From Athens- Game Day Friday #3

For some reason after reading all of the posts day after day, I keep falling back to a lack of not knowing or something that I cannot explain.

It was said that the player or players had been rehearsed on the possibilities of a situation. Not the first time this has happened to us or other teams for that matter. I call it passing the buck, much like Buck Belue does.

Excuses look the same if you go back year after year, nothing novel about excuses.

My wife always asks me the same question, year after year . . . . Now what do you want the Dawgs make the other team do in a punting situation? I always obediently answer, make them punt the football. I swear to all on this board, that happens every game. The wife knows, understands football, great to watch games with her. Yes she does jump out of the sitting position and on occasion utters words that make me know she is involved. She graduated UGA 1971, was in Angel Flight, was on the turf often. Understands UGA when it was Saturday and Bourban and Coke.

Got off track there. What's new. Until we get the down linemen game figured out, things might change, but not to such an extent that we win National Championships. Folks get hurt, that is understandable. This regime in my opinion has missed the boat on the defensive and offensive side of the ball in the trenches. Appears that Grantham is on the way or trying to move forward on his side of coaching. That is the way it should be, he is the Defensive Coordinator.

Over too many years now I have watched the other side of the ball go for flash and dash. If we are unable to protect our quarterback, don't care who you have in the backfield or split out, not gonna win the big games.

Anyone watch the LSU defensive line last night? In a way I understand some of the things that happened to Miss State, they had been in a huge fight with Auburn the week before. LSU had not been. We will see how that plays out for us down the road in JAX. Many have said over the years that we needed to have a bye week prior to Florida. Not sure, think that is the same bye week for them. So, guess we or the team from Florida have no excuses this season.

Do I think that Richt and company will leave this year. Nope. McGarity and Richt settled on that in their private talks. Do find it interesting that President Adams has gone public about getting the fans and alumni to support the football team. The true fans and alumni have and will support the players, those that are commited to a cause, that is not the problem. Problem stems from the top and begins with President Adams and filters down. Called the chain of command, that is how this works. Adams has deep concerns . . . going into the locker room, calling for support. Think more than one of us mentioned this would come to pass.

Go Dawgs . . . coach them up. . .

If Richt is the coach next year I am done with college football.

Coaches are not on the field playing. You can look at most any loss in any sports
arena and throw out "it's the players fault" if you so choose.

A baseball game where a relief pitcher gives up a walk off home run, or a starting
pitcher that gives up 8 runs in the first three innings. Yep.. it's the players
that lost the game, because they were the ones on the field playing the game.

You have to look deeper than that. You have to ask if the decision to have that
particular relief pitcher in the game against that batter, or if the call from
the dugout to throw the fastball during that count was the right decision.

Now in many cases you can legitimately blame the players on the field, but in those
cases it's usually that the other team of players is just more talented than your
players.

Very few people however have doubts about the level of talent on the field for UGA.

Our roster is littered with 4 and 5 star recruits. We've got great talent. I think
our OC is terrible, yet our offensive talent went out there and racked up 42 points
against a strong defense.

Losing happens usually on of 3 ways - Bad luck, your talent wasn't as good as the other
teams talent, or you made bad coaching decisions that didn't put your players in the proper
position to win.

Luck evens out. We're past the point of continuing to blame our lack of wins on the
fickle wings of the luck bird.

Talent? Year after year we hear about top 10 recruiting classes, and a quick look at
many of our games shows we have players with loads of ability.

So logically what do you look at next?

You might want to say that the word talent has to be looked at... sure we have gobs of talent
but do we have that talent where we need it, or are we overloaded with talent at skill positions,
but none in the trenches? So who is responsible for us having the talent in the trenches?

I know I'm rambling, but the point I am trying to get at is that those that would say that
the people who are casting their glaze at the coaching staff are way off base are wrong.
It's not way off base to be asking some serious questions about the coaching staff at all.
It's a completely logical progression of any analysis of the state of UGA football. It's
the common denominator over the past 3 years.

First of all.....big welcome to WD, WoodstockDawg (I abbreviate WD.....not to be confused with Wd, Wartdawg), you will be a great addition to the forum.

Secondly, if CMR finishes 8-4, maybe even 7-5, please stay in touch kd because I don't think CMR will be fired.

Interesting to hear Dooley express the same support for Richt as Adams, considering their acrimony.
Maybe because he hired him or maybe because he wants his boy to succeed at beating us.
Either way Vince, Erk should have had the head coaching job at Georgia. You owe a major part of your success to Erk.

7-5 should get Richt tarred and feathered. I refuse to believe the AD would continue to tolerate marginal competence for very long.