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October 15, 2006

we just don't have an identity

We're not a physical team this year.
We don't play with a high level of violence this year.
We don't play smart field position football this year.
We don't finish games strong this year.
We don't have solid special teams this year.
We don't have any visible leaders that halt our slides.
We don't have smart QB play.

And these problems didn't start with Vandy. They were issues all year. They were the issues that almost cost us a game vs. 0-6 Colorado, and they almost cost us a game against a lousy Ole Miss Team.

More importantly, those problems are on top of the same issues we've had for 5 years related to offensive line inconsistent play, play calling, WR drops and the disappearing running game.

Frankly, the 2006 team simply doesn't do much of anything well enough to build an identity. We don't have a base from which to build upon. At least not currently.

It's not about "firing this coach" or "firing that coach." It's about playing the type of UGA football that we played for the past 4.5 years. The type of ball that got us to the SEC title game 3 times. The team that we're seeing right now isn't playing that type of ball.

Not even remotely close.

And it doesn't look to get any better any time soon. Not with Nick Jones and Chester Adams both banged up. Not with this group of linebackers who simply aren't talented enough, physical enough or fast enough to play the type of ball we want. And, for some unknown and inexplicable reason, we're still giving Joe T snaps out the wazoo.

Georgia has 1 week to regroup. Otherwise, the Gators are going to beat the ever living crap out of us. An optimist says, "Yeah, but Leak looked like crap vs. Auburn."

Yeah, well....Leak ALWAYS looks like crap when you blitz like hell and beat him up. But that's not something we've done successfully under Martinez. So, my optimism is pretty limited in that area. Especially given that they have 2 weeks to get better.

Go Dawgs. More later.

PWD

28 comments:

Anonymous said...

And the question is WHY aren't we playing the same, where has that fire gone? It's non-existant on D. Van Gorder's D's would get fired up and laugh in the face of adversity, poor field position? HA! They just means we bout to go make a play sucka!

Not these dawgs.. not willie's d.

And yeah, you can't put it all them, with the bad turnovers and drops and injuries and bad play calling and wah wah wah, good teams overcome that sh*t and find a way to win anyway.

The question is WHY aren't we physical, why don't we play smart, why dont we make plays, why dont we finish the f-ing drill? We used to...

it is indeed time for a major coaching overhaul on one side of the ball, and I wouldn't mind seeing a few new faces on the sideline or in the booth on the other side as well. Secondary? Bad. Linebackers? Couldn't cover a TE to save their life, don't even bring up opposing receivers. D-Line? Takes every other game off. O-Line? No depth, do what they can but often not good enough. Receivers? What can you really say about our so called receivers... ?! Def preparation and adjusting? Nope. Offensive play calling? LOL

The talent is there folks. WHY aren't we getting it done anymore?

Look at Rich Rodriguez or Beamer. Most of the time, you give them a mediocre recruiting class, they'll make a top 10 team of it. But we've been getting top 10 recruiting classes YEAR IN, year out... and we're slowing becoming mediocre again.

It's time to play for the future my dawgy breathren, because when you lose to Vandy, your season is done. Hopefully we can keep the 10 win season streak alive (and at this point that's probably a stretch) but the rest of these streaks have gone bye bye. Rankings one might end in a few hours, can't imagine we'll finish in the top 10 again. And that's fine, it happens to the best of em. Miami and FSU suck this year too. Everybody eventually has a rebuilding year, I just hope we actually reBUILD. Leave Stafford in, play some frosh LB's some more, leave the freshman corners in more, honestly they can't do anyworse than anybody else has the last month or so, can they? Ok maybe they can, but I repeat, WE JUST LOST TO VANDY. It's almost worth their growing pains if it makes us that much better next year... 2008 is when we REALLY oughta be back for sure.

Anonymous said...

this whole season can be fixed easily. The coaches just need to do what the fans want. I don't think they realize how friggin smart we are. In the illustrious words of my dear friend Beeker, "fans win championships". Damn right. But coaches lose 'em.

Anonymous said...

