Tuesday, October 9, 2012

I come neither to bury Richt, nor defend him

Only to ask a hypothetical question:

If David Greene throws that pass just a little lower versus Florida in 2002 (or Terrence Edwards times things just a little better and catches it), and the Dawgs play for the National Title that year instead of Ohio State or Miami ...

and ...

Matthew Stafford hits that wheel route versus South Carolina in 2007, and a Dawgs team firing on all cylinders gets to the SEC Title game against LSU, despite a ridiculous loss to Tennessee (and maybe plays Ohio State, again, for a National Title) ...

how does that change our conversations today, and in the recent past, concerning Coach Richt and the state of our program?

9 comments:

Bulldawg165 said...

GTP gave a link to this in one of his posts, so while I don't comment here usually, I'm not trying to be a troll.

To answer your question: Yes. We would be having a different discussion right now and nobody would be quite as upset had we played in two NC games.

The fact of the matter is that we didn't, though, and arguments like this are a bit unfair. Just about every team in any sport the world over can point to a few plays that could have changed the course of their season for the better. There's also usually a few plays in each of those seasons that could have changed the outcome for the worse, as well.

"What ifs" are irrelevant because you can spin them any way that you want.

South FL Dawg said...

What ifs are a slippery slope, but for example a team like Ole Miss would have to string together countless "what ifs" to conceive of having been in a title game. Travis has 1 "what if" to get the Dawgs in. Two different years.

That's food for thought. Now somebody can disagree whether it's good enough, but the question should be on the table.

As for me, I do think dumb luck has impacted Richt's record vis a vis a couple of other coaches.

Unknown said...

Georgia isn't Ole Miss. Ole Miss isn't 2nd among all schools in terms of NFL players on active rosters.

The answer to the hypothetical is YES we would still be having these questions even if both those huge IFs happened. Why? Because for 5 consecutive seasons (arguably longer) Georgia is consistently out-coached, out-schemed and unprepared to compete with, much less defeat, the best teams on its schedule.

In its last 10 bouts with top 10 teams, UGA is 1-9 and has been outscored 36-18 in those games. In its last 20 bouts with ranked teams overall, UGA is 4-16. It would be unfair to judge most teams solely on their performance vs. ranked opponents, but in Georgia´s case, there is no better litmus test, given the elite talent level.

It's nice to win 8 games or more every year but CFB is not the NFL. UGA cannot be judged by all wins and losses. It must be measured according to its performance relative to talent, money/investment in the program and expectations of the athletic department.

Unless people inside the program don't believe Georgia can compete for conference and national championships, then UGA is woefully underperforming relative to the above criteria. And we are overpaying to do so.

IMHO it's all going to work its way out after next year because we are losing 10 defensive starters, 2-3 offensive starters and playing a schedule that adds Clemson, Alabama and LSU to the normal slate. On top of that, Richt's buyout drops by two thirds after 2013.

If you are a UGA fan, enjoy this years 10-win season because very dark days lie ahead.

Bulldawg165 said...

Travis has 1 "what if" to get us in ONCE. Despite what people think, it wasn't a given in 2007 that we would beat LSU in the SECCG. They definitely weren't unbeatable, but you can't ignore us getting stomped by a 4 loss team and barely beating (assuming he makes the pass) a team that didn't even make it to a bowl game.

To your last point: dumb luck has indeed impacted Richt, but only in 2002 (ask Fla how many undefeated seasons they have). 2007 was more than just one bad play. It was quite a few bad plays against SC and an entire 60 minutes of bad play against UT.

dstarnes said...

What if David Pollack didn't make that under the armpit interception td against SC in 2002 and what if Florida didn't lose to SC in 2005?

What if I were 6-4 240 and ran a 4.25?

Sports Dawg said...

I understand your point, but what I think has all of us in the Bulldog Nation up in arms is the fact that we continue in this trend of not showing up and playing well in big games that really mean something. I'm not a CMR basher, but we can't seem to climb out of where we are to the next level. IMHO if we were to lose in Jacksonville & still win out, those 10 wins will be very hollow. All we will have done is beat the teams we are supposed to beat & lost to the two that we should have been on at least equal footing with.

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Erin F said...

Greaat post thankyou

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