Mark Richt and UGA

[Wurider05]

Another Saturday another beating. This guy should not be coaching UGA. He should have been fired last year but his defensive coordinator got blamed. Will it be the offensive coordinator this year? Nick Saban damn near came off the streets and won a championship. Probably won't matter because if he does get canned they will probably get someone else out of the good ole boy system.

[Eddielives]

I saw a team that was down come back to tie one of the best teams in the country with perhaps the best quarterback in college football. Our defense has, overall, looked a lot better this year considering it's a new defensive scheme. You put A. J. Green in the game yesterday and Georgia probably wins. They probably win in S.C. too with Green. Take into account the off court violations, the injuries over the past 3 years and a freshman quarterback this year(not to mention Cox was nothing special last year), Richt has really done about as good as Saban or any other heralded coach would. I would say the worst year in the past several was 2 years ago with Stafford and Moreno when GA was ranked #1. Injuries still hurt that year but we should have done better. All in all, I don't think it's time to pull the plug on Richt. Now if GA actually has a losing season or doesn't go to a pro bowl this year, you may have more merit to your argument.

[coachx]

Another Saturday another beating.

What ? I stopped reading right there. Your just a guy with an agenda or a guy who does not understand football one bit.

To call that game a "beating" is just clueless. The game was tied in the final minutes and won with less then a minute to go. The team was missing its starting RB, FB, and WR and still almost beat the #12 team in the country with a freshman QB that was missing his best bullets..

EVERYONE new this was going to be a tough season with a only 2 freshman QBs, on the roster.

[DJlaysitup]

EVERYONE new this was going to be a tough season with a only 2 freshman QBs, on the roster.

It's tough to be overly critical what with both USC (at their place) and Ark here (a team many predicted to be a darkhorse for something special this year). I really think we should have won one of the games at least though.

The thing that frustrates me is "why in heck do we have 2 freshman QBs" when we have a junior/senior laden offensive line? Shouldn't a team like GA have a line of QBs in the junior/senior level nearly every year? I mean how can you not recruit top quality QBs with a team like the bulldogs and a history of awesome receivers?

Frustrating.

[Wurider05]

You see I was right. People are going after the offensive coordinator. Why are they trying to protect Richt? No matter what he is never held responsible.

[AHF]

Richt has the track record to be defended at UGA. He needs to turn this season around soon, though, or he will enter next season squarely on the hot seat. I think the loss of Greene has really affected this team but the most dissappointing development has been the continuing suckiness of the OL.

[DrReality]

Ga has to get better or there will be an uprising. Agree with posts that we played two very good teams shorthanded. We need to flex our muscles this weekend to get some confidence.

[Eddielives]

Well this sure won't help silence Richt's critics. This is definitely one of the most indicting losses on Richt's career. I thought for sure Georgia would show some guts and win this game against Mississippi State. GA scored a meaningless touchdown late to make it look better than it was. I will say this for sure. GA better win out their schedule when A.J. Greene comes back starting next week. Only a perfect record and definitely beating GA Tech will possibly save his job and the season now. I still don't think it's all his fault. But this loss tonight has to be admitted even by Richt supporters to be a sign of a team that is not being coached up. They have way more talent than Miss. State.

[Wurider05]

After a 24-12 loss to Mississippi State on Saturday night, Georgia is 2-7 in its past nine SEC games. That’s not trivial, and it’s certainly not an aberration. The opponents in those seven losses are LSU, Tennessee, Florida, Kentucky, South Carolina, Arkansas, Mississippi State.

Richt needs to be fired. No more excuses. ANother Saturday another beating.

[Eddielives]

After a 24-12 loss to Mississippi State on Saturday night, Georgia is 2-7 in its past nine SEC games. That’s not trivial, and it’s certainly not an aberration. The opponents in those seven losses are LSU, Tennessee, Florida, Kentucky, South Carolina, Arkansas, Mississippi State.

Richt needs to be fired. No more excuses. ANother Saturday another beating.

I'm on board with giving Richt some hell for this loss and his poor record as coach going back the past 3 years now. But let's not forget that if A.J. Green, a game-changing player, had been on the field this year, that GA's season would, more than likely, be looking a hell of a lot more positive. I'm not saying it's all Green's fault and I definitely think his suspension was a bit harsh but he deserves to feel some serious guilt for letting his team down and that has nothing to do with Mark Richt.

[dms269]

I think Bobo will be gone and Richt will be given another year. If he has 3 straight down years then he deserves to be fired.

CTG needs a year or two to get his players in. He is a 3-4 coach having to run a 4-3 because we don't have the size.

