Nesnesitelná lehkost bytí

I've decided to stop worrying and just enjoy being a Dawg fan. That's my biggest takeaway from hanging with @PierceWilford and his crew Sat

— TDub (@TylerDawgden) October 30, 2016

You know, it's funny that I had that revelation while in DC watching the game Saturday. Sometimes you have to get away from the echo chamber that is Athens and it metaphorical surrounds to really hear things. What I found is that, it is still fun being a Georgia fan, regardless of outcomes. Regardless of wins. Regardless of all of the stuff that goes with being a fan of a Top Tier Program.

What I heard and saw Saturday: Georgia fans reveling in being Georgia fans. Nothing fancy. Just brothers and sisters in a shared cause gathering to see the Red and Black play. The unbridled joy of being part of something bigger than ourselves.

I get the feeling of apathy. I really do. I get the lack of care. I get the need to yell, rant, make accusations, to demand accountability. I get the lack of energy to care about doing that any more. I do.

The thing is this: there is nothing about my doing any of those things that will change the outcome of anything other than how my day will go. I don't have apathy.

Georgia football has brought me through a lot. Part of my time in DC in the 90's was the worst time in my life. A bad divorce. A tough career change.

And probably the one thing that got me through it all was being a Georgia fan. It was my identity when the other things in my life that gave me identity, my marriage and my job, were not going very well. The Red and Black. Goff's last two years and Donnan's first two. Georgia was 17-16-1 those four years.

So forgive me if I am being chill and rational. I hate looking lost on offense. I hate getting whipped on the line of scrimmage. I hate the dumb penalties. I hate the ever rotating free form fail of special teams. I hate it, but there are worse things that missing a bowl game or looking like wet dog crap on offense. There just is.

Be apathetic. That's your right. As for me, I'm going to Lexington. I'm going to be in Sanford for the last three. Unless my wife tells me other wise and we get to at least 6-6, I'll be in Memphis or Birmingham or Shreveport. I'll yell my head off. I'm sure there'll be other dark moments, but I am sure they won't match what I faced in the 90's.

And maybe, just maybe, we can ruin Auburn or Tech's season.

One day, we'll be back to where we were in the 00's. It might be two years. It might be 20. But I'll by God give a damn about Georgia and be a Georgia fan then and every moment in between.

Go Dawgs.
TW

Tweet

Friends don't let friends hang out with Florida Gators

Proof.

And Lochte is already back in the states, while his pals are in a Rio police station. Good times.

Tweet

Traffic woes and snow

Let me get this out of the way: being stuck in your car for many, many hours sucks. I know. I've been there. On multiple occasions.

Also, schools who waited to let kids out need to seriously evaluate their policies and think critically about where those kids are going when their parents are working 25 miles away. However, we need to stop blaming schools for closing too quickly when the threat of weather happens. That's on we parents. Unless we evaluate our willingness to bitch about that (which drives school administration thinking on pulling that trigger) and own our role in all the times schools close too quickly, we are doomed to see this happen again.

And we will bitch and snark the next time schools close the day before a threatened snow and it doesn't materialize. And we will forget about kids stuck on school buses, stuck at school, or our collective outrage over 'them idiots' running our schools for waiting to pull the trigger yesterday. That's what we do.

One last rant: before we start yelling at the top of our lungs about government or the weather man, let me ask you a question: Didn't you know the weather was going to be bad before you went to work yesterday? Does your employer have a reasonable leave policy?

If your employer has a reasonable leave policy: You traded saving a half day of leave for sitting on the road for multiple hours. What happens when it snows in Atlanta isn't an unknown quantity. That isn't to say government and the weather forecasters don't have a role in this, but in essence, you decided that you knew better and didn't want to 'waste' that leave/get mocked for staying home/fall behind on something that probably doesn't really matter now.

This is a lesson I learned while practicing law in Washington, DC in the 90s. Multiple times, I went in with full knowledge that if the forecast was right, I'd end up having to make a sleep at the office or drive six hours decision that day. And I had to do so. Six hours from Silver Spring to Quince Orchard in the snow. And I never learned. Except for the times I slept at the office.

Also, I'm not surprised that my dedication to clients/the firm/my managing partner/the practice of law didn't come up at all when evaluation time came around.

If your employer doesn't have a reasonable leave policy: You need to direct some (or perhaps a large part) of your ire at your employer.

This happens in other cities. It happened in Chicago in 2011, with commuters sleeping on Lakeshore Drive and the Dan Ryan Expressway.  It happened in New York in 2013, with commuters sleeping on the Long Island Expressway. Yes, the amounts of snow are different, but even if Atlanta had all the equipment those cities had, we would have had much the same result because that equipment can't work when roads are covered with cars all leaving at nearly the same time.

If we are going to skewer local and state government for not learning past lessons, we need to be willing to admit we aren't doing so either.

We aren't big on personal responsibility in the world anymore. We look for reasons bad stuff happens to us. Sometimes it is our own decisions, and not those of the government, the weatherman, or school administrators, that we are in the situation we are in.

