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ATHENS - It was a bad day for Georgia’s secondary in Knoxville two weeks ago.
Kirby Smart and the Dawgs may have won the game, but the defensive backfield took one on the chin. They gave up 371 passing yards and four touchdowns through the air to Joey Aguilar and the Vols.
Credit to the Vols, but that’s unacceptable for any Georgia defense.
Now that’s not all on the secondary. It obviously wasn’t good, but the pass-rush didn’t help them out much. On Saturday the Bulldogs have to create more chaos in the backfield and make sure Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson isn’t comfortable in the pocket. If he is, it could be another long day for the Bulldog defense.
The Dawgs have had two weeks to prepare for the Tide and fix the issues they have in the secondary. What steps have they taken to fix those issues? Kirby Smart spoke about that to reporters this week.
“I think they've challenged themselves”, Smart said about the secondary. “We've done a lot of things with them to challenge them in terms of competition, in terms of drills, in terms of changes. So, I'm looking forward to seeing those guys go out and compete, and they've got a hell of an opportunity because they've got a really good quarterback and skill group to play against."
Daylen Everette, Georgia’s top cornerback, will have a big challenge in front of him when the Tide roll into town. He’ll need to be at his best to slow down Alabama’s top receiver. However, whoever is starting opposite of him needs to have an even bigger day. Whether it’s Ellis Robinson or Daniel Harris, look for the Tide to throw their way.
The secondary will need some help and it needs to come from the pass-rush. It’s a group that makes plays by committee and they all need to show up and get after Simpson as much as possible. He’s playing at a high level and has the ability to carve up defenses when he gets into a rhythm.
Georgia’s front seven has to make sure that doesn’t happen.
“They're hungry” Smart said about his defensive line. “They're ready to get after it. They want a challenge. It was tough against Tennessee. We didn't have many third downs. We didn't get many passing situations playing from behind most of the game. They did a good job picking things up. I'm excited to see these guys go play. They want an opportunity to go play and get after it. It's going to be a fun game. They (Alabama) have a really big, physical offensive line. They can maul you and bully you. They're big, and they're physical. They've got big, good backs, so it's going to be a great challenge for our front against their line.”
In the end, it’s still about execution. Play fundamental defense, stay disciplined, do your job, and beat the man in front of you.
For the linebackers, while they need to play aggressive, they also need to have good eye control, play their lanes correctly, and make secure tackles in the open field.
In the secondary, Georgia has to do their best to limit explosive plays. It’s easier said than done, but it’s a major key to the ball-game. They’ve got to tackle well and limit yards after catch, they need to be on the same page in coverage, and they need to play with confidence.
The defensive line has to amp up the physicality. They have to play sound gap assignment, play with leverage, and get Ty Simpson off his spot. They’ve got to hit him. Get him to the ground. Make him uncomfortable. They also have to play with the same discipline as the rest of the defense.
This Alabama offense can score. They’ve got a quarterback playing really well with lots of weapons around him. If you’re Georgia, the last thing you can do is give up free plays and extend their drives.
“We’ve got to get stops”, Smart said. “Don't jump offsides on third down. That was a big thing last year. We get them in third down, we jump offside. It snowballs into another drive. We've got to get lined up. They're going to play with tempo. They always have a tempo package. We've got to get lined up. We've got to play. We've got to cover people. You can't run and hide from covering people. There's nothing that you can do to help yourself sometimes in their spacing where you've got to put hands on people, and you've got to cover them. We've got to control the line of scrimmage, stop the run, affect the quarterback, and cover their people. If you don't do that, then they're going to score. They've got good players.”
