Alas, fixing UGA will require more than a few Richt ‘tweaks’
"How the heck did we win that goshdarn thing, anyway?" (AJC photo by Brant Sanderlin)
Looking lousy against Boise State was one thing. Looking good but losing anyway was, in its way, worse. After the Georgia Bulldogs congratulated themselves on their Great Effort against South Carolina, the thought occurred:
Does Nick Saban congratulate himself after losses?
There are two ways to regard the bizarre doings of Saturday night. Mark Richt’s sunny-side-up stance was to speak of his team having “all the ingredients” and just needing “to tweak a couple of things.” The burnt-toast way is to reference the scoreboard and note that, once again, Richt’s team did whatever it took to lose.
You don’t go from losing half of your past 30 games to winning championships by tweaking. If anyone should know, it’s Richt. The march to the 2002 SEC championship was fueled by the desire — Richt’s words — to knock the lid off Georgia football. (The Bulldogs had gone two decades without a title.) Knocking implies force. Tweaking implies rather less. For contemporary Georgia football, less cannot yield more.
Optimists among us will point to Isaiah Crowell and Malcolm Mitchell and Aaron Murray and Orson Charles and laud, as Richt did Saturday night, Georgia’s “talent base.” But the Bulldogs haven’t lacked for talent — not under Richt, not under Jim Donnan, not even under Ray Goff. At issue is whether Georgia again can learn to win, and that’s a whole ‘nother matter.
There’s a troubling label for what Georgia has become, and that label is “South Carolina.” For more than a century the Gamecocks would try very hard and stir deep passion but never quite get it right. How many times did Carolina play the Bulldogs off their feet and lose at the end? It happened in 2002, the David Pollack sack/snatch game that also featured two Gamecock fumbles on the goal line; happened in 2004, when Carolina led 16-0 but lost 20-16; happened in 2009, when it outgained Georgia by 119 yards but lost because Brandon Boykin returned a kickoff to score and because DeAngelo Tyson blocked a tying PAT.
There was no reason for Georgia to lose Saturday. Indeed, losing required real doing. More than just being fooled on a fake punt, Georgia couldn’t intercept a defensive end as he thundered 68 yards to a touchdown. It was bad enough that nobody blocked Jadeveon Clowney, far worse that Murray waved the ball and left it unsecured, thereby turning a sack into a sack, strip and score.
“We’re going to shake off the mistakes and become a very good football team,” Richt said, and maybe Georgia will. But I’m more skeptical after South Carolina than after Boise State. More and more, Richt bears the look of one of those coaches who can take his’n and lose to your’n and vice versa.
Loading ...Did the coach order Murray and Crowell to botch a handoff at a time when Georgia was poised to take a 27-14 lead? Of course not. But the worst possible play at the worst possible moment has become a Bulldog signature. Georgia should have beaten Colorado last season, but Caleb King fumbled. Georgia could have beaten Florida, but Murray threw into a throng in overtime.
Mathematically speaking, Richt was correct in saying: “We’re still in the Eastern Division race.” Having watched Richt’s team contrive to lose a game that would have been far easier to win, I can’t summon up much enthusiasm for math.
Sure, it’s possible Georgia could win the next 10 games and take the East. It’s possible Richt could not only keep his seat but cement himself in place. It’s also possible Georgia will continue to do as Georgia now does — lose most every close game — and Dan Mullen will be tapped to coach the Bulldogs in 2012.
Speaking of Boise, Richt had said: “When you play a team that’s used to winning and that knows how to win, it’s hard.” Georgia has become the kind of team that’s easy to play. An opponent needn’t do all that much — just hang around long enough for the Bulldogs to mess up.
By Mark Bradley
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639 comments Add your comment
Atlanta Jacket
September 11th, 2011
3:43 pm
Dan Mullen won’t fix UGA.
Over-rated coach, with flash-in-the-pan success, mostly with Meyer.
If you’re smart, you keep Richt. If you’re smarter, you hire Peterson.
Otherwise, you’ll be sorry.
You’ll be hiring some Donnan, Lane Kiffen or bozo who pretends to understand football, like peanut farmer Bill King…. Certified id-jit.
Supes
September 11th, 2011
3:44 pm
This shows how far UGA has fallen off under CMR’s regime…we celebrate “good loses” now…apparently. Unreal.
