Ben E Lou
09-16-2005, 05:50 AM
No offense, but Richt should fire Richt
Mark Richt is among the 10 best head coaches in college football, and he has a chance to be the absolute best. For that to happen, something radical must happen. Mark Richt must fire Mark Richt. Although line coach Neil Callaway is listed as Georgia’s offensive coordinator, Richt essentially does the job himself. As strange as it sounds, Richt has become the weakest member of Richt’s staff. His offense moves in fits and starts and tends to break down against better opponents. Because the defense, under Brian VanGorder and now Willie Martinez, has been uniformly superb, the Bulldogs often get away with their offensive flailing.
But sometimes they don’t. Sometimes they lose.
The astute Athens radio man Jeff Dantzler notes the common thread in the 10 losses under Richt — an offensive malfunction. Not once in those 10 losses has Georgia scored more than 17 points. The average Bulldog yield in those 10 games is 12.1 points.
Richt still hews to his Florida State method, which worked handsomely in the ACC before Miami and Virginia Tech arrived. FSU stopped trying to out-execute anybody long ago. FSU no longer cares about establishing the run or controlling the line. FSU simply tries to hit three big plays a half, which it can do because it almost always has better playmakers. But there’s a difference between conferences, and there’s a reason the Tallahassee formula can go flat on the Bulldogs.
The best SEC teams — Florida, LSU, Tennessee and Auburn — can approximate Georgia’s personnel. (Indeed, eight of Richt’s 10 losses have been to those four schools.) And any opponent that can run with the Bulldogs has a chance to beat them because Georgia remains a sloppy team. The Bulldogs have had more penalties than the opposition in each of Richt’s four seasons, and they did again against South Carolina. Penalties hurt them Saturday, and another installment of Richt’s disjointed play calling nearly got them beat.
Richt has always seen the run as a counterpoint, not as Job 1. Like many offensive minds, he gets caught up in trying to outscheme the other guy. The inevitable result is an offense founded on finesse, and there’s no reason Georgia’s offense, with its ample supply of massive linemen and powerful backs, should ever be a dainty dancing master. Not until the third quarter did Richt start running the ball straight at South Carolina — until then, the run of choice had been Richt’s staple sprint draw, which is a fake pass — and the chance to grind down an opponent was lost yet again.
A team doesn’t have to run the ball every down to establish a physical superiority. A team doesn’t even have to run it early. (At Auburn, Chan Gailey had Georgia Tech pass to take the lead and then let P.J. Daniels hammer away to protect it.) But at some point in every game a great offense must take control of a defense, and Georgia does it too seldom. It’s no coincidence that the Bulldogs’ best work under Richt — their drive to the 2002 SEC title — came when Musa Smith got the ball more and more.
Richt’s offense can stack up yards, yes, but a disproportionate number come against the Kentuckys and the Vanderbilts and the Boise States. In Richt’s last year at FSU, the Seminoles led the nation in total offense. In his four seasons in Athens, the numbers have gotten rather worse — Georgia was 21st nationally in total offense in 2001, 39th in 2002, 58th in 2003 and 31st last year. In rushing offense, Georgia hasn’t finished above ninth among SEC teams the last three seasons.
The Bulldogs have the players to do much better. They simply lack the mind-set. A smart head coach, which Richt demonstrably is, would see that his insistence on doing double duty isn’t in the best interest of his program. He needs to find someone to call plays. He needs to find someone who believes in the power of power football. The responses are great, too.
http://www.ajc.com/sports/content/custom/blogs/sportscolumns/entries/2005/09/15/no_offense_but.html
Here's my favorite one:
By June Jones and Mouse Davis ([email protected])
September 15, 2005 10:57 PM | Link to this (http://www.ajc.com/sports/content/custom/blogs/sportscolumns/entries/2005/09/15/no_offense_but.html#comment-277964)
Mark,
You are nuts. The chuck and duck wins championships.
Mark Richt is among the 10 best head coaches in college football, and he has a chance to be the absolute best. For that to happen, something radical must happen. Mark Richt must fire Mark Richt. Although line coach Neil Callaway is listed as Georgia’s offensive coordinator, Richt essentially does the job himself. As strange as it sounds, Richt has become the weakest member of Richt’s staff. His offense moves in fits and starts and tends to break down against better opponents. Because the defense, under Brian VanGorder and now Willie Martinez, has been uniformly superb, the Bulldogs often get away with their offensive flailing.
But sometimes they don’t. Sometimes they lose.
The astute Athens radio man Jeff Dantzler notes the common thread in the 10 losses under Richt — an offensive malfunction. Not once in those 10 losses has Georgia scored more than 17 points. The average Bulldog yield in those 10 games is 12.1 points.
Richt still hews to his Florida State method, which worked handsomely in the ACC before Miami and Virginia Tech arrived. FSU stopped trying to out-execute anybody long ago. FSU no longer cares about establishing the run or controlling the line. FSU simply tries to hit three big plays a half, which it can do because it almost always has better playmakers. But there’s a difference between conferences, and there’s a reason the Tallahassee formula can go flat on the Bulldogs.
The best SEC teams — Florida, LSU, Tennessee and Auburn — can approximate Georgia’s personnel. (Indeed, eight of Richt’s 10 losses have been to those four schools.) And any opponent that can run with the Bulldogs has a chance to beat them because Georgia remains a sloppy team. The Bulldogs have had more penalties than the opposition in each of Richt’s four seasons, and they did again against South Carolina. Penalties hurt them Saturday, and another installment of Richt’s disjointed play calling nearly got them beat.
Richt has always seen the run as a counterpoint, not as Job 1. Like many offensive minds, he gets caught up in trying to outscheme the other guy. The inevitable result is an offense founded on finesse, and there’s no reason Georgia’s offense, with its ample supply of massive linemen and powerful backs, should ever be a dainty dancing master. Not until the third quarter did Richt start running the ball straight at South Carolina — until then, the run of choice had been Richt’s staple sprint draw, which is a fake pass — and the chance to grind down an opponent was lost yet again.
A team doesn’t have to run the ball every down to establish a physical superiority. A team doesn’t even have to run it early. (At Auburn, Chan Gailey had Georgia Tech pass to take the lead and then let P.J. Daniels hammer away to protect it.) But at some point in every game a great offense must take control of a defense, and Georgia does it too seldom. It’s no coincidence that the Bulldogs’ best work under Richt — their drive to the 2002 SEC title — came when Musa Smith got the ball more and more.
Richt’s offense can stack up yards, yes, but a disproportionate number come against the Kentuckys and the Vanderbilts and the Boise States. In Richt’s last year at FSU, the Seminoles led the nation in total offense. In his four seasons in Athens, the numbers have gotten rather worse — Georgia was 21st nationally in total offense in 2001, 39th in 2002, 58th in 2003 and 31st last year. In rushing offense, Georgia hasn’t finished above ninth among SEC teams the last three seasons.
The Bulldogs have the players to do much better. They simply lack the mind-set. A smart head coach, which Richt demonstrably is, would see that his insistence on doing double duty isn’t in the best interest of his program. He needs to find someone to call plays. He needs to find someone who believes in the power of power football. The responses are great, too.
http://www.ajc.com/sports/content/custom/blogs/sportscolumns/entries/2005/09/15/no_offense_but.html
Here's my favorite one:
By June Jones and Mouse Davis ([email protected])
September 15, 2005 10:57 PM | Link to this (http://www.ajc.com/sports/content/custom/blogs/sportscolumns/entries/2005/09/15/no_offense_but.html#comment-277964)
Mark,
You are nuts. The chuck and duck wins championships.