No matter how the game changes, one thing remains the same. The team that wins in the trenches is usually the team that wins the game. Kirby has understood that from day 1, and you can say the weakest Georgia team in the Smart era was the 2016 team that didn’t have the talent and depth needed. On the other hand, the playoff teams of 2017, 2021 & 2022 were stacked on both lines of scrimmage.
Defensive Line
If there was one area last year that likely prevented the 3-peat, it was defensive line play. It wasn’t terrible but it also wasn’t up to Georgia standards … championship quality. While the Alabama game was the time it really showed, the cracks were there throughout the year. The late first half drive given up against South Carolina, the long Peyton Thorne run in the Auburn game, the struggle to contain Missouri on the edges, the first play TD run at Tennessee, and the Tech running game all gave us fits.
What’s going to be different? Naz Stackhouse and Warren Brinson have hopefully grown into the interior run-stuffing players we need. Brinson could also provide a boost to the interior pass rush playing opposite Mykel Williams, who is on national watch lists and preseason all-star teams and could be the next Travon Walker. Some combination of outside linebackers Chaz Chambliss, Gabe Harris, Sam M’Pemba, and Damon Wilson is going to have to shore up setting the edge. A ton of talented players allow this defense to go at least 3 deep across the 4-man front with waves of 300+ pound men for opposing teams to attempt to run against. Christen Miller and Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins are the guys who will spell Stackhouse & Brinson, but I really want to see Jordan “Big Baby” Hall and Jamaal Jarrett in the middle of that defensive line after a full year spent with Scott Sinclair. Talented freshmen from last year’s #1 signing class led by Joseph Jonah-Ajonye are going to provide much needed depth, and redshirt freshman incoming transfer Xzavier McLeod is a promising wild card to the defensive line.
Outlook – If Tray Scott and Chidera Uzo-Diribe can’t find a two-deep set of players out of this group that gets our run defense back to the nation’s best and a group that can cause havoc in the backfield in the passing game, the recruiting services got everything wrong. At the high end, this crew performs to its immense potential creating an opportunity for this team to play deep into January. Even at the opposite end, the floor is incredibly high. I anticipate it is going to be difficult for anyone to establish a consistent running game against this group.
Offensive line
Similar to the defensive line, Stacy Searles’s offensive line is deep, talented, and large. The Dawgs return 4 starters plus a fifth offensive lineman who played a ton of snaps last year. I’ve been on record that the loss of the one, Sedrick Van Pran-Granger, is a significant one as the grizzled veteran at center. 3 starters are established with future 1st rounder at left tackle in Earnest Greene, one of the country’s best interior linemen in right guard Tate Ratledge, and experienced right tackle Xavier Truss. Dylan Fairchild and Micah Morris are competing at left guard where both have significant meaningful experience. Jared Wilson seems to be fighting an injury as SVP-G’s successor at center, but the rumors are that Ratledge is getting practice reps with the 1s at center if Wilson is still recovering for the Clemson game. Monroe Freeling played a lot of right tackle last year and should be a solid contributor and successor in waiting for Truss. Many of the guys on the 2nd team depth chart would be fighting for a starting position elsewhere, and the freshman haul of offensive linemen (the Great Wall of Georgia) provides needed depth with Daniel Calhoun making the first big push from that group for a spot on the 2-deep.
Outlook – If the first team remains healthy and we have a center who can hold up through a season of SEC trench warfare, Carson Beck’s uniform will be mostly clean, and our stable of quality running backs (more to come) should find room to run. The offensive line is typically the one place (outside of QB) where you don’t want to be forced to show your depth, and this group is no exception. If this group plays to its extremely high ceiling, maybe, just maybe, the Joe Moore Award people will finally recognize that the best offensive line sits in Athens, Georgia.
The Final Word
Is there a better combined group than Georgia’s lines of scrimmage this year? Alabama’s may be just as good, but I would say there isn’t another group that comes close to the total talent across both lines of scrimmage with the quality depth necessary to play into January.
That’s what I think. Give me your thoughts in the comments.
