Richt isn’t commanding Georgia players’ respect or attention
Mark Richt's biggest problem? Players may be tuning him out.
Sometimes it’s not about whether somebody is a good coach or certainly a good man. Sometimes it’s just about whether players are even listening to him.
Mark Richt preaches to his players, “Finish the drill.” They don’t.
He admonishes them about missed blocks and blown coverages and stresses the importance of playing with discipline, passion and a sense of desperation. They don’t respond.
He states the obvious: Don’t get arrested. They do.
I am not calling for Mark Richt’s firing here. Not yet. There are still seven games left in the season. That’s enough time for Georgia to turn its season around, play in a respectable bowl game and most importantly send the message that this program isn’t going down like Pompeii.
But right now, I’m just not feeling it.
Needing to bounce back after a loss at South Carolina, the Bulldogs lost to Arkansas at home for the first time in 17 years.
Needing to play with a sense of urgency to avoid falling to 0-3 in the SEC, they fell behind after two minutes, 43 seconds in Starkville and lost to Mississippi State for the first time in 36 years.
Needing to regain some measure of respect just on their own campus, the Bulldogs lost at Colorado — which had lost to California, 52-7, only a few weeks earlier.
You thought Shreveport was the bottom? Shreveport was just the flashing yellow light.
They used to attack. They used to play with confidence. They used to have resolve. They used to win road games. They used to win any games.
Now the Dogs are 1-4, and there’s probably someone at Louisiana-Lafayette thinking, “How did we lose to those guys?” They’re 2-7 in their last nine SEC games, and Tennessee, Vanderbilt and Kentucky are thinking, “We can beat those guys.”
That’s where Georgia is. What does that tell you?
This is about leadership. Either players aren’t following Richt or he’s leading them in the wrong direction. It is becoming clear that he doesn’t command their attention or their respect because, if he was, Georgia wouldn’t be sliding into oblivion.
When college teams lose, certain things get over-analyzed. Here are two of them:
♦ 1.) Recruiting: Some believe Georgia isn’t getting the athletes it used to. Bunk. Watch the games. The Bulldogs are no slower or weaker or smaller than their opponents. Recruiting services have had Georgia’s classes in or near the top 10 annually. If you believed them before, don’t stop believing them now just because it’s convenient.
♦ 2.) Strategy: Football is about toughness and discipline, blocking and tackling. It’s not about the offensive coordinator not calling enough short passes. Offensive coordinator Mike Bobo may not be the next Mike Shanahan on offense, and Willie Martinez certainly wasn’t Brian VanGorder’s equal on defense. But Georgia’s slide is not about X’s and O’s. It’s about focus and determination and knocking people down.
Richt’s job should be in jeopardy. Why? Because not only are the Bulldogs not very good, but there is no sign that they are getting better.
The offensive line, expected to be the strength of this team, has been less than average. Freshman quarterback Aaron Murray, the biggest question mark, has been one of their best players. A.J. Green reaffirmed in his first game back from suspension that he is a special player but his presence in Colorado also pounded home the obvious: This isn’t about one player.
Richt gets criticized for not showing enough emotion on the sideline. That might be unfair. But here’s something worth asking: Is he obsessed enough?
There’s no question Richt wants to win. But he has a lot more things important to him in his life now, like taking mission trips to Honduras. It doesn’t mean football isn’t important to him. Anybody who has seen him after losses knows otherwise. But college football coaching, particularly in the SEC, has become a 24/7/365 job.
Richt in a conference with some truly obsessed coaches: Nick Saban, Urban Meyer, Bobby Petrino. Watch Derek Dooley and you can almost see sparks coming off his head. If we see that, you know Tennessee players see that.
Do you get that sense with Richt’s players? Are they ready to jump at his every command?
Georgia has players. Georgia has facilities, money and certainly fan support. But right now, there is no direction, and if Mark Richt is leading, the problem is that nobody is paying attention.
♦
Earlier posts:
♦ Now that Braves are here, how far can they go?
♦ Braves make it back to the postseason in typical dramatic style
♦♦♦
Follow me on Twitter @JeffSchultzAJC and Facebook.com/JeffSchultzAJC
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
839 comments Add your comment
jacketbrave
October 4th, 2010
5:14 pm
idiots………………………. get all your players out on bail and then we will talk
82Dawg
October 4th, 2010
5:15 pm
5150 P.O.A.D …you are right it is a JS blog, but about UGA… I know you are not saying that UGA is more liberal than tech are you??? LOL!!
jasont13
October 4th, 2010
5:15 pm
My question to everyone who wants Richt gone, who do you want to replace him? A lot of people are calling for his head with no mention of a replacement. Don’t give me this Will Muschamp crap. If you are going to fire a coach who has one 90 plus games in 10 years you don’t replace him with a guy who has never been a head coach before.
