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
♦♦♦
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839 comments Add your comment
C. Rainey
October 4th, 2010
4:50 pm
Agreed with this article 100%.
Richt doesn’t command enough respect from his players. We need new blood.
PAUL JOHNSON, a.k.a "COACH"
October 4th, 2010
4:50 pm
WHY YOU LITTLE BITTIE CRY BABIES! WE’VE (or rather past gt coaches) have been going thru these things for decades. BUT I’M HERE NOW…..
5150 P.O.A.D
October 4th, 2010
4:51 pm
The D can’t be getting too much better when Colorado scores almost 30. Everybody knows if a team scores 30+ they win something like better than 85% of the time.
The whichever amendment that gave us free speech
October 4th, 2010
4:51 pm
If it’s all about hiring a really neat personality that everybody likes as head coach at UGA, may I suggest Larry the Cable Guy! Now that there’s funny – I don’t care who you are.
WDE
October 4th, 2010
4:52 pm
Nick- slice it any way you want, but 1-4 is not an improvement at all.
Georgia is a joke, you fans haven’t earned any respect around the country because you’re spoiled and expect the best, yet don’t have the pelotas to make the changes necessary. This is why you will always play 2nd fiddle in the SEC.
Dorsey Hill
October 4th, 2010
4:52 pm
They need to get Meat Cleaver, Terry Hoage, Frank Ros and Herschel in a room with these guys and do a Scared Straight routine on this team. They need to be re-familiarized with the sort of intensity required of winning football teams.
Another thing, if our safeties are going to be out of position anyway, put Tree in there. At least we know he’ll come with some bad intentions. They need to learn to like to hit people. Hit them late. Hit them early. I don’t care. Just hit somebody really hard, and do it like you like it. We wouldn’t even make a tough basketball team the way these guys play. Maybe we should send them over to the soccer team.
Finally, I can understand the “stay the course” mentality, but they need to send a message to some guys who aren’t producing and replace them with guys who want to play hard. They need to emphasize desire over mistakes. If they send the message that its more important to play hard than perfect then maybe we can get out of this malaise were in.
Eric
October 4th, 2010
4:53 pm
Great post at 4:54 Brian
Mike Bobo 17 INT
October 4th, 2010
4:53 pm
UGA needs to keep doing what they are doing and extend CMR’s contract. According to Nick’s statistics, UGA is getting better everyday. So what is the problem?
Brian
October 4th, 2010
4:54 pm
Dawgs suck
The REAL GA Gator
October 4th, 2010
4:54 pm
The bottom line here is money plain and $imple. You can hoot and holler and call for Richt to be fired, but UGA owes him millions of dollars so he isn’t going anywhere. Get used to losing this season, and forget about playing in a decent bowl game (or any bowl game really). UGA is going to get blasted by Florida and Auburn, and they’ll probably drop another game to Tennessee, GA Tech, and/or Kentucky. Hunker down puppies and focus on the positive….at least your women’s gymnastics team is still solid.
Terry Funk
October 4th, 2010
4:54 pm
that would be the 1st ammendment….
5150 P.O.A.D. Coach K learned under Bobby Knight at West Point….(you reinforced my point) thanks…
WDE
October 4th, 2010
4:54 pm
Keep getting better every week until your seniors leave and you can begin rebuilding again.
UGA football- rebuilding since 1980.
Nick
October 4th, 2010
4:54 pm
Is Jeff right, is Georgia not getting better on Special teams?
Kick return better than last season
Punt return better
Field goal % better than 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008
Punt average better better than 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008
The whichever amendment that gave us free speech
October 4th, 2010
4:55 pm
Sam Robards, Kool Aid Salesman. And obviously a drinker too.
Ed
October 4th, 2010
4:55 pm
“Ed you can’t compare different eras as far as facial hair, haircuts…heck in this day and time Wooden could only coach at a service academy with those rules…get real”
I was describing something that happened in the early 70s. You think hairstyles have gotten MORE radical since the 70s?