Or maybe it is just snarky bloggers who are to blame.

See Also:
-- How Hothlanta Happened -- EDSBS

TD

Tweet

UGA Hoops: "Playing the AAU Game"

By Paul Westerdawg

I've seen rhetoric on the message boards that we're losing in basketball because UGA won't let Mark Fox "play the AAU game."  The insinuation is that we're too ethical to win in hoops.  I'm here to tell you that is a rhetorical crutch as asinine as Georgia Tech saying they can't win in football because they don't pay players.

Tech loses in football primarily because they have shitty coaches. When they had George O'Leary, Ralph Freidgen (Super Bowl OC), Bill O'Brien (future Super Bowl OC/HC at PSU), Ted Roof (future MNC DC), David Kelly (lights out recruiter) and Lance Thompson (lights out recruiter), they won games. Yes, they had help academically from their admin, but they also had coaches and talent.  They lose now because they have none of those things.

"Put that coffee down."

UGA is losing now primarily because of Mark Fox's recruiting incompetence.  Not because of our ethics, our academics, or our financial support for basketball.  The idea that we're not "playing the AAU game" is silly given that every kid we have played AAU ball.

We aren't recruiting well because we have a staff full of introverts, a head coach who doesn't pound the pavement and a strategy that doesn't make sense or hang together in a coherent manner.

Mark Fox doesn't know how to close Tier 1 blue chip players.  He has signed one Top 50 player in his entire career and that was KCP.  He never signed one at Nevada, and he's never been on a staff at a high major as an assistant to recruit those kids.  Yet he pursues them early in the signing period and frequently dismisses quality Tier 2 guys because he's trying for Tier 1 guys.  Then because he has pursued guys he had NO CHANCE of signing he has to fall back all the way to Tier 3 and 4 guys at the last minute to fill the roster.

Then he compounds the problem because he takes panic signees. That means he doesn't have the scholarship wiggle room to string a quality Plan B guy along.

In other cases, he has cornered the market on a player no one else was pursuing months ahead of their senior year while more highly thought of guys were ignored.  But let's focus on his inability to avoid coming in third or worse at the last minute.

Lack of Strategy/Self-Awareness in Action
Tony Parker was an elite blue chip big man a few years ago.  Fox wasn't described by Parker as going balls to the wall for his signature until October before the early signing period. At that point, we were behind Kansas, UCLA, Duke, UConn and Memphis.  At that point, Charles Mitchell was still obtainable as a center.

Fox pursued Parker until signing day ultimately coming in 3rd (at best) to UCLA.  Mitchell has started virtually every game of his career at Maryland and at is exactly the type of player the team needs at center.

Strategically, that's a bad use of your time and it shows a lack of self-awareness.  Why were you not going balls to the wall since the kid's freshman year when it was obvious he was a blue chipper?  Why were you trying to overtake Duke, Kansas, UCLA, Memphis, etc after the November signing period?  In what la-la land has UGA started from behind against that group and then made up the ground to finish on top?

The AAU Circuit is Important 
As we've said here previously, Korey McCray has a masters in education from FSU and an undergrad degree from Mercer.  He has ~13 years of coaching experience including six at the Div I level, one year in JUCO, and the rest coaching AAU ball.  He is not some street agent masquerading as an AAU coach with his hand out.  His father is also the founder of one of the top AAU programs in the country (Atlanta Celtics).  He had known the kids we desperately needed since the 7th grade or earlier.  Fox could have had him if he had made it a priority, and our recruiting might be on a different planet.  Instead, he went to UCLA, and now he's at LSU.

Hiring Korey wouldn't have been unethical or dirty.  Heck, Andy Landers hired Tasha Humphries' mom as a coach to secure her signature and arguably save his job. Vince Dooley created a women's track program to sign Herschel Walker's older sister to a scholarship.  You do what it takes within the rules to win.

It's not only Korey that could save us. There are many guys out there with established relationships with the elite AAU programs of this state. Charlton Young is another such person who doesn't work in Athens.

From an SEC recruiting standpoint, Mark Fox is out of his depth.

The fact is that we have at least five kids on the roster right now who aren't high major talents. Those five kids (who's names I'm not going to list in the public domain) would struggle to start for most Southern Conference or Ohio Valley Conference squads. You can't win in the SEC with roughly 40% of your roster being made up of of kids where you were clearly in the wrong living rooms during the recruiting process.

Those kids aren't on the roster because Fox is too ethical.  It's because his approach to bringing talent to the Athens simply isn't working.

See Also:
-- Georgia Basketball Recruiting (from April 2012) - GSB

PWD


PS - Fox lost to Davidson earlier this year, and he lost to Youngstown State and Iona last year.  Does Davidson play the AAU game?  Does Youngstown State?

