SPRING PROVING GROUNDS

Ah, spring. The time of year when hope springs eternal for each of the 120 full members of Division I Football Bowl Subdivision and the last bastion of news of substance for those of us that follow college football 365 days a year until the dog days of summer when fall camps get underway. In honor of the opening of spring camps around the country, especially the one in Athens, we present the first installment of a series of pieces that will take a look at some of the things we here at the BEAST hope to see come out of the 2010 Georgia Bulldogs spring practices.

SPRING PROVING GROUNDS: LOOKING FOR SOME TNT FROM THE DEFENSE

Since arriving in Athens, new defensive coordinator Todd Grantham has found sure footing at every step, winning over the fan base and the players as he has prepared us for the installation of his favored 34 defensive scheme. One Grantham quote that got my attention was this one…

"…we're more of an aggressive style 3-4. We're going to play one-gap defense. We're going to attack block up front. We're going to rush the passer. Our outside backers are going to be what we call edge-setters. They're going to be aggressive. They're going to be coming. They're going to be solid setting the edge on the run but we're going to develop those guys as pass rushers. The inside ‘backers, we're going to call them Mike and Moe, they'll be downhill guys to the ball.”

Being a defensive minded guy, this was music to my ears. I hold firm to the belief that while defenders must play their responsibilities within any given scheme, there are certain positions that must have a disruptive impact on the opponent’s offense and the defensive end (in a 4-3 scheme) or the outside linebacker (in a 3-4) is one of those positions. Through the first part of last season, that disruption coming off the edge was one of the key factors missing in Georgia’s defensive attack. Much too often the DAWGS were forced to rely on the blitz to generate any pressure at all. Once Justin Houston returned from his two-game suspension the DAWGS started to get off their chains and get after the quarterback with more regularity. Houston led Georgia in sacks last season with 7.5 and the DAWGS managed just 28 sacks as a team during conference play which placed them fourth in the league. Down the stretch of the 2009 season, the defense began to see consistent pressure from Cornelius Washington, Demarcus Dobbs and Montez Robinson (MR90) off the edge and that carried the DAWGS to their final position in the conference statistical standings.

Everything is new on the defensive side of ball this spring for the DAWGS…scheme, philosophy, coaches and coaching techniques. Word came down just this afternoon that Houston, Washington and Robinson have been tapped to run in the OLB positions in Grantham’s new 3-4 defense and that Marcus Dowtin, Christian Robinson, Darryl Gamble and Akeem Dent will be holding down the two ILB spots with Richard Samuel seeing time at both inside and outside linebacker.

Now that we know the basic distribution plans, I want to see indications that these changes implemented in the spring will lead to an explosion of disruptive plays for the DAWGS defense in the fall.

The players that will be lining up at OLB seem to have all the ingredients needed to become a top-tier unit. Houston seems poised to have an all-conference caliber season in 2010. Washington has prototype size and speed. Dobbs is the productive grizzled veteran of the group and Robinson has already earned conference player of the week honors. I think this group has tremendous skill and a fantastic opportunity to really break out in 2010. There is plenty of speed and strength here and with the right guidance I believe this group can be very special for the DAWGS.


Courtesy Kelly Lambert

Looking at the inside linebacker positions, the options appear no less promising. Dowtin has shown great physicality and tenacity. Robinson impressed when given the opportunity to play last season. Dent brings a physical presence as well as experience to the group and Gamble has displayed a knack for making plays during his time in Athens. Gamble is one player that I think will benefit greatly from Grantham’s aggressive style of play. There have been times when I have questioned whether Gamble is hard-nosed enough to play in the middle, but when turned loose to rush the passer and attack the football, I believe Gamble can be very successful.


Courtesy www.Life.com

When you add the speed and strength that Samuel will bring to the linebacker corps to the fact that Dowtin has been quoted as saying the 3-4 scheme “is not that hard” to learn, the prospects for the athletes lining up to play at the linebacker positions to have impactful seasons for Georgia really seem bright.

