. For example, Vince Dooley always used to praise his opponents in the press — by game time, he might’ve had you convinced that there was no way Herschel could gain any yards on that stout East Louisiana Tech defense. (This, of course, was the reason that Dooley teams rarely lost to inferior opponents.)
And just a week or so ago, Urban Meyer said “We’re not very good” about his own team. What does such a remark do? It fires up the team to prove the coach wrong.
Now that’s not Richt’s style, and probably never will be, but there are plenty of coaches who won’t be publicly optimistic about their teams’ chances — even if they don’t completely mean what they’re saying.
GT BABY
August 30th, 2010
12:06 pm
Yeah right!
GT BABY
August 30th, 2010
12:14 pm
YOU CANT WIN FOOTBALL GAMES IF ALL OF YOUR PLAYERS ARE LOCKED UP!
THE CLARK COUNTY BULLDAWGS!!!
NFRunnerDawg
August 30th, 2010
1:08 pm
Yall gotta be kidding me, have you seen this!? http://www.UGAKickoff.com/dawgforaday Run with the Dawgs un real!
LogicalUS
August 30th, 2010
1:28 pm
Man looking at the delusion on this board, it is little wonder that UGA fans are at the coaches and players throats by the FLA game every year.
I am just glad that the Saints don’t have to run up against UGA this year, they may not survive.
To inject a little sanity and possibly save some of the UGA fans hurting themselves.
QB is the least of your concerns, the UGA defense ranked 11th in the SEC last season. You lost 3 NFL DLs to be replaced by a OL and two upperclassmen subs from last season along with losing 3 DBs who are going to be replaced by upperclassmen journeymen and talk of two freshmen playing significant playing time at safety. And the worst for last, your LB corp which was atrocious last season is going to manned by two “starters” who have not practiced a day in the spring or fall camps yet could NOT not beat out by any of the pending ALL-AMERICAN backups?
UGA defense is going to be uglier than last year which is NOT going to be fixed by hiring the Defensive Line coach from the Cowboys who has had only two years of actual DC experience?? But not to worry, UGA fans are sure that the DC was really the defensive mastermind from this position coach position?
Save yourself some distress and get a freaking clue about UGA this season. 11-1, sure, good lord.
Matt Ryan confident but admits he, offense could be better | Jeff Schultz
August 30th, 2010
3:21 pm
[...] ♦ College football special: Richt says Georgia is poised for bounce-back season [...]
69dog
August 30th, 2010
4:00 pm
Columbus Dawg, I thank you for the comments you made. I couldn’t agree more. Is it any wonder that UGA cannot attract a great running back? Come to UGA and block! Rival schools use this every day against UGA. I must tell you, if I had a son who is a great running back, as much as I love UGA, I would tell him he is crazy to go to UGA and block for the hapless offense that UGA uses.
In addition, rival schools are using the lack of disipline against UGA.
Clifton Dingus
August 30th, 2010
4:44 pm
Jeff -
This is the first serious article you’ve written in over a year. It’s fair and balanced. The UGA program like a hotel on the Monopoly board has been taken over by newer properties on the block. However, as you accurately point out Richt went out and got himself a new Architect on D and some new interior designers and personally I think those changes are going to pay huge dividends and put us in a position to compete against the Belagio’s of the world.
Everyone needs to temper their expectations. Starting a RS Freshman at QB is riskier than starting a 5th year senior and look how that turned out last year. Takeaways are going to be the difference in 2010. Our D is going to get the ball a lot more than it did last year. When you combine that important stat with no directional kick-offs, you’ve got a formula for success.
We’ll see what happens. I’m cautiously optimistic.
SnoopDawg
August 30th, 2010
4:50 pm
Looks like the Preacha Man’s Koolaid is strating to work its majic on the Dawgnation.
A couple of sober thoughts:
1. Hope is not a method.
2. This season rests on the shoulders of MARK RICHT. Not the QB, DC, RB or anybody else.
At the end of the season, the BulldawgNation will judge MARK RICHT fairly based on his success or failure. The Koolaid will ensure he will get the benefit of any doubt. But if he is a failure, HE IS OFF THE ISLAND FOLKS!
dan
August 30th, 2010
11:43 pm
Jeff,
Many Dawg fans STILL think they have the type of program that can just bounce back and reload and I hate to be the barer of bad news, but they don’t! Over the last 4 seasons, UGA has only finished the regular season with 10 wins once( 2007). 2006: 8-4, 2008: 9-3, and 2009:7-5. UGA is what it is, an 8-9 win program that is capable of winning 10 games from time to time. They are the Atlanta Braves of the SEC, GOOD but not great. And truth be told, they have been that way for the vast majority of their history.
Richt might be Saban and Meyer’s equal in terms of X’s and O’s. But when it comes to building and maintaining a program, Saban and Meyer are far superior to Richt! The proof is in the pudding. Meyer and Saban’s coordinators are head coach material. Dan Mullen, Charlie Strong, Jimbo Fisher, Will Muschamp…ALL are head coaches now or will be soon. And ALL were a part of National Title teams, so they know what it takes to get there. Richt’s assistants a FAR inferior. Even Van Gorder is nothing more than a great assistant. Richt was a hungry coach at one point with a lot to prove. But he has gotten complacent and his judgment in personnel absolutely sticks. Dawg fans have given him some leeway because of the kind of person he is, but if this team tanks it this year, it could be Richt’s last.
Murray > Brantley
August 31st, 2010
9:27 am
With Murray running the O and Grantham’s 3-4 D, this dawg team will beat florida like a rented mule in jax–bank on it. Brantley’s a finesse player and will not be able to make the big plays like Tebow. Dawgs take over the SEC east in 2010—bet the house.
Dan's Daddy
August 31st, 2010
11:38 am
Danny Boy -
In summary, you’re full of it. Has Urban Meyer or Nick Saban coached at their respective schools for 10 years, like Richt? Let’s see how they fare over the long haul. Nick Saban has never stayed in one coaching job more than 5 years before he packs his bags and moves on. Urban Cryer gets to select from the second richest state in the country for HS talent. Now that Miami and FSU are back in the picture, let’s see how well he does. Oh, and Florida doesn’t have Tebow…
If you examine Richt’s overall Win vs. Loss record at UGA, there aren’t many programs that wouldn’t die to have similar success. We live in a “What have you done for me lately” society. Just look at the scrutiny Les Miles is under and the guy won a MNC three years ago.
RealityYech
August 31st, 2010
11:47 am
For nerd fans to get on to any team for cheating (GT owns the biggest cheating scandal in ACC history) or for having thugs (I’d proudly take parking violations over rapists, drug lords and cowards that beat women any day) is just plain laughable.
mark my words
August 31st, 2010
11:49 am
Saban will be back in the NFL within another 2 years and Meyer will have another schizophrenic meltdown and retire again, for good. Dawgs are sitting pretty.
Predicting Georgia Tech's season: Fast start, tough finish « News, Articles and Information
September 7th, 2010
5:04 am
[...] Here’s another sneak peek at a column that will appear in print in this Sunday’s special AJC College Football Section. The 34-page section will preview Georgia State, Georgia Tech and UGA seasons, the SEC and ACC, top games, Heisman candidates and more. Today, we look at Georgia Tech’s schedule, predicting the Yellow Jackets’ season, game by game. Previously posted: Mark Richt feels Georgia is poised for a bounce-back season. [...]