Pooch kicks: Hungry defense, fullback challenge, rethinking Vandy
Todd Grantham keeps reminding his defense of the four losses last season. (University of Georgia)
Georgia’s defense returns nine starters from the unit that ranked No. 5 nationally last year, but looming early-season suspensions apparently have a lot of folks taking a wait-and-see attitude, as an ESPN.com poll shows the Dawgs coming in fourth in a “best defense” vote, behind South Carolina, Alabama and LSU.
Still, as ESPN’s Edward Aschoff notes, “at full strength, this defense will be a handful, especially with one of the best linebacking corps in the country” and a potent starting secondary.
But I’m glad to see that Todd Grantham and his crew are reminding their troops there’s still much room for improvement. Rising senior linebacker Christian Robinson told ESPN that this spring the players dwelled on the 35 points given up to Boise State, the 45 to South Carolina, the 42 to LSU and the 33 to Michigan State — all losses.
“We’re not perfect, so when we go in our meeting rooms we watch the tape and there are always things to get better at,” Robinson said.
Mark Richt summed it up well: “You’re really not a great defense until you play great and we haven’t done that in 2012. We haven’t had a chance to do that yet. There’s an anticipation of having a chance to be pretty good if everybody keeps it together, stays healthy and does their part.”
Better than pretty good, actually. As Robinson said, “We have an opportunity to do something special, as a defense and as a team. If we go out and do what we know and what we’ve learned, we could be one of the best ever to play at Georgia.”
A FULLBACK BATTLE?
Freshman fullback Quayvon Hicks won’t report to Athens until June 4, but he’s already thrown down the gauntlet to junior Zander Ogletree, the presumed starter (assuming Richard Samuel doesn’t move over from the crowded tailback corps). Speaking to the Athens Banner-Herald, the 6-foot-3, 250-pound Hicks said of 5-foot-10, 224-pound Ogletree: “Zander Ogletree, I think, is a great man, but in SEC ball, you’ve got to have the size and I think that’s what he’s missing right now. I think I can come in and become great teammates with him and we can do this thing together.”
Of course, we’ve heard big talk from players arriving on campus before (remember the “Hitman”?), but Hicks, who won the Class AA discus throw this week at the state track meet, was rated as the No. 3 fullback prospect nationally by Scout.com.
If he lives up to his billing and his big talk, it’ll be great to see fullback once again become a strength for the Dawgs.
NOT YOUR FATHER’S GEORGIA-VANDERBILT
OK, so as we’ve discussed, Georgia’s home schedule is a bit lackluster this year and that’s probably one reason I’m hearing a lot more fan chatter about the Vanderbilt game than you’d normally expect. But thanks to last year’s close one with the Commodores in Nashville and the post-game fracas between Grantham and Vandy coach James Franklin, the Dawgs and the Dores actually looks like a pretty compelling story line this year.
As the Macon Telegraph reported, Richt was even asked about it at a fan gathering this week in Macon and joked that he might have to send Grantham upstairs to the booth for that one. He added: “I don’t think we’ll have much trouble getting jacked up to play the Vanderbilt Commodores this year, I’ll tell you that.”
Just what UGA football needs: Another meaningful SEC rivalry!
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166 comments Add your comment
Charlie Hayes
May 11th, 2012
4:15 pm
forget-southern-cal-alabama-is-ncaas-most-consistent-cheater
http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/sports_bianchi/2010/07/forget-southern-cal-alabama-is-ncaas-most-consistent-cheater.html
That is Embarrassing….Go away Tide…
Tide is rolling and nothing can stop it
May 11th, 2012
4:15 pm
The best win all year? Florida, Auburn, or the thriller against Vandy?
Charlie Hayes
May 11th, 2012
4:16 pm
Dude, You really dont have a life do you? No friends, no job, no obligations…Wow. I feel bad for you.
Tide is rolling and nothing can stop it
May 11th, 2012
4:18 pm
It’s not my fault (No friends, no job, no obligations), Charile, it’s my offenses fault.
Tide is rolling and nothing can stop it
May 11th, 2012
4:19 pm
C’mon Charile, besides the fact you THINK THEY LOOKED GOOD against sub-par teams and had flashes of brilliance against some good teams, why does UGA have a top 5 defense?
Tide is rolling and nothing can stop it
May 11th, 2012
4:20 pm
Yes, Grantham is a step up from Martinez, but once again, your delusions are getting the best of you
Ole Big Dawg
May 11th, 2012
4:21 pm
We got some updykes….mullets and little fairy nerds….cute mix…
AltamahaDawg
May 11th, 2012
4:24 pm
I’m not hanging anything on either. BOTH side have a long way to go. There’s just a lot more to it, than who gave up THE point that lost a particular game.
But if we are going to be purely subjective. I would say had we won that bowl game, the season would have been view completely different that it is now. I think that is a major factor in the perception right now. The first 2 losses had already been digested, and moved past and nobody really expected us to beat LSU. SO if you say the D gave up the score that lost that game, then isn’t the perception of the season hung on them? Or at least equally so, which was my point.
