August 30, 2010 · 10:24 AM

From Dan Hawkins to Todd Grantham

I explain it all here.

14 Comments

Filed under Georgia Football

14 responses to “From Dan Hawkins to Todd Grantham”

  1. jferg
    August 30, 2010 at 10:55 AM

    Fundamental defensive football….I can hardly remember what such a thing looks like but am very happy to watch for this elusive creature….

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  2. W Cobb Dawg
    August 30, 2010 at 11:46 AM

    Great article.

    “Watch instead to see if players are again doing the fundamental things which made the Georgia defense respected nationally. That’ll be a pretty good indication Grantham and his staff know what they’re doing.”

    With 10 starters returning on offense, plus some very good backups, it’ll be just as interested to see if the O staff “know what they’re doing”. The O, which accounted for the majority of penalties last year, needs serious work on fundamentals too.

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    • Spence
      August 30, 2010 at 6:20 PM

      The offense was stout last year, especially in the second half. Were it not for a quarterback starting his first year of play in the SEC, last year’s offense may have gone down as one of the better ones in UGA history.

      I think the Senator would be the first to tell you that penalties do not necessarily statistically equate to decreased performance.

      Hopefully our fanbase will appreciate that Murray will struggle and not call too harshly for Bobo’s head if/when he does. I think he’s earned enough from his track record to at least get him and the O-staff over the hurdle of “knowing what they’re doing” in the fans’ minds.

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  3. Andy Coleman
    August 30, 2010 at 12:18 PM

    Perfectly stated! Here’s hoping that the 3 boys up front can get it done!

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  4. Regular Guy
    August 30, 2010 at 1:14 PM

    I never thought of it all beginning with Colorado, but you’re absolutely right. My Dad and I just sat there shaking our heads in disbelief how they could just send the tight end on a simple crossing route and have it wide open time after time. Much like the bootleg against UTenn last year. Over and over, with never an adjustment to stop it.

    I’ve been saying for several years now that I just wish that for ONCE, the opposing offense would have to do something to adjust to us, instead of us always having to adjust to them. We never dicated anything the past few years. Even if we get burned a few times as the players learn the system, I’m just so excited to have a DC who (seemingly) will attempt to dictate what the offense does, at least on occasion!

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    • gatriguy
      August 30, 2010 at 3:21 PM

      Colorado was when we all should have realized we had a problem, but to me, Auburn the year before was when I first remember Martinez getting pantsed. They ran that bootleg to the tight end from the first play of the game on, and Martinez never adjusted one bit. And then that 4th and 10. That was the.first game of tut Richt Era that I truly thought we lost because of our defense.

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    • JasonC
      August 31, 2010 at 12:52 AM

      Heck, Vandy ran it with success against us.

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  5. thewhiteshark
    August 30, 2010 at 1:27 PM

    Good analysis. Every time I read quotes from Grantham I get excited. Fix the defense and you fix much of the recent ills of Georgia football. Hopefully it will show up on the field.

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  6. 69Dawg
    August 30, 2010 at 1:41 PM

    What can you say I think he is right. I was at that game but it was hardly the first or last time UGA has had a hard time with a running QB or the TE or Back out of the back field. The usual way to deal with a scrambling QB is to have one LB spy him. We have either never heard of it or did not know how to do it. The TE & Back thing is a product of the worst assistant hire in the last 20 years (OK Ramsey excluded) Janecek (sp). Our LB’s could not cover my mother and she has been dead for 20 years. Sure every once in a while you will play a team (LSU) whose QB will just throw the ball at the LB and he can overcome his surprise and catch it but that is a very rare occasion. If Coach B can just get them to be aware of the TE and the RB in a pass situation I will be a happy fan.

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  7. Mike
    August 30, 2010 at 1:51 PM

    Spurrier often said that no one system of offense or defense is perfect and any of them can be beaten. He felt the most important thing was to get coaches that believed in a particular system and were good at both developing and recruiting the players that can excel in the system.

    From what has been written, there seems to be little doubt the new UGA DC is commited to the 3-4. What remains to be seen is how quickly can he develop and recruit the players to excel in that sytem.

    As many have said, UGA could struggle this year on D a bit. I assume most UGA fans will take that if the discipline and fundementals improve.

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  8. shane#1
    August 30, 2010 at 3:51 PM

    Amen Senator, I remember that Colorado game well, and so many others. Here are the top 5 things I DO NOT wish to see in the Dawg’s defense in 2010. 1- 270lb TEs running free in the middle of the field. A reciever half as big as an elephant should attract somebody’s attention. 2- DBs that appear never to have seen the play action in action. My Lord, that’s the UGA O’s bread and butter play. You would think that the D had seen a film of the play action somewhere.3- This is related to #2- CBs staring into the offensive backfield while a WR runs right by them. Mr CB, what are you going to do to that 240lb RB when you catch him? Might as well cover the WR. 4- Out of bounds late hits. Look Mr LB or Safety, you gave the guy 10 yds by being out of posistion, so you hit him late to teach him a lesson? Giving up an additional 15 is teaching him a lesson alright! 5- Helmet hits on QBs. Come in with your head UP! FUNDAMENTALS, Gentlemen!

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  9. jason
    August 30, 2010 at 10:18 PM

    agree. one of the best articles ive read this year….very true

    and hey shane#1 one thing to add to your list. cb’s who play 12yds off the reciever on 3rd and 5.

    I cant wait for Saturday. Go Dawgs !!

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  10. Rocketdawg
    August 31, 2010 at 11:13 AM

    I would go back further and argue that the 2003 Florida game was the blue print for beating the Soft cover 2 of BVG/Willie Two Thumbs. Don’t forget that the scheme itself didn’t change from BVG to Willie it was the talent/execution that suffered. In 2003 I watched Rex Grossman absolutely KILL us with the bubble screen all day long. We never adjusted and as a result lost to a very inferior Florida team. If you go back and look at games from that point on the bubble screen was used extensively to attack our defense. Dan Hawkins just refined that by attacking the flats and the soft middle of the defense.

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  11. Salinsa
    August 31, 2010 at 5:46 PM

    I understand what you’re saying but disagree that this game was the beginning of the end of our D. The D played well against Ole Miss the following week and they had a mobile QB in Brent Schaeffar. Ole Miss only had 3 pts until they scored a td late in the game. Where I think our D started to fall apart was the following week against Tenn, specifically the 2nd half. I remember Fat Fill Fulmer getting interviewed at the half when we were up 21-14 and he wasn’t worried at all. You’d think his team was dominating. He smugly said we see holes in their def and it’s all about us executing. They then went on to outscore us 37-9 in the second half, in Athens. Up until that point, that was the worse D I had seen UGA play since the Donnan or perhaps the Goff era. That 2nd half against Tennessee planted the first seeds of doubt in my head when it comes to Willie Zonetinez

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