SPRING PROVING GROUNDS III

DOMINANT. That was the word often used heading into last season when describing just how good Georgia’s interior defensive line could be. Thanks to the emergence of Justin Houston last spring, there was also a buzz surrounding the defensive ends heading into the 2009 season. At times these units played the way most Georgia fans expected them to…very well. Other times they did not. Maybe the most obvious sore spot for fans and the DAWGS defense was a lack of a pass rush and an inconsistent ability to stop the run. On the other hand, Georgia’s senior defensive linemen played very well down the stretch of the season and with the emergence of Houston and Cornelius Washington at defensive end, the DAWGS defensive line led a resurgence of a determined Georgia defense that managed to shut down Georgia Tech’s vaunted running game to end the season. As spring practice 2010 gets cranked up, there is a big hole in the DAWGS defensive line. Georgia lost five players that earned starts along the D-Line in 2009 to graduation, including three future NFL players in Geno Atkins, Jeff Owens and Kade Weston. Now, there is talent on hand to step into the gaping holes along Rodney Garner’s defensive front to be sure. The question is will the DAWGS young pups with new homes step to the front of the line and get the job done?

SPRING PROVING GROUNDS III: DEFENSIVE LINE

A couple of things are clear about the new 34 defense that the DAWGS will be playing…Georgia’s defensive line athletes will be asked to take on more of a role as a play-maker due to the one-gap style of defense Coach Grantham prefers, and we also know that despite where they are listed on the roster, all of the defensive linemen will be cross-training at all of the three positions that will play with their hand in the dirt. To better understand why this information is telling, let’s look at a one-gap defensive mentality as compared to the two-gap style.

Two things are vital to good defensive line play…playing with great technique and maintaining gap responsibilities. Depending on the play called and the philosophy of the defensive coordinator, a defensive lineman could be responsible for either one or two gaps.

One-gap responsibility is relatively simple: the defender attacks a hole and must take care of whatever business happens there. He is expected to tackle any running back who goes through that hole, or to force the running back to move laterally into the arms of another tackler. If the offense is passing, the defender's gap is his route to the quarterback.

Two-gap responsibility requires more discipline on the part of the defender. A defensive tackle may be responsible for both the A and B gaps on his side of the field. His job is not so much to crash through a gap as to read the play, occupy blockers, anticipate which gap a running back might choose, and clog it. The two-gap defender must quickly diagnose the blocking scheme (whether he is battling a base block, a reach block to seal an edge or a down/back block to get a ball carrier to the outside) and determine which of his gaps is more vulnerable.

Three of the DAWGS defensive line hosses from 2009, Justin Houston, Montez Robinson and Cornelius Washington, have been moved to outside linebacker this spring to take advantage of their pass rushing abilities. In recent days, the coaching staff has indicated that DeAngelo Tyson, Kwame Geathers, Derrick Lott and incoming freshman Mike Thornton will man the Nose position. The defensive end spots will be held down by Abry Jones, Demarcus Dobbs, Brandon Wood, Kiante Tripp and 2010 signees Garrison Smith, Dexter Morant and Brandon Burrows. Dobbs and Wood are the only two seniors among this group. This youth, coupled with the position changes, leaves a lot of things to be sorted out.

Every coach’s goal is to put his players in position to make plays. All indications are that Coach Grantham’s 34 style defense will be player friendly and will allow the DAWGS young and athletic defensive players to attack offenses, run to the football and have success early and often as they find their way in the new scheme. Of course, this is all conjecture at this point, but not for much longer. This is what spring ball is for. Soon enough we will know if the boys are out there mixing it up and getting excited about the opportunities to get after the football that most certainly await them. Youth will be served along the DAWGS D-Line this year and it all starts this spring. If there is really going to be a new identity of aggressiveness and intensity on Georgia’s defense, the evidence will be in the play of the DAWGS defensive line…regardless of their youth or relative inexperience at a new position.

Glory, Glory.



Courtesy Onlineathens.com

DAWGBEASTS **BOWL EDITION**

INDEPENDENCE BOWL
TEXAS A&M vs. GEORGIA

WooHoo, Reader! The final game of the DAWGS 2009 campaign was a case study in my kind of football. I think it’s safe to say that all of us would have rather seen the Georgia offense find their groove a bit earlier, but that was worked out with a few halftime adjustments to our blocking schemes. Beyond that though, this was the way I like to see the game played….stiff defense that forces the offense to beat you and takes advantage of their mistakes (and the DAWGS didn’t cash in on every opportunity to say the least), game-changing special teams play and an offense that imposes it’s will and dictates the flow of the game. This game, this victory, leaves me with a great feeling heading into the off-season and I am looking forward to seeing what happens between now and September 4th against the Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns.

DAWGBEASTS

SPECIAL TEAMS UNITS – Nothing seems to turn a game the way a big play on special teams can. Georgia’s special teams units all deserve a gold star for their performances versus Texas A&M. Blair Walsh and Drew Butler did their parts and the coverage was solid, but that in no way completely tells the tale.

GENO ATKINS – Early on, Atkins blocked an Aggies field goal attempt that kept the game scoreless. This turned out to be huge as it gave the DAWGS some fire on the defensive side of the ball and seemingly steeled their resolve to continue to play hard, even with all of the questions surrounding that side of the ball coming into the game. Their teammates would pick them up eventually.

BRANDON BOYKIN – the Georgia sophomore, a repeat offender here at the BEAST, had a 81 yard punt return for touchdown. Boykin set a school record and tied the SEC record with three kickoff returns for a TD in a season in the process. Number two now shares the SEC record with Willie Gault (Tennessee, 1980).


