The doctor is in: What UGA must do to rise from mediocrity
Yes, but being 6-6 shouldn't ever be cause for celebration. (AJC photo by Brant Sanderlin)
This is the week, Mark Richt said late Saturday night, to recruit in earnest. And it’s true that one of the teams that played in Sanford Stadium on Saturday needs a talent infusion, but it’s not Richt’s Bulldogs.
Georgia Tech has a clear idea of what it is but insufficient manpower to get it where it wants to go. Georgia has, and has long had, enough players — not that it couldn’t use more — but has come to lack direction. As these middling-by-definition teams head into December and then 2011, we address their respective needs. First, Georgia’s.
Step 1: Get stronger. It has long been suggested that Georgia’s conditioning program has gotten soft, and we saw striking evidence again Saturday night. Tech ruled the line of scrimmage. Dave Van Halanger, Georgia’s strength coach, had a hand in building SEC championship teams here — those were his offseason mat drills, transferred from Florida State, referenced in “Finish The Drill” — but the Bulldogs have come to look comparatively peaked. (And not just against Tech; Auburn scored touchdowns on six of its final seven possessions two weeks earlier.)
The issue: Van Halanger is Richt’s best friend. Willie Martinez might have been Richt’s college buddy, but it’s Van Halanger with whom Richt goes jogging. Richt waited long — too long — to sack Martinez as defensive coordinator, but finally he did it. He needs now to make an even more difficult personal decision and upgrade a position that has become substandard.
Step 2: Get edgier. An acronym born under Erk Russell is still written on the board before every Georgia game — GATA. (Loosely translated, “Get After Them Aggressively.”) The Bulldogs, however, have become slow burners. They didn’t take a lead against an SEC opponent until the season’s fourth conference game. They trailed Florida 21-7 in a game they might have won easily had they built a two-touchdown advantage. When they responded to Auburn’s opening touchdown with three of their own, the question asked itself: Why don’t do they do this more often?
As we say in hockey and figure skating, Georgia football has lost its edge. Some of this has to do with preparation, but not all. Which leads us to …
Step 3: Get an idea. Richt is a finesse coach. Georgia runs the ball as a counterpoint. Its staple running play over these 10 years has been the sprint draw, and a draw is by design a fake pass. There’s no reason for Richt to change what he believes and become Woody Hayes reincarnate, and that’s fine. Where Georgia errs is in seeking to be both finesse offense and power offense. Artificial concerns over “balance” need to be tossed in yonder trashcan.
When Georgia fans rage at Mike Bobo for “going conservative,” they have half a point. Running isn’t a bad conceptual idea, but Bobo/Richt seem to feature the run at moments when all running can do is slow Georgia. The top two teams in the BCS standings have gotten there by playing fast and attacking for four quarters. Time for the Bulldogs to join the fun.
Have a seat in the waiting room. Dr. Bradley’s Rx for Georgia Tech can be found here.
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601 comments Add your comment
ARdawg
November 29th, 2010
5:13 pm
GO DAWGS
I’ll agree to that but, when double teamed, he has to still remain effective in closing the holes. It isn’t just about being doubled. It’s about giving them nowhere to run up front. However, when it’s ineffective, you adjust
The Owl of Prophecy
November 29th, 2010
5:17 pm
AR,
It did and you’re right. I wondered how many runs up the middle before we adjusted and took away that play. We are still underusing our young talent on defense…too much “Willie”. We’re not playing our best players.
yogi2
November 29th, 2010
5:18 pm
please, please get rid of Bobo
Beachdawg
November 29th, 2010
5:19 pm
Good thing it was a 3 man front because the LB’s and DB’s were making tackles all night…If they’d gotten past a 6 man front they’d have scored like Wisconsin
Go Dawgs!
November 29th, 2010
5:20 pm
“Gratham is not the answer the defense did not improve all year, ”
This is exactly what I’m talking about. We are running a 3-4 with 4-3 personnel that was poorly coached.
Here’s what Granthum inherited:
1. Players who had poor tackling skills- thanks willie
2. Secondary with poor coverage skills -thanks willie
3. Once 1 & 2 were adressed as much as they could be with the current players, he then had to introduce NEW Schemes AND NEW terminology.
If we’d got K.Smart (which everyone seemed to want) he’d be in the same boat as Granthum is right now inserting the 3-4. BTW if Smart HAD come to UGA, Granthum would be at Bama.
Easy Answer to a Trick Question
November 29th, 2010
5:21 pm
How to fix UGA?
Simple really.
