by Rex Robinson

Posts tagged “Jon Fabris”

Georgia Bulldogs Go in New Direction

georgia_logo1

So shoot me. Are you  right 100% of the time? Georgia Bulldogs Head Football Coach Mark Richt made some tough decisions and let the world know today. DC Willie Martinez, LB Coach John Jancek and DE Coach Jon Fabris will not have their contracts renewed for 2010. Many Georgia fans are dancing in the streets, but I am not.  Sure the moves were necessary, but I can’t celebrate someone’s professional demise.

I know these three will land somewhere else if they choose to stay in football.  My old team mate Hugh Nall, who was the offensive line coach at Auburn a year ago, is the CEO of a trucking company in South Georgia now. Word is he is as happy as he’s ever been.

Whatever these coaches choose, I wish them well.

12/02/2009 | Categories: SPORTS | Tags: , , , , | 16 Comments »

Georgia Football Keeps it All in the Family

markr1

It is very difficult to write openly and honestly about Georgia Football sometimes.  There is an unspoken rule of not being too critical of your coach or team in the public eye.  This is true for former players as well. This blog has been a tight rope because if I can’t be honest, it’s not worth doing. And blind loyalty is just that…blind.

But something that has occured to me lately is this notion of “family”.  In the best case scenarios it is real. I believe Coach Mark Richt has fostered that environment at Georgia.  I’ve seen recruits mention it as a big reason they chose Georgia over other schools. That’s great. The team should have that feel. But what about the coaching staff?

A head coach should foster the feeling of trust, good chemistry and maybe even family, but there is a point of diminishing returns.  I keep thinking of the company I worked for prior to starting Total Team Sports.  It was a family run business that had been around for over 30 years.  They liked to think it was a family atmosphere, but there were just a few true family members and close friends that were in the inner circle.

The problem inherent in some “family” situations is it clouds business decisions.  And make no mistake, college football is a business. You know that.  In any event, any response to the cries for the firings of Bobo, Martinez, Jancek and/or Fabris have been and will be slow in coming, as they should be.  Continuity on a staff is sometimes just as important as year to year results.

It may take Damon Evans taking Coach Richt off the hook and imposing his will to make any significant changes.  I’m not saying he should at this point. I think at the end of this season, every one should be honestly evaluated without emotion.  I believe Damon is that kind of person, which again is good.

Some Georgia fans seem to be unable to stop the micromanaging game to game, forget year to year. In this his ninth year, Mark Richt has orchestrated the DawgNation to it’s best run in history. And, most of the coaches in question were in the mix from the beginning. Do they need to continue to step up? YES. Do I want see anybody fired? Not really. But I am sure you are held accountable for your job performance.

They should too.

10/05/2009 | Categories: EDITORIAL, SPORTS | Tags: , , , , , | 13 Comments »

Georgia Kick Coverage, Like GroundHog Day

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Have you ever watched a Georgia game and felt like you were actually watching Groundhog Day instead? The same song starts playing and you get that pit in your stomach. Well, the first quarter of the season is done. I wanted to check out the kick-off stats around the country and was really not suprised with what I found. Blair Walsh is better, coverage is not. Blair has already matched the number of touch-backs(4) from last year on only 21 kick-offs. Even with this being true, the coaches are not letting him consistently attempt kicking it deep. His two kicks out of bounds did bother me, but it is a risk inherent in the directional kicking philosophy. He had one lucky bounce last week, two were not so lucky.

I thought we had turned a corner with the South Carolina game. Blair’s kicks were deeper and/or placed well. One kick was kicked deep, but a coverage breakdown allowed the returner to reach mid-field. I think that squelched Coach Richt’s willingness to kick deep. Forget the fact that even with the long return, SC’s average starting field position was the best in recent memory.

Even so, our coverage is worse overall, giving up 26.73 yards per return.

That’s another category where our national rank is in triple digits.

