re: ESPN: UGA & DC Pruitt's Defense Facing An Uphill Battle

I'll play along before I start back studying, I guess.

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In 2010, UGA's defense struggled but it was said then- DC Todd Grantham hadn't yet gotten his type of players in the system yet.

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Well...yeah, we switched from a 4-3 to a 3-4. What style D is USCe running this year? Sticking with the same system? I've heard conflicting reports.

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In 2011, UGA's defense seemed to improve, even though it finished 6th in the SEC in scoring D compared to 5th in 2010.

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Hey, there's nothing like being selective with your stats. I can do the same: Our rush D improved from 7th in the SEC to 3rd. Our total D rank stood pat at 4th...yet we gave up 50 yards fewer per game.

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In 2012, despite having a 2-deep on defense full of future NFL draft picks, it was again 6th in the conf. in scoring and total defense. The consensus was that the defense was plagued with too many prima-donnas looking ahead to their NFL futures, and that the influx of youth and inexperience for 2013 would be addition by subtraction.

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Wut? I actually did predict an improvement on D from 2012 to 2013...in the rushing department. And I predicted a drastic decline in the passing department. The rush D improved from 12th in the conference to 6th. The pass D dropped from 2nd to 9th.

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In 2013 the UGA defense again struggles, which ultimately costs Grantham his job. New Man Jeremy Pruitt instills confidence into the fanbase that at last HE is the answer and will get the defense running as it should.

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And?

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There was an article recently where former DT Garrison Smith made new concerning claims: this time it wasn't the talented upperclassmen - like he - to blame for UGA's defensive woes in 2013, it was the underclassmen who rose quickly to starting roles without much competition, that accounted for the dysfunction. The upperclassmen like Smith are gone

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Garrison Smith was the only senior we had. I'm not even sure what "the upperclassmen like Smith are gone" statement means. Feel free to help me see the light.

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those underclassmen still remain on the roster, and will be looked to to be the leaders now.

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...the article came out after the 3rd underclassman from last year's team was booted. I assume he was talking primarily about JHC, Shaq, and Tray given the timing of the article. Last I checked, they are not on the team. Leaders at Louisville? Sure, I'll spot you that one, assuming that's what you meant.

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Outside of the linebacker group, especially Floyd and Wilson, there are a lot of unknowns

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This is news to me.

Amarlo Herrera: Has started 30 games in his career.
Damian Swann: Has started 28 games in his career.
Jordan Jenkins: Has started 19 games in his career.
Ray Drew: Had 6 sacks last year.

But only if they were known! I'm surprised I was able to remember their names.





So, if you're keeping score at home, we return 8 of 11 starters (9 if you count Drew, Bailey and Mayes all as starters - depending on the package). 7 of them being at least 3 years removed high school. We'll replace Garrison Smith with another upperclassman (Bailey, Drew, or Mayes, whichever one you prefer to not consider a starter in 2013).


We return 6 from the front 7 that finished 6th in rush D last year. I doubt that will be a weakness of the team.



Our pass rush should be pretty good:

Floyd - 6.5 sacks in 2013
Drew - 6
Jenkins - 5
Wilson - 4



Everybody's favorite topic is always the secondary. We're going to play the majority of our defensive snaps in nickel like we did last year. We return 3 DBs of the 5 who started the most games last year.

I'm going to be on pins and needles until we find that #2 CB and NB, though. Good thing Pruitt's focus is the DB group.


What clown wrote this article?

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Edward Aschoff

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The UF grad...that wrote for the Gainesville Sun before moving to ESPN. I bet he just loves UGA and Pruitt.