Tweet

UGA's Financial Commitment to Basketball

By Paul Westerdawg

I've seen a lot of chatter on message boards about UGA's lack of commitment to hoops.  There is a myth that's out there now that UGA doesn't pay for coaching talent and invest in basketball.  The theory goes that because we haven't torn down Stegeman and completely rebuilt it that we're not "all in."

Most of that noise is from an old song book about UGA basketball.  Much of which is no longer relevant. Here are some facts:

In 2009, when we hired Mark Fox, we was offered $1.3 million. At that exact moment, Jim Calhoun of Uconn had 2 National Titles and like 7 Final Four appearances.  Calhoun was making $1.6 million.

At that time, we offered Mark a deal which was roughly Top 20-30 money.  More importantly, we offered Mike Anderson, between $2.3 million and $2.0 million. That package was comparable to what Roy Williams was making at UNC at the time.

Roy Williams made $2.11 million in 2011...2 years AFTER we offered Mike Anderson $2 million.

Mike Anderson turned us down to stay at Missouri for $1.3 million.  We hired Mark Fox at $1.3 million and bumped him to $1.7 million after his contract was renewed in 2011.  If we had paid Mark more in 2011, it wouldn't have made him a better recruiter.

The point: Salary for our head coach isn't the problem, 

and it's not the problem for the assistants either.

Mark Fox is losing because he's not the right coach for UGA.  It's not because he isn't paid competitively.

Facilities Ramp Up
UGA started beefing up the investment in facilities used by the basketball team in 2005.  The practice Annex was a $30 million investment (opened in 2006) and the Stegeman renovations in 2010 were an additional $12 million investment.  There's another million or two in incremental modest enhancements overlaying that which I'll ignore for now.

Over that same time period, Auburn is the only SEC school who has outspent us on bball facilities.  Even if you dial it back a full decade, its the same story.

• UK spent $30 million in that time. (although a massive redo of Rupp is on the horizon)
• UT spent around $15 million
• GT just spend $45 million which is basically the same as what we spent.

We have many issues, but financial commitment isn't the problem anymore.  The problem isn't the marketing department.  The problem isn't the PR team.  The problem isn't fan support.

Fan support is a symptom. It isn't the root disease.

The problem is that Mark is a poor recruiter who plays a boring brand of basketball and lacks any ability whatsoever to evangelize and sell his product to the UGA fan base, AAU/HS coaching community or media.

We've let him run this thing into the ground because he wouldn't staff for success. Finding his replacement is not going to be easy.  But it is what it is.  McGarity makes the big bucks to thread this needle. In March, he'll have to do that barring us winning at Colorado or GW and going about 13-5 in the SEC.  That's about what it would take for this team with this strength of schedule just to make the NIT.

And he may have to make the NIT to save his job.

PWD

Tweet

Grief bacon

Kummerspeck. Yeah. I'll need some of that today.  I'll re-watch most of the game later, but last night at 1am when I got back from Auburn, I had to watch the play.

I know we'll see it for years to come, but if you want to blame this loss on guys not knocking the ball down, you didn't watch the first half. Or give Auburn's defense enough credit. I know I didn't.

Also, Georgia's defense played a completely different game in the second half. For that matter, the offense did, too. I still don't know how to think about the game. I do know that the game was a perfect example of teams getting the right breaks at the right time making a dream season. Doesn't that one play pretty perfectly sum up the whole season for both Georgia and Auburn?

TD

Tweet

Exorcising the demons

I finally re-watched the final drive of the SEC Championship game. I've seen the final play probably 200 times, but I haven't watched the final drive, with the exception of going back right after the game to see how close the incomplete pass call that was an overturned int was.  I just haven't had the stomach for it.

Three things stood out to me:

• I see why Artie Lynch is getting so much pre-season love. I've focused on his misses last year, but I missed something of how he presents a great target, then turns and gets up field. He was such an integral part of that last drive. That catch and run in the penultimate play of the game was terrific. He had the safety on him and caught the ball with the safety hanging on him. He then ran another ten yards with the safety hanging on to him. Just huge.
• Aaron never ever looked rattled. Even after the seeming game ending int (that got over turned). 
• No one on Georgia's side line looked scared or panicky. They were genuinely shocked we had lost.

I noted the heart of Georgia's team after the loss. I still see it on the screen ten months later. There is something palpable about that group that gives me great hope about 2013. Could that be just wishful thinking or some sort of false security? Surely. 

Still, I've got a feeling about Georgia's season I haven't had since 2005 or so. I expect us to go to Atlanta and play in the SEC Championship game. I expect us to win it. If we do that, those good things, such as a trip to California in January, should come. Could that all come crashing down in spectacularly karmic fashion Labor Day weekend, the weekend after, or any number of Saturdays between then and December? Sure. Oh definitely.

So I've rewatched that last drive for the final five times. Yes, we lost that game, but the lessons learned from it are pretty important, too. And will be more so as this season comes on. 

I've kept from deleting that game for some reason. Maybe this was it. To help get my psyche in the right place about this season. Kind of a weird thing, a kick in the balls loss, doing that. But there you have it.   

