A Few Words From The Wreckage.

by MaconDawg on Oct 10, 2009 8:59 PM EDT Comment 27 comments

I try to avoid posting on this blog for 24 hours or so after a game. I generally double that for a loss. But I feel compelled on this night to say a few things that I thought went without saying.

For one, it has come to my attention that some of us apparently fell out of the perspective tree and missed every branch on the way down. Those of you who have labeled this one of the worst losses in University of Georgia history must have missed out on some fun times in the not so distant past. I remember the 1996 home loss to Southern Miss. I remember the 1995 "half a hundred" game against Florida in Athens and the time we made Auburn's Ben Leard look like Peyton Manning. I also remember Peyton Manning making our defense look incredibly stupid on a recurrent basis. And I remember the fact that all of that happened in a very short period of time in the mid to late 90's. Believe me, on the whole Mark Richt's record in tough conference games in distinctly preferable to Jim Donnan's. Richt's teams can be counted on not to show up once a year. Donnan's failed to show up weekly.

I'm not saying some changes don't need to be made. A lot of changes need to be made, which was the reason I became so pessimistic after the Arizona State game. We have more changes to make than a team can accomplish during the middle of the season. At this point we have the team we have and will have to live with them for the next 6 games. I'm convinced that winning 4 of those 6 would be miraculous at this point. But that would put us at 7-5, which in the Goff/Donnan era would have been the rule, not the exception. That's the difference between the past and the present.

No author improves the persuasiveness of his message by insulting his audience. That being said (and this is where you should feel free to sling arrows at me in the comments section) those of you who truly believe that it's time for any sort of change at the top of our football program are 18 carat golden morons. Seriously. I almost hate to dignify such a sentiment by commenting on it. But as someone who suffered through the Goff and Donnan years, I'd like to let you know that it could get a lot worse than what you've "suffered" through in the past few years. Last season's "disappointing" season was on par with the single best year of the Donnan era. That's to say nothing of the SEC Championship in 2005 or a final #2 ranking in the AP in 2007. Mark Richt has orchestrated more success in the past four years than his two predecessors combined.

Some of you are just blowing off steam and I get that. Some of you think Willie Martinez is only barely competent to coordinate his own bodily functions, much less an SEC defense. I totally get that. And some of you wonder how the most experienced offensive line in the SEC can't block a simple halfback lead play to save its immortal soul. I get that, because I've been wondering the answer myself. I won't get it from Stacy Searels because he won't talk to anyone, but I still wonder.

Perhaps this is the loss that snaps this team and coaching staff back to reality. Perhaps not. But just try to remember that most football teams are not, in the aggregate, as good as their wins or as bad as their losses. And we've had far more crushing losses than this one. Believe me, the sun will come up tomorrow. It's still great to be a Georgia Bulldog.

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"The top of our football program"

By top, you mean very top, as in Coach Richt, correct?

by SG Standard on Oct 10, 2009 9:38 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

What you are saying...

I get that…

cookin and smilin

by cookin and smilin on Oct 10, 2009 9:41 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Anyone thinking this loss was the worst doesnt remember Godsey running around like Rodney Hampton.

by Coondawg on Oct 10, 2009 9:43 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Macon Dawg is responding to what went from

“we need to make some major changes and soon” to “fire CMR” which is just insanity.

Anyone that thought the reasonable critizisim of the entire team last week was bad needs to now look at the stupidity now being posted of fire CMR. I wish MaconDawg would lock out/delete those fanposts. I dont fracking want Myers at UGA anymore than i wanted Suppier at UGA went people were saying that crap.

Mark Richt is a Dawg – through and through. He is a great leader of both the athletic program, as well as the community. He has reached out more to the University and the community and even the Armed Forces than any other coach in UGA history and more than darn near any coach in the nation. He is both a fine coach and an oustanding citizen.

Thanks MaconDawg for the post., but I feel the reasonable critiques are turning into crazies showing up with madness.

Finally, is a 24 carat moron more or less of a moron than an 18 carat one?

by tankertoad on Oct 10, 2009 10:03 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I don’t think any reasonable fan wants Richt fired.

But he REFUSES to hold his own assitants (or even himself) accountable.

What if he continues to do that all season and in the offseason?

Then what?