Idiots
October 4th, 2010
5:15 pm
jackets. . .have some class or STFU
Bobby
October 4th, 2010
5:16 pm
WDE,
Oh you are absolutely correct and I’m well aware of his situation. It’s much worse than Richt’s, but still, his over-the-top exaggerating of UGA was just priceless, and pathetic
jacketbrave
October 4th, 2010
5:16 pm
@idiots………again……………… DUH? really? it has been all over ESPN that yall have had 10 players arrested this year………… all i heard about florida was that they had 1….its not because we live here
CGA
October 4th, 2010
5:16 pm
Analyze the statistics all you want, but in the end the only statistic that truly counts at the end of the day is the score.
Idiots
October 4th, 2010
5:17 pm
funny, Tech people on here enjoying UGA’s losses. How about your team?? At least some tech fans with class admit we are both suffering. however, some of you have no class.
Nick
October 4th, 2010
5:17 pm
Jeff:
Offensive passing game has improved from 200 yards a game with Cox, to 226 a game with Murray.
I guess you missed that improvement also.
Terry Funk
October 4th, 2010
5:17 pm
my take on the arrests: The Athens police are on steriods they get a stiffy when they arrest people..(kinda like Cobb County) they are over zealous….we need the cops in Athens to be like the cops in Alabama and Columbia, SC….I guess the Athens cops don’t like football..???
Rumbo
October 4th, 2010
5:18 pm
What Jeff doesn’t tell you is that Georgia has never been a consistent super-power in the SEC. Even during the Butts and Dooley years there were big swings down as well as up. Richt is simply carrying on the Georgia tradition of having an exceptional team every three or four years. Unfortunately, the fan base, with the help of writers like Shultz, has convinced itself that this is suddenly unacceptable. It is the fan base that has changed, not the coaching standards of Georgia’s football team.
jacketbrave
October 4th, 2010
5:18 pm
hey “idiots”…….why dont u have the class to make a real name instead of basically calling urself an idiot?
Idiots
October 4th, 2010
5:18 pm
florida has had many arrests. again, you clearly know nothing. no one gives a crap if you win. do your homework and then tell me how many arrests they have had under meyer.
Water Girl
October 4th, 2010
5:18 pm
Coach, I want to know how you intend to pay our mortgage on our beautiful Lake Oconee home next year?
Idiots
October 4th, 2010
5:18 pm
oh, it it was felony stalking and he only got two games! for a felony!
5150 P.O.A.D
October 4th, 2010
5:19 pm
82Dawg
NO just that TECH people don’t post on here much on the TECH pages. I know Tech fans talk on the UGA topics because they are picking fun or trying to make some point. If a UGA person is on the Tech Blog it is usually just to say NERD get out of your mom’s basement and that kind of stuff. On the UGA topics there is actually some comments thet are funny and interesting.
jacketbrave
October 4th, 2010
5:19 pm
yes we do suck………….. but last i check 3-2 is much better than 1-4……….
layers
October 4th, 2010
5:19 pm
As though it’s any mystery to anyone on here that every UGA basher on this blog is actually a wothless jacket. Bama, Auburn and Gator fans actually have more on their plate to deal with and winning seasons to focus on. Come on guys, do you really not have anything better to do? Shouldn’t you be concerned with your “Heisman” contender? LOL!!!
Idiots
October 4th, 2010
5:20 pm
jacketbrave – they name is b/c dumb people make posts acting like UGA is the only one recruiting these guys who get arrested. the fact is if UGA didn’t sign them, tech and many other teams would. i did not direct that at you, unless of course you don’t realize the reality. yes, the number of arrests is unacceptable, but it is not due to poor recruiting!
Nick
October 4th, 2010
5:20 pm
Offense getting better?
Passing yards per game UP by 25 yards.
Total offensive yards UP by 25 yards.
Offensive scoring down by 4 points, rushing down by 20 yards a game.
Offensive Giveaways MUCH BETTER.
Idiots
October 4th, 2010
5:21 pm
and you have played whom???
crap sandwich
October 4th, 2010
5:21 pm
Man did you hit the nail on the head Schultz. The players are ignoring Richt and likely the other coaches as well. This is very obvious. I am so sick of hearing about Bobo this and Bobo that, the bucks stops with Richt. Football is a simple game that must be played with passion, toughness and resilience. Georgia has none of those qualities for some time now, this is a reflection of the head coach.
Dobbs quote was quite telling to me when he stated they cannot quit. Oh really, looks like they did some time ago. Besides Murray, Durham and Champus on offense, and Dent, Robinson and Houston on defense, do you feel the rest of the team is giving 100%? Do you see improvement on the field? Do you see improvement with the players attitudes? Do you see improvement with behavior on and off the field? None of us do, so we continue to slide.
