UGA needs to get back to basics, not back in black
Black shirts seemed tres chic back then. No longer, alas. (AJC photo by Pouya Dianat)
Big game. Night game. South’s oldest rivalry. Between the hedges. Time for a blackout!
Hey! It worked once!
Actually, it worked once and stopped working. It worked once — technically it worked twice, if you count the Sugar Bowl against Hawaii, which nobody should — and it gave the Bulldogs the cockeyed notion that what they wore mattered more than how they played.
It worked on the night of Nov. 10, 2007, when Georgia wore black jerseys beat Auburn 45-2o. It worked less well on the night of Sept. 27, 2008, when a reappearance of those black shirts enabled the Bulldogs to work themselves into a 31-point halftime hole against Alabama. And Georgia hasn’t been the same since.
The mojo, if that’s what it is, was gone. The color-coordination thing had been exposed as a gimmick. And that was what was so pitiful about Georgia’s unveiling of black helmets and black pants in Jacksonville on Halloween. It seemed a forlorn hope from the get-go, the last fading gesture of a desperate program. (And, from an aesthetic view, it just looked awful — half the stadium in blue/orange, the other half in red and one team in … black and white?)
Auburn plays in Sanford Stadium on Saturday for the first time since the blackout, and it’s time for Georgia to prove it can beat somebody without aid of haberdashery. Because who has Georgia beaten lately? LSU last season? (Those Tigers lost five games.) South Carolina this time? (Wake me when South Carolina really matters.) Arizona State? Tennessee Tech?
What was lost in the hullabaloo over the the black jerseys was the necessity not just for emotion but for controlled emotion. What was lost was the attention to detail that stamped Mark Richt’s program in the heyday of 2002-2005. What was lost was the realization that Georgia couldn’t just throw its helmets (of whatever hue) out there and expect to win.
As noted earlier this week, the Auburn game often effects a sea change, for better or worse, for the Georgia program. What needs to happen tomorrow night is for the Bulldogs to begin to play basic football again. No false chatter, no penalties, no gimmicks. Just old-school football in an old-school rivalry.
Should that happen, Georgia just might figure a way to save this season.
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394 comments Add your comment
SatchelBuzz
November 13th, 2009
12:27 pm
THWG!!!
Mark Bradley
November 13th, 2009
12:27 pm
Fastest … first … ever. I’m in utter awe.
Georgia lollipop licker
November 13th, 2009
12:32 pm
Let’s try pink undies
Spike
November 13th, 2009
12:34 pm
Did you say “utter awe”? Wow, just wow.
PMC
November 13th, 2009
12:34 pm
Yeah, nice little tune up game for Kentucky and GT this weekend.
Mark Bradley
November 13th, 2009
12:35 pm
I did say “utter awe.”
Actually, I typed it. Same difference.
Change It Up
November 13th, 2009
12:35 pm
Georgia Tech fans have proven themselves this year to be the most annoying fans in college football.
b.davis
November 13th, 2009
12:35 pm
Auburn 35 Georgia 17
Mark Bradley
November 13th, 2009
12:36 pm
Tech fans? Annoying? Surely you joust.
Michael in Decatur
November 13th, 2009
12:36 pm
If the athletes want to switch up the uniforms I don’t see anything wrong with accommodating them, within reason. After all, it is the student-athletes who commit the time and energy into the sport. Plus, strictly from a commercial perspective, how many black jerseys were sold in 2007 versus 2006? Denigrating a simple accommodation is juvenile. No one would reasonably expect a slight uniform variation to make the difference between winning and losing.
brewdawg
November 13th, 2009
12:37 pm
UGA will win tomorrow. That is my expert opinion.
chemdawg
November 13th, 2009
12:37 pm
haberdashery, brad?
DirtyDawg
November 13th, 2009
12:37 pm
I’m first to admit I’m a UGA homer, but for the life of me I don’t understand why UGA is the only program in the nation getting singled out for change of uniform? Why is this such a big deal to everyone in the media and why doesn’t every other program who does it getting even a fraction of the same criticism?
