Since the Dawgs laid an egg on Saturday....more specifically....since our D laid an egg on Saturday....it will be nice, but not guaranteed that the Capital One will be calling. Whoever ends up there will likely be facing Michigan State, as Ohio State will now get an at-large bid over Boise. USC will represent the Pac-10 due to another rivalry choke by Oregon State, and since Florida whooped FSU, both the SEC championship teams will find their way to the BCS. What is gonna suck is if Oklahoma looses to Mizzou.....cause then its only logical that Texas will get a nod at the national championship. Don't get me wrong...I would rather have Texas play in it than Oklahoma, who based on their last 4 appearances can't prepare for a bowl, but I do not want to hear all the moaning and griping that will accompany "a team that can't even win its division" (see UGA in '07, Texas in '08) making the national title game. We will have a right to complain if it happens....but we will look so, so bad and whiny that I would just rather have everything work out nicely with OU facing the winner of the SEC.
On another note....Big Pops has laid down an ultimatum to Richt.....either he fires the Special Teams coach or Bill will not renew his season tickets. Granted, that was said in frustration after the game on Sat, so it could change, but doubtful. Its likely, therefor, that Big Willie and Big Daddy (Chunky A) will no longer get the free ride on season tix and will be forking out the bucks to keep the much loved seats in 319.
6 comments:
I didn't know we had a special teams' coach!
Just feels like a major waste - to have had so much offensively and played with such little determination on D.
In many respects, this team looks like Florida did last year. Maybe that's a good sign.
Do we really not have a kicker who can keep the ball in bounds?
Is our best KO return man really prone to fumble and 17 years old?
Is our best punt return guy really also our 3rd string QB?
I've watched the P'tree Ridge kicker kick the ball reapeatedly into the endzone for the last several weeks. I know it's 5 yards shorter in high school, but distance and direction has been a problem since the GA Southern game.
Let Blair kick the FGs, but it's time for open tryouts (invite some of the girl's soccer team) for everything else...
Don't get me started on our cornerbacks...
I know much has been laid at the feet of the staff...and I do think some of it is warranted....but I got the strong feeling Saturday that many of our issues really fall on this group of players and their inability to execute even a questionable defensive system at times. We have, in my opinion, 1 real play maker on D and that's Rennie.....I would have put Asher in there before this year but for the most part Asher just pissed me off this year with all the grabbing a looking into the backfield....nobody else even comes close to being a guy you can count on to carry out his assignments. As far as Coach Martinez goes...I don't think he's a bad coach...I don't even think he's a bad play caller for the most part....but his system is what it is...a zone coverage system that relies heavily on the front 4 for pressure while allowing the LB to read and react...we didn't have the players to run it this year (I said players, not talent..there is a difference)....the question to me is not whether or not he coached his system well and made good calls....it's whether he should have adjusted what we do when it became evident that we couldn't run his system.
I will say this.....after what I witnessed on the sideline Saturday I don't think it is possible for Willie and Coach Fabris to co-exist...I have seen them almost come to blows on several occasions...on Saturday when we had to call a time out on a Tech 4th down because Fabris sent the wrong personnel in, Richt had to actually get between them....not a good situation.
Kind of off subject but I think we lose both #7 and #24 to the draft this year....with the collective agreement in the NFL changing it makes sense for both of those guys to go get some money for themselves. I also think we might lose our RB coach this year...the UT Chat job is open and I think that's where he played and I've heard he has a desire to go back there if they come calling....if that happens I'd say give Sly Croom a call...he's gonna have some free time on his hands for a few years and we gonna need someone to pull Caleb's head out of his arse if KnoMo jumps.
I was thinking about Croom as well....but doing a positional coach thing would be such a huge step down I don't know that it is possible. I was thinking he might take the D-coordinator job if we offered it...but Richt is apparently sticking with his staff.
Along the lines of poor play by the D....I watched the replay last night and confirmed what I already knew....that all the big plays were either a blown assignment (See Rashad running up the middle at the QB...not his man....when Rody Jones swept outside untouched) or missed tackles (See Rashad vs. Jones again and Dannell vs. Dwyer) when the Dawg tries to lay a huge hit and miffs rather than trying to tie the guy up. At least Richt recognizes that we can't tackle and is planning to do something to fix it.
One last thing....we don't officially have a special teams coach...and maybe that's part of the issue....but Fabris is responsible for a large part of Special Teams and represents that part of this team's problems.
Some really good comments here. The Sly Croom thing has me intrigued. If what I read earlier in the year is correct, he and Richt are extremely close. Why not have a sit down? If philosophies match, bring Croom in as a Consultant / Assistant Head Coach. With ties to Alabama and Mississippi (yeah, I know, big deal) and an NFL pedigree, Croom seems like the perfect complement. Two things against him. He lacked political savvy and he had the misfortune of being at the second tier school in a second tier state. Neither of those affect his ability to be a )non-head) football coach.
CT says: "the question to me is not whether or not he coached his system well and made good calls....it's whether he should have adjusted what we do when it became evident that we couldn't run his system." The hammer hits the nail. I am so tired of hearing something along the lines: we are running the same scheme VG ran and we've been running since he left. Well shame on you then! If you can't recognize the fact that you gotta do something different - you simply do not have the pressure from the edge that you've had, it's your own damn fault!
And what in the hell has happened to Reshad Jones? I'm afraid our returning guys on D need therapy.
I am glad we got the"tech wins every 7 years or so" out of the way when it didn't matter. My frustration with the D is when we turn the ball over could we just hold a team to a FG! The staff gets some blame but AC will probably agree with me on this. You can teach all you want but if there is a lack of talent and kids don't do what they are supposed to do...you lok like you are the worst coach in the world. There is a reason why they kept running right!! Do y'all think that our injuries on the D line caused us to have a dismal year? I think so. JO was so good i don't think we had anyone to replace him...AC if Bill bails on the tickets give me a call I would chip in to sit with you 319!
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