Defensive line: Massive changes give Bulldogs great expectations in trenches
Sixth in a series breaking down Georgia’s 2011 football team by position groups. . . .
Noseguard Kwame Geathers (99) spent a lot of time in the backfield at Georgia's G-Day Game, which earned him Defensive MVP honors. (AJC photo by Johnny Crawford)
DEFENSIVE LINE
- Returning starters: DE DeAngelo Tyson (Sr., 6-2, 290), DE Abry Jones (Jr., 6-3, 297)
- Others to watch: Sophomore NG Kwame Geathers (6-6, 350) was the most improved defensive player during spring practice. He’ll be joined in the fall by junior college All-American John Jenkins (6-4, 350) which should dramatically improve the Bulldogs’ interior presence so critical to the success of the 3-4 defense. . . . Sophomore defensive ends Garrison Smith and Derrick Lott and freshman noseguard Mike Thornton are ready to take a step up into the playing rotation.
- Key losses: Defensive end Demarcus Dobbs started 42 games in his career and his versatility and big-play capability will be missed. Brandon Wood and Kiante Tripp also graduated and junior Jeremy Longo received a medical disqualification.
- Key fact: This time last year we were asking if the Bulldogs “had a nose” for the new 3-4 defense defensive coordinator Todd Grantham was bringing to Athens. The answer in retrospect was a resounding no. Tyson started every game at the position but, the truth was, it was not not a physical or mental fit for him. It was a perfect fit for Geathers but, for whatever reason, he was slow to master the techniques required until this past spring, when he was the most impressive defensive player in camp. Add Jenkins and Thornton (6-1, 287) to the mix and that gives the Bulldogs an ideal three-player rotation for plugging the middle.
- Key fact II: Abry Jones was probably under-valued as a defensive end last season, though he certainly earned notice after recording 16 tackles in the regular-season finale against Georgia Tech. He ended the season with 34 tackles and 3.5 tackles for loss. Meanwhile, Tyson’s move out to end from nose guard is one of the more interesting and potentially beneficial for the Bulldogs this fall. Playing head up over a tackle is a more natural position than nose for this 6-4, 306-pounder from Statesboro. He managed 36 tackles — he also had 16 against the Jackets — and 7 quarterback pressures as it was. Those numbers should increase as he gets more one-on-one matchups. With Georgia’s talent infusion inside, look for Jones and the other players playing this end/tackle position to contribute more big plays.
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JUCO transfer John Jenkins has been dominant in strength and conditioning drills this summer.
Key developments: The word out of Georgia’s off-season strength and conditioning program this summer was that Jenkins showed up in shape, motivated and, in fact, has proven to be the fastest lineman the Bulldogs have on campus. His impact is expected to be substantial. . . . Griffin’s Chris Mayes, the only other D-lineman signed in the 2011 class, was unable to meet freshman eligibility requirements and has enrolled at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, Jenkins’ previous school.
- Key questions: Will Geathers and/or Jenkins prove to be the real deal at nose guard? If so the Bulldogs can expect dramatic improvement on their overall big-play-making capabilities on defense. If not, they will have similar problems as last year.
- Outlook: Encouraging. At the least this would appear to be a drastically improved area for Georgia. But with so many changes in the overall front seven, the Bulldogs will have to go out and prove it on the football field. And lack of depth could be an issue. They will enter camp with just seven scholarship players for three positions. But if the injury bug stays away this area is potentially a team strength.
- Your turn: What say you about Georgia’s defensive line?
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323 comments Add your comment
Attention DawginLex and Tide Roll
July 8th, 2011
10:55 am
DawginLex- you have a better chance of hearing a politician open his mouth without lying than you will of getting answers to your legitimate questions from some posters on here.
Tide Roll- I realize my chances are about zero of getting this first one answered, since I have asked it a number of times. Answer if you will, but a rather nice Bama fan answered last time. He said at a booster club meeting Smart implied Bama backed off Newton due to his baggage.
1. Did it bother you at all that Saban failed to sign Cam Newton, especially since he went to your biggest rival, and a team you have to beat?
2. You mentioned UT likes JuJuan James upside, so did Mark Richt, which is maybe why UGA tried to sign him. What were they supposed to do when he turned them down, offer him $180,000?
