Dawgs look to get run defense back up to standard
Georgia’s run defense — or recent lack thereof — has been a popular topic of conversation for fans of the second-ranked Bulldogs after Missouri seemed to expose that area in Georgia’s 43-29 win Saturday.
Entering Saturday’s game against Tennessee (2-2, 0-1), the Bulldogs (4-0, 2-0) are eager to make things right.
“It’s a lack of focus, not doing what we’re supposed to do,” defensive lineman Michael Barnett said, shaking his head upon being reminded of the four rushing touchdowns the Tigers were able to score.
“That’s not our standard,” he said. “We did not meet the standard that day.”
Head coach Kirby Smart said the fact that Georgia didn’t play as physically as needed contributed to much of the Bulldogs’ problems.
“We didn’t do well; we didn’t close; we didn’t strike. We didn’t knock off blockers; we didn’t tackle well,” Smart said.
“A lot of those rushing yards had to do with that, a lot of them had to do with unwillingness to strike people. If you don’t strike people, you won’t stop the run in our league. You will not stop the run in our league. So, you’ve got to strike people and be physical up front in order to do it.”
Linebacker Juwan Taylor blamed much of Georgia’s problems with the fact the Bulldogs simply did not play as physical as needed.
“It (lack of physicality) affected that in a major way,” Taylor said. “We pride our defense on stopping the run and we let four touchdowns get on us.”
Stats show it hasn’t been the best of months for the Bulldogs when it comes to slowing down the run, especially for a team where run defense has been a strength in Smart’s three years as a head coach.
Two weeks ago, Middle Tennessee rushed for 158 yards before the Tigers ran for 172 yards Saturday afternoon.
“That’s on the players,” Barnett said. “The coaches can tell us but we’re the ones actually out there doing it. We’ve got to do our jobs.”
Taylor didn’t mince words, either.
“We didn’t quit, but it wasn’t to the standard — four rushing TDs — that’s not to the standard,” Taylor said.
“The goal every game is to play with physicality, discipline and composure and we weren’t as physical as we needed to be and we didn’t play with the discipline we needed with our assignments in getting the penalties.”
With Tennessee up next, the Bulldogs will have an opportunity to redeem themselves for the previous two showings, although the Volunteers — despite their obvious issues — are averaging 211 rushing yards per game, fifth in the SEC.
“We’ve just got to get back to the basics,” Barnett said. “They’re a good team, they’re going to try and run the ball and it’s going to be our job to stop them. I feel we’ll do just fine.”