Tampa Gator
September 11th, 2011
3:45 pm
LoganvilleDawg….
You know, you are right, I am an idiot. No, make that a complete, moranic, gaytor idiot. No, make that a cum, gaytor, moron, idiotic, idiot. No, make that a gaytoring, moroning, trolling, idioticing……..whatever. You were at the game….and you should know that.
GoForTwo
September 11th, 2011
3:46 pm
My grandchildren only know Georgia as a average team. How sad for them.
Tampa Gator
September 11th, 2011
3:47 pm
And Loganville…..
This IDIOT says Georgia will cover against C-Southern next week. Any IDIOT would know that….because you will be at the game.
The Wad
September 11th, 2011
3:49 pm
Love Richt and always have, but as a fellow Christian I still say excellence is the goal. And we are far from that at the moment.This team has been going in this direction since Van Goerder left and Bobo became OC. D has played well this year. Offense was abyssmal against Boise st but really good yeasterday. A coach that makes pie in the sky references to where this program is headed needs to recognize that UGA should never be in that position in the first place! Sorry but unless he goes 10-0 the rest of the way I doubt the money alumni will allow him to stay.
Tampa Gator
September 11th, 2011
3:49 pm
And Loganville…..
Championship teams don’t give up 28 points in 61 minutes…..but any IDIOT would know that…..especically since you were at the game.
bamaguy
September 11th, 2011
3:49 pm
I overwhelmingly support RIcht myself. I hope he is at UGA longer than Joe Paterno has been at Penn State. He is a good baptist-christian man and that is all he needs to be. You don’t want a devout Roman Catholic like over at Alabama or that Meyer guy (named after a Pope) that just left Florida.
NeedsToGo
September 11th, 2011
3:52 pm
Richt already looks deflated again and this school deserves more. He is a nice guy, just not a nice guy who can win national championships.
Tampa Gator
September 11th, 2011
3:54 pm
Concerning Mullen……
Stop with that. Dan Mullen is not coming to Athens or going anywhere else for now….unless Ohio State offers. Also, if the MSU QB had correctly run that last play, MSU would have scored. But the QB put his head down and never saw the MSU HB come running open to his left and never pitched to him at the last second for the score. Great call by the OC. and Mullen…..but poorly executed by the QB.
Top Recruit
September 11th, 2011
3:55 pm
I’ll know we are close when we win 10 in a row and the pollster think we are a legit top 10 team. Not only is there a difference in attitude about winning and losing, but how coaches prepare for a game, put the best players in the right position, run the right sets and schemes, and manage a game. If we are close, and 15-15 does not convince anyone of that, when does it happen. Coming back and coming close to Carolina is not a brght line for me. What I’m coming closer to is the fact just maybe we do not have all the players we need and some coaches are not getting it done.
Murray is 6-9 as a starting QB. And in the last 5, 4 have been loses. And most of those were ugly. And for a second year defense that ranks in the near bottom of D1 defensive statistics and a record of 6-9 is not even close. Maybe giving up an average of almost 40 points a game in 2011 is encourage to some, but that tells me offense has to almost score a lot. Something not likely to happen in the SEC. Maybe our schedule would look favorable to Bama and LSU…think they have a better record in the SEC than we do the past few years.
Dawg with two bags on head
September 11th, 2011
3:55 pm
Mark,
I think your article was right on. It’s going to take more than a few tweaks to turn this progam around. It’s going to take a complete overhaul of our mindset and attitude. How far we’ve slipped when we’re talking about the positives in a loss to one of our biggest rivals. The ONLY way to do this is to blow it up and start over. Richt’s ship has sailed; too loyal, too stubborn, and I’m afraid a little too full of himself.
Tampa Gator
September 11th, 2011
3:57 pm
Atlanta Jacket……
“Flash in the pan”……like helping Meyer build the Utah program into what it is today……like coming in and restoring the Zook mess and calling one of the greatest offensive games in BCS NC game history (against Ohio State)…..like going into a demoralized MSU program and building it up to a contender that it is now…..despite the loss to the defending national champion yesterday. Yep…..Mullen is a sorry coach and a flash in the pan. Wow.