People are jumping to the “then what?” because Richt is not giving us ANY HOPE that he’ll fire these bums and replace them with SEC quality coordinators.

by Muckbeast on Oct 10, 2009 10:33 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

You weren't the only Bulldog Fan in the late to mid-90's who suffered, and yes I agree with you.

I think the blind frustration of the Bulldog Nation has gotten loose before everyone stopped and thought about what they were saying. I want Willie Martinez out. Yes, I admit that. CMR is a fine man, no question. Does he reach out to the community? Yes. Does he set an impeccable example for the players and the University? Absolutely. CMR isn’t throwing anyone under the bus publicly because it isn’t his way. Is it frustrating? Heck yeah. In a post I made earlier, I urged everyone to circle the wagons, don their best Red and Black and turn to Brown liquor if necessary. This is where we show the booger eating, hillbilly, hello kiffin disciples, and cut off jean short wearing Gator nation douche nozzles that is better to be a fan of a lackluster Bulldog team, and wear the Red and Black proudly, than to pull for their respective win at any cost classless programs. I want change. I want to see discipline on and off the field. I want to see a grittiness return to this program. I don’t want to see CMR fired(although there are some who should go). I know that the change I want so badly will be slow. It will take much longer than I want it to. When it finally does arrive, it will be great and glorious and hope will spring eternal in Athens again the way it does every summer. Because we are Georgia and we are better than the rest. We just suck at proving it on the football field right now. GO DAWGS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Did I mention I hate Rocky Top? That song haunts me.

I think Erk Russell could have kicked Clint Eastwood and John Wayne's butts with a corn cob and one hand tied behind his back. GATA!

by AeroDawg on Oct 10, 2009 10:53 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I was in attendance at almost every low point you listed

Plus my personal lows of having Alabama blank us in Hines Ward’s first start by necessity at QB and watching that same season, UVA, for goodness sakes, take one from us at the Peach Bowl after a pretty decent comeback. I still remember wondering if we would EVER get to the SEC championship game.
Hopefully the team will dig deep this week. As hard as it is for us, it must be so much harder for them.
Mark Richt has raised the bar, now he has to live up to the expectations he has created.
After watching the Bama, UF and even LSU defenses today -- we have a long way to go.
Maybe Tommy Tuberville will come be our new DC.

by hbtd on Oct 10, 2009 11:29 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

You're comparing losses under Goff to those now?

I don’t think any rational UGA fan is calling for Richt’s head. But times have changed since all the games you mentioned UGA losing badly (1996 South Miss, 1995 FL, 1999 AU). Are you seriously comparing the mid 90s UGA teams to now?

I, like you, lived through (and attended UGA during) those times and we were an average team (at best) in most of those years…and with nowhere NEAR the recruiting base we’ve had since Richt arrived. Yeah…PEYTON ‘FREAKING’ MANNING made UGA look bad back in the mid 90s, but that’s not in the same ballpark as making Crompton look like an All-American today. The bar has been raised since Goff walked UGA’s sideline and getting blown out several times per year won’t (and shouldn’t) cut it these days.

UGA isn’t South Carolina…where if everything break right (and keep their fingers crossed) that they may win a conference championship. There is no reason that UGA shouldn’t compete for a NATIONAL championship yearly like the USC (the real one), TX, OK, and FL, etc. All these programs (including UGA) have a highly populated, football crazy state, plenty of money, and a program with tradition. Do you see those teams getting blown out several times per year? Isn’t UGA ranked just as high as them in yearly recruiting services? Isn’t our athletic dept. one of the most profitable in the nation? The ONLY difference I can put my finger on between UGA and the other yearly national championship contenders is coaching. I’m not calling for anyone to be fired, but at this point, it’s obvious that the coaches (Richt included) don’t recognize there’s a problem in the program.

