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
sports writers smell funny
September 11th, 2011
6:14 pm
wrong wrong wrong, i dont know if you are a Bulldog fan, if so you are the one to set the mark to take off on the bandwagon. its been a bad three years, get over it, the start this season wasnt the greatest but they showed improvement, a lot of improvement at that. do me a favor and find a way to write some possitive articles instead of this garbage. It must be great to get paid for this crap. we can compare you to a weather man, if youre wrong or horrible you still make the dollar. Have some pride in what you do and some pride about the Bulldogs. Richt will be fired by the AD, not the fans.
GO DAWGS!
Gatormeat
September 11th, 2011
6:14 pm
Considering Murrays record is 6-9, the dogs may want to consider the fact he may not be the QB they thought. Of course it does not matter who the QB is when we meet in Jacksonville this Oct., the Gators will roll. It is great being a Florida Gator!
Stratocaster
September 11th, 2011
6:17 pm
The definition of insanity is repeating the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. CMR has been given plenty of opportunities to prove he can still coach. He just doesn’t have it anymore. It’s sad…..he’s a good man. But he just can’t do it against good teams. It’s all been downhill since that first half against Bama in 2008 when the whole nation was watching and the Dawgs were completely unprepared and manhandled.
Mudcatjoe
September 11th, 2011
6:19 pm
Send some of those 5 star recruits over to Atlanta and let Paul coach em’ up for you! Maybe you’ll win again with some good coaching!
Poopdawg
September 11th, 2011
6:20 pm
We will see Gatormeat. We will see.
What I hope for
September 11th, 2011
6:21 pm
Ga loses 8 games but beats Fla and richt stays. Haha
Kyle
September 11th, 2011
6:23 pm
One thing is certain, Ga and SC have lousy defenses. E caro scores around 38 on them and against vt they muster a field goal. The 7 was a blocked punt score. So I see ga in a lot of shoot outs this year and that is bad considering all it takes is a couple of dumb bonehead miscues and you lose like yesterday. 8-4 at best and 7-5 is most likely.
Delbert D.
September 11th, 2011
6:26 pm
Pete Thamel of the nytimes doesn’t have many positive things to say. Here’s 1 paragraph:
“The way that Richt lost — with the better team, with more offensive yards and with his team dominating South Carolina physically — is precisely why many people here are after his job. Despite recruiting success and a roster flush with N.F.L.-caliber talent, Richt has lost 10 of his past 12 games against ranked teams and is 6-9 in his last 15 games.”
browndog
September 11th, 2011
6:29 pm
UGA will have a good season! The team made mistakes but by playing together they almost pulled off a W. If UGA has a so so season the AD will make changes, but I believe this team will be a force in a few more games. Believe the SEC East winner will have two losses.
OldFan
September 11th, 2011
6:30 pm
Cheap shots, Mark. What would you be saying if UGA had opened 2-0 by beating Sisters-of-Mercy schools like most of the other mighty SEC teams? Yeah they lost, and even worse they made it easy for Carolina to win despite outplaying the Gamecocks. I know style points don’t count. But there are 10 games left. Let’s see what they bring now. I remember when UGA was an elite SEC team. Maybe they can be again. I also remember when there were journalists who were sports writers. It’s a lot less likely we’ll be seeing them again.
Big Wally
September 11th, 2011
6:32 pm
At least UGA is coming up with new ways to lose. The UCF and Boise St. loses were per coaching ineptitude, SC lose was on the players’ mistakes. Perhaps Coastal Carolina will be due to a referees call.
BigTimeUGAFan
September 11th, 2011
6:33 pm
Sorry guys, it was the garbage burning out back! Almost caught the trailer on fire! Go Dawgs!
Lowcountry Dawg
September 11th, 2011
6:33 pm
Hey Tampa Gator
You should know a thing or two about thugs- remember-”Time to die”?
Cold Hard Truth
September 11th, 2011
6:34 pm
@browndog
The SEC East winner probably will have two losses — if not three. Until Florida and Tennessee get back to full strength, the SEC East is just a joke… and Georgia is the punchline.
StingerSplash
September 11th, 2011
6:35 pm
If you’re that much better against a team that isn’t quite as good as the team you lost to in the opener, then shouldn’t you beat that second team?
The answer is … maybe you weren’t as better as you thought.