Any player who wouldn’t play for you because you won’t let him wear dreadlocks or a mohawk or earrings or whatever isn’t worth keeping anyway. Send his butt down the road.
What kind of hairstyle does Mark Ingram have? Or Tim Tebow?
That’s a copout, but no doubt you just expressed Richt’s weak approach to discipline.
Mike Bobo 17 INT
October 4th, 2010
4:55 pm
Notice the Falcons game on Sunday, Van Gorder held San Fran to 14 points, so he did his job, then it was up to the offense.
You should have known this program was tanked when Kirby Smart did not come home. He can learn alot more from Saban than CMR, and Muschamp pretty much said the same thing…middle finger.
t.slay
October 4th, 2010
4:56 pm
Jeff, you are spot on. I like Coach Richt as a person but he was not hired to be Father Flanagan and the UGA football program is NOT Boys Town. Some fans may be OK with Georgia finishing 9-4 or 8-5 and playing in a low to mid-level bowl each year but I expect MORE and I don’t believe having high expectations makes me a bad fan. It is tough to sit by and watch the Alabamas, LSUs, and Floridas win National Championships (the SEC has won the past 4 and Alabama looks to repeat). It is especially tough to watch Richt rely on gimmicks such as the 2008 blackout against Alabama (Georgia losing 31-0 at halftime, remember?) and the black helmets last year against Florida (I believe we lost 49-14 or something like that) Great teams don’t need gimmicks. I watch the end of the Tennessee-LSU game on Saturday and Derek Dooley was on fire. I just hated that they lost a game that they should have won. His dad even showed emotion in his last few years at Georgia. And need we forget Erk Russell? I have read from previous posters that Richt told Grantham to tone it down after the La-Laf game when he cussed out some players on defense who allowed a big play. If it is true, then that is a shame. Maybe we need someone on the coaching staff to hold the players accountable for stupid penalties, fumbles, and giving up big plays.
I also like to ask, where is the senior leadership on this team? I remember Georgia teams in the past that had players step up and assume leadership roles (David Greene, David Pollack, and Champ Bailey come to mind; there are others). The senior leadership has been missing in action this season thus far. Also many teams improve as the season goes on. Look at Tennessee-although they lost badly to Florida at home and barely beat UAB in overtime, they nearly upset an LSU team in Baton Rouge.
Endzone Dancing Fool!!!!
October 4th, 2010
4:56 pm
Quiet now—don’t be bothering mark with this coaching change talk. He’s working on a new endzone taunting dance for his players in the florida game (if they score!) It could be great, new and entertaining. Mark’s a thinker baby—a motivator!
5150 P.O.A.D
October 4th, 2010
4:57 pm
For those wishing to see
http://www.coachwooden.com
This will let you see Wooden’s Pyrmaid of Success
a young boy
October 4th, 2010
4:57 pm
Father Flanagan touched me down there
Tired fo being nice
October 4th, 2010
4:57 pm
CMR is not MIKE SINGLETARY, CMS calls his players and his TEAM
OUT when they play like UGA, Big difference, and singletary has
that fire in him, he will get in someones face(ask MICHAEL
CRABTREE. I believe CMS told the news he wants FOOTBALL PLAYERS
Kirby Smart
October 4th, 2010
4:57 pm
I heard that Kirby Smart’s wife is in town meeting with a realtor. Hopefully, she finds some good deals on depressed athens mansions.
CHRIS
October 4th, 2010
4:58 pm
You hit it right on the head ,JEFF.! This is what I have been saying all along. A good man! A good Coach! Un disciplined and disrespectful players! Some one needs to bring these trogaldytes out of prehistory. This is college football people! This is a team sport, not sandlot crap, not Aaron and AJ against the world! Your coach is your father figure! Learn what that means, even if you don’t like it! You are supposed to listen to him, please him, honor him, get better each week, FINISH THE DRILL!.
Pepe
October 4th, 2010
4:59 pm
UGA alumn from 2000…I’m still with Richt. Who we gonna get that’s better?
