The Georgia Bulldogs are certainly meeting expectations, but they might be exceeding them to a degree. Georgia is blasting opponents by 30 or more points on a consistent basis. This occurs after years of failing to separate from the rest of the SEC East. Georgia hasn’t won the SEC East title since 2012, but that drought might be coming to an end. What are the secrets behind the Bulldogs’ resurgence in the first half of the 2017 college football season?
The Front Seven Is Nasty
The Georgia front seven – especially the physical and mobile linebackers on the team – suffocates opposing offenses, especially ground games. Teams simply can’t run on Georgia. Interior linemen hold their ground and clog running lanes, which simply give running backs nowhere else to turn to. Linebackers fly to the ball and fill gaps on the rare occasions when the defensive line doesn’t do its job. The offense is decent, but the defense has been the star. No SEC team has come particularly close to scoring even 20 points against Georgia. That’s not enough to win a game, most likely, but it offers at least a measure of competitive play. The Bulldogs are smothering other offenses, and it starts with what they do up front to set a physical tone.
Other SEC Teams (And Quarterbacks) Aren’t Very Good
The SEC is widely acknowledged as having only two really good teams other than Georgia: Alabama and Auburn. The rest of the league is hurting for all sorts of reasons – injuries to a slight extent, but more centrally, the poor quality of coaching and athletic administration in the league. This was supposed to be a big year for quarterbacks in the SEC, but that has not happened. Georgia played Mississippi State, whose quarterback, Nick Fitzgerald, played really well against LSU but stumbled against Auburn. Fitzgerald was paralyzed by Georgia and simply could not react to what was going on around him. Georgia also crushed Tennessee, a team which has since decided to change quarterbacks because starter Quinten Dormady has been brutally bad this year. Georgia also beat Vanderbilt, whose quarterback, Kyle Shurmur, has struggled the past month.
They’re A Well-Coached Team
The second-year head coach who was once Nick Saban’s offensive coordinator at Alabama has this defense very well organized and in position on a consistent basis. Smart is preaching accountability and discipline, and his players are buying in, which is crucial to building a strong program and creating a change in culture that Georgia has needed for a few years. It is true that he is coaching in a weak division, but Georgia should dominate weak teams, and so far, it is. The coach has his players ready to play. He is raising Georgia to a higher standard. He has a lot of work left to do – this is not a finished or complete product – but he definitely is moving the program in the right direction.
This is an area where Georgia really stands out as you can see that the other teams in the SEC just aren’t doing a good job of this. Head coaches like Bret Bielema and Kevin Sumlin seem to be victimized by boneheaded decisions each weak. Coaches like Jim McElwain and Ed Orgeron can’t get their offense focused and executing. Kirby Smart
There’s Plenty Of Experience On The Team
The Dawgs have a lot of veteran players – returning starters on offense and defense – who are not overwhelmed by the occasion and have a solid understanding of what they need to do. A younger team probably wouldn’t be winning by such big margins on a regular basis. It would have some blowout wins, but also a few close calls in the SEC. That has not happened yet with Georgia… though it might later in the season. Experience is definitely a factor in Georgia’s rise. You can see their depth too as they weathered the loss of starting quarterback Jacob Eason and still kept going. This is a deep, experienced team.
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