There is one other defensive aspect that hurt us last year and that was the lack of a consistent and effective pass rush. We need Jarvis Jones to train up some clones of himself this year. Two games that will be critical to have a consistent pass rush are Bama and Texas. Also, Rocky Flop.
Good comment, but I think that goes to the real problem from last year that I hope gets fixed – we didn’t have a game wrecker at DT last year.
Sacks to me are somewhat overrated as a statistic. Most teams we play don’t have 3-4 reads for a QB to progress through. They throw to 1 or 2, have the QB run or get rid of it. There just aren’t a lot of opportunities for sacks in those cases. We decided for whatever reason not to do a lot of blitzing last year. I think Williams’s camp injury had something to do with the inability to get sacks. The problem was we sat back against Alabama. When we went after Milroe, he wasn’t effective.
I think this is the key here. Saban’s best defenses/teams always had some kind of fire breathing monster on the interior DL constantly wrecking shit. Same goes for Kirby’s best teams. College QB’s don’t handle pressure coming from the middle well. This is coming from someone who doesn’t know ball well. But, outside of QB, the most valuable position on the field has been interior DL.
JCRC, really no QB handles pressure from the middle very well. An effective middle pass rush affects the QB’s ability to step up in the pocket to avoid the edge rusher and squeezes the window to throw the check down or the intermediate routes in the middle of the field.
I agree with all that you said. I’ll add two things:
”responds to HOW”
not Joe.
friggin auto correct.
I was really looking forward to seeing Hall as that 3rd DT similar to Jalen Carter’s sophomore year with JD99 and D Wyatt. Hopefully, this won’t set him back for the year like what happened with Mykel for the early season.
can this team score 35+ a game?
can this team hold our enemies to below 21 points a game?
if yes, then the O&D big uglies did their job like Kate Upton’s bra…set a foundation for those talented and valuable assets to shine and be the envy of the college football.
Our good friend from Bruxelles, the record still stands. When Georgia scores 30+, we have lost 1 game in the Smart era. When we score at that clip, it generally makes it difficult for teams to catch up. The best way to beat UGA is not to get into a track meet (unless you have Bama, Ohio State, or Rose Bowl OU athletes). It’s to shorten the game, limit the number of possessions, play field position and take full advantage of opportunities.
Kudos for the Kate Upton reference. 🙂
That 30-point record is an amazing stat. That lone loss? Scoring 31 in the 2016 UTooth hail mary fluke.
I think Kirby learned a lesson in that game that Richt had to learn in 2014. Kick the ball deep at every opportunity. If the other team can run it back 100+ yards, good on them.
Never, never, never give away cheap field position when you have a powerful kicker and good defensive players.
We sure have the punter Mate!
Sometimes, ya gotta’ let those puppies run…
I was a Stacy Searles doubter when he was brought back…just so you fellas know, crow tastes a lot like chicken…I think the Oline will be a source of pride throughout this season
why do we think Hall has had some devastating injury? That’s not what’s being said at all. Also, y’all need to take a look at Stackhouse. He looks a lot different from last year. In a good way.
Sounds like it’s a stress fracture in each leg according to Kirby. I would be very surprised if he is available for Clemson.
I’m not worried about whether or not he’s there for Clemson. If we can’t beat them without a defensive lineman we aren’t near as good as we think we are or should be.
My point is that Mykel never really was himself until very late last year after getting hurt in camp. I don’t want that for Hall.
Me either but I believe we will be fine. I do t do the Munsoning thing. I just don’t.
I’m definitely in the “I’ll believe it when I see it” camp on Naz and Warren becoming all-conference run stuffers. They just don’t seem to be able to bring the leverage and aggression needed for consistent success at that position. Really hope Hall and Jah get better by the Bama game so we’ve got a good rotation. That said, having a healthy TID and imporoved Christen Miller would be huge for the interior pass rush on 3rd down, and running Mykel and the young gazelles from the edge will be fun to watch too. I think the back 7 is going to be filthy with the only hole being at second safety, so the middle of the DL remains my only real concern.
At OL, if Wilson is in good health, that group will be almost unstoppable. Great reports on Truss taking a a needed step forward, great depth at tackle and guard. Could have 3 all-conference players there.
Great work ee!