SS, DD
Offense, special teams, and especially defense contributing to a spectacular meltdown…now where have I seen this before? Once – hey, it happens. Twice – hm. Three or four times in a season? Trouble.
The best minds of the Bulldog nation are already hard at work figuring out the why of the 2008 season. Was it players? Sure…we’ve been down that road. Was it coaches? Most fans sure seem to think so, and they’ll be disappointed to learn that Richt expects no changes on the staff. Was it injuries? Sure, they contributed, but injuries didn’t have much to do with the problems that showed up (again) in the Tech game.
When such problems show up time after time, there are usually deeper things going on, and Richt admitted as much on Sunday.
“I’m not sure we tackled enough [in practice this year],” Richt said. “We had so many injuries early on in fall camp … that we were more cautious than we had been in the past in terms of live tackle-to-the-ground drills. And in hindsight I think we missed that.”
I doubt that will be the last area Richt will identify to revisit during the offseason. This 2008 team was operationally shaky in many more areas. Penalties were frequent and costly. Kickoffs were train wrecks. The Dawgs had to burn two second half timeouts against Tech leaving them with only one for the stretch.
Does Richt’s lack of action when it comes to the staff indicate complacency? I don’t think so, though others will have their say on that this week. I certainly hope not – Massaquoi and those who played their hearts out on Saturday deserve much better than the conclusion that everything is OK.
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peacedog
December 1st, 2008
8:06 am
I’m as frustrated as anyone, but the fact that Richt said yesterday “no staff changes” does not, IMO, mean there won’t be any. I wouldn’t suggest that there will be, for sure.
People will say “well, we only got Searels because Calloway voluntarily left”. These same people said Richt would never get an OC too, and they were wrong about that. It may be that when Richt takes a long, proper look at this season (something that you need to be beyond the season – at least the regular season anyway – to properly begin) he’ll decide it’s time for a change. Or maybe he’ll stay loyal. I don’t know. But people getting worked up about the comments now are just being silly. Richt also said “we have problems, we’ll fix them” and said so pretty emphatically. If he doesn’t get them fixed people will have legitimate reasons to grip in the future.
Ally
December 1st, 2008
10:31 am
I’m not worried yet. Richt has a boss too that also has a boss. Four years of decline ending with the worst Defense in the history of Georgia football and one of the worst in the SEC will not be taken lightly. Maybe CMR doesn’t expect coaching changes, but that doesn’t mean Damon agrees.
All of that aside, I hope CMR realizes that as much as he is beloved, the natives are restless, really restless, and won’t tolerate this level of disappointment & failure for another year. So if he insists on hitching his wagon to his buddy, then he should expect the eventual possibility of suffering the same fate.
We are not Clemson and will not allow him 6 more years of chances.
Brian
December 1st, 2008
3:12 pm
I do agree with the posts above and of course with Groo. I can see where CMR is trying to defend his staff and that is admirable. However, I hope he takes a step back and reviews where all of this “I can’t fire my friend stuff” got his neighbors. (Fulmer and Bowden. Ignore your assistant coaches and they will get you fired. If CMR is our “good cop” then lets go hire us a bad @$$ one for DC. Everyone knows Saban is an @$$hole but they know where he stands when it comes crunch time….just saying.
James
December 1st, 2008
5:18 pm
The key moment in the Tech game came after Tech’s 12 second – 1 play – 60 yd drive – re TD. Dawgs start a drive from the 11 and go three and out after gaining 2 yds rushing on 1st and 2 incomplete passes. You can chide the defense for giving big runs and 400+ yds rushing (remember Tech’s secondary gave up 400+ in passing yards). Stafford had a fair day! But the OL, play calls, and lack of a running game in that series was woeful! If we run the ball, control the clock, and build on our lead we win. What happened to the offense in the 3rd qtr coach?