5 reasons Georgia needs to demote Willie Martinez ASAP
1. Georgia is 97th among 120 Bowl Subdivision teams in total defense, 108th in scoring defense. The Bulldogs rank last among 12 SEC schools in both categories. Simple question: Do you believe Georgia — with Rennie Curran, Geno Atkins, Jeff Owens, Justin Houston, Kade Weston, Demarcus Dobbs, Darryl Gamble, Bryan Evans, Reshad Jones, Brandon Boykin and Branden Smith — has the worst defensive talent in the SEC?
2. Georgia has one interception, one fumble recovery and four sacks in three games. It ranks 76th (tied) in sacks, 116th in turnover margin. Simple question: Does anyone think the Bulldogs’ personnel ranks in the nation’s lower tier in terms of speed, strength and level of aggression?
3. Over the past nine games, Georgia opponents have averaged — averaged — 33 points. In 42 games under Brian VanGorder, whom Martinez succeeded as defensive coordinator, one opponent scored more than 30 points, and that was the 2003 BCS champion.
4. Georgia opponents have scored 102 points in three games this season. In 1980, the national championship team yielded 137 points in 12 games.
5. Georgia football is first-class in every way — the head coach, the personnel, the offense, the recruiting, the facilities, the fan interest — except one. Athletics director Damon Evans says he wants his coaches to win championships. Simple questions: Do you believe Georgia can win another SEC title playing this sort of defense? Is there any reason a program of such pedigree should have the worst defensive coordinator in its division?
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729 comments Add your comment
Shankit
September 22nd, 2009
9:48 am
Mark Bradley
You been reading the Arkansas Gazette?
Same identical article about Petrino and his defensive coordinator.
The Hawgs are wanting their defensive coordinator fired, because
in spite of the Dawgs turnovers and the offensive points put on the
board by the Hawgs, they couldn’t pull off the win.
toole
September 22nd, 2009
9:48 am
We missed the boat on our Defensive coordinator a few years back. Kirby Smart interviewed for the open Linebackers coach position, but waa hired to coach RB’s. We gave the position to Coach Janeck. Kirby is a former UGA player and we showed no loyalty. He is now coaching at Alabama. He was the one that drew up the game plan against us last year. We should never have let him leave UGA. Doubt he will come back, but lets extend an olive branch and find out. Him and Muschamp coached together at Valdosta State, played together at UGA, and both have been taught by Nick Saban.
Cuz
September 22nd, 2009
9:52 am
I said pre-season give WM through October before we throw him under the bus. We have one more game in September. Have I been happy with the defense so far, mostly no except for those red zone stops. I don’t think the answer is fire or demote a DC in the middle of the season. I think Tubbs would do things different if he had the chance again. I want WM to succeed because I want my team to succeed. If there is zero improvement then a change will have to be made. But only at the end of the season. Unbelievable to some, but we have more class than firing a guy in mid season.
I said it yesterday. BVG and Erk are gone and they aint coming back.
Paul's Johnson
September 22nd, 2009
9:53 am
How about going after Bud Foster at Virginia Tech.
VT’s defense gave up 30 pts. to Nebraska and 30 to Fla. State and held 10 opponents to 17 pts. or less.
HappyDawg
September 22nd, 2009
9:54 am
Why would Richt demote Martinez? This is one of the finest Defensive Coordinators in the Country. Why do we continue to compare Martinez to VanGorder? Do dawg fans forget that Martinez was co-defensive coordinator in Richt’s thinking? Look why get rid of an excellent football coach for whom? Garner? We tried that once before. Let Martinez do his job, he is one of the best.
Chuck
September 22nd, 2009
9:55 am
Mark Richt should not have to fire Willie Martinez. If Martinez was any kind of man, he would do the right thing for this team and this program and step down. It is painfully obvious that he is completely incapable of coaching defense in this conference (or anywhere else).
And again, stop with this LSU worship. Yes, we scored two defensive touchdowns in that game, but the offense also practically scored at will. If we had needed to put up a hundred to win that day, we could have done it. AJ, Knowshon, MoMass… It ws like playing a JV defense. LSU had a worse defense than UGA (and that is REALLY saying something), but to their credit they addressed the problem after last season. Les Miles is a tool, but even HE realized the gap between the talent level of his players and the poor performance they were showing on Saturdays.
