From the Arena to the ER

I am beside myself with how poorly the faces of the Georgia Bulldogs are handling our four and four condition. First, Mark Richt attempts to disenfranchise those of the Bulldawg faithful that haven't tasted SEC sod. Second, Richt cites statistics on the direction of ball bounces and it's delta to Georgia players. Now our starting quarterback, he of five years on campus, compares our criticism of him to his crticism of a doctor.

Perhaps he should forgo his nearing coaching career and give public relations a shot!

BULLDOGS BLOG: Practice Notes: Cox Copes With Criticism

“Anybody can get on that and talk about sports,” Cox said. “That’s like me going on WebMD and talking like I’m a doctor and telling these guys what they should be doing in hospitals. That’s the least of my worries.”

Not Just a River in Egypt

I am in a state of denial. I cannot bring myself to express how disappointed I am in the Georgia Bulldogs football program.

Losing I can handle. Being the best everyday out is a rare feat few have ever enjoyed. The best team doesn't always win, fluke things happen, a player has the game of their life, whatever. Sometimes you just get beat and you have to tip your cap to your opponent and get 'em next time.

The way we are losing is really getting to me. The debacle that was Stillwater has become our identity.

We are a mess, and we are a mess in important places. I am trying to be positive and I will not single any of our kids out. For the life of me, I cannot recall a game this year where we looked like the better coached team. Can you? Can you name one game where our guys we better coached than their guys?

Outside of quarterback, our talent stacks up with most anybody. We have had a talent edge in most games we played this year. Okie State may have had us a quarterback. Florida's defense is stacked. But what does that have to do with preparation?

Were we the better coached team in Nashville? Fayetville? Did we out coach Erickson and his crew?

I swear the defense we watched in the first quarter is the same defense we had watched the first quarter of seven prior games. A soft zone that just gives you ten yards if your qb is capable of throwing it that far without having it batted in his face. We haven't faced many of those this year, have we?

Where am I wrong? Which game were we the better prepared team for? Which game was coaching a push?

Mark Richt is swimming in denial. Mark Richt needs to undergo that evaluation we have all faced or will face. The times are changing and we have to adapt. We have to be proactive (if it is not too late) and find new and better ways. "Well, that's the way we have always done it" is not translating into wins in Athens or Tallahassee.

Evolve or parish perish.

Mark Richt the Recruiter

There are many reasons high school football players commit, and remain committed, to the Georgia Bulldogs. Chief among them, Mark Richt, a man whose word is his bond.

There are coaches in the SEC that will offer anybody and everybody, only to later rescind their offer as signing day nears. To these coaches, see Houston Nutt, these young men are nothing more than commodities, raw assets to be plugged into their football factories and discarded when their usefulness has been spent.

That is not the case at Georgia. When a recruit signs with Georgia, he joins a family. As head of that family, Mark Richt serves as the father and invest himself in these young men. The dividends paid to the Bulldog Nation extend far beyond the football field.

Many of us, especially yours truly, should keep this in mind as we debate his handling of the coaching staff.

Case in point:

Benedict's injury doesn't cool Bulldogs' interest | Jacksonville.com

Despite a season-ending knee injury, Bolles offensive tackle Brent Benedict still has a college home with the Georgia Bulldogs.

Benedict, ranked by Rivals.com as the 41st overall player in the nation, has been assured by the Georgia coaching staff that the Bulldogs are still happy to have him.

"They called and told us not to worry, that his scholarship was still good," said Ed Benedict, Brent's father. "They said it's not even a consideration, so don't give it any thought."

Benedict suffered the non-contact injury while running down the field to celebrate a touchdown in Bolles' 68-0 win over Yulee last Friday.

He tore his anterior cruciate ligament, his posterior cruciate ligament, meniscus and hamstring.

To relieve pain caused by pressure on a nerve from swelling, Benedict might have two surgeries to correct the injury. He is scheduled to meet with noted orthopedist James Andrews on Thursday in Pensacola.

Remember the Speech Mark Richt Gave the Basketball Team?