Well lets give Vandy some credit,they have improved. That said...YOU NEVER LOSE HOMECOMING MUCH LESS TO VANDY...I DON'T CARE IF THEY ARE UNDEFEATED!
The last HC we had who A)Had 50+ points scored against him and B) LOST to Vandy at home...WAS FIRED!!!

Soul searching. That's what they need to do. Don't blame the fans. Don't deflect the critism. Take it like a man. Take responsibility. GET THE CRAP WORKED OUT and START COACHING AND PLAYING SMART FOOTBALL!!!

Just my .02$

Worrier said...

Losing to Vandy at home? Hmmm - been there done that with last year's poster child for talent and under-achievement.

It is possible to right the ship with a coaching change on one side of the ball. 51 points is enough evidence for me.

Actually I was sorry to see UGA lose to the Dore's. I'll be pulling for you to beat the Gaytors in 2 weeks.

Your offense will have to step up as the Gator D looks more than solid. Hopefully, Chrissy won't make so many mistakes they put in Tebow full-time.

Anonymous said...

Dominated by the entire state of Tennesse. Does it get much worse than that? Thank God I don't live in Tennesse anymore - where I live UT stands for something far different and more tolerable, University of Texas!

Forget about Florida, forget about Auburn, and quite frankly, forget about Georgia Tech. These teams know how to play ball and finish the drill (ALL FOUR QUARTERS WORTH!!), they understand team and possess spirit and drive. Given this combination, it should be no surprise when they dominate Georgia this year. Rankings? Forget about them! Bowl game? Forget about it!

It's a sad day to be a Dawg fan no matter where you call home these days...

Anonymous said...

A few thoughts...

I don't know where you can find a "yards after catch" stat, but it would not be pretty for us.

Also, our wide receivers do not have a TD against a Division 1A opponent this year.

Tony Taylor and Brannan Southerland are having terrific seasons.

However, when the best receiver on the team is a part time 250 pound fullback, teams can load up on the run and blitz nearly every down with very little fear of getting burned.

We have no identity because we play read-and-react on offense and defense, playing more to our opponents' perceived weakness than to our strength.

It is also hard to have an identity when our entire starting backfield and receiver corps watch half our plays from the sideline.

Our strengths on offense this year (the kicking game and the running game) have now been negated by injuries, but the defense?

I'll stop now, because the old saying goes, "Don't criticize a man until you have walked a mile in his shoes....and you are a mile away and you have his shoes."

Anonymous said...

Martinez needs to be demoted or go. When Vandy needs 5 yards and you've got your DBs giving them 10 yard cushions, I don't think you're that good of DC.

It's just another example of how bad he really is.

82 said...

The talent is there folks.

Where? Where is all this talent?

Earl Bennett is a better WR than anyone we have on scholarship.(and thats just Vandy, we could possbily have the worst WR in the SEC, if not its close)

There are 5-6 RB's in the SEC (2 at Ark, 2 at AU, one playing QB at Fla, 1 at Ole Miss, 1 at Bama) better than all 3 of ours.

Our OL, the place where we HAVE to have good talent and solid play, is lacking more than any other position.

The TE's are pathetic half the time but still the most productive players on the field outside our FB.

Our 3 blue chip QB's arent good enough to bench JT3 who might be the WORST starting QB in the entire conference.

And thats just the Offense, who by the way put up 16 points on Vandy, 14 on Colorado, 14 on Ole Miss, 19 on UT. On half of those we were lucky to win because the other teams were so bad they couldnt score as many.

Where is all this talent you speak of? And if you are right and the talent is there then we are getting out coached up and down our schedule! I happen to think its a little of both.

Anonymous said...

82 said: Our 3 blue chip QB's arent good enough to bench JT3 who might be the WORST starting QB in the entire conference.

We do have a QB who is absolutely good enough tp bench JTIII, but for some reason we won't let him.

I'm boycotting any more games in which JTIII is the starter. The first way to start fixing things is play Stafford every snap (which we should have done the last three games)

Anonymous said...

We suck, no question about it, but blaming it on JT3 is just wrong: he was 11-17 for about 160 and the only passing TD in the game. MS played most of the fourth quarter, and couldn't get it done. Blaming JT3 is more a symptom of the real problem which is that the coaches don't have the team prepared; plain and simple.

Anonymous said...

