My blog has moved!

You should be automatically redirected in 6 seconds. If not, visit
http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/bulldogs-blog/
and update your bookmarks.

Sunday, November 9, 2008

Richt Talks Defense

Anyone who might have expected Mark Richt to throw Willie Martinez under the bus for the defensive shortcomings the past three weeks can stop holding their breath. Richt isn't one to get angry, but the tension in his voice when talking about the defense -- and more to the point, his embattled D coordinator -- has been evident the past two days. Here's what he had to say about the situation during his Sunday teleconference:

"I think the bottom line is the coaches have to put the players in position to make plays, and the players have to make the play once that happens. Here's the whole thing for me: We're a team, and we're not going to point fingers, certainly not in the media. We'll always go back and look at things we've got to do better, whether it's a coaching decision or player execution. That's just how we handle it."

"It's the same basic defensive scheme we've had since we got here. It'snot like there's some kind of philosophical issue. The philosophy ofour defense hasn't changed hardly at all in eight years. But we haven'tbeen in this spot in the past."

"People don't get it. People think they know, but they don't. I'd love to say that if people really knew football, they'd know we'd been blitzing, they'd know we'd been playing zone, playing cover one, playing robber, fire zone. If they really knew football, they wouldn't be saying the things they say, but they don't."



14 comments:

Anonymous said...

Memo to Coach Richt:

I get you got your head handed to you by both Alabama and Florida. I get your defense gives up a lot of points and plays down to inferior teams. But then again, I don't make $3-4 million to win championships. Perhaps you should remember those facts when the people that pay for your check (the fans) get a little upset instead of telling us we don't know.

Anonymous said...

Yep, sorry coach, I do not know football X's and O's, but I can sure as hell tell you the difference between bad football and good football. We have not seen a lot of former from our defense lately.

If it is because we do not have the talent, guess what? That is your fault. Do not come out with that busch league jiberish about the fans "not knowing football."

That sounds eerily similar to what Phil Fulmer has been saying for the last 5-6 years while his program has steadily fallen off a cliff.

Anonymous said...

no it's you who doesn't know mark.
we know defense and we know this one sucks. wanna argue that...you can't. i am detecting an attitude change in mark. we know willie is your friend and it will be had to fire him but you are going to have to suck it up before this thing gets out of control. when is the last time uga gave up 30+ points in three games. NEVER in 115 years til now.

Anonymous said...

I know a lil about d and Ive seen all the changes you have made, but the matter is that by the time you make the changes the teams have caught up. Yesterday I would have had eight in the box all day long. Cobb isn gunna beat you deep. He is gunna make the 5 to 10 yard pass more often than not and is gunna run against you. So why didnt we bring the corners up more? Bring the safties in more? Kentucky did it all day and slowed our running game but we had the qb to beat em deep. I hate this bend dont break shit. Im a big fan of you mark but you sure as hell wont last long around here telling us we dont know football. Evidently Brooks knows and he knew just how to exploit you 10 yard prevent. Its rediculous. And cobb beat us running around the end. Why not have the de contain or alot more cb blitzes. You or willie gunna have to get your shit togather and fix this mess of a d.

Anonymous said...

Ugh. It's amazing how fast fans are to turn on a team, and it's coach. Jesus, guys, we've we're 8 and 2 in a year that we were absolutely ravaged by injury. Most coaches would be 6-4 right now. You guys are SPOILED, nothing more, and I have a hard time believing most of you were even Dawg fans through the 80's and 90's for Goff and Donnan, to complain this badly about an 8-2 record, and beating every team in our division other than Florida.

It sickens me. We put 50+ points on friggin' LSU, have beaten both of the past two National Champions in the following season, and all of you still think YOU are the better coach. Go try it sometime. It isn't as easy as it looks, either on or off the field. And not nearly as easy as it for you guys sitting there munching cheetos and typing this crap.

Yes, our defense suckss. Yes, Martinez is NOT getting the job done. But what YOU aren't getting is that Richt understands EXACTLY what is going on, but he is not going to PUBLICALLY throw anyone under the bus. It isn't just because it isn't his style; it would cause nothing but dissention among the team and fans, and firing Martinez at this point would be even worse, since there isn't anyone around to replace him. Or do you think VanGorder is going to go jumping back to UGA from the Falcons for far less money, after leaving South Carolina in the lurch in the offseason?

Look guys, he isn't dumb; he can read the same article, he sees the same blown coverage, he watches the same game tape. He'll make the adjustments he feels necessary privately, and deal with Martinez at the end of the season. And if you guys don't like it...

Nobody makes you watch.

Anonymous said...

Its people like some of these posters that give the rest of the Dawg nation a bad rep. Everyone needs to relax and get off our team. First, let's not forget what Richt (and Martinez) has done for this program...so have a little respect. Second, our problem this year is not our coaching, or our players lack of effort, or "gimmicks" (ex: Blackout). Simply put, our troubles are due to INJURIES. No program near the top 10 has had the number of significant injuries we've sustained this year. We've been shuffling around linemen all year long. Obviously the coaches can't come out and use that as an excuse, but you'd think some of our fans would get off their soap boxes and cut our boys a little slack. We've only lost two games to arguably the top two teams in the nation...before Richt got here, if we had the same number of injuries those years I guarantee you we would've lost at least four or five games. So how 'bout it Dawg fans, let's look forward to wrapping up a solid 10-2 season and enjoying MoMass, Knowshon, and Stafford's last few games!

Anonymous said...

Wow. I'm a big fan of Mark Richt. And yes, I'm definitely old enough to remember Dooley, Goff, and Donnan - which means I can very much appreciate the fact that Richt (with Martinez) has won 80 games in less than eight seasons.

