Kirby Smart clearly in denial with Georgia Bulldogs’ 1 major glaring flaw on defense that could make or break a playoff run
The Georgia Bulldogs pass rush is broken, but they’ve been able to mask that so far
The Georgia Bulldogs are 4-1 coming off a huge bounce back SEC win over Kentucky following their only loss of the season to Alabama. Kirby Smart’s crew dominated the Wildcats from three and a half quarters on Saturday, but the defense’s one major glaring flaw still reared its ugly head once again.
What is that major flaw? The Georgia pass rush. It’s completely broken, especially when the Bulldogs don’t bring extra blitzing linebacker help. The edge rushers aren’t winning one-on-ones consistently. The interior defensive line is looking extremely inexperienced and isn’t showing enough strength to generate push. However, Georgia’s still 4-1. If they can find a way to unlock the pass rush then the Bulldogs are likely going on another College Football Playoff run.
Key facts & stats on Georgia Bulldogs struggling pass rush
- Through five games now, exactly zero sacks have come from conventional edge rushers for the Georgia Bulldogs.
- The team has just six total sacks to start the season, with five of six generated via off-ball linebackers.
- Geogia currently ranks outside the top 100 among FBS teams in both sacks and pass rush pressures.
Kirby Smart in denial about Georgia Bulldogs pass rush
Given that Georgia looked rather dominant throughout the Kentucky game without a functional pass rush it’s no surprise the focus was elsewhere for media following the victory Saturday, but as soon as Kirby Smart was asked about it his entire countenance changed. His reply was fair, but unfortunately came off a bit defensive. It was as if he knows the pass rush is a major weakness, perhaps the team’s only glaring issue, but just knows he’s likely not going to “fix” it this year:
“Look, I’m excited. Put what you want. I get to watch our guys every day in practice. I watched our team have 60-70 something third downs in four games before today and I have a lot of confidence in our defensive unit, team, pass rush, coverage, third down plan. I feel good about it. I don’t feel good about the stats, but stats are misleading, guys. There’s just not many opportunities we get. If the ball comes out before you get there then it wasn’t probably even good to rush. We should have dropped 11.
Do we need to do better? We need some guys that can win one-on-one inside. Ask [Kentucky] why they went fast on third down–because they didn’t want us to put people in there. If we were bad or I thought we had issues, they’d be begging those guys to come on the field. ‘Hey man, y’all send in those guys on third down.’ [Kentucky] kept us out of it by going really fast. That’s a mechanism we use sometimes, because you don’t want to face those guys.”
It’s not that the Georgia defense is struggling overall. The team is still top 40 in yards per play allowed, and top 25 against the run via most every meaningful metics.
CJ Allen, Raylen Wilson, and Chris Cole at off-ball linebacker have all three made splashy plays, racked up some sacks, and generate pressure thanks to their athleticism. There are certainly bright spots on Georgia’s defense.
In fact, CJ Allen continues to show why he’s getting really NFL Draft hype. He punched out a fumble against Kentucky on Saturday, tied for the lead in tackles, and logged a sack as well as another tackle for loss.
The team just needs more playmakers to step up along the first line of defense–not just in the second and third. How does this happen? Will Georgia be able to fix this complete ineptitude?
The short answer is likely yes. However, it’s going to take some huge leaps forward from guys like Christen Miller, Gabe Harris Jr., Elijah Griffin, and Joseph Jonah-Ajonye if Georgia has any hope of fixing this major flaw. And coach Smart needs to stop living in denial (although perhaps he’s just posturing for the media).
Smart needs to continue sprinkling in the right linebacker blitzes and perhaps line Chris Cole up more along the defensive edge. Georgia must get creative, and fast. Otherwise this season could spiral against some of the better SEC opponents without a pass rush.
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