Denver Dog
November 13th, 2009
12:38 pm
I’m missing something about this first stuff!
UGA needs to play sound fundamental football. I still want to know what happened between the first series of the OK State game, and the rest of the year. Was it Sturdivant? The d was good too! Was it the first late hit?
The Dogs have to figure a way to stop the run, which they have most of the year, and a way to eat up the clock. They have to not turnover the ball, they have to cut down penalties. We have ll heard that story before Since the first game I’d say.
Old Dawg
November 13th, 2009
12:38 pm
My high school coach always said it best: block, tackle, run, catch, kick, hold onto the ball, get the ball. Do those things better than the other team and you’ll always win.
Uniforms? Erk Russell had a great reply: If extra stripes and decals really mattered, Penn State would be the worst team in the history of the college football. Obviously, they’re not.
jeffrey d
November 13th, 2009
12:38 pm
I don’t think the different uniforms are as big a deal as people make them. People say “They need to worry less about what they look like and more about how they play!” As if the entire team and coaching staff are spending hours a day deciding which shade of red to wear, or what color the chin straps should be.
I think it’s more along the lines of Richt saying to an equipment manager, “Hey, let’s wear black helmets and black pants this week. Give our sizes to the equipment company.” And that’s it.
Personally, I really like the different unis. It gets fans excited and it gets the players excited. As long as it’s not a crutch and the only motivational technique used, I don’t see a problem with it.
cooter
November 13th, 2009
12:39 pm
great post Mark!!
gabeaux
November 13th, 2009
12:39 pm
This team acts as if the fact that they are Georgia is enough to win ballgames. History doesn’t win anything. They have to make their own history and right now it’s a pretty sad story. The coaches and players are equally to blame. Georgia is becoming second tier because of complacency. Someone has to provide a spark or these next two weeks will be a disaster.
Mark Bradley
November 13th, 2009
12:39 pm
You have to admit “haberdashery” is a pretty cool word. Even if I don’t know what it means.
sprouse27
November 13th, 2009
12:40 pm
The Dawgs need to start from scratch, and that included the coaching staff. We play sloppy football, and beating up teams like Tennesse Tech is akin to bully on the school yard who won’t fight anybody their own size. There is plenty of talent on the team, but you wouldn’t know that to watch them on the field. Yeah, it’s not a program that’s moving forward right now, and I think that starts at the top. The things that Dawg fans are complaining about now, are the same things we were complaining about last year. We don’t get 3 million a year to analyze such things, nor to fix them. But it’s a shame that the UGA coaching staff has to put the program in the ditch before they seem to be aware that there are problems.
Bank Walker, Texas Ranger
November 13th, 2009
12:43 pm
AU’s QB might have a dead arm, we will see but the visitor usually prevails in this game the last few year with the exception of two years ago. They may off set each other and UGA wins 31-24
Jammin' Dawg
November 13th, 2009
12:44 pm
For as much flack as Richt has received for daring the change the looks of our jerseys and helmets, nevermind the fact they are our color scheme, I seriously doubt we’ll ever see any black uniforms again. Though, I said the same thing before the UF game as well. So we’ll see.
godawgs
November 13th, 2009
12:44 pm
Mark-
Do your homework on penalties under Richt, people are missing this–BIG-TIME. Richt is 25 wins and 2 losses when we get 10+ penalties. Bad advice there, playing conservative or fearing to make mistakes is not the key, or a basic. Alabama or Florida do not commit the least penalities in the SEC, Tenn does, look at their results? If the basics mean ‘run the ball’, I agree, Richt is 38-3 when he gets a 100 yard rusher. Give the ball to Ealey who ran for more td’s and yards in High School than Knowshon Moreno or Herschel Walker. We do need some motivation, that isn’t a bad thing for Richt to be focusing on, but one that WORKS, like a pre-game touch ritual (USC uses a sign called “I’m In”), the last 6 National Champs have had pre-game touch ritual–motivation is needed–gets guys off to fast start–if you score 1st–you usually win in the SEC.
