What’s the biggest concern on Mark Richt’s to-do list?
Mark Richt has some work ahead of him if he wants to have another celebration like this in 2012. (Associated Press)
Outside the Bulldog Nation, Mark Richt’s 2012 team is being viewed as a preseason Top 10 lock, thanks to returning talent (including virtually the entire defense) and a favorable schedule. But all that enthusiasm is being tempered among many Dogs fans by concerns about some of the things on Richt’s offseason to-do list.
The head coach himself has listed improvement on special teams as a top priority for the offseason, saying “there’s no doubt that we’ve got to be a whole lot better on special teams top to bottom.”
In the absence of naming a special teams coordinator (which many of us still would like to see), that’s likely to come down to a commitment to play more starters on the punt and kick teams and an overall greater emphasis on preparation in that area of the game. Of course, the Dogs also will be breaking in a new placekicker and a new punter, so those remain question marks, too.
Then there’s Georgia’s anemic running attack, which limped its way to near-irrelevance in the last couple of games of 2011. Bringing Keith Marshall and Todd Gurley into the backfield is a big step, but there’s still the shorthanded offensive line to deal with.
Not exactly a major strength this past season, it has to basically be rebuilt thanks to graduation, and there wasn’t a lot of depth to start with. Can an OL that’s likely to start a true freshman get the job done? As Richt said, “That’s going to be a big challenge for us breaking in some new linemen offensively.”
There’s no mystery who’ll be Georgia’s starter at quarterback, but as we’ve discussed here at length, Aaron Murray still needs some polishing, and with Hutson Mason planning on taking a redshirt season the backup duties most likely will fall to the promising but untried Christian LeMay, who hasn’t played football in a couple of years. So there’s work to be done developing depth there as well.
And while the Bulldogs overall looked to be in better shape in 2011 thanks to a revamped strength and conditioning program, there’s still improvement needed there, as Richt noted after the defense looked gassed late in the bowl game against Michigan State. As the coach summed up, “we’ve got to make sure we can finish games like we start them.”
So there’s still quite a bit of work for the Georgia coaching staff before the team is ready to live up to those preseason expectations.
Which aspect of the 2012 Dogs concerns you the most, and what would you like to see Richt and company do about it?
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413 comments Add your comment
SOUTHGADAWG88
January 21st, 2012
11:35 am
Nub you don’t have a clue.
?
January 21st, 2012
11:35 am
MURRAY, WEARS LACE ON HIS THONG, HE WILL NEVER BE A GOOD QB. MARK RICHT IS SUCKING THE UNIVERSITY DRY. HE IS IN TIGHT WITH THE BIG BOYS AT UGA.
LogicalUS
January 21st, 2012
12:01 pm
“One reason the D looks gassed in the second half is the pathetic performance of the offense at times”
Lame excuse…..this is a copout…Michigan State’s 1st half offense was even more pitiful than UGAs but they didn’t collapse, LSUs offense was a no show in the SECCG 1st half and they rose up and kick the crap out of UGA in the 2nd half.
Silly.
Now UGA has to improve in:
OL
RB…worst crew in the SEC
WR…inconsist
DL…still giving up chunks of yardage and little pressure.
CB…
ST…kicker\punter
tony
January 21st, 2012
1:21 pm
SOUTHGADAWG88
January 21st, 2012
10:27 am
______________________________________________________
You can’t just judge the game from a physical aspect but you also have to consider the mental aspect of it as well. Those turnovers and poor playing calling are the reason the dawgs lost those games. Turnovers and poor execution(offensively) kills momentum and have contribute to more loses than anything else. Why do you think Nick Saban use a sports psychologist for his team? That’s right, to help his team focus and to deal with adversity on the football field.
Ed Reed express his concerns over the weekend about his qb because he knows that the qb position is the most critical position on a team despite having a good defense. He fear that if the offense doesn’t do it’s part that they have no chance to beat the Patriots.
You talk about where the dawgs defense is rank in the sec and how poorly they played against rank opponents. Heck, they only lost to two sec teams. They lost to them because of those 6 turnovers and poor game management(hc). If you take away those 3 turnovers(which killed their momentum) against SC they would have won that game easily because they would have sustain the momentum.
Those drop passes, turnovers(3) and kicking to the Honey Badger is what cause the dawgs that game against LSU. That turnover by Aaron Murray on that 1st drive deep in our territory is what put the nail in the coffin. LSU didn’t have 1 turnover in that game. I bet you were mad as heck when Todd Grantham’s defense shut down LSU’s offense in the 1st half. Admit it!
You said that is we had Saban’s defense we would have gone undefeated. Not with Mark Richt and his offense. The dawgs would have gone undefeated if Saban was the hc.
You talk about the dawgs lost the game against MSU because the defense didn’t hold them with 3 min to go. LOL! They lost the game in the 3rd quarter when Murray threw the ball to Darqueze Dennard(MSU) for a 38 yards td.