UGA is mired in a rut on teh defensive side of the ball, and nothing short of a coaching change is going to make a difference.
One more thing… Bobo a hot commodity soon? I want to meet your drug dealer, son. Toss sweep left is in demand these days? Or yet ANOTHER play that develops in our offensive backfield (against the fastest defenses in the country) leading to negative yardage… Put down the hippie lettuce/jazz cigarettes. THAT is in demand? I sure hope it is so his rear end will be gone from here!
AltamahaDawg
September 22nd, 2009
9:55 am
How many of those did we win? How many points did we score picking out 9 games. Can’t we basically score 40 points a game anytime offense has a game its not floundering on it’s own issues? (and that handing over a handfull of points, or at the least leaving come on the table) Is our offense really just that good in the few years, are is every other DC we play just that bad?
Dangerous
September 22nd, 2009
9:56 am
GA’s D will be just fine. They have played probably the 3 most explosive offenses that they will play all year, except for FL and they don’t look that great. GA’s D will get better. Both Brandon’s are fast enough to cover receivers off the line and will progress at it.
coach smith
September 22nd, 2009
9:57 am
WM is a great recruiter in Florida so he does not need to be fired and Richt won’t fire him anyway!
So to solve this….MARTINEZ needs to be demoted to Defensive Backs coach and assistant Recruiting Coordinator
Then the simple answer is to BRING KIRBY SMART HOME!
Smart is the D-coordinator in Alabama BUT SABAN has the most say on that defense AND Kirby is a Georgia guy who has coached here before…He WOULD COME HOME
Another option that nobody is talking about….TOMMY TUBBERVILE for d-coordinator….would he be interested? Just saw him on ESPNU and he talked about loving to coach but not liking the media…he could do that as a D-coordinator
BugKiller
September 22nd, 2009
9:59 am
Mark,
It’s interesting that you point out that in Willie’s first 31 games he his defenses allowed 30 or more points only 3 times, while over the last 24 games, they’ve done so 12 times.
Hmmm. I wonder what could be the difference?
Well, blind loyalists would have you believe that the talent is worse now (while IGNORING the FACT that it is Willie who HAND-PICKS the talent).
But here’s the theory I’ve long held, and I know guys like Lowcountry also believe:
Those first few years, Willie still had the luxury of players coached by Brian Van Gorder. Who knew what good coaching was. Who learned their lessons from a comparable master of defense. Who made the Georgia defense better by their mere presence because of their smart play and good fundamentals.
Marcus Howard was the last such player. Coached one season by BVG, he was the lynchpin in the second-half success of 2007 and made Willie look competent in playing a bunch of soft zones and never making an adjustment, because Howard decided he’d had enough of the crap he was seeing in the Georgia defense and decided to take it upon himself to create havoc and win some football games.
In the two years since, we’ve seen defensive breakdowns, we’ve seen criminally poor fundamentals, we’ve seen some of the least-intelligent football played Between the Hedges with all of the avoidable penalties and blown assignments.
We’ve seen Willie Martinez football played by Willie Martinez-coached players.
It isn’t pretty. In fact, it’s just about as bad as it’s ever been at Georgia. Ever.
DawginLex
September 22nd, 2009
10:03 am
Yes, I am saying that doing something as drastic as a demotion or a firing now will destroy this team and this coaching staff. Do it after the season is over.
Who are you going to hire now? If you fire him or demote him, do you really think the scheme is going to change? By firing Martinez, is that going to add 4 inches in height to our corners trying to cover a 6 ft 4 inch receiver?
Think folks before you type. You wait until the season is over.
diajimbo
September 22nd, 2009
10:04 am
Enter your comments here With the on-field defensive efforts that we have seen so far…. it is going to be a VERY long season for UGA faithful. We have yet to face (1) Alabama (2) Florida (3) LSU and
(4) Mississippi. When the current defensive unit faces these strong Offensive and( Defensive) teams
it is very likely that we will be 0-4 against them. At that point a change of DC would be mandatory to
salvage any sort of season. Then, of course, we are looking at Ga. Tech which could very well be another loss. Not acceptable at any level!!