Nuke it.
BirdDog
November 29th, 2010
5:23 pm
My guess is CMR makes no changes this year. He tells all of his coaches, we are in this together, we all need to improve or we will all be looking for jobs next year. Just my guess…
The Owl of Prophecy
November 29th, 2010
5:24 pm
Ya’ll go ahead and take your best shot, but I think Richt will resign and take the Miami job. And it will happen by Friday. I think our new coach will be Jim Harbaugh and he’ll clean house. He’ll also make Murray a “world class” QB, too.
Marietta Dawg
November 29th, 2010
5:25 pm
Funny, I am in Miami on business and the feeling down here is “anyone, but Richt”. Sports Talk shows are focused on Gruden. Give Miami credit, they took action. We could learn a lot!
ARdawg
November 29th, 2010
5:25 pm
At this point, I’d say the jury is still out on Grantham but, he looks guilty. The stats show a better defense but that doesn’t mean much when the win/loss shows something else. Getting beat on the big play every game is really no consolidation
Georgia Board of Education
November 29th, 2010
5:25 pm
If it werent for UGA, where would we send all
of our 20 year-old, illiterate high-school grads?
ARdawg
November 29th, 2010
5:28 pm
I think Richt is around for “at least” another year. FTR, against my better judgment. I say get ready for another 6/7 win season and continue these same conversations next year
Alabama Board of Education
November 29th, 2010
5:29 pm
To Auburn or Alabama of course!
Todd Grantham
November 29th, 2010
5:30 pm
Just for the record, I was giving the choke sign to Aaron Murray in Jax. That little snot nosed frat boy almost cost us another one against Tech if not for my D.
Go Dawgs!
November 29th, 2010
5:30 pm
yogi2
November 29th, 2010
5:18 pm
please, please get rid of Bobo
So you want to get rid of an OC that AVERAGED 30+ pts a game now?
Bobo has deserved his fair share of blame in the PAST but to average 30pts a game with a redshirt freshman QB is a pretty good job.
FLA DAWG
November 29th, 2010
5:33 pm
Well Mark,
step 1. Responsibility of……….Mark Richt
step 2. Responsibility of……….Mark Richt
step 3. Responsibility of……….Mark Richt
I do not believe he will make the changes necessary to turn this team around.
Next season will be another waste and we will have to wait for yet another year.
What a waste.
The Owl of Prophecy
November 29th, 2010
5:33 pm
Go Dawgs!…look who we played. We sure didn’t score against the “elite” of the conference except for Auburn, which has a worse defense than us. How ’bout all the touchdowns against SC and Miss State? A total of one!
col foot
November 29th, 2010
5:34 pm
about UGA,
THey brought in this Grantham to shore up the defense…there is no difference from last year!!! This defense has given up 30 or more points all year, you can’t win like that. The offense is doing just fine. They consistently scored in the thirty’s and forty’s..nothing wrong with that.Georgia can’t stop anybody throwing or running. It appears this scheme of defense has a lot of holes in it…and that is coaching. For 750k a year you would think you would get better results than this!
DawginLex
November 29th, 2010
5:34 pm
I bet if Gruden goes to Miami he wins a national title in 2-3 years. We could learn a lot from Miami. We can’t just sit around and accept mediocrity!
Go Dawgs!
November 29th, 2010
5:35 pm
ARdawg
November 29th, 2010
5:25 pm
Go look at Bama’s stats the first year Saban introduced the 3-4.
His defense gave up an average of 22pts the first year and they had ugly back to back losses to Miss St and LA-Monroe
2nd year they averaged 14pts per game
3rd year they averaged just under 12pts per game.
Granthum this year averaged 23pts per game.
Let’s see what happens in year two before we’re ready to fire another DC.
Go Dawgs!
November 29th, 2010
5:40 pm
col foot
November 29th, 2010
5:34 pm
Again another idiot- anyone who expected Granthum or anyone switching schemes to come in year one and be a miracle worker with new terminology, new schemes, and players that he’s having to fit into his scheme to just magically turn it around is delusional. Again see my above post about Bama’s first season switching from the 4-3 to 3-4.
If you people actually understood the game you’d get it. So I guess you want Richt or the “new coach” if you had your way to just switch out DCs or OCs every year either unit didn’t perform to perfection regardless of personnel or any other factors.
ARdawg
November 29th, 2010
5:40 pm
GO DAWGS
I’m not calling for a firing. Grantham however, is just part of the bigger problem. If it takes 3 years to implement a working 3-4 defense. I can say with a degree of certainty, Grantham doesn’t have that long.