The 34 defense that Grantham will be installing this spring is predicated on an attacking style of play that pressures the quarterback and disrupts lanes and timing in the rush game. Every defensive position on the field plays a role in the ultimate productivity of the unit, but the athletes in Georgia’s linebacker corps are the key to successful implementation of the new plan. If there are signs out of Athens this spring that the ‘backers are finding there way in the new plan and will be able to play fast and free come the fall, I will certainly be pleased and I believe that everyone in the DAWG Nation will be very happy with the on-field results.

Glory, Glory.

DAWGS come up golden at Homecoming

The first weekend in November brought a beautiful fall day and the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles into Athens for Homecoming 2009 and a better all around day would have been hard to come by.

I could not be in Athens for this year’s homecoming festivities, but even listening on the radio the DAWGS level of execution against what was an admittedly inferior opponent came shining through. Couple that dominating performance with a W and you get the perfect cure for the indigestion brought on by a 4-4 start to the season. You can’t do anything about what’s already happened, so it was good to see the DAWGS take care of the business that was in front of them.

Here are a few more thoughts:

I’m not against adding a splash of black to Georgia’s uniforms by any stretch, but it sure was nice to see the RED hats and tops paired with those SILVER BRITCHES.

Two things about the defensive effort today:

1. A shutout is damn hard to pull off regardless of who you play and that fact, as well as the effort it took to finish it off, should be acknowledged, respected and appreciated.

2. Again, I know Tennessee Tech was over-matched, but regardless…the DAWGS held the Golden Eagles to just 55 total yards of offense and that is just beautiful to see. This is the second lowest output by a Bulldog opponent in school history. The record is 39 total yards by The Citadel in 1953.

A couple of offensive pieces of perspective:

1. Joe Cox was efficient: 10-13, 140 yards, 2 TD….that’s a pretty good day’s work.

2. Georgia finished with 304 yards rushing on the day. Did anybody think we would see that number at any point this season? Me neither. Kudos to everyone involved.

It was very nice to hear the young DAWGS have some success…gives me hope. Looks like I may not be delusional for feeling that way. Well, at least not delusional about that.

A whole host of young Georgia players contributed in a big way on Saturday. Orson Charles. Montez Robinson. Branden Smith. Washaun Ealey. Cornelius Washington. That list is not all-inclusive to be sure. Michael Moore was the first non-freshman to score a TD today and his tally made the score 38-0 in favor of the DAWGS. I think that is impressive. Although I had personally hoped to see a lot more of Marlon Brown and Rontavious Wooten today, Coach Richt said that game situations dictated that the game plan change and the DAWGS rode the running game. He added that he liked what he saw from the young WRs and that they did a good job of blocking in the running game . I’ll certainly take his word for it. Besides, if this season has shown us anything thus far, Georgia can certainly use every live rep it can get when it comes to running the football. Not a shot here, just stating the obvious.

On to everybody’s favorite section, the DAWGBEASTS.

MONTEZ ROBINSON, freshman DE - Robinson had three tackles and two sacks in the first half and finished with five stops. These were the first tackles of his career and his two sacks accounted for 1/3 of the team’s total of six for the game.

BRANDEN SMITH, freshman WC - Smith took a direct snap at quarterback and broke loose for a 51-yard TD with 3:01 left in the first quarter. Smith finished with 72 yards on three carries for the game. This was Smith's second TD run of the season after he ran for a 61-yard score on a reverse against South Carolina. Once again, number 1 proved he is a lightning strike just waiting to happen and is the very definition of a game changer.

WASHAUN EALEY, freshman TB – Ealey scored the first two TDs of his career Saturday scampering in from seven yards for his first career TD and then breaking free on a 44-yard run on the first play of the second quarter. Ealey finished with a team-best 89 yards on seven carries in the game.


GO DAWGS!!!