UGA in Shreveport: A low point, but also a needed jolt
Here's proof Willie Martinez realized pass-rushing was allowed. (AJC photo by Brant Sanderlin)
Winning doesn’t educate. Winning endorses. Human nature holds that a winner doesn’t ask, “What can I do better?” but says instead, “Why change what works?”
Mark Richt is human. Even in the disappointment of 2008 — Georgia started as preseason No. 1 and landed in the Capital One Bowl — he had his talking points down. And when the Bulldogs beat Michigan State on Jan. 1, 2009, to finish 10-3, he trotted out TP No. 1: Six 10-win seasons out of the past seven was “pretty stinkin’ good.”
In his self-defense, Richt missed the obvious: That something was rotten in the House of Bulldog. All you had to do was screen a video of Richt’s 2002 team followed by one of the 2008 aggregation to see the difference. In 2008 Georgia had more talent but wasn’t as good.
The 2009 season will go down as the worst under Richt, but it many ways it was the best thing that could have happened. As the losses mounted — blown out in Knoxville by a Tennessee team working under a new coach; blown out again in Jacksonville; beaten at home by Kentucky for the first time since Herschel Walker was a sophomore at Johnson County High — it was clear the rot had spread. It took an upset of Georgia Tech for the Bulldogs just to finish above .500, and by then there could be no more pretense.
We’ve known all along Richt is smart. We weren’t sure how demanding he is. Firing three of his four defensive coaches provided the answer. As much as Mark Richt enjoys fellowship among his coaching staff, he enjoys winning more.
We don’t yet know the names of the replacements. We know the Bulldogs head into the Independence Bowl with a defense coordinated by Rodney Garner, the lone holdover, and some grad assistants. (Now watch Georgia shut down Texas A&M. Wouldn’t that be a hoot?) But no matter what happens in the game, there’s cause to believe there’ll be no more Shreveport jaunts in the Bulldogs’ immediate future.
It’s possible Richt could hire someone less adept than Willie Martinez as coordinator. It’s also possible — theoretically, anything’s possible — the sun could rise in the West tomorrow. What’s more apt to happen is an upgrade at the position that can galvanize a program more than the arrival of any five-star recruit.
Steve Spurrier had won four SEC titles and reached a national championship game, but it was only after he hired Bob Stoops to coordinate his defense — a defense that had just yielded 62 points to Nebraska in said championship game — that the Evil Genius took his national title. Mack Brown had posted five consecutive 10-win seasons at Texas, but it was only after he hired Gene Chizik from Auburn (which had just gone 13-0) that the Longhorns were able to win a BCS title. Yes, defensive coordinators matter.
Loading ...Defensive coordinators matter even more than offensive coordinators. A team that scores on every possession but can’t stop anybody feels vulnerable. (Yes, Georgia Tech, I’m thinking of you.) A team that knows it can stop somebody feels invincible. Offensive success is a function of skill and technique. Defensive success involves physical domination. Georgia used to play that brand of ball — ever heard of Erk Russell? — but had come to dominate nothing under Martinez.
That could well have changed by the time Georgia plays its first post-Shreveport game — Sept. 4, 2010, against Louisiana Lafayette. Even though Bud Foster chose to stay at Virginia Tech and Vic Koenning wound up at Illinois, there are good men out there who will see Georgia as the place to make a name by making a difference. There’s no reason to believe Richt won’t find one.
The tough part is behind him. It took some doing for this coach to convince himself that change wasn’t an option but a necessity, but finally he did it. When you’re accustomed to 10 wins and nice big bowls, nothing slaps you harder than a trip to Shreveport. This wasn’t the destination anyone associated with Georgia wanted, but it was, in the grand scheme, the destination Mark Richt’s program needed.
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526 comments Add your comment
Mark "Crimson Crier" Ingram
December 24th, 2009
3:01 pm
If the fleabags win in Shreveport, how much do you think they’ll get for their rings on e-Bay this year?
willie martinez
December 24th, 2009
3:03 pm
dont worry ingram, the cost will probably fit your budget
Paul
December 24th, 2009
3:03 pm
You mean we were suppose to WIN the UGA game, DOHHH. Next year I will use that superior playcallin ability and try and win that game.
Forbes Loves Georgia
December 24th, 2009
3:04 pm
Ranked #3 most valuable college football team, worth $90 million, 443 million profit last year.
http://www.forbes.com/2007/11/20/notre-dame-fooball-biz-sports-cx_ps_1120collegeball_slide_4.html?thisSpeed=15000
Vince Dooley
December 24th, 2009
3:04 pm
UGA still has a football program?????????????
Paul's Johnson
December 24th, 2009
3:05 pm
Mark, this is not just a case of complacency. Richt keeps trying to repeat the Florida State success of the late 80’s and 90’s. The problem is that he is using the offense, talent evaluation and recruiting mindset of that period as well. The lack of discipline that did not affect his FSU teams back in the day make a huge difference today. Lining up 4 and 5 star recruits without any apparent plan accomplishes what, exactly? Georgia program is adrift. The perma-tanned one has lost his bearings as a coach– his team and program have NO identity , other than playing 2nd fiddle to Florida and possibly 3rd fiddle to UT in the near future. Tough fact for Mutt fans to face, but there it is.
