What’s first-year verdict on Grantham’s defense?
Was it just a personnel problem, or should the Georgia defense have made more progress this year? (Brant Sanderlin / AJC)
Whether you tend to spin these things positively or negatively, Mark Richt pretty well summed up the defensive picture for the Dogs this week when he said Georgia still has “a ways to go” and “we’re still not playing championship-level defense right now.”
Since the end of the regular season, there’s been a lot of discussion among fans about the Georgia defense this year and the fact that its only real improvement over the Willie Martinez era was in takeaways.
All the offseason talk about a more “aggressive” style of play got fans excited about the arrival of Todd Grantham, but overall, the stats this season weren’t much different from the year before. Aside from Justin Houston, the Dogs weren’t very successful pressuring opposing quarterbacks. And Georgia ended the year dead-last in the conference in third-down defense.
Granted, the personnel wasn’t ideal for Grantham’s 3-4 scheme, particularly on the line, but it’s kind of alarming that there wasn’t any real improvement shown over the course of the season. And Grantham didn’t appear to have a clue how to defend the option running attacks that the Dogs increasingly face.
Should Georgia be feeling buyer’s remorse over spending big bucks for Grantham instead of opting for others who were available at the time, such as Tim DeRuyter, who has turned things around at Texas A&M, or Manny Diaz, who wound up at Mississippi State?
I put that question to a few fans this past week.
“I didn’t really feel like I saw the 3-4 I was expecting with lots of pressure and pressure coming from all over and confusing quarterbacks,” my son Bill said. “We played a lot of 4-2-5 or sometimes it looked like even just 4-3. Houston was always rushed from the end and that seemed to be our only blitz.”
Bill thought it instructive to look at Texas A&M, our bowl opponent last year, which also replaced its defensive coordinator after the season. “I watched Texas A&M, which switched to a 3-4 this year when they hired Tim DeRuyter from Air Force, who was floated for our D-coordinator job last year. A&M does a lot more varied blitzing and looked more like a 3-4 defense. They have Von Miller, a Justin Houston type player (they were both finalists for the Dick Butkus Award, which Miller just won) and he was rushed from different positions, so the QB didn’t always know where he was coming from, despite being an outside linebacker.
Was Todd Grantham's NFL experience perhaps not the best background for a college defensive coordinator? (Brant Sanderlin / AJC)
“It’s possible A&M just has better personnel to run a 3-4 than UGA. It is also possible that hiring a college D-coordinator made more sense than hiring a pro one, where those spread type offenses aren’t around as much. We also had an inability to adjust to covering a wheel route for way too long this season. Couple the collapses with the wisdom of giving a choke sign to a college athlete on an opposing team and I wonder about Grantham. Sure enough that hire will help determine if 2011 is the end of the Richt era.”
My friend Joel said he tends to think “it’s a personnel issue more than coaching. DeAngelo Tyson and Abry Jones should be playing DE, not nose tackle, especially in the 3-4, where (I’ve heard over and over) you need a really big space eater at the position. I wonder about the development of Kwame Geathers and Justin Anderson, both of whom are big bodies.”
But watching a replay of the Tech game particularly bothered Joel. “Bob Davie was pointing out that the interior gaps in the 3-4 defense are very wide, and Tech was simply running through those gaps. I’m no expert on defense, but I would assume that the linebackers are supposed to fill those gaps and they clearly were not. Maybe Grantham was willing to give up the inside runs to protect against the pitch, but they hurt us outside as well. I’d also note that Duke held Tech to 100 yards less offense that we did and, more telling, Tech only converted four of 13 first downs against Duke, while converting seven of 12 against us. Nobody can tell me that Duke has better personnel on defense than UGA.
“I do think Grantham is a smart coach — I remember Wade Phillips saying he was the most overqualified D-line coach in the NFL — and maybe with a year under his belt we’ll see some improvement. I also remember reading an article in the preseason that quoted some former players as saying that fans should not expect an immediate turnaround on defense, that it will take time to learn the new scheme and get the right personnel in place. I’d say that so far he’s been proven right.”
My old buddy Dan said he saw “little to no improvement on the defense this season other than the turnovers. Clearly that was due to a more attacking defense in place of the Willie Martinez style of waiting (until the other team was in the endzone, too often) and reacting.”
But, Dan said, “I am inclined to give Grantham one more year with his style players. I do fault any coach that coaches to his preferred style over the talent he has. … For Grantham to point to a lack of a nose guard for failure of his defense raises the more basic question of why was the defensive coordinator running a defense he did not have the personnel to play. He knew after spring practice what he had. His job is to design a defense with what he has.”
My brother Tim thought the biggest problem on defense was the lack of size on the line. “We were just overmatched by the big offensive lines we faced. All the deficiencies in the defense this year can be attributed to the line. (This is true for offense as well.) If you make plays at the line or behind the line it makes the other parts of your defense better. Defensive backs don’t have to cover as long, and you get more pressure. If it takes two offensive linemen to take on your defensive tackle(s) then your linebackers can make the plays.”
The outlook isn’t that bright either, Tim said. “I don’t think you can recruit enough players to turn it around in less than two years. Grantham was pretty much stuck with the players we signed last year, which mainly consisted of light, fast defensive end/linebacker types and defensive backs.”
My friend Carl over in Athens agrees. “I do think it’s a bit early to make any judgements on Grantham. He’ll need AT LEAST two years to get it turned totally around. Manny Diaz had considerably more talent at MSU. I have never been comfortable with the JUCO route, but right now I don’t see much other way to go. At least in the short term. I heard David Greene on ‘The Bulldog Brunch’ say that in 2002 the defense was so deep that Thomas Davis and Greg Blue were second stringers. Now, that was some fast defense in 2002. Boss Bailey, et al. All we have now on defense is fat, slow guys. Hopefully, this new move in S&C will be a big help. Couldn’t get much worse.”
Not a very encouraging picture, is it? What’s your take on Grantham and the Georgia defense?
Find me on Facebook.
Follow me on Twitter.
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
310 comments Add your comment
NFLDAWG
December 11th, 2010
10:52 am
First! Needs big improvement!!
DIT
December 11th, 2010
10:57 am
I know a lot of people have been disappointed. I’m one of them that thought we would be a little better. At saying that I do remember many people on these blogs just wanting to get rid of Willie! When CTG was hired everyone was saying that yes, it would take a couple years to get it going. One year is not a couple and as bad as this year was, we need to let CTG get his players in place.
I personally feel that there will be a large improvement next year on the defensive side of the ball. Championship quality, probably not, but we will be back up to 9 or 10 wins next year. Just being a realist here. I would love to win it all next year, but more than likely it will not happen. Give CTG some time. Our defense will be much improved.
I also remember at the beginning of the year that, again, many were on here saying that Aaron Murray is not a good QB and should not be the starter. I kept telling y’all to be patient. Living in Tampa I have seen this kid play and KNEW that he is/will be special. If it were not for him we would not have won 6 games this year. Let’s just hope I’m right about the defense next year as well!
Merry Christmas!!
TommyP
December 11th, 2010
10:58 am
Manny Diaz has considerably more talent on defense than Grantham? Huh??????
pete
December 11th, 2010
10:59 am
Time will tell. I’ll be shocked if Richt can turn the ship around …. but I hope he can.
jumbeauxtiger
December 11th, 2010
11:05 am
Certainly little improvement if any was made by Grantham. In fairness to him, not much should have been expected the first season. However, in 2011 there has to be a turnaround or it could be another long season.
He will be challenged right off the bat with Boise State and South Carolina.
J Clay
December 11th, 2010
11:07 am
I’d say Grantham has been less than impressive but also deserves more than one year before a full evaluation is done. This year was more of the same – with secondary most times not even in the picture on wide open pass plays and holes all over in the running game. True, more turnovers created this year – which is step in right direction – but much more improvement is needed. Here is the main stat to look at – if the offense is putting up 30+ points per game we should not lose period.
SoCal Dawg
December 11th, 2010
11:09 am
UGA has issues, it seems, when it comes to recruiting.
CPODawg
December 11th, 2010
11:10 am
I think we will see improvements, Jarvis Jones and Richard Samuel will contribute AND they have had a extra year in Grantham`s system.
Hopefully the dawgs can lure in a a JUCO nose tackle, someine who can contribute right away
RAID
December 11th, 2010
11:12 am
The 3 huge linemen we lost off of last years squad would have been perfect in this scheme……Give him time…….although we did give up some big play I still saw improvement….Turnovers,fewer penalties etc……I enjoyed seeing a more aggressive style and for the most part they were’nt too bad for the first parts of the games……but we tired late….It will take time to get some big bodies in place and when we do then we will see a good 3-4 defence in its truest form…….Hopefully Kwame or Justin Anderson steps up next year and a couple Juco guys as well………I think we’ve missed on some DB’s though……
Chris Cook
December 11th, 2010
11:13 am
For Richt’s safety, Todd’s defense better improve next year. Or else it will be bag packing time for both. If he cannot get significant improvement in year two, we are really in trouble.
Coffee Bluff DAWG
December 11th, 2010
11:20 am
I’ll add to Richt’s statement Georgia D still has “a LONG ways to go”. I don’t think it’s the coaching or the scheme as much as UGA needs to recruit some big time, shut down D players.
Outside of Houston who made a major contribution game in and game out this year?
layinlow
December 11th, 2010
11:21 am
Bill, I’m finally glad that you are looking at Georgia’s team with an unbiased critical eye and not rose colored glasses. I am in the camp that understands the dramatic shift in personnel that it takes to move to this 3-4 defense, but also realizes that there should have been some kind of organic improvement.
I too was stunned at the lack of adjustments in the Georgia tech game. I also remember the comments of bob davie during the game. At one point he said he couldn’t understand why the Georgia coaches were not getiing the DE to collapse down inside more. It would have been a very basic and simple adjustment. That was the moment that I began to have serious reservations about Grantham.
Next season is going to be no better if Grantham insist on using the personnel excuse. Because how many true freshman ever step in and contribute right away? I think Mark Richt is going to be in big trouble next year unless Grantham decides to deploy our defense based on their strengths instead of his scheme only. Grantham just needs to figure out how to hold the fort down until he gets all the right personnel in place.
ATL XMAN
December 11th, 2010
11:23 am
the defense will be just fine. give these players time to mature. uga was vey young upfront this year with mostly sophs and red shirt freshmen and add in that they were learning a different scheme to boot. miss state i believe had jrs and seniors mostly on their def line.
i really like the energy and expereince coach Granthem brings to the table. during the tech game the players were most of the time in the right spots, just a much bigger anthony allen was breaking tackels and im sure that the fact our defense was out there for most of the game didnt help. uga offense scored really fast thus the defense didnt really have too much time to rest.
Vance Duly
December 11th, 2010
11:23 am
We definitely had personnel issues and maybe Grantham will have to adjust better to the college offenses. BUT, our inadequate strength and conditioning has to be considered as a big factor. For several years, according to trainers in Athens, players would have to ask non-football trainers for advice for workouts, some players would cut workouts short, and others skipped appointments. Oversight was lacking.
Our defense gave up 85 4th quarter points (the only quarter where our offense was outscored). Also, we were clearly overmatched on the line in games against solid offensive lines. Hopefully, a renewed focus on S&C will give Grantham some stronger, more tenacious players for 2011. Go Dawgs!
layinlow
December 11th, 2010
11:28 am
I just saw the three finalist for S&C coach of the year. And Miss. st. and Auburn S&C coaches are finalist for the award.
ATL XMAN
December 11th, 2010
11:31 am
next year these same guys will be stronger and about 15 to 20 pounds bigger and add there natural born talent and speed ugs will be hard to score against. uga will alos have some nice red shirt guys coing up to help out for a play or 2 while the other guys rest. just give it some time uga fans. the talent and coaching is there just need time to gain experience and some strength.
Tweets that mention What’s first-year verdict on Grantham’s defense? | UGA: The Junkyard Blawg -- Topsy.com
December 11th, 2010
11:31 am
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by AJC , franklincalhounwhite, SECFootballGal, Andrew DeMillo, AJC Junkyard Blawg and others. AJC Junkyard Blawg said: What’s first-year verdict on Grantham’s defense? http://bit.ly/h9iPMP [...]
ATL XMAN
December 11th, 2010
11:31 am
and i suck at typing so excuse the mistakes..:)
Sanford Drive
December 11th, 2010
11:33 am
(((((42-34)))))
Give it another year, and if we still do not see vast improvements, then I will complain.
On another note, I think we need to explain the definition of “Rivalry” to our Tech beretheren in the hood. It ABSOLUTELY cracks me up to hear them say things like “Oh, big deal in beating us, we were are only 6-6″. You Techies want to act like if the tables were turned, and you beat us, you wouldn’t have vandalized out Hedges andhad rings made foryour seniors. Instead you wouldn’t have mentioned the game because we were just 5-7 right???
WRONG!!! Do you Nerds think for a second that Yale and Harvard do not talk smack to one another, despite not EVER being mentioned on the National level? Do you think Ohio State fans have given Michigan fans slack the last few years because they are down? DO you think Texas A&M Seniors are not getting tattoos for their win at Texas this year?
Rivalry: Throw out the books. Throw out the record. It’s a chance to beat up on the program you hate, and gain bragging rights and smack talk advantages for 365 days.
It sure is easy to downplay it, when you lose it. But had you won, you would be acting MUCH worse than we are.
(((((42-34))))) ALL. YEAR. LONG.
Just Hopin
December 11th, 2010
11:34 am
I actually believe we showed improvement in all areas of defense this year. It may not have looked like it, but we did. Our main problem is that we lost 3 NFL DT’s. Deangelo Tyson is a beast but he is not a nose tackle. He would be a sick DT but without a great NT (John Jenkins) he has to work his tail off to be the “big” guy in the middle. Next year the improvement will start to show. With a good NSD and an NFL lockout (which im not sure I want cause it will only bring cam back too) this is what i hope our dawgs will look like.
NT – Jonathan Jenkins (JUCO 6′5″ 340)
DE – Deangelo Tyson
DE – Abry Jones
OLB – Justin Houston
OLB – Ray Drew
ILB – Richard Samuel
ILB – Jarvis Jones
CB – Nick Marshall
CB – Sanders Commings
S – Alec Ogletree
S – Bacarri Rambo
Even without the lockout we will still have sterling bailey as well and we would be very stout at the line. I think S&C is a problem on both lines and im sure Coach T will have a solution to the problem.
The dawgs will rise again. Give Grantham a break, he has to rebuild what CWM destroyed. His defense will be successful and personnel has everything to do with it. Its lookin good for NSD so keep the dream alive guys lets keep it positive in case any potential recruits are googling their names today. Go Dawgs!