Joey
September 22nd, 2009
10:04 am
I love Mark Richt to death, but it is just sad to hear him STILL defending Willie with that “turnovers have given offenses a short field” crap. Whatever happened to a defensive making a stop when it is urgently needed? Just every now and then? Mark said it all in reason #3. Giving up an AVERAGE of 30 PTS per game! And for every UF and Bama on that list, there’s three unranked teams. How can anyone defend Willie’s record?
BugKiller
September 22nd, 2009
10:04 am
meant “10″ times, not 12 times.
Mark Bradley
September 22nd, 2009
10:06 am
Actually, UGA doesn’t play Alabama or Ole Miss.
FedUpWithWillie
September 22nd, 2009
10:07 am
Thank you Mark Bradley. Willie, I hear Forest Park High School calling your name. Please go see what they want and leave Athens immediately.
Herschel Talker
September 22nd, 2009
10:09 am
DawginLex – I don’t think height was the problem. The secondary had no idea where to be and they were continually beat on both short and long passes. So you were in favor of canning Martinez in the offseason, but once the season started, you’re saying it’s too late and that we should just wait until next offseason?
lazydawg
September 22nd, 2009
10:09 am
Time for a change!!!! Anyone could do better!!! I mean anyone!!!!
Shankit
September 22nd, 2009
10:09 am
Is there any chance we could hire Miami’s
offensive and defensive coordinator.
They appear to be the best coached team
I have seen.
Make an attractive offer.
Herschel Talker
September 22nd, 2009
10:10 am
DawginLex – what about hiring Tommy Tuberville midseason?
Dan
September 22nd, 2009
10:11 am
For the defender who said UGA only scored 10 points a game in Hershel’s day, here are some stats:
in 1980 season UGA scored 20 or more 9 times and 30 or more 5 times. This was all while Erk’s junkyard dawgs were putting up ridiculous numbers: Opponents scored 10 or less 5 times including THREE shutouts; and only scored more than twenty three times (barely over since the three were all at 21). Not counting the bowl game the 1980 dogs allowed 107 points total 5 more over a season than this team has in three games. Offense for that season? 316
Joey
September 22nd, 2009
10:11 am
Come on Chuck, step down from the only $300,000 a year job he will EVER have? Can’t blame him for that my man, but he will be gone after this season. Damon Evans will take care of that for us. But history may be made this season when you consider the offenses we sill see. I hope I’m wrong, but we may see a stretch of 50 point-allowed games. LSU, UF, KY,and Tech scored almost at will last year…..
FedUpWithWillie
September 22nd, 2009
10:12 am
Hey, DawginLex, ANYONE COULD DO BETTER THAN WILLIE AT THIS POINT!!!! FIRE HIM!!!! “Ok guys, we are not going to fire Willie because we want to keep your spirits up. And we think that giving up an average of 30+ points per game thus far will keep you headed in the right direction”.?. Yes, I am thinking before I type.
Ginger
September 22nd, 2009
10:13 am
Ok…pretty much a given that CMR is not going to fire CWM particularly during season….So lets come up with some names that could be brought in now to be a defensive consultant or Quality control coach…In other words someone to help CWM,
1. Don’t think K. Smart would quit Saban during season…even thought Smart is a former Ga. player…Saban and Smart have a long History coaching together at LSU and Miami.
2. Phillip Fulmer
3. Tommy Tuberville
4. Question–are Fulmer and Tuberville defensive people or were they offensive coaches before head coaches?
5. There must be some other retired or other coaches not actively involved in programs that could help us…..Let’s think of some names.
WayxDog
September 22nd, 2009
10:13 am
Mark Bradley thinking that Bobo will soon be a commodity makes me wonder if he actually saw the Ok State game. He only had nine months to prepare for that game.
Mark Bradley
September 22nd, 2009
10:14 am
Fulmer was an offensive line coach. Tuberville was a defensive coordinator.
Dangerous
September 22nd, 2009
10:14 am
Bugkiller whatever happens with Willie and his D this year happens, but last year the D (along with the O-line) was devastated with injuries, 22 season ending for starting players. These started in the spring with the D-backs and snowballed from there. It’s hard to field a quality unit when you lose so many experienced players…..ask any coach that. Now with that being said, I think Willie’s on the hot seat too, but the year has got to play out!
