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WATCH: Georgia football could make critics eat their words in 2021
System
Posts: 10,461 admin
WATCH: Georgia football could make critics eat their words in 2021
ATHENS — If you’re a Georgia football fan and you’re starting to get the feeling your team is being disrespected, you’re probably right.
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Look Mike, the disrespect card has been well earned over the many years of having elite recruiting, elite rosters yet failure to win the big game when needed. The only thing that will shut up this narrative is a national championship or at a minimum a CFP playoff slot every year. To cite a scripture…To much is given, much is required. And as unfair as it may be, we have not met the requirement to date. To be taken seriously amongst the likes of Bama, Clemson and Ohio State we simply have to win more and win the big games. We have the talent, so time to step it up!
Dawgs don't need to worry about what anyone else thinks of them, we just need to go out there and take care of business. Everything else will fall into place. We have a great opportunity to earn that respect in the first game, which I think the Dawgs will be up to the challenge. Dawgs 37 Clemson 24
GO DAWGS!
I’m glad to hear muschamp is settling in nicely. I think he can make really valuable contributions while he’s around in athens for hopefully the next few years.🤞🏻
Do you believe the crap you are spewing or just trying to stir the mud?
If the summary of the Kirby Smart era thus far is "biggest underachiever", I'll take more of it. I was in charge of Sanford Stadium for medical for over 30 years, went to school here, and had a father who played for Wally Butts. I promise you that UGA football has NEVER had it as good as it does now under CKS, even if he is unable to win the natty before my demise!
I am with Bogartted. These are high times for UGA football. In Kirby's 5 seasons he has had 2 Alabama National Champs and LSU's team of the century to deal with. Until Saban retires he will continue to recruit #1 classes and be favored over "the field" to win the NC. EVERY YEAR. I will gladly ride with CKS until well after Saban retires in '24.
@UGADad20 you must have inside information on 24 that no one else has. I see at least 5+ years more at least. The only things that would change that would be health issues for him or his wife.
“Look Mike, the disrespect card has been well earned over the many years of having elite recruiting, elite rosters yet failure to win the big game when needed”
Please. This sounds like something a Gator or Vol fan would say.
Recruiting under coach Richt was never as good as it is now. It was more akin to what UF is doing under Mullen. Would you say the same about Florida? Kirby has recruited lights out, but has not had all the pieces needed to unseat Alabama. Their program is well established with arguably better recruiting than Georgia. We have had 3 OC’s in six years under a less established HC. Kirby started as a rookie HC and had to change the culture while building the program to contend consistently with Bama. And people expect him to win a national championship in 5 years or he’s labeled an underachiever? Most who have to go through Alabama for a championship should have that label then.
This is an unrealistic, ridiculous narrative—another bomb thrown at our program by media folks trying to make a name for themselves and/or trying to make money. It has no other meaning than that.
It's because we have yet to win THE big games. Whether we agree with the labels, we all know where they are coming from. Think about those key games that have frustrated you over the years, ESPN and other media types have seen those games.Really every big win in resent years came in the 2017/2018 season. The win at ND, the revenge win against Auburn in Atlanta and The Rose Bowl win against Oklahoma. What many remember most about that season is how we blew a lead and lost to Bama in The national Title game though.
There is only one remedy folks, win some of those big games, starting in Charlotte next month.
" Not Texas, which has the largest athletic budget in the country but only one 10-win season in the last 11 years. Not Michigan, which has yet to appear in a Big Ten Championship Game in the 10-year history of the game."
I think that statement above helps explain why we are being called the biggest 'underachievers'. Neither one of those teams has been able to recruit Top 4 classes year-after-year. They haven't even come close. We have been squandering opportunities with these elite classes, and something tells me our best recruiting days COULD be behind us.