RJ
December 11th, 2010
11:36 am
Our D-line is way to small for 3-4 and it showed this year.Georgia will have to go the JUCO route to see a big improvement and then recruite some big strong young guys to come in and play too.Next year should be better.we should win atleast 8 games and 10 if we are lucky.The best Christmas present would be a NFL lockout and that AJ Greene and Justin Houston decde to stay,but I serious doubt that will happen.
5150 P.O.A.D
December 11th, 2010
11:37 am
I love it.
MSU loves it.
The Gators love it.
Colorado loves it.
Hell every team in the SEC loves it.
Tech even loves it.
Please don’t change a thing at UGA.
Rick
December 11th, 2010
11:37 am
UGA’s defensive backs are undisciplined. You can’t coach up stupidity.
Dawg Tired
December 11th, 2010
11:37 am
Not as much improvement as i expected, given how pitiful the ‘09 defense was. My biggest concern is the inability to adjust to what the opposing offense is doing. Exhibit A in that regard is the inability to make adjustments against the Tech triple option. When Duke does a better job than we do against a team’s offense, you can’t put the blame on “lack of personnel.” Duke’s defense is horrendous (see Alabama statistics against Duke). Any D-Coordinator should be able to come up with a scheme to at least slow down the triple option, which despite its name, is basically one-dimensional, That is especially true with two weeks to prepare.
We did not play as aggressively as I was led to believe based upon CTG’s preseason comments. Our blitz packages were pretty unsophisticated and too conservative (IMHO). I am a firm believer in disrupting college offenses by showing various looks and constantly attacking the offense. I think you must stick with the attacking style even though you know you will occasionally get burned. When we got burned, we tended to become more vanilla on defense instead of taking the pressure to the next level.
With these spread offenses, your only hope on defense is a stable of lock-down DBs (no one has that), or pressure. pressure, pressure (any one can do that).
Bottom line: I am concerned that CTG may not be the right guy. Of course, I hope I’m wrong.
bruce mac
December 11th, 2010
11:40 am
Time will tell, “long way to go”, everyone is on the same page. I feel fairly optimistic but who knows after 2 poor years. Thank goodness our rival is so bad or CMR and company would be unemployed as of today.
5150 P.O.A.D The Richard Head
December 11th, 2010
11:43 am
Sucks to be a techie doesn’t pooad!
5150 P.O.A.D The Richard Head
December 11th, 2010
11:44 am
No, I take that back. It just sucks to be YOU!
who knows
December 11th, 2010
11:45 am
Texas AM hired the Air Force DC at he same time we hired ours. He also installed the 3-4 and they are an improved defense. CTG has had spring practice, summer camp, and 12 football games plus the extra bowl practice to get it right. The only excuse left is personnel.
lastgrad
December 11th, 2010
11:46 am
The takeaways are a huge improvement. When you have someone like Aaron Murray resting on the bench and waiting to get back to work, nothing could be better than to help get him back in the game as soon as possible without giving up any points. The rest will come. There will be some changes in the recruitments for the defense. Understandable. Coach Grantham knows the type of players suited to make his defense work. That is his job and he knows how to do his job. Hang on folks; the Dawgs are going to make us proud.
El Centro
December 11th, 2010
11:47 am
Give it time people. Mark Richt will right this ship. Willie Martinez has also turned out to be a shotty talent evaluater.
I thought our defense was much improved this year. Willie’s D made you want to pull your hair out! Give Grantham time to recruit the much-needed players and you will see great results. Go Dawgs!
Sanford Drive
December 11th, 2010
11:47 am
Let us all not forget the Alabama Crimson Tide’s record the first year Saban brought a 3-4 to them. And Alabama has never been short on talent. Just ask their fans.
Richard Samuel and Jarvis Jones will be VERY common names next season. Just wait.
DIT
December 11th, 2010
11:48 am
I’m just giving him until the end of next year. I would agree if there is not great improvement then we would have to question his abilities of being a DC. However, I still feel good about CTG turning it around!
who knows
December 11th, 2010
11:51 am
Do you guys think CMR has to go the JUCO route for some defensive players. Does he have 2 or 3 years left for CTG to get it right and how many games does CMR need to win next year. Also, what happens if we lose to C. Fla.
who knows
December 11th, 2010
11:53 am
Let us not forget Texas AM record the first year Sherman brought a 3-4 to them. Very good 9-3 I think.
ceph
December 11th, 2010
11:54 am
who on earth would pay any attention to anything Wade Phillips says? Look at all the head coaching jobs he has had and he wasn’t worth a flip at any of them, so obviously he doesn’t know too much about coaching talent. The pitiful thing about all of this is that Diaz called UGA to try and get an interview to no avail. He said this himself. I guess Richt doesn’t want anyone to come in who is more articulate or brighter than himself, on second thought this applies to just about anybody!!!!! The biggest joke is Richt saying,”the last seven games we played football the way Georgia football should be played” If anyone believes that is the way UGA football should be played then fans we are for along stint of mediocrity. But that is what Richt would like for us to believe..
This way there is no pressure for him to play for any kind of championship just be mediocre and let us think this is Georgia football, HOGWASH!!!!!!!!!
squat
December 11th, 2010
11:54 am
rambo needs to go to the nfl so he can pass out the h2o bottles instead of watching the wr’s run free, my peewee team could get free with him covering…
RJ
December 11th, 2010
11:57 am
Enter your comments here
GradDawg
December 11th, 2010
11:58 am
SInce when does Manny Diaz Jr. and Miss St have more talent than Georgia on defense?? That’s an absurd assessment. The fact of the matter is Manny Diaz did more with his defense this year than Grantham.
ATL XMAN
December 11th, 2010
11:59 am
squat..whats the name of your peewee team?
Joe
December 11th, 2010
12:01 pm
GradDawg,
Please keep in mind that Miss St. did not change their scheme – big reason why Georgia’s D wasn’t that good in 2010. It will be a different story next fall.
ATL XMAN
December 11th, 2010
12:01 pm
i dont think miss st has more talent..just more experience with pretty good talent.
Keith with the magic wand
December 11th, 2010
12:01 pm
Release CTG and immediately hire Kirby Smart for $1.5 million or whatever it takes. Name Smart as successor-in-line to replace CMR when CMR retires. This will resolve so many long-term problems. First, we get a winning, tested SEC DC that will make an immediate difference. Secondly, Alabama is killing UGA in recruiting blue chippers from Georgia; this due in no small part to Smart’s recruiting ability. Recruiting immediately improves (Crowell, Rome etc.) Thirdly, Bobo will hit the road and go be HC at whatever high-school will hire him. You can write this in stone – OC at UGA will be Bobo’s best coaching job ever. Lastly – we get to bring home a UGA man who knows what it means to be a Bulldog and knows how to WIN. Smart will bring the sense of urgency, passion and tradition that we so badly need.
Sanford Drive
December 11th, 2010
12:01 pm
If Georgia played Texas A&M’s schedule we would be 9-3 as well
Coffee Bluff DAWG
December 11th, 2010
12:01 pm
UGA definitely has to go the JUCO route to at least get a couple big, tough D linemen. Even the the secondary didn’t exactly overwhelm anyone they were young and they’ll be OK.
I thought Sanders Commings looked pretty good at times in the secondary.
Ed (The Original)
December 11th, 2010
12:03 pm
It’s primarily a coaching problem, and it starts at the top with Richt. It’s a shame that we’ll have to go through this in ‘11 before the powers that be convince themselves that Richt needs to go, but barring a 4-touchdown loss to UCF in the bowl game, that appears to be the case.
ATL XMAN
December 11th, 2010
12:08 pm
ed..whats the name of your peewee team? you really have no clue what your talking about and your coach Paul johnson has his own problems
richt will coach at uga until he retires in about 15 or so years so get used to losing to uga for 15 or so years
ATL XMAN
December 11th, 2010
12:10 pm
richt will be needing a raise here about 2 or so years as uga will be playing in the next 3 sec championships and possibly the NC game here real soon..
RJ
December 11th, 2010
12:11 pm
Richt and Gratham have 1 and maybe 2 years to get it right.As a seanson ticket holder for the last 12 years from what I hear if CMR does not show improvement next year he will get the speech that there must be atleast 10 wins in 2012 or he will be gone.
AT
December 11th, 2010
12:12 pm
Definitely feeling buyer’s remorse over Grantham. The defense gave up WAY TOO MANY big plays during the season. Grantham had a major issue making in game adjustments. It’s sad to think that $750,000 isn’t enough to get real results on defense.
Bottom line – 2011 is a make or break year for Richt & company.
Dostoyevskiy
December 11th, 2010
12:12 pm
You’ve heard here first. If SEC were smart about expansion, they would support APP St. in ascending to DIV-I, then invite them into SEC. App would become the darling of the state of NC, and open the NC market wide up for the SEC. Boone is Denver east. (Problem is, they would be mopping up on SEC teams in short order soon.) This would not work in ACC, because NC is already flooded w/NC teams. Remember, you heard it here first.
ATL XMAN
December 11th, 2010
12:12 pm
i have no doubt richt will get his 10 or more wins next year and the next 3 or so years as his teams avg 10 wins a year and uga will continue to roll on.
NC Dawg
December 11th, 2010
12:14 pm
Mr. King does an admirable job of acknowledging all the angles. I too expected more from Grantham’s defense. I agree with point that a good DC makes use of what he has until he can get the type player he really wants. I must admit, I’ve never played or coached a down of organized football, but I still think something’s wrong when opponents are making catches with our defenders 10 yards or more away from them. All in all, Grantham deserves at least three years to show progress. However, I too am concerned about recruiting. It seems too many of the really good ones are getting away. But I certainly don’t have any answers.
gb
December 11th, 2010
12:16 pm
i don’t think what bob davies says is very important. he was a lousy coach,
modawg
December 11th, 2010
12:17 pm
It bothers me that we always recruit several qb’s & receivers. Defense has always won championships along with good linemen, yet they do not seem to be as high a priority. I know you run fresh receivers in alot, but the same is true for the guys rushing the qb’s. They get gased pretty quick too.
Vladdy
December 11th, 2010
12:18 pm
No talent/personnel….blame Richt, not Grantham. Big bodies have been running out of state to play for NC contenders. Unless a miracle happens and a couple of JUCO hogs flop on their current commits, we’ll be stuck with our 280 lb. D-linemen. We also need to get off our loyalty to “hyped” players (ex: B Smith) and put our best personnel on the field. I would suspect however that Richt will remain loyal to his lesser than qualified players (ex: Evans, Miller & Jones) and 2011 results will mirror 2010 & 2009. Too bad for Grantham.
RJ
December 11th, 2010
12:20 pm
Richt needs to still get rid of Bobo as OC.There is no way we get a top running back like Crowell or anyone else.
Jerry Jones
December 11th, 2010
12:24 pm
What if Jason Garrett hires Grantham to be his DC at Dallas?
CrackDaddy
December 11th, 2010
12:25 pm
Dos, I agree. SEC better take this step (admittiting App State to SEC) before Big East does.
Bo Williams
December 11th, 2010
12:31 pm
Dos, your idea is brilliant. I’ve been to Boone, and I can see UGa fans flocking there for a Fall game. There stadium, while beautiful, would of course have to be enlarged.
layinlow
December 11th, 2010
12:33 pm
The NFL lockout will have zero impact on juniors leaving early for the NFL draft. College players have to declare for the NFL draft long before the collective bargaining agreement expires and thus a lockout. Justin Houston and AJ green are gone! Quit with the pipe dreaming please. If were going to talk seriously about Georgia football lets deal in reality.
ATL XMAN, there is absolutley no evidence to suggest that Georgia will make a run at three sraight SEC championships and compete for national titles. Exactly what do you see in the program that would imply this kind of success? Please indulge us with this secret plan. Georgia football has been sliding into the abyss and realist fans think that Richt can no longer compete in the best conference in America. Richt’s decline at Georgia looks eerily similar to fulmer’s at UT.
J Clay
December 11th, 2010
12:37 pm
Hahahaha – App St in the SEC? What are you morons smoking? I will give them their due that they are a great team with good tradition where they are – BUT that does not make them SEC worthy. Small stadium, NC is already “open” to the SEC to recruit with the crummy teams there, sub-par facilities, ALSO another important factor – not the best academic standards around – I believe their academic standards are mor along the lines of a Miss St rather than one of the higher schools in the SEC.
Zero chance APP St comes to the SEC. If the SEC were to expand the better picks would be Texas A&M, TCU, Oklahoma, FSU, or even South Florida or Central Florida all before APP St.
RJ
December 11th, 2010
12:38 pm
ATL XMAN,
Glad you have no doubt Richt will get his 10 wins next year.I’m shure you felt that way this season too.But unless we get some serious help from some JUCO guys in recruiting and sign some big strong guys from high school then we are going to be in trouble agin next year and so will Richt and cmpany.
JNitro
December 11th, 2010
12:40 pm
Just Hopin: I like your line up, but be warned . . . Nick Marshall HATES contact. Just watch his HS football film… Anyway, he’s a heck of an athlete. But he needs some SERIOUS muscle development before he can be great in the SEC.
Bo Williams
December 11th, 2010
12:42 pm
Clay, you’d better check your stuff. APP St. has become very selective lately. Applications for admissions have skyrocketed. You need to step outside the box. Hell, they would beat Vandy now, and would play Ky and Ole Miss tough. You are too close-minded, close to moron-thinking.
Preston
December 11th, 2010
12:43 pm
I think the defense will be fine next season. Grantham is a wonderful sight to see after the Martinez debacle. Penalties were way down and he gets in their faces when they screw up. No more watching a Georgia defender hit a player late just to watch the defensive coaches just stand on the sidelines with their hands in their pockets. This defensive unit is finally held accountable and that breeds excellence. Let’s see how he does with another round of his own recruits!
J Clay
December 11th, 2010
12:45 pm
I’m not close minded – I think App St is great where they are and could possibly decide to move up – would be decent candidate for Conference USA and maybe even Big East…that does not make them SEC worthy
RJ
December 11th, 2010
12:50 pm
The only way Richt will ever get rid of Bobo or make anymore bid changes is when UGA fires Mark Richt and then Bobo will be gone and maybe we can get some big strong O-linemen and some big strong running backs.The 2002 SEC had Musha Smith a big strong running back that ran hard with power.He was recruited by Jim Donan.Richt won alot of games with Coach Donan’s players.King and Ealey are not hard runners like smith.I’m a season ticket holder and we are falling behind and starting to slip just like UT!!
Ohio Dawg
December 11th, 2010
12:52 pm
As stated in alot of these responses we have a DE playing nose… It’s an obvious observation Tyson is playing out of position. CTG needs to find a solution here and its not going to come from a true freshman. Some of these reserves need to step up or the JC route are only options. I don’t think Coach Richt has the luxury to wait another 2 years for this side of the ball to blossom. Just like the Fulmer and Tubberville storylines – hiring new coordinators late in the game and not allowing them time to suceed ultimately cost both men their jobs.