And now I've deleted it. New year. New Team. One Dream.

TD

Tweet

Possible Hurry Up Offense Solutions (and the End of the SEC Championship Game)

I've been pretty quiet on the hurry up offense thing for several reasons. I think it is grousing by coaches who aren't comfortable with change. Why?

1. Football is a sport where 300+lbs men run into each other. A lot. There will be injuries.
2. Any coach saying hurry up offenses are an injury concern is doing so because it advantages their particular philosophy, not because they are concerned about injuries, because
3. If they were concerned about injuries, they'd corner kick, take touch backs or fair catch kickoffs and punts when they could, as a start.

Oh, and they'd be crowing about the lack of advances in head gear, too many full contact practices, concussion treatment protocol, and uniformity in drug testing, all of which are far more important to the health and safety of their players than if an offense gets a play off when you are trying to get set or runs too many plays. And if you are concerned about hurry up, why not lump in no count/quick count snaps? Wouldn't those be injurious, too?

Once you step on the football field, the ball might be in play. Deal with it.

But Ellis Johnson has ideas, such as a short count off after the ball is set before the offense can snap it

Besides, if everything was equal, Johnson said there would be a rule in place regulating the amount of time between each snap. 

“I’d want a minimum of five seconds, three seconds, whatever,” he said. “When that ball is put on the ground, you will not snap it for five seconds. If you can’t get lined up by then, then tough.”

This does mirror some of what Mark Richt said at media days about being organized on defense and whatnot. And that is another post in the making.

Here's the thing, I thought this was why the official stood over the ball for a beat before whistling the ball in play. I don't take Johnson's 'it ain't football' view. In fact, it is football and very much so. In the same way folks complained in supper clubs, Union Halls, and burlesque theaters in the 1910s about the forward pass being dangerous, I view this as folks not liking hurry up offenses challenging their own personal philosophy of football, and I say this as a former defensive player and one who loves to see great defenses play.

And I love #MACtion as much as the next guy. If teams can't stop each other, then they can't stop each other. And now I'm having a flashback to the 4th quarter of the 2006 Tennessee game.

One last thought, while I'm at it:
If there were a 3 to 5 second count after setting the ball down, how many people would think spiking the ball at the end of the SECCG is the right call?

TD

Tweet

ESPNU to show top games of 2012

They've already selected #6-25, presented below:

25. Nebraska vs. Northwestern (game highlight)

24. BYU vs. Utah (game highlight)

23. Stanford vs. Arizona

22. Ole Miss vs. LSU (post game presser – Les Miles)

21. Texas vs. Oklahoma State

20. North Carolina State vs. Miami (game highlight)

19. Gildan New Mexico Bowl:  Nevada vs.  Arizona  (game highlight)

18. Oklahoma vs. West Virginia

17. Florida State vs. North Carolina State (game highlight)

16. Nebraska vs. Michigan State (game highlight)

15. Oklahoma State vs. Oklahoma (game highlight)

14. Cincinnati vs. Louisville

13. Louisiana-Monroe vs. Arkansas (game highlight)

12. Northwestern vs. Michigan

11. West Virginia vs. Baylor

10. Purdue vs. Ohio State (game highlight)

9.    Notre Dame vs. Stanford 

8.    Texas A&M vs. Louisiana Tech (game highlight)

7.    Notre Dame vs. Pittsburgh

6.    Chick-Fil-a Bowl: Clemson vs. LSU   (game highlight)

The candidates for top 5 include the SECCG. I'm honestly torn about this. One, as a college football fan, it was a terrific football game. Probably top 2 or 3 of games I've seen in person in my life. However, I'm a Georgia fan and the thought of that game being the top game with all the heart ripping out and whatnot is hard to take.

Anyway, if you are so inclined, go vote here.

ESPNU will show the games in reverse order starting on July 17th. The 5th and 4th games will air on July 27th, with the top three airing on the 28th.

As of right now, Texas A&M vs. Alabama is slightly leading the SECCG for first place.

TD

PS. I voted objectively and put the SECCG first, as tough as that was to do.

Tweet

Hoops Suggestion: Reserve Freakouts for Nov. 23rd

Quality teams have lost uglier games than last night in the past and rallied to have NCAA Tourney caliber seasons.  A loss like that is not the end of the world.  It's not a positive sign, but it's not a bullet proof indicator of our impending doom either.

I'd just like to ask that everyone wait until at least Nov. 23rd before we start venturing into full meltdown mode as it relates to basketball. In reality, Dec. 4th is the better date.

Here are the key dates to watch on the near horizon:

• Nov. 15th - UGA hosts a well coached USM team
• Nov. 19th - UGA vs. Indiana. Can we keep it quasi-competitive?
• Nov. 20th - UGA vs. UCLA or Georgetown. Can we keep it competitive?
• Nov. 22nd - The final day of the early signing period is Nov. 21st
• Nov. 23rd - UGA hosts ETSU at home.
• Nov. 30th - UGA at USF
• Dec. 4th - UGA at GT in the new McThriller Dome

If Fox exits the Tech game at 5-3, that's not so bad given the situation, the roster (which is his own creation) and the schedule.  If he's 3-5 or worse, you can put this thing on an egg timer.

