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
Thomas Brown
April 23rd, 2011
7:24 am
It is just Kool-Aid to be positive amid this run of the last entire 5 years, adding up to 21 Losses. Let the coaches get these supposed # 7 Recruiting Classes every single season of 10, no 11 seasons in a row now, out there on the field beating top teams while being a Top 10 team itself – and only then are we were we need to be. Asking for more than that, or saying we will be or were in the past more than that, is nothing but Kool-Aid. I didn’t do that in here last year, and you guys all said I was right. I didn’t do it the year before and you are still in here trying to tell me how great Joe Cox was. Now, I am supposed to come in here and do that this up-coming season ? Show me.
Dawgbreath
April 23rd, 2011
7:39 am
USCe wins the East (sigh) and we start out 0-2. Going to be another tough year. Don’t see us picking up 4 more wins with this staff.
Burma Shave
April 23rd, 2011
8:09 am
Some days it’s sunny
Some days it rains
It’s really too bad
Dawgs have no brains
BURMA SHAVE
Bigguy
April 23rd, 2011
8:32 am
How can a team play well when every time they are on the field they are worried about their locker room getting robbed?
Dr. Phil
April 23rd, 2011
8:42 am
The biggest shortcoming is Richt’s lack of leadership.
From Where I Sit
April 23rd, 2011
8:44 am
Hey kevin you are too funny with your insults as you would have loved to have had Tebow like all other schools. He has CLASS and you DON’T!
Best College football player ever!! Dwarfs your do nothing for your program Herschal Walker!
Gators OWN GA!
Enough Said!
ed f
April 23rd, 2011
9:06 am
Kirby Smart next head coach. Just a matter of time. We need a coach that changes his offense/defense to the players you can recruit. Not use the same system especially on offense and think you can make it work everytime. We run the same plays. Watch the QB play. Hands the ball off the same way as David Greene did Richt’s first QB. The Ole ball coach says UGA runs the same plays every year.
Either way without a complete change at UGA it’ll stay the same. If you get the players you Win. If you don’t you loose. Create a system to work with the players you can get and maybe we can Win 10 a year again every year. No way anyone stays on Top in the SEC.
It Ain't Rocket Science
April 23rd, 2011
9:07 am
Step up CMR and use some discipline and get the respect of your players. I like CMR and beleive he has good intentions, and is a fine Chrisatian man, but dismissing a thing like the theft in the UGA locker room, as “Kids will do stuff”, sends the wrong message to his players, that he is becoming more of a dad and less of a coach. These players need to respect their coach and realize they have to be more responsible on and off the field. They need to show and be taught discipline and responsibility, and realize they represent not just the UGA team, but the whole school as well as the state of Georgia.If not, it could be a long summer and fall for some of these guys.
Jborodawg
April 23rd, 2011
9:12 am
Nine wins. Split Boise and S. Carolina. Beat Flawduh and Tech. Job safe.
Lakedawg
April 23rd, 2011
9:20 am
Right on Red. Bet majority of these trolls from other schools and so called Dawg fans was not at G-Day, have not been to a Dawg Club meeting and do not contribute or buy season tickets. Kirby Smart as head coach is a laugh. He had ahis chance to coach at UGA and turned it down, that will be his last chance. When Saban leaves Bama after next year, no way they would hire him. After winning 10 or 11 this year, can’t wait to see what some of these dumb —— post then.
Summit Dawg
April 23rd, 2011
9:30 am
Nine, or goodbye!!!!!!!!!!
dogsfan4life
April 23rd, 2011
9:32 am
when uga comes out of the gate rolling next year, i wonder how many of you will stand behind all of these negative comments? my guess is there will be a ton of new screen names and everybody will talk about how they are proud to be in the dawg nation and such and such player is a damn good dog etc. i have read many blogs from different teams in the sec and the only team with fans who flip flop everyday is georgia.cmr has addressed every issue that you people cry about everyday. the oline was dominated in the trenches so he changed the s&c program. we didnt have a top flight rb so he signed the no.1 rb in america. people cried about the top talent leaving the state and he signed possibly the best class in ga history. you cried about the players getting arrested and as of now he has that under control. look 2010 was a bad year we all know that, changes were made lets stop crying see what happens. pick 5 random blogs on the site about uga and im willing to bet you will see 200+ comments saying the same stuff over and over and over.
Deepdiver
April 23rd, 2011
9:43 am
Why doesn’t Richt just admit he is a crappy coach? He is going to be fired after this season. He needs to stop his ra ra routine. It’s not working. We’ve seen the team going down the past three seasons.
