The Times, They Should be a Changin'

When the season started, some Dawg fans thought that Joe Cox could pull a D.J. Shockley and lead Georgia to the SEC Championship game.  While Joe Cox has had his moments this season, the Georgia Bulldogs are not going to play for the SEC title this year.  To be clear, Joe Cox and the play of the offense is only part of the problem with UGA this season.

Although the defense had some good games against LSU and Arizona State, they have otherwise looked pretty bad.  The Dawgs are giving up 377 yards per game, and nearly 31 points per game.  This Georgia Bulldog squad is giving up about the same number of points as such storied sorry programs as Louisiana-Lafayette, Bowling Green, and San Jose State.  Under Mark Richt, this is not the company the Dawgs are used to keeping.

When you make 3 SEC title game appearances in your first 5 years, expectations go up.  The comparisons to the Ray Goff and Jim Donnan eras are irrelevant.  Do you think that if the Texas Longhorns start the year 3-3, Texas fans would say, "well, at least this isn't the John Mackovic era."  Of course they wouldn't.  Since Mark Richt arrived at Georgia, only 5 teams have a better win percentage.  Richt and his coaching staff has had a top 10 recruiting class every year since he has been in Athens.  This is why a 45-19 loss to a Tennessee team not quaterbacked by Peyton Manning is so shocking, and so frustrating.  Dawg fans simply aren't used to seeing a Mark Richt coached Georgia Bulldog team look so bad.

Mark Richt will have to take a long, hard look at his coaching staff.  Being a head coach means making the tough decisions.  That's going to include firing coaches that you care about.  Willie Martinez may be a nice guy, but his defense is simply not getting the job done.  The players clearly have talent, but they are often out of place, which is a coaching problem. 

For me, the play that epitomized the Willie Martinez defensive play calling came early in the first quarter against Tennessee.  The Volunteers had the ball, 3rd and 9 at their own 30.  Instead of putting pressure on a quarterback that has looked completely lost this season, Martinez decides to rush only 4.  With what seemed like a good hour's worth of protection (it was probably closer to 4 or 5 seconds), Crompton was able to find an open Luke Stocker for a 26 yard completion.  3rd and 9 against a below average quarterback should be an automatic blitz situation.  Somehow, Willie Martinez has not figured this out.

It's time for accountability.  A team that has been as good as the Georgia Bulldogs have been over the past 8 years, a team that is as talented as the Dawgs are simply should not lose 45-19 to anybody, let alone a team that is in rebuilding mode.

-Dex