I believe this could sort itself out very quickly without a lot of saber rattling from the fan base.  Criticism is fine, but let's save the meltdown for another week or two.

Hopefully, the team will look better when Donte returns.

PWD

Tweet

Zing!

Dan Mullen, zingmeister:

"Yeah, he's practicing," Mullen said. "I would try to get a little more reliable source than Joe Schad." (laughing) "I'm supposed to be coaching at State College (Penn State), I guess, right now, too, according to Joe Schad last year. Wasn't that the case?"

Of course, he didn't answer the question....

TD

Tweet

Dawgs Lose to South Carolina

When you lose to a team that is as bad as South Carolina, you would think you could look at the box score and have something just jump off the page at you. Disparity in turnovers or shots taken or free throws. Something.  But...there isn't. Georgia just showed up and didn't play like it mattered if they won or loss.

We can blame poor ball management in the last minute for the loss, but it was an entire game of not being smart. We had two 7 point leads, yet still didn't do anything to stem runs by a team that isn't geared to make runs or score much for that matter. We again switched from an offense that was creating problems for them handle to one that they disrupted easily or we couldn't run (insert your own Bobo joke here). There is a stunning lack of outward care in Georgia basketball. I have no doubt these losses gnaw at the coaches and players, but from the outside, it looks like all anyone is saying is 'one of those basketball deals' [shrugs shoulders and walks away from the mic].

The last week was nothing but fools gold. Fools Gold, y'all. 
TD

PS. I feel for KCP, as he is shouldering the blame with the big turnovers in the last SC run and the cold day shooting, but he was hustling on defense the whole game. He took some ill advised shots, but often he was the only one that wanted to actually take open looks instead of passing the ball.

Tweet

Not Good

When the only thing about the night that seemed to go right is not getting pushed onto the tracks waiting on the Marta train, it isn't a good night.  Obviously, I'll have more later, but I got to Athens at 2:30am, so the only thing I have right now is the recurring thought that this must be what it felt like being in the Johnson administration during Vietnam.  We are a power without the will or leadership to do what it takes to be a superior power

Right now, there is no end in sight, no hope of a resolution, and no signs any of those things needed fixed, will be.  Hats off to Boise State.  They came in, played their game, and dominated in the places where they had advantages.  I hope they are a really good team, a top 5 team, because if they are merely a good MWC team....well, it is hard to contemplate how mediocre an SEC team we are.

I won't have a chance to watch the replay until later today, so I am sure whatever rays of sunshine I can find will involve gallows humor about the fact that I didn't wake up in Boulder this morning.

TD

Tweet

Frustration and a Welcomed End to 2010

WARNING: What you are about to read are the frustrated musings of a person who traveled 3,510 miles to only three games this season only to be rewarded with losses to Mississippi State, Colorado, and Central Florida.

First of all, I'd like to say that the Liberty Bowl isn't a bad trip. Memphis is a fun town if you stick to the right areas. The halftime show was the best halftime concert since Kenny Rogers at the 2005 game in Knoxville. My only complaint was that the stadium felt like it was at the center of the American transportation system with trains blaring by at regular intervals and an almost constant flow of low-altitude aircraft. Otherwise, I enjoyed the trip. Well, except for the actual play of my team.

I'm just at a loss on this one. It was the same stuff as all the early season losses, except we seemed intent on getting the ball to A.J. He returned punts. He caught quick passes. We tried to hit him deep. Despite that, the offense sputtered. UCF has a competent defense, but when your OL outweighs their DL by 50 pounds a man and two of its members are considering early entry to the NFL draft, you should dominate the offensive line of scrimmage. But, just like the rest of the year, our line looked weak, or tired, or just slow. UCF played a conservative defense that demanded good execution and methodical play. The Dawgs obliged on some long drives, only to sputter within sight of the goal line. The offense just never seemed in rhythm.

It's frustrating. A losing season is never acceptable. The University of Georgia places a high emphasis on its athletic programs, especially football. So, things have to change, right? Well, there won't be coaching change this season, so let's take that off the table. With that said, how exactly do you see the Georgia Bulldogs improving next season?

I've heard a lot of folks saying that recruiting is the key to next season. Those pleas just ring hollow to me. First, recruiting is important every year. We have to sign great athletes every year because our competitors sure are. Second, the chief deficiencies I see on this team are on the offensive and defensive lines. How many true freshman do you see making an appreciable difference on the line of scrimmage in SEC play? Crowell, Drew, Rome, and the rest of the Dream Team are important, but will they make an appreciable difference next year? I'm not so sure. Long and Benedict should be ready to contribute on the OL, but both those guys are coming off major surgeries.

