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State of the Program
I look back at the Sugar Bowl in 2003. UGA vs FSU. One program had a new head coach. He was taking UGA places they couldn't get to before. The other coach was a legend. He had built a national power that even in a down year could play in a BCS bowl. This bowl game looked like a perfect example of the heavyweights in college football.
But what we didn't know is that this game was the beginning of a power shift. Not from Bobby Bowden to Mark Richt, But from the juggaurnaut status of FSU to USC. The trojans were becoming the new power of college football. The college landscape was changing. FSU and it's assistant coaches were what every school wanted to be or wanted to hire. But after that 2003 game FSU continued to decline, and while UGA climbed to new heights, we've seen our program grow stale, and ordinary.
Now, USC isn't quite the monster it used to be 5 or 6 years ago, and it can definently be argued that Florida is in dynasty status. But what is obvious is that in todays game, change is the one constant in winning. Teams need to constantly change and adapt. Try new schemes, experiment with new players, make your system flexible. Ohio State has done this with Terrell Pryor, starting him over a 5th year senior. CUM has won a national title with a pocket passer and a dual threat. But what about our beloved Bulldogs?
I ask you to look at our team not as a diehard but as an outsider. Is our playbook any different now than in 2001? How many times have we benched an older player for a younger one based entirely on potential? Have sent a message to our players AND coaches that you will be held to a standard and that if you can't hold up to it you will be held accountable?
Sadly i would have to answer no. Is our offense dynamic and unpredictable, or is it outdated and dependent on superstars to be effective? Have we played our younger guys based on necessity, or have we rolled the dice and thrown them into the fire? But most importantly, have we held our program to a standard? Once again the answer is no. We run our program with the attitude that losing isn't acceptable, but that if you try your best it'll be alright. That is not how championships are won.
Urban Meyer doesn't sugarcoat things for his players. The best guys play and if he hurts your feelings in the process, your free to leave. Nick Saban will run you out of the program if you don't hold up your end. He's also been called one of the hardest coaches to WORK for. What do you think would happen to his assistant's if they're players weren't performing? Pete Carroll recruits the best players in America and puts them on the field as soon as he can. Ask Bob Stoops or Mack Brown if they ever want to pass up the oppertunity to score points? The answer is no, because big scores make big statements.
This all brings me to the state of our program. We're at a fork in the road. One road leads us down our current path. Doing things the way we always have. The way CMR did as an OC at FSU. The other is new road. One full of change and new challanges.
CMR has got to take this program and send it down one of these roads. Our defense is beyond a concern, it's a main priority. Changes will have to be made. Whether he "advises" certain staff members to accept jobs elsewhere, or cleans house himself, it has become inevitable that change is coming. We have been lacking a true force at defensive end for awhile. They coaches are well aware of that. Just look at our current commitment list. DT will always be a power at UGA. Our younger linebackers seem to have good upside and IF Rennie returns we'll get a much needed leader back next year. Our secondary is beyond disapointing. Rambo seems like a future all SEC guy. B Smith needs to get more time and Boykin is doing great. Reshad is all but gone next year. It's mind blowing that we give up so many passing yards. I don't see how this is anyones fault other than CWM.
Kickoff coverage is major liability right now. If our D can't hold teams, then we can't have them starting around mid field. Even just adopting a new philosophy could have some type of impact. Our punter is possibly the best in the country and Blair Walsh is a very good kicker. Boykin is an All American returner. Kickoff coverage is the only special teams problem we need to address.
Offense is at one of the lowest points in CMR's era. It seems like we never pick up 1st downs on 1st or 2nd down. Our run game in non existent, and while our WR's are very talented, we need to give them better pass's to work with. AJ Green is the MVP of any team in america, and in a perfect world would win the Heisman. Our TE's are a year away from breaking out but the future looks bright. RB is very disappointing. We used to put our best RB's in the NFL regularly, but it really doesn't look that way now. We used to complain about rotating Ware, Brown, and Lump but I'd take those guys back in a heartbeat! Our line is doing it's best but they haven't gotten it all together yet. Perhaps the biggest problem with our Offense is play calling. With the lack of a running game we're gonna have to stretch the D to open up running lanes. But most of our passes are under 15 yards and on 3 step or 5 step drops. Defenses have nothing to fear deep so they still get to stuff the run. CMR needs to seriously consider taking back playcalling duties, and then changing our offensive philosophy in the off season. We've become predictable and things look like they'll get worse before they get better.
So here we sit at 3-3. We could go on a rampage and end up 10-3. Or flop and go 3-9. I don't see either happening. But i do see 6-6 being the most likely result. To do better than .500 we need to beat UF, AU, or GT. If we only win one of those then it better be the last one. 2 straight to the nerds and we have more than just SEC problems. We're a team in turmoil right now and it will probally get worse from here. CMR needs to decide who stays, who goes, who plays, who sits, and what plays those who remain will run. Don't expect to be playing in January dawg fans. Don't plan on new years eve either. It's looking like we'll be making a 3rd trip to Tennessee this year.
