Georgia Defense has Swagger Back?
It’s great that the Georgia Bulldogs won a game that can only be considered a confidence builder. The first shutout by a Georgia defense since 2006 and Alabama-Birmingham. Holding any college team to 55 yards in total offense is very impressive. Young Montez Robinson said the following, ”(The way we played) gives us confidence to know that we are getting better”. That’s a reasonable reaction and statement to make.
Senior Jeff Owens, on the other hand, had this to say, “We got our swagger back.” Really. That’s amazing. This defense has seen more stagger than swagger this year. I don’t want to throw cold water on a positive outcome, but let’s keep it in perspective, players and fans alike.
My mantra is “just play”! Don’t talk or dress in funny uniforms. Just play.
Did Tennessee Tech have a Ben Tate, Mario Fannin or Onterio McCaleb? Holy Crap. Stop them, then talk to me about swagger. QB Chris Todd had been inconsistent, but seems to have recaptured his early season proficiency. Even with Auburn’s Jekyll and Hyde existence this year, they are averaging 35 points per game. That’s a tie for second in the SEC with who? Florida. “Awbarn” actually leads the conference with 450 yards/game in total offense. Hello!
After rolling off five wins, the Tigers lost three in a row. They seem to have righted the ship after wins against Ole Miss(33-20) and Furman(63-31).
Fortunately they are last in scoring defense(26.6), just behind Arkansas(26.1)…and Georgia(26.1). Sheesh.
With a win this weekend, Georgia will become “bowl eligible”.
Rex,
The one thing that in totally unexplicable to me is Richt promoting Jancek and giving him a raise, when we had a great opportunity to get rid of him earlier this year. The guy can’t coach or recruit and no one else will ever offer him another job. Is Richt in denial or blind?
Our LBs disappear for entire games (except Curran) and the longer they stay in the program, the worse they get. How can Richt turn around and fire Jancek less than a year later, even though he deserves it?
11/11/2009 at 8:55 AM
Jeff Owens has been a very good player for the Dawgs and I am glad that he and Geno Atkins came back to play their senior seasons together, but other than stopping the run, they have been less than spectacular this season. It seems everyone gets enamored with Owens’ personality and his charisma, but where it counts (between the tackles) he seems to lack the fire and desire that we saw when he was an underclassman. He, like most of the defense this year have played not to lose rather than playing to win and make a statement. How’s that working out for them?? The DC’s lack of preparation and imagination is as much to blame as the player’s opinion about their swagger. Let’s see how much swagger they have left for Auburn.
Wouldn’t it make “perfect sense” for Willie to coach his arse off these last 3 games and we take 2 of 3 to salvage a 7-5 season? Anything short of 3 more wins, to me spells keys to the U-Haul for Willie. The team has got to get some fire back, and stop worrying so much about style points and how well we can dance on the sideline.
11/10/2009 at 9:07 AM
The only way this team can get back any swagger is if Evans steps in and either forces Richt to fire Martinez, or, you know, Richt actually does the best thing for our program as opposed to the best thing for his best friend.
The Georgia Bulldogs: Looking for Swagger since 2005.
Here’s the thing that really burns me up about Coach Richt:
It’s one thing to be loyal, or in his case, illogical and insane.
It’s another thing to completely have a break with reality and ignore the truth.
Willie Martinez is by far the worst DC in the LONG history of Georgia football.
He was the worst DC ever at the end of last season. So what does Richt do? Tell us we’re all idiots and gives his best friend a raise, because, you know, he did so much to actually EARN his pay.
We have good, hard working people who are out of jobs in Bulldog Nation right now, and here is Willie Martinez who can’t get fired no matter how inept he is.
But what is most disheartening is the word out of Butts-Mehre that Richt is “fanatically devoted” to Willie Martinez, and has no plan to fire him, at all, after the season.
This is worse than Jeff Bowden at FSU.
When are people who have the money and make the decisions going to wake up and realize that Mark Richt lost the moral authority to run this program the minute he put the welfare of his best friend ahead of the welfare of his program this past offseason?
I don’t care what Richt’s winning percentage is. We’re experiencing two years of decline right now, and this year is a STEEP decline.
When is Richt going to be held accountable for the decisions he’s made and the decisions he’s refused to make, that have led us to this point?
Mark Richt is simply not the man to lead this program. His two SEC Championships came with Zook and Shula running the “premier” programs of the SEC.
Because of his refusal to do whatever it takes to win, even if that means (Oh, gosh!) holding his coaches accountable for their failures and bringing better coaches in to take their places, this program has once again fallen behind Florida, Alabama, Tennessee, LSU, and even Auburn. Squarely 3rd in the East and 6th overall in the SEC.
Mark Richt cannot compete with Meyer, Miles, Saban, and even KIFFIN, because Mark Richt isn’t willing to make the hard decisions a head coach MUST make for the health of his program.
THIS was Mark Richt’s benefit of the doubt season. He made it so the second he decided to retain the worst DC in Georgia’s history. And not only that, but giving the man a raise as well, which was a slap in the face of every man and woman who actually do their jobs well and never receive so much as a thank you for their work.
This is the Georgia program under Mark Richt:
ZERO ACCOUNTABILITY
MEDIOCRITY, OR DOWNRIGHT HORRIBLENESS IS REWARDED (COX AND MARTINEZ)
LEADING THE SEC IN PENALTIES AND TURNOVERS… AGAIN
Our program, which is capable of so much more because men like Damon Evans is unwilling or unable (Adams) to hold Richt accountable, just as Richt does with his players and coaches.
