Georgia player suggests Tennessee Vols' defensive line had a tell that gave away when certain pressures were coming
One of the main reasons why the Tennessee Vols lost 31-17 to the Georgia Bulldogs in Athens last weekend was because UT lost the battle in the trenches. Tennessee's normally dominant defensive line wasn't able to generate much pressure on Georgia quarterback Carson Beck. The Vols totaled zero sacks and two tackles for loss against […]
One of the main reasons why the Tennessee Vols lost 31-17 to the Georgia Bulldogs in Athens last weekend was because UT lost the battle in the trenches.
Tennessee's normally dominant defensive line wasn't able to generate much pressure on Georgia quarterback Carson Beck. The Vols totaled zero sacks and two tackles for loss against the Bulldogs.
Georgia, meanwhile, sacked Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava five times. The Bulldogs also had six tackles for loss.
The ineffectiveness of Tennessee's defensive line was a shock — especially after Ole Miss totaled five sacks against Georgia the previous week.
One reason why the Bulldogs were so good at blocking the Vols' defensive line was because Georgia's offensive line had a good idea of how to defend Tennessee's stunts/twist game thanks to some things that were identified by watching film.
"First off, I'll say watching film, picking up cues on when they're going to do it (stunts/twists)," said Georgia offensive lineman Tate Ratledge when asked about blocking the UT defensive line. "What are they doing when this foot is back every time? I remember actually against them two years ago, when we played them here (Athens), one of their defensive ends, every time he had his outside foot back, they were teeing. So, picking up on stuff like that. And kind of just throughout the game, noticing stuff.
"But initially, it's stopping the penetrator. If you stop the penetrator, you'll have success. And staying square. Punch that penetrator over, get back square, and you have a pretty good chance."
Based on Ratledge's comments, there's obviously some stuff that Tennessee needs to clean up so they can better disguise their looks. But at the same time, a lot of credit here goes to Georgia's offensive line. Various teams have struggled against Tennessee's defensive line this season, which suggests that those teams didn't pick up on the same tells from the Vols that Georgia picked up on.
Plenty of games are won in the film room. And it sounds like the Bulldogs' work in the film room ahead of the game against Tennessee is a big reason why Georgia was able to get the win last Saturday night in Athens.