The SEC East is not a particularly difficult division to win as compared to the West. 95% of the SEC Championship teams have come from the West in the last decade. So for the DAWGS to make it to the SEC Championship game is great but not that hard to do. In 2017, if Auburn hadn't beaten Bama during the regular season would the DAWGS have even made it to the playoffs that single year?
However, having said all that I don't agree with the biggest underachieving assessment at this point. Talk to me in a few years and I'll let you know if my opinion has changed. Kirby is the best head coach and recruiter that we have ever had in my opinion, but I do think that pressure is building on him going into his 6th season to "show me the money" and remove the Bama curse from our midst. It's show time and prove it time. Let's move past all the hype and execute a winning formula that brings home a NC. The ESPN pundits should just add more fuel to the Dawg's fire. Put up or shut up time. Prove the naysayers wrong.
So, do we make the critics eat their words or fall short again?
Everyone turn back their "defensiveness dial" on this issue....I'm a true Dawg fan as much as any of you believe me. But I also am able to step back from being a UGA fan and seeing the big picture to try and see how the rest of the world sees us and why. I did not say CKS was an inferior coach, nor did I say UGA is an inferior team. I even said the "underachiever" tag was mostly fair. It's true that UGA football is better and at a different level under Kirby than Richt. All that is great and we all have lots of hope and expectation as UGA fans. BUT...UGA is not measured against the average college football program or against other top 10 programs. UGA is measured against the elite teams (Bama, Clemson), especially by the media and other college football fans. Is that fair? Is it right? I would say not. However, because of our elite recruiting, talent and resources...well we are. And frankly while I'm pleased where our program is and headed...objectively I have to admit when I look at it from the media's perspective I can understand. They are frustrated with UGA, they are tired of picking us to "break through" every year, they are tired of us losing the big games against Bama, LSU, etc. In another conference we would be a CFP team every year. But we are not. My point is simple....stop the whining that the media doesn't see how good UGA is like we do as fans. Stop being so sensitive about it. We have the honor of being measured against the elite, but with that honor comes a lot of criticism and overreaction because of expectations. I'm not satisfied being an "almost" elite team, I want to be and be seen as elite from all corners. Until we unseat Bama as the SEC king, we simply will not be seen that way. It's unfair and I don't like it but I understand it....so should you!
To compare Georgia to the elite programs since 1981 as Rittenburger did--is to deny the lack of investment in football for many of those years. We just got an indoor practice facility after Kirby started. Our locker rooms were crap...the list could go on. He seems to be saying the "program" underachieved because it didn't invest as it should. How much investment will it take before that label is dropped? If we win a title, but don't sniff the playoffs the next year, are we still underachievers?
The Braves were roundly criticized for being so good and never winning a title. They win and it made no difference in the assessment of the media. We should have won more, the narrative goes. Rittenburger's whole criteria is off. This ridiculous take is about media clicks and revenue--nothing more. Under coach Smart, Georgia has overachieved in everything but beating Alabama when we needed to do so.
It's been said that the players have declared they will hold one another accountable this season, I hope so it just might take this to push UGA to the finish line and over it this year.
I don’t understand why so many people are saying UGA isn’t winning big games. Read the article Georgia is 10-3 vs top 10 teams not named Alabama. The sec has won 11 of the last 15 championships. Look at osu vs Alabama last year Justin fields stats were similar to Stetson Bennett. Nobody is consistently beating the crimson tide. If osu and Clemson had our schedule they would not make the playoffs every year. We came up short against lsu. Then the tigers blasted Oklahoma and Clemson. We should have a championship the 2017 DAWGS would’ve beat anybody else but bama that year.
"I think that statement above helps explain why we are being called the biggest 'underachievers'. Neither one of those teams has been able to recruit Top 4 classes year-after-year. They haven't even come close."
I don't mean to be unduly confrontational here (I did read your whole post), but frankly I will never understand the thinking that goes into this confoundingly common argument. Recruiting is at least half the job, and yet people talk about Georgia's talent level as though it's just been handed down from on high. It's like criticizing a quarterback by saying, "Sure, he's good. But where would he be if he hadn't spent all that time in the film room?"
