The Burden of Unfulfilled Expectations
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December 4th hurt. Unfulfilled expectations will do that. The months of anticipation leading into the SEC Championship Game exploded in our faces with a disappointment that’s very hard to put into words. And that’s just a fan’s perspective.
Can you imagine what the players and coaching staff felt? We are fortunate (maybe) to just sit and watch. They prepare and practice for 20 hours per week. So, if we as fans have a tough time getting past another gut punch by the Crimson Tide, what are the players feeling? The coaches? It’s my guess that it’s probably easier for the team to move past this, as they’ve had finals, conditioning, and practice to help refocus. And it’s the refocusing I want to talk about.
Dr. Chris Kolenda writes in his book, Leadership: The Warrior’s Art that “leaders and organizations can never attain perfection. Development involves a series of trials and errors, triumphs and mistakes, steps forward and back, in a long journey towards becoming better through learning.” UGA was so close to perfection, record-wise, and we all bought into the promise. The Dawgs suffered through trials and errors against Alabama, culminating in an all-too-familiar outcome. From my perspective, and especially after watching the game (painfully) again, something just seemed off. I watched, just like all of you, the defense looking lost at times. The last time I saw that was against Mississippi State in the 2020 season. Two red zone opportunities resulted in zero points for the Dawgs. A pick-6 was the final painful nail in the coffin. Looking lost, not cashing in on opportunities, and giving away points against teams like Alabama will result in a loss every time.
I won’t attempt to rehash what has been discussed on DawgPost in the last two weeks. None of us truly know what the game plan was and what the coaching staff saw as potential opportunities against the Tide. Needless to say, it didn’t work. But all is not lost. UGA has another opportunity to prove they are the best team in the nation. And it starts with Michigan. Truly, though, the opportunity started as soon as the game clock went to 00:00. The long 27-day journey to becoming better through learning began right then.
The question, however, is how will UGA become better through learning? We can be assured that Kirby, along with his staff, spent many hours pouring over film in the wake of the loss. But film watching won’t solve what ailed UGA during the game. As most of you know, or have figured out, I’m a retired Army guy. The Army has a process called the After Action Review. Each service in the Department of Defense has something similar, although it may be called something else. The After Action Review, or AAR, answers three questions: what happened, why did it happen, and how do we fix it. This process is the very fabric of learning in the Army. Each action, whether it be a tactical-level training exercise or a real-world operation, doesn’t end until the AAR is complete. Every member of the organization, to include each leader, is part of this facilitated process. Every member is encouraged to give their thoughts regardless of rank or duty position. Interestingly, though, time spent on each of the three questions isn’t even. You generally spend 10% of your time on what happened, 20% of your time on why it happened, and 70% of your time on how to fix it. The learning happens in that 70%.
Now, applying that thought process to our Dawgs….you better believe the what and why have been thoroughly covered already by Kirby and his staff, and I’m sure that the team leadership has had their say as well. The key part in getting from the “why” to “how to fix” is complete honesty and transparency. Accepting responsibility individually and collectively enables the entirety of the organization to get better. It strips bare any pretense of defensiveness and ego. If defensiveness and ego are allowed to gain a foothold, the lessons learned from the AAR will be muted. Every assumption must be challenged and either verified or dismissed. Each player and staff member must accept their part of the loss to a) move on from the past performance, and b) learn what needs to be done so that performance won’t be repeated against Michigan. It’s okay to make mistakes, but it’s not okay to make the same mistake twice. The AAR process helps identify not only the mistakes, but the steps required to perform at an increased level.
The final key to the AAR process is that once the lessons learned are identified, and the how-to-fix is implemented, each player and staff member must believe in the way ahead. They must do whatever is necessary to fully inculcate the lesson and methodology required to make the change. No one play or mistake caused the loss to the Tide. The loss was caused by a series of mistakes or failures that lead me to believe it was more of a gameplan and execution problem vice individual mistakes. Each can be fixed if those involved put egos aside so true learning and improvement can happen.
I don’t know what the gameplan on either side of the football was for the game against Bama. I do know that, defensively, something looked different than what we’d seen in the previous 12 games. I don’t know why Stetson threw from the pocket more than from play-action or on the move. I don’t know what audibles Stetson had at his disposal. I say this to simply highlight that none of us fully know what went into the week of planning and preparation for the SEC Championship. Only the players and coaching staff know. I’m sure that each took a hard look at every detail of that game in the two intervening weeks since we last saw the Dawgs on the field. The focus now that practice has started anew for the tilt against Michigan must be on individual and position group improvement and getting back to what our Dawgs do best. The entire program must put Alabama in the past and give Michigan their complete attention. Learn lessons, make corrections, and put every ounce of effort into getting better before the semifinal contest. Worry about the most dangerous target first because you cannot fight the last fight during the current fight. Doing so ensures defeat.
On a lighter and happier note, I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. I am blessed to have my kids and grandkids with us this week to celebrate the season and to remember what’s truly important in life. I wish you all health and prosperity this season, and of course Go Dawgs!
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