The argument that UGA fans should have some perspective after a bad loss because we’ve been here before under Goff and Donnan doesn’t cut it with me. I’d HOPE that we’ve put that mediocre past behind us because we’re a better program now. But maybe that’s where I’m mistaken….and we should just assume UGA will get blown out by better teams….with better players…..like Crompton. Blah.

by MidGADawgs on Oct 11, 2009 12:58 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

The comment of “7-5, which in the Goff/Donnan era would have been the rule, not the exception” is pointless, 7-5 type seasons is what got those guys fired. If this blogger (MaconDawg) is happy with being average and pathetic then maybe you should be a south carolina fan. We paid the money for CMR to get SEC Championships, not peach bowl championships. And trying to justify losses to OSU and LSU as understandable is just total bull. OSU is an over rated team from an over rated conference. The current state of our team is the direct reflection of our coaching staff. Averaging 10 penelties a game, having no decent replacment for the losses of Matt Stafford and Knowshawn Marrino, high school like play calls, are all direct reflections of the coaching staff. I predict this team being 6-6 this year.

by davedixon on Oct 11, 2009 8:55 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Um ....

All due respect Dave, you mispell Knowshon Moreno’s name that horribly, and I start doubting who the real Georgia fan is in this discussion.

By the way, last time I checked Mark Richt had two SEC titles in eight years compared to zero for Ray Goff and Jim Donnan during the same time span.

by Jmac-Athens on Oct 11, 2009 10:20 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Dave I think . . .

perhaps I didn’t make my point as clearly as I could have. I don’t believe I ever said I was happy with 7-5. I’m also fairly certain that average and pathetic are not synonyms, but that’s beside the point. I think what I’m saying is that some people are missig the forest of nearly continuous 10 win seasons for the tree of one stinker versus Tennessee.

I listed off the variety of things which frustrate me with this team. At the top of the list would be the fact that this team appeared to start feeling sorry for itself at a certain point. They began giving up on tackles before the play was finished. Receivers weren’t finishing their routes. It was, in a lot of ways, a poor effort. But I trust Mark Richt to get a better effort out of this team next week than I would most other coaches.

by MaconDawg on Oct 11, 2009 11:36 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

In fairness, Donnan never lost five games after 1996...

…his worst seasons were a pair of 8-4 seasons in 1999 and 2000.

7-5 seasons, therefore, were not “the rule” under Donnan. I mention this not to defend Jim Donnan, but to point out that the current regime appears poised to produce a season WORSE than any but Donnan’s worst.

by 00 Dawg on Oct 11, 2009 12:44 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Yep . . .

. . . right after a seven-season stretch in which six Georgia squads were as good as or better than Jim Donnan’s best.

Also, our head coach enforces discipline and we had just two guys get in trouble this offseason. Numbers don’t go high enough to describe how much better than Jim Donnan’s regime the current state of affairs is.

I get your point, but Vince Dooley had three .500 seasons in a six-year stretch between 1969 and 1974. Two SEC championships in his first five years earned Coach Dooley the benefit of the doubt in the way Coach Donnan never deserved.

Go 'Dawgs!

by T Kyle King on Oct 11, 2009 12:59 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I don't disagree with that at all...

Richt has produced, in my opinion, the Golden Age of Georgia football. There is no denying that in his first six years (really, it started as early as his second season), he elevated the program beyond any level it had reached since the early 1980s.

Donnan, meanwhile, could never seem to put together a complete season. The closest he ever came was 1997, a year in which the Dawgs sleepwalked through an Auburn game that should have been a resounding win. Motivating his players and keeping them in line were Donnan’s biggest shortcomings, and they were MAJOR shortcomings, indeed.

Let me be very clear: I attended Georgia during the last four seasons of Donnan’s tenure, and I’m as painfully aware as anybody that he couldn’t get it done at Georgia. Losing to our four biggest rivals on a regular basis was really the nail in his Georgia career’s coffin. But MaconDawg’s blog entry indicates explicitly that he regularly lost five games each year, and that’s factually inaccurate. I get that he looks even worse in hindsight, especially compared to Richt. But Donnan won no fewer than eight games each season from 1997 through 2000, a significant improvement from the mediocrity to which we became accustomed under Goff.

As for Richt, it has become clear that although he is an ideal fit as Georgia’s head football coach, it is now incumbent upon him to make some changes which would generally be out of character for him. Those changes include firing (or at least demoting) some members of his coaching “family,” an act which I fear would greatly upset his sensibilities as a nice, loyal guy. They may also include cutting back on his “equitable time-sharing” approach to playing time, especially in cases where senior players may not be as game-ready as younger guys.

