Returning defensive starters put UGA in strong position
Shawn Williams says all the juniors on Georgia's defense will be back next season. (Brant Sanderlin / AJC)
If defense wins championships, as the saying goes, then the latest reports out of Athens mean Georgia should be looking good this coming season.
First, Bacarri Rambo announced that he would be returning for his senior season at UGA rather than enter the NFL draft and now fellow safety Shawn Williams is saying he’ll be staying at Georgia and that he believes “everybody will be back” on defense.
That would mean nine of the regular starters will return from a group that finished the year ranked fifth in the country in total defense, with only departing seniors Brandon Boykin and DeAngelo Tyson missing.
The good news was topped off with defensive coordinator Todd Grantham shooting down return-to-the-NFL rumors by issuing a statement Wednesday that he wants to be at UGA “a long time.” Grantham said he was speaking up “because of the terrific recruiting class we are assembling and the juniors that have communicated to me their desire to come back to Georgia.”
Sure, there’s always the chance someone could change their mind before Sunday’s NFL deadline, but Williams’ statement has to be considered a pretty good indication of what the players are saying to each other, so it looks like Mark Richt’s program has so far weathered the postseason draft period pretty well.
Yeah, it would have been great to have tight end Orson Charles back, but of the two players considered most likely to leave for the pros — Charles and Rambo — losing the defender would have been a bigger blow to the team’s prospects for 2012.
Of course, the defense certainly can’t do it all. The UGA coaching staff still has a lot of issues to address on offense and special teams before we can say the Bulldogs are ready to compete with the likes of Alabama and LSU.
But, as we saw during the Matt Stafford-Knowshon Moreno era, you can have an all-star offense and still not win a championship if your defense isn’t getting it done.
Aren’t you glad those days appear to be past us?
Got something on your mind concerning UGA athletics or a question for the Junkyard Blawg? Send it to junkyardblawg@gmail.com.
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162 comments Add your comment
bwell
January 13th, 2012
1:39 pm
Bill,
I agree we needed our defense guys to stay for another year. Which is great. Now if ga study tape during the off season> (The Nat’l C’ship game) on how to play defense football for 60mins and not 30mins (SEC C’ship game) then the sky is the limit plus it seems like we are picking up the slack on offering early to recruits (2013) class. Which will bold well for us for next yr.
UGA fan...not fanatic
January 13th, 2012
1:50 pm
your easier gay boy, who care about spelling on a blog. Now go tell your Mommy you are being picked on. Maybe she will let you suck her old dry teets.
Dominating Dawgs My Arse
January 13th, 2012
1:59 pm
Good defense?
First we need a good coach. We are doomed with Richt and Bobo.
Chris Snow
January 13th, 2012
2:22 pm
Just picked up Gurley. Our RB situation is looking better and better.
abbe
January 13th, 2012
5:36 pm
Could not believe that My partner and i â?? forgotâ? to read your blog since i found it 3 months previous. Far too chaotic along with deliver the results Maybe. Regardless May possibly the item bookmarked at this point to make certain i always get acquainted at the time you get various different subject material upward.
zbulldawg
January 13th, 2012
6:47 pm
I Love it when a plan starts coming together ! Adding depth to the “D” Running backs & got Will Freind guiding the OL !! Let the BIG DAWG EAT !!!
Jborodawg
January 13th, 2012
8:17 pm
These comments sound familiar. Fill in the blanks with CMR or CMB or Murray….
“…I’m a big___________ supporter, as I believe he brings many wonderful qualities (honesty, integrity, professionalism, loyalty, judge of talent and recruiting) to his position as head football coach. However, I think he really needs to work on his approach in terms of the hiring and more importantly releasing of asst coaches as a business and not a personal decision. This approach may also need to be tweaked with regard to whom he decides to play at key junctures in the football games. I applaud his loyalty as a very positive character trait, but I’m afraid he sometimes overdoes the loyalty…”
“…common sense would tell any coach to go to PLAN B. And I’m willing to believe most coaches even have a PLAN C just in case. Yet, as the whole country saw, __________only used PLAN A. Was he that scared or what? We were flat out outplayed and outcoached….”
“…The one point I agree is on the adjustments part. I would have like to see misdirection plays which I don’t think they tried one….(the OL looked RUSTY as a vacation cabin outhouse door) and trying to figure out if the OL could block anyone. Not only was the QB situation bad but the OL wasn’t giving RBs any holes at all and the WRs weren’t getting open…”
“…Why in the world isn’t________allowed to throw over the middle except for very deep passes? He completes as many passes to defenders as he does to receivers…if you can’t understand that, you need to follow soccer or something because quite frankly, everyone else I talk to says exactly the same thing…”
“…The defense did enough to win if the offensive game plan included adjustments. ______just doesn’t know how to make adjustments during the game…”
“…the players gave up, pure and simple. You could see it on every players face…”
“…Why in God’s name did________not give_________a chance to turn the game around? It was obvious that at best__________ was having an “off” game! Why not bring in a different style of quarterbacking? It defies, in my opinion, explanation as to why_______ was left in. What I saw last night in terms of allowing______ to remain in the game defies rationality.__________ places all his eggs in the one basket…”
UGA fans on the AJC after the MSU game? Nope. It’s LSU bloggers after the Bama game. Played for the NC and ready to fire Miles and assistant coaches. Actually, it could also be bloggers for Texas or Okey or FSU or…..
T D
January 13th, 2012
9:34 pm
RING TEAM IS THE 2012-13 BULLDOGS. DAWGS HUNKER DOWN FOR THE CRYSTAL TROPHY. GOOOOOOOOO DAWGS SIC’EM WOOOOOF WOOOOOF WOOOOOOOF
T D
January 13th, 2012
9:39 pm
Keith Marshall, John Theus, Jonathan Taylor, Jordan Jenkins, Todd Gurley and all new Dawgs, bring in the rest of the Ring Team Recruiting Class if 2012. You fine young men will leave with Rings. Just Win Baby. Take no prisoners, have no mercy, spare no spirits. Crush your enemies, celebrate your victories, polish the crystal, design the Rings. Yeah Baby!
T D
January 13th, 2012
9:40 pm
“G”
Vampire Bill
January 14th, 2012
12:07 am
Why would you ever run Crowell off tackle with a gimpy ankle? Or do it 3 or 4 times with no results?
ole yeller
January 14th, 2012
7:44 am
The “O” line will be better in 2012 Coach “F” has a very good core of linemen coming back. The Freshmen coming in are very good, good enough to start. So, don’t feel sorry for coach “F” and the “O” line they will be fine. Now, this will make the “RB” better with or without :”IC”. If all “RB” are on deck with the new guys coming in, lookout.