Go Dawgs!
November 29th, 2010
5:45 pm
“How ’bout all the touchdowns against SC and Miss State? A total of one!”
Murray’s 2nd career start and first road game without his #1 receiver.
And while you want to poo-poo Auburn’s defense, how many points did Bama score against them in the 2nd half?
ARdawg
November 29th, 2010
5:45 pm
A good offense and a mediocre defense doesn’t elevate Richt’s position anytime in the next year. Mediocre anything can not be in that equation if Richt is to keep his job. It will take a “Good” offense, defense and Special teams. Otherwise we’re looking at another 6/7 win season and I do not expect that will be enough to keep Richt after 2011
SnoopDawg
November 29th, 2010
5:47 pm
I’m So glad we got a good offense Because we dont have no defense
Bulldog Nation has known ALL of this
November 29th, 2010
5:49 pm
Nice piece, Mark. We Dogs have spoken these truths for about 4 or 5 years now. The WVA game in the Atlanta Sugar Bowl gave UGA fans the real future. We were that night slow, lethargic and elsewhere emotionally. The game being in Atlanta, I am sure, had some negativity on the UGA squad, whereas WVA was happy to go anywhere, in those days.
SEC now is a very different breed of animal. Physicality is still the name of the game. Mark Richt however, still plays ACC ball, left over from the 90s, in which Bowdon’s faster, more athletic FSU teams could usually win big vs a Bowling Green or a North Texas State or a Tulane, Louisville, or the weak, weak ACC teams like NC State, Maryland, NC or Wake or such as that. THey back then, except for one or two kids per suad, simply did not have the huge number of athletes, like Ron Simmons, Deon Sanders or the 2 Heisman QB kids. FSU was full of that ……….. easy to do in Florida too.
Nowadays …………. you must be physical and play fast ……………. like AU. The game changes and the SEC was not 100% up to speed when Richt first appeared but the great programs that they all are, caught up and PASSED UGA. We look like a rusty 1968 Cutlass 442 with wheeels up on blocks. Yeah, in our day, we had no rust. Now? We are a rust bucket.
We all knew this. Richt is stubborn and his staff all know of what we speak .Richt will not fire Van Halanger and come 11/29/11 Richt will be fired. It is his choice. He should have begun the coaching modification 3 or 5 years ago. Now? He needs to fire about 4 or 5 of his position c oaches, starting with Bobo and Searels and McClendon and Van Halanger.
Go Dogs. BY 2013 and 2014 UGA will be back ……….IF we get a new coach in 2011. We just have to wait. Problem for me is that I am getting too old to wait another 30 years.
Pulpwood Smith
November 29th, 2010
5:49 pm
Richt needs to learn the lesson that Spurrier finally accepted this year….if you have a horse at RB, feed him. Richt & Bobo are QB’s in a line of scrimmage league. You have to run the ball. Period.
gt4ever
November 29th, 2010
5:54 pm
No discipline, No leadership, same ole UGA football….. Next year will be another 6 and 6 year….
Welcome to mediocre football at its finest…. College football in Georgia smells really bad…
The Owl of Prophecy
November 29th, 2010
5:54 pm
“Go”…and that’s why Kirby Smart won’t be heading to Athens. You know as well as I that Murray should have started last year. Could that be (1) coaching? (2) blind loyalty (3) incompetence (4) just plain being stubborn or (5) all of the above.
Dawg with bag back on head
November 29th, 2010
5:54 pm
CMR has already said there won’t be any coaching changes, so I say he has to go. It’s obvious to everyone (and I mean everyone) but him that Van Halanger is way past his expiration date. Refusing to make any changes is going to land us right back in the “hope we beat Tech to get to a bowl game” mode. Another year will only drive the point home for a FOURTH time.
Go Dawgs!
November 29th, 2010
5:56 pm
AR Dawg, it doesn’t take 3yrs to install it IF you’re willing to bring in Juco players. That’s what Bama did. They didn’t have the personel to run the 3-4 either and in the first year gave up 22pts/game. He brought in a few jucos to shore up the holes he had from the leftover 4-3 guys and dropped their average down to 14pts per game. Im just saying there were A LOT of problems with the defense and the state it was left in by Willie.
Don’t get me wrong I’m not happy about the state of the program right now, but I don’t think it’s as bad as people think.
I live in Jax, and many UF fans I know were very disapointed with thier 13-1 season last year and their 7-5 record this year put things in perspective. We lost 3 games by 2, 3, and 7pts if we win those games and are 9-3 I don’t think people would be complaining with a redshirt freshman qb and new d.