Don
April 23rd, 2011
9:46 am
What if…is a game for scholars. Richt needs to right the ship. Greg has given him two thing clearly: the opportunity to do just that, or enough rope to hang himself. Clearly, he knows what he is doing in that regard. He’s prepared the road for paving…either to a new coach at the end of the season, or the move away from exceptional mediocrity. Let’s just wait and see. Bottom line is, our season hinges a great deal on our athletes leftover from last season…to see where they will take us. No amount of “inspired” coaching will an unmotivated mindset, unless that mindset wants to be changed. Any reasonable person can see that. I just hope for the best.
It Ain't Rocket Science
April 23rd, 2011
9:53 am
Don made a very important point here,
In large part, the season depends on the players already on the field for UGA. We have the atheletes to be a successful team. The dream team, with the exception of a few, will not impact this years win total. We can be pretty good with what we already have and get the rookies ready for next year. I hope CMR and the rest of the coaching staff coach them up this year. We have a favorable schedule and the experience at most positions to make some noise this year. GO DAWGSSSSSSS.
phil
April 23rd, 2011
10:14 am
MR is right, it IS HIS FAULT! Did he see this glaring catastrophe during the season last year? If so, why didn’t he address/correct it then? Or did he just now see it? If he just now saw it, we are worse off than I thought. At any rate, he sounds like the same mealy-mouthed MR to me. If we don’t go 9-2 with a win over UF, MR should be gone!
FRED
April 23rd, 2011
10:25 am
A good coach will beat CMR 95% of the time
waytogoRicht
April 23rd, 2011
10:37 am
There have been two Richt’s in ten years at Georgia: The okay but not great Richt until the Bama blowout/humiliation when UGA, while unjustifiably, was rated No. 0ne. Until that one it at least appeared that Richt put sufficient effort into team preparation. Not so in that one, nor in many since.
It certainly appears Richt doesn’t have it anymore, maybe because of burnout or he really just doesn’t feel like putting the time and effort into it anymore. For sure, he should be out of second chances. It’s doubtful Richt will beat Boise or Florida(yes, even in Muschamp’s first year). Also, its doubtful he will beat Auburn or Tennessee, since that will be in Knoxville.
If these things prove correct, Richt should be kicked out.
joe
April 23rd, 2011
11:09 am
@ Kevin – totally agree and that was my first thought as well. That Richt would view a close loss to BSU as a victory. This is the reason UGA has been so soft – the coach is soft.
Hiram Dawg
April 23rd, 2011
11:19 am
McGarity has watered down the schedule so much anyone can coach the Dawgs and get 10 wins.
7576DAWG
April 23rd, 2011
11:27 am
Just because some of us bring up our short comings doesn’t mean we are not loyal caring DAWG fans. Ignoring our problems will not get the job done . McGarity has already made a lot of changes and will be ready to do more if it is needed. I am one that hope our results will be satisfactory so CMR will be around for a long time. CMR’s biggest problem is that he is very stubborn and is too slow to make the changes needed. McGarity realizes this and will hold CMR to high standards like he is use to at Florida. THIS IS THE REASON CMR HAS NOT BEEN GIVEN AN EXTENSION.
I think this is definitely a make or break year for CMR and will be replaced or given at least a 3 year extension.
David Granger
April 23rd, 2011
11:32 am
I certainly agree with Coach Richt, but that begs the question: Halfway through the season it was obvious that UGA was not giving its best effort, and the other teams were playing harder. Why wasn’t something done THEN?
Coach Richt does two things very well:
1. He’s a clean-cut, nice-looking guy…says the right things, and represents the University quite well, and
2. He’s a good recruiter, which…in a state that produces as much top-flight talent as Georgia does…is very important.
And after that, the plusses are about over. He’s not a good game-coach, and the team has NOT looked prepared (and that goes back years). At times, it looks like he’s just lost control of the team…and once that happens, it’s almost impossible for a coach to get it back.
Hunker down
April 23rd, 2011
11:38 am
This all begins with physicality and toughness. As a poster noted above it started with the humiliating blackout blowout by Alabama. It was that game that you noticed we took a physical beating and since then there have been several games where we took physical beatdowns and struggled against various teams with far less talent from Miss state to vandy to kentucky to central florida and on and on. A whole different level of physical play needs to be realized.
It Ain't Rocket Science
April 23rd, 2011
12:28 pm
HJiram Dawg,
The AD has very little to do with the sec league schedule. The only games he can influence are out of confernece games. The SEC makes the schedules up for conference games. Boise state is not a watered down non-conference schedule game as far as I can see. UGA will have to bring the A team to beat these guys and I think they will.
dragon
April 23rd, 2011
2:50 pm
Pretty much says where the Dawgs are now ….if they can beat Boise State, they will be relevant nationally.
