Between The Hedges » Georgia Defense

Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry

JY — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 02:48:21 +0000

ATHENS- It's time, once again, for the 112th renewal of the "Deep South's Oldest Rivalry". Georgia comes into the game looking to finish the season strong and beat Auburn for the 3rd straight season. Auburn, on the other hand, enters the game looking to get their 6th win and become bowl eligible. Auburn's offense has struggled all year long, adjusting to a new spread offense, and, ultimately fired their offensive coordinator mid-season. On defense, the Tigers have been respectable, holding opponents to 16.3 points-per-game.

Keys to a Georgia Win

1. Avoid special teams mistakes- Last week vs Kentucky proved that special teams can make a huge difference in a football game, as Georgia gave Kentucky's offense excellent field position on several occasions (which led to points). This week the Dawgs face an Auburn team with excellent special teams play. The Tigers rank among the best in the SEC in Kickoff Returns, Punt Returns, Kickoff Coverage and Punting. The Dawgs must avoid the "big play" on special teams to put themselves in good field position on both offense and defense.

2. Restore pride on defense- Word has it that the defense held a "players only" meeting this week to discuss getting back to playing Georgia defense. The Dawgs have given up over 30 points for three straight weeks and the goal is to change that trend starting with Auburn. The Dawgs must follow the lead of Corvey Irvin, Dannell Ellerbe and Rennie Curran and "get back to basics" and "have fun". The Dawgs have a good opportunity to get some defensive swagger back this week against an Auburn offense that has clearly struggled all year (scoring 19.5 points per game).

3. Gain the early momentum and run with it- Auburn has started strong this year, scoring most of their points in the first half, while fading in the second half. However, in a historic rivalry like this one, you never know what might happen. The Dawgs need to gain the early momentum, to take the crowd out of it, and put these birds (...or, War Eagles) back in their nest. Momentum is very important in rivalry games and any bit of early momentum for Auburn could begin to pick up steam against the Dawgs. I look for Auburn to come out with a "nothing to loose" attitude and beating them to the first punch would be huge!!

Dawgs Survive in Lexington

JY — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 01:39:07 +0000

Georgia 42 Kentucky 38

LEXINGTON, KY- Whew!!! Close one..... The Dawgs used a "clutch" play on offense and a key defensive stop to survive upset-minded Kentucky this weekend. In an ugly win, the Dawgs got back in the win column after surviving several special teams mistakes. The Dawgs gave up a 96-yard kickoff return, an 18 yard punt and a blocked punt that led to easy points for the Wildcats. The defense struggled all day against an option attack, led by quarterback Randall Cobb's 18 carries for 83 yards (and 3 TD's). Kentucky's offense was able to control the clock, holding the ball for 9 more minutes than the Dawgs. However Georgia fired back with four plays that went for over 40 yards and out-gained the Cats in total offense 520 to 331. Matthew Stafford had a career day, going 17 for 27 with 376 yards passing and 3 touchdowns. Knowshon Moreno picked up 123 yards rushing with another 3 touchdowns. Mohammed Massaquoi had 191 yards receiving and 1 touchdown. But, it was a Matt Stafford to A.J. Green 11-yard touchdown with 1:54 left in the game that sealed the deal.

Dawgs & Tigers Set to Tangle in Death Valley

JY — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 00:58:13 +0000

BATON ROUGE- The last time these two teams went to war was in the 2005 SEC Championship, in which Georgia whipped LSU 34-14. Mark Richt has gone 2-2 against LSU. Richt lost by a touchdown in Baton Rouge, lost in the 2003 SEC Championship game, came back to dominate LSU in a 2004 game in Athens and got another win for the 2005 Southeastern Conference title. This time around, Georgia has hopes of another SEC title game appearance and possibly more. While LSU is loaded with talent, some could argue that they have underachieved to a certain extent. The Tiger's defense allowed a combined 45 points to two of the worst scoring offenses in the SEC (Auburn and Mississippi State). The Tigers also were stunned against #11 Florida 51-21.

How to Win in "Death Valley"

1. G.A.T.A.- Bulldog fans know these initials stand for "Get After Their Ass". LSU remains one of the most talented teams in the SEC. Their offensive and defensive lines will be one of the best, if not THE best pair of lines the Dawgs will face all year. Their offense has had little trouble moving the ball and ranks among the SEC's best, averaging over 30 points-per-game. When these two teams strap on the shoulder pads, Georgia's offensive and defensive linemen will need to play with "a bad case of the wants", as former coach Erk Russell used to say.

2. Score early- Anyone who has attended a game in "Death Valley", as I have, knows what a rowdy bunch the LSU fans can be. The Dawgs must get on the scoreboard early and capitalize on each scoring opportunity. The longer you don't score, the tougher it will be in one of the loudest stadiums in the nation.

