Over the past couple of days I've spent a lot of time thinking about this football season for the Georgia Bulldogs. These thoughts led me to start thinking back to what can now be looked at as the "Glory Years" of the Mark Richt Era.
2002-2006 were without a doubt the best seasons for Georgia under Coach Richt. During that time, Georgia was 53-13 which is a winning percentage of .803. In the SEC, the Dawgs were 31-12 or a winning percentage of .721. From 2002-2006 Georgia lost only one game outside of the SEC, to West Virginia in the Sugar Bowl in 2006. In that same time frame, 02-06, Georgia lost only 3 games by more than 10 points. Georgia won 2 SEC titles (02, 05) and played in the SEC title game in 2003 losing to eventual national champion LSU.
Over the past 2 1/2 seasons Georgia's record is 26-9 which is a percentage of .743 and 15-7 or .682 in the SEC. Too many numbers for you? Okay well I have a few more so bare with me. From 07-09, Georgia has lost 6 times by 10 or more points. That is double the number of losses in half the time!
Penalties have been a sore spot around Athens the past few years, so here are some numbers that won't make you feel any better. From 2002-2006, Georgia averaged 60.66 penalty yards per game. From 2007-2009 that number has gone up to 69.33. Now that might not seem like a lot on the surface, but when you play in the SEC 10 yards per game is a big deal. Georgia's penalty yards per game has gone up every year since 2006, and the 2009 Dawgs are on pace to commit 77.3 penalty yards per game, which would be the highest under Coach Richt.
When you look at these numbers, you have to wonder one thing: What happened? How did this program go from greatness to mediocrity in such a short amount of time?
Now let me say one thing before we get into this. I'm not a fair weather fan. I love the Dawgs and will be watching games and following the team if they go 1-11. I'm not overreacting either. This program was one of the 10 best in the nation consistently for the majority of this decade. Even teams that have found recent success like Alabama, Texas, and Georgia Tech would kill to have Georgia's record in the last 10 years. However, the fall from grace has been dramatic and sudden, and there is, I believe, one moment that started the decline.
Saturday October 27, 2007. Jacksonville, Florida. Altell Stadium.
Georgia v. Florida:
Knowshon Moreno dives over a pile of players, extending his arms and the football across the goal line to score a touchdown and give Georgia a 6-0 lead over the defending national champion Gators. The entire Georgia team then storms the field to celebrate. Georgia fans in Jacksonville and all over the country celebrated too. Everyone watching knew that they had just seen something they would never forget.
Georgia goes on to win the game that day, and upon further review, the storming of the field seemed like it had changed something around the Georgia program. Things felt differently. A couple of weeks later, the Dawgs marched out between the hedges donning black jerseys for the first time in school history, and proceeded to hand Auburn a whipping they won't soon forget. The Blackout was the appropriate follow up to the storming of the field, and now, even ESPN was saying that something had changed for Georgia that day in Jacksonville.
The rest of the 2007 season was like a fairy tale, with Georgia winning out and finishing the season as the number 2 team in the country. When the polls came out in August of 2008, Georgia was ranked #1 preseason by the AP, also a first in school history. The entire world now bought into the storming of the field and what it meant for the Dawgs. Georgia had rushed the field that day in Jacksonville and announced to the entire world that they were now a player, not just in the SEC, but for the National Championship! Nothing could stop them now.
Funny thing happened, reality struck the Dawgs and man did it hurt. In this case, reality showed its face in the form of the Alabama Crimson Tide. The Tide rolled into Athens in September and they were greeted with darkness. Another Blackout was called to push the Dawgs over the top. Bama rolled out of town with a huge victory and the Dawgs hopes for a national title. One month later, reality would appear again in Jacksonville as those same Gators who were on the opposing side of the storming of the field, decided to reclaim what they felt belonged to them, by crushing Georgia 49-10. The final nail in the coffin came between the hedges against Tech. I can't even talk about that one.
This season has obviously been a huge disappointment. 5-4 is unacceptable in Athens and the way Georgia is losing is almost as bad as the losses themselves.
I believe that the storming of the field in Jacksonville was misinterpreted by the entire Bulldog Nation, and even the head Bulldog himself. Mark Richt had come to Athens with his calm demeanor and good morals and taught us that an even keeled approach would produce results. In one moment, that philosophy was thrown out the window in favor of a high octane, high energy approach that had Mr. Cool, Calm and Collected waving his arms at the crowd to make noise on 3rd downs.
We all wanted to believe that the storming of the field was a turning point for the Dawgs that would signal a time of more wins and a national championship coming to Athens. But the truth can be seen clearly now.
The high energy Dawgs play out of control and commit stupid penalties. The high energy Dawgs get down on themselves and can't make 2nd half comebacks like the calm Dawgs did in 2001 against Tennessee or in 2002 against Auburn. The high energy Dawgs need gimmicks like black jerseys or black helmets to get up for games.
If you wear the Red and Black every Saturday, if you march out on that field between the hedges, if you put that "G" on your helmet, then you shouldn't need a black jersey to get ready to play the #1 ranked Gators who whipped you like school girls last year!
Instead of leaders like David Greene and David Pollack we get guys like Rashad Jones and Brian Evans who want to jump up and down on the field when they make a hit on a guy 25 yards down field. Instead of dancing and congratulating each other, maybe they should recognize that the chains are moving for the first down your opponent just got, and the receiver you just hit has a big smile on his face.
Its time for some changes in Athens. I don't care whether those changes come with the assistant coaches, the players, the people that take the tickets, or the people who pick up all that trash after the games. I am an alumni of the University of Georgia and I want something to change.
We hear every year about these great recruiting classes. It is obvious that there is as much talent on the field at Georgia as there is at almost any other school in the country. The problem is not the talent, the problem is the philosophy.
Two years ago in Jacksonville, Georgia said look at me world and we got everyone's attention. We got the attention of the media who voted us number one going into 2008. We got the attention of the fans who have supported this team so well since 2001. We got the attention of the President of the University, who demanded a playoff after we got shafted in 2007. We got everyone's attention, and we haven't done anything with it.
Oh yeah, we also got the attention of the refs, and they just love us now. Now, Georgia has the reputation of being dirty and disregarding the rules. You want to know why the refs through that flag against LSU, because we stormed the field in Jacksonville! These guys have pride too, and when you disregard them, they take it personally.
You can't unring a bell. Jacksonville happened. All we can do know is get ready for the rest of this season, and try to turn it around next year.
But, the man I want to see lead the Dawgs out on the field Saturday night is the man that broke those Rocky Top hearts in 2001 with a hobnail heard 'round the South. The man that called for that pass to Micheal Johnson in the back of the end zone against Auburn in 2002, and sent the Dawgs to the SEC title game. The same man that had that calm look on his face in 2004 when Georgia pounded LSU between the hedges after losing to the Tigers twice in 2003. The man who held the team together in 2005 after DJ Shockley got hurt and we lost 2 straight games, only to come back and win the SEC again. The man who had the guts to play a true freshman in 2006, and got to see that freshman upset the #5 Auburn Tigers in their house. The same man who felt that the team needed a kick in the pants in 2007, and sent the entire team on the field to celebrate.
That man knew then that every team was different and required different motivational techniques. I hope that man knows now that what this team and this fan base need is the cool, calm, and collected hand of a leader, not a head cheerleader with a headset.
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