The ugly truth is 6-7 might be as good as you can hope for this year. Tennessee is a lot better than it was Cheater Boy. The ball always seems to bounce Auburn’s way under Chizik. Dan Mullen can flat out coach. And Florida is still Florida.
If you play that well and still lose, that just doesn’t bode well for what’s ahead.
Chuck Clausen
September 11th, 2011
6:36 pm
Mark’s a good coach in a tough job – if he is replaced the odds are his replacement won’t be an improvement, but might be but at the early stage of the learning curve. My dad was the AD at a division 1 school for 30 years – probably went through 5 or 6 coaches. If the average coach last 7 years – nobody in the selection process has enough experience to have a decent batting average. If replaced by another top coordinator your replacing Mark with somebody who’s like Mark, but without his head coaching experience. If replaced with a highly successful coach at a smaller school, you might be hiring a great triple A player , who can’t hit a major leave curve ball.
StingerSplash
September 11th, 2011
6:37 pm
If the Falcons keep this up, maybe the Dogs can get that gasbag VanGorder back after all.
OldFan
September 11th, 2011
6:37 pm
Cheap shots, Mark. What would you be saying if the Dawgs were 2-0 after beating the Sisters-of-Mercy schools like many of the mighty SEC teams? Yeah, they made it easy for Carolina to beat them despite having outplayed the Gamecocks. Style points don’t count–I got it. But there are 10 games left. Let them show us what they can do now. I remember when UGA was an elite SEC team. Maybe we’ll see that again. I also remember when sports writers were journalists. Lot less likely we’ll see that again.
Rick
September 11th, 2011
6:40 pm
Pretty sad when Cam Newton can throw td bombs and matt ryan, in his 4th year in the leage can’t with roddy and julio.
Cam Stats
Carolina Panthers Comp Att Yds Pct Y/A Sack YdsL TD Int Rating
Cam Newton(notes) 15 21 315 71.4 15.0 2 12 2 1 125.6
Ryan Stats
Atlanta Falcons Comp Att Yds Pct Y/A Sack YdsL TD Int Rating
Matt Ryan(notes) 31 47 319 66.0 6.8 5 43 0 1 76.5
Big Wally
September 11th, 2011
6:41 pm
You could give Richt the Green Bay Packers and they would be a 8-4 team.
Bruce
September 11th, 2011
6:42 pm
Don’t want Mullen. He couldn’t even beat Auburn. Plus never trust a hunch backed coach.
Cold Hard Truth
September 11th, 2011
6:43 pm
@Chuck Clausen
I agree. You’re looking at about a 7 year learning curve to get losing consistently down pat. Mark still slips up and wins one now and then.
Tampa Gator
September 11th, 2011
6:45 pm
Lowcountry……
That is a thing of the past……time served; forgotten and forgiven by nearly by everyone…including the lady of concern. Rainey has been of near perfect character since that day.
BigTimeUGAFan
September 11th, 2011
6:51 pm
Sounds like Tampa Gator and Lowcountry need to get a room. Go Dawgs!
Huh?
September 11th, 2011
6:52 pm
LAWDY LAWDY Mildred pack up the trailer the BEWL DAWGS suck and we need to relocate to another SEC trailer park.
Gator Nation Rules
September 11th, 2011
7:00 pm
Miss State is a bigger rival for us now…at least they give us a struggle. The leg humpers are pathetic
The Ghost of Wally Butts
September 11th, 2011
7:00 pm
So CMR says we are still in the SEC East race?
Well….yeah…but at this point in the season, so is Vandy and Kentucky, too.
Y’all quit bashing Dream Team Cap’n Crow-well for the fumble and the dropped pass…..
…after all, his dreadlocks looked well braided, and he jumped up and beat his chest after each run and taunted the other team…and that’s certainly behavior that is apparently condoned by CMR and staff in the modern age of the Power Ranger Dawgs.
dawg4u
September 11th, 2011
7:03 pm
The Dawgs are mad as hell and and not going to take it anymore. What better team to play after two losses in big games than Coastal Carolina. @ Red and Black – I know what you are saying man and still not counting it as a win until I see us start to not make mistakes. Beast of the East had it right in that no good team scores 42 points at home and loses especially the way we outplayed SC. It has become a mindset now that we just expect to lose now instead of knowing we would find a way to win in the past. Can this be changed by Mark Richt. I don’t think so anymore. It is time for a changing of the guard. We need new leadership and a new head coach. I wish CMR well but this losing atmosphere has gotten into everybody’s head and we just don’t have that winning feeling anymore even with all the talent we have. Yesterday’s game is a prime example. Let’s move on!