Bowl Subdivision (FBS) National Team Report
Kickoff Return Yardage Defense

Year: 2009 Thru: 09/19/09 Minimum Pct. of Games Played
Rank Name Returns Kickoff Return Yardage TDs Yardage Per Return Kickoffs Touchbacks Wins Losses Ties
1 FIU 4 43 0 10.75 5 0 0 2 0
2 Pittsburgh 15 221 0 14.73 22 7 3 0 0
3 Washington 15 226 0 15.07 16 1 2 1 0
4 Arkansas St. 10 154 0 15.40 13 1 1 1 0
5 Colorado 12 186 0 15.50 13 2 1 2 0
6 Navy 12 187 0 15.58 14 1 1 2 0
7 UCF 12 191 0 15.92 15 2 2 1 0
8 Rutgers 17 275 0 16.18 19 2 2 1 0
9 Vanderbilt 11 180 0 16.36 12 0 1 2 0
10 LSU 18 296 0 16.44 18 0 3 0 0
11 Louisiana Tech 12 198 0 16.50 16 1 1 2 0
11 Mississippi 12 198 0 16.50 17 5 2 0 0
13 Iowa St. 15 248 0 16.53 15 0 2 1 0
14 Air Force 20 336 0 16.80 23 3 2 1 0
15 Florida 22 370 0 16.82 25 1 3 0 0
16 Baylor 7 118 0 16.86 9 1 1 1 0
16 Kent St. 7 118 0 16.86 8 0 1 2 0
18 Duke 12 203 0 16.92 13 1 1 2 0
19 TCU 15 257 0 17.13 16 0 2 0 0
20 La.-Lafayette 13 229 0 17.62 14 0 2 1 0
21 Tulsa 14 250 0 17.86 16 2 2 1 0
22 Houston 15 270 0 18.00 16 1 2 0 0
22 North Carolina St. 21 378 0 18.00 21 0 2 1 0
22 Oklahoma 21 378 0 18.00 22 1 2 1 0
25 Cincinnati 17 314 0 18.47 25 8 3 0 0
26 California 22 411 0 18.68 25 1 3 0 0
27 Boston College 15 281 0 18.73 18 1 2 1 0
28 Marshall 8 151 0 18.88 13 2 2 1 0
29 Illinois 10 189 0 18.90 11 1 1 1 0
30 Northern Ill. 16 303 0 18.94 17 2 2 1 0
31 Western Mich. 9 171 0 19.00 14 5 1 2 0
31 BYU 13 247 0 19.00 18 2 2 1 0
33 Boise St. 21 400 0 19.05 22 0 3 0 0
34 UNLV 12 229 0 19.08 17 4 2 1 0
35 Ohio St. 15 287 0 19.13 17 2 2 1 0
36 Clemson 22 421 0 19.14 22 0 2 1 0
37 Idaho 13 251 0 19.31 16 4 2 1 0
38 Virginia Tech 16 314 0 19.63 18 2 2 1 0
39 Eastern Mich. 10 197 0 19.70 11 0 0 3 0
40 Oregon St. 15 296 0 19.73 17 2 2 1 0
41 Kansas 20 397 0 19.85 23 3 3 0 0
42 Texas Tech 14 278 0 19.86 20 6 2 1 0
43 Arizona 12 241 0 20.08 15 3 2 1 0
43 Memphis 12 241 0 20.08 14 2 1 2 0
45 Buffalo 10 201 0 20.10 12 2 1 2 0
46 Southern Miss. 20 403 0 20.15 21 1 3 0 0
47 Rice 11 222 0 20.18 12 0 0 3 0
48 Kansas St. 8 162 0 20.25 10 1 1 2 0
49 Northwestern 17 345 0 20.29 20 1 2 1 0
50 Stanford 15 305 0 20.33 17 2 2 1 0
51 Iowa 14 286 0 20.43 16 2 3 0 0
52 Utah 11 225 0 20.45 16 5 2 1 0
53 Ohio 10 205 0 20.50 14 0 2 1 0
54 Mississippi St. 18 370 0 20.56 18 0 2 1 0
55 West Virginia 18 371 0 20.61 20 0 2 1 0
56 Indiana 15 310 0 20.67 18 2 3 0 0
57 Syracuse 13 270 0 20.77 13 0 1 2 0
58 Fla. Atlantic 6 125 0 20.83 6 0 0 2 0
59 Michigan 14 292 0 20.86 20 5 3 0 0
60 North Carolina 17 355 0 20.88 17 0 3 0 0
61 Arkansas 14 293 0 20.93 17 0 1 1 0
62 Tulane 6 128 0 21.33 6 0 0 2 0
62 Hawaii 15 320 0 21.33 18 2 2 1 0
64 South Fla. 20 427 0 21.35 23 2 3 0 0
65 Texas A&M 12 258 0 21.50 15 2 2 0 0
66 Miami (FL) 11 240 0 21.82 13 0 2 0 0
67 Akron 12 262 1 21.83 14 2 1 2 0
68 East Carolina 13 284 0 21.85 15 2 1 2 0
69 North Texas 10 219 0 21.90 12 1 1 2 0
70 Oklahoma St. 10 220 0 22.00 19 9 2 1 0
70 Central Mich. 15 330 0 22.00 17 1 2 1 0
72 Ball St. 11 243 0 22.09 13 2 0 3 0
73 Georgia Tech 17 376 0 22.12 18 0 2 1 0
74 Arizona St. 15 333 0 22.20 17 2 2 0 0
75 Connecticut 8 178 0 22.25 13 3 2 1 0
75 Kentucky 12 267 0 22.25 13 1 2 0 0
77 Nebraska 11 245 0 22.27 21 10 2 1 0
78 UTEP 12 268 0 22.33 14 1 1 2 0
79 Maryland 15 338 0 22.53 16 0 1 2 0
80 Wake Forest 11 248 0 22.55 15 3 2 1 0
81 Texas 16 362 0 22.63 24 7 3 0 0
82 Southern California 14 319 0 22.79 17 3 2 1 0
83 Missouri 18 412 0 22.89 23 5 3 0 0
84 Oregon 16 367 0 22.94 16 0 2 1 0
85 Michigan St. 19 439 0 23.11 20 1 1 2 0
86 Bowling Green 12 278 0 23.17 14 1 1 2 0
87 Troy 9 209 0 23.22 12 2 1 2 0
88 Tennessee 14 326 0 23.29 18 3 1 2 0
89 Army 13 303 0 23.31 14 0 2 1 0
90 Purdue 14 327 0 23.36 17 3 1 2 0
91 Notre Dame 19 444 1 23.37 20 0 2 1 0
92 New Mexico 9 212 0 23.56 9 0 0 3 0
93 UCLA 15 354 0 23.60 20 5 3 0 0
94 Western Ky. 6 144 0 24.00 8 1 0 3 0
94 Wisconsin 14 336 0 24.00 17 3 3 0 0
96 SMU 12 292 0 24.33 18 4 2 1 0
97 Toledo 14 342 0 24.43 17 0 1 2 0
98 Florida St. 11 270 0 24.55 20 9 2 1 0
99 Auburn 20 491 0 24.55 23 1 3 0 0
100 UAB 14 345 0 24.64 18 0 1 2 0
101 Alabama 22 547 2 24.86 25 2 3 0 0
102 Temple 7 175 0 25.00 7 0 0 2 0
103 Colorado St. 16 408 0 25.50 17 0 3 0 0
104 San Diego St. 13 332 0 25.54 14 0 1 2 0
105 Fresno St. 19 491 0 25.84 20 1 1 2 0
106 Penn St. 14 362 0 25.86 17 3 3 0 0
107 Utah St. 8 211 0 26.38 10 2 0 2 0
108 Georgia 15 401 0 26.73 21 4 2 1 0
109 New Mexico St. 4 107 0 26.75 9 4 1 2 0
110 Middle Tenn. 15 405 1 27.00 15 0 2 1 0
111 Minnesota 11 302 0 27.45 14 3 2 1 0
112 Nevada 2 56 0 28.00 4 1 0 2 0
113 La.-Monroe 15 442 2 29.47 17 0 1 2 0
114 South Carolina 16 473 1 29.56 18 0 2 1 0
115 Washington St. 10 301 1 30.10 14 3 1 2 0
116 Wyoming 8 241 0 30.13 11 2 1 2 0
117 Louisville 13 397 1 30.54 13 0 1 1 0
118 Virginia 9 306 1 34.00 12 3 0 3 0
119 Miami (OH) 3 106 0 35.33 6 3 0 3 0
120 San Jose St. 8 283 1 35.38 9 1 0 3 0