With the Georgia Bulldogs opening basketball practice Friday at 5:00 p.m. I was reminded of the inspirational speech Mark Richt gave the hard court Dawgs. Coach Pete Herrman had just taken over the squad following the dismissal of Dennis Felton. The Dawgs were winless in conference play and going nowhere fast. Enter Mark Richt.

Following the speech from the football coach, the basketball Dawgs proceeded to whip the Florida Gators in Athens. It was a singular bright spot in a truly dismal season.

In relative terms, the football team is where the basketball team was then. In need of a spark, an emotinoal lift. A players only meeting was called (and quickly reported to the press). Will that prove to be the spark?

Given our history of playing down to Vanderbilt and our apparent lack of killer instinct when playing lesser talented teams, we could use any emotinal advantage we can get.  Simply having more talent has not gotten the job done.

Perhaps Coach Richt should give the football team the same pep talk he gave the basketballers. He may even want to give Coach Mark Fox a shot.

From Far and Wide, They Call for Willie's Hide

I cannot imagine how hard this has to be on Coach Richt. It is no secret how close he and Willie Martinez are. Barring a remarkable turn around, I fully expect Richt to do what he has to do. I am not happy about. I don't want to be "that" team. Too much like Auburn for my taste.

But this is what it has come to. Sure we are all going to feel like Richt is doing "Something" about it. But what will the ramifications be? Staff dynamics? Recruiting? Rennie?

They say it has to get worse before it gets better. I can't imagine it getting any worse than it did in Knoxville, unless the SEC decides to let Urban Meyer start saving time outs now or someone decides to run the option against us..

Anyway, here's a few links from outside the Dawgosphere.

Care to vote on this year's biggest disappointment in college football? Go here.

Doc Saturday is now following the Georgia situation almost as closely as the Bowden watch.

Here is a ringing endorsement for Willie, sort of.

First Finebaum, Now Forde

I am very confident we are going to get things turned around starting this Saturday in Knoxville.  Hopefully being mentioned in the hot seat section of Pat Forde's column will provide a little motivation for the Return of Evil Richt!

LeGarrette Blount, Tate Forcier, Clemson Tigers, LSU Tigers and the art of the apology - ESPN

Mark Richt, Georgia (3-2). Seems heretical to even mention this super-consistent winner -- but Year 9 hasn't started too splendidly, and there might be some mutual fatigue between coach and fans.

LSU: The Loss, The Aftermath and the Celebration

It has been 40 hours since the LSU Tigers defeated the Georgia Bulldogs 20-13 in Sanford Stadium. I still haven't fully recovered, today's blog is the first step in the healing process.

I love the Georgia Bulldogs, that is why it hurts when they lose. I believe in Mark Richt and everything he has done to re-invent Georgia football. That is why I was convinced we would come back and win the game Saturday. To have the game turn on special-teams and officiating is certainly more than mere mortals can handle.

The defense played their asses of for three and a half quarters. The offense found itself with a spark from Washuan Ealey and I just knew we had this thing. Saturday, however, would turn out to be a microcosm of the season thus far. When the offense struggled, the defensive was great. Perhaps it was fatigue, for they were out there all day, but when the offense got going, the defense disappeared. Heartbreaking.

The final four minutes are still too tender....

What Went Wrong, A LOT
Mike Bobo and Joe Cox just simply were not clicking in the first half.  Cox's throw were off target, even the completed passes were rarely in a position for the receiver to gain any yards post catch. Bobo's play calling was erratic at best. 

Are we now offically a spread team? It seems to me if you are having trouble running the ball, removing the fullback and tight end is not the answer. Yeah, yeah, we get numbers when we spread the field... but when you hand the ball off to a power running back going east or west, what is the point?

The defense played too much football once again. Early, it seemed they needed the goal line as an extra defender, but they came on in the second quarter.  LSU could not run the ball except on quarterback scrambles against man to man coverage. Expect more quarterbacks to simply tuck and run whenever they catch us in man to man.

In the final minutes, the defense was gassed and LSU did what good SEC teams do. They ran it right at us. There power back simply would not be tackled. That is how we used to do it. Hint, hint, Mike Bobo!

The thing that is hardest for me to handle is the breakdowns on special teams. Once again, our kickoff strategy is all about Blair Walsh. If he can't kick it through the endzone, we can't tackle then until they return it to our side of the field. Give Trindon Holliday credit if you want, but every team has done this to us.

