Richt: Dogs’ lack of effort at times last year ‘embarrassing’
Mark Richt continued his spring speaking tour Thursday night in the town that’s been the site of his greatest frustrations, addressing a couple of hundred of the Bulldog faithful at the Marriott in Jacksonville.
The Florida Times-Union was on hand and reports the UGA head coach didn’t mince words in talking about his team’s lack of effort at times last season. The Dogs lost some games, he said, because the other team played harder. “That’s embarrassing,” Richt said. “It’s our shame and it’s my fault. We’re not going to let that happen again.”
While Richt told Dogs fans in Savannah earlier this week that “I don’t feel any pressure” coming off a losing season, he at least admitted in Jacksonville that the pressure is there. “There’s always going to be pressure in this type of job. There’s pressure every year.”
Talking about opening the season with the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game, Richt seemed to embrace the challenge he faces with the idea that the bigger the risk, the bigger the payoff.
“Boise State is a not a conference game,” he said, “but it’s a big game for the University of Georgia. To have a season like we just did that was so far below what we are used to and what’s expected, we needed this game. Boise State is the winningest team over the past 10 years. If we can battle with them, we can make Georgia very relevant again nationally.”
Of course, the subject came up of whether the transition from Urban Meyer to Will Muschamp at Florida means this might be the year to get the rivalry with the Gators back on an even keel.
“Any year would be a great year for us to do that,” Richt said. “It’s always a huge game and a game that’s talked about a lot, especially in this town. You hope to perform well as you get to that game, so that it’s extremely meaningful.”
Indeed. When it comes to assessing how well Georgia needs to do this season for Richt to keep his job, you hear a lot of folks say nine wins … or eight if one of them includes Florida.
What do you think? If Richt manages to start out on a winning note against Muschamp, does that buy him another loss elsewhere? Is the Florida game in a class all its own in terms of importance to Richt’s future, or should it be viewed as just another SEC game?
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346 comments Add your comment
Wildgator
April 22nd, 2011
11:50 am
Man, that CMR is too funny!!! Now he is trying point the finger at himself??? Ok, which one is it, he wasn’t getting the players, or he wasn’t coaching them??? CMR might be a good guy, but UGA fans he needs to stop playing with you alls emotions. UGA fans he messed y’all up a couple years ago when he basically said yeah I told them to celebrate the first touchdown against FL, but no, I didn’t tell them to celebrate. WHAT!! I really liked the celebration! It was nice and funny as hell! But when he started back tracking, the slide that you all are in started. ijs
kevin
April 22nd, 2011
11:50 am
KerryB,
You are flat wrong. There is a reason McGarity made the o-line coaching position a 1 year contract. Despite greatly limiting the talent pool he could choose from with such a move, it made it clear that Richt has this last year to turn things around. As he should. Richt, as many commentators have already said, despite being a good coach for several years, has failed to produce 3 years in a row.
GoDawgs
April 22nd, 2011
11:53 am
Richt put the target on the dawgs for the next 5 years for all teams in the SEC. If your going to tout a recruiting class as the dream team then every team you play is going to play harder just to prove your not the dream team. Yes it’s only 25 kids coming in but the entire team is going to get that stamp or anyone that represents UGA football. I feel if Richt doesn’t win 10 games 4 out of 5 years along with 2 SEC titles and play in one BCS title game then he is fired. It’s lofty yes but he put it on himself when he chose to name a recruiting class the dream team and that’s what all fans expect for UGA to produce not just talk a big game now.
TRS421
April 22nd, 2011
11:54 am
I gotta agree with mcgdawg….it all starts with th efirst game vs. Boise State. Take ‘em one game at a time.
Patrick Romano WAR DAMN EAGLE
April 22nd, 2011
11:55 am
Pat & Bryan are gay, FIRST/LAST
WAR DAMN EAGLE, National Champs, 2010
Mel
April 22nd, 2011
11:56 am
Richt averages 6 1/2 wins a season last 2 years. That’s horrendous.