Bottom line Coach Richt’s choosing to make changes a year too late at DC has put him in this predicament.. CTG should be going into year three with his system in place and we would be looking at this upcoming year in a whole different light…….
AltamahaDawg
December 11th, 2010
12:54 pm
Well, I’m torn between….”the best defense we have had in 30 years” ……….and going back to what I said in the summer being exactly right about this year’s defense.
Bo Williams
December 11th, 2010
12:54 pm
why are you so arrogant? What does it mean, SEC-worthy? That’s nonsense. APP St and Boone represents a destination and a school which is very attractive for many reasons. I’ve known many kids who went to APP St., and who who were good students in high school. Slackers do not go there.
They can’t be admitted.
K-Town Dawg
December 11th, 2010
12:54 pm
While I agree the defense needs work, if we didn’t fumble away two of the games early in the season I don’t think we are having this conversation.
People are angry because of the overall record. If the record were 8-4 instead of 6-6 heading into the bowl game, most people would assume the defense is headed in the right direction.
However, I do feel the D will be much more stout up the middle next year with Jones and Samuel. We just need to find our own Mt. Cody and the turn around will happen extremely fast because it will allow the other D-Line players to play their more “natural” positions.
DawginOH
December 11th, 2010
12:59 pm
There were a multitude of problems for UGA’s D in 2010. First of all, yes, personnel was an issue as CTG was trying to run an NFL-style defense with Willie’s players. The absence of effective S&C also showed that a lot of the boys were undisciplined and out of shape, which is an added disadvantage.
But CTG also really dropped the ball in making adjustments to work with the players he had. I was pretty frustrated with his insisting on his way or the highway when it was obvious that some of the boys were either uncomfortable or just plain clueless in certain situations.
There are, however, a few reasons for optimism in this mess. Next season’s team will feature a new S&C program under CJT (something Georgia has needed badly since at least 2008, in my humble opinion); a freshman class recruited by CTG for the purpose of running HIS defense and a much-needed boost from Richard Samuel and Jarvis Jones, who have been practicing this whole year. Samuel is a natural linebacker and Jones has to be solid because I don’t think Southern Cal would waste their time traveling all the way to Georgia from LA to sign a kid who isn’t worth it.
CTG really needs to get to work on the recruiting trail this off season because there are some real treasures out there to be found. He should look at signing Ray Drew as an absolute MUST. Plus, he really needs to lure a JUCO Nose Tackle who will be game-ready and of necessary size. I also think he should be working on Justin Houston to stay for his senior year because he’s a proven key component of the 3-4 and could be the best defensive player in the country next season.
I was as frustrated as any of y’all with the defense’s overall performance this past season, but we really need to take it in stride. The transition was tough for Bama in 2007 as well but Saban was able to get the right personnel in there and make it to the SEC championship game the following season. Provided CTG earns his money in recruiting this off season and puts together a dominant 2011 class, we could see improvement maybe even as soon as next season.
Annoying as being 6-6 at the end of a season is for anyone, this Dawg fan sees plenty of reasons to be optimistic for the future, provided some key issues are addressed and addressed as soon as possible.
Go Dawgs!!
RJ
December 11th, 2010
1:01 pm
Whoever wrote should Georgia loose by 4 touchdowns to UCF then Richt would be gone.I live in Orlando and its rough enough with all the Gators much less if we loose to UCF.If we loose by 4 touchdowns to UCF Richt should not wait to be fired he should just resign.
Cuz
December 11th, 2010
1:02 pm
To say that the Grantham defense did not live up to expectations would be like calling World War II a disagreement among friends. Most of us were sold a bill of goods that we would be much better on defense because of the new scheme and co-ordinator. Now I did not think for one minute that Grantham would turn us into the best SEC defense in one year. I did think that with all the hype that we would have been better on stopping the run and pressuring the quarterback. Lattimore, a great runner, just ate our lunch. We knew he would get the ball and we could not stop him. We knew Ryan Mallet was going for broke in the fourth quarter and we could not keep him from throwing that game winning TD.
We need some help and need it fast. We need some big JUCO’s to play nose. Grantham has one more year to try and put this together or I will paint over my Fire Wille Martinez t-shirt with the word Grantham.
I for one am sick up and fed with my Junkyard Dawgs being (Jeff Schultz copyrighted phrase) Trembling Chihuahua’s.
SoCal Dawg
December 11th, 2010
1:03 pm
I, for one, am VERY excited about 2011. It will either be the year CMR turns it around and puts UGA back on top, or it will be the year we kick CMR to the curb and find someone who can get the job done. Either way UGA wins.
T-DAWG
December 11th, 2010
1:05 pm
The major issue have is to you coach based on your style versus what talent you have inhouse. I truly believve you make the adjustments with the players you have until you recruit or get the players. With the shape the football program is in, we do not have 2-3 years to recruit the players you need for your scheme. Heck, it usually take a defensive player at least 2-3 years to make an impact so I do not expect next year to be any better. I do not see any special DL, OL, or LB’s being recruited so I expect the same for at least next year. If you can’t get the DL, you better recruit some talent at DB and LB’s and put that 4-3 back in place.
ATL XMAN
December 11th, 2010
1:12 pm
this year uga had a shot to win even with all these youngsters around and new defense. in all games but the aub game uga had a shot to win with 5 min to go in the 4th qt. all they need is ome more experience which will come in due time. they could have had 10 wins just as easy they had 6 wins if not for about 6 or 7 big plays that went the other way.
again this coach richt and uga when most years than not they win 10 or so games easy.
ATL XMAN
December 11th, 2010
1:13 pm
ala was 7-6 its first year under saben and the new 3-4 defense. they got better in year two and so will uga
Jake
December 11th, 2010
1:14 pm
Clearly the deficiency was in the defensive line. What is instructive is look at the number of commitments for the 2011 Class and note how many of them are defensive linemen. UHHHH, I am thinking we should have a stalwart JUCO player or three and at least two four or five star commitments by now, if the Coaches have any sense. They may have some commitments “up their sleeve”, but right now it does not look good for significant defensive improvement in 2011.
Ray
December 11th, 2010
1:19 pm
Grantham 2010 vs. Willie 2009
Sco Def: 23 pts a game, 26 pts a game
Rush def: 150 ypg, 126 ypg
Pass Def: 185 ypg, 213 ypg
Total Def: 335 ypg, 339 ypg
Interceptions: 1.17 per game, .77 per game
Fumbles recovered: 10, 2
Sacks: 24, 30
3rd down conversion: 43%, 38%
Improved 5 out of 8 areas (Grantham’s 1st year, Willie’s Last)
ATL XMAN
December 11th, 2010
1:19 pm
layinglow…richt is enough evidence i need as he has won 2 sec titles and has beaten everybody in the sec ,even fla. he has been to 3 sec title games and could have easly won 2 NC already if not for some bad luck when uga needed other teams to lose to get them there. he is a proven winner and a top 10-7 coach in college football and he will win a ton more games for uga.
layinlow
December 11th, 2010
1:19 pm
Appalachian st. is getting stomped by Villanova live on ESPN as we speak. I hate to keep harping on it but again more delusional comments on this board. App. st. joining the SEC? Thats is just plain silly. They don’t have the facilities and no way could they make a leap that big. And who ever said they would play Kentucky tough get real. Kentucky almost beat Auburn this year.
SoCal Dawg
December 11th, 2010
1:22 pm
ATL XMAN – It wasn’t our D that kept us in the VAST majority of those games it was the O. Most of the time we scored enough points that we should have won.
7576DAWG
December 11th, 2010
1:22 pm
Totally agree with everything you said.
It’s hard to evaluate Grantham’s first year since last years recruit’s were not meant to play a 3-4 defense. I think they were a huge improvement from 2009. The two biggest problems were stopping the run up the middle and all those missed assignments. I think both problems are correctable by next year.
I don’t think McGarity will put up with us being over matched by second tier teams again. All CMR was to show is improvement in 2011. The cricical year will be 2012.
The area that needs improvement the most is establishing a run game. UGA has alway’s controlled the clock and Time of Possesion. Everybody except Bobo realized we had no running attack this year and the only way we could have won 10 games this year was to try and out score our opponent by throwing the ball 45 or 50 times.
RJ
December 11th, 2010
1:23 pm
Even if we fix the Defence we still have a problem on offence.our offence wont have Aj Greene next year to bail us out.This season we could hardly score without him.We don’t recruit big strong olinemen that can run block.we recruit o-linemen who can pass block and thats why we don’t get backs like Lattimore and it’s why we may not get Crowell from Columbus. we need to be recruiting him and that big d-linemen from Columbus can’t remember his whole name but it’s Gabe something
J Clay
December 11th, 2010
1:26 pm
Thank you layinlow – the stoner thinks I am arrogant for saying App St is not worthy to be in the SEC – even though I said they are great where they are and have a shot in D1 in a smaller conference…
Net is: lower academic standards, small facilities, very minor presence in other sports, SEC does not need a school in NC to be able to recruit there….Not arrogant just facts
Former Georgian
December 11th, 2010
1:26 pm
I’m not too upset about the Auburn game-Auburn ran over everybody in the second half. But the Tech game was the real failed test-Willie Martinez’s defense had a lot less trouble with a much better Ga Tech team in 09.
J Clay
December 11th, 2010
1:27 pm
Also, yes Boone is nice but nice is not a criteria to be in SEC – if so do you really think Miss St would be in the conference?
Ray
December 11th, 2010
1:27 pm
Better comparison, is Grantham’s 1st year at Georgia installing the 3-4 to Saban’s 1st year at Bama installing the 3-4 in 2007
Grantham 2010 vs. Saban 2007
Sc. Defense: 23, 22
Rush Def: 150 ypg, 125 ypg
Pas Def: 185 ypg, 221 ypg
Total Def: 335 ypg, 345 ypg
Interceptns: 1.17 per game, 1.47 per game
Sacks: 24, 24
Fumbl recvd: 10, 5
3rd dwn conv:43%, 40%
Grantham still has the bowl game to go, so he will have more than 24 sacks.
So Grantham will beat Saban in:
pass defense, sacks, fumbles recovered, and total defense
Saban beat Grantham in:
rush defense, intercpetions, 3rd down convsn defense, scoring defense
4-4 tie with Nick Saban, the best defensive coach in the nation.
ATL XMAN
December 11th, 2010
1:27 pm
socal..i agree so with the defense getting better next year look for the wins to increase aswell. the offense did put the defense in some holes with some costly turnovers and took points off the board aswell. the miss st game and the south carolina game come to mind as well as the colorado game.
eitherway next year as whole the team will be better
J Clay
December 11th, 2010
1:29 pm
Bottom line – we should rarely lose a game (5% or less) when the offense scores 30 points
SoCal Dawg
December 11th, 2010
1:30 pm
ATL XMAN – Hope you’re right. GO DAWGS!
7576DAWG
December 11th, 2010
1:33 pm
Ray
Thank you for putting up Grantham’s results compared with Martinez. I think that was a good improvement when you take in consideration that half of Grantham’s player’s were playing out of position. We will know a lot more after the first two games next year. If UGA is 2-0 next year we will win at least 10 games.
Latarian Milton
December 11th, 2010
1:33 pm
Isn’t a 4-2-5 defense called a nickel? Sheesh.
Teri
December 11th, 2010
1:35 pm
I would actually credit all 6 wins to the DEFENSE:
Shutout on Vanderbilt–0 points
Held La Laf & Id St to 7 points each
Forced 4 to’s against Tenn
Forced 3 TO’s against Kent.
Forced 4 TO’s against Ga Tech, and had 2 4th qrtr stops
The defense also played 3 top 30 ranked offenses as far as scoring goes.
The offense faced 0 top 30 ranked scoring defenses.
Defense lost 4 starters who got drafted into the NFL coming in to 2010 season, offense lost 1 starter, who was not NFL quality.
HOUDAWG
December 11th, 2010
1:49 pm
C – minus at best …… BUT , we desperately need some big ( & talented ) interior lineman for sure.
RJ
December 11th, 2010
1:51 pm
ATL XMAN,
We have not won 10 games since 2007.We have been in decline since.Richts 2002 SEC Championship was won with Donans players and along with the team that lost to LSU in the championship game.what has Richt did lately thats why he is feeling the heat.He should have talked to Miami.
Paint
December 11th, 2010
1:52 pm
Hire Randy Shannon immediately!!!
George Costanza
December 11th, 2010
1:53 pm
The most absurd comment on this blog is calling Boone “Denver East”. Anyone who would say that has obviously never been to Denver. Denver is a major metropolitan area, and is to the Rocky Mountain region what Atlanta is to the southeast. Boone has a population of 14,000, where as Denver area has over 3 million people. Not to mention the fact that the mountains and skiing in Boone are a complete joke compared to the Denver region.
Bo
December 11th, 2010
1:55 pm
First of all, Bob Davie said several times this year that the offensive line was the strength of this team. So I’d take his analysis of the defense with a grain of salt.
Secondly, there were a lot of us who didn’t realize how difficult it would be to transition to the 3-4. In hindsight, Monte Kiffin is the only college coach I can think of who was able to successfully do it in year 1. Tennessee had a shutdown corner and some stout linemen already in place and that helped him do it.
I think that a lot of the secondary problems have been caused by the line’s inability to stop the run. I think that the DBs have not trusted the line to stop the run and they hesitate a half-second too long to cover a receiver or they have to cover too long or they get sucked in by playaction. I stout NT and sliding Abry and Tyson to the outside should help a lot. I’m also optimistic that Stripling and Anderson will make an impact next year.
I do think that we saw the secondary playing faster at the end of the year. Which tells me that they are learning. I think that the man should be given another year before judgements are made. Hopefully, JTII will be the slave driver that we hear he is and can turn these guys into warriors.
crapsandwich
December 11th, 2010
1:56 pm
Bill, there aren’t any points a Bulldog fan can argue with here in your article. Seems to have covered it all. There is little doubt there was no improvement in the defense.
My own personal thoughts were we never really did see much of the 3-4 and I agree with your son’s assessment. We lacked talent along the line and to some extent everywhere, certainly with depth and conditioning as well. To be realistic, we lost a heck of a lot of very good defensive lineman over the past two seasons and the cupboard was bare even for a 4-3 or 4-2-5, which was also run by Martinez.
This message had better make it back to Richt, the offense next season will have to be much better than this year, even to win 6 games. The defense will be worse next season which may or may not be a reflection on Grantham, but losing Houston and Dent, by far our two best defensive players will make next season even worse. Juco players, Freshmen and even Jones and Samuel at LB are not going to improve the level of play. So Richt you better score a bunch of points, and you lose Green, Champas, Durham, Boling, Davis and possibly Glenn (King or Ealey get in any more trouble they will be out also). May even lose Walsh as our placekicker. Where is that offense coming from?