09/24/2009 | Categories: FUNNY PAPERS, SPORTS | Tags: , , , | 3 Comments »

Fabris and Martinez, and The Truth Shall Set You Back

georgia_logo11It’s been quite a week for Georgia assistant football coaches Jon Fabris amd Willie Martinez. Both have had their share of criticism in recent years and both had opportunities to share their thoughts in the media.  Their respective units have struggled at times to say the least and both have been discussed in the Bulldawg Blogosphere. My question is this. Did either coach make you feel better in any of their recent opportunities in the print or online media?

Let me know what you thought of Fabris’ description of his kick-off situation and the process for determining who will man that unit. Did Willie Martinez come across as makng excuses and even pointing fingers in the AJC?

fabris150

Personally I did not feel better after either. Now I truly believe both the defense and the kick-off unit will be better. From winter workouts on, I believe the entire team has a renewed focus and especially the defense.  Coach Mark Richt is freeing up freshman to compete for special teams spots. That could let some young guy shine and not ride the pine.

Even so, the two coaches did not come across very well, in my opinion. Maybe Coach Richt should consider a new policy for allowing assistants to be interviewed.

08/22/2009 | Categories: EDITORIAL, SPORTS | Tags: , , , | 18 Comments »

“Special” Education

fabris

Once again the infamous kicking controversy has reared it’s ugly head.  I have entered the blogosphere in a year when kickers and kicking are high on the list of many Bulldog faithful. But I don’t want to be on any ” lists” come the fall.  I am not sure how to negotiate this tsunami, but for now I will continue to tread water and attempt to survive the wave.  I did an interview with the Bulldog Blog and it was picked up by the Junkyard Blawger, which is just stirring up a hornet’s nest again. It’s no one’s fault.  It is an area of valid concern for the DawgNation.

The thing is, it’s not Rocket Surgery. lol

I have no exclusivity  on the wisdom in this situation.

It’s just an opinion.

Guess who’s opinions really matter?

In case you did not read all of the blog posts I have linked to in this article, in their entirety, understand this.  I have the utmost respect for Jon Fabris and Mark Richt as coaches. I am not sure that this is adequately explained by me or other bloggers.  That being said, I can offer a dissenting opinion, can’t I?

It’s not the USSA yet, is it?

07/21/2009 | Categories: EDITORIAL, SPORTS | Tags: , , , | 7 Comments »