Bottom line is that I bet Tood Grantham thinks they made bunches of mistakes and need to get a lot better this year.
Still@theKool-aidBAR
May 11th, 2012
4:27 pm
SSIgator………..I got TDF–True Dwag Fan banned cause he just called EVERYBODY St..d or Mor..n or just cussed us and did the Copy & Paste of EVERYBODY’S comment. It got OLD
AltamahaDawg
May 11th, 2012
4:29 pm
Great Tide rolling. You football team is great. And you act like a child in a sport blog.
So what can we conclude from that?
Still@theKool-aidBAR
May 11th, 2012
4:29 pm
1 hour until the Lady Dawgs play the Lady Tide in Softball. C’mon DWAG fans call out the BamaTards on SOFTBALL like you used to on Gymnastics.
beanster
May 11th, 2012
4:33 pm
“cause he just called EVERYBODY St..d or Mor..n”
followed by
“C’mon DWAG fans call out the BamaTards”
And the pot said to the kettle.
SSIgator
May 11th, 2012
4:36 pm
Still@theKool-aidBAR -
Well, I do kind of miss when he would mis-spell “handel” in his posts. Every time I would read one of those, Handel’s “Messiah” and the “Hallelujah” chorus would pop into my head.
Still@theKool-aidBAR
May 11th, 2012
4:38 pm
SSI…..AHhAHA
SSIgator
May 11th, 2012
4:44 pm
For those without a classical music background:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76RrdwElnTU
enjoy!
DawginLex
May 11th, 2012
4:45 pm
SSI
You big queer.
Your wife has a mustache
Bet you think it tickles don’t ya?
Aren’t you late to get your cigs and beer for the weekend?
DawginLex
May 11th, 2012
4:46 pm
Still@theKool-aidBAR
May 11th, 2012
4:27 pm
SSIgator………..I got TDF–True Dwag Fan banned cause he just called EVERYBODY St..d or Mor..n or just cussed us and did the Copy & Paste of EVERYBODY’S comment. It got OLD
****************
Why don’t you and SSI get a room at the motel 6?
Ol ball coach
May 11th, 2012
4:52 pm
My hoover round takes me where i want to go.
Still@theKool-aidBAR
May 11th, 2012
5:02 pm
DiLex you mostly like me on the Other Blogs by my other name.
I do have a QUESTION
with the New TIME mag cover photo i have to ask
How old was GRANTHAM’S chils before IT stopped Nursing from TODD’s breast?
NCDawg
May 11th, 2012
5:03 pm
Last year’s stats and returning starters mean about the same thing – nothing. The proper answer to this question is and always will be, “we’ll see”. Potential is just that. It is great to get all hyped up about your team in the preseason but what you think might happen and what actually does are usually pretty far off base. I look at the Dawgs’ roster and I think that they should win no less than 10 games but I always temper my expectations with 2 cold hard facts. These are 18-21 year old young men and nobody knows how the injury factor will play out. I am as rabid a Dawg fan as there is but I keep my sanity by reminding myself of those 2 cold hard facts. Bashers and fans, we all need to step back and remind ourselves that in the end we all don’t know what will happen.
kingdaddy
May 11th, 2012
5:06 pm
Tideis rollin
What easy scheduel? You mean 2012, WESTERN KENTUCKY, 2012-FLORIDA ATLANTIC, OR MAYBE 2012 WESTERN CAROLINA,????????? Oh, wait a darn minute, THAT’S ALABAMA’S MIGHTY MITE SCHEDUEL!!! THAT’S NOT THE ONE YOU’RE TALKING SMACK ABOUT, IS IT? You can dish it out, but you can’t take it, can ya???
Still@theKool-aidBAR
May 11th, 2012
5:08 pm
DiLex one of our Softball girl grads (on the team playing for the ACC title tomorrow) is going to UGa to get her Masters in Pharmacy or Pharmacological Sciences. I hope your Daughter is doing well. Kiss and Hug your Wife & MOM on this MOTHER’S DAY WEEKEND. Don’t get wound so tight. it is in fun. DID you make it to the DERBY? I did Filet and Mint julips to watch……..EVERY DRUNKS FANTASY…….I’ll have Another win. Most didn’t know it was about his wife’s cookies but I bet a lot of people made that bet LOL.
kingdaddy
May 11th, 2012
5:10 pm
Kool-aid
Play nice or I’m gonna tell Smart on you…
Still@theKool-aidBAR
May 11th, 2012
5:10 pm
kingDaddy……….you doing anything Special for MOM’S Day? You have so many ex-Wives i figure it could break the bank. LOL
Big Crimson 75
May 11th, 2012
5:21 pm
Legally Speaking — Is Yolcombe allowed to live in Ga being married to 3 different Men???
This ain’t Utah.