JDawg1785
April 22nd, 2011
11:56 am
What’s been killing Georgia over the past few disappointing seasons has been a lack of effort and drive. Only so much of this game is physical and the Dawgs have been on the losing side of the mental aspect way too often. I think things are heading in the right direction in that department, but it’s all decided on the field.
In terms of CMR’s job security, all he can do at this point is focus on whipping Boise in the Dome. All we can do is stand by him and the men who represent the University of Georgia on the football field, through thick and thin.
GO DAWGS!
OldFan
April 22nd, 2011
11:58 am
Unless we have a complete meltdown, Richt is safe. All programs have to deal with a down cycle at some point. The real issue to me is the longer term trend toward mediocrity. Can Richt excel again? How will we know he’s on the right track? Can he sustain it?
Dawg4life
April 22nd, 2011
12:00 pm
The problem is, UGA has changed from being Rocky Balboa to being Apollo Creed. “Gotta get the eye of the tiger Rock. The eye of the tiger man.”
Metaphorically speaking of course.
RealityCheck- Dude, Richt has a winning record against Bama…
Devil's Advocate
April 22nd, 2011
12:07 pm
You people drinking the South Carolina Kool Aid are funny too. You do realize that Florida sucked last year right? The only thing that saved Florida’s season was beating UGA and that’s not saying much is it? So basically, it took UF, UGA, and UT all sucking at the some time for SC to win the SEC East by 1 game. What other time has an SEC East champ been shelled by a team of Arkansas’ caliber and lose to Kentucky? Maybe 2007 when UT, UGA, and UF all beat each other in a round robin fashion and UT got shelled by Bama and Florida but they did finish 6-2.
I wouldn’t be surprised if UT ends up with a better record than SC in 2011.
2011 East:
1/2 – UGA/UF
3/4 – UT/SC
5 – Kentucky
6 – Vandy
ATL Gator
April 22nd, 2011
12:09 pm
Florida owns Georgia. Just get used to it.
epic_quibble
April 22nd, 2011
12:09 pm
I guess CMR keeps forgetting that Fulmer Cups don’t win themselves
7576DAWG
April 22nd, 2011
12:10 pm
I think that you can’t put a specific number of win on CMR this year as to whether he keeps his job. UGA needs to take one game at a time. CMR in the past has made it a point to say we are not looking ahead at games in the future but then get beat by a less talented team because that exactly what they were going , looking ahead. He needs to keep his team focused for once on one game at a time and stop feeling sorry for less talented teams. In the past UGA would get off to a great start and get way ahead , dominating a team and then feel sorry for them and ease off. When you keep the pressure on a team the whole game and never let them breath you set up a win next year when they play you because you embarrassed them so much the year before they dread playing you the next year.
93Dawg
April 22nd, 2011
12:13 pm
Enough about the “awesome” recruiting class. It was THIRD best in the SEC!
Mel
April 22nd, 2011
12:14 pm
11-2, to 10-3, to 8-5, to 6-7.
richt’s program is sliding, and richt can’t stop it.
Mel
April 22nd, 2011
12:16 pm
richt isn’t good at turning his situation around in the positive direction. Rather clueless at how to do that. going back to 2003, in the last 8 seasons, 7 out of 8 times, 88%, richt lost more games than the year before.
Do_Tell
April 22nd, 2011
12:16 pm
Can Richt have a good season with seniors and juniors? Most have always gone for the draft. Why is it UGA loses its top players to the draft? I do not remember any team making it to the Big Game without topnotch seniors. So losing is also not keeping the best players until graduation.
college football is simple
April 22nd, 2011
12:19 pm
teams that control the line of scrimmage win. UGA has not been good at that in some time. The switch to the 3-4 caused problems on D. Injuries and inability to run block caused the vaunted RB’s to struggle.
does anything else need to be said? I think not. Richt has to find ways to solve these two issues or he’s gone
tc
April 22nd, 2011
12:19 pm
Bla Bla Bla! “That’s embarrassing,” Richt said. “It’s our shame and it’s my fault. We’re not going to let that happen again.”