But what we didn't know is that this game was the beginning of a power shift. Not from Bobby Bowden to Mark Richt, But from the juggaurnaut status of FSU to USC. The trojans were becoming the new power of college football. The college landscape was changing. FSU and it's assistant coaches were what every school wanted to be or wanted to hire. But after that 2003 game FSU continued to decline, and while UGA climbed to new heights, we've seen our program grow stale, and ordinary.
Now, USC isn't quite the monster it used to be 5 or 6 years ago, and it can definently be argued that Florida is in dynasty status. But what is obvious is that in todays game, change is the one constant in winning. Teams need to constantly change and adapt. Try new schemes, experiment with new players, make your system flexible. Ohio State has done this with Terrell Pryor, starting him over a 5th year senior. CUM has won a national title with a pocket passer and a dual threat. But what about our beloved Bulldogs?
I ask you to look at our team not as a diehard but as an outsider. Is our playbook any different now than in 2001? How many times have we benched an older player for a younger one based entirely on potential? Have sent a message to our players AND coaches that you will be held to a standard and that if you can't hold up to it you will be held accountable?
Sadly i would have to answer no. Is our offense dynamic and unpredictable, or is it outdated and dependent on superstars to be effective? Have we played our younger guys based on necessity, or have we rolled the dice and thrown them into the fire? But most importantly, have we held our program to a standard? Once again the answer is no. We run our program with the attitude that losing isn't acceptable, but that if you try your best it'll be alright. That is not how championships are won.
Urban Meyer doesn't sugarcoat things for his players. The best guys play and if he hurts your feelings in the process, your free to leave. Nick Saban will run you out of the program if you don't hold up your end. He's also been called one of the hardest coaches to WORK for. What do you think would happen to his assistant's if they're players weren't performing? Pete Carroll recruits the best players in America and puts them on the field as soon as he can. Ask Bob Stoops or Mack Brown if they ever want to pass up the oppertunity to score points? The answer is no, because big scores make big statements.
This all brings me to the state of our program. We're at a fork in the road. One road leads us down our current path. Doing things the way we always have. The way CMR did as an OC at FSU. The other is new road. One full of change and new challanges.
CMR has got to take this program and send it down one of these roads. Our defense is beyond a concern, it's a main priority. Changes will have to be made. Whether he "advises" certain staff members to accept jobs elsewhere, or cleans house himself, it has become inevitable that change is coming. We have been lacking a true force at defensive end for awhile. They coaches are well aware of that. Just look at our current commitment list. DT will always be a power at UGA. Our younger linebackers seem to have good upside and IF Rennie returns we'll get a much needed leader back next year. Our secondary is beyond disapointing. Rambo seems like a future all SEC guy. B Smith needs to get more time and Boykin is doing great. Reshad is all but gone next year. It's mind blowing that we give up so many passing yards. I don't see how this is anyones fault other than CWM.
Kickoff coverage is major liability right now. If our D can't hold teams, then we can't have them starting around mid field. Even just adopting a new philosophy could have some type of impact. Our punter is possibly the best in the country and Blair Walsh is a very good kicker. Boykin is an All American returner. Kickoff coverage is the only special teams problem we need to address.
Offense is at one of the lowest points in CMR's era. It seems like we never pick up 1st downs on 1st or 2nd down. Our run game in non existent, and while our WR's are very talented, we need to give them better pass's to work with. AJ Green is the MVP of any team in america, and in a perfect world would win the Heisman. Our TE's are a year away from breaking out but the future looks bright. RB is very disappointing. We used to put our best RB's in the NFL regularly, but it really doesn't look that way now. We used to complain about rotating Ware, Brown, and Lump but I'd take those guys back in a heartbeat! Our line is doing it's best but they haven't gotten it all together yet. Perhaps the biggest problem with our Offense is play calling. With the lack of a running game we're gonna have to stretch the D to open up running lanes. But most of our passes are under 15 yards and on 3 step or 5 step drops. Defenses have nothing to fear deep so they still get to stuff the run. CMR needs to seriously consider taking back playcalling duties, and then changing our offensive philosophy in the off season. We've become predictable and things look like they'll get worse before they get better.
So here we sit at 3-3. We could go on a rampage and end up 10-3. Or flop and go 3-9. I don't see either happening. But i do see 6-6 being the most likely result. To do better than .500 we need to beat UF, AU, or GT. If we only win one of those then it better be the last one. 2 straight to the nerds and we have more than just SEC problems. We're a team in turmoil right now and it will probally get worse from here. CMR needs to decide who stays, who goes, who plays, who sits, and what plays those who remain will run. Don't expect to be playing in January dawg fans. Don't plan on new years eve either. It's looking like we'll be making a 3rd trip to Tennessee this year.
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