[DJlaysitup]

Richt has the track record to be defended at UGA. He needs to turn this season around soon, though, or he will enter next season squarely on the hot seat. I think the loss of Greene has really affected this team but the most dissappointing development has been the continuing suckiness of the OL.

You make a very good point AHF. I remember a couple years ago when they gave us preseason #1...ex UGA QB BB said on 680theFan that it wasn't realistic because we had freshmen and sophomores on our OL. Now those guys are Seniors....but apparently were never that good to begin with and haven't been able to develop past an average SEC line.

It's a shame but not all that surprising. I remember years when they would say as how Kentucky or Vanderbilt should be improved because they had like 9 of 11 starters back on defense. I thought - well "what the heck" - they weren't much good as juniors...why would they kick butt as seniors?

[Plainview1981]

Due to the large redneck fanbase I enjoy seeing the Bulldogs lose. They're not that great of a program anyway. What was the last star they actually developed?

Edited September 29, 2010 by Hotlanta1981

[Eddielives]

Due to the large redneck fanbase I enjoy seeing the Bulldogs lose. They're not that great of a program anyway. What was the last star they actually developed?

Gee I don't know there hotsy boy. I can't think of any bulldogs that have even been drafted in the past several years.

[coachx]

Due to the large redneck fanbase I enjoy seeing the Bulldogs lose. They're not that great of a program anyway. What was the last star they actually developed?

45 guys in the in the NFL. The vast majority of which were developed by Mark Richt.

UGA is the largest college in Georgia. Their fans represent the state. Their fans come in all colors, all social, and and all economic backgrounds.

I personaly believe that the coaching situation is very fluid. Richt will save or lose his job based on what the team does from here on out. If he can pull a miralce come back and go 7-1 to finish the season then he is more then safe. 6-2 is probably enough to buy him another year.

I cannot see him getting fired for going 8-4 or 7-5 in what was alreasy expected to be a rebuilding year. Now if the Dawgs fall to 6-6 could be over.

ALL real Dawg fans expected this to be a rough year with a freshman QB, a new defensive coordinator with a new philosophy. Heck we ranked 23 coming into the year. The lowest UGA has been ranked in 10 years. That was before UGA's best player got suspended for the first 4 games. The only truely up setting loss was the one vs. Miss St. in my mind.

I personally do not want to see coaching change. Having a sopohmore QB learn a whole new system almost makes him a freshman all over again. Having a defense learn 3 new defensive philosophies in 3 years, from 3 different coaches, (Martinez, Grantham, assumed new guy from new head coach) is a recipe for disaster.

Is there a proven Nick Saban or Urban Meyer out there who can guarantee a quick turn around ? UGA could wind up going the opposite direction like Tennessee. I have faith CMR will steady the ship.

Edited September 29, 2010 by coachx

[Wurider05]

Coachx mostly everything you said is absolutely true. The point I was trying to make is that it appears to me that Richt always seems to escape the blame. I just have never seen in any sport where the coordinators who were hired by the coach get all the blame. . He shouldn't get anymore chances. The strength of our team was suppose to be the running game and defense. Green was the icing on the cake but not the cake. The fact that at this point we have two young quarterbacks tell you something about his recruiting. It seems that he is just recruiting a bunch of thugs with all the arrests. Mark Richt has lost this team. The longer we wait for him to right the ship the bigger the hole is going to be to get out of. Folks we are in the SEC not the ACC.

Hotlanta the redneck comment wasn't really necessary dude. Everybody likes the Bulldogs!!

[Plainview1981]

45 guys in the in the NFL. The vast majority of which were developed by Mark Richt.

UGA is the largest college in Georgia. Their fans represent the state. Their fans come in all colors, all social, and and all economic backgrounds.

I personaly believe that the coaching situation is very fluid. Richt will save or lose his job based on what the team does from here on out. If he can pull a miralce come back and go 7-1 to finish the season then he is more then safe. 6-2 is probably enough to buy him another year.

I cannot see him getting fired for going 8-4 or 7-5 in what was alreasy expected to be a rebuilding year. Now if the Dawgs fall to 6-6 could be over.

ALL real Dawg fans expected this to be a rough year with a freshman QB, a new defensive coordinator with a new philosophy. Heck we ranked 23 coming into the year. The lowest UGA has been ranked in 10 years. That was before UGA's best player got suspended for the first 4 games. The only truely up setting loss was the one vs. Miss St. in my mind.

I personally do not want to see coaching change. Having a sopohmore QB learn a whole new system almost makes him a freshman all over again. Having a defense learn 3 new defensive philosophies in 3 years, from 3 different coaches, (Martinez, Grantham, assumed new guy from new head coach) is a recipe for disaster.