Bouldergeist
October 4th, 2010
5:00 pm
Nuthin’ like the sound of dawgs whinin’! I enjoyed shouting “Roll, Tide!” to all of you on the Pearl Street Mall in my best Suth’n accent.
First off, y’all travel well. In all seriousness, Dawg Nation was a pleasure to have in town. Try having Nebraska (where the “N” on the helmet stands for knowledge) in town, and you’ll see what I mean.
Second, you have the best 1-4 team I’ve seen in some time. Green is one amazing player — Denard Robinson is the only player I’d rather have — and we were lucky to have him out. If he’s in the game full-time, you’re 4-1.
Finally, Buffs fans are calling for Hawkins’ head, even though we are 3-1. If your coach is looking for work, maybe we can work out a swap? If we make a decent bowl, we’ll be lucky.
mdawg
October 4th, 2010
5:01 pm
i have a question for us dawg fans…… do you still want caleb king as your running back?? king had 4 fumbles last year alone. the costly one last saturday… how many more fumbles or missed protections does he have to have before you guys wake up and see that he is a bum??
do you still want him as your running back?
i dont.
V. cuff should be kicked off the team for conduct detrimental to the team.
heartofdarkness
October 4th, 2010
5:01 pm
I think the coach should re-read “The Gulag Archipelago”. Boy, those guys were disciplined.
Bobby
October 4th, 2010
5:01 pm
It was bad enough being stuck watching my Dawgs lose with a horrible Big 12 Fox Sports crew doing the homer commentating, but I did get a little laugh at the end. I couldn’t decide which was funnier: The fans storming the field like they had just beaten an 11-0 team; or, their coach talking about beating such a “great” UGA team. You would have thought he just knocked off Alabama, without giving any mention to the numerous gifts the Dawgs gave him to boot. Both were pretty much classics.
Zell
October 4th, 2010
5:02 pm
5150 POAD I give you credit…….I beleive you have posted the most comments that I have ever witnessed…..bravo!!!!!
SadDawg
October 4th, 2010
5:04 pm
“Now this is how you treat the greatest coach in the history of your program.”
**************************************************
Legendary Treatment, you probably think Tiger Woods is the “greatest” golfer in history, too.
How old are you, 25?
Vince Dooley won 6 SEC Titles (yes 6, with yesterdays Saban, Bear Bryant at Bama), and 1 UNDESPUTED National Championship, while being in contention for 3 others. His record also includes 3 unbeaten regular season records, and 6 one-loss teams.
I am a Richt supporter, but UGA had a great football history before him.
5150 P.O.A.D
October 4th, 2010
5:04 pm
Terry but DUKE is not a service academy. Coach K is doing the same type of thinks in the ERA. It is talking to a recruit first and explaning what is expected. If the recruit agrees then fine and if he doesn’t then fine too. Richt and many of todays coaches let the recruits run the show too much. These kids having presser to pick between a table full of hats is a joke. Some players come to some of these programs thinking they are bigger than the team they are playing for. I want TECH to win every game, but I would rather they win all the home games I attend, get good youngmen, and get the guys to get an education.
WDE
October 4th, 2010
5:05 pm
Bobby-
Hawkins is entrenched and in about as hot a seat as they come. Of course he’s going to complement Georgia as a good team- makes his victory seem like an actual accomplishment.
Woof Woof
October 4th, 2010
5:06 pm
You are asking recruits to be loyal to a program and a coach when the players we recruit aren’t loyal to anyone. It’s pretty obvious that they don’t value the opportunity they are given and have little regard for the program, coaches or University. It starts at the top and from Richt on down, we need to clean house. He is no longer credible. Sad but true. Things will change when the money stops coming in and not until.
82Dawg
October 4th, 2010
5:08 pm
@5150 P.O.A.D….just curious, if you hate the dawgs so much why are you always on their blogs? Who is your school and don’t they have a blog where you can go to?
jacketbrave
October 4th, 2010
5:08 pm
what happened to all that smack UGA was talking on the tech blog a couple of months back???
