Thoughts About the "Overall" Challenges

Dean Legge in my opinion gets "closer" to the problem(s) that surround all sports at Georgia than some of the other "stuff" I have read . . . . for a long time. UGA is not a university without resources, not by a long shot.

Our program over a long period of time now has "me" comparing what I see going on in Texas (UT) continuing to happen in Athens.

Have more to say, and I suspect many others are in line to say more, one way or the other.

Have not been a fan of McGarity for a long time. As Dean says in the video, roots run deeper than play calling. The game against Georgia Tech was a "warning shot" at more than coaches and players. Much to be said about the handling of personnel, and that at this point falls squarely on the "money" making sport that is the lifeline for all UGA sports.

www.scout.com/college/georgia/story/1732...ughts-tech-stuns-uga

Several assistant coaches have departed Tuscaloosa to become a head coach.

Giving that some thought, Lane Kiffin, offensive coordinator at Alabama. Had a run as a head coach in the Pros and again twice in college, USC and Tennessee. Believe he has been successful as an assistant. If he leaves Alabama, moves on to LSU, all of us know that he will also be the offensive coordinator, not head coach. Not a lot of colleges out there scrambling to get Kiffin as a head coach.

Say the above for this reason . . . . Not all offensive coordinators and defensive coordinators can make the move up and be as successful as . . . . Nick Saban.

If I had to say which of Saban's coordinators have made the most of a move, definitely is McIlwain. He served his time at Colorado State University and Jeremy Foley recognized his talents. Thus far a damn good hire for the gators, and whether we like it or not, there is a lot of high school talent lining up in Florida to play their Saturdays in Gainesville, Florida. Living in Florida, brought up to date on what the gators are doing and who they are after.

Much talk about Jim Chaney being released on the blogs. Notice that Kirby Smart had Jim Chaney with him when they entered the home of the Fromm's after the Tech game. Simple reasoning tells me that we can drop the thought of Chaney leaving Athens in 2017. How will that play out for Kirby Smart, don't have a clue.

Does Kirby Smart fall into that bracket of good or great coordinators much like Lane Kiffin, but not wearing the big hat . . . . Don't know that yet either.

Will be interesting to see if we remain #3 in the Nation recruiting high school. There are always the Junior Colleges that pack some very good players. Kirby Smart's resume boasts the man being a great recruiter. Not a doubt that he hit the road hard for Saban, came away with many top players. This is what "we" need to understand, at least I think I do . . . . Georgia is not Alabama. Kirby will get three years, I however know this, there are several teams not only on the West Side of the SEC that will improve, there are several teams on the East Side of the SEC that will do the same.

Comes down to coaching, many universities have great or close to great players on their roster. Might be that Kirby Smart can keep Georgia high schoolers in state, quite frankly that is imperative. Florida is loaded with talent, much larger base to select from. We will "soon" see.

Go Dawgs

Failed to mention Jimbo Fisher in the above comments.

Fisher has done real well since successfully relieving Bobby Bowden of his duties . . . . Nick Saban has an effect on those under him. Another head coach that understands the amount of talent in the Sunshine State.

Still "want to believe" that Coach Pittman is the key to turning our program around. Folks at Arkansas sure wanted to keep him, that includes their head coach.

Offensive philosophy of Jim Chaney . . . .

While at Purdue, Chaney, along with head coach Joe Tiller, became known for using the spread offense – famously dubbed "basketball on grass" – at a time when it was still considered a novelty and not commonly used. The system relied on a strong passing game and Chaney's offense was one of the most potent in the country. This was evidenced by the fact that future Super Bowl-winning quarterback Drew Brees (starting QB 1997-2000) thrived in Chaney's offense and went on to break and set college, Big Ten and NCAA records. It should be noted however that Drew Brees played under him at Purdue while he was the Offensive Line and Tight Ends Coach.

When Urban Meyer took his first coaching job at Bowling Green, he sought advice from several of the best coaches using the spread offense, including Jim Chaney. After spending a few years in the NFL Chaney gained a newfound appreciation for the pro-style offense. When Chaney came to Tennessee he and Kiffin fielded a very pro-style offense, very similar to what Kiffin used at USC.