Courtesy Patricia Spaulding/Onlineathens.com

BACARRI RAMBO – Rambo blocked a punt late in the 2nd quarter that led to Georgia’s go-ahead touchdown. I thought Vance Cuff was going to score on the play, but the DAWGS eventually cashed the big play in for seven.

GENO ATKINS – I know the DAWGS senior defensive tackle is mentioned above, but in addition to the blocked field goal, Atkins also finished with three tackles and one sack and earned the game’s MVP (defense). What’s more, every time I looked up it seemed #56 was channeling Nebraska Heisman Trophy finalist Ndamukong Suh as he man-handled any Aggies interior linemen that dared challenge him, driving them into the backfield, stuffing the run and pressuring the quarterback with apparent ease. Atkins’ game clearly passed the eyeball test and his performance in the Independence Bowl epitomized what it means to be a BEAST…totally dominating the game whether his final numbers reflect his impact or not.

CLINT BOLING – Texas A&M’s Von Miller came into the game leading the nation in sacks (17), but Boling absolutely shut down the Aggies playmaker holing him to just four tackles in the game.


Courtesy UGASports.com

RUSS (interim mascot) – Two starts, two wins…and swagger wins at that. A thumping of the in-state Techies and a bowl victory…that’s pretty good stuff.

THE PROGRAM – No, there has not been a national championship for the DAWGS since 1980, but there very easily might have been with a just a bit of luck along the way during a near-miss seasons and there have been division and conference championships. In case you missed it, there has also been a staggering run of consistency in Athens that is unmatched in the rest of the college football world. With the win, Georgia (8-5, 4-4 SEC) leads the country with 13 consecutive seasons with eight or more wins. Not Southern Cal, not Ohio State, not the HATED Gators. Texas and Virginia Tech rank second with 12 each.

MARK RICHT – Even in a season where expectations of the team and the fans fell short, Georgia still managed the aforementioned eight wins and a bowl victory. Under Richt, the DAWGS own a 38-4 record against teams from outside the Southeastern Conference. In bowl games under Richt, Georgia is 7-2. Overall, Richt is 90-27 in his nine seasons. Successfully carrying the banner for the conference and owning consistent bragging rights over our neighbors and friends, heading into the off-season with a full head of steam and averaging 10 wins a year as a head coach…not to mention running a program boasting high graduation rates and consistently turning out fine young men. That, my fellow DAWGS, is about as much of a BEAST as a head coach can be.


Courtesy UGASports.com

Finally…

the SENIORS – You are a bunch of Damn Good Dawgs and we here at the BEAST would like to thank you for all that you have given to the University of Georgia and to each of us as fans over the last few years.

GO DAWGS!

DAWGBEASTS and the 'DORES

This feels like it is coming a little late and I don’t want to needlessly rehash all that has been said already, so this will be short and sweet. Hey, it’s a bye week for us too. To put a bow on what happened in Nashville last weekend, a single prevailing thought keeps coming back…wins should be celebrated. It’s hard to get a win, any win, regardless of opponent. This win over Vanderbilt was a conference win on the road and those should never be taken for granted (see Knoxville one week prior). The players and coaches in that locker room following the game knew that and I would bet that had an awful lot to do with the joyous scene in the locker room following the game. We as fans need to be reminded of that from time to time.

With that said, let’s move on to the DAWGBEASTS for this week.

CALEB KING - This pick says a lot more about the effort, attitude, toughness and pure grit that King played with than anything else. Caleb was making his return to the line-up after suffering first hand at the incompetence of Marc Curles and his crew in the form of a broken jaw. King was a BEAST when he was called on to block during the game and contributed two touchdowns to the overall effort, one rushing and one receiving. By the way, in case you missed it on King’s touchdown reception, AJ Green proved once again why he is one DAMN GOOD DAWG, deserving of being crowned as a DAWGBEAST every week and truly an all around player as he blocked his man right out of the play to give King an alley to the end zone. LETHAL WEAPON 8 is just amazing.



Courtesy: Ugasports.com

GENO ATKINS – Obviously, if you garner SEC honors as player of the week, you must be doing something right. Atkins’ career-high eight tackle effort was good to see. It was a flashback of sorts to his sophomore season in Athens when Atkins led Georgia in tackles for loss with 14.5 and was named first-team all-SEC. You can read the ABH spotlight story on HERE.

HONORABLE MENTION – PRINCE MILLER – Number 23 has had issues in the secondary this season and that has helped us to almost forget what a difference maker he can be when employed in the role of punt returner. Only once prior to Saturday’s performance in The Music City has Miller shown us the impact he can have in the return game. In week one, Prince came up big with a punt return for touchdown that was called back due to a penalty. Since then, Miller’s role in the punt return game has been a revolving door of spot duty due to Logan Gray appearances and bad decisions as to when to catch the ball and when not to, but that was not the case this past week against Vanderbilt. Miller had two returns for 95 yards (long 55) and was just a step away from taking both of those kicks back for touchdowns. Quality work to say the least.

HONORABLE MENTION – MIKE BOBO – Georgia’s much-maligned offensive coordinator made his first appearance on the sidelines in that role since taking over the play-calling duties in 2007 and it would seem he made his presence felt. The move seemingly paid off as the DAWGS racked up 399 yards of total offense – nearly double their tally from a week earlier. Georgia found the end zone four times, too, including twice in the red zone, after failing to move the ball inside Tennessee’s 35-yard line last week. I like this move because it gives the players and the coach a chance to look into one another’s eyes and get a real feel for what’s going on in the game. Football is a game of emotion and handling situations as they arise in a game. I don’t think that this level of communication and truly having a feel for what’s going on with a player in any given game can be overstated.