BIGDawg
September 22nd, 2009
10:16 am
Fire Richt for letting his friendship intefere with his leadership job. His job is to do what is best for UGA Football – PERIOD! Keeping a friend in a specific job or attempting to teach christian moral values is all well and good as long as the winning football games is placed first in priorities. Martinez would have been fired from McDonalds if his performance was sub-par an yet he gets to keep a very lucrative job in Athens. And people think federal workers have it made!!??
Mark Bradley
September 22nd, 2009
10:20 am
I’ll also concede that Georgia has played the most difficult schedule of any SEC team. But the same Gamecocks who managed seven points against North Carolina State got 37 against Georgia. And Arkansas scored nearly as many points against the Bulldogs as it did against Missouri State (41, as opposed to 48).
Georgia1
September 22nd, 2009
10:21 am
Hey meansonny,
Your point about how different overall offense is executed in today’s game vs. five years ago is fair. But defenses evolve as well, it’s a two way street. Look at the treaded Gators’ defense last season for example: 12 of 14 games they held opponents to 20 points or fewer. Please don’t insult our intelligence by using such poor analysis.
The bottom line is Georgia is not playing smart football. NINE turnovers in three games; terrible kick off coverage, obsessive penalties. The great news is there are some unbelievable bright spots, including: offense finding rhythm, big play threats in #1, #2, #8, #7, one helluva punter, and one helluva place kicker. We need to give our defense every chance to succeed (field position, turnover ratio).
FLA DAWG
September 22nd, 2009
10:22 am
I am very glad you Headlined this Mark – Thanks! Many of us saw the DC issue last season and begged for change. It fell on deaf ears. Hopefully this will be acted upon soon. My guess is The Dawgs will have to lose some games by 50 points before Richt fires his buddy. If Martinez had class he’d walk away now and save Richt, UGA, The Players and Fans the trouble.
By the way, I disagree with you about Bobo. Although I was critical of him last season and in the first game of this season, he appears to be calling better plays and the O seems to be clicking. But it will take more time to know if he is for real by how the O performs against a quality D. We will find out this season for sure.
NecUga
September 22nd, 2009
10:23 am
Blame it on Bush or Obama.
RxDawg
September 22nd, 2009
10:25 am
#4 Is a crock. Teams back then didn’t score 40-50 points ever like they do today. I agree our D isn’t looking very good right now. But someone also brought up a point about how tough our schedule has been from the get go. Were 2-1 right now and 2-0 in the SEC. We are winning games. Should we adjust some things on D? Hell yeh! But I don’t think things are so dire that we fire/demote our D-coordinator after 3 games. I want to do things that will let us win, canning our coaches before the season is even half way over will not help us win. Let Richt work WITH Martinez to fix things. Now if we drop out of the SEC race that’s another story. At the end of the season were still giving up 30something points per game, that’s another story.
Joey
September 22nd, 2009
10:25 am
SadDawg…. Never mind, I’ll just leave you to BugKiller. Sic him, boy!!!
FedUpWithWillie
September 22nd, 2009
10:25 am
Amen BIGDawg.
La Jolla Dawg
September 22nd, 2009
10:27 am
Mark Richt is earning $2.8 (or is it $2.9?) million a year, he is being paid to make tough choices and soon he’ll have to make some. I am willing to bet that going into this season Willie knew his job was on the line. Did Willie earn a raise this year? I know Bobo, Searels and Garner did, but did Martinez? He is currently the highest paid of the assistant coaches and for the life of me, I am not sure why. If his pay is being bumped simply because of time on the job, something is very wrong. Given the state of the economy (and the state of Georgia’s D) I think he should take a cut in pay until he demonstrates worth. He won’t get fired three games in, but he could/should get a pay cut.
FedUpWithWillie
September 22nd, 2009
10:29 am
RxDawg, this is more than a 3 game issue. It will not improve. We will drop out of the SEC race and we will still give up more than 30 points per game. Our guys are not coached well at all. Someone else said it earlier, it is not a 4″ height difference that is creating the problem. It is not knowing where to be. It is not recognizing a play as it develops. It is flat out poor coaching.
Vince
September 22nd, 2009
10:31 am
I have never seen so many wide open receivers as in the Arkansas game. Blame the Defensive coaches too, but the players need to shoulder the responsibility for the shoddy coverage. Find replacements if they can’t get it right in a hurry. And don’t forget, problems with current players start with recruiting errors. When you see the trouble that other teams are having covering A.J. Green why would you not only recruit tall defensive backs or exceptional leapers if they are under 6 foot. A 5′ 9″ to 5″11″ size defensive back, no matter how great his skills or heart is working from a tremendous disadvantage in today’s college football. Size Matters is a true functional statement.