Paul Johnson
December 24th, 2009
3:05 pm
Paul, Good thing we are getting that 14 mil, maybe now I can finish that Gender change.
Ray Goff
December 24th, 2009
3:06 pm
i didnt know that!
Ray Goff
December 24th, 2009
3:07 pm
i thought martinez was a great coordinator. a victim of a bad offense.
Paul Johnson
December 24th, 2009
3:07 pm
I am the best playcaller that ever lived….Did you see those 4 long passes I called at the end of the UGA game? Pure genius.
AltamahaDawg
December 24th, 2009
3:07 pm
Playing with one healthy LB, zero healthy DE, a bunch of first year OL, is some pretty compelling talking points.
Can we finally admit that no voter in thier right mind would have had them #1 going into 2008 if they knew the number of players they would have to compete with? Or does that just mess up the critical talking points? I am blown away at the by the idea of ignoring that “more talented” would only matter if they were on the field.
Wail away on 2009, it wasn’t good, but even mentioning 2008 to support anything just doesnt hold water. It was not comparable to any season before or after.
Simple acid test. What does UGA do in 2008 with a healthy team, if it limped to 10 wins with perhaps the most beat up team in the country?
Rot hapens over the cource of year, not months.
Vince Dooley
December 24th, 2009
3:08 pm
I used to have some success at UGA………..I had to quit after I saw Tech win another National Championship in 1990………we can never catch up with our big brother Tech
Ray Gump
December 24th, 2009
3:08 pm
Terrell Davis was a great decoy, and that’s all I have to say about that.
willie martinez
December 24th, 2009
3:08 pm
thanks Ray
Tech Man
December 24th, 2009
3:09 pm
To all the Uga fans out there, a 6 piont win is not a but kicking.It took ga to played there best game and TECH to played there worst and still almost beat you.I think even ga fans know things could have realy got ugly for them if we were playing better!!Enjoy your 6 piont win and your 39th ranked team in your bowl.
willie martinez
December 24th, 2009
3:09 pm
vince, i believe that 1988 was your last year…
raleigh
December 24th, 2009
3:09 pm
That’s an incredible article. Best one all year.
Steve Spurrier
December 24th, 2009
3:10 pm
Ray, how’s it going?
Vince Dooley
December 24th, 2009
3:10 pm
Hell even I gave Tech a vote in 1990, they were the best team in the nation…..I couldn’t deny that
Ray Goff
December 24th, 2009
3:11 pm
Coach, all is great. am enjoying all the losses you’re wracking up at USC.
Steve Spurrier
December 24th, 2009
3:11 pm
Ray, sorry about that. i’ve passed you now in total sec losses.
Ray Gump
December 24th, 2009
3:12 pm
My momma always says, 30-24 is better than two ACC titles, and a butt whooping in the Tostedo- Bud-light-dry-draft-Orange Bowl, and that is all I have to say about that.
GWJ
December 24th, 2009
3:12 pm
UGA dominates TECH in the series…..60-39-5
Ray Goff
December 24th, 2009
3:13 pm
Coach Dooley, i still think you made a grave error by firing me. and now look at where the program is.
Gratefuldawghead
December 24th, 2009
3:13 pm
You would think Tech would be on the IOWA Blogs but NO they are still Obssesed with the DAWG!
Thanks Forbes for the 90 million update…I hear Tech is still trying to pay for thier Gold Rings they made after beating UGA ONE time in 8 years!
Series 60-39 We OWN TECH!
Ray Gump
December 24th, 2009
3:14 pm
As my momma used to say, “Its better to be tossing salad at UGA, than jumping on the band wagon with Techs transgendered coach”.
Vince Dooley
December 24th, 2009
3:14 pm
Hell, as a former UGA coach when I was coaching all I cared about were those shinny trophies you got if you were known as the best team in the nation………hell I’d trade that good one-on-one record against Tech anyday if I could have those 4 shinny National Championship Trophies they got
Joe Cox
December 24th, 2009
3:15 pm
Coach Willie, we will miss you terribly on the bowl trip. (I’ll see if i can get you one of them rings). dont tell anybody.
Ray Gump
December 24th, 2009
3:16 pm
One time at Band Camp, I got as the coach of my daughters soccer team.
willie martinez
December 24th, 2009
3:16 pm
thanks Joe, but that’s not necessary.
how2fish
December 24th, 2009
3:17 pm
Tech Man its X-mass eve and for X-mass Santa is bringing you a case of hankys and some cheese to go with that whine! No Shivelling in football…Tebow may cry but he doesn’t shivel…
willie martinez
December 24th, 2009
3:18 pm
i’ll check ebay for the rings.
Vince Dooley
December 24th, 2009
3:18 pm
When I get back into coaching I’m gonna run that triple option that that Tech guy runs
Joe Cox
December 24th, 2009
3:19 pm
Coach, we will win this game for you. I guarantee it.