Atlanta Jacket
September 11th, 2011
3:58 pm
You losers are going to get a beat-down at Dodd this season.
Tampa Gator
September 11th, 2011
3:59 pm
WIth this I shall go……
At least the Dawgs played better than the Falcons. How could they play worse?
Paddy
September 11th, 2011
4:02 pm
Mark…..very good analisys of the Dawgs problems. I think there are a couple more unexpected loses hanging out there this season.
Poopdawg
September 11th, 2011
4:03 pm
Dawgster, well said. Bradley to criticize Richt for yesterday’s game is STUPID. Okay maybe our punt return team should understand the first objective on punt returns is to make sure the opposing teams PUNT. GO DAWGS!
SufferingFalcondawg
September 11th, 2011
4:04 pm
bye bye bo bo
Selling Papers and Hits
September 11th, 2011
4:07 pm
You are more pathetic than your brother-in-arms Schultz! You have written that Georgia would not need a new coach until Richt retired because of what a great guy and coach he is. Now, he must have forgotten to leave some tickets for one of your friends or something because you bash him no matter what. It’s such a shame that the same newspaper that once had Outlar and Bisher takes such a low road with the likes of you and Schultz! Can you even spell “journalism”???
SufferingFalcondawg
September 11th, 2011
4:08 pm
Between the falcons and dawgs, time for a new sport to move into town. Falcons and Dawgs need competent Offensive Coordinators as well as a desire to win. Time for the fans to step up and pull back support until the teams wake up. Bobo is a horrible play caller. If it works he changes to something that doesn’t………….Fire them all!
Isaiah You-Know-Who
September 11th, 2011
4:12 pm
Next time I’m swallowing the danged thing before I run with it.
Dawg1
September 11th, 2011
4:13 pm
I’ve been reading you since you came to the AJC.
You have written many poorly thought out articles…
This might be at the top of the list.
Congrats.
Hit’em straight. Anything this ‘lazy’ should have only taken about 5 minutes to type out.
Poopdawg
September 11th, 2011
4:13 pm
Suffering , bad mouthing Bobo for the SC game shows you either didn’t watch the game or just STUPID. Nothing wrong with Bobo’s work yesterday .
Poopdawg
September 11th, 2011
4:16 pm
Dawg1 , I agree. I can almost hear Bradley giggling like a sissy girl after writing this crap.
Jasper Sanks
September 11th, 2011
4:17 pm
if and when Mark Richt gets fired…
no one other than Chris Petersen should be considered for the head coaching job at Georgia.
imagine what he could do with UGA’s talent base.
by far the best head coach candidate out there.
Couldn't happen to a better fan base
September 11th, 2011
4:18 pm
@Flat Tire on I-95 in Jacksonville
Ha ha. I’ve gotten under your skin and you let it happen. I’m smiling as I’m typing here. The Stewart Mandel is spot on, the only people who would disagree are gawga fans.
I’m with you, Dave. If Georgia runs off Richt this year, it will be textbook Clemson/Ole Miss Syndrome. (Note the example cited in that link: Minnesota. How’s that working out?) Historically, Georgia is more prestigious than either of those teams — but not as much as Dawgs fans like to think. In all my travels, I’m not sure I’ve ever come across a fan base whose self-perception is so far from reality. Georgia fashions itself a national power in the vein of Ohio State, USC, et. al., based primarily off one glorious three-year run 30 years ago with Herschel Walker (and some kick-butt years in the 1940s). Prior to this season, the Dawgs under Richt had vastly outperformed their historical “equilibrium,” and in fact Richt’s career winning percentage (.752) is the highest in school history (not counting Bobby Winston’s lone 5-1 season in 1894).
Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/stewart_mandel/09/29/mailbag/index.html#ixzz1Xg2h8H7j
atypical dawg
September 11th, 2011
4:18 pm
I’d rather lose with Richt, then win with a douchebag. Also, I’m agnostic. He’s a good dude and I’m patient.
Get Real
September 11th, 2011
4:19 pm
Dawg fans amaze me. You actually have a chance to wind up with a pretty good record this season. I’m not saying 10-2. But 9-3 or 8-4 is not bad. The problem is that because of a three year period 30 YEARS AGO, you somehow think you are entitled to be in the top 10 every year; year in and year out. UGA isn’t that good. Not that kind of program. You need to face the facts. UGA is a good medium tier program that occassionally has a breakout kind of season where they are in the running for the SEC title and therefore a high national ranking. But every year? NO way!
