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Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Bobo still calling plays, King still the man at RB, and more

There was a bit of a surreal moment in Mark Richt’s news conference on Tuesday. The Georgia head coach had a back-and-forth for a few minutes with a radio reporter discussing the importance of Richt's religion, his commitment to Christ, how it helps him in the current situation, etc.

The follow-up question: Was Richt surprised to be such a heavy favorite to beat Tennessee?

“We’re a 13-point favorite? Wow," Richt said, smiling. "I hope they’re right. Are you kidding. But I don’t look at those things.”

Say what you want about Richt’s coaching abilities. But to seamlessly go from talking about his religion to answering a gambling question, well that takes skill.

A few other notes from the presser:

- Richt was asked if he plans to take a more active role in the playcalling:

“Right now that’s not the plan,” he said, then added: “I gotta be more assertive to say let Mike (Bobo) know certain situations.”

By that last part, Richt meant game management (whether they were planning on going four downs, go for field goals, etc.)

Richt then demurred, saying little, when asked about Bobo and the negative affect of the criticism he’s been getting.

- Caleb King has lead to start at tailback, despite the decisive fumble at Colorado.

“I do think Caleb had one of his better ballgames,” Richt said. “Certainly nobody’s happy about the last play. But there are some circumstances. That wasn’t your normal fumble.”

- And what of Washaun Ealey, who had but one carry at Colorado?

“He had enough ball security issues that the other guys got the opportunity, basically,” Richt said. “But he’s still a ballplayer. The pass protection is important too.”

Richt went on to add that when it comes to the tailbacks, “whoever plays the most has the most issues.” As in, the more exposure they get the more flaws that are exposed.

That’s a pretty nice way of saying that no one seems to be doing enough to grab the job.

- CB-PR Branden Smith is out this week with a concussion, and will be treated carefully, since he's sustained it twice this season. In his absence Carlton Thomas, AJ Green and Logan Gray getting reps at punt return.

- Has the 1-4 start affected recruiting much? The coach can’t comment on specific recruits, but Richt did say they would have some on campus for Saturday’s game, and hoped to show them a good game.

“I can’t say all the recruits are excited about what’s happening,” Richt said. “But most of the guys that we have committed love Georgia, and want to be at Georgia. And some of the guys realize it presents an opportunity to come in and make a difference.”

- Richt was asked to assess the offensive line: “Not good enough at this point.”

- Richt said he talked “once or twice” with Vince Dooley in the past few days. He has no problem with Vince rooting for Tennessee.

“He loves Georgia. But I think he loves Derek more,” Richt said. “As he should.”

- Defensive end Garrison Smith played for the first time at Colorado, ruling out a redshirt for this season. Could other true freshmen (like Ken Malcome) enter the picture? Perhaps, though Richt didn’t name anybody.

“There’s a chance that other guys would play,” he said.

18 comments:

Burritodawg said...

Please do not put AJ back there to return punts. First off he is not that shifty kind of athlete, which is necessary in a good punt returner. Secondly, the guy has shown a propensity to get hurt. Given the drastic variances in the offenses level of production with vs. without him it just does not seem worth it.

Chris said...

Although I don't think he should return punts cause they can't afford for him to get hurt, I think he would be great at it. If you don't think he's a "shifty kind of athlete", then you haven't been watching the games.

Anonymous said...

Not letting AJ return punts is a prime example of "playing not to lose." I don't care that he might get hurt. We are freaking 1-4 and he will be the best player on the field Saturday.

"Not shifty"???? Is that a joke. How many times have we seen AJ take a screen pass with a defender right in front of him, proceed to break his ankles and move the ball up field. Remember Vandy last year?

Every time I see Logan Gray on Saturday I will be heading to the restroom or to the concession stand. I am tired of the nonsense.

ben said...

Is Wooten not a good option for punt returns?

Also, anyone else think that 'Hitman' need not see the field? I feel like when I saw Shawn Williams on the field, I didn't see the deficiency in the FS position like I did with Hamilton.

Doug said...

I can't figure out how we are favored by double digits over the Vols. Are we that good or are they that bad?

Carter said...

Seth, "Back-and-forth" has a contentious connotation. Would that be how you'd characterize the exchange? If so, please give more details.

Kevin said...

“whoever plays the most has the most issues.”


well i gotta say, that's a little unnerving

Anonymous said...

The Dolphins believe in accountability:
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=5651160

Anonymous said...

Richt is still the diplomat and he will never throw anyone (player or coach) under the bus and I admire him for that.

That's not to say he should not be kicking ass and taking names within the confines of the athletic compound which I think he is doing.

"Uggings" was my verification word - it must mean something.

CSA said...

I have been focused way too much into these blogs after all these losses to get a feel of how the Bulldog Nation is reacting.

At this point, let's just win some damn games, shall we? There's clearly something wrong with our team, more than likely a bunch of things wrong. We can fix those in the off-season, but just win some games, and show some heart.

Anonymous said...

No one's discussing Carlton Thomas' issues at tailback?

Doug said...

I'm not sure you could call Thomas a tailback after what I saw in Boulder. Why did they keep playing him?

Anonymous said...

Exactly, Doug! He was THE guy for ALL of the first quarter. Remember when they showed the end of the quarter stats and we had -2 yards rushing? No other TB got a snap during the 1st quarter.

Scooter said...

Wow, was that Bobby Cox at that press conference? Did MR mention tipping his cap to the other teams and talk about how everyone played great except for one or two plays?

As far as the poster that was talking about respecting MR for not throwing anyone under the bus..that's true..but it would be nice if he would admit some of his OWN responsibility for sucking it up.

OldDawg55 said...

Richt's remarks were on target with what I'd expect a head coach to say. Seth, what are your questions..are you probing for definitive answers? Kudos to Shawn Williams on his play..didn't y'all see him run down that breakaway Buffalo runner..great effort! Given the results of the Vols and Dawgs, I'd say we're in for a great football game..I think the Dawgs will come thru for us. Vince, I respect your decision to watch at home..give Derek our best but hopefully he loses this one..sorry, Mom! Now Dawgs, GATA!!

Anonymous said...

...and let Grantham cut loose on the sidelines CMR! You have him all bottled up and it's obvious something was said to him after the 1st game. He can channel Erk so let him do it and you worry about Bobo.

Anonymous said...

It's amazing to me how quick these "so called" fans are so quick to throw OUR head coach under the bus. UGA is the oldest State supported University in the US and look at their overall record during good and bad times. We have 2 National Championships in over 200 years of playing football, so where does these "fly by night" fans get off thinking its going to turn around in 10 years. Mark is a good man and a good coach! The problem is the fan base sucks for the most part. We support him when things are going good fans throw him under the bus when its bad. Just shut and suppoort him. Oh, and by the way, if you fire him and pay off the millions of dollars that would be owed him, who would you people replace him with?? Mark will work these problems out, it will just take longer having to spend 95% of his time answering your dumb questions.

Anonymous said...

I don't think Richt is kicking ass with coaches and players.

Why would we think Richt is any different on the field than what we see on the sideline and with the media? He doesn't kick ass. He is a reflective, calm nice guy and he will reasonably tell people what they need to do. Unless he changes his own personality-- or tweeks it just a bit-- he will continue to be that way.
Maybe coaches and players need somebody to light a fire under their asses every now and then, or maybe people like Richt can get their point across in other ways. But when you list family and loyalty as two key components in your program, as admirable as it is, over performance and accountability, an SEC caliber toughness may not be what we see on the field or in practice.