Notebook: Dogs’ defense reshuffling lineup yet again
ATHENS – The Bulldogs found out on Wednesday they would be without two defensive starters for the Florida game on Oct. 29. They also added two more with the returns this week of Alec Ogletree and Cornelius Washington.
For defensive coordinator Todd Grantham and his staff, being able to mix and match the lineup is old hat at this point. Thanks to injuries and suspensions, Georgia has utilized seven different starting lineups in seven games this season.
There’s a 100 percent chance it will be 8-for-8 against Florida in Jacksonville on Oct. 29.
“I’ve always said you rank your players and figure out your best combination for that week,” Grantham said Wednesday. “That’s what we’ve done every week. Guys have been in and out. We really haven’t played a game yet with what started out as our first 11. That’s OK, too, because guys have worked hard and built a lot of mental toughness on our defense and are finding a way to finish.”
Despite losing Ogletree and fellow inside linebacker starter Christian Robinson for multiple games due to injuries in the season’s first two weeks, Georgia made it to the eighth week of the season ranked No. 8 nationally in total defense.
Now they’ll have to adjust yet again as noseguard Kwame Geathers and strong safety Shawn Williams – who have started 10 games between them this season – have been ordered by the SEC to sit out the first half versus the Gators due to unsportsmanlike infractions in the Vanderbilt game.
“I just told them whoever is going to play in their place needs to play hard enough to where when these guys get in during the second half we’re still in contention in the game,” Georgia head coach Mark Richt said. “Somebody’s going to have to step up.”
Grantham and Richt anticipate junior John Jenkins, who has started the last two games and alternates regularly with Geathers, to simply get more snaps at noseguard in the first half. Defensive end DeAngelo Tyson, who played noseguard last season, will slide inside when Jenkins needs a breather in the first half.
As for Williams’ strong safety position, there’s a good chance cornerback Sanders Commings will move there. Commings started at safety when Bacarri Rambo was out for the season opener against Boise State. Branden Smith and/or Damian Swann could fill in at the corner, where they already get a lot of snaps.
Getting Ogletree and Washington back softens the blow.
Starting “Mo” linebacker Ogletree missed the last five games with a broken bone in his right foot. He entered the season with a reputation as potentially Georgia’s most dynamic defensive player. Washington started the first five games at weakside outside linebacker before his Oct. 2 DUI arrest led to a two-game suspension. Robinson, the starting “Mike” linebacker, missed two games and parts of a third with an ankle injury.
Michael Gilliard, Amarlo Herrera, Chase Vasser and Ray Drew all have filled in admirably.
“Guys have stepped up and embraced their roles and some have taken advantage of their opportunities,” Grantham said. “Moving forward we’ll do the same thing, plug guys in and keep moving.”
One option that Grantham took off the table is moving Ogletree back to strong safety.
“I think we’re past that,” he said. “I think he has shown up as an inside linebacker. I think he’s really good there.”
Grantham on SEC decision
Grantham said he wasn’t sure what might happen as the SEC mulled his fate for last Saturday’s postgame confrontation with Vanderbilt head coach James Franklin. But he was clearly happy Wednesday to have it behind him.
“To be honest, I wasn’t sure about anything,” Grantham said. “I’ve pretty much said what I’m going to say and moved forward. We’ve got an opportunity to get better this week. That’s what you use the open week for, to get better. We obviously have a big game next week so we’re preparing for that. I’ve moved on and we’re moving forward.”
Grantham did, however, express regret for his actions and said that his outburst is not a reflection of Georgia’s defense.
“I tell our guys you want to play hard from the snap of the ball to the end of the play,” he said. “After that, get back in the huddle. During that time you play hard, you play fast and you play physical. We’ve done that and had very few penalties on defense all year.”
Richt mum on video comments
A Nashville television station released Wednesday an unedited version of video that captured the postgame exchange between Richt and Vanderbilt coach James Franklin. Richt’s voice is nearly inaudible on the video but, according to an transcription being distributed on the Internet of that conversation, Richt uses an expletive to describe Williams, who is accused by Franklin of “rubbing our faces in it.”
Richt was asked after practice Wednesday whether that transcription was accurate.
“I don’t have a comment on that; I don’t think it’s worthy of a comment,” he said. “But I wasn’t happy after the game. I can say that. I wasn’t happy.”
Asked why he was upset, Richt said: “The thing I was bothered by mostly was, the game’s over, it was a great game, let’s all go shake hands and say good luck. Let’s do that. Can we do that? That’s my goal personally and that’s my goal for our football team and that’s how I want to operate from this point forward. Hopefully that will be the case.”
Stafford takes up for Richt
Former Georgia quarterback Matthew Stafford, who is now starring for the Detroit Lions, was asked the “hot seat” question Richt on a teleconference call with reporters on Wednesday. Stafford’s Lions play the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday.
“I’ve always been a huge Mark Richt fan,” Stafford said. “He’s one of the huge reasons I went to Georgia from Texas. I think he’s great for that program, he’s great for the community, he’s great for the kids in that program. They’ve really started stepping up and playing better these last couple of weeks. They lost to two really good football teams the first two weeks. They are a young team in many spots, still learning the defense and acclimating to some new players they are mixing in. I have total confidence that he will get the job done, for sure.”
Etc. . . .
Georgia cornerback/kick returner Brandon Boykin missed practice while undergoing a dental procedure on Wednesday. Boykin busted his mouth and several lower teeth on a kickoff return against Mississippi State on Oct. 1. . . . Bacarri Rambo also sat out portions of Wednesday’s full-contact workout due to a turf-toe injury. It’s not expected to limit his play against Florida. . . . Wide receiver Malcolm Mitchell was on the field in a green jersey but did not dress out in full pads and did participate in most drills. . . . Tailback Carlton Thomas dressed out but remained in green with an undisclosed leg injury. . . . Former Bulldog A.J. Green attended Georgia’s practice Wednesday. The Cincinnati Bengals’ star receiver was in town on an off week.
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407 comments Add your comment
DAWGtired
October 20th, 2011
1:27 pm
WHAT IS GOING ON WITH THE FILTER!?! I hate AJC.
Flat Tire on I-95 in Jacksonville
October 20th, 2011
1:27 pm
Still@theBAR
No I will not change my name until Richt beats FL 2 years in a row.
Beating FL this year is nothing to beat your chest about. (Make sure you remind these simpletons that I said this because I can see now when we do next week)
Losing to FL this year will be a joke; FL is the worst Ive seen them since the early 80’s
Sorry
Oh and I know your not a UGA fan but if I were you I would change my name to
Still@theKool-aidBAR
Because as you can see most of the UGA fans on here are at; and have been at the kool-aid bar for years
DAWGtired
October 20th, 2011
1:30 pm
Obviously, Flat Tire. I’ve been on here for weeks trying to get ppl to admit that Mark Richt never takes any responsibility for this football program. His recruits with constant issues. His coaches that he hired and continues to point his fingers at. If we lose this game, it is due to poor coaching, no discipline on ST, and costly penalties b/c these guys can’t settle down and play as a team.
Delbert D.
October 20th, 2011
1:34 pm
Thomas Brown – Flat tire didn’t say he was a Gator fan; someone else said he was, presumably because his opinions didn’t match up with theirs.
Still@theBAR
October 20th, 2011
1:34 pm
I like Richt. I think he isn’t helping UGA with Bobo. Tech hasn’t beat Bobo enough, but I don’t know that there many DC’s that fear facing Bobo’s brain trust. UGA has Talent that can beat anybody, but Bobo may and can even screw that up at times.
Still@theBAR
October 20th, 2011
1:36 pm
Delbert nice to see you here too. How was the shower after the Natele Wood dreams. LOL
DAWGtired
October 20th, 2011
1:37 pm
And they are not drinking Kool-aid, they got into a vat of anti-freeze. We were gift-wrapped this season. Had CMR not changed the Louisville date and hand-delivered a win to SC, we would look like a good program right now. The sad part of it is we are not even close to good football program. These kids need a militant-style disciplinarian who will hold them accountable and BENCH their @sses in a game for show boating and PF penalties. They need someone who is going to line them up in practice and make them play as a TEAM with fire and intensity from snap to whistle and not rest on their mediocre laurels. Celebrating a tackle after the opposing offense moves the chains? WHO ARE THESE GUYS!?!
Flat Tire on I-95 in Jacksonville
October 20th, 2011
1:40 pm
DAWGtired
You forgot Richts favorite excuse for a loss. The players didnt execute
His answer really should be:
Well the other team already knows what we are doing and we arent going to change. BECAUSE I KNOW WHAT THE H#LL IM DOING !!!!!!!
Delbert D.
October 20th, 2011
1:41 pm
Maybe you should use the name that Flat Tire recommended
DAWGtired
October 20th, 2011
1:45 pm
You missed my comments yesterday, Flat Tire. Here’s exactly what Richt will say at the end of the season if SC wins out and we do too:
“Well, we did our best to put ourselves in a position to win the East. That’s our goal every year and the stars just didn’t line up. We’re really excited about our Cotton Bowl game against Texas A&M and we’re going to continue to plan for the things that we can affect.”
Instead of saying, “Well, I really screwed up scheduling that Boise game thinking that Kellen had bolted for the NFL. I absolutely handed Spurrier that game in South Carolina, b/c of my poor play calling and wanting to appear as a “balanced” team. We fell totally short of our actual goals and this is a garbage bowl game for a team that is as loaded with talent as we are. Thanks, Erin.”
Delbert D.
October 20th, 2011
1:47 pm
NFL football is darn near unwatchable with the pro wrestler antics of the players. I record the Falcons and fast forward between plays with the sound turned off. It’s spreading to college, as we have seen. A guy jumps up and pounds his chest after pushing a player out of bounds on a 5-yard gain. Undisciplined is too nice a word for it.
DAWGtired
October 20th, 2011
1:52 pm
I’ve been a Marine for almost ten years now. I played football at Brookwood in Gwinnett county (we put quite a few players into the UGA program when I was there). If I were playing on a team full of loud-mouthed never-accomplished-anything showboats like this, I’d be taking them out behind the bleachers and beating the brakes off of them. I’d also chew them out ad naseum for not focusing on the overall picture instead of their individual accomplishments. That’s just me though. NO LEADERSHIP.
Still@theKool-aidBAR
October 20th, 2011
1:52 pm
Ok Flat Tire and Delbert D i will take the NEW name. LOL
Still@theKool-aidBAR
October 20th, 2011
1:54 pm
DAWGtired you can’t lead if they don’t have discipline and the desire to follow.
DAWGtired
October 20th, 2011
1:54 pm
OH MAN, that is classic…
Weak Coaching
October 20th, 2011
1:55 pm
Coach Richt: “I just told them whoever is going to play in their place needs to play hard enough to where when these guys get in during the second half we’re still in contention in the game.”
THAT IS THE MENTAL ATTITUDE THAT GETS UGA BEATEN ALMOST EVERY YEAR IN JACKSONVILLE!
How about telling the guys playing in their place, you guys are going to kick so much a$$ that these suspended guys are going to have a hard time getting back on the field. By the time you’re done with them, the gators won’t even want to play the second half. Now go crush some gator skull and GATA!!!
Flat Tire on I-95 in Jacksonville
October 20th, 2011
1:59 pm
Still@theKool-aidBAR
Much better. I actually might make some T-shirts with that name and sell them at the next home game
DAWGtired
October 20th, 2011
2:00 pm
It’s a pc deal for Richt…He doesn’t want “appear overconfident and degrade the other team”. Nevermind the fact that Muschamp GUARANTEED a win preseason for Florida in this game. The man’s balls have clearly fallen off, Weak Coaching.
Flat Tire on I-95 in Jacksonville
October 20th, 2011
2:01 pm
Weak Coaching
Well we all dream of that
But the players are told to read the book ENERGY VAMPIRES for gameday motivation
Still@theKool-aidBAR
October 20th, 2011
2:07 pm
I date a lady from the Bar once. She was an Energy Vampire. I could barely walk for 2 days after our Weekend together. She Vampire Sucked the Energy right out of me. LOL
1eyedJack
October 20th, 2011
2:10 pm
I blame everything on the drugs in the water supply. Contamination of the precious bodily fluids.
DAWGtired
October 20th, 2011
2:10 pm
Here’s your gameday motivation:
44-22-2 (that was our FLORIDA record prior to 1990)
47-40-2 (that is our Current Record)
124-58…combined score of the last three meetings
I would have those numbers posted on every wall, stantion, weightbench, wall locker and playbook in Athens…just to remind them how they have been EMBARRASSED by a team that never had an SEC Championship prior to 1990!?!
Joey
October 20th, 2011
2:13 pm
Thomas (10:50 am), two Joeys – after ‘08 I realized that future SEC titles (forget National titles) were pipe dreams as long as Mike Bobo was our OC.
If Richt would have gotten a true OC, we would have challenged for the East, even in UF’s good years. Now, we only get a sniff of the East when UF and UT are down, and need SOMEBODY ELSE to beat SC.
The second quote is indeed mine. With his timid apology to Franklin, as well as refusal to publicly back his DC and players, he has lost my support.
DAWGtired
October 20th, 2011
2:18 pm
If Richt drops this game, and McGarity and Adams don’t fire him, I might just shut my cable off. True story.
Joey
October 20th, 2011
2:31 pm
Flat Tire, don’t forget the “it’s a home game for UF” excuse.
Flat Tire on I-95 in Jacksonville
October 20th, 2011
2:35 pm
Thats right its home game
40,000 FL fans
40,000 UGA fans
And its been played there since the 30’s but now its an issue for some odd reason
Joey
October 20th, 2011
2:45 pm
You know, if Mark Richt can take that ‘08 Dawg team, loaded with current NFL starters (and stars) to Jax and get beat 49-10, it can happen again this year.
I hope it doesn’t, but it wouldn’t supprise me.
Flat Tire on I-95 in Jacksonville
October 20th, 2011
2:49 pm
Thats true
I just dont see it though
I will be willing to bet Mcgarity has let it be known this losing to FL every year on a $3 million salary isnt going to cut it
Red Panties AD didnt do nothing about it but I think he will
This FL team is so beat down that this will be the first year in 23 years that I will be shocked to lose to FL
Joey
October 20th, 2011
2:56 pm
Bet you were “shocked” that we beat Vandy by only 5?
I do agree that there’s no way they score more than 3 TDs on our D, but that’s all SC did (even with a gift on the 5 yd line, and they would up with 45.
Still@theKool-aidBAR
October 20th, 2011
3:00 pm
Bobo can’t get fired. he has to be on the UGA payroll for just a few more years and he will get his State pension. Right now Ray Goff is the highest paid retired state employee. Georgia Tax payers pay Goff $700k+ a year. Doesn’t that just make you sick?
Joey
October 20th, 2011
3:05 pm
I don’t want Bobo fired. Just move him back to QB coach. Are you serious about Goff?
He only made about $250K a year as UGA coach, right?
kingsfoil
October 20th, 2011
3:07 pm
Flat tire (1:27pm post)
If a win over a “bad” UF team accomplishes nothing else this year, it will start to get us over the mental block we have coming into this game every year. However, I disagree that they are a bad team. They have played the 2 best teams in the country so far and have been extremely shorthanded at QB. If your offense is struggling to score more than twice in a game, as they have the last 3 games, then eventually your defense is gonna get tired–esp. against power teams like Bama/LSU. They almost beat Auburn on the road with the most inept Gator offense I ever remember (my memory going back longer than I care to admit)–because of their defense.
Buck Blew
October 20th, 2011
3:12 pm
richt is a dumba$$. anyone who would still let a bobo call his plays is not very intelligent.
question……. when was the last time dawg football was relevant? 31 years ago. blew to scott.
Flat Tire on I-95 in Jacksonville
October 20th, 2011
3:16 pm
kingsfoil
I wish I could believe that about the mental block but unfortunatley it wont happen with this staff why?
When we blew them away in 07 the 08 team was the best qualified to destroy the mental block but instead we got destroyed with 4 NFL starters on offense.
This really is not a mental block this is more to do with 3 coaches that werent held accountable to beat your most important rival as schools like FL, AL, AUB, Texas, Oklahoma etc have done to their coaching staff.
jay
October 20th, 2011
3:18 pm
No killer instinct. In this conference, lacking a killer instinct will find you in the bottom half, year after year.
1953dawg
October 20th, 2011
3:20 pm
J.B., it’s people like you that have helped bring the UGA program to it’s mediocre state. When did Richt throw his players and his coaches under the bus? How about when he called his starting safety a dumbass, and apologizes to the pathetic Vandy coach for the actions of his D.C. before he even knows what the hell took place. Richt is a coward and a pitiful excuse for a H.C. This clown has done nothing the past 4 years but put a pitiful product on the field, and he has done nothing but get his ass handed to him by less talented teams. Yet he blames his players after every game and says if they had executed we would have won. He has yet to accept responsibility for not having his team prepared, nor has he admitted he and his god awful coaching staff was responsible for getting his team beat. He continues to say he likes Bobo’s play calling, which should be enough for McGarity to fire him today. You continue to live in the past, and you continue to love your head coach, who has done nothing but embarrass the program game after game, by not having them ready to play, and by not having the coaching staff that can design a game plan that will allow them to win. If you want to get into name calling, go ahead, but there is a simple word to describe you and Richt. It is called INSANE, which simply means doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. You are insane if you think Richt will ever turn this program around, or if you think he will ever win an SECC again.
Still@theKool-aidBAR
October 20th, 2011
3:21 pm
Joey no Head Coach in the SEC made just 250k. Goff and Bobo graduated from UGA and Never Left. They were at the College long enough to get a State employee pension.
Still@theKool-aidBAR
October 20th, 2011
3:23 pm
Bobo isn’t far from getting a pension. No way he gets Fired. maybe demoted, but Richt CAN’T fire him.
Junkyard
October 20th, 2011
3:24 pm
The JUNKYARD IS BACK BABY!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Deal with it dbags!!!!!!!!!!!
jay
October 20th, 2011
3:24 pm
I for one am tired of making that long drive back from Jacksonville to Atlanta after a loss. Its a sad
sight to see. A caravan of Dawg fans with a stunned look on their faces, not pretty. Its time for
a coach who goes down there with a mindset to win, not just keep it close.
Mr. Krinkle
October 20th, 2011
3:32 pm
Flat out doucher: you need are sorry human being!!!!!!!!
kingsfoil
October 20th, 2011
4:17 pm
Flat tire,
But that was the same 08 team that had no defense the most of the year (ie: Ala, UF, GT) against a Tebow-led Gator offensive juggernaut that went on to win the NC. And even then part of the problem that game was when they got up on us by only a couple of scores, we folded–ie, mental toughness. Though we have a long way to go as a team, one thing you can say is that we are certainly physically tougher on D than any of our defensive squads since BVG. My larger point is not to underestimate a win over UF this year–no matter how they’ve looked the last 3 weeks–especially if we can win by 2TD’s or more.
Gatormeat
October 20th, 2011
4:29 pm
georgia might as well recruit replacements for Geathers and Williams from some prison somewhere, considering how dirty they played against Vandy. Oh well, it won’t matter who they use, the Gators will still wipe the field with them. Again
Fat Friar
October 20th, 2011
5:36 pm
Nothing wrong with calling your player a dumb@** when he messes up at practice. But the Head Coach of Georgia should never do that to another coach. What he should have said is I’ll check into it and get back with you. And then when he called Franklin back he should tell him that as long as you are teaching your players to clip our players and then give the thumbs up sign, we have nothing to discuss. Richt doesn’t have to defend our players in that situation but he doesn’t throw them under the bus either.
Snoop Dawg
October 20th, 2011
5:37 pm
What’s up with that?
Why is Marjoe Mark Richt calling our players derogatory remarks to the Vandy coach when he should have rearranged his face?
Why is Greggggg McCavity aka Howdy Doody not raising cane with the SEC’s idiot Slive about picking on the Dawgs?
If you haven’t read the Bleacher Report article, here’s the link–it’s right on the money…
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/901870-sec-football-after-suspensionsthe-georgia-bulldogs-must-fight-back
I expect those who benefit from the second most profitable sports program in the NCAA contributed by a fan base whose loyalty isn’t matched by coaches’ and administrators’ performance to start fighting for what’s right here instead of rolling over like a bunch of dead dogs.
If you bloggers are OK with all of this cowardly laissez faire is everywhere, it will no doubt continue…
Snoop Dawg
October 20th, 2011
5:40 pm
Do not bet on UGA in Jacksonville unless you have money you don’t need.
Lakedawg
October 20th, 2011
5:50 pm
Flat Tire –If you think the game in Jacksonville is 50/50 you have not been to the game in many years. The club level right behind lower level is 100 % Gaturds with the windows open chomping.
The schools get same number tickets, but the 10,000 the stadium distributes or all UF’s.
No way that is neutral as would be the Ga Dome neutral the other way.Away trip for one team, one hour bus ride for the other.
ONly way to shut them up is to beat them wherever we play.
JB in Blakely
October 20th, 2011
6:05 pm
I am the only person on this vent who knows Shawn Williams as a person. I do not condone any of his actions during or immediately following the Vandy game. With that said, for a head coach to call his own player a dumb*** is wrong, pure and simple. Shawn is on track to graduate, has never got into any trouble off the field to my knowledge and has had a very good season on the field this year.
I would have no problem with the SEC suspension and would not have had any problem with coach Richt punishing Shawn. Should have done it in private.
Still@theKool-aidBAR
October 20th, 2011
6:10 pm
JB in Blakely what is a Child & Family Development degree good for? Hope he can use it.
Dawg48
October 20th, 2011
6:29 pm
What’s up snoop