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Friday, September 22, 2006
How does this defense stack up?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Maybe you were wondering just how good Georgia Tech’s defense has been. I sure was after watching Thursday night’s 24-7 victory over Virginia. So I looked it up.
Through four games, Tech has allowed 47 points, or just under 12 a game. The last time the Yellow Jackets got off to such a good start defensively: 1990, the national championship year, when Tech allowed 31 points through its first four games against N.C. State, Tennessee-Chattanooga, South Carolina and Maryland. The only other Yellow Jackets defense since 1970 that got off to a four-game start as good as this year’s was the 1985 team that finished 9-2-1.
So it’s safe to say it’s a good sign.
One game into the ACC schedule is way too early to know for sure how good this defense will wind up being, and offenses as pitiful as Virginia’s don’t provide a very good yardstick. I’ve seen a couple of things that could come back to bite the Yellow Jackets against better teams — key personal foul penalties in three games, and some wide-open receivers Thursday night, including on the Cavaliers’ touchdown play. Those kinds of things remind me how inexperienced a lot of Tech’s key defensive players are. The good news: Those players should get even better with each game. We’ll learn a lot more when Georgia Tech plays Virginia Tech eight days from now.
Where do you think this defense will stack up, and which teams ahead on the schedule do you fear the most?
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