Some very succesful teams have their head coach handle special teams, such as Florida and Virginia Tech. Apparently they realize the importance of the third phase of the game. These coaches take their best players and utilize them to gain an advantage. I thought we were moving in that direction this year, but the results are the same as they have been, terrible, and they were a major contributor to the loss. Just compare our starting field position following a kick to LSU's!

Three excellent points from Tim Tucker:

Joe Cox overthrowing a wide-open A.J. Green on a first-quarter deep ball and Blair Walsh missing his first field goal in nine attempts, a mere 32-yarder, in the third quarter. Those two plays might have meant 10 points in a game decided by 7.

Richt on  Trindon Holliday’s 40-yard kickoff return that set up LSU’s winning touchdown: “We got punctured right in the heart of our kickoff-coverage team. Their wedge did a very nice job.  And everybody knows Holliday is a special cat.”  Richt said another factor was that Georgia was kicking into the wind.

Georgia was penalty-free in the first half. Alas, the Dogs had seven penalties for 59 yards in the second half, including the very costly two for 20 yards in the final 69 seconds.

More on Richt era special teams woes from David Hale. He suggest having a drink before reading. Yes, sir! Really, wait until you can have a drink to read, it is thoroughly disgusting.

By my count, that's 22 miscues on kickoffs following either crucial Georgia scores or to start a half in just the past 18 games. Twenty-two! In 18 games! Loud noises!

What Went Right, Not Enough
The defense found themselves. Yes LSU shredded us on their last two drives of the game, but give them credit. We were wore out, our offense couldn't move the chains for 50 minutes. Given that, we really had no business being in the football game. The defense gave us an excellent chance to win.

As bad as Cox and Bobo were in the first half, adjustments were made and we took the lead TWICE late in the game.

Washuan Ealey saw his first action and reminded all of the player whose jersey he now wears. There is no denying we have boat loads of talent.

AJ Green is Superman. He has all the athletic ability in the world and is a flat out winner. He simply wants it more than any other player on the field. He has no business grabbing that ball in the endzone, he just out fought the defender. We are so very lucky to have him.

Excessive Celebration
I am still up in arms over this one and I am not trying to add salt to our wounds, but who remembers where this rule came from? That's right, Vince Dooley. Coach Dooley lobbied for the celebration rule while AD at Georgia and after it was implemented, he continued to press for it to be made more stringent.  Those of us in the old Gator Bowl watching all of Spurrier's Gators mocking Garrison Hearst with the Heisman pose remember why.

Tony Barnhart says it needs to be eliminated. Tim Brando was a tweeting fool on the subject following his on-air rant. Mike "It's great to be a gator" Bianchi even thinks it was a stupid call. We have to find a way to let the officials know they are to be the background, nobody show up, or tunes in, to see them.

The Lunatic Fringe
The calls for Mark Richt's head go beyond the pale.

My last season with an active student identification card was Ray Goff's first. Those in my generation have a pretty decent perspective of Georgia football. We were old enough to remember details about the glory days of Herchel, but never sniffed an SEC championship while a student. Then came Goff. Then Donnan.

Thus, most of us are very thankful we have Richt and do not want to lose him!! Fabs is another matter...

Let the mukraking begin:

Adam Krohn is back at it. Dalton, you are so lucky to have him. What an imbesil!

There are plenty of coaches out there that could elevate Georgia to a perennial BCS contender. If I’m Bulldogs athletic director Damon Evans, I would ask former defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder, who currently holds the same title with the Atlanta Falcons, if he’d be interested in coming back to Athens as the coach.

While I remain a Mark Bradley fan, most in the Bulldog Nation are not.  The closing line of this post is a good example of why.

There was a time under Richt when Georgia made the one play, the winning play. That time was not Saturday. That time, it seems, has passed.

I visited dawgrant.com for the first, and last time. Unbelievable.

Bartender!

Help Wanted, Defensive Coordinator. Really?

There are many in Bulldawg Nation that have had it with Willie Martinez and are calling for his dismissal. These are not fair weather fans, these people have impeccable Bulldawg bonafides. They have charts and stats to demonstrate the steady decline of our defense in the years since Brian Van Gorder departed. They even have last Saturday night to show the trend is in tact.