Love my dogs, but next season if Murray suffers a “sophomore slump”, we cannot produce enough offense to overcome a very poor defense. We are at the bottom next year, before we see any turnaround.
Paint
December 11th, 2010
2:03 pm
During Randy Shannon’s six years as UM’s defensive coordinator, his defenses ranked as follows in total defense nationally:
2001 – 6th
2002 – 7th
2003 – 2nd
2004 – 28th
2005 – 4th
2006 – 7th
Paint
December 11th, 2010
2:06 pm
Shannon’s no-nonsense attitude and demand for excellence in the classroom has led to the ‘Canes staying off police reports and recording the third-highest graduation rate in the NCAA. Behind who, you may ask? Only the Army and Naval academies had a higher graduation rate during Shannon’s tenure.
Paint
December 11th, 2010
2:06 pm
Randy Shannon for DC!!!
SoCal Dawg
December 11th, 2010
2:08 pm
Paint, if all you say is true wow that’s impressive.
PMC
December 11th, 2010
2:09 pm
Outside of the fact that these guys got a lot of hype coming form High School. There really isn’t a lot to work with on that defense. They are athletic sure, but woefully unskilled in many areas. They have not received effective coaching on the collegiate/SEC level. Georgia has not been an effectively coached football team for several years now. I expected better for 3 quarters of a million dollars, but it does tend to take longer than one year and or one class to show real improvement unless there was a lot there to start with. This defense, didn’t have much SEC level talent to work with this year. They haven’t done a good job of choosing who to recruit lately.
powerhouse?
December 11th, 2010
2:13 pm
ATL seXED MAN, it’s all those Div II players on your D that is causing the decline in the dogs. If you can plot a curve, look at how it’s going down.
Where do you see those ten win seasons? That was a few years ago.
Bo
December 11th, 2010
2:16 pm
RJ, I know a lot of people think that Richt has lost his touch but UGA did win the SEC Championship in 2005 with his players. Also, UGA ended the 2007 season ranked #3 and began 2008 ranked #1. We all know that 2008 didn’t end like we wanted it to but UGA did have 25 players with season ending injuries and were playing 2nd and 3rd stringers on the offensive line. So the ‘what have you done for me lately’ thing is relative to how lately you want to judge his record.
Teri
December 11th, 2010
2:18 pm
The defense also held South Carolina to their lowest point total of the 12 game season, usually, if you hold an SEC team to under 20 points, your offense can generate 21, but Georgia’s offense didn’t score a point against South Carolina.
Paint
December 11th, 2010
2:18 pm
Very impressive indeed. Strict motivator that recruits the heck out of the state of florida. Probably makes too much sense though.
Teri
December 11th, 2010
2:23 pm
If Murray doesn’t make those 4 to’s against Florida, another win. Or if Murray gets a couple of first downs at the end of the Arkansas game instead of getting sacked so much, another win. If Caleb King doesn’t fumble against Colorado, another win. If Ealey doesn’t fumble on the 1 yard line against South Carolina, nother win.
It would have been a 10-2 season if the offense wouldn’t have committed those costly to’s against Florida, SC & Colorado. And movewd the ball 25 yards at the end of the Arkansas game.
SoCal Dawg
December 11th, 2010
2:27 pm
Teri if the D would have fallen on two fumbles instead of trying to scoop and score we would have beat FL.
jack bull
December 11th, 2010
2:27 pm
great article Bill! one of your best…i agree with you son. as far as the 3-4, we looked pretty dang vanilla to me. i kept thinking every week, our D is gonna make a difference this week, and it never did. so, i’m not impressed at all. i saw Miss St play 4 times this year, and i was impressed with their defense….i know, we’ve got to give him some more time, but how much?? i know he needs to get his type of players(although he did say himself that he doesn’t need a big guy at the nose, i think he took us all to be fools with that comment). i’m just not sure how many Terrance Cody’s there are out there at this age…man, i really hope Bean Anderson is the answer!! and if he is, we get him, what, one, maybe two more years, then what?? and i don’t see JUCO’s being the answer either…
Nahila
December 11th, 2010
2:28 pm
I was very disappointed in Georgia’s defense this year, but I guess we have to recruit the attributes of the Players we need to effectively run the 3-4. But I thought our defensive back field has at best said very weak in coverage and I also thought the linebackers were making most of their tackle contact attempts 3- 5 yards past the line of scrimmage and being knocked back by either the ball carriers of offensive linemen instead of hitting with enough force to drive the runner back so that they did not gain that extra yard or two past impact. It may take 2 years to fill the positions with the right players but let’s hope for a major improvement next season even in the bowl game coming up.
Jay
December 11th, 2010
2:29 pm
I saw very little improvement from game one to game twelve. At least Martinez could recruit.
Paint
December 11th, 2010
2:30 pm
I stand corrected, second highest grad rate behind Stanford among BCS eligible schools. You get the point though. Oh, and I believe only 1 arrest in 4 years.
Randy Shannon!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
MATHDAWG
December 11th, 2010
2:33 pm
Our defensive line is too small and too weak for a 3 -4 or even a 4 – 3. Our defense is no better than it was in 2009 because our players are not any better.
This problem goes to poor recruiting. We have not signed the same size and ability players that our competitors have. There is no excuse for this. It is poor planning and poor emphasis on signging the best defensive players. We get high marks from the recruiting services for signing all the 3,4, and 5 star offensive players and defensive backs, but we are not very good at getting big strong defensive linemen. Who is responsible for this? Mark Richt is supposed to provide direction to his recruiters, so it has to be his facult that we don’t have the players we need.
Jim 007
December 11th, 2010
2:35 pm
With 3 Dawgs on the First Team All SEC Defense……..
The defense must get better Real Fast, as they get use to the 3-4.
Or Grantham will be the next one out the Door !
Magnolia,Tx dawg
December 11th, 2010
2:36 pm
There has been no emphasis on defense under Richt. The guys are too small and not tough enough. Let Grantham do the recruiting for defensive players, amd tell Richt and Garner to lead, follow or get the hell out of the way.
AltamahaDawg
December 11th, 2010
2:40 pm
Bne thing to keep in mind. Not only did we turn every member of the defensive unit into basically redshirt freshmen this year…..we also have a staff that has never worked with each other either. Some of this new staff are in their first years of coaching the 3-4 as well. Year 2 sees noticable improvement.
Boca Baby
December 11th, 2010
2:40 pm
Not that he did not need to go but we fired Willie Martinez for this?
Stanford Drive
December 11th, 2010
2:43 pm
I like guys, UGA guys especially. So soft.
dawggirl
December 11th, 2010
2:48 pm
Disappointed in the defense this year, but since it was a brand new scheme they get another year to try to turn it around. That’s all they get though. I have to see major and significant improvement to even consider keeping our current staff. The recruiting issue bothers me though. Why are we not recruiting like we used to? Sounds like we might need to clean house entirely if 2011 in any way resembles 2010.
There is absolutely no reason why UGA cannot be competitive with the best of the SEC. I feel sorry for the season ticket holders, like my brother.
Steve Spurrier
December 11th, 2010
2:52 pm
3-4 or 4-3just equals seven if yuo cannot coach!
jojo
December 11th, 2010
2:58 pm
As stated here earlier: UGA did not have the players needed to play top notch defense. I saw(in person) many teams play this year-Pac 10, Big 12, Big 10, and SEC. One can lay major blame at
the recruiting and strength of the players, but don’t go overboard on blaming Grantham. Players are not there. Better recruiting needed.
RJ
December 11th, 2010
3:09 pm
BO,
what about 2009 and this year in 2010.ok we may have had injories but so does everybody else.2011 no AJ Greene.who we going to throw too.the first 4 games had murryay running around getting sacked because there was no Aj greene on the field.We have no running game because we don’t recruit run blockers.so what has richt done since 2007.
david
December 11th, 2010
3:09 pm
im sure this has been posted but–bottom line– we averaged over 34 points a game. scoring 34 a game should be a heck of a lot better than 6-6–10-2 at worst, defense is terrible
layinlow
December 11th, 2010
3:10 pm
Richt had one great season in my opinion and that was 2002 when Georgia was 13-1, SEC champs, and won the sugar bowl. Even though we were SEC champs in 2005 we lost to Florida and Auburn during the regular season. And then got beat by West Virginia in the sugar bowl, in fact embarrased by their speed on offense. We finished that year at 10-3. In 2007 we lost to South Carolina and Tennessee during the regular season and we beat an overated Hawaii team in the sugar bowl. I very seriously doubt that Hawaii could have won 7 or 8 games in the SEC.
Football Fan
December 11th, 2010
3:12 pm
Negative article on biggest recruiting weekend of the year? Geez
LCDawg
December 11th, 2010
3:12 pm
We need to get meaner, bigger and much stronger on the D-Line. Nuff said
Dawgdad (The Original)
December 11th, 2010
3:17 pm
I’m not so sure about the Juco route. Jakar Hamilton (aka: The Hitman) was the biggest disappointment on the team, but I guess you shouldn’t judge JUCO talent on one experience. I believe Mr Cody at Alabama lsst year was a JUCO and he was very good.
Grantham’s D was a big disappointment. I can accept that he didn’t have the talent he needed, but he did not blitz and put pressure on the oppossing QB like he said he would. Not sure the 3-4 will work in the SEC. It is principally designed to defend the short passing game in the NFL. SEC does not do a lot of short passing, as most of the teams have gone to the spred option and we know it doesn’t work against that very well.
RedPantsDawg
December 11th, 2010
3:20 pm
Pretty simple for me. Under Willie we got out coached and out schemed before a player got beat on the field. Under Grantham, we got beat on the field. Under Willie, I saw players give up. The 2009 Kentucky game comes to mind. Under Grantham, I never saw anyone give up. There is a lot of room for improvement under Grantham where as I didn’t see that with Willie. So yes, I do think it is an improvement.
RJ
December 11th, 2010
3:21 pm
Teri,
You say that if murray dont get sacked we win.well murray had no help.we dont have no running game to help out because we don’t recruit power running backs and we don’t recruit o-linemen who can run block.we are soft up front with pass blockers for all the passing we do under Richt and Bobo.Murray did not have Aj greene in the Arkansas game to make plays and he wont have Aj next year.You say all the fumbles or we would have won more games.well I say it’s Richt,Bobo, and the running backs coach to put players in who can hold on to the ball and to teach them to hold on to the ball.Murray dont get sacked if we had a good o-line.
RJ
December 11th, 2010
3:24 pm
Dawgdad(the original),
Alabama and miss st use the 3-4.it can work in the SEC.
RJ
December 11th, 2010
3:30 pm
david,we only avg 34 a game after Aj came back from suspenion.We won’t have Aj greene next year or anyone that can play upto his ability.Who we going t count on Marlon Brown.please he has been a bust.
7576DAWG
December 11th, 2010
3:31 pm
When I hear the word blitz I think of sending a minimum of 7 players even though I’m ok with 8. . The 4 linemen and then 3 or 4 linebackers or defensive back combinations. Most of Grantham’s blitzes were the 4 linemen and 1 linebacker or defensive back. Sending 5 or 6 defensive players total is not a blitz. You need to over power the offensive line quickly so the Quarterback doesn’t have time to complete the play he wanted.
layinlow
December 11th, 2010
3:32 pm
MATTDAWG, amen. Where are our Richard seymour’s, charles grant, Johnathan sullivan, and marcus stroud. In a span of three years all these defensive lineman were first round draft choices. What happened to the thomas davis and greg blue’s and champ and boss bailey’s? We are simply not getting the same kind of talent on defense.
rpidge
December 11th, 2010
3:34 pm
I think Grantham was completely over his head trying to coach a college defense. While he may have been succesful in the pros I was disappointed to see his failure in adapting the college plays. I may be wrong but I think Georgia would be way ahead of the game if they were to b;uy Todd out and get a college defensive coach. Pro players know it is their livelihood on the line when they play. Georgia renegades are simply without discipline and committment to be what we’re use to seeing at Georgia. We need another Russell or perhaps a Van Gorder.
layinlow
December 11th, 2010
3:40 pm
rpidge, richt is not going to have the opportunity to replace another defensive coordinator. He has to win with Grantham or else. Grantham got 750,000 dollar three year deal and that is a lot of money for a college coordinator. If Grantham doesn’t improve this defense then Richt will be packing his bags with him.
RJ
December 11th, 2010
3:42 pm
layinlow,
Jim donan recruited the Charles grants the richard seymour’s the johnthan sullvians,the boss bailey’s,champ bailey,marcus stroud.
Joe
December 11th, 2010
3:47 pm
We never did cover the wheel route. I just knew Tech would go to that in a key sitution, but they did not. The sad thing is my 8 year old recognized everyone was putting that in their gameplan for us. That said, I was happy with the interceptions. Lakatos should get some credit. I’ll reserve judgment until we get a big NT to fill the middle.
RJ
December 11th, 2010
3:47 pm
Kirby smart did not take the job because of Mark Richt.He left Georgia because he really don’t like Richt,
tony
December 11th, 2010
3:49 pm
This is a no brainer. Just look at our DL and OL arms. They look like sticks. No muscles to be found in them. Our young men are weak plain and simple. Tyson gets blowed off the ball like a piece of paper 90% of the time. They need to spend more time in the weight room and stop eating junk food. I don’t care how good your offensive and defensive schemes are, they are inaffective if your players are weak to blow people off the ball. Blame Mr.Richt for this because as a hc it’s his responsibility to recognize his players deficiences.
RJ
December 11th, 2010
3:52 pm
If we don’t get a big NT from JUCO and we don’t get a good reciever to replace Aj we might be worse next year as bad as i hate to say it.
RJ
December 11th, 2010
3:57 pm
our linemen are not strong and tough enough.hope this changes with the new SC.
Jamaica Dawg
December 11th, 2010
3:58 pm
Don’t discount the fact that UGA lost 3 D linemen (and leadership) to the NFL.
mark richt = jim donnan without the talent.
December 11th, 2010
3:59 pm
Enter your comments here
monty
December 11th, 2010
4:08 pm
We’re “too small”, but quick(Todd what’s his face said:Blackledge)or we’re “fat and too slow.” alot of contradicting mumbo-jumbo. “MSU has better talent than we do”? I agree with whoever said,”HuH??” But we did lose some good lineman to the NFL, I saw one of them starting for Cincinatti or the Browns last week: Geno Atkins.
That said, I have to wonder about Richt’s pick of Grantham,and his 3-4 scheme when we currently don’t have the talent to run. Did Richt expect an immediate payoff in results and if not how long did he think GA Alums,fans and AD would give him to get good results? 3 years? 4 years? Seems nothing short of a huge gamble on Richt’s part. Maybe he knows more about his job security than we do. I seriously couldn’t see Meyer or Saban choosing a guy that runs a defense in which they “didn’t have the personnel” to operate it with efficiently and then giving them 3 years to get it to where it works well. HUH?? Are you kidding me? But that might be why Bama and FLA have recent National Championships and we have to look back to 1980!
