Opinion: After another Jacksonville humbling, Richt faces tough choices

To borrow a line from Thomas Paine, “These are the times that try Bulldog souls.”

Paine wasn’t referring to anything so trifle as a sporting event when he penned a similar statement in December of 1776 -- after all the University of Georgia wasn’t even founded until 1778, and football didn’t kick off until 1892.

Yet if the “pen of the American Revolution” covered Georgia football these days, he may well come to that conclusion.

It has been a trying two seasons or so for the Bulldog faithful, and Saturday’s deflating loss to a heretofore-unconvincing Florida did nothing to cheer Georgia fans that a rebound is in the offing.

In fact, all this weekend’s 41-17 loss to the Gators did was reinforce an increasingly popular notion that there is a lack of accountability, discipline and desire within the Bulldogs program.

And to those that remember the Dog days of 2002-05, the current situation seems a nightmare from which there is no alarm clock rescue. Their frustration stems from the fact that Georgia’s is a program that has clearly regressed in certain key areas that made Mark Richt so successful in his first few seasons.

When Richt first arrived on campus, discipline was a bye-word in Athens, as the new coach instilled a rigid code that forbade such trifles as even showing hair through a helmet. Former Bulldogs linebacker Tony Gilbert – a dynamite run-suffer who made his way to the NFL – used to spend 20 minutes of pregame encasing his expansive dreadlocks in pre-wrap to avoid his coaches’ wrath. Meanwhile, many of the turnovers, penalties and inefficient play that had come to dog the Jim Donnan regime (most specifically on defense), were squelched, if, for no other reason, than Richt and his staff accepted nothing less.

There was a time when opposing offenses were flat scared to come to Sanford Stadium and face the snarling defenses that included such standouts as David Pollack, Thomas Davis, Boss Bailey and Jonathan Sullivan. And while you can argue that the talent level at Georgia is down -- though one wonders, if that is case, how recruiting services make any money, considering Georgia has been ranked amongst the top 10 in signees every year in the Richt regime -- it is clear that the Bulldog defense plays with a timidity and lack of direction that could make any offensive coordinator drool.

To wit: before playing Georgia, Florida’s offensive coordinator Steve Addazio was under intense pressure from head Gator Urban Meyer -- who doesn’t mind putting his assistants under the spotlight -- after Florida had looked sluggish and lackluster, especially in the passing game. Then came the cure: Georgia’s defense, which allowed two passing touchdowns in the first quarter of Saturday’s loss. And, aside from a well-played second quarter, Georgia did nothing to slow the Gators. The Bulldogs also proved an elixir for Tennessee quarterback Jonathan Crompton earlier in the season, as well as providing the one signature moment for LSU’s offense so far this campaign, folding inside the final two minutes after Georgia’s offense pulled off perhaps its only signature moment of the season (yes the penalty played a key role, but imagine a Georgia defense circa 2002-05 allowing a long touchdown run in the clutch).

The one unifying element in all this is a defensive staff that has been in place since 2005 when Brian VanGorder left as defensive coordinator and linebackers coach. His replacements have taken a unit that gave up 30 points or more ONCE in VanGorder’s four seasons and have made it a regularity. And anyone who doubts VanGorder’s pedigree, check out what a rather no-name Falcons defense is doing these days.

Not that Georgia’s offense is free from blame for the program’s slide either, and the Bulldogs offense certainly provided the Gators with their share of points Saturday. Georgia has also turned the ball over an absurd amount of times, ranking 119th out 120 Division I teams in turnover ratio and is also near the bottom in penalty yards assessed. Yet any observer of the Richt regime will remember that the Dogs were successful even without an explosive offense during his high tide, which is why Georgia’s offense is not biggest issue in the current slide.

This is where we enter the issue of accountability. The problems Georgia faces are not something that have occurred overnight, after one bad recruiting class or even after one season. There is a clear pattern here that has established itself since VanGorder left after ’04. And while the 2005 defense played well, the next four years have seen the Bulldogs yield more and more points (currently 29.38 per game) and look less and less prepared.

And the question everyone wants to know is why? Why has the unit continued to slide? Why has Richt allowed it to continue? What will he do to fix it? As head coach, the proverbial buck stops with him. The troubling part is that, never mind perception, reality is that nothing has changed in three years of poor defensive play.

True, the level of play in the SEC is at a zenith, as is coaching expertise. But there is being beaten and beating yourself, and the Bulldogs have done little to appear consistently competent in some time.

The Georgia faithful adore the kind of man that Mark Richt is: humble, decent, caring. They want to see him succeed perhaps more than any other coach in Bulldogs history. But unless changes are made, even he will begin to feel serious heat. After all, the fans put the success of the program above any one individual. The question is, will Richt?