ATHENS — Bacarri Rambo is Georgia’s free safety and a sort of a de facto captain of the secondary. But he knows better than most how well the Bulldogs’ defensive line is playing.
“They’re doing a magnificent job, as a matter of fact,” Rambo said Tuesday night after practice. “By this time last year I probably had 40 or 50 tackles. Right now I only have like 20 because I don’t ever have a chance to tackle the running back. They already got to him.”
Slowly but surely Georgia has seen its defense climb both in reputation and in ranking. Entering Saturday’s game at Tennessee, the Bulldogs rank among the better defenses in a league that includes national stalwarts Alabama and LSU. Georgia is second in the SEC behind the Crimson Tide in total defense, second in pass defense and third in sacks.
The front three in their vaunted 3-4 defense is a big reason for that. Specifically, that’s Kwame Geathers and John Jenkins, who rotate at nose guard, and defensive ends Abry Jones and DeAngelo Tyson. Sophomore Garrison Smith also has seen his repetitions increase in recent weeks.
“The D-line is doing extremely well,” Georgia coach Mark Richt said. “All defensive coaches want to stop the run. They know if you can get a team to be one-dimensional, or as one-dimensional as possible, it could play in your favor. We’ve done a good job of holding the point and penetrating and forcing doubles teams and allowing linebackers to get free hits.
“All those things have been very important, and especially when we had the injuries at linebacker.”
Georgia lost both starting inside linebackers — Alec Ogletree and Christian Robinson — in the first two games of the season. But the Bulldogs have hardly missed a beat. Junior Michael Gilliard stepped in at “Mike” linebacker and led the Bulldogs in tackles in all three of his starts. He leads the team in tackles with 28. Freshman Amarlo Herrera has 18 tackles and 2.5 tackles for loss filling in at the “Mo” linebacker position.
Georgia’s linebackers and secondary have operated largely unfettered because the defensive linemen are tying up blockers at the line of scrimmage. And while the D-line’s chief job is to create lanes for the Bulldogs’ linebackers to make tackles and apply pressure, the defensive linemen are getting their hands on the quarterback themselves.
Jones and Tyson, who act more as tackles than rush ends in the Bulldogs’ scheme, each have recorded a sack. Even Jenkins managed to score one with a bull rush straight up the middle through a double team against Mississippi State on Saturday.
The interior defensive linemen have accounted for nine tackles for loss, 17 quarterback pressures and three sacks.
“We all realize the athleticism we have on our D-line, and we’re putting it to use as best as we can,” said Jones, who leads the down linemen with seven pressures. “I think we’re a lot stronger and a little bit more keen on the defense. We’re really attacking the line of scrimmage and realizing if we can control the line of scrimmage we can pretty much control the game.”
Said defensive line coach Rodney Garner said: “By no stretch of the imagination do I think we should be satisfied or content. There’s still room for improvement. But I think those guys have responded well and, for the most part, I’ve been proud of them every game. I’ve seen improvement each week. As you go through the season, that’s what you expect.”
They’ll need to be even better this week. Georgia’s coaches contend the defense hasn’t encountered since the Boise State game what it will this weekend in Knoxville. Tennessee sophomore quarterback Tyler Bray leads the SEC in touchdown passes, passing efficiency, passing yards per game and total offense per game.
“That quarterback is the real deal,” Garner said. “And they’ve got a big ol’ pretty offensive line. I think they present a big challenge, I really do. And I hope and pray that our guys accept that challenge to go out and be better than they were last week, because that’s what it’s going to take for us to be successful.
“If we take a step backwards, it could be catastrophic.”
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