RJ
December 11th, 2010
4:08 pm
yes we lost 3 d-linemen to the nfl but if i recall alabama lost 9 starters last year from there defence and there not 6-6.how about that jamican dawg
monty
December 11th, 2010
4:11 pm
Say what you want Donnan knew talent. I didn’t realize it till the other day that he brought some players wiht him from Marshall when he came to GA.
RJ
December 11th, 2010
4:15 pm
I’m just sayin Jim Donan left Mark Richt alot of talent.with that said richt first 5 years are alot better than his last 5 years.
Macclenny_man
December 11th, 2010
4:24 pm
Bill,
We can blame it on not having the right guys that Grantham needs but to me it doesn’t matter. Coaches have to adapt to players they have and coach them. Too many times we get caught up in well its gonna take time. WRONG!!! Grantham said we would dictate what the offense does not have the offense dictate to us!! BUT how can you do this if they know who is rushing the passer? Before just about every snap we were set in our defense!!! We have to have players mainly the linebackers moving around faking a blitz then dropping into coverage or looking like you are in coverage and then bring the blitz!!! Bottom line if the offensive linemen are not sure who they are gonna block it makes their job that much harder!!! The quarterback against us didn’t never seem to be confused and on 3rd down and 6 or 12 you could bet it was a completion. Why??? Because we did nothing to confuse their qb into thinking he had to get it out quick or he thought he was playing a zone. No confusion!!! I don’t care whether you call it a 3-4 defense or 4-3 but the best defenses mix their line in a 3-4 or 4-3 or 2-5 or 1-6!!!! Next year will be absolutely no different unless Jarvis Jones and Richard Samuel are able to move around and confuse the qb!!! To many times we looked just like a NFL defense either we got to the quarterback or it was a big completion against us!!! Coaching all around has to change their philosophy!!! 1st with Defense and 2nd with special teams and 3rd with BOBO’s predictability!!! ONE more year Richt SEC CHAMPIONSHIP OR SEE YA on the unemployment line!!!
long-time dawg
December 11th, 2010
4:26 pm
I totally agree that the coach must meld his system to the players he has–initially. As things progress the players can be plugged into the system. And I agree that a nose tackle(and a backup)MUST be signed NOW whether they come from JUCO, or not. Finally, the 3-4 was designed to stop pro-style offenses(as was said)NOT spread offenses. It is going to take big “tweaks” to work in college.
RJ
December 11th, 2010
4:33 pm
Longtime dawg,
Alabama runs a 3-4 defense and they have stopped spread offenses and if we would have hired kirby smart we would be running a 3-4.
rincon dog
December 11th, 2010
4:44 pm
well the only game that I saw us run our base defense the whole game was against tech. everybody and their mama knows you have to play assignment football against the option. that is why we got ate up because of the refusal to switch def coverage. the man had two weeks to prepare so there should have been no excuse. Hell if nesbit would have played and threw the ball a little the outcome would have been different. Either way they all have another year to prove us wrong. go dogs
Mike Buglioli
December 11th, 2010
4:55 pm
First year coaches should adapt their style to their players. Anyone in the NFL, College, HS or anywhere know that. If you don’t have the players — adapt. Grantham didn’t do that. I see alot more awful defense next year — better hope we can score 30 plus a game or it’s curtains for Grantham and Richt.
wag
December 11th, 2010
5:16 pm
I think we looked better coached, we just did not have the right personel for the 3-4. We had a lot more turn overs this year, which tells me we are in the right places, we just have to make plays. Our guys are still learning the scheme. We need a few big juco linemen to plug the middle and I think we will be fine.
Macclenny_man
December 11th, 2010
5:16 pm
Anybody that says it will be a better defense just think. Next year even if we bring in some of the players to fit Grantham’s system they will be in their 1st year the same as the players were this year in his system!!! 1 More tear Richt SEC CHAMPIONSHIP or unemployment line!!!
RJ
December 11th, 2010
5:17 pm
the dawgs fired jim donan after 5 seasons and a 40 and 19 record.
Mark richts last 5 seasons his record is 44 and 20.his 2 sec championships buy him another year to get it right.
Fun blog, Bill
December 11th, 2010
5:31 pm
but just because App State could beat the dogs, does not mean they are sec ready. Your D guy must not have been a marine…he did not adapt. He wanted his non nfl types to adapt to his nfl type D. The great school in Atl did the same thing. Both suffered due to non adaptation.
D-wood
December 11th, 2010
5:37 pm
I’m confused. We ranked #99 in total defense in 2009 and #30 in 2010 and most people on this blog see no improvement. This is with a new coach and new scheme w/o the right personnel. I would also argue that the offenses of SC, Auburn, Arkansas were vastly improved this year. Does anyone remember how bad Alabama’s defense was Saban’s first year. Hell, they lost to a Div 2 school. The next year they get Mt. Cody and the defense makes great strides. Give Grantham time and this defense will be good.
1eyedJack
December 11th, 2010
5:43 pm
We’ll be back!
UGA Down the Crapper
December 11th, 2010
5:49 pm
HAHAHAHAHAHA
MARK RICHT IS STILL WAITING BY THE PHONE FOR MIAMI TO CALL
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
EVEN HE ISN’T DELUSIONAL ENOUGH TO THINK FLORIDA WOULD CALL, BUT HE IS CRAZY ENOUGH TO THINK MIAMI MIGHT BE INTERESTED!!!!
DON’T GET YOUR HOPES UP, UGA FANS!!! MIAMI DON’T WANT THAT BUM, YOU’RE STUCK WITH HIM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
RJ
December 11th, 2010
5:52 pm
it is not just the defense we have to worry about.we have no running game and without Aj greene we had no offense.
Hogwash
December 11th, 2010
6:13 pm
The defense was pretty bad and we still don’t know how to make the adjustments throughout the game. I felt like we still let the opposing teams offense dictate the game and we still didn’t apply enough pressue in the backfield. The way you stop option and sweeps is to stay in the opposing teams backfield. We still did not recruit the big NT that is needed to stabilize the defense and I still question the recruiting methods. We cannot just recruit the SE if the players that we need are not there. We don’t just need one NT, but two. We have to do a better job of recruiting for our scheme and we have to do a better job on S and C. Also the CBs and S spots have to become way better players if we want to compete. Also we have to do a better job on recruiting LB. Seems like most of our concentration has been on the offensive side of the ball, but we don’t look that great on that side either. Overall, I give the defense a D.
Jim
December 11th, 2010
6:16 pm
On average, opponents score fewer points against Grantham than last year against Martinez. Of course, that may be due to the fact that our offense controlled the ball more. Who knows? But if you are looking for a positive statistic, average score is the only one.
$750,000 RIP -OFF
December 11th, 2010
6:20 pm
`
6-6 STINKS !
UGA FRIEND
December 11th, 2010
6:31 pm
I think it is a shame that so many of the UGA fans treat CMR like he is a terrible coach. His record speaks for itself. Granted the last two years were not his best, he should be judged on his overall record averaging 10 wins per season and 2 SEC titles. Who could they get as a better coach? Thank goodness these UGA negative fans do not make the real decisions. The bottom line is CMR is not going to be fired. So these irate fans should get a life and realize they have to live with the program unless they want to find another team to cheer for.
Nub
December 11th, 2010
6:38 pm
Dosn’t look good for CMR….. Name one tenured SEC coach that turned it around (win SEC) after having two back to back yrs like we have had….???????
east cobb dawg
December 11th, 2010
6:39 pm
we did not get blown out like we were in previous years. that’s the major difference, and so many fewer penalties. I think we’re adjustiong to his way and should be vastly better next year GATA…
no remorse on getting him on board. vast statistical improvement over last year in total defense. GT’s defense not so much
Football Fan
December 11th, 2010
6:42 pm
I REITERATE. This is the biggest UGA recruiting weekend of the year. Could he have waited until after the UGA Gala to post a negative article. Geez freaking Louise….
JB
December 11th, 2010
6:58 pm
Defense is killing us.
Chris
December 11th, 2010
7:04 pm
I think not having players for the scheme was part of the problem. You make an interesting point as to whether Grantham is really made for the college game. Only time will tell but problem is, if they don’t turn things around next year……Time will run out.
We could have done just as well this year leaving Martinez in place or picking a D coordinator that would have run a scheme for the talent we have on the team.
DawgVoiceofReason
December 11th, 2010
7:06 pm
Macclenny_man,
I agree with your observations about the fact that our defense did very little to try to confuse the opposing offenses. Once we were set in our defensive formations, that was it; we did not move. Also, blitzing was minimal and maybe never “all out”. Regardless of the physical talent you do or do not have, you can always disguise coverages and what you are about to do in rushing the passer. Perhaps someone with college-level defensive experience can explain why a defense (and coach) would not do this.
I was disappointed overall in our defense. Yes, we improved in a significant way in reducing “stupid” penalties and dramatically improved in the number of takeaways. I will give Coach Grantham credit for those things. But, really, I was expecting more, even in his first year. Our defense definitely killed us in several games: we got run all over by South Carolina (I know the offense didn’t do much in that game), and lost because we couldn’t stop Arkansas, Florida, Colorado, Auburn (I know we lost to the number 1 team).
As to the coming season, I expect significant improvement on defense, for all of the reasons listed by others. As a result, the Dawgs as a team will do much better next year.
Larry
December 11th, 2010
7:12 pm
It doesn’t matter Richt will never win another SEC title at Georgia. I’m a Dog fan but Georgia is not an SEC powerhouse, much less a national power. Look at the facts they have won 2 SEC titles since Hershel Walker left, which is 28 years. That’s only 2 more than Vandy, Kentucky, Ole Miss, and Miss State.
DawgVoiceofReason
December 11th, 2010
7:14 pm
To address the concerns about recruits and the negativity here (even a little from me): the best defensive players should want to come to UGA. They have a chance to rebuild a great defensive tradition and to shine under a big-time defensive coordinator. Coach Grantham’s did a great job in Dallas and he will turn things around at UGA.
DawgVoiceofReason
December 11th, 2010
7:16 pm
Larry,
You do understand that, by definition, if you are an SEC power, you are a national power?
JB
December 11th, 2010
7:17 pm
The talent level will be less next year and unproven. We really need a couple of 325 lb JC lineman. I saw two due to stamina being so low at that position. I hope Jarvis Jones is a monster at LB. If he’s a flop, we’re in big trouble. Mark needs to win 8,9 games next year to keep his job….and if the new guy at Florida waxes us, that will seal his fate. Beating Tech is a given. They are horrible and will get worse. We can’t gauge our program by beating Tech. It’s Florida,Bama,AU,Tenn,LSU etc that’s important.
Bill
December 11th, 2010
7:20 pm
It does not matter who the DC is. As long as defensive players are afraid of contact (will not hit), UGA’s offense will always be trying to out score the opposition. The defensive players HAVE to get tougher!
Teri
December 11th, 2010
7:21 pm
I’d say, change these 4 plays, and Georgia is 10-2, instead of 6-6:
1) Murray int in OT against Fla
2) Murray sack to end game against Ark
3) King fumble against Colorado
4) Ealey fumble against South Carolina
This team panicked in those situations, Fix that, and you’ve got a 10-2, top 10 ranked team.
JB
December 11th, 2010
7:24 pm
Teri, I hate to say this…….As long as we’re if’n, Tech couldn’t of beat us
JB
December 11th, 2010
7:27 pm
Richt said in the Athens paper Monday AFTER the game that they couldn’t stop Tech( No Nesbit by the way) and said we had no one to put in to change that. Now that’s scary. I’m afraid if Nesbit would have played, we lose……Our talent and depth on defense is at a all time low……..We dressed 7 TE’s though.
Joe
December 11th, 2010
7:29 pm
In 2008, year 2 installing the 3-4, Saban made a big improvement in his defense.
Went from allowing 22 points, to just 14 a game.
Allowed 50 yards less rushing
Allowed 30 yards less passing
Love to see Grantham drop to in 2011:
17 points a game
25 yards less rushing
25 yards less passing
Grantham needs to improve all 3 areas.
He also needs to impove his 3rd down conversion rate, and red zone defense.
Bo
December 11th, 2010
7:33 pm
RJ,
I promise GA is recruiting the best “run blockers” in the country. As is every SEC team. They aren’t all coming here but we are definately recruting them.
I can tell you exactly what happened in 2009 and it was ugly. Georgia played mediocre defense and missed a ton of tackles. There was arm tackling all over Georgia’s seconday…atrocious. The offensive line couldn’t open holes against anyone other than Vandy and Tech and that made pretty much made the offense 1 dimensional.
Joe Cox had his moments but his shoulder issue pretty much made him a 15 yd passer. Georgia also racked up penalties like they were going out of style.
I had been yelling about Willie Martinez for 2 years and I give Richt credit for replacing him. I agree that it was a year too late but he did pull the trigger. He also brought in a guy who can light a fire under someone’s a$$ and I’m definately happy about that.
Offensively, the line has been holding this team back for 5 or so years. I give Richt credit for bringing in Stacy Searles 3 years ago but the line has vastly underachieved for the last 2 years. I have been saying it’s time to replace him for the last season and a half. After all of the Strength and Conditioning talk this past year, maybe that’s the problem. Coach Searles had some good lines at LSU.
In regards to the S&C, I
Joe
December 11th, 2010
7:34 pm
By the way, Belin did an excellent job with Dent, Dent had an All SEC type year. Grantham did an amazing job with Houston, who might have finsihed defensive player of the year. Lakatos improved the pass defense dramatically. Garner didn’t have a great year in rushing defense, but he did lose 3 DL’s to the NFL.
Defensive coaching staff is excellent.
Teri
December 11th, 2010
7:38 pm
Ga Tech did execute the pitch and dive well. Johnson will score points and get rushing yards, top 5 in the country in both.
But, defense did 3 great things in the Ga Tech game:
1- Grantham allowed 0 points off the 3 Georgia TO’s.
2- had 2 crucial stops at the end of the game. The zone blitz defense call with Houston dropping into pass coverage was maybe the best defensive call and execution I’ve seen at Georgia late in the game in a long time.
3- Forced 3 TO’s
Bo
December 11th, 2010
7:40 pm
Dang, did not mean to post that without editing. anyway…
In regards to the S&C, there were less arm tackles on defense this year. I tend to think that is improved coaching. However, I noticed more of them when the game got into the later quarters. They were sucking wind and reverted to the arm tackles (missed tackles).
Teri
December 11th, 2010
7:43 pm
Auburn rushes for nearly 300 yardsa game, and is top 5 in scoring, so that’s a tough offense to try and stop when it’s your 1st year in the 3-4 and 3 DL’s have gone to the NFL.
matt
December 11th, 2010
7:47 pm
1) so you interviewed a bunch of your friends about what they saw from the D? coudnt find anybody better?
