Comments on: Talent should be least of problems for Georgia’s defense

By: J Dog

J Dog — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 22:07:45 +0000

What makes me sick is that Kirgy Smart was on our staff when Richt promoted Willie to DC. After that, Kirby left, and the rest is history. Richt had another Vangorder on his staff (in Kirby Smart) and completely overlooked him. Like I’ve said before, I hope the hiring of VanGorder was not dumb luck. Richt apparently could not see Smart’s pontential when he was right in front of him.
Saban certanly could.

By: DawgVoiceofReason

DawgVoiceofReason — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 12:43:54 +0000

To answer one poster’s question about “Would Meyer, Saban, or Miles run out the clock in the 1st half against Michigan St. last year?”:

Well, based on the evidence before us, Miles likely would. Did you see what he did at the end of the first half of our game?

By: RealityRose

RealityRose — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 23:58:24 +0000

Now, now, fellow fans! Let’s not get to hasty with the firings! Right off the bat, it appears that far too many of you can’t or won’t see the many benefits of being mediocre. First of all, we already have too many athletic trophies in our trophy cases. If our gymnastics team wins the NCAA championship every year coupled with another national championship in tennis, golf, or equestrian sports, added with the SEC trophies we occassionally win, it makes our trophy case much to crowded and actually detracts from the asthetic properties of the most cultured and refined trophy case art. It would be best for our football team to remain mediocre as a proactive and propylactic achievement to this very worthy end. What’s more, the traffic and parking is atrocious enough. Should we be so unfortunate to win another national championship game in football, it is likely that the rest of the uncouthed bulldog nation (the rednecks) would descend on Athens as if Walmart were giving away merchandise. Let’s be careful and rethink what our desired outcomes should really be. Let’s be reasonable with the remaining space in our trophy case and not rush to ruin the asthetic qualities of a rather bare, but beautiful emptiness that presently exists. And let’s not hastily give reason for every couthless (and toothless) character from the backwoods, mountains, and swamplands of Georgia even more reason to show up at our lovely Sanford Stadium full of Pabst Blue Ribbon beer, moonshine, or homemade weed. We benefit enormously from mediocrity. Greatness is too overated. The benefits from such a grand perch are actually liabilities. Having said all this, let’s keep our present coaches and discourage others from being too critical. The best way to maintain mediocrity is to avoid criticism. Our mediocrity would be an extravagant price to pay for greatness. Thanks to all you Dawg fans who truly understand this finer point. If you must criticize, just keep it quiet.

By: Ed

Ed — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 21:28:41 +0000

Maybe the Dawgs should try a new approach, at least on defense – recruit 2-3 star players who would run through a brick wall to please their coach. Just for the privilege of playing for the glorious UGA. Kids that maybe grew up on Munson and who have a lifelong hatred of Florida and Georgia Tech. We need men on defense, players with cajones. What we have now look like a bunch of pampered sissies.

By: reasonable

reasonable — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 19:02:01 +0000

First, I think the comments by Richt and the ones by Damon Evans indicate there will be changes to the staff during the off season (I sure hope so). My gut tells me that if Richt tried to keep WM all hell would break loose. I think he knows that. Its a shame that his buddy WM isn’t really a true buddy. If he was, he would resign at the end of the season to spare Richt the agony of firing him. Second, recruiting rankings are a guess work process based on high schoole performance without any real analysis of the level of competition in which the young man plays. Therefore, it ends up being more a law of averages. That being said, however, the level of talent on the defense coupled with the steady and now rapid decline in the UGA defense speaks volumes about the need to totally overhaul the defensive coaches. As nearly everyone knows and most said last year, WM should have been gone during the past off-season. I know somerthing about the game and poor tackling, passive defensive schemes (including baby soft zones), terrible pass rush and coverage along with absolutely unbelievably bad angles of pursuit, no aggressiveness, and no gang tackling point directly to WM. If its the players fault as I have heard claimed, then the player problems have to go back to 2005. That’s a long time and a lot of different players for me to buy that horse chestnut. Coach Richt – sometimes if it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, its a duck.

