quote:
I don’t think it matters whether they play a team that can test them. Even elite defenses give up points to bad teams. Our 2011 defense gave up 14 to Arkansas, 14 to Auburn, and 21 to Georgia Southern.

That's a solid point.

The fact is, in order to have a truly elite defense... it takes having a marginal offense or the right coaching mindset.

NOBODY has an elite defense with their second and third string players. Nobody. Therefore, to be elite, you need a reason to keep your first string defense in the game for the majority of the game... i.e., where your team DOESN'T have to go into garbage time. If you are up by two touchdowns instead of five, your team is far more likely to keep the better group of players on the field. Ball control offense works better than big play high scoring offenses to help out your defense.

Similarly, coaching philosophy can play a big role. Do you keep players in the game to build their stats? Or do you try to play as many young players as possible to get them experienced? Are you willing to sacrifice consistency year-to-year in order to save up talent for a huge push in one year?

I tend to think that these are the sort of things that Kirby is trying to do. There's nothing at all wrong with taking this approach. I think it is a little different than Alabama's current approach, but if it works for Georgia, I can certainly understand it. Alabama has certainly won championships in the past taking that approach.

JMHO.