2)def was hoping to see some improvement over the season and didnt. but i am no expert at x and o
3) if they dont have the right personnel, why get a 3-4 guy. why not improve staff for a 4-3 D. Hopefully its a blend of scheme and personnel and we see major improvement next yr
still a dawg fan
December 11th, 2010
7:59 pm
The name of the game is talent & for some reason we don’t have it. You watch other SEC defenses like AL-AUB-SC-MISS ST-LSU-ARK & their players look like men & play like men & then you look at our defense & we look like a bunch of high school players & we play like high school players.
I find it amazing that several of our defensive players are thinking about entering the NFL Draft but if they had been watching any game film of their play this year then I would think they would realize that the NFL is not for them.
RECRUIT BETTER & WE WILL WIN & THAT IS ALL I HAVE TO SAY
Snake Plissken
December 11th, 2010
8:16 pm
To say that the defense has been a huge disappointment would be an understatement. I’m surprised that NOW it is alright to talk about it. Many of the points written in the article were discussed through-out the season, but the blind homers shouted down any meaningful discussion. Then again, this is only a blog and what difference does this all make. If the David Green’s and such felt this way, or were talking that way, then where was the responsible reporting. Why wait until the whole season was lost. What next, wait until CMR gets canned, then all the experts will come out of hiding and talk about how badly the program has sunk during his stewardship! Actually, I can’t believe that he is getting a free pass. This is his program, his team, his responsibility, and ULTIMATELY HIS MESS. The guy gets paid for what??? He has allowed this whole program to sink to where it has. He promoted people unqualified to be the DC and the OC, and UGA is paying dearly for that the past two years. He loses a QB and RB to the NFL, and has nobody ready to go. How do you not know what your players are thinking! What type of relationship does this guy have with the team. Why would no on take the DC job. CTG was the 5th choice! We are talking about UGA here…how can 4 other people turn CMR down? CTG didn’t have the players to run the 3 – 4, yet CMR allowed him to do such. I know that I would have been fired from my job if I allowed something like this to happen. Face it CMR is responsible, or irresponsible for the UGA football program, and lately he has been irresponsible. Sorry that this is so long.
Dylan
December 11th, 2010
8:16 pm
Will Muschamp to Florida’s head coach. Dooley at UT and now Muschamp at Florida. Gah!
RJ
December 11th, 2010
8:16 pm
BO,
There is one more coach who is a problem and that is Mike Bobo.Our offense was horrible without Aj Greene and we did not avg 34 points a game without him.Also i have had season tickets for 12 years now.the last 3 years with Bobo calling the plays you can tell by how they lne up and go in motion where we are going with the play and how he calls plays on first down.he is to predictable on his play calling.
Dylan
December 11th, 2010
8:18 pm
Will Muschamp to be Florida’s head coach.* Sorry about typo.
Same Ole Crap
December 11th, 2010
8:18 pm
Im hearing Muschamp is now at Florida.Dawgs Blew it once again……
Time for change
December 11th, 2010
8:31 pm
RJ, its AJ Green! NOT Greene
Time for change
December 11th, 2010
8:36 pm
Yep its Muschamp. Darn he should have been Georgia’s coach but all the Richt apologist love wallowing in mediocrity. Now we get to see a georgia boy stomp Richt’s face in the ground in Jacksonville ever year.
Clean House
December 11th, 2010
8:36 pm
Muschamp is now a Gator and UGA has egg on its face. What a bunch of clowns in Athens!
FBFanatic
December 11th, 2010
8:44 pm
Now the SEC has Muschamp and Dooley who were both assistants to Nick Saban. Add to that the Georgia lineage of both coaches. Can’t wait to hear the howls from UGA fans.
RJ
December 11th, 2010
8:45 pm
Good hire by the Gators boy that hurts to say that.Now all need is for someone to hire Kirby Smart so he can beat Mark Richt too.
joseph
December 11th, 2010
8:47 pm
maybe cmr changing ctg coaching style had something to do with the defense not improving as much as it could have.
just a thought
Sugar HillDawg
December 11th, 2010
8:47 pm
I reiterate what another said before me. If Missippi St. has considerably better talent than UGA did last year we ARE in BAD shape AND who is doing the recruiting—-a drunken monkey???
RJ
December 11th, 2010
8:52 pm
Sugar hilldawg,
I guess we have a drunken monkey leading our recruiting then.
Macclenny_dawg
December 11th, 2010
9:01 pm
************BREAKING NEWS*********
Florida has hired defensive coordinator Will Muschamp!!!! Florida stills away a UGA grad!!! Florida beats us again!!!
GATOR
December 11th, 2010
9:03 pm
gator naion will dominant the Dawgs again and again and……
UGA Dawg 97
December 11th, 2010
9:05 pm
Man, I am fed up. If we had the balls to make a move you know Muschamp woulda came back here. Richt should have already been given his walking papers!
Bob
December 11th, 2010
9:06 pm
Gators hire away a UGA grad? Looks more like Gators had to take UGA grad.
And remember, the last three times Muschamp’s defense played Georgia his LSU and Auburn defenses gave up 45, 37 and 45. Not exactly causing me to tremble.
Bill
December 11th, 2010
9:07 pm
Bobo and Searels will soon be in Gainesville!
Mr. Rephrase
December 11th, 2010
9:11 pm
Lemme sea if I can rephrase the comments above. (the ones about “stills” and “will dominant”.) Wail, I don’t sea how it can bee dun, so eye want even tri. I wood like to no, however, whair Macclenny and GATOR wint to schu-al.
Mr. Rephrase
December 11th, 2010
9:15 pm
And hoo they voted four in the last election.
Mr. Rephrase
December 11th, 2010
9:16 pm
And whut they’re favorite News Channel mite bee.
Mr. Rephrase
December 11th, 2010
9:19 pm
Kin eye here a a-men ?!!
Clean House
December 11th, 2010
9:23 pm
Dont Worry…. Mark Richt will be gone after next year…. Mark it Down !!!!!
Snoop Dawg
December 11th, 2010
9:25 pm
The entire UGA coaching just stinks to high heaven. Offense, defense, lines, special teams, just about everything from A to Z. Teflon man Markt Wrecked is still a master of deflection, but he’s got the ship sppding toward the big iceburg at breakneck speed.
Grantham was picked just like our recruits are picked– based on other peoples’ assessments. Richt relies on the scouting agencies to figure out who to recruit because they flat have no ability to assess the talent themselves. We really don’t know how many candidates turn UGA down (I wonder why) but they finally signed on Grantham because of his NFL statistics.
If we don’t have the talent to run the 3-4, then why do we insist on hammering the square peg into the round hole. This is akin to Richt not pursuing Cam Newton because he didn’t “fit into his system. Well, his system stinks. It will continue to stink more just as a dead cadaver ripens the longer it sits in the sun. The Dawg Nation is doomed to loser status until the powers to be get the intestinal fortitude to fire Richt and his Medicine Show and to hire a truly professional team of coaches who have proven to be winners at the positions they get hired for.
Grantham is a big flop by any quantitative analysis of any statistics of defense this year. You can rationalize about what might be someday until the cows come home. Unfortunately, hope is not a method.
Mr. Rephrase
December 11th, 2010
9:26 pm
Just watch yore spellin, Clean. Else, I’m gonna be all over you like Anne Coulter’s adam’s apple.
Heathcliff
December 11th, 2010
10:29 pm
Blown assignments and location placement seemed to have been a recurring problem. I recall Coach Richt having to frantically call time out several times. Maybe our players were slower reacting than we might expect in college players at this level ? They seemed quick enough to chest thump and prance about when they did make a play.
mgdawg
December 11th, 2010
10:43 pm
I was very dissapointed. I expected that the defense wasn’t going to be up to par, but there are some areas where I expected improvement and saw none.
Tackling: At the start of the season it was pitiful, there was improvement as the season went on though. However, a lot of times it seemed like the defensive players were waiting for the offensive player to come to them instead of going to the offensive player.
Pass Coverage: There was none. The defensive backs covered grass; however, covering receivers is one thing they still haven’t learned to do. I expected a lot more man to man this year, but it seemed like zone continued to be the more popular call. However, I do think once the receiver caught the ball the DB’s seemed to close on them faster this year then last year.
Blitzing: I thought the purpose of the 3-4 was to disguise the fourth rusher. When you have 4 lineman all the time it doesn’t seem to work the same.
icedawg
December 11th, 2010
10:47 pm
Too early to tell but the personnel obviously did not match the scheme this year and likely not next year unless they get some super freshmen that can step right in to fill those slots. In fact, I wonder if the 3-4 is really the best scheme for the college level. I agree with those who have said that the 3-4 leaves huge lanes for the run. The D has been the Achilles heel for the past few years. The days of the Junkyard Dawgs have sadly passed. One observation is that the fact that defense in college ball across the board seems to have fallen on hard times. There’s tons of offense and not a single team that I can recall could be called stingy. It seems that the defense that can keep an opponent from scoring under 20 wins the game. That is a paradigm shift from years gone by.
BoWeevil
December 11th, 2010
10:51 pm
Aaron Murray threw Mark Richt under the bus today, complaining about Mark Richt firing Dave Van Halanger.
“Coach ‘Van’ is a tremendous coach,” Murray said. “We love him greatly.”
Quarterback Aaron Murray said players were caught off guard by the Dec. 2 firing of Dave Van Halanger.
http://www.ajc.com/sports/uga/multiple-uga-players-looking-773366.html
I don’t think it is right for the Quarterback and leader of your team going to the Press to complain about your head coach’s decisions. By the way, Dave Van Halanger is the most unfavorable coach on the football team, outside of Mike Bobo.
In the weeks leading up to the firing, everyone everywhere said Dave Van Halanger had to be fired, Aaron Murray.
Aaron Murray, 6-6 as Starting Quarterback at Georgia, was out-performed head-to-head by 6 opposing Quarterbacks this season, losing all 6 games as a DIRECT RESULT. Georgia ended the regular season # 73 in the nation in gaining 1st Downs this year.
GATA
December 11th, 2010
10:54 pm
Though yardage hasn’t changed from last year, what about turnovers? TG defence has done something WM could never hace done..go after the ball. Georgia has created many more turnovers as opposed to last season. I think its personal as well. If this guy can get the right players in here with his ball hog mentality..we might have something. Besides, even the great and powerful NICK SABIN, struggled his first year at Bama with there d-fence. Does that loss to louisiana monroe ring a bell?
hind tit
December 11th, 2010
11:10 pm
Backers play to far of the line to fill the gaps against the run, they don’t use enough different looks on defense and the result is they are to predictable. Defensive backs still look a little lost at times but much improved over last year and will get even better next year. I believe they were the reason for the improvement in the takeaways. Must concentrate on stopping the third down conversions which was the difference in a winning and losing record.Better conditioning will improve this. Not that far away just tweak the little things will make the difference.
ToccoaDawg
December 11th, 2010
11:22 pm
I am not pleased with this season. Still missed Tackles and Blown assignments but neither was Coach G. He brings a whole new mentality to the Dawgs. Remember these are Willy’s type players. I said last year when he was hired it would take him 2 or 3 years to get his players. Don’t panic fellow dawgs. We are in good hands on the D side. Just remember this year we had probably the best practice squad LBs in all of college football. As for me I saw improvement in the mentality and that’s a great start. Lets just sit back and let coach G get his guys. This year was a huge learning curve for him. What I saw was unlike weak willy, when his players messed up he was dead in their face. And we all know that’s been missing. Don’t worry be happy. we have the right D coach. The Offense on the other hand still needs tweaking. I did see some improvement on that side also. BUT Coach Bobo STILL goes away from whats working at times and that just drives me crazy. That too has to stop. But I have seen an improvement with the whole teams mentality, since Coach G arrived including Coach Richt. I was not happy with the record by any means. But I am willing to sit back and Let CMR and the rest of his staff coach up what is a young team and a new D.
cmac
December 11th, 2010
11:35 pm
IT SUCKED!! He got OWNED by Miss St, Florida, auburn, arkansas & COLORADO!!!! He is not worth the $$ he is getting!
Dusty
December 11th, 2010
11:44 pm
Grantham got behind the 8 ball with Murray’s 4 to’s against Florida.
Grantham held SC to it’s seaosn low scoring output but got no points from the offense in that game.
Grantham got no help from Caleb King (fumble) in Colorado game–and from Murray,,Colorado has one of the worst pass defenses in the nation, AJ should have scored 5 td’s.
Miss State, offense couldn’t score 25 points.
Arkansas, offense flopped at end of game, couldn’t move the ball 25 yards for game winning field goal.
Auburn? Got his butt kicked.
BoWeevil
December 12th, 2010
12:02 am
ToccoaDawg,
Sit back ?
That is your advice to us in This Great Bulldog Nation ?
To sit back ?
We have LOST 20 games these last 5 years, 4 LOSSES a year
We’ve been
SITTING BACK
way too long.
PHIL
December 12th, 2010
12:19 am
A few observations
Many have mentioned adjustments not being made. I am betting the ranch that anyone who wrote that wouldn’t know an adjustment on defense from a chiropractic adjustment to their back.
Bill as your son mentioned we played lots of 4-2-5 or similar nickel alignments. So to me, that throws all the arguments about not having the personnel out the window since we didn’t play that 3-4 alignment all that often. I am guessing, but it seems logical that it was because we didn’t have the personnel to play it.
Until that fiasco with the trade school, UGA was ahead of Alabama in total yards allowed per game and less than 30 feet behind Florida. After Cam lit Alabama up through the air, maybe we still finished ahead of them, I haven’t looked. So I see it as a trend that defense is going down due to rule changes and more teams with more sophisticated passing games. It’s been true all over the country but is just now coming home to the SEC.
What I saw time after time was that out players weren’t in the places they were supposed to be in on critical plays. Someone mentioned we couldn’t cover the wheel route and that is so true so I am figuring that is a hole in the scheme that needs to be fixed. I don’t know if the coaches are poor teachers or the players are dumb. But I am going to guess.
I am guessing it’s the players. Did anyone watch UCONN play SC last year? They made Stevie look like it was his first game. Coach Lakatos was able to coach up those kids. I am doubting he forgot how to coach so I’d say his players now are over rated and under IQed. Everyone raved about the LB coach hire from Vandy, how good he was there. I doubt he forgot how to coach. I think the poor defensive performance is due to poor players and them not knowing the defense. Maybe its too pro style for college, too sophisticated for the average college kid to master?? I remember reading on several occasions that Justin Houston would say that his team mates would not be where they were supposed to be for what ever the call was. For me that is more credible than a coach saying the same.