Is there a proven Nick Saban or Urban Meyer out there who can guarantee a quick turn around ? UGA could wind up going the opposite direction like Tennessee. I have faith CMR will steady the ship.

They really struggle to develop QB's. All their QB's during Mark's tenure have turned out to be crappy. Stafford looks to be in the same boat. There better at developing defensive players, but still. A player like Cox shouldn't be the QB for a higher caliber college team.

Richt doesn't seem like a guy with answers to me:

http://blogs.ajc.com/junkyard-blawg/2010/09/29/richts-warning-to-players-it-could-get-worse/?cxntfid=blogs_junkyard_blawg

Yes, I understand that not all of UGA's fans are dumb rednecks, but they have a bunch of those types of fans so I like to see their team lose. I'm not much of fan of college football anyway. I think it's largely overrated and the atmosphere is often higher than the quality of the games myself. A huge chunk of these guys aren't going to make it at the next level so you're watching a lot of inferior players.

College Football has blowhard coaches like Steve Spurrier and Nick Saban who really are only successful when they're allowed to be the spotlight hogs that they are. Yeah, the Pro's have all of ignorant assholes, but at least they actually can play the games. You have a guy like Spurrier who is arrogant despite the fact that all he does is ride off the talents of his players. We saw how good of caoches Saban and Spurrier are when they don't hold all the cards.

Edited September 30, 2010 by Hotlanta1981

[AHF]

College Football has blowhard coaches like Steve Spurrier and Nick Saban who really are only successful when they're allowed to be the spotlight hogs that they are. Yeah, the Pro's have all of ignorant assholes, but at least they actually can play the games. You have a guy like Spurrier who is arrogant despite the fact that all he does is ride off the talents of his players. We saw how good of caoches Saban and Spurrier are when they don't hold all the cards.

I loathe the man but Spurrier did win the ACC while coaching at Duke which is pretty much showing what he could do in the prime of his career when he was holding the fewest cards of any other coach in the league.

He was the two-time ACC coach of the year, brought Duke to their first bowl game since 1960, and won their first conference championship since 1962 all while at a significant disadvantage coaching at Duke. At Florida, he had all the big school advantages and brought that school to a whole different level of success than any of his predecessors or his successors (until the current regime).

As much as I dislike him, it is impossible for me to say Spurrier was anything less than an elite college coach in his prime.

On the UGA QBs, they have had a number of very fine college QBs but clearly no one who was starter-worthy in the NFL (unless Stafford makes it). That isn't so unusual, though. Who are the great Ohio State QBs in recent years? There aren't many schools with a long list of productive NFL starters.

[Plainview1981]

I loathe the man but Spurrier did win the ACC while coaching at Duke which is pretty much showing what he could do in the prime of his career when he was holding the fewest cards of any other coach in the league.

He was the two-time ACC coach of the year, brought Duke to their first bowl game since 1960, and won their first conference championship since 1962 all while at a significant disadvantage coaching at Duke. At Florida, he had all the big school advantages and brought that school to a whole different level of success than any of his predecessors or his successors (until the current regime).

As much as I dislike him, it is impossible for me to say Spurrier was anything less than an elite college coach in his prime.

On the UGA QBs, they have had a number of very fine college QBs but clearly no one who was starter-worthy in the NFL (unless Stafford makes it). That isn't so unusual, though. Who are the great Ohio State QBs in recent years? There aren't many schools with a long list of productive NFL starters.

I thought he self destructed in the NFL. Didn't he cut all his quality RB's when he was there? I thought Stephen Davis was still good when he was there. But if I remember correctly, he just cut him.

In college, the coach more or less has slaves for players. When they have to deal with personalities that they can't totally dominate we see who can really do what.

Edited September 30, 2010 by Hotlanta1981

[AHF]

I thought he self destructed in the NFL. Didn't he cut all his quality RB's when he was there? I thought Stephen Davis was still good when he was there. But if I remember correctly, he just cut him.

In college, the coach more or less has slaves for players. When they have to deal with personalities that they can't totally dominate we see who can really do what.

He did self-destruct in the NFL. No question about it. However, they are two different games for the coaches as you point out. As a college coach, though, what he did at Duke was something noone else has done there before. It was the same at Florida. He was an elite college coach during both of those stops.

I can't fault him at all for that period.

A lot of elite college coaches have fallen flat on their faces, though, when they made the jump to the professional ranks. Not only are the players no longer dominated by the coach, the schemes that can be successful in college often are failures in the pros. Steve Spurrier and Rick Pitino share a lot in common in that regard.