Georgia football’s defense on track to be scary good

Georgia football’s defense has improved leaps and bounds from last season, and there have only been two games this year. However, at this rate, the Dawgs defense is on track to be scary good.

One thing that Georgia football head coach Kirby Smart talks about a ton is creating havoc on the defensive side of the ball. Well after two games, the Dawgs front seven seem to have done their job.

There have only been two games, one of which was a lower level Murray State school, but the Dawgs dominated on defense and sparked my interest to see if the numbers looked similar or not.

Last season after 14 games, the Dawgs collected 65 tackles for loss, 24 sacks and 69 quarterback hurries. So Georgia averaged 4.6 tackles for loss, 1.7 sacks and 4.93 quarterback rushes a game.

To give another year as an example, in 2017, the Dawgs recorded 93 tackles for loss, 34 sacks, and 106 quarterback hurries. So through 15 games, Georgia averaged 6.2 TFL, 2.3 sacks, and seven quarterback hurries a matchup.

Granted Roquan Smith did collect 137 total tackles, 85 of which were solo. He also had 14 TFL, 6.5 sacks and 20 pressures alone. Smith did a ton for this defense, and it hurt the Dawgs last year not to have him.

According to georgiadogs.com, Georgia’s recorded 14 tackles for loss, eight sacks, and 31 quarterback hurries.

So on average, the Dawgs have seven tackles for loss, four sacks and 15.5 hurries per game. Granted that number is a little skewed because it’s only been two games, but it’s something to look at and keep an eye on as the season progresses.

If Georgia continues at this rate, and we predict through the SEC Championship Game, the Dawgs should finish with around 91 TFL, 52 sacks and 201.5 quarterback hurries. However, that will likely not happen because the Dawgs face some tough opponents that’ll likely challenge the defense.

While that may seem like a long shot, Georgia appears to be on a better path than it was last year. If we look at the previous two national champions, Clemson and Alabama, here are what those two teams finished with last year in the three havoc categories.

Clemson recorded 136 tackles for loss, 54 sacks, and 111 quarterback hurries. Alabama finished with 107 TFL, 45 sacks, and 64 quarterback hurries.

It almost makes you think how vital these three stats are to winning a national title. Clemson was the far superior team on defense, and it showed.

Fast forward to this season, and like Georgia, Alabama and Clemson are 2-0. The Tigers have 11 tackles for loss, six sacks and 14 quarterback hurries. Alabama has nine TFL, four sacks, and eight hurries.

So as of right now, the Dawgs are out-doing its two biggest opponents in these three categories.

Granted Georgia showed out against Murray State recording six sacks along with 31 quarterback hurries. That Junkyard Dawg defense was rolling on Saturday, and it sparked my interest.

So when was the last time Georgia had six sacks in one game? The Dawgs have had multiple games in the past few years where they had five sacks, but six or more sacks hasn’t happened in a while.

The last time Georgia recorded six sacks against an opponent was in 2011 against the Florida Gators. Four of those sacks came from Jarvis Jones alone. The other two came from Abry Jones with one and DeAngelo Tyson with the final sack.

So it’s been almost seven years since the Dawgs had six sacks, and that’s far too long. If anything this stat alone shows Georgia’s biggest weakness. Granted, the Dawgs were successful and did well in the seasons since 2011; it’s still something that Smart noted and wanted fixed.

The Dawgs should have at least six sacks in one game every season, especially how they recruit players.

Georgia’s finally got players on its defense that like Smith and Jones can create havoc and cause opponent’s offenses problems.

So far, there are six players with at least one sack. There are eight players with at least half of one. Nolan Smith and Channing Tindall lead the way with 1.5 sacks each. Azeez Ojulari, Adam Anderson, Walter Grant all have one. Travon Walker and Jermaine Johnson each have .5 sacks as well.

Guys are finding the quarterback, and that trend must continue. If the Dawgs want to be in the playoffs this season, they have to find a way to keep these three stats high and of course outscore opponents.

However, if Georgia’s getting in the backfield as much as the first two games show, it could be a long season for the rest of the SEC East, much like it has been the last two seasons, and I suspect it will be.

Dawg nation thought that the Dawgs defense was scary good in 2017, well I have a feeling this 2019 squad could put that group to bed and produce some hellacious numbers. We’re only two games in and have half of the hurries the team had all of last season.

I expect the Dawgs to keep pushing and finding a way to get into the backfields, and it’s going to be quite entertaining.

Georgia’s shown it can do it against weaker opponents, now the challenge will be if it can do it against a Notre Dame, Auburn, Texas A&M, South Carolina or an Alabama team. If the Dawgs can, look out, we will be in the title game.