So hit Evans where it hurts and let him know that you refuse to accept what is going on in OUR program.
Put your checkbooks away. Don’t give money to the Stegasaurus refit project. Don’t give money for anything having to do with the AA.
Demand accountability. Demand change.
Demand Brian Kelly. Mark Richt is simply not man enough to do what it takes to win in a SEC that includes Saban, Meyer, Miles, and KIFFIN.
Brian Kelly is. As an addendum, demand that Kirby Smart also be hired to create the same kind of multiple, attacking defense here in Athens that he runs at Bama.
11/10/2009 at 12:55 AM
Swagger? I’ve always associated that term with mis-placed over confidence. Geez you been waxed by just about every offense you’ve played and you finally stop a Tennesse Tech and you want to talk about Swagger???? This may be our problem. Seniors more concerned about strutting about like peacocks. Thank God Montez has it right…it can give you confidence to get better…that’s all. Auburn is laughing at Owens’ Swagger comments and licking their lips. Hope he realizes swagger or talk never made a tackle. Go Dawgs!
11/09/2009 at 11:45 PM
I don’t know why everyone is excited that The Dawgs beat up on a high school equivalent team this past weekend, of course they looked good. We should get whipped by Auburn and Tech, and be lucky to beat Kentucky. Then maybe we can get some of those coaching changes we desperately need . If not we will settle into the permanent role of second rate S.E.C. team, just like Dooley had for so many years, but everyone loved Dooley, and everyone loves Richt, I guess we’ll just have to settle for being the equivalent of a Minnesota in the Big Ten, or maybe Rice, or a Tulane type team. Notice how we stick with losers for decades, look at our woman’s basketball team, use to be great twenty years ago same coach same results , football is following in the same disgusting path, but dog fans for the most part are soooooo happy, what the hell, who cares. Why demand excellence when you can be average. Tech learned real fast on this coaching thing, lets see , number 7 in the nation, should blister our butts, hope so , then coaching staff might get some deserved heat, and necessary changes.
11/09/2009 at 8:43 PM
Wiki may be wrong, but I thought I heard this somewhere else too. Dawgs only need one win
Under current regulations, in order for this to occur, a team must record at least six wins in the standard 12-game schedule, which may include one win against a Division I FCS scholarship-awarding[1] opponent, or win their conference, and the team must not be on probation. The NCAA allows one victory per season over a Division I FCS (formerly I-AA) team to count toward an FBS team’s bowl eligibility
11/09/2009 at 2:47 PM
Prediction: Georgia loses the next three for a 5-7 season. Richt will have no excuse for not firing Willie.This will be the only good thing coming out of this season.
11/09/2009 at 2:23 PM
You sure Owens wasn’t referring to the deodorant sticks they found that had been missing. That Swagger smells pretty good, IMO.
Seriously, if these guys can punch Auburn in the mouth, then I’ll begin to feel a bit better for Tech in a few weeks.
11/09/2009 at 1:58 PM
Jeff Owens may be a nice guy but he seems to be more of a talker than a motivator or “producer”. If swagger means confidence then his statement is incredibly off target. Why not say…we met expectations today and look forward to preparing for Allbarn next week….
11/09/2009 at 1:27 PM
I could have lived with that.
11/09/2009 at 2:18 PM
Actually, I think UGA needs to win two of its last three to become bowl eligible. You need six wins against FBS teams to be eligible, so Tennessee Tech, an FCS school, doesn’t count.
Beat Auburn. Beat Kentucky. Hope for the best against Tech.
11/09/2009 at 1:27 PM
I don’t think that’s true. You can count a win against an FCS once every 2 or 3 years. Not sure the exact wording. But a win vs. Auburn and we are Bowl eligible.
11/09/2009 at 2:46 PM
Jeff Owens is the last player I would call a bully. He is a positive force and a motivator. His statement doesn’t equate to that. I don’t understand why you would call belief in their team and a regaining of the swagger they lost after the Tennessee game a bad thing. The SEC saw some of the swagger coming back with the awarding of freshman defensive back Robinson the SEC defensive player of the week.
11/09/2009 at 1:06 PM
The Swagger died in Knoxville. Just beat Auburn and stop worrying about style points.
11/09/2009 at 12:49 PM
If they feel they have their swagger back it will translate on the field. I would rather have them feel they are back in their grove then to be unsure of themselves. Expectations can affect a game so if they believe in themselves they can accomplish what they deserve. It reminds me of the saying people live up or down to expectations.
11/09/2009 at 11:34 AM
It reminds me of the neighborhood bully(UGA) being proud they beat up a little kid(Tenn. Tech) and bragging. I want them to pick on someone their own size(Auburn, Kentucky, and/or Tech)) and win…If they can do that, it will definitely be something to be proud of. A strong finish.
11/09/2009 at 12:38 PM
As happy as I was to see the DAWGS defense play well, especially the younger players like I wrote about earlier, I am totally with you here. I’m a defensive guy at heart and I certainly hope that the defensive unit knows deep down they did only what they should expect themselves to do. I hope they acknowledge that a similar stingy performance this week would say oh so much more than any of the post game comments from this past Saturday could say. Absolutely be happy and take encouragement from the performance, but keep it in the proper perspective. Otherwise, Saturday could be another sadly disappointing night in Athens.
11/09/2009 at 4:00 PM