Once this miserable season has fully played out (hopefully ending with a minor bowl victory and eight total wins), I’ll be among the thousands of alumni and other fans who will hold our collective breath while waiting to see if Richt has it in him to shake up his coaching staff. I certainly hope he does, because another year of stagnancy and lack of accountability for loyalty’s sake could seriously unglue the Georgia football program.

by 00 Dawg on Oct 11, 2009 5:41 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

00 Dawg, while I cannot agree with the utilization of the term

“Golden Age of Georgia football” to refer to Richt’s tenure, I do agree that he presided over a return to the best years of Georgia football since the early 1980’s. His first few years successes were attributable to talent obtained, at least in part, as a result of Donnan’s recruiting efforts. This is not to say that Donnan was a great coach or even a good coach, but we should give the devil his due. I think Donnan was a much better coordinator than a head coach and certainly not the human being that Richt is.
Your eloquent presentation in the last two paragraphs is “spot on” as current phaseology has it or “hits the nail on the head” as it was expressed in my day.
I am woefully afraid that Richt the human being who cares about his “family” (assistant coaches) will overrule his responsibilities as Richt the head coach. Those members of his “family” should not put him in that position, but, if they cared anything about Richt the human being, would take this burden off him and step down. It’s the right thing to do Willie and Mike and Jon.

by Jujdog on Oct 11, 2009 6:34 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I have no doubt

that CMR understands both his responsibilities and the hierarchy of the same. I believe he genuinely wants the absolute best for Georgia Football, the coaches & the players and as much as it may be painful to do so, I believe that he recognizes his responsibilities as Head Coach (CEO if you will) and he will make the adjustments he honestly believes are necessary. He may not air dirty laundry or throw anyone under the proverbial bus publicly, but he will get the job done in as classy and gracious a manner as is humanly possible (and for that matter probably more classy and gracious than most humans.)

by podunkdawg on Oct 11, 2009 6:44 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I hope you are right, although I have "heard" that Richt said he

would resign himself before he would fire Martinez. I can not vouch for the authenticity of that statement, but it’s presence gives me concern. My real worry is that those who are responsible most for the performance of the team which causes Richt to come under fire do not share the same character as their boss. If they did, they would step down to position coaches or resgn.

by Jujdog on Oct 11, 2009 6:51 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Circumstances & people both change

Which is why I said earlier that right now I believe CMR is the best guy for the HC job at UGA. Ask me again next year, I might not say that.

Besides, that sounds an awful lot like a rumor. CMR tends to avoid making blanket statements without qualifiers. Perhaps the qualifier got dropped along the way? Or perhaps the comment was taken out of context? I can see CMR perhaps asking for resignation rather than firing someone. If he was absolutely being forced into the firing (say by our AD), he might just resign himself rather than join in a firing he felt was unwarranted.

by podunkdawg on Oct 11, 2009 7:11 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I was in school in the early '80's

We were not very good in ’79 before Herschel came, we were great when Herschel was there and it went downhill after Herschel left. Those were not golden years because of coaching but because of the edge given to good team by a great player.
We have not been the same since VanGorder left. That to me says we need a new DC, not a new head coach.

by hbtd on Oct 11, 2009 6:58 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Agreed...

…I think a LOT of Georgia’s problems could be fixed with the installation of a new defensive coordinator.

Unfortunately, things have gotten to the point where it’s just not that simple. Hiring a DC from outside the program would likely mean two major things:

(1) Rodney Garner may very well leave if not offered the DC position himself (as he has been twice at other programs since he came to Georgia), and

(2) a new defensive coordinator would probably want to bring in at least some defensive position-coaching staff of his own choosing.

This is a very slippery situation, and I don’t envy Richt for having to deal with it. That’s doubly true given that our current defensive coordinator has been one of Richt’s best friends off the field for over twenty-five years.

by 00 Dawg on Oct 11, 2009 8:58 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Also in fairness . . .

he won 7 regular season games in both 1999 and in 2000. So no, 5 loss seasons weren’t the rule. 7 win (or less) seasons were.

by MaconDawg on Oct 11, 2009 5:28 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

We may never see a team again that had the talent of Donnan's Outback Bowl team that beat Wisconsin

Hines Ward, Robert Edwards, Champ Bailey, Matt Stinchcomb, can’t think of the names of the two tight ends who both went NFL. Seymour and Stroud were both on that team, right?
And I am sure I am leaving out several others.
What could a good coach have done with that talent?

by hbtd on Oct 11, 2009 7:04 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

The same thing a good coach could have done with the 1992 Georgia team . . .