Buckheadbill
November 13th, 2009
12:49 pm
I once knew a fine young lady from Haberdashery County.
Bank Walker, Texas Ranger
November 13th, 2009
12:50 pm
When Georgia played Floriday, I thought it was Grambling until I saw all the penalties, then I knew it was Georgia
Bank Walker, Texas Ranger
November 13th, 2009
12:52 pm
Playing conservative or playing disciplined are two differn’t things. You can still be agressive with out dead ball penalties like turning a 3rd and 1 into a 3rd and 6 with a false start penalty.
Yellow Fuzz
November 13th, 2009
12:53 pm
Georgia Tech 9-1
Georgia “Gimicks” 5-4
Bulldog Ben
November 13th, 2009
12:53 pm
White helmets, black jerseys, red pants tomorrow night.
You heard it here first. Go DAWGS !!!
PMC
November 13th, 2009
12:53 pm
Many habadasherers develop issues from mercury related poisoning.
Ralei
November 13th, 2009
12:54 pm
Enter your comments here
Change It Up
November 13th, 2009
12:56 pm
Michael in Decatur…I agree that the black jerseys look cool and you are correct that the players requested them.
Not so with the black helmets. The point is that changing uniform colors is now perceived as a gimmick, mainly because of the Black helmets fiasco in J’ville, which, according to an article on AJC, the players DID NOT ask for. Richt sprung it on them to try and get them pumped up. A gimmick.
Mark, ‘haberdashery’ is indeed a great word.
Mark knows not!!!
November 13th, 2009
12:56 pm
Mark said dawgs win??? Oh oooo. Dawgs lose
brewdawg
November 13th, 2009
12:57 pm
The entire “lack of discipline” problem stems from the Tennessee game in 2007. According to CMR, the team displayed such a lack of fire in the game that he never wanted to allow that again. So he decided to start showing more emotion on the sideline, allow the team to show more emotion on the sideline, etc. So he drew up the much talked about “celebration” against Florida, and the blackout against Auburn. It worked well for that year, but unfortunately it seems to have leaked too much onto the field now. He just needs to work on finding a happy medium this offseason. Well, that and make some staff changes of course. ( I try not to call out people individually- just seems wrong to call for somebody to be fired in the current economy. Especially for something that is still, above all else, a game).
Eddie
November 13th, 2009
12:57 pm
Mark,
I am glad you are so concerned about UGA’s choice of uniform. That is really something to be spending your precious time on. Anyway, with the ground game starting to come around, I think you see the Dawgs do what they do best and that is run first and play action to AJ and friends. Auburn has a worrisome offence, but we should slow them down enough for a 28-17 win. Go DAWGS!
jdubb
November 13th, 2009
12:59 pm
Seriously, UGA does take more crap for the black than anyone else – and alot of other teams do it – and lose too! The Defense just sucks; they’ve sucked since last year against ALA when we lost for the first time in black. They suck again this year and we probably should not have tested them out against FLA. I think its just the AJC that harps on the black and condems it. I personally love the home Red jerseys and helmets, and i wouldn’t care if we played every away game with black shirts instead of white. But i DONT like the balck helmets with the red face masks (hideous). Maybe Richt should stop turning to black for the BIGGEST games until he has sent Soft (clueless) Willie back to Miami.
Bulldog Ben
November 13th, 2009
12:59 pm
White helmets, black jerseys and red pants tomorrow night.
You heard it here first! GO DAWGS !!!
Dawgeye
November 13th, 2009
1:00 pm
Good read- Georgia will be back, but not with this staff- Players play like they practice, and coaches run practice- Obviously, cut the penalties, have correct players on field, make adjustments, quickly, as needed, and we have the talent to win- What a shame that we have wasted such a talent in Green this year- Eavans still playing safety?- come on- Fair catching punts- really, with the second string QB- Why not Smith and Boykin back on kickoff returns together- Boykin or Smith returning punts- Samuels starting running back- Please- He wants to be, and is, an excellent linebacker- Ealey obviously better, and improving with each game, with some Caleb thrown in- And unfortunately for this year, Joe is our only chance to win-He has to step it up, or…. The coaches are lost, it’s sad, and time for changes- We will win-close game, though, and I agree, why pick on our unis so much- Every team in country this year has changed up occassionally- That doesn’t make a 5 star safety keep hitting people out of bounds- A lot of coaches have to go-
uberVU - social comments
November 13th, 2009
1:00 pm
Social comments and analytics for this post…
This post was mentioned on Twitter by MarkBradleyAJC: UGA needs to forget gimmicks and uniform changes and color schemes and get back to football, I say. http://bit.ly/4hGdgK…
Change It Up
November 13th, 2009
1:01 pm
MARK, BTW a haberdashery is where a haberdasher works. According to a 1969 Webster Dictionary, a ‘haberdasher’ is “a dealer in small wares or notions.”
I would submit that Mark Richt is a haberdasher, based on his small notion that black helmets would defeat the Florida Gators.
Raleigh Dog
November 13th, 2009
1:01 pm
Isn’t it ironic that Georgia used the excessive celebration penalty against Florida to get an edge but was undone this year by a phantom excessive celebration penalty? The Alabama game last year should have indeed signaled the end of gimmicks. Too bad they needed a ridiculous reminder against Florida this year. Only desperate people do desperate things. But what will they do when they lose these last three wearing red?
Shug
November 13th, 2009
1:01 pm
Uniform variations aren’t decided by the coaches or by the players or by the administration. Nike makes those decisions (in cahoots with the administration I suppose). It’s all about marketing.
BTW, it’s not too late to make something of this season. Beat rival Auburn, beat Top 10 Tech, and win a bowl, good enough for a transition year. This is a transition year, I hope.
Buckhead Dawg
November 13th, 2009
1:02 pm
A 50-49 Dawg win would be ideal. Get the win and still allow the defense to be it’s horrible self. Last thing we need right now is anybody even considering keeping Willie around after this season.
Agree with this hack Bradley on this issue though: stick with traditional unis for a couple of years. (or maybe 10)
Furman Bisher
November 13th, 2009
1:02 pm
Seriously, Mark, you’re better than this. This is just lazy, lazy journalism. Enough with the uniform stories. UGA wore black jerseys and got waxed by Alabama. They wore black helmets and got waxed by Florida. We get, we get it. Time to move on.
Barry from Eastenders
November 13th, 2009
1:02 pm
Mark — Come on man, you are better than this. Bringing up the blackout deal is cynical and gratuitous on your part. There has been ZERO discussion that black jerseys are being contemplated, so this is a completely ginned up story on your part so as to stir the pot and bait the Tech lunatic fringe into making childish comments.
Furman Bisher
November 13th, 2009
1:03 pm
Oh, and get off my lawn.
godawgs
November 13th, 2009
1:03 pm
Florida usually has a TON of penalties, like last year, Gators are usually near the top of the SEC in penalties–I guess they don’t have “discipline” either? National Champs a few times. Penalties are NOT the cause of Georgia’s problem–not even CLOSE. It’s lack of a 100 yard rusher and this stupid triangle back rotation. Richt’s 38 wins-3 losses when he gets a 100 yard rusher.
Barry from Eastenders
November 13th, 2009
1:04 pm
Furman — That is scary dude. The opening lines were almost word for word. Too funny.
Furman Bisher
November 13th, 2009
1:06 pm
Great minds, Barry.
BTW, excellent “Extras” reference.
CrackerJacket
November 13th, 2009
1:07 pm
Haberdashery is truly an awesome word. With that in mind, the dogs are falling apart like a Hong Kong suit.
Barry from Eastenders
November 13th, 2009
1:08 pm
Great, great show was it not?