1eyedJack
November 29th, 2010
5:56 pm
“A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.”
Fire the coach who has the best winning percentage in school history?
Ok, I’ll play.
If you do the dirty deed, then who’s up for the public gutting he’ll receive next year when he undoubtably flounders with a talented team trying to absorb yet a new system?
If you replace CMR because you say he can’t win a National Championship then you must replace him with someone who HAS. Fair enough? Otherwise it’s just speculation.
Let’s see. Assuming Auburn wins this year, Gene Cheesestick? He might just be available, though possibly tainted, and what has he won previous to “lucking” into his Herschel? I think the SEC frowns on stealing head coaches from member institutions, even if they are on probation.
Oregon Coach Chip Kelly? If he wins he’ll be on top of the world. He will dominate recruiting in the NW and NCAL and control the PAC10 at least until USC gets off probation and dummys up and dumps the Boy Wonder. Why subject yourself to crucifixion on the cross of the UGA fanbase? You probably couldn’t pay him enough. Besides, he has all those wonderful uniform combinations to play with. How many combinations can you get from Red and Black?
Nick Saban? He likes a challenge, but come on, can we buyout CMR and Grantham and pay Lucifer a gazillion dollars?
Urban Meyer? Get real. A nervous breakdown about to happen.
Les Miles? Their fanbase would probably swap him head up.
Mack Brown? Only if Texas did a stupid thing and fired him.
WHO? WHO? WHOOOOOOOOOOOO?
5150 P.O.A.D.
November 29th, 2010
5:58 pm
The Dawgs got a whole lot better in one game. Not that it would have changed the game for sure but something is fishy.
H UGA 5-30 La Laf 2-8
@ UGA 4-25 USC 5-35
H UGA 9-53 ARK 10-75
@ UGA 9-63 MSU 4-30
@ UGA 5-38 CU 3-21
H UGA 5-50 UT 5-38
H UGA 3-39 Vandy 3-17
H UGA 4-28 UK 3-21
n UGA 2-25 UF 9-54
H UGA 5-50 ISU 5-35
@ UGA 10-89 AU 6-73
H UGA 2-10 GT 4-31
You are telling me UGA playing to go to a Bowl, against their in state rival, and getting pushed around by TECH’s O & D Lines, that UGA only had 2 penalities. Not hardly. I saw plaent of holding on the UGA O-line on TV that were not called. UGA had its fewest Penalities and Yards against TECH in that game? Please nobody can be that crazy to think the game was that CLEAN.
This just in:
The editor-in-chief of the Red-n-Black stepped down because he was a Drunk A..Hole in the President’s box at the game. UGA where every level has drunks: GAA Members, Admin., Teachers, and Students. Ain’t it great to be the #1 Party School in the Nation.
UGA an Institution of Higher Learning for DRUNK Fake Blonde Bimbos and White Red Neck Frat Boys. WE RUN THIS STATE while being S…Faced DRUNK. Woof Woof Woof.
The Owl of Prophecy
November 29th, 2010
5:58 pm
It’s cocktail hour so I’m out of here, but what in the past three seasons have you seen that makes you think things will get better? Peace!
The Owl of Prophecy
November 29th, 2010
5:59 pm
It’s cocktail hour so I’m out of here; however, what have you seen in the past three seasons that makes you think we’re getting better?
boots
November 29th, 2010
5:59 pm
CMR needs to be himself. He is a nice guy, and he is not going to succeed by all of the sudden turning in to Saban, Meyer, Vince Dooley or any other coach. The players need to focus on winning and not be satisfied with anything else. I don’t see where a S&C coach can make much difference in the first place – don’t players know how to lift weights and train? It is that much of a science? If so, can’t VH figure this out??? I don’t know what is wrong, but I think CMR and our new AD do, and they just need to buckle down and get after it. We did improve this year, although the record did not show it. That was due largely to two stupid fumbles that cost us a couple of games and the defensive lapse against the Razorbacks at the end of the game. I am optimistic about 2011, and it should be the make or break year. I love CMR and want him to stay for 20 more years, but he is on the hot seat, and we need to win at least 9 or 10 games next year.
Bulldog Nation has known ALL of this
November 29th, 2010
5:59 pm
We do have Samuels and the former USC ( real usc ) linebackers Jarvis ready next year. Speed and strenght they both have or at least Ricth says thay have it. Uh oh, if he said it then, um , ah, I don’t know.
