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Kirby Smart challenged to keep Georgia football among 'elite,' perception trending down
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Kirby Smart challenged to keep Georgia football among 'elite,' perception trending down
The perception of Georgia football is slipping, a trend the Bulldogs need to reverse in the Sugar Bowl against Baylor in the Jan. 1 Classic
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Here's the problem: WE AREN'T ELITE. Elite is a program that has won championships...recently not 40 years ago. We are a very good/maybe great program on the cusp. But until we are recruiting AND winnings championships then we are 2nd tier. Sorry if I hurt anyone feelings but until our staff and players stop feeling like we are elite, we will remain right where we are. On the cusp.
Rhule is a tremendous coach...a real motivator and technician. Smart is an enigma in some ways. He managed to win the SEC again using his defense almost as an offense. That will not fly in 2020! Period. The SEC is on to Smart. I like Kirby's enthusiasm and his defenses...not his offense. If Fromm shows, at least UGA will be in it (the Sugar) for a while. Baylor throws up a multi-faceted look. They are versatile and not weak in any part of the game. They may not have the raw talent UGA has, but they are well coached on both sides....ask Oklahoma. OK's defense won them one of the squeaker games against Baylor. Lesser teams are coming to fore these days. The old days of scrum football are in the past...it is almost like a new technology has emerged. Smart better get hip or he will lose this one and badly. One question is has Luke figured out Baylor? Is Coley planning another LSU-like attack? Baylor is hungry! Are the Dawgs hungrier? Is enough of the original Dawg team playing to be a factor?
Stay tuned!!!
A bowl win would be good for all the reasons stated in the article, but September in Tuscaloosa will be our chance to clear a major hurdle and really change the narrative.
If Kirby has UGA trending down, where did Dabo have Clemson after four years?
Now that sitting games out is in vogue, Dabo has the best recruiting pitch for five stars ever: Come to Clemson, reduce the chance of injury by sitting out half the season because in the worst than awful ACC the games will be over by halftime, play in two meaningful games per year and if those go well, crow about being national champs.
Yet, Kirby is right there with the "elite" on the recruiting trail and is improving the roster on a yearly basis. We are close! Very close! Go DAWGS!
I don’t think the Vegas line dropping from 8.5 to 5.5 has anything to do with perceptions that we are no longer “elite”. Since the gambling line first opened we have lost 3 spectacular starters on our OL. Throw in the likely loss of Swift and Cook, along with the decimation of our receiving corps, that’s why the Vegas odds have swung. Anyone who watched Baylor face Oklahoma twice this year knows that the Bears are a very formidable foe and have a great defense.
"The over-arching Sugar Bowl storyline is of an up-and-coming Baylor football program looking to conquer a fading Goliath."
"It’s also another indicator the perception of Georgia football could be slipping from the ranks of the elite after its 37-10 blowout loss to LSU and offensive struggles."
ROTFLMAO, talk about your journalistic overreach. What a troll job!!!
Because of the 4 team Playoff system, Bowls have become virtually meaningless. When you add in the trend of players making "business" decisions to forego the Bowl game, they take on even less luster and meaning. The Sugar Bowl is nothing more than a 2020 preview for guys who will be **** into starting roles next year.
Hey Mike, let us know about this fading Georgia perception when Kirby inks the #1 class in Feb.!
I have to admit that I am still POed after that LSU game......Is Georgia an elite program? No...no where near...and I don't see any logic in what Kirby is trying to do with the program....I have totally lost confidence in him. I believe in 2017 the Dawgs had the best, most talented team in the nation, they should have won the National Title that year....It's went downhill ever since.....even with top 5 recruiting classes every year.....The only problem I see here is that Kirby will milk 2017 into, at least, another decade of coaching...we will end up repeating the Richt years...9-3, on occasion 10-2 but never anywhere close to the playoff.......Oh I would love to be wrong but the only logic I see is "Dabo did it.....so can Kirby"...that's kinda like saying my neighbor won the lottery so I must be next"
I will admit I was all for signing Kirby to a long term contact and giving him all of that money....it was worth a shot...but it just didn't pan out
BTW Coach, I know you read this and I know you can't comment on it....just wondering if you still feel that "pressure is a privilege"
Was listening to the Solid Verbal the other day, and the statement was made that Georia had an underachieving offense this season, so that's a common perception even for those outside of Dawg Nation. Agree that the narrative points to a downward trend for Georgia, and something needs to be done to fix the offense or the trend continues. Competed for a national championship in 2017, were competitive for the SEC championship but barely missed the playoff in 2018, lost to South Carolina and got boat raced by LSU in 2019 - never really considered a threat for the playoffs after the loss to SC. The player talent was there as evidenced by three straight top 5 recruiting classes, but the loss of Jim Chaney and Mel Tucker seems to be the biggest factor in the drop-off this season. The offense was painful for Georgia fans to watch this year, as SEC defensive coordinators had a ready-made blueprint to stop the Dawgs for which we never developed an effective counter plan. Talented players such as James Cook and Demetrius Robertson we never utilized effectively. It seemed like the only effective receivers were those brought in and developed from the outside - none of the guys that have been in development within the program emerged as viable options in the passing game.