I put the blame squarely on Richt:

If we do 7-5 or worse, you can throw our SEC Championship by default last year out the window. This is a sign that Richt recruits poor players and poor characters. He hires incompetent coaches and doesn't prepare his team well. He was lucky in the past to have the talent, but when the talent gap decreases... Richt and Martinez's incompetence comes to light. As much as we want to see Martinez and others get fired... it won't happen because Richt doesn't have the balls to do it. Other coaches are doing a lot more with a lot less and knocking off proven, elite teams. Examples: Arkansas, Cal, Tennessee (they don't recruit as well as we do), Wisconsin, Oregon, Mizzou, Wake... the list goes on and on.

It is a sign of poor coaching and a lack of leadership and motivation, that you see after a TD on kickoffs our players sulking. I never saw our players sulk during games until the 2nd half of last season. Our players need someone to motivate them and tell them not to sulk, but to do something about it. Tuberville woke up his players in the 2nd half and Auburn beat the Gators. Richt doesn't have that in him. Whenever Richt tries (usually a feeble attempt) to fire up the team, it doesn't bring results. He tried to wake up the team against Florida, Miss. State, and Vanderbilt... We won at Mississippi State not because we were fired up, but rather the talent gap.

Why did we win the Colorado game? Because Joe Cox had the leadership qualities and challenged the team to show why they are who they are. We won that game and what does Joe Cox get as his reward... a terrible display of blocking and a playbook that was so conservative that Pat Buchanan would blush. Our best leader is riding the pine and if he is smart he leaves.

Just telling it like it is.

Anonymous said...

On the positive side, you no longer have to worry about Richt leaving to coach another school. I doubt any body wants Chan Gailey's long lost brother after that loss.

Anonymous said...

The thing I think I miss most is having a DC that made the adjustments. When VanGorder was here, teams often wouldn't top 20 on us, and sometimes wouldn't top 10 on us. CVG used to make adjustments series to series, not even half to half. If you scored 14 on us in the first half, that was likely all you would get once CVG went into shut down mode in the 2nd half. Now, we fold like a house of cards in the 2nd half. We regress, rather than lock down. It's an identity that I'm not comfortable accepting. To his credit, Willie did make a nice adjustment at the half against Colorado. He had a good gameplan in the SECCG last year. However, UT and Vandy have been disasterous this year, to say nothing of Auburn and WV last year. I'm with you all, believing that Richt won't fire him, and I'm not entirely convinced that needs to be the case...yet. Time will tell. One coach that has convinced me he needs to go, however, is Eason. The drops have been consistently worse than those of other teams, and they have existed despite changes in personnel.

Anonymous said...

UGA has not looked good all year. We are lucky that there are only 2 in the L column. Despite this, anyone suggesting Richt should go is insane. His record speaks for itself. Not only that, he has class. Win or lose, we can be proud to be bulldogs. No visor throwing, no antics, just football. He will right the ship. For once, let reason prevail in the dawg nation....

Anonymous said...

Anon @ 8:15 pm:

When you spew a bunch of fecal matter then say 'just telling it like it is', you look like an idiot.

Go be a fan of another school.

Please.

Anonymous said...

It's a sad day to be a Dawg fan no matter where you call home these days...

I think you were sitting behind me during the game, the blowhard openly rooting for Vandy when something bad happened. There is no excuse for this. There should be no place for you in Dawg Nation. It's never a bad day to be a Dawg. Bumps in the road sure seem to easily knock off those fans barely clinging to our bandwagon.

Anonymous said...

Bottom Lines #1 Joe T isn't our problem - to his credit he isn't a bad qb - to his discredit he has yet to show leadership on the football field. #2 Matthew isn't the MESSIAH people. If he was so stinking great Joe T wouldn't been rushed back for the TN game. #3 Anybody who says it's not time to fire willie martinez obviously is a basketball fan watching football. It's hard to score 27 points in the 4th quarter of most basketball games and we're on a football field. Willie Wonka should have been released last year after emabarrassing the state of Georgia in the Sugar Bowl. But somebody is right, Richt doesn't have the balls to fire him and nor does Damon Evans. Luckily Dj played for us last year or this season would have a year earlier. For those who want to restore Ol' Glory go to www.firewilliemartinez.com and show your support.