By: Keith

Keith — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 15:23:43 +0000

Stars don’t measure what kind of person an athlete is, only their skills. You can be a 5 star, but if you are a knucklehead, you don’t do the program any good. Coaching is big in this case. Look what Petersen does out in Boise with 2/3 star guys. That team can hang with any team in the country. They may not win out, but they could do better than 27 a game. You’ll say, “they don’t play anybody..” but they play teams full of 2/3 star kids with 2/3 star kids. They are just coached up better. GA plays with 4/5 stars against 4/5 stars and just loses becuase they are getting out coached as of late. Quit looking so much at stars and start bringing quality kids in to the program.

By: scdawg

scdawg — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 11:43:26 +0000

southgadawg88, would Miles, Meyer, Saban allow this to happen to their program? Would they field a team that is this bad?

How many times has Prince Miller been smoked this year? If Tori Gurley from S.C. could catch, he would have simply torched Miller. Believe it or not, but Prince Miller could have been a pretty good rb.

Would Prince Miller or Bryan Evans start for Fla, Ala, or LSU?

Perry Riley ain’t looking to shabby at LSU.

By: Justin

Justin — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 06:08:04 +0000

Lawless, if you you don’t like it, don’t watch it, don’t follow it and why are you even commenting about it? Go fishing, moron.

By: Red Dog 77

Red Dog 77 — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 05:08:49 +0000

I sure wish we were sitting at 6-0 right now but we are not! My first real exiting recolection of UGA football was I believe in 1964 , Bama was ranked #1 we were playing them between the hedges. No one gave us a chance, with only seconds on the clock , and down 7 we executed the flea flicker to perfection for an 80 yard touchdown! we won. so goes college football, wonder how the folks feel at michigan about now, Notre Dame the last few years. What about Nebraska for years they were the team to beat, we handed LSU their butts last year and Fla. the year before, what if Fla State was your team? boy thats got to feel good about now. Point is college football goes in cycles, especially with the concentration on high powered offences, you have to have a pretty darn good qb to be in the top 10. Since CMR has been at UGA , if Im not mistaken no one has done beter year in and year out than us other than S. Cal. Mabe thats not good enough for many of you experts out there, but its good enough for me. We will be back on top again, and I really dont think it will take that long. Yes changes will be made CMR has made them before. ………………Trust me , Im a Dr.

By: Coach

Coach — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 04:02:55 +0000

To Fan, i am not a coach at Washington , I’m a former coach in Dekalb County & also Washington alumni continue to support the team & the new coaching staff, Washington has always & will always have athletes when you compete at a high level you have to take a loss along with the wins,
be at St Pius & the Dome we need everyone to stay with the team. Remember stay positive good things will happen.

By: Michael Dawgs for life

Michael Dawgs for life — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 03:39:15 +0000

this article really describes Georgia. They have a ton of raw talent on defense and with a good defensive coordinator there could be a few david pollacks or champ bailys, but Mark Richt is too much of a nice guy to get rid of willy martinez. Ever since Brian Vangorder left the defense has been going down the drain

By: fan

fan — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 02:16:03 +0000

to the coach at washington who said his player out played a player at douglass i can not tell cofield left that program in good shape need to start winning games before you start talking and yes i did graduate from washington not happy with losing

By: WaltonDawg

WaltonDawg — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 01:02:57 +0000

Recruiting stars mean nothing. As many 2-3 star recruits are drafted in NFL as 5 star recruits. David Pollack, Greg Belue, Thomas Davis, all no better than 3 stars recruits. It is more important in this state to recruit tough, hard nosed Georgia kids with good character and some ability. There are some many around ATL in general that don’t even get the chance. North Avenue Trade School coach has figured that out and that’s where he’s focused.

By: Lovethosedawgs

Lovethosedawgs — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 22:37:27 +0000

My point exactly. Martinez is THE BEST DC ins the SEC. THESE PLAYERS ARE OVERRATED and Martinez is very underrated. THE TALENT IS POOR THE COACHING IS GREAT!

By: Dawg'em out!

Dawg'em out! — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 22:35:08 +0000

talent hasnt ever been a question, its the preparation and coaching that is! we still got a season to playout, and i think we finish 7-5. then CMR makes the dc/oc and other staff changes that are needed to get this program back into the limelight again.