3. Name one recruiting service that has Brandon Greene rated higher than John Theus.
4. Here is how to end the “endless migration” of end state OL to the teams UGA competes against. I would like for you, Tide Roll, to lobby the NCAA to increase the annual scholarship limit to 50, then UGA could sign about 25 instate OL, to cover all those 3* sleepers the Dogs keep losing to other schools.
Now, if I can get an answer to question 1, without it turning into a blast at UGA for failing to sign Newton, I will be grateful to you, Tide Roll. In fact, I will even say “Roll Tide.”
cool world
July 8th, 2011
10:55 am
Our defense is going to have to carry us this year b/c our offense is going to suck (again).
But I am encouraged and think the defense will be better than last year (which was still better than the previous year – 2009 – Willie’s last year).
Troll Power Ratings
July 8th, 2011
10:56 am
DIL: “reverb” (Sybil) has some sort of disorder. It is annoying, but sad, really. He is the rainman of UGA blogs. Can you imagine the waste of time accumulating all those nonsensical stats? Be thankful for a life; obviously some are not so lucky.
Just for kicks: Reverb/sybil/rainman, how do you feel about Murray’s height? What are the average heights of all SEC quarterbacks over the past 25 years? Heights of winners vs. losers?
Sorry, I know that is being a bully. Rainman will go nuts figuring this out.
Born2Bark
July 8th, 2011
10:56 am
Reverb,
spare me the numbers. the D was in a entirely new scheme and had a 290 lb NT. The point is we are all optimistic bc UGA is loaded with talent that actually understands the scheme now in year 2 and we recruited a true NT who is 50 lbs bigger. This will translate into more success.
WDE
July 8th, 2011
10:58 am
@Reverb your my favorite troll type take specific stats and try and make a complete team statement..Troll everyone in the SEC knows UGA had problems with our D last year and those problems started with the D-line this is a discussion about the upcoming season..take last years now meaningless stats and enjoy your day.
Uuggh...
July 8th, 2011
10:59 am
I also love how anti-UGA posters are condescending about us being optimistic about our upcoming season–as if they aren’t optimistic about their team’s season! “It is OK for us to feel good about our season but when you guys do it, you are wrong.”
Thanks for your input Nostradamus.
RedandBlackDAWG
July 8th, 2011
11:09 am
Sandman,
The points would be taken away only if the player going in for the score starts taunting the opponent before he is over the goal line. The spot of the foul would be where the official determines the player to have started taunting. If the penalty involves excessive celebration in the end zone after a score, the penalty remains the same as it was in years past. You will not see many if any penalties for taunting on the way to the end zone I would guess. If a player does that, I am sure he will ride the pine for a little while and have team mates and coaches giving him the word real quick.
sandman053
July 8th, 2011
11:16 am
RedandBlack…thanks for the clarification. I still think back to that bonehead at Ole Miss diving into the endzone late last year. Cost them the game with the ensuing penalty. I still miss ole #34 just trotting over and handing the ball to the ref.
Flat Tire on I-95 in Jacksonville
July 8th, 2011
11:19 am
The D-line and Murry is the only thing I feel good about with this team
RabidDawgFan
July 8th, 2011
11:21 am
I love how South Carolina fans think they’re now the kings of the SEC. A 9-5 season with two straight losses to end the season is the usual for SC. Heck, they lost to UCONN the year before in the papajohns.com bowl. They’ve never won an SEC title, but yet they run the SEC. Lost to Auburn 56-17, but they run the SEC? Give it a rest guys.