They want him gone and they want him gone now.

Don't count me among them, at least not when I am sober.

Am I satisfied with the defense? Of course not. But I am not ready to throw the baby out with the bathwater, as they say.

Take a deep breath and think about it. What are the ramifications to firing Willie? Who are we going to hire? What will be the domino effect of the firing on the rest of the coaching staff? These are questions that must be addressed in detail prior to making any decision on Willie.

If Willie were to be fired, we probably end up in a situation where Rodney Garner has to be promoted or he leaves. It is also likely the bi-directional loyalty built between Mark Richt and his staff would be gone, leading to more coaching turnover in years to come. If we don't promote Garner or Jancek, then who do we bring in?

Is there anyone that could step in and hold the remaining staff together? I think it is unlikely.

The reality is Rodney Garner is as vital an assistant as there is in college football. Richt has done an excellent job of handling all of his assistants' egos over the years. He has kept them happy and they have stayed.

If Richt is willing to throw Willie under the bus, do you think Searels won't listen the next time the phone rings? Bobo? Do we want to run a Tommy Tuberville style game of musical chairs with our assistant coaches?

In my opinion, if Willie is fired, we are building a defensive staff from the ground up. Are we ready, Bulldawg Nation, to tackle that? Are we ready for the instability that will ensue?

Even if you are, who is the coach worth all of the turmoil? I would love to hear your thoughts. Please, let's be realistic with our suggestions, no Marion Campbells.

King to Start, Tavarres King

Mark Wieszer reports that "Tavarres King is slated to start ahead of Michael Moore at split end in a two-receiver set." My guess is this half due to dropped passes an half due to downfield blocking.

Multiple reports have Caleb King unlikely to play at this point with the final decision to be made at gametime. I do not expect him to play.

The Joe Cox thing is sure to be the center of conversation at Mark Richt's 4 pm presser with the beat reports. Should be interesting. Hope somebody has video rolling, would love to get a view of Coach's body language. Dealing with the press has got to be the worst part of his job right now.

Richt Takes Kiffin Hunting to Show There are no Hard Feelings

Mark Richt, to show there are no hard feelings, invited Lane Kiffin to go Duck hunting last weekend. They decided to hunt a small estuary on the southern edge of the Cherokee National forest, right along the Georgia Tennessee state line.

As the chatted about football in the SEC and took turns grounding fowl, Kiffin explained to Richt that all of the craziness was just an act, an act to get publicity for Kiffin's program. Kiffin, caught up in defending his master plan, shot out of turn. The duck was felled but an argument ensued as to who had fired the deadly shot.

Kiffin pleaded his case passionately. Richt could have cared less, but played along, finally telling the young Kiffin "look, if it landed in Georgia, the bird is mine, if it landed in Tennessee, the bird is yours." The coaches agreed. As they walked over, it became apparent neither could be sure which state the duck landed in.

Rather than argue, Richt suggested they settle this they way SEC coaches did back in the old days. He explained that the old coaches would determine matters such as this by kicking each other in their privates as hard as possible. The last coach standing would win.

Lane bragged, "My father told me about such things, I really appreciate you bringing me into the fold."

Richt replied, "That's great, Junior. Let's get started. Now the oldest coach always has the honors."

Junior, beside himself with glee at being initiated into the inner circle of SEC coaches, eagerly stated, "Give it your best shot, old man."

As the Junior Kiffin assumed the position, Richt backed up about 5 paces, gathered himself and sprinted towards the young coach unleashing a kick, so hard and true, it would make Rex Robinson proud. Kiffin dropped to the soggy ground and rolled in pain. Between coughs he could be heard letting out whimpers resembling those of a beaten hound dog.

After about ten minutes of wallowing on the ground with bodily fluids dripping from his mouth, the young coach was able to gather himself and stand. "Oh, you got me good, Coach, yes sir, you got me good. Now it's my turn."

Laney prepared himself for his crack at the Dean of SEC coaches at which point Richt would say, "Welcome to the league, Junior, you can have the duck!" and Richt walked away.