James
September 11th, 2011
7:23 pm
Just remember folks that last year Virginia Tech loss to Boise St.then James Madison and people like the UGA wagon jumpers buried them.After they reeled off 9 straight wins the wagon full again.Winning just like money changes everything.No Georgie didnt win yesterday but they played like they were on fire.They didnt get out coached they made two crucial turnovers.It’s gonna be alright folks.And far as a coaching change goes unless they hire Urban Myer I promise you that next season’s record will be worst that this year’s
jim donnan
September 11th, 2011
7:24 pm
Writers who use the word alas sure sound smart.
Hilltopper
September 11th, 2011
7:25 pm
have to agree with SoGaDawg — coaching not up to par. If you believe recruiting sites, UGA hasn’t been worse than 15 in Richt’s career. Any guess on Boise this last year? If you said , 55 you’d be about right. How many 4 or 5 stars do you think they recruited; one, maybe. Possible coaches: first, send contract to Boise and have him fill in the blanks. Second, how about Mike Leach and his offensive show.
It is what it is
September 11th, 2011
7:25 pm
I miss Terrance Moore. At least he’d blame Richt and then call for a black coach at UGA to fix things. Who needs enemy’s when you have the AJC to pile on after the play is over?
USC GAMEC0CK
September 11th, 2011
7:29 pm
USC walked into the lion’s den and stared him down…no fear as the crowd screamed and the people in red were in a frenzie…but USC still made big play after big play to keep fighting and eventually took the game by the throat and snuffed out the light in the georgia eyes….and God smiled.
Dawgbreath
September 11th, 2011
7:35 pm
Spurrier
owns
UGA.
Always has. Now that he has players he will beat us every year. Next year in Columbia will be ugly!
witness
September 11th, 2011
7:36 pm
CMR has been at UGA for 11 seasons and the SEC. What happened against SC w/4 turnovers ending up in TD’s should not happen to a veteran head coach nor his staff. Its as if this team is playing more like new comers and not an experienced bunch. I think part of the problem is the coordinators and asst coaches not being at the top of their games and actually 2d rate more suited for Div ll ball. Go out and hire asst coaches that have proven records at winning schools in Div l. I read where one GA player on the punt team wasn’t told by the special teams coach to watch out for the fake punt. Since when are you not made aware that Spurrier will fake a punt! Geez. My grandkids saw it coming. And to allow 3 TD’s off TO’s w/o having to run an offense play says our offense either can’t or won’t tackle. Another obvious deficiency is GA’s inability to stop most anyone from scoring TD’s within their 5 yard line. The dawgs use to have great end zone defenses. All these things should not happen to a veteran coach. He should not allow it. Its apparant CMR has lost a way to win these games now they just slip away. All of a sudden nothing is taken for granted w/this coaching staff.
GT
September 11th, 2011
7:37 pm
The team has stopped listening to the coaches. Not sure Paul Johnson didn’t have that problem last year too, I think he fixed it the jury is still out. I could hear Richt telling his players in the sideline huddle, on television, to watch for the fake right before they went out and didn’t watch for it. The difference between Paul Johnson and a Steve Spurrier, they will call you out on it. “You want to play stupid football go right ahead but don’t expect any cover from me.” Richt is a nice guy. Dresses his players in the worse uniforms for a Georgia team in 100 years and tell the press his players like them, they have to wear them, so it is up to them. It really isn’t. There is an institution they represent bigger than themselves, a tradition and a state. There is brand recognition with the G and red just like the New York Yankees. You play and respect that pride and tradition, not only the sports but the school you represent. One of the few places that equal Georgia in football is North Carolina in basketball. There is a love affair between the team and UNC that goes both ways. The players quit often come back to Chapel Hill, they totally respect Dean Smith and Roy Williams. Georgia has that with Dooley. Dooley was a huge part of the state of Georgia. The school was proud of him, the players were proud of him and the state of Georgia was proud of him. Don’t feel that in Richt.
james
September 11th, 2011
7:51 pm
Tennessee looked good. Dooley?
