Georgia Bulldogs: Mark Richt Has An "Entitlement" Problem

Here's what Georgia head coach, Mark Richt, had to say following the team's loss to Central Florida, "We didn’t want to finish with a loss, we didn’t want to finish with a losing record. No one would have really predicted that, but it is what it is, as they say." 

"It is what it is"...that's the best you can do, coach? I'll tell you this much, this game did nothing to get people excited about Georgia's ability to rebound in 2011 and this staff hasn't shown enough urgency in making the necessary changes to get this program back on the winning track.

The very definition of what this team could be in the future was expressed on the opening offensive drive of the game when Richt elected to kick a field goal, on Central Florida's 2-yard line, instead of going for it on 4th-and-1.

It was as if Richt said, 'I'm willing to settle. You took our best shot—you win'. However, as a fan you're talking at the television, screaming even, because you cannot believe what you are seeing. Then, suddenly, the ugly truth starts to creep in—the line can't do it. 

This offensive line—with its budding NFL prospects—doesn't have the leg drive or the upper body strength to assist our running backs in netting one measly yard.

How depressing is that?


Then you start to understand that there are no more "gimme" games, and no reason for you to believe this team is capable of winning against even the least of its competition. However, that's just the negativity talking. Luckily for you, the team doesn't feel that way about themselves. 

Georgia kicker Blair Walsh made it clear that this team still feels like the one voted No. 1 at the start of the 2008 season. These guys still feel as if their presence alone is enough to scare teams into submission. They entered this game under the notion that they should have been able to win,

"Our attitude needs to change. We’re not entitled to win any games. Even though it was UCF, it was Conference USA, I think we felt like we were entitled to win this game. We can’t feel that way. They’re a great team, they absolutely are. But we need to play better and win. At the end of the day you’re playing football, you’re not playing conference, and which conference is better."

The message in that is this: 'Don't worry about the guys in the uniforms, this is (insert conference here) and—on paper—we're better than they are, so don't bother preparing for the possibility of a loss. We got this'.

If that's the case, maybe they should go back and ask Michigan how embarrassed they felt after losing to Appalachian State, or how shocked Virginia Tech was when they lost to James Madison, or how much of a wake-up call it must have been for Notre Dame to lose to Tulsa.

Entitled?...Really? 6-6 makes you feel "entitled" to win football games—ay yi yi—it's any wonder  these guys have so much time to post comments on Facebook and Twitter, or operate a Ustream account—they are basing their wins on what they "should" be able to do and not what they should be doing.

Good to know.

However, if you see this game as just another isolated incident—with no particular trend in the making—you could easily find a scapegoat.  Blame Mark Richt for his lack of passion, blame Mike Bobo for his unimaginative game-planning, blame Aaron Murray for wearing gloves, blame the offensive line for being deplorable, blame Stacy Searles  (the offensive line coach) for not having the o-line prepared, blame A.J. Green for thinking ahead to the NFL, or blame the entire team for having the audacity to feel "entitled".

Pick any of the above and you'd hardly find a person to fault you for your thought process.

Blair Walsh talked about a "culture change" being on the horizon, but shouldn't that have started in 2008—after the team was decimated by the Crimson Tide in the infamous 'Blackout'? Or in 2009 when the Tennessee Volunteers took them to the woodshed? Or how about this season, after Mississippi State manhandled them in Starkville?

How much more proof does this team need that they aren't "entitled" to anything?

If you're a Georgia fan, how can you be encouraged by this team's prospects for 2011 based on what you saw? And, if you've been like me—a Richt apologist through even the toughest of times—at what point do you start to wonder if he can really turn this thing around?

2010 is history but, after that loss, it's hard to see much better on the horizon for 2011. 

Here's hoping the skeptic in me is proved wrong. Happy New Year!

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