Georgia will open the season against Boise in Atlanta. We'll be without our top play maker on both the offense and defense from this year. Why should I be optimistic about that game or any game next year?

I was on Beale Street Thursday afternoon before the bowl pep rally. Greg McGarity walked toward me, stopped, and thanked me for coming to support the team. He didn't know me, nor does he have any particular reason to. It was an appreciated gesture. I told him that I was sincerely grateful that he got the job and wished him luck. It seems that our administration is ready to support our program in any way, even thanking some yahoo on the street. We just need to figure out how to improve, and fast.

Quinton

Tweet

Brutal but funny

The AJC's Mike Luckovich weighed in on Coach Richt earlier in the week. Gotta love the dark humor.

PWD

Tweet

Lessons from Ray Goff's Tenure

Well...we've lost four games in a row for the first time since Ray Goff's 1990 team went 4-7 overall. If we lose to the Vols, it would be the first five game losing streak since the early 1950s when UGA was by far at it's absolute lowest historical point.

Given that you have to reflect back to Goff's tenure to find failure of this scope, it makes sense to look at some of Ray's good and bad moves in times of crisis.

Positive Lessons Learned from Goff:
An offensive turnaround can happen quickly. UGA lost 13 games from 1989 and 1990 on the strength of a dramatic collapse in the talent base and an offensive philosophy that was wildly out of date. Offensive Coordinator George Haffner's play calling was straight out of the stone age. Our QBs in 1990 were Greg Talley, Preston Jones and Joe Dupree, and the 1990 recruiting class which was ranked #1 in the nation with guys like Hearst and Hastings was still in diapers.

So how did Ray turn around the offense? He brought in Wayne McDuffie with an innovative wide open passing attack, and signed an elite QB in Zeier to run it. The improvement began immediately as the Dawgs went from 4-7 in '90 to 9-3 in '91 and 10-2 in '92.

Negative Lessons Learned from Goff:
Goff kept his "hunting" buddies on staff for far, far too long. His inability to hire a competent defensive coordinator to complement McDuffie on the other side of the ball created an imbalance he could never overcome. (that and being stupid and lazy...but that's another topic)

He also struggled with personnel utilization issues on both sides of the ball. Even McDuffie and his brilliance had issues here. Reflect back to the 1994 game at Alabama. The Tide went undefeated in the regular season, but the Dawgs were a whisker from beating them. Unfortunately, we had Hines Ward (Super Bowl MVP WR) at Running Back, Robert Edwards (Top 10 NFL Draft Pick RB) at defensive back, and Terrell Davis (Super Bowl MVP RB) on the bench.

Lastly, he let the strength and conditioning program fall behind the times. When Donnan came to UGA in 1996, he commented (paraphrase) that his Marshall offensive line was stronger than his UGA line when he arrived.

Where are we now?
Richt is shockingly making mistakes right out of Ray Goff's play book. He waited too long to replace Martinez. Our strength program may produce great "stats" but our guys up front are getting mangled at the point of attack.

We have a former WR coaching RBs who should've gotten his "big break" in Div I-AA. We have a RB coaching WRs who was a much better RB coach for us. Our offensive coordinator refuses to sit in the press box where he can have a complete view of the field.

Granted, Richt isn't watching soap operas in his office instead of game film unlike one of the really depressing Goff rumors. But holy hell the ox is clearly in the ditch.

Where Next?
This is STILL very fixable. There are innovative offensive minds all over college football who would KILL for a chance to coach Aaron Murray. They would kill to coach in the SEC. And it doesn't have to take forever to turn things around.

OR..Mike Bobo could prove that he's one of those people and this season has been a wacky mix-up of some variety. Which I'm fine with...but skeptical.

In the Shortest Term
At a minimum, Bobo should be back upstairs where he could see the entire field better...with instructions to get AJ Green the ball at least twice per offensive possession. We should make sure our best players are in the game -- like Kwame Geathers getting more snaps on defense. And Branden Smith should have more offensive touches than Carlton Thomas. Because...you know..that simply makes sense.

As for the defense...it takes time to implement a completely new system. However, it would probably be a shorter process if the playbook wasn't 12 inches thick. These are college kids with 20 hours to learn and absorb a scheme. Right now, it looks like the only team that's confused by our defense is our own. The brilliance of Bill Oliver, legendary defensive coordinator at Bama, wasn't his complexity or his aggressiveness...it was his ability to put guys in the right spot and tackle well. That's why he was the first defensive coordinator to handle Spurrier in the early 90s.

It's all still fixable. But...it's been fixable all season.

PWD

Tweet

The Sick Man of the SEC

As prologue, I'll admit that I didn't watch the game closely.  I took my rambunctious toddler to Starkville and she made it impossible to adequately watch the play-by-play in an analytical way.  I haven't had the heart to watch the TiVo yet and I'm unlikely to have the desire to watch any significant portions of it.  More stringent observation, however, isn't needed for what I'm about to say.