He is correct about it being embarrassing, but he has done absolutely nothing stop it from happaning again. Getting his teams to “play hard” is not a skill that CMR has ever had.
Kevin
April 22nd, 2011
12:25 pm
Let me clarify….
When I said “Dawgnation deserves” a championship, I was talking about the fan base, not the team itself. UGA has all the components of a national title caliber program, i.e. great facilities, recruiting, and the list goes on and on…
If our current coaching staff can’t take what they have and win, then maybe we should look at a change. Can’t say there is a lack of talent. And I am not saying CMR should go. We had Matt Staford and Moreno in the same offensive backfield and didn’t win the East. You can take that finger and point it at whomever you deem necessary.
So, for the sake of further clarification, I was in no way implying that UGA deserves a championship because they are UGA. The fan base deserves a coaching staff that will give their team the best change to win. If this staff can’t get it done, maybe we should look into other options. That is what UGA deserves.
Sorry for the confusion.
McDawg
April 22nd, 2011
12:31 pm
FL game was a sterling example of where they wanted it more -Burton is a great competitor
the difference this next year is our leader -the QB- is no longer a freshmen
Mel
April 22nd, 2011
12:32 pm
“To have a season like we just did that was so far below what we are used to and what’s expected”
Richt’s been averaging a 1-2 game decline in wins for the last 3 years in a row.
It’s expected that Richt will go either 5-7 in 2011 or 4-8. Has had a 1-2 win decline every year past 3 years.
6-7 wasn’t below the 2 game win decline from the previous season. The 2 game decline was exactly the same.
“So far below”.
Hardly.
JB
April 22nd, 2011
12:39 pm
Let it be said. To keep up, this is blog 2 of 300 on the AJC about the Status of Richt’s job. only 298 to go between the sports staff at the AJC………….You see, listening to Paul Johnson preparing for Western Carolina is about as exciting as hearing Obama read a speech of how wonderful he thinks he doing. Therefore, we get Richt.
kevin
April 22nd, 2011
12:39 pm
ATL Gator,
You are right, but at least we did not have some lunatic christian freak with bible verses in his eye black has the mouthpiece for our team.
Mel
April 22nd, 2011
12:40 pm
It’s not lack of effort on the players, richt can’t control effort from players, they’re not robots, it’s lack of strategy from the coaches. why does richt lose more games than the year before 88% of last 8 seasons? That’s lack of strategy. It’s on richt.
papadawg
April 22nd, 2011
12:40 pm
Come on Coach Richt pull the trigger on kickng your players and coaches BUTTS. Lack of effort should NEVER be an excuse no matter how good or bad your team is.
P. Bull Terrier
April 22nd, 2011
12:40 pm
For most of the blog critics, nothing less than a National Championship will be enough to put an end to the Coach Richt bashing. Even then, some would still claim that it was just luck:
A win over Boise St is no big deal because it’s Boise St. They lost a bunch of players. They play in a weak conference. Crowell didn’t gain 100 yards. He’s going to be a bust. Murray missed a couple of open receivers. Etc.
A win over SC is no big deal because it’s SC. They were overrated in the first place. UGA has better players. They still let Lattimore gain 100 yards. John Jenkins didn’t completely plug up the middle. He’s going to be a bust. Etc.
Wins over Coastal Carolina, Ole Miss, Miss St, Vanderbilt, NM St, & KY don’t count for much because UGA is supposed to beat them all every year. Besides, Bobo called too many run plays when he should have passed, and too many pass plays when he should have run. Jay Rome isn’t catching enough passes. He’s going to be a bust. Etc.
Wins over Tenn and Auburn are no big deal because both are still rebuilding and most of their best players are still in jail. Looks like Lemay isn’t going to play this season. He must be a bust too. Etc.