But having said all of that...You can tell the team's problems are REALLY beginning to weigh on Richt. One of the things I like about Richt is that he tells the truth. And the truth is that most of the people who are screaming "FIRE MARTINEZ!!" at the top of their lungs wouldn't know one defensive scheme from another.

But having said all of THAT...it is also true that the defense has steadily declined under Martinez. Whether it is coaching or talent doesn't matter. It is the coaches' fault in either case. And for Richt to publically throw the fans under the bus just shows how incredibly frustrated he is right now. While what he said is technically true, it is NEVER a good idea to insult the people who pay your salary.

I only hope that the obvious level of frustration means he is finally sick of it - sick enough to actually DO something about it. And no, that doesn't mean I'm campaigning for Martinez' job. It just means that I'll be very disappointed if this entire staff comes back next season and operates with a depth chart unchanged for any reason other than attrition.

Anonymous said...

Maybe its just me, but I just don't get it...what is it that people don't like about coach Martinez? I think some of our fans really are becoming spoiled. He replaced arguably one of the top NFL defensive coordinators (check out the Falcon's defense lately), so maybe that's why expectations are so high.

After reading all the venom about ol' Willie, I decided to look at some of the stats for myself...

Last year, we finished with the third overall defense in the SEC (East and West). In '06, we finished fourth (2nd in INT and 3rd in sacks). And in '05, we finished 2nd (1st in INT and 3rd in sacks). Where were all these critics then? I doubt they gave Martinez any credit for those teams/stats.

I understand the disappointment with how the year has turned out given the HIGH expectations, but where does the SPECIFIC blame fall on coach Willie? Was it his fault we had the penalty to negate Prince Miller's INT against Florida? Maybe it was his fault when Asher got his jersey yanked by the FL WR and scored that deep TD. How about the 'Bama game? I guess it was his fault AJ tipped that ball right to that 'Bama DB too? I could go on and on...like Coach Richt said, it takes solid TEAM play (offense, defense, and special teams) to shut down the other team defensively.

In both losses, one could actually argue that it was the OFFENSE that hurt us. They were no where to be found in the first half against 'Bama, and put FL in prime scoring position time and time again in that game (3 and out on first drive, the onside kick miscue, two missed field goals, etc.).

Whatever it is about coach Willie, you can't argue that we've been one of the most successful teams over the past 4-5 years and that can't all be attributed to Coach Richt and/or Bobo. Give the man (Martinez) some credit people...

Anonymous said...

I can't believe the nerve of some of you. Get off Willie's back. Definitely get off CMR's back. CMR is the best thing we've had at UGA since Walker and you guys act like because we've lost two games he and his staff should be shown the door.

Like someone else already said, our issues will be addressed privately. Enjoy the fact that we have a team that is 8-2 and have a chance to close out the season with 10+ wins. Stop calling for people's jobs. CMR doesn't show up at your work and call for your head when you screw up.

Hobnail_Boot said...

Glad to see Tech fans pretending to be Georgia fans on anonymous blogs.

8-0 is coming Nerds, and you know it.

DawgCPA said...

hobnail boot - you are rather insightful!
dng - thank you.

To the rest of you so-called Dawg fans - keep your day job!

I was there in 1979 when we lost to UVA on Homecoming. Virginia, for crying out loud! I stayed through the game even when most of my fellow students around me were leaving.

1977 was Dooley's only losing season. I was there. Specifically look at the injuries that year.

In between, we went 9-2-1. The Wonderdogs. I was there. Beat Kentucky with 3 seconds left. Wait, Kentucky? I thought they were and are the worst team in the SEC? How embarassing!

I wonder how many of you were around then. How many of you would have been calling for Erk's head and Dooley's behind? Hmmm, it seems we were pretty good a year or so later.

We're gonna have ups and downs. We are going to underachieve. But we will also over-achieve. We are the Georgia Bulldogs. We are not like everyone else. Act like it.

Just one TRUE Dawg fan's perspective.

Anonymous said...

I have been a big fan of Mark Richt and think all of BullDawg Nation should be proud to have him as our head football coach...BUT this nonsense is crazy!!

He has got to relize that our defense sucks right now. He must see that we are actaully on the defensive on defense rather than attacking. This is what most fans see right now...the change in attitude, swagger and confidence of the whole team.

Mark Richt is going to have to fire Martinez and hire someone outside the ranks to get this right! We have awesome talent on defense we just have the wrong philosophy. The fans need not tolerate a poor leader on defense draggin a very talented championship caliber team down...and I wont either!

Mark Richt's inability to ackowledge this causes me to question his true judgement!!!

famous_bt8 said...

dawg_fan_in_fla

Thank you for saving me the time, because I agree with everything you said. Well said, sir. 11-2 last year, win the rest (we will, and 11-2 this year, and probably top 5 again. We have had major injuries to both lines gys, lets not forget the importance of this. I am disgruntled about the D too, but we weren't bitching after the 6th game of the year last year. These dawgs, realize it or not, are so young. I know that gets old to hear fellas, but it is truth. I truly belive this defense will be dominant when fully healthy, and after another year of experience. Lets hunker down, beat AU (3 straight), then Tech (8 straight). Then hopefully we can match up against a "superior" Big 12 team in the Cotton and end this with a bang, until next season. I know it gets old saying that, but it is what it is. With the schedule, the injuries/whatnot, are we really that upset about 11-2. How far the program has come in 10 years... GATA - God bless the Nation.

Anonymous said...

Hey, coach, don't let the chatter get you down...you keep doing the same thing you've been doing for 8 years now...Some of us appreciate your failed efforts.

Sincerely,
The Gator Nation