JOHNNY D
September 22nd, 2009
10:31 am
Watch DB Evans, same as last year beat everytime but he does have the best seat in the stadium.
Dangerous
September 22nd, 2009
10:32 am
Alot of teams play that 1st game not to lose! That conservative play made Spurrier sick…….right. Spurrier and Petrino are 2 of the best in the business and they do have play makers. Ga played theirs not to lose and lost. Quit turning the damn ball over!
dap01
September 22nd, 2009
10:32 am
Hey, let’s kick it out of bounds and start the ball on the 40 yard line. Yeah, that is the best strategy, average stupid fans don’t understand that. (CMR)
Willie is not an average. Our defense if very below average. It has been for years. CMR needs to get involved and make some changes this year.
Larry
September 22nd, 2009
10:32 am
Just two plays…just two plays…one by the Carolina QB and one by the Arkansas QB and this team is 0-3. Fortunately the offense scored just enough points in both.
As for the OSU game, the first drive was scripted for Bobo, and afterword both he and Martinez had to “think” during the game and in-game, strategic “thinking” is their shortcoming, just like the guy running the ball club at Turner Field. Nice men all, but not championship caliber in-game coaching.
Mark,
Nail on the head!
Larry (1-14)
William
September 22nd, 2009
10:32 am
Listening to some of you reminds me of WWI. Willie is the general who keeps charging troops toward machine guns–and they lose everytime. These type of events happened with real people and real lives. But they kept sending out the troops. Hundreds of thousands died. Suddenly, someone came up with the idea of a tank. Some wanted to use more airplanes for ground support. The point is they continued to send troops until the tank arrived! Is this Mark Richt’s plan? Wait for the tank!
Sanford Drive
September 22nd, 2009
10:34 am
Here’s how jobs in the real world work: If you do an excellent job, you get a raise. If you do an average job, they let you keep your position. If you aren’t up to par, you get FIRED. How can I get a job with the GA athletic department? You can underachieve & still make the big bucks.
dawghouse1011 -Athens
September 22nd, 2009
10:35 am
Martinez has to go !!!!!
Denver Dog
September 22nd, 2009
10:39 am
I wish I could offer a defense, but I can’t. Who would take over right now? Is the talent down? We have a ton of offensive talent, do we really have a ton of defensive talent? You can’t compare to BVG, but the best comparison that I have seen is the post about Vanderbilt. What happens if his head goes into the basket right now? Who coaches? Do the players believe in him right now? Do we make Rodney the DC now? I think those questons need to be answered. Will it improve? The problem that I see, is that we may not have an 11 point lead when the coaches finally make the adjustments. What is a mid year solution? That is the question right now. We all see the symptom and the problem. What can we really do right now in the middle of the season?
gdawginkalamazoo
September 22nd, 2009
10:39 am
Cuz, I agree with that. He won’t be fired midseason for sure so why all the talk about it. Get him some help to figure things out for sure. We won Saturday and nobody got hurt did they? What’s wrong with some exciting football? Glad to see Cox and the O clicking.
William
September 22nd, 2009
10:40 am
Sanford Drive
September 22nd, 2009
10:34 am
It is obvious how to get a job there…CMR must like you personaly. You abilities and performance can be put on waivers. What figures were you thinking?
Dangerous
September 22nd, 2009
10:43 am
Bobo deserved a raise after last year, now that’s funny. Two plays away from GA being 0-3 and that’s Willie’s fault…….hello… 7 g@@#$@m turnovers! The year has to play out and then hard or easy decisions made.
Ginger
September 22nd, 2009
10:44 am
Thanks Mark..
So since Tuberville has defensive coordinator background and CMR and he are friends…He would be a possibly to bring in as defensive consultant–quality control position.
Also thought about Jimmy Johnson (Fox TV analyst)…He started out as defensive line coach and of course won championships in college and pro…..He thought would probably only come for a few days and give advice……
Like the idea better of bringing Tuberville or another qualified person to be there the rest of the yr and
then re-evaluate things then