Georgia shouldn't lose to Mississippi State.  Ever.  We have too many inherent advantages, from our fertile recruiting base to our superior financial wherewithal.   I've heard Jeff Dantzler talk about our lack of brilliant talent due to recruiting misses for the in-state elite.  But, no matter what you say about our talent level, it should be (and I believe is) above State's at all times.  What State can do, though, is make sure their athletes are well coached and that their effort is maximized.  That's exactly what they exploited Saturday night.  With inferior talent and resources, State beat a sinking Georgia program that appeared careless, undisciplined, and hopelessly unlucky. They did it with a well-coached, fired-up team that took advantage of its breaks and won a conference game.  It was an effort in stark contrast with their opponents.

For the first time in a long while, I agree with every line of a Mark Bradley column.  He makes most of the points that immediately ran through my mind on the long drive out of Starkville.  It's not a happy agreement, but it's difficult to argue any point he makes.  The issue is one of faith.  We, as fans, have kept our faith in Richt for the most part.  He's built a large stack of chits during his career in Athens.  Last night's game, however, may have exhausted Richt's supply.  Losing to Carolina and Arkansas isn't fun, but it's temporarily understandable.  Losing to State isn't understandable.

To borrow a metaphor from nineteenth century European history, Georgia is the "sick man" of the SEC.  A former power that has run into hard times due to repeated setbacks, relevant only because of its reputation, size and affiliation with other great powers.  Georgia is withering before our eyes.  When a team that has won championships in recent memory begins to lose battles with State, Kentucky, Arkansas, and South Carolina, none of whom have won a championship in longer than recent memory, the only conclusion is a degenerative, sustained illness.  An illness consuming the patient, who is condemned to a slow and painful death. 

The question for Greg McGarity is one of prescription, not diagnosis.  We know the program is sick.  The question is the cure. 

Quinton

Tweet

OHHHHHH!-&-Two

First of all, congrats to the Hawgs. They did exactly what they needed to do for Petrino's first road win in eight tries. They protected the tall, power-armed Ryan Mallett on all but one drive and he picked Georgia's secondary clean. Mallett hit three absolutely wide open receivers for long touchdowns and engineered a efficient second quarter drive for a touchdown that showed why Arkansas was picked to challenge Alabama for the SEC West crown. Congrats to the Hawgs, enjoy your trip to Dallas or Orlando on New Year's Day. (Image: Kris Durham makes a play. Image by Jim Hipple)

On to the Dawgs. The defense was fundamentally better. There were fewer missed tackles and our defensive line was much improved on inside runs. The trouble was scheme execution. The Dawgs couldn't get to the quarterback enough, despite a variety of blitz packages. The defense registered only one sack and it was in the waning minutes of the fourth. Without pressure on Mallett, our DBs weren't able to keep up with Arkansas receivers in man-to-man coverage. When they could keep up, they couldn't make a play on the ball. On the few occasions that our pressure hurried Mallett, there always seemed to be a shallow crossing route consistently open for him. Grantham still has a bunch of work left to do.

On offense, I am just absolutely puzzled. How can an offensive line that experienced and who dominated at the end of last year be so mediocre? Last week, they couldn't run block. This week, they couldn't run block or protect. And when the line did protect, Washaun would completely whiff his protection assignment. On that last offensive play, I thought Ealey had gotten Murray beheaded.

I know a bunch of folks are getting all over Bobo, but I really think the problem is with the line. We have to be able to run the ball. Without it, our passing game isn't as effective. I don't know how many times I can say that. Bobo's offenses have put up points in prior years. The team has to execute. Look, Bobo made some curious calls on specific plays, but those didn't get us beat. The thing I can fault Bobo with was not giving more variety in formations in the first half. If we absolutely cannot run it, show some shotgun looks and run some swing passes and a few quick, horizontal passes to the wideouts. We never tried to mix it up much other than the Wild Dawg, which wasn't very effective without solid blocking.

Lastly, I'm really sick of the fourth quarter pep talk. It seemed to work, but why didn't we have that same sense of urgency and desire that we showed for most of the fourth quarter when we started the game? Richt publicly stated how important this game was to the program and we looked stuck in second gear for three quarters. Move the pep talk to the first quarter, please.

So here we are, fighting to cling to any scrap of national relevance. We aren't going to Atlanta. Adding to that, our head coach is facing a confidence crisis. The Bulldog Nation is about to become a very nasty place, divided between those who want a change and those who want to persevere. I'm still thinking about which side I'm on, but I'll say this: Since 2005, our program, when compared with our peers, is behind. Is it recruiting? Is it coaching? Is it discipline? I think it's a mixture of all of those things. Mark Richt is a great man and has proven himself a good coach. For many, the memories of past glories are forgotten and all that remains is the pain and aggravation of the present. Is all that Richt has accomplished enough to maintain our faith in him? The fact that I'm asking the question shows the problem.