Few more questions, ever work for someone you don’t respect? Ever worked for someone with little passion or interest in what they do? Did you feel like you could give 100% to this sort of employer? Of course not, this is what is happening at UGA. The players have picked up on this and they loaf on the field, and provide us some great tomfoolery of the field. Often times when this occurs to football teams, drugs are involved. Likely loads of pot smokers on this team. No surprise if many of them show up for games stoned. The players just don’t care.
jacketbrave
October 4th, 2010
5:22 pm
HEY IDIOTS………….. have you failed to realize that florida has less than UGA? yall have TEN ..yes thats diez in espanol…..10…. ONE ZERO……..florida has had a couple… but hey! they have a 4-1 record!
5150 P.O.A.D
October 4th, 2010
5:24 pm
Idiots we was arrested for a felony but like everybody knows INNOCENT until proven Guilty. He has not been to court yet. Now, at Tech with Johnson Tarrant had to sit a whole year on felony charges. The charges were dropped but Tarrant did sit a whole year. The Fl player is just like you or me out on bail. He can play until the facts are proven in court.
Latrell Sprewell
October 4th, 2010
5:24 pm
Nick – what a dang fool! How about that win-lose record dummy. Is that an improvement?
Idiots
October 4th, 2010
5:25 pm
a couple? way more than that under meyer. seriously look it up. I agree with you. It is stupid what is going on. MY ONE AND ONLY POINT: we all recruit the same players!!! that is all.
and yes, no one cares about florida arrests b/c they WIN!!!!
at least we can agree on the braves!
Nick
October 4th, 2010
5:25 pm
13 Obvious Signs Georgia is getting better, that Jeff missed:
1- Passing game
2- Offensive total yards per game
3- Offensive giveaways per game
4- Defensive scoring per game
5- Defensive yards per game
6- Rush defense
7- Pass defense
8- Takeaways per game average
9- Punt return average per game
10- kick return average per game
11- Field goal percentage
12- Punt average
13- Penalities per game
jacketbrave
October 4th, 2010
5:26 pm
THATS ANOTHER POINT!!! UGA HAS A TOP TEN RECRUITING CLASS EVERY YEAR!!!!! HECK! YALL SHOULD BE NATIONAL CHAMPS! NOT BEGGING TO BE BOWL ELIGIBLE!! COLORADO??? MISS ST????? SC????? ARKANSAS???? NONE OF THESE HAVE TOP TEN RECRUITING CLASSES!!!! TECH HAS N.O.T.H.I.N.G. AND MANAGES TO COMPETE IN FOOTBALL!!
Idiots
October 4th, 2010
5:26 pm
so then why did we just kick a guy off the team for dui. he has not been convicted yet???
Jeff Schultz
October 4th, 2010
5:27 pm
Latrell — Won-loss record? Hey. what a concept! Understand, some people are just trying to defend their position. Some are trying so hard in fact that they posting comments under multiple names, when in fact they’re all the same person. It’s kind of funny, really. But seriously, people can attack Mark or defend Mark, makes no difference to me. Just making my viewpoint clear.
5150 P.O.A.D
October 4th, 2010
5:27 pm
Because it is up to the coach if he wishes to do that. But if the coach doesn;’t do it until the player is convicted that is OK too.
jacketbrave
October 4th, 2010
5:27 pm
my point is that uga recruiting is amazing….. yalll should be national contenders! tech is given NOTHING to work with and COMPETES
Nick
October 4th, 2010
5:27 pm
There are 13 MAJOR SIGNS that Georgia is GETTING BETTER and the players are respecting and paying VERY CLOSE ATTENTION to Richt’s commands.
How Jeff could have missed these is a mystery.
Idiots
October 4th, 2010
5:29 pm
Jeff-
Please explain to these Tech fans that we all recruit the same players. So they are going to tell me that AJ Green is a thug and Tech would not have signed him?? Give me a break. There is a breakdown going on in Athens, agreed. My point is that it is not b/c of who we recruit!!!