5150 P.O.A.D
October 4th, 2010
5:09 pm
Zell I don’t usually do REAL work on Monday’s. Having my own business lets me do that. It is fun to chat back and forth. I do have the computer on most days all day. So I like to read the blogs.
jacketbrave
October 4th, 2010
5:09 pm
obviously he is a tech fan if he attends our(TECH) games…….
CLEVON LITTLE
October 4th, 2010
5:10 pm
I’m don’t agree w/ everything, but there are some valid points here..
Nick
October 4th, 2010
5:10 pm
Jeff-
I think the fact that Georgia is vasty improved in BOTH turnover margin AND penalties, proves, beyond the shadow of doubt, players respect Richt, ARE listening, ARE paying attention to Richt.
I am surprised in your article research how you somehow missed improvements in BOTH major areas which you cited in your article.
So, safe to say, since your whole thing is about how players are NOT disciplined, and NOT getting better, and since I proved you wrong on both areas, safe to say, your whole conclusion is false.
Gordon Solie
October 4th, 2010
5:11 pm
Gotta love “small” fellers whose program gets beaten like a drum by their rival, so they resort to using posting names of teams who actually have success against that team.
They can’t help their little stingers can’t do much for them, so they try to grow a bigger stinger by calling themselves anything, but what they really are, little bitty techies . . .
Man Enough Is Enough
October 4th, 2010
5:11 pm
Great read, now if only the coaches are reading it. This pretty much sums up how I feel and yet several of my fellow Dawg fans cant seem to understand where I’m coming from. They just refer back to what he has done for us in the past, well this isn’t the past, and it has been the same for a couple of years now.
5150 P.O.A.D
October 4th, 2010
5:11 pm
82Dawg
There are UGA fans and this was a JEFF SCHULTZ BLOG not a UGA blog. I do talk on the Tech blog. There are not as many people posting because Tech people don’t comment much on the Liberal AJC blogs unless it is a game blog.
Anuras
October 4th, 2010
5:11 pm
Jeff,
Even a week ago today I was saying there is no way Richt could lose his job this season. Maybe if he has an exact repeat of this next year as well then sure, but as of last week it was the furtherest thing out of mind. But now, after watching how they lost yet again, I just have to wonder….could losing to baby Dooley who is in his first year at UT after taking over the program that was left in complete shambles and chaos, be the deciding factor? Not that any UGA fans have been clamoring for Derrick to take over UGA, but I would think losing to Vince’s boy in his first year on the job, at home, with a team that has been completely decimated over the years would HAVE to send shock waves……
Idiots
October 4th, 2010
5:12 pm
You dumba$$ posters who say UGA recruits thugs are morons. If UGA didn’t sign these players every other SEC team would. Get a clue before you post.
jacketbrave
October 4th, 2010
5:12 pm
@mdawg…………………………………………. why take king out????? who ISNT fumbling????
Russ
October 4th, 2010
5:13 pm
Hire Mike Leach and build him a really big shed.
Terry Funk
October 4th, 2010
5:13 pm
5150 P.O.A.D in Duke you are picking out an EXTREME example of success…The Duke program is very unique you are being unrealistic to compare them to Georgia’s pool of recruits…you’re comparing apples and oranges…IMHO
Idiots
October 4th, 2010
5:13 pm
5150 – my comment was aimed directly at you. You are an idiot and know nothing about college football and likely nothing else. At least post something that has an intellectual thought or STFU.
Idiots
October 4th, 2010
5:14 pm
look at all the Florida arrests. . .it happens everywhere. you just hear about Georgia b/c we live here. Duh!
Nick
October 4th, 2010
5:14 pm
Georgia has gone from 2009 and giving up 67 yards a game in penalities, to 40 yards a game in 2010.
Georgia went from a -16 TO margin in 2009, to a -1 TO margin in 2010.
These are MASSIVE imporvements.
The players are respecting, listening, and paying attention to Mark Richt, MUCH better than last year, despite the false writings on this blog.