ES
January 21st, 2012
2:06 pm
Bo bo’s, Play calling, you know running in the middle when its not working made me sick this year.Against Boise we ran only 5 times outside for a total of about 120 yards.BTW they have 2 linemen that will play in the NFL from what I understand.So thats right Bozo just keep jamming it right at their strength with them slow developing sprint draws.Needing momentum in championship game to start the second half????????What do we do short passes like we moved in first of the game……No lets run 2 sprint draws for no yards,and then watch Murray fumble it scrambling on 3rd and 10.BTW BAMA couldn’t run right at them either in the game previous.Need I talk about Mich State 39 rushes for 51 yards ……Yeah lets just keep doing what is not working run that ball in the middle where 99 and 98 hitting your backs behind the line of scrimage. A fact is a GOOD OC can make do when his line is struggling to run up the gut and do short passes and other inovative things !!!!!!!!!!!But with Bo bo if we dont out man a team in the middle we are in bad trouble.Last thing said ,some of you local commentators on the radio that likes to cut people off.Yes our numbers offensively has looked better under Bo Bo.Will you pleazzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz consider the talent he’s been coaching…! Uh,guys starring in the NFL.Please consider a new OC coach Richt one that might out think the DC,
Vicky Quillian
January 21st, 2012
2:24 pm
I propose they let Bobo coach qbs and hire a nfl caliber OF.
SOUTHGADAWG88
January 21st, 2012
3:33 pm
UGA scored 42 pts on SC you can try all you want that game wasn’t on Bobo in the slightest.MSU…games are not lost in the 3rd quarter…they aren’t won in the 3rd either.There is simply no excuse to blow a 7 pt lead with less the 2 mins on the clock.The fact is UGA lost 4 games…giving up 31,45,42 and 33 pts…it’s a very long reach to keep trying to blame that on the offense.Sure SC scored blah blah blah without being on offense but the fact remains that UGA had the lead with 5 mins left in the game and SC on their 20.They proceded to run the ball down our throat to take the lead and again to ice the game.That’s just the truth of the matter
SOUTHGADAWG88
January 21st, 2012
3:53 pm
ES well how do you explain UGA scoring 21,42 and 30 pts in 3 of the losses?That was just bad playcalling?Do you think we were playing the scout team?10 win or better teams aren’t supposed to lay down and let you do what you please are they?
LSU?Last I checked LSU held the eventual NC to 9 pts in 4 quarters and overtime too didn’t they?
tony
January 21st, 2012
6:54 pm
Actually, SC’s offense didn’t scored but 14 points without the help of Murray against Todd Grantham’s defense.
Here’s how SC scored on Mark Richt and his offense:
1) fake punt(Melvin Ingram went 68 yards for a td 7points)
2) Crowell fumble @SC 38, Stephon Gilmore recover for 57 yards @Ga 5: Garcia takes it in for a td 7 points
3) Aaron Murray pass int by Antonio Allen return it 25 yards for a td 7 points
4) Aaron Murray fumble @their on 5 – Melvin Ingram runs it in for a td 7 points
SC scored 28 points on Mark Richt and his offense. Final score should of been 42-14 GA.
Ga should have never gone into overtime with MSU. If Murray had not turned the ball over I doubt MSU would of scored on our defense. If you knew anything about momentum, you would understand why some teams lose and why some win.
Our defense shut their offense down in the 1st half. Then the momentum shift on Aaron Murray’s pass interception by Darqueze Dennard @ga 48. Then they scored a td. After that on Murray’s next pass interception by Darqueze Dennard, he returned it 38 yards for a td 7 points. So they only scored 20 points our defense before overtime. The final score should of been 27-20 GA
Old Dog
January 22nd, 2012
8:53 am
Mark Richt’s to-do list should include WINNING big games so he can keep his job.
Being able to judge his quarterback and his place-kicker would be a good start.
Cliff Levingston
January 22nd, 2012
12:52 pm
Aaron Murray has 3 touchdowns and 8 turnovers in his 3 career postseason games. And yet it’s everyone else’s fault and nothing can ever be Aaron Murray’s fault. Aaron Murray is the college version of Tony Romo. Sorry!
Flo-Ri-Duh
January 22nd, 2012
2:00 pm
Getting the best OL from the state of Georgia has been a problem for Richt,; as well as head coaches before him. Harris & Vidal are going to SEC schools next year – but not UGA. To build quality depth the OL in Georgia must be kept in Georgia. The OL has had trouble in the running game and it is more on the OL even thought the RBs got the blame. Avery Young is KEY to this being a successful recruiting year. When the OL doesn’t block the RBs get beat up and now we have freshmen and sophs at RB this coming season.
LawDawg
January 23rd, 2012
9:56 am
So…the exact same problems we have every single off season recently (OL, S&C, no experience at backup QB, terrible special teams)?