Anonymous said...

For those who want to restore Ol' Glory go to www.firewilliemartinez.com and show your support.

Anonymous said...

byewilliemartiinez.com is up and running. Show your support!!

Anonymous said...

I think this is the best example yet of not being focused mentally on the game at hand. That is undeniably a coaching issue.

The other examples that come to mind are the WVa 28 point lead, the Colorado game and being owned by Florida.

Considering the league and the results, I don't think there's any question that Richt is a damn good coach. I know that different people show their intensity in different ways, but when I see Richt on the sidelines during games, he just seems disengaged. I'm not looking for Urban Meyer-type volcano activity. Tressell seems FAR more engaged. Maybe it's Richt's sunglasses. The point is, if you don't make mental preparation a major priority you have trouble.

Oh, and Dan Inman is an overrated lout.

This was supposed to be a rebuilding year and it is.

Go DAWGS!!!

Anonymous said...

Come on Dawgs, I NEED YOU TO BEAT FLORIDA!! Get your junk together!

Certainly, you can pull some type of 51-33 beatdown on them, too!!

Anonymous said...

You guys blow like the wind.

But "throw the records out" when you line up against FLA please.

Anonymous said...

No on-field leadership because no one knows who is the starters and Head coaches need to say "You are my number one and we are going to use you and get the job done." No pressure on opposing QBs and secondary that's not very good but, the QB has all day to pick out a receiver. If our running backs are as good as we thought then use them both in some offensive set like Auburn did, Wing T might not be a bad choice. With that you would have Lumpkin and Ware at the wings and Sutherland at the full and with the miss direction of the wing t, who knows. Never see our Def. coach get excited on the sideling like other def. coaches do and the def. doesn't adjust even at half time.

Anonymous said...

Wing T that went out in the 50's but might give some college defenses problems because it is a lot of misdirection and deception with fast reading def. might get some attention. You can still run a good passing attack from a wing t and our recievers haven't shown too much promise. So put more into a run offense and also keep the wide open offense.

I believe the defense is more of a problem than the offense even though we can't score TDs.

I think Coach Richt is a good coach but has some assist. that aren't doing their jobs and need to be replaced. Is he too nice of a man to fire or remove them? If we need OL and depth then recruit them. It will be hard to recruit backs and recievers the way their are being played at present. Play a series or 2 and tnen on the sideline. Have a good game and don't even get into the next game. Not even close to ready to give up on Coach Richt!!!

Anonymous said...

The guy that said Stafford had the fourth quarter and couldn't get it done....what game was you watchin!!!!???? Number 1: his touchdown pass is dropped by stone hands Milner. Number 2 and the biggest reason: He keeps having his balls dropped by the wideouts. Bryant dropped two and one which was crucial on our last drive. Don't blame the fourth quarter on Matt cause he did a outstanding job and if you disagree...then your blind. He should have been 11-13 with over 100 yds and 1 td. And honestly, I think Martinez is a problem and the LB's are not getting coached up for some reason. LB used to be our strength on defense and now they just miss almost every tackle possible excluding Taylor. Hopefully things will get turn around and changes are made. I will be a dawg til I die.

Anonymous said...

Not only did he fail to score any TDs while he was in, MS also couldn't get the two point conversion. It was a busted play and he tried but in contrast to a similar play for a first down earlier in the game that JT3 just bulled for, MS got stopped short. I am afraid that is going to be too common, and some of y'all are going to look like SC fans talking about Jenkins.

Anonymous said...

Folks, it is not just football that is suffering. Many UGA sports are starting to show a decline this last year and I hear several key coaches are concerned about the interference in the program by the Athletic Director. He is engaged in assistant coach hirings, signing off and blocking some requests, vetoing recruits, etc.

We can start by cleaning out the athletic department before changing head coaches in football or other sports.

With that said our DC has to go.

Anonymous said...

georgiatrack-

Gee, all that AD interference sure hurts. So bad in fact, that there is no way Georgia will ever be able to get the all-SEC sports trophy away from Gainesville.

Oh wait, what's that you say? We do have it?

You dolt.

 
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