We will be fine if we can get 4 or 5 JUCO/Frosh big boys to come in and play nose. If not, then we are looking at 5-7 or 6-6 again. Alo, UGA need to get at least 3 or 4 decent to really good backs. Key position of that play action thing. No r. back threat, then here come the LBs toward Murray and Boom!!
McGarity knows all of this. He is just waiting until this day next year, I think, It is a money thing and UGA is STUCK with Richt, because we got him to sign that $$$ huge contract after we beat up on freaking Hawaii. Dumb and Dumber Evans and Dr Adms were on that deal.
USMC
November 29th, 2010
5:59 pm
Go “pluck” Tommy Tuberville from Texas Tech.
I like Mark Richt, but he has wasted more talent.
What have we really gotten out of A.J.’s time here at UGA?
Sterling
November 29th, 2010
6:00 pm
It’s amazing to me how so full of themselves most writers are here. There’s not a single team in the nation that stays good year after year. Alabama, Florida, Texas, Oklahoma, etc. have all had periods where the wheels fell off for a few years. This is the same CMR that has beaten Auburn over and over, SC year after year, and has had a very successful 10 years.
For crying out loud, compare UGA’s record over the past 10 years to the teams in the top 10 right now.
If all of you complainers were as successul in your own lives, you’d be multi-millionaires.
Accept the fact that the last 2 years have not been great and put it behind you. If it happens for the next 2 years, then start jawing. I’d bet the Dogs will be just fine in a couple of years.
The Owl of Prophecy
November 29th, 2010
6:00 pm
What in the past three seasons have you seen that makes you think we’ll get better?
1eyedJack
November 29th, 2010
6:01 pm
The Owl of Prophecy
November 29th, 2010
5:54 pm
6) Tendinitis in his throwing shoulder.
The Owl of Prophecy
November 29th, 2010
6:03 pm
All season 1eyedJack? And was Cox the best we had?
Dawg with bag back on head
November 29th, 2010
6:03 pm
Why does everyone think there aren’t any great coaches out there? Harbaugh, Peterson, Patterson, and Gruden are all upgrades to CMR. Get real.
boots
November 29th, 2010
6:04 pm
@ 1eyedJack: I completely agree with you. We could do much worse, and the odds are that we would. Look at the troubles Tennessee had, and it is no guarantee we will do any better with anyone else. Look at Meyer – can anyone deny this guy is a great coach? But look at the fall-off Florida has had. Folks, it just happens. It is not fun, and it is not something to be happy with, but the key is to stay sane during the process and get back ASAP. UGA will, and UGA will be back soon, and I believe it will be with CMR at the head. Bet on it.
ARdawg
November 29th, 2010
6:06 pm
GO DAWGS
My answer to your earlier question was No. (as in: we would be complaining but, wouldn’t be calling for his job). There’s a lot of FL fans unhappy with Urbane Cryer this year. Gator fans are currently more spoiled than Dawg fans. Of course I’ve long stated that Meyer will be proven incompetent when he has his own players and his situation has leveled. If he hadn’t won a NC, they would be ripping him to shreds right now
Dawg with bag back on head
November 29th, 2010
6:07 pm
boots,
And by ASAP you mean 4-5 seasons I presume? The handwritting is on the wall. We don’t need to keep on proving the same thing.
Bulldog Nation has known ALL of this
November 29th, 2010
6:10 pm
In JIm Donnaa’s and Mark Richt’s era, Auburn has gone undefeated three times with Bowdon in his first year, Turbeville and now with Chizk ( so far ) in his SECOND YEAR.
I am a UGA born and 3 rd generation bred Bulldog, married to a still comely UGA blonde coed and love the Dogs. Her too !!!
Why is it that UGA can only go undefeated ONCE in 30 or 40? or 50 YEARS??
UGA class of 71 & 73
1eyedJack
November 29th, 2010
6:11 pm
You can feed your mule oats just like you feed your horse.
You can make your mule do the same work as your horse.
You cannot make your mule your horse.
Van Halanger only has what he has to work with. He don’t get to choose his personnel. Did he forget how to coach weight lifting?
Skeezix
November 29th, 2010
6:12 pm
Mark: You fooled me – When you said mediocrity I thought you were writing about the basketball team.
Jim Harbaugh
November 29th, 2010
6:12 pm
Boys, give me the head coaching job and the talent in-state and I’ll show you how it’s done. Look what I’ve accomplished at a California school that can’t even fill a 50,000 seat stadium. Shoot, I can even hire competent coaches. Richt has been stealing your money!