UGA Insider
July 8th, 2011
11:23 am
Did Auburn really beat USCe 56-17? I may change my MNC pick.
dawggie dawg
July 8th, 2011
11:31 am
All I can say is time will tell how good we are.If anybodys job is on the line I would say it is BoBo,but Coach Richt needs to win at least 9 or maye 8 if he beats Fla and SC.Great recruting classes,but not much to show for it.
old time dog
July 8th, 2011
11:32 am
This has gotten to be some really nasty stuff in a whole lot of different ways. Reminds me of some of the verbage fans spit at each other at the games. Anyway, it is what is. eYe think the overall projection gathered as best one can is that yes, UGA has some question marks in alot of areas. Some folks from other teams have pointed out some areas we should be concerned about. eYe do have hopes that this years team will be ready to play and have the resolve to battle every quarter of every game. If attitudes and preparation haven’t been taken care of then we may well see the same type of play we have been accustomed to for a while. That being said, the talent is supposedly in place,s and c has underwent a facelift, we have some big boys coming on board in some key spots and the coaching staff has no doubt felt heat from several avenues. The schedule appears favorable overall and eYe don’t see inicators that we are necessarily in worst shape compared to other teams in our division. eYe have a continuing belief that by the 4th game we will have a pretty good assessment of what we actually have. By the 7th game we will be just what we are. Optimistic? Yeah. Completely confident? No. Hopeful? Damn right.
OldFan
July 8th, 2011
11:32 am
If the D-line is not our strength this year, then we will definitely be in serious trouble. There’s too much offensive talent in the SEC to win by offensive out-put alone, as we learned all too well last season. A mediocre offense will win games if the defense excels. Don’t believe the reverse holds equally true.
Grits
July 8th, 2011
11:35 am
I don’t think this defensive line will be good. They havn’t been in a logn time. Coahces arn’t sharp. Scheme is flawed. DE’s didn’t do anything last year. NT never played a snap in SEC. Grantham made the 3-4 work in Dallas with a small NT, but couldn’t do it with Tyson, so he must have just been lucky at Dallas.
what of it?
July 8th, 2011
11:35 am
get to find out if the D-coordinator is worth his salt
RabidDawgFan
July 8th, 2011
11:39 am
We don’t have a mediocre offense!!!! Our offense can score with the best of them. We put up 30 plus points how many times last season? 8 TIMES!!!! That’s right 8 out of the 12 games, win or lose, we put up 30 or more points. That goes to show, that Murray was not the reason we lost our games. DEFENSE is the reason we lost most of our games. Well this year, the defense seems to be better, and if the offense is even as good as last season we at least win 4 more games than last season.
RabidDawgFan
July 8th, 2011
11:41 am
After the Colorado loss, the next 7 weeks of the regular season, we put up 30 or more points. FIVE of those 7 contests we put up 40 or more points. Don’t believe me? Go do your research. Our offense ISN’T the problem.!
SSIgator
July 8th, 2011
11:41 am
“Massive changes give Bulldogs great expectations in trenches”
Maybe so, but until their are “massive changes” in the coaching ranks UGA will continue to muddle along. That’s ok though. Da Preacha Man has a new KoolAid formula that is stronger than ever before available this year. The only thing that can counteract it is the truth serum, but the Richtites are hard at work destroying all of the doses.
Uuggh...
July 8th, 2011
11:51 am
Topics that should be retired from blogging forever more:
Anything related to Koolaide…who makes it or who drinks it should be shelved immediately. This might have been witty once in 1995.
Ending or beginning any comment with “write (or mark) it down.” Your opinion does not gain any weight by including this…it just makes you sound dumb.
The term “troll”…while an accurate description of 50% of the people posting here should go too. It is just tired at this point I think a better description would be P.O.S.
Anything else y’all would like to see shelved?
RedandBlackDAWG
July 8th, 2011
11:59 am
Realist,
It would appear your handle does not fit your beliefs. The bleacher report was a report based on an odds makers picks for the football season. These same odds makers that predicted in the last election that McCain would be our president. They were wrong there also. Odds makers
make money by establishing a favorable betting line for them. It is really quite simple. Get enough people to bet against UGA, and when UGA wins, guess who profits. Not the better for sure. An odds maker establishes his line to favor him and his pick is based very little on actual conditions or facts. He is not predicting the future as much as he is putting out a trend and hoping people buy it. Then those people take this trend he has established and bet on it. Then when it goes the other way, he and his establishment keep the bucks from the wrong bets.
I would tend to read more articles based on knowledgeable people in the sports world, not in a Vegas betting operation. That would be realism.