3. Use "Star Power"- You've heard the phrase before: "Big players make Big plays in Big games". This is exactly what Georgia will need against LSU. This will be a huge game for both teams and Georgia's "stars" must shine. Georgia has the advantage at the quarterback position, with Matt Stafford directing the offense. And, Stafford, along with Knowshon Moreno, A.J. Green, Mohamed Massaquoi and others, must step up. On defense, Rennie Curran, Dannelle Ellerbe, Asher Allan and their teammates, must "bring it" for 4 quarters.

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Georgia Knocks off Vandy

JY — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 00:39:12 +0000

ATHENS- Coming into this game, Vanderbilt and Georgia were in a 3-way tie with Florida for the the SEC Eastern Division lead. Georgia took care of the Commodores, by a score of 24-14, and are now tied with Florida at 3-1 in the Southeastern Conference. The Dawgs gave up a couple of turnovers to the 'Dores, but, also had a couple of picks to even the turnover battle at 2 to 2. There were several other Commodore passes that could have easily been intercepted, but, somehow slipped throught the Dawgs "paws". On offense, Georgia rolled up 425 yards of total offense, but, often struggled to put points on the scoreboard, which concerned many fans in the stands Saturday. Matt Stafford connected on 13 for 23 passes for 194 yards, with 2 TD's and 2 INT's. Most of the completions were to receiver A.J. Green, who had a huge game, catching 7 passes for 132 yards and a TD. What was more impressive was that Green was not slowed down by All-SEC candidate D.J. Moore, who was covering him on several plays. Knowshon Moreno had 23 carries for 172 yards and a touchdown. And, Mohamed Massaquoi had a nine yard touchdown. Vanderbilt started the game attempting to establish a ground game. They had some success against the Bulldog defense, however, Georgia held the 'Dores to 245 total yards on the day and only allowed 5 of 14 third-down conversions.

Overall, this game could have had a much larger margin of victory for Georgia. Several interceptions were dropped or missed. And, penalties are still showing up on the stat sheet. Kicker Blair Walsh missed a field goal, which was rare. And, there appeared to be a couple of missed assignments here and there. To their credit, the Bulldog defense held steady when the score sat at 21-14, and, the offense had some key first downs to run the clock down, when it counted.

Dawgs survive against South Carolina

JY — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 04:12:28 +0000

COLUMBIA, SC- Well, it wasn't pretty, but, it never is when Georgia and South Carolina butt heads. Mark Richt's team moved to 3-0 on the season with the strength of Blair Walsh's leg, Knowshon Moreno's running and a playmaking defense. Matt Stafford showed great leadership as well, as he faked out the Gamecock defense for a 30 yard run in the 3rd quarter and spread the ball around to 9 different recievers. Receiver A.J. Green contributed 3 catches for 61 yards to lead all Georgia recievers.

From the beginning of the game, Georgia's SEC opener was a defensive struggle. South Carolina's front seven proved to be formidable, as they constantly applied pressure to Matt Stafford and slowed the Dawgs running game down. Kicker Blair Walsh, who I mentioned as one of the "Keys to the game", provided the only points for Georgia in the first half, booting two field goals to make the score 7-6 (in Carolina's favor) at halftime. The Dawgs were held to 109 yards rushing on the day, however, Heisman candidate Knowshon Moreno still managed 79 yards on 20 carries and scored the game-winning TD, slicing through the Gamecock defense on a 4-yard score in the 3rd quarter.

Dawgs Defense "Man's Up"

The Georgia defense stepped up to the plate against Steve Spurrier's offense, today. The Dawgs made the South Carolina running game almost non-existant, only allowing 18 yards rushing. QB Chris Smelley scored one passing TD, but, was inconsistent against the Dawgs secondary. And, there was only one touchdown scored against Georgia all day.... Two 4th quarter plays, I thought, were huge: #1: linebacker Rennie Curran smacked SC running back Mike Davis and forced a fumble that was recoved by cornerback Asher Allen. And #2: safety Rashad Jones picked off a Chris Smelley pass to seal the victory at the end of the game. The Georgia defense was also mentioned in my earlier "keys to the game" post, and these guys stepped up in a big way.

Arizona State up next for UGA

It was an ugly game, but, at the end of the day: "a win's a win".... As the Dawgs gear up for their next game against Arizona State, I wanted to point out something I noticed at the end of the Georgia-Carolina game. As the camera's panned to mid-field, Mark Richt extended his hand and said a few words to Steve Spurrier (more than likely the "good game" compliment or something to that effect). What did Spurrier do? He hastily shook Richts hand and, with a smirk on his face, did not say a word!!!!! This is the same man that took a jab at Georgia last year, saying "It's not like they're some big, powerfull team. After all, Vanderbilt beat 'em". Classy... In case Mr. Spurrier needs a reminder, his team has lost 2 in a row to mighty Vandy and he is now 1-3 against Mark Richt.... GO DAWGS!!!