By: big time jacket

big time jacket — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 22:10:52 +0000

guys get use to it, your dawgs have always been overated and will continue to lose anytime it plays in a game that means something…..georgia sucks!!!!!! you will lose again when you face us this year!!!!!! this year it gets worse

By: Dawgtime

Dawgtime — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 22:00:37 +0000

This has to be one of the stupiest articles ever written. Do you really believe recruiting stars are that significant? If that is the case, check out the top 10 and then compare it to the top ten recruiting classes from 4 years ago. Stars are created to market recruiting products. They are just made up by people that have never coached or played the game. Get over yourself and write an article that has valid points. So if a kid is ranked a 5 star, that guarantees a long NFL career. No. These evaluations are done by people that have no clue what they are talking about. You can have a 2 star kid only to rise to a five star when certain schools recruit the kid. It’s all about recruiting propaganda. Why play the game? Just give the national championship trophy to the highest ranked recruiting class. Yes, this article is that stupid.

By: Einsteindawg

Einsteindawg — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 21:59:20 +0000

Let all the other schools get the 4 and 5 star recruits…we just can’t coach them up anyway. And, you are correct when you dismiss the “ratings” as trival and for profit only. Go back and look at UGA’s last 12 recruiting classes. You would be amazed how more 2 and 3 star players developed into really good players, and how many “can’t miss” actually missed. Richard Seymour was only a 3 star…but, Jasper Sanks was a 5 star. And David Pollack (another 3 star) is our hero, while Seth Watts (top defensive player in GA) never contributed. Do I hear any Caleb King supporters?

By: 92Champs

92Champs — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 21:34:48 +0000

Regarding your comparison of the #2 ranked Crimson Tide defense to the near-bottom feeding Georgians, it should be noted that eight of the eleven starters on the ‘Bama D were either signed by Mike Shula or had committed to him before he was canned. As the record shows, Coach Shula is a good man but not known having a keen eye for talent or the ability to coach ‘em up.

Enter Nick Saban who proves every day he can recruit, teach and motivate. A bunch of no-stars who were once uninspired individuals are now a TEAM dominating the league because of COACHING.

That’s the problem at Georgia, an acute lack of coaching.

By: Brain

Brain — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 21:29:31 +0000

For those who are detractors of Rivals and Scout, please check out the first 3 rounds of the NFL draft, then come back and tell me what an inaccurate predictor they are. The fact is, ALL of this is tough to predict. But, the star system has proven over a long period of time to be pretty darn accurate if you start to weigh the averages.

By: Paul The Vol

Paul The Vol — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 21:23:12 +0000

I was at the game and the one of the things about Georgia’s defense that jumped out at me was all of the arm tackling – and this was from the beginning of the game. I watched Hardesty and Brown repeatedly break through arm tackles and gain extra yardage. I don’t know if this is from poor coaching, fatigue or overall lack of effort but Georgia had better get that fixed quickly.

By: SOUTHGADAWG88

SOUTHGADAWG88 — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 21:07:36 +0000

Folks talk a lot about what Meyer,Miles or Saban would do but last I checked FLA lost 4 games under Meyer after they won a tittle…Miles bunch highly rated recruits and all went 8-5 last year and Saban for all his supposedly superior coaching ability has never won 10 games back to back in his entire career.So the knee jerk “So and so would be doing such “is greatly exaggerated.Richt was a nice guy when he was winning SEC titles why is that all of a sudden some big deal now?Programs go thru change at times it’s a fact of life…some of you youngsters don’t remember how much we sucked the last 5 years under Dooley and all you know is Mark Richt as coach.I’d bet a million bucks not ONE high profile coach would be running to come to UGA if Richt left not being appreciated for the work he has done.You can talk “COACHING” all you want but the PLAYERS make plays not the coaches.Ever thought maybe Bobo is only calling plays he knows we can block?

By: Reggie Ball

Reggie Ball — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 20:00:11 +0000

Saint Simons’ mouth is a ********************************************************

By: Corrine Brown

Corrine Brown — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 19:57:32 +0000

Tell those * to start playing defense

By: BDAWG

BDAWG — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 19:51:29 +0000

What this boils down to is a severe lack of discipline. Both the offensive and defensive players come to UGA with a big name and a great game. Once they get to campus they forget that they are there to play football and win championships. That’s why you have coaches like Nick Saban to act like dictators to keep these guys in line. CMR wants to come off as the nice guy, but everyone knows that nice guys finish last. What the team needs is a coach with great disciplinary skills or hire coaches that are going to get the job done. If does not change the staff, he should be fired because no one wants to sit through another season like this. Having talent is great but you still have to coach.

