Kirby Smart Keeps It's Real About The UGA Football Defense
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ATHENS - After giving up 35 points on five consecutive touchdowns to start the game against Ole Miss, the off week came at the perfect time for the UGA Football defense.
That Bulldog unit needs to regroup and get back to playing to their “standard”, something they haven’t done a ton of this year.
It’s not a “bad” group by any means, but there’s just something missing right now. Kirby Smart told reporters this week that he knows exactly what it is.
“I think I'd start with tackling,” Smart told reporters. “I think at the end of the day, that's what defense is about, and good defenses have few missed tackles. When you look at the two of our lesser performances, there were a lot of missed tackles. The first thing you start with is that. You've got to tackle well, which starts with being in position to make the tackle, not being out of position. But tackling well is key. Third down defense, I'd like to see us get guys in third and long, because we're pretty successful when we get guys in third and long. But that starts with first and second down. So it all carries over, and it kind of all bleeds into each other.”
Year after year, Georgia’s defense was elite in that part of the game. They were tackling machines. All of them.
Now, we’ve seen more missed tackles and the inability to consistently get off the field on 3rd down. The Bulldogs are 14th out of 16th on 3rd down defense in the SEC, giving up a first down 41.67% of the time.
Of course, that goes back to tackling. Identifying the play, reacting quickly, and attacking the ball-carrier is key, but in the end, it’s about using proper tackling technique. Missed tackles lead to first downs, and first downs lead to touchdowns.
The Georgia defense has a big opportunity in front of them this weekend. They’re taking on a Florida offense that’s had a lot of trouble scoring and that’s exactly the type of opponent they need right now.
This Georgia defense appears hungry after their rough game against the Rebels. They ended the game strong, and they need to start it strong against the Gators. If they do, it should be a fun evening in Jacksonville.