For example, do you think that Florida thought that Will had forgotten how to coach because his defense SUCKED this year? His team isn’t even going to a bowl. It’s not Muschamps fault and the University of Florida believes that as well. If they followed the same logic as many of you people, he’d still be at Texas.
And last but not least it is easy to observe that this blog is eaten up with simple minded morons that get their whole sense of self and their pride from a game played by 30 year olds. That’s sad. You know what else makes me sad? Bill gets paid for interviewing his family. And they are the ringleaders of this brainless coach bashing. For instance:
Bill’s son says “They (Texas A&M) have Von Miller, a Justin Houston type player (they were both finalists for the Dick Butkus Award, which Miller just won) and he was rushed from different positions, so the QB didn’t always know where he was coming from, despite being an outside linebacker.
Read that outloud. If you know anything about Von MIller and Texas A&M you know he IS coming. WHERE he is coming from is where ever he is lined up. It’s easy to see where he is coming from. He is not invisible and he has big numbers on his chest for you to identify him easily. EVERYONE in the stadium should know WHERE he is coming from if they can see where he is at the snap of the ball, In the 3-4 it’s not that you don’t know WHERE they are coming from , it’s that you don’t know WHO is coming, I promise you that every player on the field that comes from where ever they are at the time the ball is snapped.
I don’t even know why I bother
BoWeevil
December 12th, 2010
12:21 am
Todd Grantham ?
I’ve got no EXCUSES for him; none.
$750,000 and he comes in here with 11 years of NFL Experience.
He told us he would evaluate the players, first; and, then he would get the best on the field.
Instead, what we witnessed was he came in here pre-set on ONLY forcing his defensive scheme ON THE PLAYERS
NOT evaluating what we have and coaching to their strengths
He doesn’t know how to evaluate players
All we heard out of him all Spring and Summer was Jakar Hamilton was great
Jakar Hamilton I didn’t see do a damned thing all season long
Kwame Geathers
What the hell is up with Kwame Geathers and Todd Grantham ?
Brandon Boykin, the only reason why he will not be drafted highly right now, is because Todd Grantham obviously has him OUT OF POSITION.
Branden Smith
What the hell is up with Branden Smith and Todd Grantham ?
Bacarri Rambo
The guy made some of the worst plays in college football this season
And, yet, every time we looked up – back out there doing it again was Bacarri Rambo
What’s up with Bacarri Rambo and Todd Grantham ?
Vance Cuff, Jordan – LAWRENCE – Love, what’s up here with these guys Todd Grantham ?
BoWeevil
December 12th, 2010
12:22 am
Someone mentioned South Carolina game just now. Been a big bone of contention with me too. Game 2 this Defense was FAR BETTER than it was in Game 12.
Todd Grantham is GREAT ?
Really ?
Then, wouldn’t we have played BETTER defense in Game 12 than in Game 2 ?
Look, I realize the OFFENSE could not buy a 1st Down this Season and that we were wholy unable to return kick-offs laden with walk-ons as always which has not worked yet we do it year after year after year after year, that we were # 73 in the nation at even getting a damned 1st Down all season long and the # 48 Total Offense in the NCAA as well.
But, on
DEFENSE :
# 59 Defense in Pass Efficiency Defense
# 59 Defense in Rushing Defense
Good Googly Woogly, what the hell else is there on Defense ?
# 49 Defense in Scoring Defense
# 47 Defense in Tackles for a Loss
# 57 Defense in Sacks of Opposing Quarterbacks
Hey, we are supposed to have had this season a pressing, pressuring, get after the Quarterback DEFENSE
he TOLD us
PHIL
December 12th, 2010
12:23 am
20 year olds, my apologies for the typo
BoWeevil
December 12th, 2010
12:37 am
Mark Richt
Of course, this all gets right back to Mark Richt.
Look at the “coaching staff” he has for 2011
2011 without all these players
And, he has THIS “coaching staff”
The guy has NO CLUE how to hire a Coaching Staff
Maybe in his next job, he will
He has done everything to ruin this football program he can with his damned “coaching staff”
And, ESPECIALLY with his NO DISCIPLINE.
I am surprised that Herschel Walker didn’t say anything about this “coaching staff” of Mark Richt’s
BoWeevil
December 12th, 2010
12:38 am
PHIL,
20-year olds
Is that what YOU are in here talking about ?
legionaire
December 12th, 2010
3:53 am
Two problems I see with the NFL D that Grantham uses is 1st : it demands a big tough NG and there are not many guys who want that doubleteaming every play or can take it over a season without injuries. Thus your recruiting is severly limited at that key spot. 2nd : teaching the 3-4 D in college is ongoing whereas in the NFL, drafted players already have been exposed to it and it is a matter of plugging in guys where you need them. The jury is out on Grantham and his D.
BoWeevil
December 12th, 2010
4:12 am
No, the jury is not out on Todd Grantham, or anyone else Mark Richt has hired on the coaching staff.
EmoryDawg
December 12th, 2010
4:27 am
I agree UGA’s football implosion entirely belongs to CMR. He will never bring the team to competitive achievement. He doesn’t have the fire in his belly as Dooly once noted is essential. His coaching staff is next to worthless. His team management is non-existent. He’s arrogant in the lack of acceptance of accountability. UGA has the history of being an aggressive, four quarter team. This bs about “finish the drill.” is artsy cutesy until you realize a drill is a practice. “Finish the drill” my butt, Get After Their Asses!
EmoryDawg
December 12th, 2010
4:43 am
I’ll note one omen that is a harbinger of certain change – In the 30 plus years of our group of 8 coming to the UGA games, to a man, not one of us remember when the Athletic Department so aggressively advertised next season’s tickets as was done during games this year. The hand writing is on the wall.
Dirty Dawg
December 12th, 2010
5:04 am
I’ll never forget the word of Tom Osborne headed to the locker room at half-time of the NC game when Nebraska absolutely killed Florida that year…with a three or four touchdown lead he was asked by one of those sideline mic-ettes about how his team had been able to handle Coach Spurrier’s, and Florida’s ’schemes’…to which he responded – ‘It’s not about schemes…it’s about athletes’…and headed to the locker-room.
Agree that we need bigger-faster-and in better shape athletes…then we’ll see where they start out matters so much. Interesting that the names of Thomas Davis and Greg Blue came up – I don’t see anybody on this team that’ll ‘knock their d**ks off’ (a favorite Jim Donnan term) and until we do I don’t care what ’scheme’ you use, you won’t be successful.
JeffT
December 12th, 2010
6:08 am
Choked 1- to many times !
Flat Tire on I-95 in Jacksonville
December 12th, 2010
7:04 am
F-
F-
F-
Need a refund
Need a Refund
No improvement at all
@ Phil
December 12th, 2010
7:09 am
@ Phil…”And last but not least it is easy to observe that this blog is eaten up with simple minded morons that get their whole sense of self and their pride from a game played by 30 year olds…” corrected to 20 year olds
Morons, morons, you say…quick, run and find a mirror…there’s one loose in your house…people get on here to blow off steam, and talk football as they see it…next to come out will be the “how many of you have ever played college ball”…relax and enjoy the morons
BoWeevil
December 12th, 2010
7:31 am
Like I said…
PHIL
come in here to talk about 20 year olds
And, picks on US for coming in THIS BLOG RIGHT HERE to say that Todd Grantham is
YET ANOTHER
MARK RICHT
HIRE
on
his
“coaching staff”
who is a
bust
NewnanDawg
December 12th, 2010
7:33 am
It’s all talk until UGA replaces Mark Richt. Van Gorder is long gone and it shows. We just missed out on Will Muschamp, Kirby Smart, and Major Applewhite. Nice job McGarity.
dawgma
December 12th, 2010
8:10 am
I will reserve judgement one year. Must be much better next year with a full year of recruiting and teaching the 3-4.
LION26
December 12th, 2010
9:19 am
With players leaving early and players not being held accountable to there production why blame one coach on his first year. I realize it’s a win now league but again, Alabama didn’t turn it around until Nick got his players on the roster. Give him one more year and just remember what we lost just two years ago, almost all of our offensive and remember these kids give 110%.
GO DAWGS.
jwritz
December 12th, 2010
9:23 am
So far, Grantham is a dud, plain and simple. Somebody needs to man up!
Tuna
December 12th, 2010
9:47 am
Is it just me, or does anyone else find it annoying that B. King feels he needs to use commentary from his “son” or a “friend in Athen” to fill out his blogs?
Whiny Dan Magill
December 12th, 2010
9:54 am
Wow. Army’s losing streak to Navy is now longer than The Drought.
I’m writing a letter to the Superintendent up at West Point and tell him he can start pretending some of the losses don’t count, since Navy has apparently had officer trainees on their rosters.
GDAWG65
December 12th, 2010
9:54 am
To win players need good coaches and coaches need good players. Think about it Richt.
Paint
December 12th, 2010
9:55 am
I was screaming yesterday to replace Grantham with Randy Shannon. Anyone wanna bet he joins Coach Mack at Texas?
SOUTHGADAWG88
December 12th, 2010
9:59 am
Grantham was not a good hire at that salary.I’m still unconvinced the 3-4 is such a big deal in college anyway.Everybody likes to tout Saban but even Nick’s teams have been unimpressive on defense when he doesn’t have great players.It’s no different than any other scheme in that regard except this…great 3-4 scheme players are harder to find than great fits for the 4-3
UGADawg83
December 12th, 2010
10:34 am
Gee Bill, your son, your buddy, and your brother. Now those are expert opinions. Tons of football and coaching experience I’m sure. Was the guy that changes the oil at Jiffy Lube not available to give his opinion?
Snake Plissken
December 12th, 2010
11:15 am
What I found sooooooo telling about CTG was during the Tech game and him being taken to task by CPJ. When running the ball the LB would step inside and they’d run outside. When the LB came up outside, they’d run it up inside. CPJ owned the guy. CTG sitting there looking at his sheet with all the formations and CPJ reacting to what he is seeing on the field. Gee wiz CTG is happy that he only faces a triple option once a year. Imagine what would have happened if he didn’t have a bye week to prepare for Tech!!!!!!
Kellina Dawg
December 12th, 2010
11:19 am
Bill, instead of going to all your monday morning quarterback friends, why don’t you go to the source, Todd Grantham. I’m sure you will get a more informed and qualified answer.
AltamahaDawg
December 12th, 2010
11:23 am
Who were you screaming at?
guy
December 12th, 2010
11:24 am
He already opted for the 3-4 defense when he was hired without evaluating the available talent.I should say the lack of available talent.
I love UGA,but folks,we are a long way from a championship caliber program.
AltamahaDawg
December 12th, 2010
11:29 am
Was Hamilton, and Rambo part of the “best defense in 30 years” selection team you were playing up this summer, BuLLdawg?
Playing a schedule that had ONE good team on it all year? Aubun was no good, SC was no good, Arkansas was no good.
That ONE team being run by that outstanding QB Brantley that you bragged about being so much better prepared that our “weakarm, fragile, slow, poor desicion making” excuse for a QB.
rilo
December 12th, 2010
12:00 pm
I THINK CMR sees the writing on the wall. You can’t just keep replacing coaches. At some point you need to realize you have as much size and talent as the next team but you have to get them prepared to play at a higher level. Our linemen (O & D) were dominated on the line most games. The Tech game (where we couldn’t stop them with 30 defensive players) was telling. Internal sources have told me that the workout routines have slacked over the years. We have to work these kids harder in the off season. If you look at Auburn, their O line dominated every game. It all starts in the Gym and the off-season workouts. If we can turn it around here, we will contend again.
doggoneit
December 12th, 2010
12:03 pm
Grantham and Stacy Searles are both big time busts! I support Mark Richt, but I’m afraid these hires may cost him his job. Against Ga Tech, you would have thought Tech runs a pro style offense with Tom Brady at QB. That’s not how Iowa stopped Tech’s triple option in last years bowl games. Grantham didn’t need to reinvent the wheel. Just watch the Iowa tape. We have an easier schedule in 2011 that South Carolina, Florida and Tennessee and should win the SEC east with a decent defense, but with Grantham running our defense, I just don’t see that happening .
Delbert D.
December 12th, 2010
12:21 pm
A 3-4 nose tackle has to take on a double-team by the center and one of the guards and still hold one of the A-gaps. A 290-295 lb guy is not the needed size for that position. One of the JUCO players *might* be the solution.
LakeDawg
December 12th, 2010
12:44 pm
The problems start and end with the D line. People tend to over look the lines of scrimmage when rating recruiting classes. The lines of scrimmage are the most important part of a team. Teams can win with 3 star skill position talent if they have superior lines. UGA has sufficient talent at LB and DB, but have recruited woefully at the D line position the last 3 years. However, in the 3-4 you only need a couple of hawgs to turn it around. I would recommend going the JUCO route to supplement the recruiting class. Richt doesn’t have the time to wait on new recruits to grow up.
bart
December 12th, 2010
12:52 pm
I agree with doggoneit, the Grantham hire might very well cost Richt his job. The guy doesn’t appear to have a clue. Richt screwed up big time when he did not hire DeRuyter as his DC. It pains me to see how the caliber of the Bulldog program has been deteriorating the last few years. Frankly, I don’t see Richt being able to turn it around. I hope I’m wrong, but I’m pessimistic about the future as long as Richt remains the head coach. And I have been a huge supporter of his, but the guy is making almost 3 million dollars a year. He has to produce.
No Deal
December 12th, 2010
1:14 pm
Grantham makes $750,000—the way his defense played, he didn’t earn $75,000. He better produce big next year or richt needs to send him packing back to the nfl.
GT FAN
December 12th, 2010
1:20 pm
It will take 3 years to covert to this defense. Trust me. The big freshmen need to red shirt to become bigger. You can never have enough size on the line. PLus you need to recuit fast, players who are also smart at linebacker since they will have to make most of the reads. The question is, how long are you dawg fans willing to wait.
GT FAN
December 12th, 2010
1:21 pm
?
A fool's question
December 12th, 2010
1:35 pm
The only question that should be asked is how much longer to get rid of CMR?
Teams like Florida dont play on second and third tier. There management is fast, precise and studied.
GAINESVILLE, Florida. (AP)—Maybe Will Muschamp got tired of waiting.
The defensive coordinator and heir apparent at Texas jumped to Florida on Saturday night, taking over one of the premier jobs in college football and replacing two-time national champion Urban Meyer.
“This is a dream come true,” Muschamp said in a statement.
Muschamp will be introduced at a news conference Tuesday evening.
AdChoices
He also will be reunited with a place he used to call home. Muschamp spent 10 years in Gainesville as a kid, graduated from Georgia and coached at Auburn and LSU.