Hot Dawg
September 11th, 2011
7:51 pm
Hey Tampa Gator, so you’re old enough to remember when Jawja owned you guys, eh?
Hot Dawg
September 11th, 2011
7:53 pm
Tenn looked good? They’ve played Montana and Cincy. UGA has played the #4 and $12 ranked teams in America. Real good comparison.
SufferingFalconDawg
September 11th, 2011
7:56 pm
Poopdawg.. or Mr. BoBo
So name calling, big man, Stupid is doing the same thing with the same results …in this case losing…They did it last year, and the yer before. how far down must we go..When we are in the ACC you might wake up….is Poopdawg a cover for BOOBOO??
Sticks and Stones…mght be what we need in a coach!
Mark Bradley Fan Club
September 11th, 2011
7:56 pm
“I just can’t read your stuff anymore. You come with such an agenda against UGA.”
You’re wrong about that. You just don’t like reading the truth about your team. Mark Bradley isn’t the problem with UGA, it’s the other Mark who has destroyed the dawgs with his ineptness.
DAWG
September 11th, 2011
7:57 pm
Some of you people are amazing in the way you gripe about the “DAWGS”. Let me suggest to all you who are complaining and you know who I am talking about, apply for the head coaching job at Georgia. After applying and accepting the job, go out and do a better job or not. The Georgia team is young and will mature. This is the real test; back you team or as my mother use to say to me, if the kitchen gets too hot get out. I played for John McKissick in Summerville South Carolina and he said it is not all about winning, it’s the lessons you learn and carry on the rest of your life.
BigTimeUGAFan
September 11th, 2011
7:57 pm
Hey GT who are you to tell me what to do? I’ve been doing all right! We are going to beat you down in Athens! Go Dawgs!
SufferingFalconDawg
September 11th, 2011
7:57 pm
Poopdawg..
So name calling, big man, Stupid is doing the same thing with the same results …in this case losing…They did it last year, and the yer before. how far down must we go..When we are in the ACC you might wake up..
Sticks and Stones…mght be what we need in a coach!
Alabama Dawg
September 11th, 2011
8:04 pm
Tampa Gator, that is the difference between Muschamp and Richt…aka. Winners and Losers! And unfortunately for GA Fans, if the new AD would have come to work at UGA wearing his big boy pants and seen the writing on the wall (like it’s that hard to read!) and got rid of CMR, UGA could have gotten Muschamp and we wouldn’t be repeating this same old worn-out story for the 3rd STRAIGHT Year!
Bee84
September 11th, 2011
8:07 pm
I’m a Tech grad who – because of the arrogance most Mutt fans exhibit – relishes in seeing the demise of UGA football. And as much as I enjoy anticipating sitting in Bobby Dodd Stadium watching an all too rare stinging of ” ‘dem Dawgs”, I just as much get sick of seeing Mark Bradley on yet another campaign to get yet another collegiate coach in the State of Georgia fired, even if it does turn out to be deserved: to wit, Chan Gailey and Paul Hewitt. Both deserved being fired but neither deserved Bradley’s seemingly relentless pursuit to lead the charge to run them out of town. Back off, will you? An article like this a couple of times in a season is reasonable, after all it’s your job to comment on sports figures. But when you write a piece like this over and over, do you ever think of the personal hurt you inflict on these guys who are, after all, only human? Or are you just trying to ride the popular wave to maintain the otherwise dwindling readership of the “Fish Wrapper” because you have nothing else to say?
Bee84
September 11th, 2011
8:11 pm
Uh, BigTimeUGAFan, FYI the game is in Atlanta this year. Are you already giving up on this year’s GT-UGA game?
RT
September 11th, 2011
8:13 pm
I count 6 more games on the schedule that UGA could lose. This could be an even uglier season than last year if something doesn’t change.
Deja vu
September 11th, 2011
8:16 pm
Coastal Carolina 45, UGA 42
Deja vu!
BigTimeUGAFan
September 11th, 2011
8:17 pm
Bee84, I graduated 9th grade so there! My great mother in law helps me out from time to time, but I’m doing alright! We are going to whip tech like a rented mule…or something like that. I read it here before. And yes, I did eat some captain D’s earlier in the week. I just got thru burning the wrappers! So lay off! Go Dawgs!