Ok, so I heard Buck Belue say yesterday he has a 3 step process that will turn the sinking UGA football ship around. Today he is supposed to share step 1. Well, I am not one that has ever been in "the arena" as Richt as called fans that have not coached or played on the Division 1 level but I do have a few opinions on this subject.
The first thing is getting stronger, because you can surely look at games this season and realize just how many we lost LATE-South Carolina, Arkansas, Miss State, Colorado, Florida, Auburn, and Central Florida-hey wait, that is ALL of our losses. That is correct, you can really say that we were in EVERY single game we played this season and every game we were in position as our players and coaches held up 4 fingers to, as Richt has said, FINISH THE DRILL. Yet, in each game, we lost because the other team made the plays and we didn't. Course some of that is just bad luck and bad play calling or a busted assignment here or there, but you would have to say that a big part of it would be strength and conditioning. Is Joe T the answer, only time will tell and while I can understand folks being frustrated that Richt didn't go outside the program to hire a new S&C coach, I do believe Joe T can do the job and is highly motivated to do the job.
I also believe we need more talent. Let's face it, over the past few years, we have had fewer players get drafted, those that are getting drafted are later picks. Now, some could say this is based on our coaches not coaching our guys up but I would argue that these guys are getting a chance to play college football at the highest level, they also get the chance to work out for pro teams privately and also when they come to Athens. So, while I do think we have some coaching issues, I also think we have some talent issues-we simply need more talent and that is especially true on the lines of scrimmage. One thing UGA has rarely if ever had a problem recruiting is skill players, especially on offense. When it comes to the big uglies on the OL and DL, we seem to always have issues-whether it be shoulder problems, grade problems, just not being very good/overrated, we must address this issue. We need to get more elite level defensive talent for sure.
Coaching-this is a weekly and yearly debate but I have read a lot about who needs to be fired etc, and when I start reading this, I start to compare Richt to the sinking ship at Auburn when Tubberville started firing every assistant. There is something to be said for stability within a program but there is also something to be said for coaches doing their job. While Grantham hopefully will turn things around next year, as of now I have to view his hiring dismal at this point. From the PR nightmare to the salary/contract itself, the hiring is not looking good. That being said, Grantham does seem to get the respect of recruits and as I stated before, we NEED a talent upgrade on D, especially DL. As for offense, Bobo is now the popular coach on the firing line. While I scratch my head at his play calling nearly every game, I am not sure he needs to be fired. Now, possibly going back to just QB coach might not be a bad option but the man can recruit and has tutored some quality QB's. Searels is another one I hear a lot about and to me he has NOT done a very good job. He took over a young line blocking for a great back. At the time I thought they would be outstanding as they grew up together but that never panned out-maybe because our RB's after Moreno were just not that good but I still have to point the finger at OL-they have underachieved in my mind bigtime. You could also say RB coach as well but I am willing to let that one slide for now, especially if BMac can get us Crowell. So, for me, the coach I would like to send packing the most would be SSearels, then bring in an OL/OC and reassign Bobo to QB coach-although he might not accept it??
One more important thing is this feeling of entitlement our players have right now. I have said before, I think the celebration in Jax really has been our downfall. Sure, at the moment we all kind of liked it because we all want to beat UF so bad, we don't care what it takes. But, it sent a message to the refs and to our players. To the refs, UGA/Richt is a program that does not respect our authority. To the players, this Richt guy is telling us to do something against the rules on purpose, dudes pretty hip and likely if we do something off the field to screw up, he will just pat us on the butt and say, try not to do that again son. Course after countless violations, Richt has been forced to now kick guys off the team but that clearly was not something he wanted to do-it is just something he now HAS to do because his players have pushed him to the limit. I think one of the big downfalls of Coach Jim Donnan was that he started letting the inmates (players) run the asylum. Is history repeating itself? Hopefully the players finally have figured out that they are NOT above the law and that just because they play football at UGA, they can't just show up and win ballgames. They must work hard and take the game seriously-this means getting in the best shape of their lives as well as preparing for the game in a serious manner. The coaches can only do so much ya know.
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