Snoop Dawg
April 23rd, 2011
3:41 pm
Folks, McCavity is an idiot. Richt should actually have been fired two years ago. OK, he wasn’t. Then surely he should have been fired after last year. Old Howdy Doodie couldn’t pull the lanyard. So, now we will all suffer through another humiliating year. We will see the same undisciplined and unmotivated players getting shoved around on the field and break dancin on the field whenever they make an insignificant play. We will see the same stupid and predictable plays from BooBoo. We will, however, see an improved defense from Grantham. UGA will lose to everyone with anything at all on the ball to include BS, USC, FL, TN, and yes, even Mississippi State. Auburn will be particularly ugly. Also, you will see a lot of injuries before the season starts and then early on due to poor S&C and stupidity.
When the season is over, all the fans will remind us about what a good Christian Man Richt and Bobo are, and we will have payed Preacha Man another cool $3M. That’s $100 for every student at the UGA for Preacha Man and Water Girrrrull. McCavity and Adams will continue to sell out the stadium.
The beat goes on…
ReddDawg
April 23rd, 2011
3:51 pm
Who said he wasn’t smart …………. only took him 8 months to figure out what was blatantly obvious to everyone else.
Idiot Watch
April 23rd, 2011
5:10 pm
instead of being embarrass why doesnt he just quit? Do us a favor, resign. You are a greater under achiever than Bobby Cox!
Idiot Watch
April 23rd, 2011
5:17 pm
How long will people pimp Jesus to get over? Actually I dont see any thing about CMR thats any different than anybody else, he has performed no miracles and he certainly doesnt know foot ball. How long is he going to try and associate the good name of Jesus to keep up an image to keep a job. Stand on your own merits CMR. You aint die for nobody’s sins. and you certain blow games with world class talent. In fact over the last ten years only 2 school have placed more boys in the pros than UGA and we have 0/zero/nil/nada championships to show for it. Jesus is a champion! You are a pretender CMR. Quit embarrassing Christians and Georgia fans and the state of GA! You should be embarrassed for the past 4 years as well.
Idiot Watch
April 23rd, 2011
5:20 pm
Funny thing he wants to take the blame after getting every body else fired. They only followed his orders. Why did he not take the blame when heads rolled?
The dude is spineless.
dawgfan
April 23rd, 2011
6:57 pm
Idiot Watch, Richt very rarely talks about his religion publicly. You couldn’t find a quote where he talked about religion if your life depended on it. You are an insecure hater loser with voices in your head. With all due respect, get a life. I get sick of crybabies who are so offended by Richt’s religious beliefs. You are beyond pathetic.
Dismissed.
dawgfan
April 23rd, 2011
7:08 pm
I digress. Anything less than 9-3 and Richt should be canned. I don’t care if he beats Florida. Lots of teams will beat Florida this year. He has never beaten them in consecutive years and that is the only thing that will make me believe he can compete with them.
Thanks.
Lectric Shaaaaave
April 23rd, 2011
8:29 pm
Mark Richt’s face is smooth as a baby’s patootie.
Snoop Dawg
April 23rd, 2011
9:20 pm
We need to fire da Preacha Man no matter how many games the dogs win.. I’m gonna quit calling them the Dawgs. From now on, they are dogs. They will have to earn the beloved name Dawgs back.
Cesar Millan for head coach!
Snoop Dawg
April 23rd, 2011
9:25 pm
How can the UGA be rated as a top twenty public university when all the zombie fans keep Richt on the payroll as he solidifies our cellar dweller standing and makes us the joke of the SEC?
Interesting...
April 23rd, 2011
9:46 pm
First CMR admits to not keeping up with the latest trends in college ball, and vows to cut back on his other duties and get back to more hands-on and becoming active with the day to day operations. Now, he comes out and all but admits that he lost control of the team last year, and that he couldn’t put all the pieces back together again. He is Humpty Dumpty (a person or thing that once overthrown or broken cannot be restored or mended)…
WE RUIN THIS STATE
April 23rd, 2011
11:33 pm
I’ll trade you two CMR’s for one Dabo Swinney
Wreckmaniac
April 23rd, 2011
11:34 pm
Lord, please keep CMR at UGA
Wreckmaniac
April 23rd, 2011
11:43 pm
Ho-hum. So this is the fifth “make or break” season in a row ?
Wreckmaniac
April 23rd, 2011
11:49 pm
The reason 5-Stars go to UGA is that they know they can loaf the entire time they’re there.
Poonanny
April 23rd, 2011
11:55 pm
for 6 years in a row we will have the same crap.
FLA DAWG
April 24th, 2011
11:01 am
It began befor 2010 and we all know it.
The Dawgs will come out and Beat Boise State then lose to SC – the dirt nap for Richt as UGA HC.
Jimmie
April 24th, 2011
4:47 pm
The 33 arrests under Richt in the last 2 years have been embarrassing too.
gt4ever
April 25th, 2011
9:07 am
Well, top 10 recruiting every year, 6-7 result, no SEC championships…. It can’t be coaching…..
TBOMACHINE
April 25th, 2011
11:39 am
FROM WHERE I SIT—-TURN THE BARSTOOL BACK RIGHT SIDE UP
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