A win over Fla is no big deal because they have a new coach. This is a rebuilding season. Richt still has a losing record against them. Malcom Mitchell didn’t have an interception. He’s going to be a bust. Etc.
A win over Tech is no big deal because it’s just Tech. Tech grads are better at math than UGA grads. Red Panties!!!! Grantham’s D let the Yellow Jackets rush for over 300 yards again. Ray Drew didn’t have a single sack. He sure turned out to be a bust. Etc.
A win in the SEC championship game is no big deal because Alabama is having a down year. SEC championships are only meaningful when Alabama wins them. If someone else wins one, it’s only because Alabama is having a down year. Cootie Harrow didn’t have any big plays. He’s going to be a bust. Etc.
A win in the NC game is no big deal because…
Mel
April 22nd, 2011
12:41 pm
It’s fans like JB who like sliding from 11-2, to 10-3 to 8-5, to 6-7, that make GA so medicore.
Thanks JB.
Beast from the East
April 22nd, 2011
12:42 pm
“When it comes to assessing how well Georgia needs to do this season for Richt to keep his job, you hear a lot of folks say nine wins … or eight if one of them includes Florida.”
Bill,
I never would have dreamed that growing up, but the reality is it’s true. You’ll know UGA is considered an elite program when teams start to make statements like that about beating the Dawgs
Beast from the East
April 22nd, 2011
12:43 pm
@kevin,
No….you have him as your coach!
Mel
April 22nd, 2011
12:44 pm
We are used to losing 1-2 more games than the year before under richt, last 8 seasons, it’s happened 7 times.
uga fans are used to losing more games than the year before.
it’s ‘the georgia way’.
it’s life with richt.
Dawg Gone
April 22nd, 2011
12:44 pm
ATL Gator that new HC of yours has won how many games as a HC?
kevin
April 22nd, 2011
12:46 pm
beast from the east,
you have a point. though, i would submit that while richt is obviously christian, he not nearly as overt or obnoxious about it. still, i think it’s lame that it’s at all part of his focus.
JB
April 22nd, 2011
12:49 pm
Mel,,,,, huh? I like the sliding? Just the opposite. I’m ready to win, with or without Richt. I’m a Georgia fan first.
Richt: Dogs’ lack of effort at times last year ‘embarrassing’ – Atlanta Journal Constitution (blog) | Dog Shop Blog
April 22nd, 2011
12:51 pm
[...] webmaster@technorati.com wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerpt [...]
Dawg 4 Life
April 22nd, 2011
12:51 pm
Seriously ???? I am so sick and tired of hearing so-called Dawg fans whine and moan about coach Richt. If memory serves, it wasn’t all that long ago that we weren’t anything but a middle of the pack SEC team. The end of the Dooley era didn’t bring us anything, Goff was not going to get the job done, and Donnan, well he won all his bowl games but thats about it. Coach Richt has always been, and will always be the man for UGA. Have I been displeased with the last couple of years ? Sure, but not everything that has happened can be blamed on Richt. Some of these kids just aren’t cut out for college ball. I have full faith that this man not only deserves but has earned the right to fix this. Otherwise, we might as well be Georgia Tech fairweather fans. Can anybody really say that we have had the talent to win the SEC in the last three years ? No. Be realistic.As long as we are competitive, we will win more than we lose. I feel things are looking up. GO DAWGS !!!!!!!
JB
April 22nd, 2011
12:52 pm
Beast…………It’s awfully quiet down there? You guys have got to be anxious.
7576DAWG
April 22nd, 2011
12:54 pm
UGA did not beat a ranked opponent last year. We don’t know who will be ranked this year . I think Fla. , Tenn. Au and GT are rebuilding this year and I would be surprise if any of these team are ranked at the end of the year. Maybe FLA. can end up in the mid to upper teens ranking if they find a QB. Because of their depth they usually get better as the year go’s on. I don’t know how good MISS.STATE OR MISS. are going to be since I don’t follow the players or teams of the SEC west but if they don’t end up ranked then the only two teams that may be ranked at the end of the year is South Carolina and Boise State. If that is the case then UGA should be undefeated or have no more than one loss.
