Another Disappointing Season

It's been a busy couple of weeks, and a lot of things have happened. The optimistic feeling surrounding Georgia to start the season has faded. There is an all too familiar sense of doom and despair that has taken over the Bulldog Nation. The people still on the bandwagon, are left looking at each other, and wondering what is going on.

Ok, so we got blown out by Ole Miss. The Tennessee play was a complete fluke, but it's the kind of thing you learn from. Then we lose. At Home. On Homecoming. To Vanderbilt.

All of a sudden I'm hearing people opine for Mark Richt. I see people questioning Kirby Smart as Georgia's head coach. Even more people questioning Jacob Eason.

Here we are leading up to the biggest game of the season, the biggest game of any season, and I think most people aren't just giving up on this season, but I think a lot of fans are starting to wonder if Georgia will ever turn it around.

Let's start with reality. At the beginning of the season I said the bar should be set at 10-2 and playing for the SEC title in Atlanta. I still believe that goal was realistic, but obviously, Georgia isn't going 10-2 this season. I would consider this season to be a disappointment, which means this is the fourth straight season where Georgia has underachieved.

When you really look at it, Georgia won at home against Nicholls by only two points, and needed a last minute drive against Missouri to win that game, so 4-3 could easily be 2-5.

The offense has been inconsistent. The defense, while solid, has seemingly had one or two lapses each game that has allowed big plays that have come back to haunt Georgia. I would call the special teams a crap filled dumpster that has been lit on fire, but that would be an insult to crap filled dumpsters that have been lit on fire. Even writing this now, you can kind of start feeling like there really isn't anything to be positive about.

Then you look at the rest of the schedule.

Georgia will probably lose to Florida. Then we go on the road to Kentucky, who beat Vanderbilt, so you never know. We host Auburn, who seems to have turned their season around. I feel good about ULL on November 19th. Then we host Tech. With the way this team has played, you can't tell me you feel good about any of those games, other than ULL.

This season could get really ugly. At this point, I think 7-5 is about the best we can do, with loses coming to Florida and Auburn.

Ok, enough with the bad. Here is the good.

I am still 100% confident that Georgia will not only be okay under Kirby Smart, I am 100% confident that Kirby Smart will win a National Title at Georgia.

Smart has never been a head coach before, but he is as prepared to be a head coach as any person could be. He coached for Saban for 8 years. He coached at Georgia with Richt for 1 year. He played at Georgia. He has a great relationship with Coach Dooley and Coach Donnon. He won 4 National Titles as a defensive coordinator on teams where defense was the strength of the team. He is a fantastic recruiter.

Kirby Smart, and Georgia, are going to be fine. Just not this year.

The people who want to think Mark Richt would have done better with this team, I disagree whole heartedly. The offensive line issues that we have would have been the same for Richt as it is for Smart. You could argue that the reason the line is where it is this season is because of Richt's misses in recruiting. I think Richt's team would have beaten Vandy, so maybe they could have gone 8-4, but is that so much better than 7-5? Richt would have been fired if he went 8-4, and Kirby would probably have been unavailable because he would have just taken over at South Carolina.

I will have more on the Florida game later this week, but please, in the mean time, just remember, we are starting over with Kirby, and while this season has been both disappointing and frustrating, brighter days are ahead for Georgia.

Not Yet

What a wild ride.

I sit here, two hours removed from the horrific end of a great football game, and I think I have had enough time to obtain perspective.

I have a heavy heart and a tweaked ankle. When Jacob Eason hit Riley Ridley to take the lead with 10 seconds to go in the game, I was jumping up and down and low-key screaming because the baby was asleep. Harrison, who was upstairs getting ready to read his bed-time story, heard the commotion, comes to the top of the stairs and asks, “Daddy, did Georgia win?” My answer was telling. “Not yet,” I said. He laughed and said, “Daddy is so silly.”

Not yet.

Of course I couldn’t foresee what was about to happen, but there is something inside me that is trained to not believe we had won a game when we are up 3 with 10 seconds to go. To modify a line from Harvey Updike, there is just too much Georgia in me.

I had a friend, who is not a Georgia fan or hater, describe the ending to tonight’s game as “The most Georgia Georgia that ever done Georgia’d.” Well, said.

When the game ended, I walked outside. I sat down on the sidewalk for a minute. I didn’t cry, which is surprising. I took a few deep breathes, went back inside and began to process.

I was about to write my blog. You see, I have gotten really good at writing this particular blog.

LSU 2009.

Alabama 2012.

Clemson 2013.

Auburn 2013.

South Carolina 2014.

Tech 2014.

Tennessee 2015.

I didn’t start writing the blog until 2009, but if I had been writing it before 2009, you could have added:

Tech 2008.

Alabama 2008.

South Carolina 2007.

Florida 2006.

Auburn 2005.

Auburn 2005. That one deserves two mentions. Tough beat and Taco Bell screwed up my order after the game.

Florida 2005.

Tennessee 2004.

LSU 2003.

Florida 2002.

Auburn 2001.

No research guys, these are from memory. You know why I remember them? Because these were all games Georgia could have, should have, might have, but didn’t, win.

I’m good at this blog.

Here is how it goes:

I couldn’t be more proud of this team, the crowd, and everyone involved with the program. After embarrassing themselves last week, Georgia played with fire and energy for four quarters.

I’m proud of the defense, who in reality gave up 20 points, excluding the Hail Mary and the defensive touchdown by Tennessee.

I’m proud of the running backs, who finally were a factor, even without their best player.

I’m proud of the offensive line, yes, even the offensive line, who didn’t play a perfect game, but they played one heck of a game against a talented and experienced defensive front for Tennessee.