We could have had him over CMR and we could have had strong. Instead we are stuck with a downward program and a sport writer who asks the wrong questions
A fool's question
December 12th, 2010
1:36 pm
*Their management
Bad Dawg, Bad Dawg
December 12th, 2010
1:41 pm
6-6, and losses to EVERY SEC team that matters. Any more questions?
ol' balls coach
December 12th, 2010
1:58 pm
Hate to be a negative Dawg fan – but one more year from Grantham and he AND Richt are gone. No improvement over the course of the season means bad coaching. Big hiring mistake to go NFL, and it appears it will be the final nail.
Magnolia,Tx dawg
December 12th, 2010
2:42 pm
I hope Howdy Doody, McGarity, will change things at UGA, but I doubt it. He is more of a worthless hire than Grantham.
Dawg Tired
December 12th, 2010
2:48 pm
For all those folks saying our recruiting needs to improve: (1) That could be true based upon the record of the team these last two years; (2) However, in light of the fact that basically every recruiting class we’ve had the last 8 years or so has been ranked in the top 10 (some even in the top 5) in the nation, I wonder how we can get much better at recruiting; and (3) could it possibly be that we are simply not very well coached?
Canton DAWG
December 12th, 2010
2:49 pm
Yep. The defense is what is holding the DAWS back so I do not understand all the criticism of CRM and Bobo. The Auburn and Tech games should give us all concern for next year. One additional thing that I would add that did improve was a reduction in penalties on defense probably a result of the secondary using better techniques.
Fair and Balanced
December 12th, 2010
3:14 pm
GA got outscored 6 times in the season and averaged over 30 points per game. Offense ain’t hurting us – its the defense stupid!
Fair and Balanced
December 12th, 2010
3:29 pm
The bottom line is that Richt had better do the necessary, if he can figure out what that is. 3 declining seasons in a row! Tried to fix the defense. Now trying to strengthen team with promotion of JT. Not at all sure this is going to work. Talking now of recruits – new coach on that too? After all I’ve read on this blog, it almost looks like Richt is reading it here and responding with hires that bloggers here would like. Ahaaa! Maybe this is the problem – CMR not leading at all. He is reading blogs and trying to make fans happy. Ya wanna make us happy? Win games! Simple. For goodness sake, don’t listen to us here on this blog! What do we know?!
Dusty
December 12th, 2010
3:30 pm
Grantham had a better year than Muschamp in fumbles recovered, and in defensive scoring.
Barack Dawg
December 12th, 2010
3:42 pm
If you want to have the defense improve then the offense has to improve. They scored points but they scored quick when they did and they did not have long sustained drives. The defense played close to 200 plays against Tech and Auburn both with stout rushing offenses. The GA offense probably ran 100 plays at the most in those games. So while it is great with a good QB and AJ Green that does not help the defense when it comes to the stats you are trying to look at.
3 things did matter this year on defense:
1. We won the turn over battle by a big margin if you compare this year to last.
2. We won the penalty battle this year with a drastic improvement this year.
3. We did not have all the key personnel for the 3 – 4 and you can’t be aggressive in ANY defense when your players are learning what they need to do and having to think about it. Once they KNOW the defense and can act then you will see the aggression come out.
Now – you will note that we never took our foot off the throttle this year when we were winning and that is a big diffence to Taco’s defense. He would always go to a prevent garbage scheme.
I would look for more improvement next year and especially if we get the big plug NT that we need.
Paint
December 12th, 2010
3:44 pm
..and now longhorn recruits are being told randy shannon is their new dc. good for the real ut, shame on uga. don’t mind muschamp at florida, but the trickle down from the move is amazing to see as uga sits still and watches other programs be proactive. yes it would have been expensive to fire grantham and bring in shannon, but he was there for the taking. figure in the fact that jason garrett’s interim dc was promoted from grantham’s old spot and you have the potential that grantham might be headed back to dallas as dc if garrett is given the reigns and a contract. it’s expensive for grantham to leave, but jerry jones has deeper pockets than uga. fine with me.
i don’t believe that we (uga) will attract a lateral move proven hc. that’s delusional. keep solace in the fact that whether he is at bama or uf, kirby will remain an assistant and in 2012 or 2013 he will hopefully be given the opportunity of hc at uga.
doctor
December 12th, 2010
3:46 pm
they are all wind and smoke—–no action—no running game—no real good running backs—sorry you wont win in the SEC without a running game—-aint gonna happen. Richt never did really make the adjustment from acc to sec—he refuses to face it—————therefore—-well—-yall know the deal. It aint gonna get any easier from here—-its not just the defense—–Georgia has just grown soft—-they are nothing what like they used to be back in the day. I dont know the answer. Vince Lombardi?
Old Dawg Fan
December 12th, 2010
3:56 pm
Let me make sure I undestand this. Grantham doesn’t have enough sense to know his “line” is “too small” to run the 3-4 but still does it.
No wonder we were embarassed all year long. It is “NOT” going to get any better any time soon. The roster for this up and coming year is basically the same which means our “defense” will be the same because our DC won’t change. This same “no change” seems to be a “major problem” in Athens-just continue down the same road!!!!
Dawgaholic30286
December 12th, 2010
4:39 pm
If you read the sports reports about Grantham in Cleveland and Dallas papers before he came to UGA you will see some very familiar complaints from fans and writers alike….no consistant pressure on the QB…..arm tackling led to missed tackles….defensive backs play way off the receiver giving too much room……..and the defense can’t stop them on third and long….It appears Grantham was hired because he is the antithesis of Richt (bad guy/good guy) not because of his coaching abilities…..Georgia will never win a championship of any kind with Grantham…..
Tech Fan Since 1950
December 12th, 2010
4:40 pm
We love Grantham’s defense! Now, if we could just play defense.
Snoop Dawg
December 12th, 2010
4:53 pm
Grantham would be a better head coach than Mark Richt. Come to think of it, almost anyone–including your grandmother–would be a better head coach than da Preacha Man.
Ringleader
December 12th, 2010
5:21 pm
What is the first year verdict?
To avoid an F…………..I give it an incomplete……..
RJ
December 12th, 2010
5:26 pm
Fire CMR after we loose the Liberty Bowl to Central Florida.Then lets hire Kirby Smart to replace CMR,
NOBODYYOUKNOW
December 12th, 2010
5:51 pm
I was shocked by how easy Tech moved the ball against UGA. UGA has been known for its big tough defense. But some how, some way, its gone fans. I’ve admired CMR every since he came to Athens. He’s a class guy. But I’m begining to queston his coaching ability.
AltamahaDawg
December 12th, 2010
6:58 pm
Old Dawg, So what you would have suggested is that he spent the entire offseason getting ready to run a 4-3 that he does not have as much experience with, and then switch gears when he does recruit some size, (by everybody’s account he is trying to do in this recruiting cycle) therefore having TWO years of transistion instead of one? I’m guessing he had enough sense to realize that he needed to go ahead and put into place what he is going to be running going forward rather than what he was not. I think everybody (if SEC media and coaches know anything) agreed that they were not likely to be a very good defense either way. Does it really make sense for him to have to screwed around a year doing what he were brought in to do?
Vick=Dog killing Thug
December 12th, 2010
8:10 pm
I thought the D had improved somewhat until the GT game. It was painful to watch those bugs run on us so easily.
One thing no one seems to pick up on is the tension between Grantham and Richt. They are like oil and water. Richt is a slick pretty boy and Grantham a blue collar cable guy.
I don’t think Grantham is happy in Athens but he will stick it out for a couple of years. Regardless I do NOT miss Soft Willie.
Anyone got a handle on any big JUCO linemen? Those big uglies are a premium for any team. Dawgs will be lucky to find a top rate Nose tackle.
Vick=Dog killing Thug
December 12th, 2010
8:12 pm
Another thing I wonder is why so few people can use the word lose correctly? Caleb King may wear his pants loose but Tech will always lose to UGA
saban
December 12th, 2010
8:40 pm
The blind leading the blind.
Plant manager
December 12th, 2010
9:25 pm
We just installed a new CNC laser but we only have punch press operators to run the new machines until we can train some guys. Yathink the share holders will approve?
Home of the Braves
December 12th, 2010
9:53 pm
Any word on how the recruits liked their trip to Athens this weekend? All I’ve been able to find is reports on which players won awards. I’m way more interested in news on the recruits.
Al
December 12th, 2010
9:57 pm
Good read Jeff but here is the bottom line as to what needs to transpire.
McGarity to CMR – Mark this is going to be a real short meeting. In fact just onc sentence.
CMR to McGarity – Oh, and what might that be?
McGarity to CMR – You win the SEC East next year or you pack your bags
McGarity – Meeting adjourned.
Grantham Sucks
December 12th, 2010
10:14 pm
Grantham is a disgrace. He’s just a thug like the players he supposedly coaches.
Jess
December 12th, 2010
10:38 pm
They outta double Grantham’s salary. They wouldn’t a won a single game without him.
Vandy? 0 points scored.
La Laf? 7 points
Id St? 7 pts
Tenn? Forced 4 to’s
Kentucky? forced 4 to’s
Ga Tech? Forced 3 to’s and had 2 4th down stops, and 2 4th quarter stops
Also held South Carolina to lowest point total dring the 12 game season.
Offense couldn’t win 1 game for Georgia: Colorado, South Carolina, Auburn, needed the offense to tyake advantage of those llousy defenses and score 40 points a game.
William the 3rd
December 12th, 2010
10:57 pm
Defense ranked:
25th against run, 29th against pass, 21st total defense
Offense ranked:
71st in run, 41st in pass, 54 in total offense
Gregory
December 12th, 2010
11:00 pm
Look at the running game.
Georgia went from 5th in SEC in 2008, to 7th in 2009, now dropping to 10th in 2010.
Bobo just can’t get the running game going, and it gets worse every year he’s there.
The Dogs get about 150 rushing a game, bout #75 in the country.
When you look at who’s winning the SEC, the Floridas, Auburns, and Bamas, even South Caorlina this season, they all emphasize the run.
Bobo needs to be out in the WAC, where you can win by passing.
John
December 12th, 2010
11:03 pm
Was Georgia’s offense good this year, or did they score a lot of points, on bad defenses?
La Laf–ranked #115 in scoring defense, 38 points a game
Vandy- ranked #91 in scoring defense, 31 points a game
Colorado- #84 in sco def, 30 points a game average
Kentucky- #80 in sco def, 29 points a game average
Tenneessee- #63 in scor def, 26 points a game average
Auburn- #59 in scoring defense, 26 points a game
How did Georgia do against good defense?
Scored 6 on South Carolina.
Scored 12 on Miss St.
BoWeevil
December 12th, 2010
11:37 pm
BOWL GAME PREDICTIONS :
7-3 SEC in Bowl Games
6-2 Big XII
4-4 ACC
3-2 BIG EAST
3-1 MAC
3-2 CUSA
2-2 MWC
2-4 BIG TEN
1-2 SUNBELT
1-2 WAC
0-5 PAC-10
Scott
December 13th, 2010
12:15 am
I’d say, without these 4 mistakes from the offense, Georgia would be 10-2, instead of 6-6.
a) Ealey fumble against South Carolina
b) King fumble against Colorado
c) Murray sack at end of Arkansas
d) Murray int in OT against Florida
BoWeevil
December 13th, 2010
1:17 am
If a Bullfrog had wings, he could fly instead of bumping his buns on the rocks.
We could have LOST to both Kentucky and to Georgia tek, obviously, just as easily.
We are :
# 73 NCAA 1st Downs
6-6, beat NO EVEN REASONABLY GOOD TEAM
DISNEYdawgs.com
AltamahaDawg
December 13th, 2010
7:18 am
Is DISNEYdawgs.com where you can find links to people telling everybody else how much they know about football saying the Dawgs would win the East? I’m just wondering what kind of content they have on that site. You seem to be a big fan.
Snake Doc
December 13th, 2010
8:10 am
Not sure Grantham gets an F but the D sure does. However, I’m not sure if its the scheme Grantham brought in, or if the problems on D are the fact that the collective IQ of the D is below average for a mentally handicapped gnat! so I’m saying stupid is as stupid does and UGA has some of the dumbest athletes on the planet. don’t comment to me about grad rates gpa’s. A gnat can pass basket weaving 99A.
Tech Hater
December 13th, 2010
8:15 am
Well we know Gratham gets another year, so what, he made ZERO progess in one year, yes we got more turnovers but NO improvment was made as a whole…what a joke score 30 pints and lose or sweat it out and hold on for a close win…the choke sign is what he should do every time he cashes that large paycheck he is not earning at this point.
Buck
December 13th, 2010
8:55 am
Grantham’s 1st year defense?
25th against run
29th against pass
21st total defense
Buck
December 13th, 2010
8:57 am
Bobo really should be fired or demoted to QB coach.
71st in run, 41st in pass, 54 in total offense
As the defense is now among the elite in the country, Georgia needs an OC that can join Grantham’s genius.
Michael Lane
December 13th, 2010
9:07 am
With fans like this, who needs enemies?
droopydawg
December 13th, 2010
10:57 am
We ended up essentially playing a base 4-3 by the end of the year (the line shifted and Houston outside with his hand on the ground) out of necessity because we did not have a legitimate NT or 34 DEs. Have some patience. The 34 improves a lot in the second year…see, e.g., Alabama.
DawginLex
December 13th, 2010
4:41 pm
And Bollweevil aka BullDawg remains the biggest dumba$$ on these blogs.
ATLDawg
December 13th, 2010
10:53 pm
Patients folks. You’ve got to remember that we played a lot of young players on defense this year. We did not have a true nosetackle. The NT has to be able to occupy two blockers most of the game. The fact that we created so many more turnovers was extremely encouraging. We looked a lot more aggressive in final three to four games than early on and you can’t blitz every play because you’re going to get torched. The Auburn and Tech games are really sticking in everyone’s minds, but everyone had trouble with the option offenses this year. Auburn dominated Alabama’s 3-4 in the second half, just as much as they did ours. It was actually worse because Alabama gave up a bigger lead. It will be interesting watching Auburn next year, they loose a TON of players on both sides of the ball. We need to have a solid recruiting class. Get behind the coaches and show the recruits that UGA’s fan base is solid.
JT
December 14th, 2010
9:27 am
You can dress up a pig all you want and it is still a pig. The offensive time of possession determines whether the defense is on the field too long.
Camden Mark
December 14th, 2010
8:37 pm
Geathers kid with one year under his belt at NT will help alot next season not to mention Granthem having his 1st year out of the way
Carver Heights
December 15th, 2010
4:42 pm
Actually….we’re gonna be ok. We had NO nose tackles on the roster and the guys we did play got absolutely demolished (and frequesntly injured). How many times did Tyson get carted off the field? Shame..
At any rate, I believe we will get some monsters in there, and we also have a shirt, or two to come in and help. I’m looking forward to seeing how Stripling responds to his injury and love our depth at LB (with, or without Houston).
Our “D” was improved this year and will be better next year. Pretty good, considering our QB is returning, along with all our TB’s.
The sky is not falling……….
chickenheads………