I love Kirby as a leader of the program and defensive-minded guru, but we need an offensive guru on the staff, no disrespect to the coaches we have on that side of the ball now. I'm really hoping that Kirby is working on this already, and we'll hear some good news on this front in the coming weeks. If something isn't done to correct the offensive malaise soon, the downward trend for the program is going to continue to accelerate.
Down hill since 2017? 9 wins? Ocassional 10 wins? The only comparison between Richt and Kirby is...well, there's not one. The Dawgs had an 11 and 1 regular season. By your definition, there are only three "elite" teams this year and Saban has only had one "elite" team since he's been at Bama. But, thanks for the comic relief, Boulder! Your post was laughable!
Until we update our offense this is our fate. Kirby has enough five-star players on that side of the ball they just need a coach that can utilize them. You can't run the ball down everyone's throat. And we need a quarterback who can actually win us a football game instead of being protected by two 1,000 yard rushers.
So sick of the hyper-negativity. Ask the recruits who are going to make us the No 1 or No 2 rated class if we are "fading". This article is a joke by a hack who careens from homerism to hyper negative. Do yourself a favor and subscribe to The Athletic and read Seth Emerson, or just go with Chip at the AJC. At least they or someone there proofreads their work, taking minimal professional pride.
Winning cures everything. Perhaps the shine on the bumper is fading ever so slightly, but the foundation is there to succeed. As long as we recruit at an elite level, winning at a high percentage will follow. The question now is expectation. Prior to Kirby, UGA's program was only marginally better than that of Vandy, Kentucky, etc in terms of facilities, salaries, staff, etc - the lower half of the SEC. It blew my mind that so many fans had the expectation that we should have been championship contenders back then, yet we were perennial 9-10 game winners. Now, we are in the top half of the SEC (still nowhere near the upper eschelon i.e. Clemson, Alabama, LSU) and we can lure the elite HS recruit to Athens whereas before they had many more options. However, expectations have increased along with it. All we needed to do was win 1-2 more games per year to be in the championship conversation and Kirby has done that. Yes, I totally whiffed on my pre-season predictions this year, but I still remain very bullish on our future.
While we are not elite, we **** sure are not fading away. We went 11-1 in the regular season. I think Kirby Smart has done a fine job in his 4 years and will continue to improve and learn from his mistakes. For all you negative foks, what do you want? What would you change that would cure all? If you say coaching, back it up by saying who you'd think we could realistically bring in.
I would love to hear how you figure we have improved since 2017...We haven't won a post season game since and in the last game we were dominated and outscored by 4 TDs.....That's your definition of elite? It's not mine......
Like the rest of life there are ups and downs, ebb and flow. 11-1, beating Auburn at Auburn, TN at TN and Florida, is not too bad. If the expectation is perfection, then be prepared to be constantly frustrated. It would be nice for the team to show up for every game and play to its greatest potential. For one reason or another there can be "off" days. When those days occur and the other team is pumped, then a SC type outcome will happen. And there is always the possibility that you come up against another team that has better talent at critical positions and better preparation by the coaching staff and you get an LSU outcome. Such is sport. There are bigger and more important mountains to climb in life than that.
It's all a matter of timing.
Ohio State in 2017 and 2018 had road losses where they didn't just lose to lesser teams, they got destroyed. That was with a first round draft pick at QB. This year they're going to the playoff and have looked like the most complete team in college football. Joe Burrow couldn't get out of his own way at times last year. Clemson nearly lost to Syracuse at home last year.
Georgia had a number of challenges on offense this season including losing their top five pass catchers from last season and having multiple injuries on the OL. Still, they went 11-1 in a schedule that was considered one of the toughest before the season started and they beat three teams currently ranked in the top 15. And they lost to South Carolina, which is undoubtedly a bad loss, but they had to turn the ball over four times in that game, which was uncharacteristic, including a pick six, to lose in OT to a team that had two weeks to prepared for them.
Georgia is fine. They will be back next year with seasoned receivers and an offense tweaked to take advantage of Jake Fromm's strengths and lessen his weaknesses. And the defense which was really good this year will have another year of maturity.
What a breath of fresh air. A well thought out, factual positive post!
Mke Griffin u r suppose to support the Bulldogs. I have no problem with being realistic but being negative is not acceptable. If u don’t have something realistic or positive to say KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT. I joined just to tell you how sick I am of your negative attitude the last month or so. I have read the forum without any comment for years but I am sick of your negativity. The expectations you have for the program are totally unrealistic. Your comments can do nothing but harm the efforts our coaches and players are making. Future recruits see these negative statements and have to be effected. Either be positive and support the Bulldogs are find you a new job.