Jasper Sanks
September 11th, 2011
4:21 pm
Chris Petersen for the next head coach at GEORGIA.
get rid of richt end of the year.
JB
September 11th, 2011
4:21 pm
Who was that in the Falcons uniforms today. It liked the Falcons when the Smith’s owned them and Marion Campbell coaching. Bumbling fools.
JB
September 11th, 2011
4:22 pm
I don’t think Peterson is driven by money OR life in the South. We better think more logical.
Couldn't happen to a better fan base
September 11th, 2011
4:23 pm
I want to congratulate UGA on their BCS National Championship they won in August and the SECCG they won after going 0-2. What is important to remember is UGA won it on blogs and in the thoughts of its fan base. Not on the field. But what happens on the field doesn’t matter, that’s reality, and reality has not been kind to UGA so we all should live in la la land where Georgia matters and is feared across the nation and is not the worst team in the 12 team SEC.
I also want to congratulate myself for living rent free in some folks heads. Kind of like what Nick Fairley probably does in Aaron Murray’s head every night.
duronimo
September 11th, 2011
4:23 pm
Isiah looked great. However, he ruined it by mouthing off at the closest defender after every positive play. That makes him a good fit for Georgia. What a contrast to Boise.
WnE's Big Brother
September 11th, 2011
4:23 pm
You’ll see how much Mark Richt has lost his team during the game next week. If a player primps and preens like they’ve done something special after ordinary plays, it will just show the guys still haven’t got that fire in the belly as a team. Act like you’re doing a day’s work; stay focused on your job 100% of the time.
Diagnosis
September 11th, 2011
4:24 pm
This team is snake-bit. It’s as simple as that, and the problem is self-perpetuating. You could have JC Himself doing the coaching and the team would still lose in the big games. You simply can’t put the ball on the ground and expect to win. Notre Dame hasn’t learned that, and neither has Georgia. Both teams yesterday were obviously superior to their opponents, but both found a way to lose. The problem will outlast any coach you choose to bring in. It’s not coaching; it’s karma. For many years, Georgia has gotten the crucial breaks. Starting three years ago, luck started running away from the Dogs, and it may keep running for several more years. It’s not coaching. It’s not player ability. It’s not indiscipline. That old now-outlawed bumper sticker that says S___ Happens is true, and it’s happening to Georgia. You may think that a replacement coach will solve the problem, but it isn’t that simple. Even Spurrier acknowledged that his team deserved to lose.
SufferingFalcondawg
September 11th, 2011
4:25 pm
PoopDawg,
you must be watching another offense, run up the middle, screen, long pass on 3rd down again and again and again……Our new back reminded me of another in 81, but that is the only highlight, Murray may be way overrated, so try the other arm! And stop being so protective of a staff that is FAILING!
duronimo
September 11th, 2011
4:26 pm
Isiah looked good but he ruined it by mouthing off to the nearest defender after every play. That makes him a good fit for Georgia. Quite a contrast to Boise, for example.
JB
September 11th, 2011
4:29 pm
Get Real…………that’s our biggest problem. Now, I’m mad because the State is loaded with talent year in year out and we have more money in the athletic dept say anyone but Texas. What we don’t have is a president who cares about winning a Championship, so being average is accepted. I also blame the Athletic board for being accepting of these results. At AU, LSU. BAMA .and Fla, they are all on the same page. We are happy with looking better against SC.
JB
September 11th, 2011
4:32 pm
Every successful div 1 head coach was unknown an a Assit at one time. There are plenty of good people out there. Adams does not hear the Bit**ing, McGarity does.
Bama Dawg
September 11th, 2011
4:33 pm
Jasper, get real. No SEC team is going to hire Petersen to go into homes and recruit young men solely based on his religious beliefs. Imagine Petersen going into rural Georgia to recruit and the stigma that would be associated with him once the cat’s out of the bag. I’m not saying it’s fair or that he’s not a good coach, but Xenu has no place in the southeast. It’s just not going to happen. Dan Mullen has proven that he can play with the big boys with less talent.