Narvie
July 8th, 2011
12:02 pm
Braves play at 7 pm.
oledawg
July 8th, 2011
12:02 pm
Talk is always exactly that——nothing more or less—-but one thing that is not talk is the fact that UGA will be in tip-top shape this year. Joe T. will make sure of that. Hell, they almost beat SC last year in Columbia, but ran out of gas——plus no AJ. SC was heard laughing at them————that will not be happening again anytime soon.
Mary Kastner
July 8th, 2011
12:03 pm
Oh good grief Narvie.
UGA-BEAST
July 8th, 2011
12:05 pm
just askin- you are an idiot, what school doesn’t have off-field issues?? exactly you can’t find one. . UGA is the best school there is and thats right UGA is the number 1 party school!!! so hop off their sack and go to your own teams page!!!
RedandBlackDAWG
July 8th, 2011
12:09 pm
Explanation of the term “troll”,
If you don’t know what the term means, “troll” refers to an online personality that uses his/her anonymity to “bait” users or turn valid discussions into full-blown arguments.
There seem to be a large amount of folks on these blogs that fit that description. I would think if the other folks, would just ignore them, they would go away for lack of an audience. Don’t feed a fire with gasoline, put it out by taking away it’s fuel and it will smother itself.
Football Insider
July 8th, 2011
12:12 pm
Guess my “breakings news” had legs earlier.
Caleb King is gone.
AllPro
July 8th, 2011
12:12 pm
Doesn’t matter how good the defense is, when your offense is ranked #70 in the NCAA because they average a lousy 15.8 points against ranked teams.
Worst offense in the SEC.
http://www.cfbstats.com/2010/leader/national/team/offense/split13/category09/sort01.html
AllPro
July 8th, 2011
12:14 pm
dEFENSE FINISHED 4TH IN SCORING AGAINST RANKED TEAMS, NOT TOO BAD.
http://www.cfbstats.com/2010/leader/911/team/defense/split13/category09/sort01.html
East Repeat
July 8th, 2011
12:15 pm
SC has talent. Most honest dog fans expect to lose to SC this year. If you had to bet your house, who would you vote for? Only positive for UGA is home field. SC has more talent on both sides of the ball, but maybe CMR will out coach SS. Hardy, har-har-har, that last one is funny.
Dawg Fan
July 8th, 2011
12:20 pm
RedandBlackDAWG- don’t betting lines try to get even amounts of money bet on either side and they make the profits when they hit the line exactly and teams “tie”, so NO bettors get paid.
sandman053
July 8th, 2011
12:22 pm
Insider I just saw a copy of his Tweet on another board. Sounds like you got it right after all. Just not the end of the world quite yet.
brick
July 8th, 2011
12:22 pm
SC fans talking trash is funny. Yeah you had a good year, have a good back, but fact is you don’t know what Lattimore will be like this year. After getting knocked into the middle of 2013 in your bowl game he may not be the same as before, maybe he will but you don’t know that yet. Jefferey is the best receiver in the conference, your qb is the biggest nutcase in the conference as well. Of course he won’t miss any playing time but who knows if he will even bother to show up for practices. SC will have a good consistent defense, but with Garcia at qb, who knows how effective it will be. Lattimore will get some yards, but I don’t think he breaks 100 this year, we are much better alone the front 7 than last year.
OrneryDawg
July 8th, 2011
12:30 pm
I’m ready to battle any of you dimwits criticizing the DAWGS. The players are ready too. Pack your lunch and bring it. We’ll eat it for ya. HA HA your damn selves.
Football Insider
July 8th, 2011
12:32 pm
Sandman,
I didn’t know he tweeted it already.
Hmmm….yep it looks like it. Quentin Williams replied to it. Looks to be true.
CK4 is done…
Wasn’t there an article by Bill King that was titled “Competition with King and Crowell bodes well”?
May need to revise that article.
Dawgs Tell
July 8th, 2011
12:36 pm
@Old Time dog – read on a previous comment that you were a State Warden in Corrections for 28 Years.We probably know the same people or each other.I’m retired from Correction,over 30 years.I will give some first names and we will see if you know them or me.My Brother in law was a State Warden Shady Grady until he passed away in 1995. People I know personnly.Best friend Winfred,Mickey,Lansom,Bobby and of course Dave.Any way GO DAWGS!!