. . . that had Eric Zeier, Garrison Hearst, Terrell Davis, Andre Hastings, and a number of other quality receivers.

The thing we have to remember—-and the thing I sometimes have a hard time grasping myself—-is that the overall talent pool is so much deeper than it was even 20 years ago. This is true across all sports, as training regimens, nutritional science, and supplements (both licit and otherwise) all have grown in sophistication and people have just gotten bigger and stronger. (Mickey Mantle was a big player in his day. Today, he’d be playing shortstop.)

The Georgia two-deep contains much more talent today than it did two decades ago . . . but so does the two-deep of every other team in the league.

Go 'Dawgs!

by T Kyle King on Oct 11, 2009 8:16 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Coach comparisons

but so does the two-deep of every other team in the league.

Absolutely right. Goff and Donnan did not coach in vacuums, and neither does Richt. When comparing records, I think it’s worth noting what was going on in the rest of the conference and at Tech. The W-L results of both Goff’s and Donnan’s shortcomings were exacerbated by strong runs at (cheating) Auburn, Tennessee, and Florida (not to mention what I imagine must have been a recruiting obstacle created by the Kemp fallout and UGA’s understandable escalation of academic standards for athletes ahead of everyone else). One might argue that Richt’s success was helped by periods of slippage in Knoxville and Gainesville (it wasn’t beating UF that got us our SEC championships: it was UF’s losing enough to others to allow us to get to Atlanta).

And I’ll stick this here because I don’t have the energy right now to put it anywhere else: all of this general hand-wringing does feel a little worse than mid-season 2006, but probably only because it’s so fresh. Part of me thinks feeling this way only three years later is too soon, and with a few embarrassments in between, it could spell big, big trouble. Sustained success is difficult, however, and I am extraordinarily patient by nature. 37-15 and Paul Oliver’s coverage of the Biletnikoff winner brought joy back into my life in 2006. I’m not saying I’m expecting the same kind of turnaround this season, but I’m certain I did not expect such a thing at the time.

by NCT on Oct 12, 2009 1:22 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

My fault, Macondawg.

I didn’t get the Cordele Pool Room hot dogs and beer and ride the dirt roads listening to the game. I opted to help my son-in-law pick peanuts, so the UT loss rests directly on my shoulders. While never a Donnan fan, I point out that the first three or four years of Richt’s success were accomplished in large part through the efforts of Donnan recruits. And, I must defend Goff who accepted the job at his alma mater when NO established coach would take it due to the fact that Saint Vincent had depleted the cupboard before his departure. In any event, 6 wins and 6 losses this year was my preseason prediction, and I really expected to be 2-4 at this point. Heck, my expectations have a chance of being exceeded IF we can beat both Vandy and Ky, as well as Auburn, and Tenn Tech. Nope__not gonna happen.

by Jujdog on Oct 11, 2009 1:24 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Juj-sometimes it's okay to be an optimist......

your 6-6 prediction will fall! The Dawgs will be 7-5! Ha-ha!!!!
I understand that you’re not a large CMR fan but please all the negatives you throw out there about Richt is quite concerning. After reading the latest blogs it seems that you are taking some of the comments personally & taking it out on other bloggers. I love UGA and our history of football but I don’t think the “coaches of past” need any defending: Goff (46-34-1) from 1989-1995 & Donnan (40-19) from 1996-2000.
BTW any idea when Alzheimer’s kicks in?? Just joking!!!
GO DAWGS!!!!

by Dawgrees on Oct 11, 2009 7:57 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

"All the negaives I throw out there about Richt'?

I haven’t called for his firing. I have called him a decent human being and coach. I am a fan of the man and greatly appreciate the respect he has brought to the program, particularly from a moral standpoint; unfortunately, I think he has retreated from his discipline in some areas. I am satified with winning an occasional SEC championship, but I wish the team would play up to its potential. That’s all any of us has the right to expect. That said, I ddn’t believe this team had the potential to be SEC champions but I did think they would put forth a better effort. I can’t remember when I think Alzheimer’s kicks in. Maybe I wil tomorrow; if so, I’ll let you know, but only if I can remember whom I am supposed to tell.

by Jujdog on Oct 11, 2009 8:31 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs