Notebook: Defensive numbers not what Georgia expected
ATHENS — Forty-sixth, 42nd, 57th and 43rd.
That’s Georgia’s national rank in scoring defense (21.0 ppg), total defense (345.3ypg), rushing defense (145.3 ypg) and pass defense (200 ypg), respectively, heading into Saturday’s game against Vanderbilt.
It’s safe to say that’s not where the Bulldogs expected to be at this point of the season, especially when two of their first three opponents happened to be Buffalo and Florida Atlantic. They came into the season nine starters returning from a unit that finished fifth in the nation in total defense last year.
But the Bulldogs’ defenders remain confident and prefer to point instead to the number in the team’s win column.
“Me personally, I know how good we are,” junior outside linebacker Jarvis Jones said. “Some of the numbers that y’all see, I know they’re not the greatest and they’re not like they were last year, but it’s still early. We haven’t done a lot on defense as far as a lot of our packages and stuff like that. So we’ve still got a lot to put in and there are still a lot of plays out there to be made. It’s just the fourth game of the season.”
It will also be the fourth consecutive game in which the Bulldogs haven’t had their full complement of starters on the field. Four returning starters missed the first two games due to suspensions and two more – All-America free safety Bacarri Rambo and inside linebacker Alec Ogletree – will remain out for one more week.
That’s at least partially to blame for Georgia giving up such an inordinate number of big plays in the early going. In three games the Bulldogs already have given up six plays of 36 or more yards, including scoring plays of 69, 43 and 41 yards.
The Bulldogs say it hasn’t been the absence of the suspended players’ skill sets as much as it has missing their experience of playing together.
“When you blitz and you don’t cover every gap, you are exposed to something popping like it did on that run,” coach Mark Richt said of Florida Atlantic’s 43-yard touchdown run on a dive play. ““We’ve got to be more disciplined. We’ve got to be to be a little bit smarter and be a little better fundamentally.”
Said linebacker Mike Gilliard: “I feel like we’ve got a lot of new faces out there and a lot of it has just been miscommunication and missed assignments. Right now we’re working on that every day. We’re out here trying to fix things like that that one big play could be what causes you to lose the game.”
The positive for Georgia’s defense is it has made good adjustments at halftime. The Bulldogs are allowing an average of 7.7 points in the second half this season. And they’ll be down to just two absentees for Vanderbilt this week.
“As the young guys learn, it’s going to make us that much better as our whole defense, our whole group of starters, is on the field at one time,” said Jones, who missed last Saturday’s game with a strained groin.” That has yet to be. But when it does I think it’s going to be something special.”
Jones now No. 1 NFL prospect
Speaking of Jones, the Bulldogs’ junior linebacker moved up from second to first on Mel Kiper’s “Big Board of 2013 NFL draft prediction. Kiper had Jones as a first-rounder as a redshirt sophomore last year when Jones opted to come back for another year.
Asked if he was already resigned to losing Jones after this season, Richt laughed. “I’d be excited for Jarvis to get drafted that high,” he said. “It’s just a matter of when. But when that day comes I’ll be genuinely thrilled for him.”
O-line taking shape
Starting left guard Dallas Lee (sprained left ankle) remained in a green jersey and mostly ran on the side during Wednesday’s practice. However, he was able to get scrimmage work against the scout team and seems likely to play Saturday.
“I’d guess there’s a good chance but it’s not guaranteed,” Richt said. “You’d had to measure a gimpy Lee against a healthy [Mark] Beard.”
When Lee is not in the game, the Bulldogs will move left tackle Kenarious Gates inside to guard and bring in Beard, a first-year junior college transfer, to play left tackle. That’s what they did this past Saturday when Lee went out in the second quarter.
“Beard played good enough to prove that he can get in there,” Richt said. “So we might rotate them around in there.”
Calling all punt returners
Georgia continues to experiment with punt returners. The Bulldogs have used four in three games – Damian Swann, Malcolm Mitchell, Chris Conley and Rhett McGowan — and haven’t been particularly pleased with any of them. They’re averaging just 8.8 yards a return and haven’t been making good decisions with regard to when to field, fair catch or return.
“The main thing is that we’re looking for a guy who will field the ball and communicate well,” Richt said. “So I think we’re still searching for that. But it’s a tough job.”
Etc. . . .
Richt said the No. 1 defense, after “not looking too sporty” against the No. 2 offense on Tuesday, was much better on Wednesday. The unit went 8-for-8 in holding the offense scoreless. . . . Richt said sophomore offensive lineman Kolton Houston still has not been cleared to play by the NCAA. . . . Offensive lineman Watts Dantzler (ankle), outside linebackers Josh Dawson (shoulder) and James DeLoach (shoulder) and wide receiver Rantavious Wooten (knee) were limited and/or held out of contact on Wednesday. . . . Asked again by a reporter on Wednesday’s SEC coaches’ teleconference if his team would be motivated by last year’s post-game incident against Georgia, Vanderbilt coach James Franklin quipped, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” . . . UGA coach legend Vince Dooley will be the featured speaker and will sign books today at the Atlanta Press Club Newsmaker Luncheon at The Commerce Club at 191 Peachtree. Tickets are $30 and registration begins at 11:15 a.m.
MORE ON GEORGIA FOOTBALL
- QB Aaron Murray making Good Works team is a big deal
- Todd Grantham says he no regrets over Vandy postgame
- Georgia LB Amarlo Herrera proving to be more than a fill-in
- A look at Georgia’s next opponent: Vanderbilt
- Quotes & highlights from Tuesday’s news conference
- Bulldogs’ Cornelius Washington likes ‘a good confrontation’
- Vandy’s James Franklin jokes of vacationing with Todd Grantham
- ‘Salary restructuring’ means base-pay increases for 6 asst. coaches
- Georgia-Tennessee game time set to accommodate TV broadcast
- Bulldogs climb to No. 5 in AP poll, No. 6 in coaches
- Notebook: Richt says focus this week on football, ‘not the extracurricular’
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254 comments Add your comment
Columbus
September 20th, 2012
2:22 am
Defense is going to be fine. Defense was not playing for the Florida-Atlantic offense, but the Vandy offense and the same against Buffalo. On top of that UGA might as well played without 4 starters last week too. ANd on top of that two of the 4 are All-American. I know only Rambo was named All-American but Ogletree is definitely an All-American and the best player on our defense and that is saying a lot considering Jarvis Jones and Rambo is out there. SOOOO, when all starter are back and there are 3 ALL-AMERICANS ON THE FIELD AT THE SAME TIME AND THE FULL DEFENSIVE PACKAGE CAN BE UTILIZED….COME OCTOBER ITS GOING TO BE LIGHTS OUT AND COME THE SEC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME…..BRING IT ON. ANYBODY WILL HAVE HUGE PROBLEMS MOVING THE BALL AGAINST UGA AND THEREFORE, UGA CAN WIN AGAINST ANYONE WHO WANTS SOME AND PERSONALLY I ONT CARE IF ITS BAMA OR LSU BUT BEATING BAMA MIGHT WOULDN’T HURT MY FEELINGS…
slobodan
September 20th, 2012
3:34 am
Complainers on this board seem to think that the dogs defensive statistics for the first four games spells doom for their stretch of SEC games. I’d like for the defense to shut em out every time too; but it probably won’t evolve that way. The dogs D will have to make certain adjustments every game to clean up mistakes.
But these same complainers seem to discount the fact that the dogs have a lethal arsenal on offense; good enough to overcome defensive miscues..If the protection is there, they can pass on anyone (with the truckload of DAMN good receivers they’ve got – and lots of them). QB delivers the ball very well when the time is there. When the pass game opens up, then the dogs will have opportunities to stick some runs with Racehorse Gurley, Tasmanian Devel Marshall and Roadgrader Malcome..I’m telling you; This offense can be spectacular.
7576DAWG
September 20th, 2012
4:02 am
slobodan
I totally agree with you on Georgia’s offense. I don’t think we have seen anywhere close to our offensive potential. We hung 41 point’s on Missouri who has a good team and could have scored 10 to 14 more. I still think Missouri will beat South Carolina 21 to 20. If they do it will validate just how good our offense really is. I know everybody wants to rave about our defense but this is the first year since 2008 that I can see great balance on the offensive side. Don’t underestimate the great job Hall is doing in block for Murray. Murray is releasing the ball faster this year and is holding the turnovers to a minimum.
Buzz 2011
September 20th, 2012
4:18 am
The Dawg defense is terrible!The Dores should rip them for 400 yards easy.
GT will rip them for 600 yards …
gbal
September 20th, 2012
5:40 am
Im a uga fan, but I am telling you just like USC, Mich….. UGA was way over ranked by the media this year. Been saying it since the first poll … Completely unjustified. It will show in next 3-4 weeks
SEC Football
September 20th, 2012
6:44 am
Just because you question some things does not mean you do not support the dawgs. I also have questions about the defense and it is more the secondary. I said in a earlier comment I believe they play soft coverage afraid of getting beat deep. Smith is a prime example and he has been playing. Nothing to do with the suspensions. I hope these guys start to gel because the stars are aligned if they do. Hopefuuly this week will be the start of playing strong from start to finish!
gbal
September 20th, 2012
6:50 am
Enter your comments here
bubba4dawgs
September 20th, 2012
6:57 am
The DAWGS are playing to win the game……..saving their mojo over the course of the whole game not killing themselves in the early going. I’ve noticed they are much more energetic thru the 4th qtr. tan anyone else. They’re playing to win, not to set a record on statistics. I.E., they do what they have to do to win! GO DAWGS!! Hey Nerds, quit criticizing, your time will come in November when they beat you down in Athens town! You’ll be that little dot below the exclamation point to end the season! Same ole story…..whaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!! Now, change your diapers and quit smelling up this blog!!
Macclenny_dawg
September 20th, 2012
7:17 am
The defense regardless of who is not playing should not be giving up the yardage or points to these teams we have played. If these players were actually hurt or moved to NFL it doesn’t matter. Now if we are not calling all the defensive pagages I can’t seem to understand that either. I personally think its just this teams lack of focus. Year after year this staff continues to struggle to get this team to play good for 4 quarters. As far as getting a punt returner just pick a guy and stick with him so he can get better!!! The way punters are punting now by kicking it so high only 40% are returned anyway. Sounds like a good oppertunity to try to go after a few punts. We seem to have lost that GATA mentality. I say GTA!!! Bring it every play!!! Go Dawgs!!!
Craig
September 20th, 2012
7:20 am
In three games the Bulldogs already have given up six plays of 36 or more yards, including scoring plays of 69, 43 and 41 yards.
..disturbing with vandy, UT and Carolina still to come……..I dont buy the excuses above- this is a seasoned defense…..you dont hear this from teams like bama and lsu…..
Craig
September 20th, 2012
7:21 am
“I feel like we’ve got a lot of new faces out there and a lot of it has just been miscommunication and missed assignments. Right now we’re working on that every day. We’re out here trying to fix things like that that one big play could be what causes you to lose the game.”
Like this one……the returning starters we have….miscommunication?????? missed assignments???????? This is why we dont win championships- we always have an excuse…it’s always something……
Peter
September 20th, 2012
7:26 am
The next three weeks will tell the story of this team…both defense and offense…….I have a sick feeling we DO have problems on Defense that were not expected and we have already had one big game that the offense sleptwalked through for the most part of 3 qtrs…….14 points as a gift from Jarvis made score look better than it was…
Matt in ATL
September 20th, 2012
7:41 am
I agree with Dr. P. very concerned about our D.
Armchair Observer
September 20th, 2012
7:54 am
These after midnight posters slay me. Columbus, it might wouldn’t not hurt my feelings either if we were to beat Bama and Saban.
RHall55
September 20th, 2012
7:58 am
I agree w/ Dawglessville this Kolton Houston thing is ridiculous….do you think this would take this long @ AL or LSU…it would have been solved long ago…again Will Friend leaves UGA in quandry w/ his under recruitment of OL…too many misses on his part…and his salary just increased…c’mon man do your job!!!
old #12
September 20th, 2012
8:04 am
Hey guys the best thing Jarvis Jones and team can do is to stop reading newpsapers and show what they can do on the field. South Carolina, Tenn,and Vanderbilt could care less about the ranking of our defense.
CHDawg
September 20th, 2012
8:06 am
Stats are fun and often useful, but you have been given a brain, which enables complex and subjective judgments, people. 3-0 is the only stat that really matters. The D turned the game in Columbia, our only close match. We have been missing close to half the starters at times. The suspensions are a distraction that can affect the whole team’s play. I think they will do great if we can get the whole team back and keep winning. We should just get better as the season wears on. Go Dawgs.
Dawg Tired
September 20th, 2012
8:08 am
We need the Kent State Golden Flashes’ defense.
richie
September 20th, 2012
8:09 am
This is to DR.P get a life
C from Marietta
September 20th, 2012
8:13 am
@ Buzz 2011
Every year some jerk from Tech comes on this blog to talk junk about Tech beating UGA. Well, how has that worked our for you? Pathetic troll. UGA does their talking on the field against Tech.
Bulldawg Rick
September 20th, 2012
8:21 am
Kinda funny that we are pointing to “Stats”… Hech UGA is 3-0 & #5 (or 6) in the polls.. Who cares?? Another “stat” no one is talking about is the O.. 40+ for 3 straight games….
BTW, SEC play begins & we should have most of our “ammo” back… That’s what matters..
GATA Dawgs!!
tell me again
September 20th, 2012
8:23 am
I just love to see posters talking about who should be playing where. As if they watch the kids practice day in and day out and really know what’s going on. Dolts. Just sit down and quit embarrassing yourselves. We’re 3-0. Win pretty, win ugly. Just win. Go Dawgs!
Saldiven
September 20th, 2012
8:33 am
Could someone explain to me why “Scoring Defense” includes points that are scored when the defense isn’t even on the field? For example, if a quarterback throws a pick six, a kickoff is returned for a touchdown, or a fake punt yields a touchdown, all of these scores are counted against the defense in the “Scoring Defense” statistic.
A Girl Named Linda Lou
September 20th, 2012
8:37 am
@ Buzz 2011
Get your hand out of your pants Boy.
Joey
September 20th, 2012
8:38 am
Let’s see, 5 starters out for the 1st game, 4 starters out for the 2nd game, 3 starters out for the 3rd game.
Probable that all 5 will play in the NFL, certainly 4.
I can’t think of any team with the depth to put up the same numbers with that many NFL-caliber players missing.
dawgfan
September 20th, 2012
8:52 am
The big plays, mostly in the passing game, have killed us. That can be fixed. I’d be much more concerned if we were just getting steamrolled for 5 and 10 chunks of yards every time, but that’s not happening. For about 90-95% of the game our defense has been dominant. Granted we haven’t faced the stiffest of competition but with two 350+ lb. nose tackles I doubt anyone will be steamrolling us. I’m not that worried. The breakdowns in coverage can be fixed.
Serious??
September 20th, 2012
8:58 am
The D only allowed 14 against FL INT. FYI. The average should be 19.
Serious??
September 20th, 2012
8:59 am
Scott-Wesley at punt returner??
Joey
September 20th, 2012
9:00 am
dawgfan, I’ll stop being worried so much when Rambo and Ogletree get back. I look for Vandy to exploit their absences with runs up the middle and throwing over the safeties.
If Jarvis plays, they will run away from him, so Vasser’s gonna get a lot of action on the strong side. Hopefully Grantham moves Jarvis around a lot like vs Mizzou.
I hope the D shows up for 4 quarters this Sat night.
Joey
September 20th, 2012
9:02 am
Serious??, I second that motion. Scott-Wesley needs more touches, somehow, someway.
BobDawg
September 20th, 2012
9:04 am
7576DAWG…. Agree with your post… and do we really want to see a “perfect” game from the Dawgs D at this point??? I like to see us build on each game, play a ton of young-uns and get better each game with no big heads out there… I’m enjoying this season as it sets up perfectly for us. All night and late afternoon games and Athens will be rocking…..
old dog
September 20th, 2012
9:04 am
Units (offensive and defensive) need time to gel…….and our defense with key components missing will STILL have to gel when the final two get back. Hopefully, this will happen quickly, as the schedule is not getting easier……………….
I-DOG
September 20th, 2012
9:06 am
Actually, the D only gave up 7 last Saturday. They gave up two touchdowns defensively, but then they scored a defensive touchdown for a net of -7 points. That isn’t too bad with three NFLers missing from the lineup, even against a cupcake.
I think there is SOME cause for concern with the D after the first three games and there are certainely things that need to improve. However, the D passes the eyeball tes to me. A weak effort against Buffalo in the first half, true. The D won the Missouri game and ended up being -7 on points last week. Improvement is needed, but the stats are a bit misleading.
BeerDawg
September 20th, 2012
9:07 am
DONT FEED THE TROLL!!!!
gdawginkalamazoo
September 20th, 2012
9:08 am
We got the W’s on the board so I can’t complain about anything. I wonder what the 2nd half defensive stats look like? With the slow starts for both sides of the ball that’s what I would focus on. I think they are pretty damn good which means Grantham gets them in at the half and actually makes any adjustments needed. Something we have not seen a lot of in years past.
Red Pants
September 20th, 2012
9:12 am
They should try Justin Scott-Wesley at kick returner. The guys has plenty of speed, it’s definitely worth a look.
ARdawg
September 20th, 2012
9:13 am
Who gives a fat rats azz what someone “hears” about Bama or LSU. Teams do have big plays on those defenses too. Our defense has been somewhat soft through 3 games but guess what? They won the games. The first half of the Mizzou was questionable but there was no other time who would win was in doubt. The defense is fine. Controlling more tempo would be encouraged but, they are winning. If they start losing, then you’ll have a reason to beeyotch
I-DOG
September 20th, 2012
9:16 am
The pleasant surprise is the WR group. I’m not sure anyone expected us to have quite so many weapons there. While there were a lot of drops by Brown and Bennet in the Missouri game, I think that was more of an anomoly.
We have four guys that are capable of (or have already registered) 100 yard receiving games. Brown looks poised to be the consistant threat that we were hoping for when we signed him. Bennet has taken a step forward. Conley, Wooten, and Scott Wesley are pushing for playing time. The RB’s and WR’s are better than we probably thought they would be this season.
BobDawg
September 20th, 2012
9:18 am
Man, are the Falcons getting the Love from ESPN or what for that “amoeba” Defense??!!..Would love to see us pull a version of that out for USC or UF games… Total confusion for the offense….
kingdaddy
September 20th, 2012
9:18 am
I look for a fairly close first half with Vandy trying to control the clock by running the ball and keep Murray off the field. How do you keep Murray from scoring? Don’t let him on the field. Can UGAs defense shut-down Vandy’s Offense, no. Can they outscore them, yes but only if they can keep Vandy from controlling TOP. I look for Cummings to have a better game and I look for Jarvis and Shawn Williams to have a huge game. CTG needs to get Williams to play under control and let last year go. If he can do this, Shawn Williams and the LBs can control Vandy’s running game plans and keep them from getting in sync. This will also be a real test for our Special Teams. Would love to see Gurley get 15-20 touches and Marshall and Boo get their chances. It’s great to have so much talent. I don’t think this game will be close…
TY
September 20th, 2012
9:21 am
Well this is out of left field. Lack of time of possession by the offense puts pressure on the defense. With our passing offense and quick scoring drives we keep the defense on the field longer than the offense. Therefore giving the other team more time to score vs our defense….If you give up a 12 play drive for a td and then you return the KO. Guess what the Defense is back on the field for another 10 plus drive….Yes we should have played better on defense but hopefully we recognize our weaknesses in the second half and have a better defense in the second half of each game and the rest of the year. We actually did not know what either team would run in these games. Finding out and adjusting in the second half is a good sign that someone is doing a great job coaching and adjusting to game situation…Bringing up the efforts last year vs the teams we lost to (not creampuffs and two played for the national championship) has nothing to do with this year. 100% of the time when any team beats you it is because they outscored you…duh!!!! So far this year it has not happened. It is not because of the time of possession but that has a lot to do with the score of the game. 3-0 os 3-0 be proud of it. Go Dawgs!!!!
BobDawg
September 20th, 2012
9:25 am
Unless teams get up on us Big Time in the 1st Half most games won’t be close… Gurley or Marshall will break a long one in the 2nd half as they are rested and/or Murray finds a sideline route for a big play to break open the game in the 3rd/4th quarter…
BMOC
September 20th, 2012
9:25 am
Dawglasville
It’s because they ‘can’. It’s obvious, the NCAA clowns have to try & make up for their ‘Inefficiencies’ in their personal life somewhere. Makes them feel ‘BIG’.
Mrs. P
September 20th, 2012
9:26 am
I am a huge UGA fan, but I gotta say Dr. P has some valid points. I hope he is wrong, but all we have is history to go on. Lets go Dawgs!
BMOC
September 20th, 2012
9:26 am
BobDawg
And let’s not forget about Marlon Brown.
Joey
September 20th, 2012
9:27 am
kingdaddy, if our O-line protects Murray, Vandy can’t score enough to keep up. I bet we will have to keep backs and TEs in for protection though.
Our O-line is just average.
So far.
kingdaddy
September 20th, 2012
9:30 am
Ms.P
NYCDawgFan is looking for your idiot son. Said he has some “splaining” to do…
LogicalUS
September 20th, 2012
9:33 am
“Forty-sixth, 42nd, 57th and 43rd.
That’s Georgia’s national rank in scoring defense (21.0 ppg), total defense (345.3ypg), rushing defense (145.3 ypg) and pass defense (200 ypg), ”
Something is certainly up, with the missing secondary players you could expect the pass defense to be up but no sugar coating the rushing defense. This gang of “NFL pro bowlers” are getting gang rushed by Buffalo\FAU, that is a ticking timebomb. And even worst is that much of this production is early in the games and not during the mop up time against 4th teamers.
Tarryuga
September 20th, 2012
9:36 am
What is with the comments on the Buffalo/Kent St game???
Hell Buffalo was playing with a MASH unit since the UGA game!
They had 4 flats and no fix.
GO DAWGS!
Show Me Your TDs
September 20th, 2012
9:37 am
As long as we make the second half adjustments and dont get too far behind after the first half, we’ll be fine. In the past, we’d never make any halftime adjustments and end up losing. True we have pick it up a notch…but any true Dawg fan knows we’ve always been a second half team…whether its in the game, or the season!