I’m proud of our kicker, yes, even the glasses wearing, good for almost nothing kicker, who actually made a field goal!

Most of all, I’m proud of our freshman quarterback, who struggled at times in this game. I’m proud that after a terrible mistake on the fumble, that gave the opposing team the lead, and a poor pass that resulted in what seemed like a game ending interception, this 18 year old kid stepped up and delivered a beautiful 47 yard touchdown pass that ignited Sanford Stadium in a way that has not been heard since the end of the LSU game in 2013.

See, I told you I was good at this blog.

All of that is true. But there is something else that is more true. There is a dangerous truth tied to how I feel tonight.

The truth is this:

None of that matters because I’m tired of losing.

You are tired of it too. Be honest with yourself. Who convinced you that feeling proud of the team after a loss was an acceptable response to failure? Who decided that at Georgia, we should settle for coming up short and almost getting big wins? Who told you that we can’t do what other schools do?

Mark Richt was a great man, and a great coach, but the worst thing that ever happened under his watch was we decided to be proud of the team for trying.

Dammit, we are Georgia.

There are more players in the NFL from the state of Georgia than any other state in the Union. There is more talent in this state than in Alabama, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Kentucky combined. We don’t have to settle for almost.

You know how I know we don’t have to settle for almost, our coach said so after the game tonight.

“I don’t believe in moral victories, and I’m sick to my stomach that we lost that game.”

-          Kirby Smart

The bar just got raised guys.

This coach doesn’t feel good about almost. This coach isn’t making excuses. This coach understands that he is the coach because the last guy didn’t win these games. This coach understands and accepts the fact that if he doesn’t win these games, there will be another, new coach.

I’m proud of some of the individual efforts this afternoon, but I’m done being proud of a losing team.

We have got to do better.

My expectations for the rest of this year are as simple as can be. Win the rest of our games. I don’t care about style points. I don’t care about point spreads. I don’t care about inexperience, home or away, division or conference games. 

Win the rest of the games.

Before this season I said this team should go 10-2. Well, they are 3-2, so win the rest of the games.

Tennessee is going to lose to Texas A&M next Saturday, and Alabama the Saturday after that. They will probably win out, go 10-2 themselves, and win the East by winning the tie-breaker because of a last second Hail Mary on our field. I don’t know if we are good enough to play with the West Champion, but I want the shot to find out.

This feels like 2004 and 2007, where we are close to something special, but come up just short.

I'm sick of feeling this way.

Please don’t misread my tone. I’m as loyal as ever. There is no bandwagon in my house. I’m just tired of not being able to tell my son that Georgia won the game when we score a touchdown to take a 3 point lead with 10 seconds to go. 

The Biggest Game of the Year

Another busy week, another last-minute blog. Being an adult sure has its struggles.

If you go off the reaction to the Ole Miss loss last week, Georgia might very well lose the rest of the games they play this season. I was shocked (sarcastic voice) to see some people on social media who began questioning whether Kirby Smart is the right man for the job.

Loyalty ain’t what it used to be.

Today’s game could not be more important. If Georgia wins, I would expect them to win the SEC East. If Georgia loses, I still think they can have a solid season, but I would think they might drop one more game this year, going 9-3, which in my opinion would be a disappointment because I think this team with this schedule could have gone 10-2. Not a huge disappointment, but a disappointment still.

Now I’m going to say something that may be a little controversial. Georgia will not miss Nick Chubb, who is out with an ankle injury.

Let me explain please.

Chubb is a great running back. He is like a boulder that runs over people as it comes rolling down a hill. I am more of a fan of Nick Chubb than any of the other running backs we have had in recent memory because of his work ethic and his humility. As a player, Chubb is great at shedding tacklers and picking up yards after contact once he reaches the second level. The one thing he doesn’t have, is the ability to make a guy miss. Chubb is a north/south, downhill runner, but he has to get going to be effective. With the offensive line issues that Georgia has, Chubb’s style of running isn’t a perfect match.

If the line were giving him decent holes, Chubb can handle linebackers and safeties who are coming up to make plays. However, the line isn’t giving him great holes, and he doesn’t have the quick first step to be able to make a cut and create a new running lane.

There is also the fact that Georgia’s depth at running back is excellent. We saw last season that Georgia won 10 games despite losing Chubb for the season. Tenneessee is likely to be missing three starters on defense, including their defensive captain, Cameron Reese-Maybin. Trading Chubb for three defensive starters is a good trade for Georgia.

This entire game will come down to Georgia’s ability to further expose Josh Dobbs as the mediocre quarterback I believe he is. He is a great runner. He is a great leader. He is an average to below average quarterback when you make him stand in the pocket and read a defense.

The key to the game will be whether or not Georgia can be gap sound and disciplined on the line of scrimmage. If you get up field on Dobbs, forcing him to scramble, he is a better quarterback than he is when you just make him throw from the pocket. The outside rushers for Georgia have to make sure they contain Dobbs within the pocket, and when they get to Dobbs, they have to finish the job by getting the sack, (I’m looking at you Lorenzo Carter… we are all looking at you).

The reality of this game is simple. Georgia is not a great team, but neither is Tennessee. I watched the second half of the Florida/Tennessee game last week and the Vols were spectacular in the second half. But I have also watched the Vols struggle against App State and look inept for the first half of both the Virginia Tech and Florida games. Tennessee is flawed, and Georgia needs to take advantage of that.

I expect energy, focus, and discipline from the Dawgs today. It might surprise a lot of people when Georgia wins, but it won’t surprise me. We aren’t the number 10 team in America, but we aren’t 25 either, and Tennessee isn’t a top 10 team.

The home crowd will be the difference, and Kirby will be a genius again.

Georgia 35   Tennessee 32