Georgia’s defensive backs haven’t yet reached the point of disillusionment. But if they continue to get victimized at the rate they have, they might soon.
Heading into Saturday’s game against Tennessee, the sixth-ranked Bulldogs (3-1, 2-0 SEC) are among the the worst teams in the SEC in virtually every statistical category regarding pass defense. They’re 14th – or last – in defensive pass efficiency rating (153.2) and interceptions (1), 13th in passing yards allowed (277 yards per game) and 11th in total defense (403.8 ypg).
Not coincidentally, they’re also 14th in opponents’ third-down conversion percentage. Teams are converting third downs into firsts 44.8 percent of the time. Florida, for the sake of contrast, leads the league at a rate of 17.8 percent.
“Our defense is getting there,” Georgia coach Mark Richt said on Tuesday. “I thought we made a lot of progress on first and second down (against LSU). I thought we won first and second down most of the day, and we got into third-and-long quite a bit. The problem, obviously, is that we couldn’t get off the field there.”
The Bulldogs are certainly young in the back third. At one time this past Saturday they had three freshmen, a sophomore and a junior on the field at the same time. And it hasn’t helped the level of offensive competition they’ve faced in Clemson, South Carolina and LSU so far. Even North Texas, with a senior quarterback and nine other upperclassmen on the field, was an experienced bunch that ran a sophisticated system.
LSU quarterback Zach Mettenberger and wide receivers Odell Beckham Jr., Jarvis Landry and Kadron Boone took full advantage of Georgia’s issues on third down. The Tigers converted 10-of-15 Saturday, including an unfathomable third-and-22 from their own 13. Rather than being forced to punt down three points with 6:40 to play, the Tigers instead ran six more plays and scored a go-ahead touchdown.
To its credit, Georgia made the stops it had to when the Bulldogs reestablished a lead with 1:47 to play.
“You saw what happened on Saturday,” said starting cornerback Brendan Langley, a true freshman. “That was definitely a first- or second-round quarterback; those were definitely NFL wide receivers. We came out with the win. We gave up 41 points but at the end of the day we won. So we’re just using it as a learning experience. We’re making changes based on the mistakes we made Saturday and moving onto the next game.”
Coaches say most of Georgia’s issues are coming in the decision-making process, whether it be knowing what coverage they’re in or what to do when the ball’s coming their way.
“Guys were there; they just have to make a play on the ball,” defensive coordinator Todd Grantham said.
He said some of the problem is youth and some is a result of the targeting rule, which calls for ejectuion for a player who targets and contacts defenseless opponents above the shoulder, he said. “They’re both there. It’s a bang-bang play. We’ve obviously coached them up on that. They just need to know how to finish it based on that rule. They need to at least get their hands on the ball and finish through the ball. We have a right to the ball, too.”
The Bulldogs’ young charges might experience a modicum of relief against Tennessee this Saturday. The Volunteers are struggling offensively, with a new quarterback and young receivers. Junior quarterback Justin Worley is last in the league in pass efficiency and had a stretch over the past two games in which he threw five interceptions in 12 possessions.
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