CMR and Bobo are two peas in a pod. They think alike and their expertise is the same. That’s why I have wanted Bobo replaced as offensive coordinator . We need an offensive coordinator that brings something different than CMR as far as vision and originality. Because of CMR not admitting his offense needed a major overhaul then in my opinion he has no wiggle room and I hope McGarity will demand a great year , knowing how easy our schedule is this year.
Bottom line is 9-3 or 10-2 may not be good enough.
Beast from the East
April 22nd, 2011
12:56 pm
All kidding and ridicule aside, UGA should have a much better record this year just based on the schedule alone. They play none of the top 3 teams from the west (Bama, LSU and Arkansas). Auburn will not be nearly as strong as last year, Ole Miss is not good and they get MSU at home. The East is down with UF having an all new staff, UT is still not there and Vandy/Kentucky are no serious threat to compete for a title. That leaves USC as the only truly strong team in the East. If Richt can’t get it done this year, then UGA will be making a statement of “we accept mediocrity” by keeping Richt. Maybe it’s sounds a little harsh, but it is what it is.
JB
April 22nd, 2011
12:56 pm
Dawg 4 life…..We’ve come full circle with Richt. The facts are what they are. Hell, we all love the guy, but at the end of the day, we want to win. He was given this year based on the kind of man he his and his body of work . I don’t think ANY AD at a FOOTBALL school can allow FOUR DOWN YEARS IN A ROW. Changing coach’s in nerve racking. Ask Florida. Let’s hope for the best, but I put the University ahead of Richt, but that’s just me.
NC Dawg
April 22nd, 2011
12:58 pm
Thirteen wins will be enough.
Beast from the East
April 22nd, 2011
1:00 pm
JB,
Not really anxious. Excited to see what the new regime can do. Muschamp is playing with house money this year. Coming off of a poor season with a new staff and all the questions on the offensive side of the ball has the potential to be much the same as last year. I really think our defense will be stout. We’re probably not going to win any shootouts, so I expect about 8-4.
Matt
April 22nd, 2011
1:01 pm
I don’t think it’s realistic for them to win enough games to save his job. Does anyone actually see them winning 8 or 9 games with one of those wins being against Florida?
Plus it will matter who he loses to. If he loses to Boise, S.C., UT, and Florida (or Tech) then I don’t see how even 8-4 saves him.
dangerranger6969
April 22nd, 2011
1:04 pm
If he loses to Florida again I want Mark Richt Fired after the Game. Anybody that does not see this game is not a neutral site should join Richt in the unemployment line.
JB
April 22nd, 2011
1:05 pm
Matt, I disagree. If he wins 8 games , Prez Adams will pee on himself and extend his contract. Adams care about being competitive, not winning Championships. If he did, Mark would have been gone last year. Ask the Presidents of Maryland and Miami, they get it.
Texas Baller
April 22nd, 2011
1:07 pm
reality – Richt 3-1 v. Bama….Doh!
Brucerugby79
April 22nd, 2011
1:08 pm
This is the year we get back on track-and if you heard what I just said get on your knees and bow your head-Jesus comes first in my life but being a Georgia fan is a gift from God-get ready for a great comeback season-
dd
April 22nd, 2011
1:12 pm
Wildgator,
At the end of one of the practices during the week preceding the game, CMR did in fact tell the team that he wanted the offense to take the celebration penalty,
Lots of people heard it.
What can we say dude? Who knew the whole team would run out there? I guess we just had a bunch of wild and crazy guys that year.
There you go, that should clear it up for you.
It’s understandable why you got confused.
JB
April 22nd, 2011
1:16 pm
Come to think of it, Dawgs were never same since that stunt in Jacksonville.
Bogey
April 22nd, 2011
1:16 pm
Don’t forget the two SEC titles the Dawgs won last decade included losses to Fla. Beating the Gators is important but getting to Atlanta and winning there must be the goal.