Our Amazing Talent

I hear a lot of talk about the coaching being terrible for Georgia, and how awful it is that we're not maximizing our talent. I'd like to do something that's forbidden here, and criticize our talent. I would like, first, to grant that Willie Martinez needs to be fired, and fired now. Period. No questions, no pleading, no trial period, no demotion. Fired.

BUT:

Joe Cox threw an interception in each of the games this season. The most recent was a pick-6 that put South Carolina in a game they had no business being in.

Joe Cox and Carlton Thomas both fumbled stupidly against Oklahoma State. The turnovers cost Georgia 10 points. A.J. Green fumbled on his first touch against South Carolina, costing Georgia 7 points. So far, that's 23 points off of turnovers in two games.

Special teams allowed a 75-yard kickoff return that led to a touchdown against Oklahoma State. They also oversnapped a punt that led to a safety, a giveback, the resultant possession of which led to 3 points. That's 12 points off of poor special teams play.

So far, that's 35 points that Willie Martinez's defense DID NOT allow, either because they weren't on the field or because they didn't have a shot at stopping the other team on such a short field.

BUT:

Arm tackles galore.

Misrun routes, overthrown passes and miscommunication. Stalled drives due to same.

Ladies and gentlemen, perhaps our talent isn't the top talent we think it is. You've got receivers dropping balls, a quarterback overthrowing receivers or throwing behind them, special teams flubbing routine exercises, and exactly two players on an 11-man defense (Boykin and Curran). Boykin only caught that interception because he did what a true leader does: he forgot about his assignment and WENT AFTER THE BALL. That's what David Pollack did, that's what Terry Hoage did, that's what Sean Jones did, and that's what very few players on Martinez defenses will do. Curran had around 50 tackles by himself on Saturday. Other than that...really, what do we have?

I agree that our defense is poorly coached. But folks, when your players are making SUCH bad decisions on the field that you can't overcome them, or when you just barely overcome them because your leaders do what true leaders do (Boykin's pick, Curran's tip), your talent pool might just be overchlorinated.

I'm just putting in my two cents. Willie was able to win 9 games in 2006, 11 in 2007 and 10 last year despite his lack of coaching acumen. I just don't think we have any PLAYERS this year. None of them seem to want to play, or perhaps it's that they don't want to practice enough to get good enough to play well.

At any rate, it's a win, and we have a week to get better before Arkansas. Go Dawgs.

dapolla glad to see that you came on this site and backed up what you posted on Twitter. Would expect nothing less from you. WM quote.

I would be negligent if I did not post this statement from Craig James who co-anchored the telecast on ESPNU. Before the teams came back on the field for the second half James said that UGA was running the ball well and if they continued that in the second half it should spell victory for the Dawgs. Craig James in my opinion knows as much or more football than 99% of the talking heads. He also played the game well.

Flat passes from our offense have been used this way for some time now, sooner or later opponents catch on to \"tendencies\". Think we ended up with close to half of the offensive plays that SC did. That could be and probably is both sides of the ball playing a little confused. On the defensive side, still did not see much of a pass rush. Garcia had a lot of time.

No reason for this team not to put points on the board, talent is there. Just hate the fact that we have to put over 40 on the board and have RC save us in the end. Garcia did not see a wide open back for a TD on that fourth down play. Maybe this UGA team is a team that will progress game by game and end up record wise a little better than some predict.

dapolla posted:
I agree that our defense is poorly coached. But folks, when your players are making SUCH bad decisions on the field that you can't overcome them, or when you just barely overcome them because your leaders do what true leaders do (Boykin's pick, Curran's tip), your talent pool might just be overchlorinated.

Just my opinion dapolla, think that also comes from OVERALL coaching, top to bottom, leave no stone unturned. Leadership and competing are basic coaching fundamentals.

One more statement . . . noticed that Coach Richt had the play sheet in his hand in the fourth quarter particularly, and he WAS assisting or calling offensive plays. Paid particular interest to that on the replay I just finished watching.

I agree with you Buc about good athletes and the bad D coaching.

To me, it's an oximoron to say we have bad coaching AND bad decision making by the players.......my take is, the players are doing exactly what CWM is scheming them to do which not only puts them out of position but his scheme also takes defensive aggressiveness from the players. CWM is making the players look bad instead of the players making CWM look bad.

Bad D coaching in my book....plain and simple. UF, UT. SoCal, Bama and many other top programs were going after the same athletes we recruited.

it's coaching, plain and simple. A really good coordinator on either side of the ball can compensate for mediocrity on the other. A great offense keeps the defense fresh and rarely gives the other team great field position. A great defense can maintain great field position with little more from the offense than a good punter. The Dawgs problem is that they have, at best, mediocre coordinators on both sides of the ball. I personally think Bobo is the worse of the two but acknowledge that there is much room for debate. Despite having superlative talent in years past they still managed to dig holes for the defense. Another thing, if I was a top OL recruit there is no way I would sign with UGA. Their coaching staff has a track record of getting the OL injured. That might have something to do with the playcalling too.

Some coaches get great results from average talent. Others get average results from great talent. Whether we wish to admit it or not, we all know which kind of coordinators Richt has hired.

now ... if I had Richt's ear ... I would whisper ... brad johnson. Here is a QB that didn't even have enough talent to be a starter in college. But he won as an NFL starter and led his team to a superbowl victory. He did it because he worked hard, practiced until he had great fundamentals, and studied so much film that he could read a defense long before his OL was set. imo, THAT is exactly what we need in an offensive coach. He is from Marietta and (i think) he played with Richt at FSU.

At any rate, UGA is always going to end up under-achieving with it's current coaching (OC & DC) staff. They just aren't up to SEC caliber.

Swampdog, think that you probably know that Coach Richt played for Miami. Certainly coached at FSU.

As for Brad Johnson, one of my favorites of all time. Stood in the pocket and took a beating, but he was all about team. Smart, picked up the Tampa offense under Gruden incredibly quick. As anyone will tell you, Gruden's offense was not for everyone. Too hard to comprehend. BJ had absolutely no problem with it and of course went on to win a SB. Interesting that you brought that name up.

Two wlayton's for you!

Hey everyone. My name is Chris and I have watched this site for two years and loved ya'lls insight! I didn't wanna start a new thread so I figured I would introduce myself here. I was born and raised in Ga and now live in Va(unfortunately)! I love the dawgs and was raised in Conyers Ga. I will be back in Ga for good in a year or so. Me and my wife(LSU fan) are exppecting our firt kid any day now and can't wait! Other than that I am very excited to be on this site and look forward to chattin dawgs topics with you guys!