I tend to be optimistic, so I totally understand those on here who say things like, "let's see how the season plays out" and, "if we beat Georgia we could still win the East." I really get it...those things could, theoretically, happen.
But it's not going to. Butch is in at least his 3rd year where winning the East is, at a minimum, a reasonable expectation. We haven't even come close.
So, I'm inclined to agree with the pessimistic bunch.
1. Dobbs is, indeed, not walking back through that door. He alone turned some losses into wins, and turned a lot of bad plays into neutral or positive plays.
2. Jones isn't going to out-coach anybody. I believe someone in here said that he seemed to change after 2015, and I have to agree. The 2013 UGA game was as gutsy/ballsy of a performance by a head coach as we've seen in a looooooong time. And that sort of performance has never been repeated. Maybe blowing the big leads really did "break" him.
3. Why should we expect player development to improve? We have some really good players that are never put into a position to excel. Good coaches showcase a player's strengths. It's almost like we try to keep our player's skills/strengths a secret.
4. Jones is too wrapped up in his "system" (if that's what you want to call it). It doesn't work inside the 20, and he doesn't adapt to a short field.
5. A caller on a show this morning made this point, and I'd never really thought about it. When a new player comes in and has high expectations, most of the time they are brought along slowly. They get a little bit of game time so that they can "adjust to the speed of the college game." And when that player matures and starts to really have some good performances, we are told "the game is slowing down for them." I've never considered that dynamic would affect a coach, but it really seems like it applies. The game never slows down for Jones. Last week, I watched the 2016 Florida game. Everytime I've watched it, I've always been bothered by the end of the game. Jones calls the infamous timeout with about 5 seconds left and has the players and CZA huddled around him. The huddle looked like chaos. Butch is screaming something to the players, then he asks where someone is (I can't tell who), and Azzani starts frantically spinning around trying to also find whoever it is. That huddle should have been relaxed, inspired, fun, celebratory. Instead, (and even though it was impossible) it looked like a bad outcome was still possible. I know that was a very lengthy way to make the point, but it's just one example of the game being too fast for Jones.
I'm out on him. I hope for the best...I hope we win every game. We'll see.