Tim Teabag
December 24th, 2009
3:19 pm
Sniff Sniff, Bwwaaaaaaineedtogetlaidddddwwwaahahahahah
willie martinez
December 24th, 2009
3:21 pm
Joe, i wish you’d have won games for me earlier this season. its too late baby.
Joe Cox
December 24th, 2009
3:22 pm
Sorry about that Coach. I tried my best. Just wasn’t to be i guess.
GTMike
December 24th, 2009
3:22 pm
Defense wins championships. GT, like UGa, needs to upgrade their defenses.
Wouldn’t it be a blast if the Dawgs won the SEC East and the Jackets the ACC Coastal…then met in their traditional after Thanksgiving game?
But defense is what gets you there consistently.
Vince Dooley
December 24th, 2009
3:23 pm
I remember when back in 1990 all of our UGA players were pissed that Tech had won yet another National Championship and our players tried to break in the Field House at Bobby Dodd Stadium to steal the trophy so we could have a national championship. I told the boys, we ain’t good enough to win won like them so lets just steel the trophy and call it a UGA national Title………….they were arrested and the trophy never made it to athens
Big time?? Not
December 24th, 2009
3:24 pm
four tickets, four hot dogs, four cokes. Still losers.
Gratefuldawghead
December 24th, 2009
3:25 pm
I am still waiting on a Teche to take a swing at me like thier Coach instructed! Funny you can’t find Tech fans filling thier high school stadium but they can fill the DAWG BLOG!
DAWGS 30 ACC (All Coast Clear) champ 24
How Sweet It Is!
how2fish
December 24th, 2009
3:26 pm
GTMike your correct about the defenses..I really thought both UGA and Tech would break 50 points scored as both teams played D last year like the French did in WWII. And I’d love to kick the stakes up next year and have both teams undeafeated when we play!
Joe Cox
December 24th, 2009
3:28 pm
to willie
i’ll give you the version unvarnished
your coaching skills are pretty tarnished
you show’d you’re a man
just got no plan
and now with no check to garnish
Vince Dooley
December 24th, 2009
3:29 pm
wheres my award that named after me????????????????????
Chris Chase
December 24th, 2009
3:29 pm
According to Philadelphia Eagles players, the most courageous man on the team in 2009 was one who started the year serving time in prison for an act of extreme cowardice.
Today, the Eagles announced that Michael Vick was the 2009 winner of the Ed Block Courage Award, an honor given to a player who shows courage in the face of adversity. Vick’s teammates voted for the award, thus demonstrating how tone-deaf and out-of-touch NFL players are with reality.
According to the Ed Block Courage Award Foundation Web site:
Each year, the Ed Block Courage Awards honors those National Football League players who exemplify commitments to the principles of sportsmanship and courage. Recipients are selected by their teammates for team effort, as well as individual performance.
The Ed Block Courage Award recipient symbolizes professionalism, great strength and dedication. He is also a community role model.
One recipient is selected from each NFL team, usually for things like coming back from injury, doing good work in the community or long, dedicated service to a franchise. I’d be surprised if the award’s founders intended for the honor to be given to someone doing community service as part of the terms of his parole or for showing courage in the face of reporters asking legitimate questions about federal crimes.
The Eagles’ vote is not only a slap in the face to the Ed Block Courage Award Foundation, but to the other 31 players who won the award for their respective teams. Some men are truly deserving of the honor, like Ravens safety Dawan Landry(notes) who was nearly paralyzed last year, but has come back in ‘09 with four interceptions and a touchdown or Mike Furrey(notes) of the Browns, who does extensive volunteer work in his community. Adding Vick’s name to the roll makes the award seem illegitimate and meaningless.
Apparently Philadelphia players confuse Vick handling dogfighting questions and booing with a measure of class as some sort of courage. That Vick only got a chance to show this mild courageousness because of the extreme cowardice it takes to murder helpless animals isn’t something that crosses their mind. They confuse Vick’s desperation with some sort of integrity.
I’m all for second chances and find myself rooting for Vick to redeem himself both on and off the football field. He’s served an appropriate sentence (and then some) and I see no reason for him to keep paying for his past transgressions. But I also see no reason to celebrate his character.
Michael Vick(notes) is very much a work in progress. A few years from now, I hope he will be deserving of such an honor. At this time, however, he has only just started down the path to redemption.
willie martinez
December 24th, 2009
3:29 pm
Joe, shouldnt you be working on the game plan?
Tuck Fech
December 24th, 2009
3:30 pm
Dawgs couldn’t still the 90 Trophy because it was split in half with Colorado! Tech played an ACC schedule that didn’t include FSU or Miami and tied North Carolina! They then played #16 Nebraska!
1990 was BS!
Vince Dooley
December 24th, 2009
3:30 pm
Michael Vick tried to use UGA VII in a fight one time but he rolled over like he does against every opponent he faced
Joe Cox
December 24th, 2009
3:31 pm
Coach, the game’s in the bag. already told you that. i also understand our defensive coaching staff has been substantially upgraded for this game.
willie M
December 24th, 2009
3:32 pm
Joe…you guarantee a win?…does that mean you’re not starting?