Quinton

P.S. I know the TV announcers went on and on about A.J. missing the game. Get over it. We knew the default position all week was that A.J. would not play. Would it have changed the outcome? First, A.J. doesn't play defensive back. Second, Durham's no A.J., but he made his share of plays. Our offense can't be solely dependent on a single wide out. There's another team in the SEC who's been missing the Heisman Trophy winner and has still absolutely destroyed people. A.J.'s a great player and he would have made a difference, but he was suspended. We can't change that or use it as an excuse for a loss.

Tweet

Some Initial Thoughts

I'm going to try to be measured here after a frustrating 17-6 loss in Columbia.  Some first impressions:

• Marcus Lattimore is deserving of his hype.  He's the next great SEC tailback.  That guy's powerful, he runs hard, and is difficult to wrap up.  SC is going to be able to do a lot of things on offense with a strong runner they can rely on to bail them out.  He looked like Cecil Collins today.
• Despite that, we still haven't learned to tackle.  I'll give Lattimore credit for breaking some tackles, but there were several critical plays where we didn't even make attempts to wrap him up with arms.  Instead we tried to knock him down, not take him down.  He's too good a back for that crap.  Can someone teach our defense the fundamentals of tackling?  
• Despite those problems, the defense played better than it feels like they played.  They were physically overpowered much of the day, but only gave up 17 points.  In the third and fourth quarters, they had some really nice defensive series and made Garcia look confused  and tentative.  The thing is, you just kept expecting SC to start feeding Lattimore and grind the game out and that's exactly what they did late in the fourth to ice it.   
• Our offensive line is way overrated.  Carolina has a good defensive front, but our running game was nonexistent after the first drive. Without a strong running game, our offense doesn't work.  It's that simple.  Searles has some work to do.  Chapas's injury hurt, but our best second half rush was for five yards.  We have to do better.
• Bacarri Rambo.  Ouch, buddy.  Flush this whole game and get ready for Petrino's passing schemes. 

The season isn't necessarily over with regards to the SEC Championship, but it's now teetering.  I expect both SC and Florida to lose at least one conference game.  Both have to play Bama and they have to play each other.  We can still get to Atlanta.  After today's performance, though, it's just too difficult to really conceive of this team playing for a championship.

Quinton

Tweet

Non-Revenue Roundup

Georgia is used to a solid spring of athletic victory, but this year has seen mixed to no success.  Spring hasn't been all bad so far, but it hasn't been particularly enjoyable either.  Here's an update:

Baseball:  Ugh.  Where to begin?  The most obvious problem with the baseball team is that the pitchers can't get hitters out.  The team ERA is a titanic 8.52, three runs ahead of the the closest competitor.  When the opposition isn't hitting at the plate, they are walking.  We've issued 207 free passes this year, besting our closest competition in that stat by 40(!) walks.  You can't win with those stats even if you are hitting the ball well, which we aren't.  We're also last in the league in average and runs.  Our pitching coach, Brady Wiederhold, should take a long look at his work this year (and last).  Perno, in turn, should take a long look at Wiederhold. The numbers don't lie. 

Gymnastics:  After five straight national championships, losing one of the greatest college gymnasts ever, and the resignation of one of the greatest coaches in UGA history, a letdown was inevitable.  But this big of a letdown? The GymDogs didn't get out of their first round meet this year, much less to the Super Six.  

Men's Tennis:  The NCAAs are still upcoming, but the season ended with a wobble and thud.  The Dawgs were undefeated in conference before their final two matches against UF and UT, the best two teams in the conference.  Those matches resulted in two Ls.  It didn't help that freshman Bo Seal was suspended for the final leg of the season.  He stayed suspended for the SEC Tournament last weekend and the team fell 4-3 to Auburn in their first match.  It appears Seal won't be playing in the NCAAs either, which greatly limits the team's prospects.  Manny Diaz has signed two really good American prospects for next year, but we continue to get burned overseas by players who either go pro early or can't pass the TOEFL exam.

Women's Tennis: The girls fared only a little worse than the guys.  They lost in their first round match up in Athens at the SEC Tournament.  This isn't a championship squad, but the pieces are in place for an excellent team next year.  Gullickson and Gilchrist will be at the top of the line up, but Coach Wallace will welcome what should be the top recruiting class in the country.  He signed four bluechippers and the top prep player in Japan.  

Soccer:  Their season isn't until the fall, but the soccer program had some big news recently with the resignation of Coach Patrick Baker resigned abruptly to spend more time with his family.  It's a sad commentary when that stated reason leads you to suspect seriously malfeasance or perversion, but I haven't heard anything that would contradict Baker's stated reasons for quitting.  But, I wouldn't know anything about the soccer program other than scores.  Steve Holeman, formerly the HC at Ole Miss, will take over for Baker.  

It hasn't been a total loss, though.  We can all celebrate the equestrian team's national title in a sport that doesn't count in the Sears Cup and isn't recognized by the SEC. Hooray.  Maybe softball can brighten our prospects, but by all accounts, 2009-2010 has been a long year for athletics.

Quinton

Tweet