Go Dawgs

EDIT: The information on Jim Chaney was copied from the internet.

Interesting read. Lots of folks around the SEC and other conferences that say the same thing when it comes to play calling, halftime adjustments, etc . . . .

Ex-Players start sending out smoke signals, program is beginning to rattle at the base.

SEC will continue to get tougher, Vandy, Kentucky are no longer "freebies".

www.seccountry.com/tennessee/former-tenn...tch-jones-on-twitter

And this . . . .

www.seccountry.com/tennessee/vols-fans-m...ugar-bowl-appearance

My thoughts on the season:

First, I'll say I called it. I predicted 8-4. HOW I called it so close is another thing, though.

I originally thought we would lose to UNC, Ole Miss, UT and UF. That's because I bought into the myth that was UNCs 2015 record.

Turns out, it was close to what I said, but not for the right reasons. UNC sucked more than we could imagine.

So here is my VERY quick breakdown of the year:

1. UNC was a BAD football team that couldn't stop my 7 year old on her way to the bus stop. And the game could have still gone the other way.
2. Nicholls State is a REALLY, REALLY bad football team. This was a let down game against a jacked up opponent. I still say play this game 100 times and UGA blows them out 98 times, almost loses once and would pick up a miracle loss once.
3. Missouri was also a bad team, but early in the year, in their stadium, maybe not as bad as we now know. At least we showed some "don't quit" in this one.
4. Ole Miss is not as bad as you think. And we were not as good as WE thought. And it was in Oxford. And we were still jacked up from edging out Mizzou for our first win. And that's a recipe for the catastrophe that happened. We got beat by a better team. Bad.
5. UT is not that good either. This one HURT! You don't take the lead with 10 seconds and then lose. That is known as "Richt-ing" (see the GT game two years ago). You have to get BETWEEN the receiver and the ball on a Hail Mary, NOT behind him!! AUGH!
6. The Cocks are bad. We proved that. And we were bad too. They were WORSE.
7. Vandy is better than people thought, but still not good. I remember a time when there were certain games that you KNEW you were going to win in a blowout. This was one of those. The entire team, top to bottom, FAILED.
8. Florida is better at the game of football than UGA. Simple.
9. Kentucky is okay at football. And we were ready to play. I was a little surprised, after all that had happened up until this game, that we won.
10. Abuurn isn't as good as people think - I don't care what they "almost" did to Alabama. They aren't as good as people think. Our defense did a fine job against a team that can't pass.
11. ULL. Please.
12. GT is about as good as we are, which is good for them, and not good for us. When we were up by 13 points with only 6.5 minutes left to play, I knew we were going to lose. That's right - I knew the outcome. We ONLY play NOT to lose. It's "The Georgia Way", I'm sorry to say.

Overall I think the record this year was close to what I thought it would be. Didn't expect the Vandy loss, but didn't really expect the Abuurn win either. That last game was the real head shaker.

I give the team a grade of D for the season. I give Eason a B. I think he'll be fine. I give the O-Line a D+, with the plus only being a nod to the fact that they aren't big enough. I give the D-Line an A-. I think this will be a strength in the years to come, and we were supposed to be VERY weak here. But player grades aren't as important to me as coach grades.

Not being a "Richt-Sycophant" like I used to be in saying this. He is gone for good and for better. BUT! Coach Smart gets a C-- this year. Sure, he had a "bare cupboard" and sure, he had a freshman QB (who really didn't hurt us - neither did 'Bamas freshman QB), and no O-Line. But you don't lose to the state of Tennessee in the manner in which we lost. And you don't lose to GT in that manner either. And you don't let Nicholls State scare you.

This was a bad season, but also there was some good. At least next year, we'll have a seasoned veteran at QB, and hopefully a better O-Line (at least bigger). And hopefully better receivers. And hopefully (maybe) a better coordinator or two.

It was not fun, but it was never going to be anyway. I keep saying it . . . wait until next year . . . crap.