I think you guys know me well enough by now to realize I don’t put much stock in spring football pronouncements, but I’m coming around to the idea that in the case of Kwame Geathers there be some fire along with that smoke we’ve been smelling.
Geathers has progressed enough this spring that Coach Grantham is contemplating the possibility of playing Geathers and John Jenkins together.
“We play with three (on the defensive line). There’s nothing etched in stone that those guys have to be at nose,” Georgia defensive coordinator Todd Grantham said. “We’ll see how it goes. We’ve got a couple different packages.”
So the 340-pound Geathers or 361-pound Jenkins could play end.
“There ain’t a rule against it, is there?” Grantham said, smiling.
Even Rodney Garner is finding nice things to say about Geathers’ development.
… Defensive line coach Rodney Garner said Geathers has improved his use of hands in the trenches, and is “playing stouter.” The competition with Jenkins may have spurred Geathers, but Garner thinks a natural progression was in order.
Needless to say, if true, this is huge. Grantham’s defense last season sorely lacked a consistent presence in the middle of the line. If that’s there now, the linebacking corps just got a whole lot better. If they can get a handle on the safety play, we may have something to get excited about.
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UPDATE: Geathers named defensive MVP in Georgia’s spring football awards.
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I’d settle for a healthy rotation between the two of them at tackle. Last year we had trouble subbing players on the line, and it killed us.
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Amen. Rotate and keep them fresh at nose tackle. With our luck one of them will get hurt anyway
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That would be a big deal for depth alone if nothing else.
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Solid D line play is foundational. Controlling the line of scrimmage makes everyone else behind them that much better. Huge improvements coming there.
While we’ll miss Justin, our linebacker corps as a whole will be a quantum leap better this year than last.
And our secondary won’t be afraid to hit people.
2011 will go down in the History of the ‘Dogs as “The Year of the D.”
Mr. Moore, meet Mr. Turf.
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Add Arby Jones and you’ve got 1,000 lbs of frontline beef in just a 3 man front
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“Arby” and “beef” – nice Freudian slip there. 😉
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Definitely Freudian.
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realistically i still expect the ga dome to be stop number one of the richt farewell tour but i would love for them to prove me wrong. a real d line could go a long way towards making that a reality
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Garner does not heap praise on players in public. I’ll take that as a good sign.
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I tend to to discredit any/all statements made during camps. I have bought in too many times only to realize 2 games into the season that the WR’s could not catch a cold. Or the QB is not the next David Green. Or the DL resembles a turnstile. Or the O-line plays on stakes. It is sad when I can no longer believe our coaching staff.
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Even if its mostly a new coaching staff?
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Especially “if its mostly a new coaching staff”. I believe that they feel they have to get everyone excited and believing they are making great improvement. I will believe it when I see it on the field this fall. Until then, it is merely lip service.
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Eeyore, the old grey Donkey, stood by the side of the stream, and looked at himself in the water.
“Pathetic,” he said. “That’s what it is. Pathetic.”
He turned and walked slowly down the stream for twenty yards, splashed across it, and walked slowly back on the other side. Then he looked at himself in the water again.
“As I thought,” he said. “No better from this side. But nobody minds. Nobody cares. Pathetic, that’s what it is.”
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Year in and year I read/hear that this or that position group and/or individual player/players looks great, much improved, incredible spring etc. Yet, year in and year out said position group/player/players fail to live up to the billing. Why would I believe what is being said? Add to that the results from the past 3-4 seasons, what reason do I have to trust anything from this staff/team?
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Well which is it? 3 years ago or 4 years ago. If you’re saying 4 yrs ago you’ve forgotten we finished with an AP rank of number 2 in the nation. Lewis would probably exclaim. ” I don’t believe I would have told that”, if you’re complaining of our record 3 years ago……we finished near the top 10. In fact Mark Richt has finished in the top 10 more often than not. While my “ole man” is no Lewis Grizzard … I am confindent he would call your remarks…..
” poor mouthin’ ” . Now if you are a Southerner- (I capitalize that word cause Lewis always did), you would understand just what he was gettin’ at.
just sayin’
2007 Georgia 11–2 6–2 T–1st (East) W Sugar † 3 2
2008 Georgia 10–3 6–2 2nd (East) W Capital One 10 13
2009 Georgia 8–5 4–4 T–2nd (East) W Independence
2010 Georgia 6–7 3–5 T–3rd (East) L Liberty
GO DAWGS!
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” If that’s there now, the linebacking corps just got a whole lot better. ”
As will the secondary, too. We’ve got talent in the defensive backfield. Coach them up and give them a solid pass rush, and they will make things happen.
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Agreed. Our secondary looked pretty awful against Tenn in 2007 (then again, what wasn’t awful about that game?) Then all of a sudden Marcus Howard started hitting the QB, and we go to the Sugar Bowl.
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Not to mention the benefits that our O-line will get from practicing against a solid line.
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Goal Line Def, anyone? Yeesh. The Boise O-line has only one guy over 300, and he’s only listed at 300. “Get in mah’ BELLY!”
They lose their Off. Coor., and at least 9 of 22 starters, last I checked. Including their top two receivers and running back. They have to travel more than 2000 miles. There’s no blue field. If they win this game, it will be all because of Moore. If we lose this game…I don’t know what to say. We should not lose this game.
FYI: Bronco Senior DT Nisby has been dismissed from the team for an arrest for Battery. And LB Mooney quits the team leaving them with only 4 scholarship LB’s.
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Abry, Kwame, and John, what a hell of beefy line. I can’t wait to see what BSU can do with that. OH yeah, sorry, we are supposed to lose.
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Tyson’s no slouch either.
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And F U cocks too. WE gonna get U too.
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I recall reading an article last year that said Geathers did well in camp. Then we didn’t play him very often – even with our undersized D-line and mediocre D-line play.
I’m fairly sure Geathers would be starting for most other sec programs. I also expect to see him in the nfl in ’12 or ’13. The weird thing is I’m less sure we’ll get much out of him before he moves on.
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We are supposed to lose according to the pundits. Those same pundits picked us number one based on the year before. But take a look at things objectively. We are not playing last years team. Even Texas doesn’t just replace 40% of their starters without missing a beat. Even Fl loses a coordinator and the numbers go down, even with the great Tebow. If I was a betting man and we get any points at all, I’d push all in on these Dawgs. It’s hard because, yes, I too watched them play last year. But the same thing is happening to Boise that happened to Tx, Fl, USCw, and us. I’m not saying they won’t get better and ultimately be very good. Their head coach is awesome. I’m saying we are meeting them at an opportune moment. Also, I expect a big statistical upswing in the second year for coordinators and QB’s. Not to mention, they are a college football minor league team and we need to send them home crying in their potatoes like we did last time.
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So where do I buy SECCG tickets?
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Both should play & be factors for the Dawgs this year . They will also both be playing to impress the NFL Scouts. That still works for the Dawgs this year.
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There’s always the chance that we’re all being horribly misled; that Joe T’s S&C program has only managed to make the players heavier and slower, that an offensive line that blocked no one last year and lost it’s two best pieces (one to the draft, one to injury) will be worse than last year, that our offense without AJ Green will look exactly like it did in our four game losing streak, and that we have poor players in the secondary again and a thin LB corps, and that not only do we lose to Boise and South Carolina, but also MSU at home, Tennessee on the road, Auburn at home, Florida in JAX, and….. Tech.
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Sigh…. I think you might keep that “we” word out of your mouth cause I ain’t feelin’ it. Still if the Senator ever puts a DH meter here that allows you to post or not I wouldn’t miss you. Senator is much more tolerant than me… so you go boy.
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