GT Fan
July 8th, 2011
12:36 pm
I only wish we could win more games too. I am not going to say anything bad about Georgia because just look at us over here at Tech. I got my hopes up when Paul Johnson came but I have to admit teams have had time to figure out our offense and pretty much stop us. Our defense like yours needs to really be there this year or things could be disappointing. I hope both teams do well and show lots of improvement until we beat you in the season finale. Good Luck.
CHDawg
July 8th, 2011
12:37 pm
That rumor about King was floating around two months ago. Sure you aren’t seeing residue from that?
old time dog
July 8th, 2011
12:39 pm
Dawgs Tell… Tell Lansome that his buddy Powell couldn’t even outfish E. Martin on his best day!
Tampa Gator
July 8th, 2011
12:40 pm
The reason the SEC is the best conference is the play of the defensive linemen in the conference. Georgia has joined the fray this year…and I think Georiga will be a very good team this year. But you better get off to a good start against Boise and then SC. I think you will pick some feathers this year….but Boise might catch you by surprise (I hope not). I am once again wishing for two undefeated teams in Jax this year…..for the Gators…..much rides on Weis’ ability to get Brantley to take his outstanding passing skills from the practice field to game day….something he has yet to do…and I am still not convinced he can. We will see……
sandman053
July 8th, 2011
12:40 pm
I DO find it hard to believe taht anyone could flunk out of summer classes?
East Repeat
July 8th, 2011
12:41 pm
Brick- Yea, we don’t know what kind of year lattimore will have, but we have pretty good evidence based on last year and his excellent, tough play in the league. Awsome hit by the FSU defensive back knocked Lattimore out (also ONLY fumble of the entire year) and that D-back dominated the SC/FSU bowl game- heck of a player. So what makes all the UGA fans so sure about Crowell and Jenkins? They have never been on the field in the SEC. I’ll take the PROVEN commodities of Lattimore and Jeffrey and our defense!
Football Insider
July 8th, 2011
12:42 pm
CHDawg,
Very sure. That tweet was from Caleb about 45 mintues ago.
This news started up this morning on other dawg sites.
Chris Robinson tweeted earlier this morning that “Even with the losses we will rise” then Caleb tweeted he was done, then Quentin Williams tweeted “dang bruh…”
CHDawg
July 8th, 2011
12:42 pm
GT,
Nesbitt was very underrated as a ball handler, imo. He will be hard to replace. Good luck and it is nice to see a GT fan here that acts like most GT fans! This blog attracts the nutty bees–the ones you probably don’t like on your own blogs!
Football Insider
July 8th, 2011
12:43 pm
Sandman,
It’s quite easy to flunk summer classes especially if you have struggled with academics for your whole academic career. CK4 has struggeld for a while now, finally caught up to him is all.
old time dog
July 8th, 2011
12:44 pm
Dawgs Tell…What has happened to Ladd and Whitworth? I ran into old Garrison Parker up on the river last year and we told war stories over some Jack.
CHDawg
July 8th, 2011
12:45 pm
Insider,
I hope he is wrong, but that sounds pretty bad…thx for the heads up.
sandman053
July 8th, 2011
12:46 pm
Well should have been that not taht…looks like I need summer classes.
Football Insider
July 8th, 2011
12:48 pm
The real question is what did Chris Robinson mean by “even with the lossES we will rise”. Losses as in plural. Maybe AJ Harmon?
Haven’t heard anything on who else could be in trouble.
RedandBlackDAWG
July 8th, 2011
12:50 pm
DAWG Fan,
My understanding is the big houses live on how they get the bettor to lay his money down. If he can persuade a bettor that, a team will win, and they bet that way, then they are basically betting with the house. But, since he will also bet, he is going to take the odds long favorite, which he himself created and bet against it. When he wins, he wins big. Of course the house wins big as well, and I guess that is what it is all about in the end.
A point I was trying to make also, is that this odds maker is trying to establish odds based on trends or history. He is not going to give very much consideration to the present unless he can somehow parlay that to his advantage. I would much rather form my opinion of a teams success or lack of it for the season, based on reports from good solid sports minded people than on an odds maker who, if he could establish odds on his wifes death date, would do so. That’s just me though. I am sure there are a lot of gamblers out there to disagree, LOL.