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Kirby Smart brings historically high expectations to Georgia football, small margin for error
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Kirby Smart brings historically high expectations to Georgia football, small margin for error
ATHENS — Coaches will tell you there are always things to work on and there’s no such thing as a perfect preseason.
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Expectations should be extremely high when you recruit (2) #1 classes and the rest in the Top 4 over the past 5 years. Millions of dollars in increased coaches salaries, new facilities, etc. We wouldn't be having this discussion had our recruiting and coaching been just average.
I see this as par for the course that Smart has taken. Now comes the harder part...living up to those expectations. Pressure is a good thing. Developing the belief and winning formula for the DAWGS and engraining it within the program is what will be necessary to get us over the hump that we keep hitting. Once we believe we will win, deserve to win, and expect to win...only then will we turn the corner and get over the hump...getting closer to a program like you see at Bama.
From what I see and hear all around this Georgia program is hesitation, non-belief, excuses, doubts, fear, weakness...that's what I hear. I basically see a Georgia program that doesn't believe in itself. That's the bottom line. And that's gotta change.
One thing we don't have anymore is a spate of arrests and everyone suspended for a failed drug test. The situation surrounding Cochran and Gilbert are the real red flags for me. Injuries happen but those two could be a cancer for the team. Hoping Kirby cut it out before the mentality infected the rest of the team.
"Expectations should be extremely high when you recruit (2) #1 classes and the rest in the Top 4 over the past 5 years. Millions of dollars in increased coaches salaries, new facilities, etc. We wouldn't be having this discussion had our recruiting and coaching been just average."
We have reasons for high expectations, and isn't it nice? Georgia is always in the discussion when it comes to elite teams. iAt the end, there is only one champion per year and all of those other elite teams haver those same expectations.
This article does a great job of describing the historically rarified air Kirby has led the Georgia program into. If Herschel had chosen to sign elsewhere, Dooley's legacy would be very different today. He also made the decision on his successor, Ray Goff, instead of Erk Russell. That set the program for years.
Men strong enough to address personal issues, including mental health, are not a "cancer" or a mentality to cut out. Ridiculous.
What Kirby has done is get many Dawg fans out of their comfort zones. In years past, there was no consternation about there being enough balls to go around for all the play makers. If we had one five star on the OL we were happy. If there was one “go to” WR we were ecstatic. Two, not four or five outstanding RBs were considered a stable. One blue chip QB every five or six years was a luxury, so foreign was the idea of having a five star starting with two blue chips on the bench and one on the way. And big, versatile TEs we’re beyond our comprehension because those scholarships went to fullbacks. Yes, Kirby has gotten many Dawg fans out of their comfort zones so those that never complained before are Kirby’s biggest detractors now!
Here's an example of the difference between Bama and Georgia in both what fans, media, and the college football universe expects and the way the football program's culture is perceived...
Bama is expected to win....Georgia hopes to win.
Bama plays to win...Georgia plays not to lose....I saw this in all (3) games against Bama where we were leading at halftime. More than anything I have seen time and again in games us trying to run out the clock, play too conservative, outlast the opponent, and simply not go for the jugular.
In 2020, Bama graduated and sent to the draft the largest number of players to ever be drafted at one time from a single school. It was a record.
After all that AND a brand new QB that has barely played much at all....they are ranked pre-season #1.
Just win! That will change the culture, change the narrative. Once we kick that door down, everything changes. Until we do, every one is just hoping this and that, rather tentatively, at times. For many UGA fans its, let's keep the Larry Munson attitude of "I don't know how in the world we can possibly beat the other team." They're so scary! Always be the underdog.
Can you imagine that type attitude with BAMA fans? You can't can you? I promise you they're not shaking in their boots over there worried about how they're going to possibly win now that they lost 10 dudes to the NFL last year and they have an inexperience QB at the helm. Maybe someone will pull up some articles or comments by their fans and prove me wrong.
But of course winning several NC's helps with the nay-sayers.
@MontanaDawg you are correct about it being about culture. It is the one Saban has created and to date the one Kirby has not. It is about more than just winning championships but the culture does results in winning championships. The focus at Bama is to win the play. The focus for the Dawgs is the outcome. This translates into how you expressed it, one team plays to win and one team plays not to lose.
You see this in hundreds of little ways such as players coming back for their senior year, to not opping out of bowel games, to not talking about national championships in August, to players waiting there turn.
Do I think Bama will repeat as national champions - no! What I do think is Kirby needs to get it done this year. This has as much to with the roster, staff, schedule and the relative strength of the rest of the SEC as anything.
Kirby has done a great job with the program. I expect them to win a championship every year. The question is when (National Championship)? So much talent on the field and off the field( IMO the most for both). The missing piece for me has been quarterback play, quarterback recruiting and mismanagement of the quarterback room. I give Kirby credit for recognizing and trying to address it. Unfortunately Jamie Newton didn't work out last year but he had the foresight to accept 2 qb transfers last year when I thought that didn't make any sense. He also has hired Todd Monken who I think is a absolute home run at coordinator. Even in our losses to FLA and Bama last year we had players wide open we just couldn't execute (batted passes etc.). With JT, Beck, Vandagriff and Stockton I like the future of our QB room and Georgia.
Just win is right! However, remember this...before 2020 Bama hadn't had an undefeated season since 2009. Think about that. And how many National Championships have they won during that timeframe? Six. Six NCs since 2009 and only (2) of those seasons did they go undefeated. In that timeframe Auburn (3 times), Ole Miss (twice), LSU, and Texas A&M have all beaten Bama. They aren't invincible.
Saban just knows how to win the games he needs to win to win the Natty. He knows how to coach & develop talent, make adjustments during a game, and how to execute. But, as you said, it is a winning culture at Bama. They don't have fans and the media walking on eggshells during games, hoping they might miraculously pull out the win, praying to their football gods, and acting all tentative...like us poor Dawg fans who just close our eyes and pray we might beat a team that's as good or better than we are.
This season is pivotal for the Dawgs, and we will learn a LOT about what chances they have for a Natty in the way they come out and execute on September 4th...win or lose.
@reddawg1 there is a point that I disagree with you about. I believe the culture has to come before winning and winning is the results of the the culture. If I understand you correctly your position is the culture is a results of winning.
AMEN!
I should have been more specific. The culture I'm referring to isn't with the team, it's with the fanbase. Kicking the door down and winning the NC will change that culture. Until then we're the almost team in the minds of so many fans. Even among football pundits we're not BAMA or Clemson, we are a step down but good enough ever year to be rated in the mix, even though most don't think we can pull it off.
In the end it doesn't matter what I say, or anyone else says, they just need to get it done. That's what will change the narrative. Until then it's just rinse and repeat and get excited about our recruiting class.
@reddawg1 yes you did confuse me with your comments. I am much more concerned about the culture of the team than I am the fan base. Normally the attitude of the fan base is a direct results of the performance of the team and the team culture. You are correct about Clemson and Bama and to those two I would add OSU and OU. Those teams expect to win every game just as their fans except them to win every game. This is based on performance. Now this not always the case for all those teams. I expect OU, OSU and Bama to all lose at least one game. This does not mean they will not win their respective conferences and play for the national championship. The focus of atm, LSU, Bama is not to win a national championship. It is to win the SEC West and to play in the SECCG. Winning the West, winning the SECCG, playing for the NC is the goal in that order. You do not hear the team leaders talk about winning a national championship .(I have not heard players from Clemson, OU or OSU talk about winning a national championship either.) You do hear their fans talking about it and that is the difference in the culture.