Get Real, I agree with you, somewhat. Georgia does have an inflated sense of self. Most Georgia fans do put Dooley up on an undeserved pedestal. The only success that he had was because he recruited arguably the greatest player in the history of college football. But, it is different times and Georgia has real talent. They seem to lack fundamentals and consistency, products of sub-par coaching. Does anyone associate fundamentals or consistency with Mike Bobo or his offense? Anyone?
nobody
September 11th, 2011
4:36 pm
I agree with G…..Bradley should just go away….he would criticize Nick Saban if he coached Georgia… nothing will make Bradley happy but a lapdog….just go away….be gone….again, go to Lexington….don’t see you criticising the miserable coaching that goes on there…then again, your wildcats aren’t bulldogs…
Poopdawg
September 11th, 2011
4:38 pm
Suffering , so your saying you did watch the game and your stupid. I criticize the coaching staff for 1 play yesterday and that was the punt return team coach who obviously likes his players to block before they make sure they punt. Now the Boise game was a different story entirely. Please be objective . The coaches did an incredible job from game 1 to game 2 . Hopefully each week will show continued improvement.
Flat Tire on I-95 in Jacksonville
September 11th, 2011
4:39 pm
Couldn’t happen to a better fan base
Since you like to repost your previous IGNORANT statement thinking a newer post will convince people of your stupidity.
I will repost this again
Ohio St LOL talk about a joke program
Stewart Mandel guess what you have the BCS now
Not the help of Northeastern Biased I hate the south writers helping teams like Notre Dame Ohio St ex get to play for the NC anymore.
And what has happened Northern teams have become a joke Stewart.
Just look at how many teams from the Southeast have won the NC since the late 70’s
UGA ranks right behind USC in total victories
UGA ranks ahead of Ohio St in bowl appearances
Ohio St has never beat UGA
Ohio state was given there recent NC before that they werent relevent since what 1969
Ohio state national power wow they cant even beat an SEC team without cheating
UGA ranks 3rd in SEC titles won and victories behind AL and Tenn
UGA a fraud in the SEC; give me a break.
stop smoking your BONG Stewart Mandel and Couldnt happen to a finer fanbase
And if you count NC like ND, AL GT and the rest UGA has 5 NC
Randall "Pink" Floyd
September 11th, 2011
4:40 pm
Mullen is a step up from Richt, but not much of one. If that’s the best we can do a switch probably isn’t worth it.
Hire Mullen!
September 11th, 2011
4:41 pm
mgarity needs to open the bank vault and hire dan mullen—-pay him whatever it takes—Ga has plenty of money.
Poopdawg
September 11th, 2011
4:41 pm
Xdawg , Grantham was trying to get the offensive players pumped not chest bumping his d line. He did a hell of a job yesterday. He is not the special teams coach either
JB
September 11th, 2011
4:42 pm
you are correct xdawg. Maybe Richt could take his staff somewhere to learn to keep your head in the game and pay attention to every detail, even what’s going on in the other sideline. Don’t we have a coach in the box watching there sideline every second for clues as to what they are up to or scheming?
JB
September 11th, 2011
4:43 pm
flat tire. “post again”….. how about going away.
Bulldog Mom
September 11th, 2011
4:43 pm
Georgia is loaded with young talent and will continue to grow and improve as the year progresses. Many ENEMY fans/recruiters often write negative comments and attribute them to loyal Georgia fans. The reason for this is to convince 2012 and 2013 prospects that Coach Richt is on the way out and Georgia isn’t a viable option. We know better than that!!! I remember three years ago much talk was swirling around about Coach Spurrier needing to retire because he was getting too old. Those same type of rumors were placed for the same reason. This is just another way to sway prospects to the blogger’s school. The spirit in Athens was great yesterday and the TRUE GEORGIA fans were on their feet often. We were very disappointed last week, but we see evidence of a bright future and we like what we see. Often those bloggers get their pronouns mixed up, you know we and they.
Aubie-won-knobi
September 11th, 2011
4:44 pm
Post of the day goes to……Better Fan Base!!!! LMAO!!!!
“I also want to congratulate myself for living rent free in some folks head! Kind of like what Nick Fairley probably does in Aaron Murray’s head every night.”