5150 P.O.A.D
October 4th, 2010
5:29 pm
DAMN people you have gotten to Jeff today. He has responded to this blod to defend himself more that ever. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Becareful Jeff you might lose some more HAIR or at least make it greyer. AHHAHAAHHAHA
wastedyears
October 4th, 2010
5:30 pm
i cannot believe you people that want to keep richt his tyme has passed,after the miss st game the WHOLE staff should have been given the chance to resign .and if they choose not to then fired on the spot.that said .uga cant get any lower what we need is to be like bama hire/buy a coach that already has a nat championship.it isnt like uga is looking under dawghouses for money listen people cause this is important as long as u keep buying items with that ‘g’ on it and filling up sanford stadium on sat nothing is gonna change you have got to hit uga in the wallet if you want change i wished no one showed up to sat games but tenn fans they will win anyway oh yea and it would really help to stop recruiting thugs an get some people disipline morals an values
Idiots
October 4th, 2010
5:31 pm
jacket- I agree. what is going on is unacceptable and disappointing. 5150 posted that the reason for our failure is we recruit thugs. this has been my only point. kicking the guy off the team may be the first time we actually mean business about this discipline. . . at least I hope so.
chazzo
October 4th, 2010
5:31 pm
Sad to say, I agree. I am still hopeful, however, that these guys can make something happen with this team. Maybe it’s time to let it all go. I don’t know. I’ll still watch every Saturday and pull for the Dawgs!
Latrell Sprewell
October 4th, 2010
5:31 pm
Jeff – I think you hit the nail on the head. I was telling my friends just after Damon Evans small debacle, that Richt should move up to AD. That would have been a huge face AND money saving event. He would be a better AD than Head Coach.
Legendary Treatment
October 4th, 2010
5:31 pm
@ SadDawg
My grandmother could of won a national championship with Herschel Walker in the backfield. The greatest running back ever to play the game will do glorious things for a team.
You’re right though. Dooley did great in the early 80’s. You can thank Miss St. for that 80 championship too (I’m old enough to remember how y’all slide into the Sugar Bowl).
Just sayin’. CMR put Georgia on the map after 20 years of being irrelevant. Y’all had swagger until the Blackout.
5150 P.O.A.D
October 4th, 2010
5:31 pm
Idiots I know we go after these same guys, but what happens to them when they get to UGA? That is my question. Some players no matter where they go are going to get in trouble, but UGA has been in the top 10 in Fulmer Cup points 4 out of the last 5 years.
Dawgfan
October 4th, 2010
5:32 pm
There is absolutely nothing positive to add to this year about UGA coaching, and I’ve been a dawg fan since the day I was born. I think Richt needs to try to stop fixing things three years after they have started and fix a minor issue when they occur. Take all these arrests, if Richt had kicked the first player to get arrested off the team, was strict and instilled fear in the other players. We would never have had this issue. Richt is lacking a passion for the game, or at least a visible one. Jakar Hamilton he had 3 personal fouls in one game yet do you see Richt getting angry and pulling Hamilton from the game. The other players would have respected Richt. Or if Richt had gotten angry at a couple of those bad penalty calls by the (awful) refs in the Colorado games maybe his players would have wanted him to WIN for him. I’m not asking for anger, I’m just asking for some passion!
Mr. Average
October 4th, 2010
5:32 pm
I saw programs on ESPN on both Saban and Butch Davis. Believe me, I had rather both CMR and BD as the head coach at my alma mater. Saban manipulated his players like a bad parent manipulates his children to get what he wants from them. I personally do not want that at my school, even it means fewer wins.
bascogcjs
October 4th, 2010
5:32 pm
Bobby, you are wrong.
The announcers were not homers; maybe you are the homer.
The announcers were very complimentary and knowledgeable of Ga. and Colo.
You sound like a typical fan cutting down the commentators.
Not Disappointed
October 4th, 2010
5:32 pm
Jeff, you were a little hard on CMR. Remind me to never piss you off!
Idiots
October 4th, 2010
5:33 pm
5150 – ok, so you now agree it is NOT uga recruiting thugs. the issue is we have a discipline problem. all we can do is hope the dismissal of the player for dui is a the beginning of the end of this crap.
Nick
October 4th, 2010
5:34 pm
Georgia is getting worse in 3 out of 16 areas:
1- Offensive scoring
2- Rushing
3- Win/loss record
Georgia getting better in the other 13 out of 16 areas.
“No signs of getting better”.
Really?
Derek
October 4th, 2010
5:36 pm
Agree with those who say if UGA fires CMR we are set back 10 years and look a lot like SMU. So, UGA stay with CMR and he will never allow us to become SMU. Richt is the man. Look at the picture with an unbiased mind. Hopefully our AD is not foolish enough to fire one of the most successful coaches in UGA history. The AJC bloggers seem to be piling on CMR. All in unison today.
5150 P.O.A.D
October 4th, 2010
5:36 pm
Idiot there were issues with Ealey in high school(ECI) with a teacher one time. It was overlooked. I didn’t call all the players UGA recruits were THUGS, but that some did have issues before coming to UGA. Some players have developed peoblems after getting to UGA.
Dawgfan
October 4th, 2010
5:36 pm
Nick Wake up and come back to the real world. UGA is unproductive this year. Yes were getting better this year but look at the past. Richt has become to comfortable.