Big Crimson 75
May 11th, 2012
5:25 pm
Not to mention with President Hussein’s announcement Tuesday, She & her 6 female mistresses can drive up to Ringgold & make it official!!!!
kingdaddy
May 11th, 2012
5:25 pm
Koolaid
Only had rug-rats with one of them. Only thing I would buy her is a casket! Anyway, I’ve got a pup down. Mustang Sallys pomeranian just developed a tumor in her mouth by a saliva gland and probably won’t make it to Monday. Was gonna take my mom out after church, but we’re playing it by ear…
Still@theKool-aidBAR
May 11th, 2012
5:26 pm
Bi Cri 75 you LOST me on that one.
Big Crimson 75
May 11th, 2012
5:31 pm
Smart — She’s married to at least 2 men that we know of.
I can assure you she has a few lady “friends”
Ringgold is a town in N Ga where as I learned staying in that po-dunck place yrs ago, was some sort of spot for people to go for a quickie marriage.
kingdaddy
May 11th, 2012
5:32 pm
My baby-doll Mustang Sally is very sad. The pup’s an angel and one very sweet Dawg. Pup got a transfusion today. Just got her back from the vet. Melanoma on her gum. Didn’t see it till she started bleeding…
Big Crimson 75
May 11th, 2012
5:33 pm
…….and our fearless Leader made it official on Tuesday, I believe, his true intentions on gay marriage.
Still@theKool-aidBAR
May 11th, 2012
5:39 pm
You Talking Yoculan then…….OK…..My Bendy Free Liquor Suzzie. Hahaha
Still@theKool-aidBAR
May 11th, 2012
5:40 pm
People are reading this and have NO I.D. what we are saying. Hahahah
kingdaddy
May 11th, 2012
5:41 pm
Ridgeland, S.C.—No Blood Test Needed, just pay the Justice of the Peace. There’s a good one B.C., Why not Justice of the Damned???
Big Crimson 75
May 11th, 2012
5:42 pm
Not my best post.
I never score her name properly.
I really do not like the woman — for lots of reasons.
For all the insults the Nic-tator gets from UGA fans about character & integrity — my mind immediately conjures up images of that Wicked Witch of the South & all the character & integrity she represents!!!
kingdaddy
May 11th, 2012
5:45 pm
I wish I knew Suzy Bender. The color scheme of the West Wing just changed to PINK…That’s OK, it can be repainted in Nov…
AtlasJr
May 11th, 2012
5:48 pm
UGA defense in 2012 against ranked teams, among SEC peers:
5th against pass
7th against run
6th total defense
4th in interceptions
10th in red zone score %
10th in tackles for loss
12th in sacks
12th in fumbles recovered/fumbles forced
12th red zone td’s
AtlasJr
May 11th, 2012
6:03 pm
Also, in 2012, against ranked teams, among SEC peers:
12th in defensive scoring/points allowed
A1A
May 11th, 2012
6:39 pm
To paraphrase Jeff Schultz: Most teams give you hope. The Dawgs give you hangovers.
Still@theKool-aidBAR
May 11th, 2012
6:40 pm
kingDaddy…………taht was MEAN……PINK? Hahah
Still@theKool-aidBAR
May 11th, 2012
6:42 pm
A1A……… What more would expect for the #1 party School in the US full of Fake blonde Drunk White Chicks with HASH BROWNS in their Undies?
Still@theKool-aidBAR
May 11th, 2012
6:43 pm
*From*
Piney Woods Pete
May 11th, 2012
6:45 pm
“…….and our fearless Leader made it official on Tuesday, I believe, his true intentions on gay marriage.”
Maybe he’ll come out of the closet now.
SSIgator
May 11th, 2012
7:11 pm
Still@theKool-aidBAR -
Exploring around in there (these are UGA girls afterall) you better hope that they are just hashbrowns that you find.
Neutral
May 11th, 2012
7:42 pm
Gosh I love the Dawgs!!! Football season can’t get here quick enough.
Neutral
May 11th, 2012
7:57 pm
Thomas…..are you aka atlas Jr?
Really?
May 11th, 2012
10:19 pm
still@ is a sad little nothing that sells birdhouses for a living and lives with his mom. The deadbeat loser tried to rip me off last year when I felt sorry for him and bought a birdhouse which he never delivered. After weeks of excuses and more pitiful stories I finally had to threaten to come to his house before the techie wised up and returned my money.
Never ever believe anything this habitual liar and multiple name ajc blog junkie posts. He is a sociopath and all around pathetic guy.
kingdaddy
May 11th, 2012
10:41 pm
Bravos looking good tonight…
Dawg Whisperer
May 11th, 2012
10:59 pm
Wow… a beautiful day outside and SSI, Tide is rolling and Mr. Kool (still at the blog) are spending their day inside on a UGA blog entertaining themselves. SSI is still consumed with coach Richt, Tide is rollling and trying to convince himself that Grantham is a crappy coach (if only all those top flight recruits would stop signing with UGA), and Kool and the gang needs a new gig.
Ghost
May 12th, 2012
12:12 am
Still, Georgia can’t play the weakest schedule in the Nation, To have the easiest schedule they would have to play in the ACC.