By: Mark Richt

Mark Richt — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 19:14:57 +0000

first down Look good in my shades
second down, Hope my tan is even
third down, Look at nails, make mental note for a manicure
fourth down, Look at water girl

By: Willie

Willie — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 19:13:40 +0000

first down, give up 8 on a run
second down, give up 12 on a screen pass
third down … play soft zone

fourth down, practice dance moves

By: Bama in the House

Bama in the House — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 19:12:31 +0000

The Dawgs have more than just one problem, trust me since my team has gone through alot because of a coach. Will list them:
1; off season program sucks, they are worn out in the second half no matter what.
2; deff coor sucks, sorry. the whole team needs to back to basics and learn how to tackle.
3; you need to change out qb’s, cox is done and so is your season. bring in the freshman and let him get some reps.
4; penalties, ever since that one win over fla, that you got slapped with a 15 yard for the end zone party y’all have suck.
5; head coach needs to get some balls and start cracking down on coaches and players that are not doing there job. he is to nice.

i could go on, but dawg fans is anything i said wrong? i don’t think so. i went through nice coachs way to long at Alabama, they can can and do the best for the kid but not nice like your coach.

Tide fan in Ga.

By: paul

paul — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 19:10:52 +0000

i agree brandon miller was not a bust how u going to put the number 1 rated de in the nation at linebacker just like richard sammual when they going to realize that he is a linebacker and not a running back i not just that the coaching staff at georgia can not coach they also do not know how to put there players in there right positons

By: Bobo

Bobo — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 19:10:12 +0000

first down, run off tackle
second down, throw to AJ
third down, run off tackle
fourth down punt

By: Dawg_in_PA

Dawg_in_PA — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 19:06:56 +0000

IIRC, David Pollack was a 2 or 3 star FB coming out of high school. Seems like we need more GATA than stars.

By: scdawg

scdawg — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 18:51:50 +0000

I really believe there is more to playing football than 40 times and bench presses. You have to be somewhat football smart. Rodney Garner said David Pollock was probably a 5 on a 1-10 talent wise. He played smart and had a motor. Georgia’s db’s play dumb. At what point do you read plays and make a break on the ball? Hey, remember Thomas Davis, the 2 star athlete? How about the highly rated CJ Byrd? Was he that talented? Watch youtube clips of the 2002 and 2003 defenses and then watch the Georgia defense today. Completely different animal. My question about the coaching is also about recognizing talent. Why does Georgia continually recruit 5′8″ 170 DBs or ath.? Tyson Browning, Prince Miller, Carlton Thomas. Yeah, Tim Jennings worked, but that was a rare deal and not the norm. Why wasn’t Brandon Miller playing DE his whole career? Do you think Les Miles would have played him where he wanted to play?

Ask yourself this. Would Baccari Rambo be “sharing time” with Bryan Evan under Nick Saban? Would Logan Gray be fair catching balls at the 45 under Urban Meyer? How many times do you run Samuel on a toss sweep to the short side of the field before you realize..IT DOESN’T WORK!

Would Meyer, Saban, or Miles run out the clock in the 1st half against Michigan St. last year?
Georgia plays scared. They play not to lose instead of playing to win. I’m still waiting for a Georgia Offensive coordinator to say “they are going to have to adjust to me” instead of ” that’s all they gave us”
The picking of coordinators was too conservative also. Promote from within. Now, Richt is going to have to fire friends and family and that ain’t never a good thing. I hope learned his lesson on that.

Van Halanger is overrated too. Maybe there was a time when he was all that, but it isn’t anymore. Just look at Georgia players compared to others around the country. They don’t have the same looking atheletes.

By: Flo-Ri-Duh!

Flo-Ri-Duh! — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 18:35:48 +0000

St. Simons is a nerdy, sissified prissy pants that still sleeps with his mama.

By: 59bulldawg

59bulldawg — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 18:35:03 +0000

Sorry, but I’ve got to agree with Atticus!

By: Flo-Ri-Duh!

Flo-Ri-Duh! — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 18:34:22 +0000

Something is wrong? What an amazing deduction!