The end results are what matter, which is why it's ridiculous to say Georgia is underachieving more egregiously than other programs, like Texas and Michigan, that are getting worse results from a similar position in the landscape of the sport.
As you say, results do matter. We're not producing the kind of results that we SHOULD be producing considering the level of coaching, recruiting, and money being spent at Georgia on the football program. Are we falling short worse than other programs? Yes and no.
We wouldn't be having this conversation if for the last 5 years Kirby hadn't been bringing in (2) #1 recruiting classes and the rest in the Top 4. If Georgia fell outside the recruiting Top 10 or Top 15 then we wouldn't be having this conversation - just like Michigan and Texas whose fans are disgusted and being laughed at and teased, but who don't have anything to point to other than average recruiting classes and average coaches (even Harbaugh ain't near as good as Saban, Dabo, or Kirby Smart) in their rollercoaster decade ride of mediocrity. You reap what you sow. I mean does anyone seriously think Texas or Michigan can compete at the elite level with their current level of recruiting AND coaching? Heck NO. No way. It's a pipe dream for (2) programs that USED to dominate.
Again, we've raised the bar for the Georgia program to almost the highest level, so we have to live up to what Kirby has created, right? Of course we do. We've got a target on our backs. Close enough is only good in horseshoes and hand grenades. We're close, but we aren't there yet.
But again, I don't think we deserve the harsh assessment and don't agree with it at this point.
@E_Roc recruiting is probably one fourth of what makes a HC elite, great, or good. The first is evaluation. The second is recruiting. The third is formulating game plans and with this developing your players to execute the plan. The final one is to make adjustments.
Kirby can recruit and we all I believe would agree on that. But this just one fourth of what it takes to win a national championship. A coach must be as good or better than his peers in all areas. So Kirby brings great talent to Athens, but the results are comparable to other programs with less talent. The natural reaction to this other than for Georgia fans is the team is under achieving.
For what it is worth, I think it is an existing culture problem. You have players talking about winning a national championship. I have not heard that from OSU, Clemson, OU or Bama players and each one of those teams surely could win a national championship this year just as easily as Georgia. I find that troubling.
Mostly Agree. Recruiting and coaching are only part of the winning equation. And I think many of us have questioned some of Kirby's in-game coaching and adjustments (or lack thereof). Still, Kirby is a great coach and recruiter and better than most. Hopefully, the right game plan and executing it to perfection is the final piece we are lacking.
And your statement is so true..." So Kirby brings great talent to Athens, but the results are comparable to other programs with less talent." Bingo.
I think you're splitting hairs. Talent evaluation is undeniably an aspect of recruiting. Making adjustments is part of game planning. If you're going to get granular with it, why stop at 4 things? That list could go on and on. The two basic elements to on-field production are acquiring talent and putting it to use. And there's a case to be made that to reach the pinnacle of sport, the most important thing - not the only thing, but most the important - is to have the necessary talent/depth.
In responding to my original point, you seemed to gloss right over it. Whether through mastery of Xs and Os, motivational tactics, simply bludgeoning one's opponents with superior talent, or some combination, the end result is what matters. Other than maybe Clemson (I'd have to check the past recruiting rankings to see if there's a significant difference), and maybe that one-off from LSU, I'm not sure which programs are achieving as much or more than Georgia these days with noticeably less talent. But however you want to slice it, even if talent alone is the single driving force behind Georgia's achievements, there aren't many programs out there that are consistently outperforming us. And one of them is led by the undisputed best to ever do it.
Lastly, what's wrong with talking about wanting to win a championship? Especially at a place like Georgia where, as reflected in these very comment sections, the topic is constantly being raised anyway? If the players didn't acknowledge it, I'm sure someone would take issue with that as well, saying these guys just don't seem to get how important it is.