DAWGBEASTS and the VOLS

**AARON MURRAY – 17 of 25, 266 yards, 2 TD, 2 rush TD – Murray played his best game yet as a DAWG and we can rest assured that he will only continue to improve. The kid's throw to Rontavious Wooten was about as tough as they come and Murray's execution on that play was a thing of beauty. Is there anyone out there still looking around for SEC Freshman of the Year? Well you can stop looking…he currently resides in Athens, Georgia.

**AJ GREEN – It was great to see AJ working the middle of the field more on Saturday and the toughness displayed on his deep catch is one of the things that make him a truly special player. Green didn’t crack 100 yards this time out, but his presence on the field continues to help open things up as the DAWGS offense finds its legs.

**SPECIAL TEAMS – Georgia’s special teams units continue to play well, this week forcing a pair of turnovers on fumble recoveries. I give Blair Walsh and Jordan Love equal credit for that first forced fumble. Walsh may have actually punched it out, but at the very least he forced the issue and made the returner switch hands with the ball. It was during this switch that Love got his hand in there, the ball came out and the DAWGS pounced. Blake Sailors showed some great hands on the second recovery and took one of the worst “shoulda been” facemask infractions I’ve seen in a long while.

**JUSTIN HOUSTON – Houston continues to rack up the tackles for loss, adding three more including two more sacks to run his season total to six.

**DEFENSIVE LINE – The quality of play among the players involved in the rotation along the D-line on Saturday, including Brandon Wood and Kiante Tripp, had a lot to do with the DAWGS holding Tennessee to a mere nine yards rushing in the game. I saw players getting penetration and playing with good technique…that is what disrupted the Vols running game.

**TRINTON STURDIVANT – Sturdivant made his first start of the season on Saturday. In my view, you can absolutely see that his presence is having an effect on the performance of the O-Line.

**BOSS BAILEY – Boss was an honorary captain for Saturday’s game and delivered a pre-game speech to the DAWGS. Boss is a DAWGBEAST this week for using his audience with the DAWGS to say what we true Georgia fans feel and expressing just how much it means to represent the University of Georgia. Thank you, Boss. You’re a Damn Good Dawg.

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

SUPERIOR ATHLETES AND THE DAWGS 34 PUZZLE

One of the unforeseen highlights of Signing Day 2010 was the announcement that Richard Samuel will be moving from running back to linebacker this spring. This news has been received well by most DAWG fans. Whether that is because they are frustrated with the results Samuel produced as a running back or because they believe his skill set and robo-athlete measureables make him a lock for future All-SEC consideration…well, that you can decide for yourself.



Courtesy Kelly Lambert

I am riding the train of thought that says there is not a defensive coach alive that would not drool over the opportunity to have a 6’2”, 222 lb rocket ranging from sideline to sideline on the glide at sub 4.4. If you disagree, then you’ve never known a defensive coach. Richard is smart and he really wants to please his coaches. I really hope this move is a fantastic success. I want this not only because it will make the athleticism of the DAWGS defensive squad start to look downright scary, but also because I am rooting for a young man that wants to do the right thing to have success.

This will hardly be the first instance of a player switching positions…or not…during the last nine seasons.



Courtesy Kelly Lambert

One of the many whipping posts the former defensive regime in Athens was regularly tied to was the charge that defensive players were not being coached up or utilized correctly. I can be counted among those that felt players were not always put in the best position to make plays. The example that I point to most often is former DAWG Brandon Miller. Miller came to Georgia as a five-star talent with a skill level that allowed him to play both defensive end and linebacker in high school, while also lining up to play wide receiver when the offense was on the field. As a DAWG, Miller played Sam linebacker and was never able to lock down a full time starting job. When he did play, Miller often came off the field in the passing situations in favor of the nickel set which features an extra defensive back. I saw this as a waist of a tremendous talent. To me, an obvious option here would have been to have Miller put his hand in the dirt as a defensive end (he clearly had the size and strength to do so) and turn him loose to rush the passer off the edge. This would allow you to bump another DE inside to tackle to keep your best pass rushers on the field and you could still match-up on the outside with the extra defensive back. LSU has done something similar in recent years with a personnel group they call their “express package” by playing four defensive ends along the defensive front in pass rush situations to get their best players on the field at the same time. Makes sense to me. What is the purpose of recruiting superior athletes if you do not allow them to use their ability?



On the other side of the ledger, there is Kiante Tripp. Tripp came to Georgia as a big time recruit and a four-star talent that played offensive tackle in high school. Since arriving in Athens, Tripp has played defensive end, offensive tackle and even tight end for the DAWGS. To his credit, Tripp has approached the game with a team-first attitude and has done everything the coaches have asked of him. Tripp will be a senior in 2010. Early word has it that he will be back on the defensive side of the ball this spring learning the new 3-4 scheme that Coach Grantham will be installing. If there is any sort of justice in the world, Tripp will find a home and find some success on Saturday’s inside Sanford Stadium this fall.

As David Hale wrote about on Friday, virtually every returning player in Georgia's defensive front seven as well as the DAWGS newly signed recruits could be in store for a position change from what they have played most recently. There is talk of Justin Anderson switching from the offensive to the defensive line, Alec Ogletree could end up at one of the outside linebacker positions and the ultimate position destinations for Kwame Geathers and AJ Harmon will be interesting to watch as well.

There is no doubt that one of the main reasons Coach Grantham is at Georgia today is because of his reputation as an evaluator of talent, and one of the absolutes of Coach Grantham’s short time with Georgia has been the importance that has been placed on talent evaluation of the current roster. The defensive plan that the DAWGS new coaching staff will implement in the coming months is an empty puzzle and the players are the pieces. I hope that the changes that are coming for the DAWGS will fit all the pieces of that defensive puzzle together as the designer intends, for the good of the players and the good of the team.