I forgot that I’d saved this post with the intention of going back after last season to check it. Georgia’s defensive coordinator set a couple of very specific performance benchmarks for his team in 2011:
- hold opponents’ 3rd-and-10 or more conversion rate under 20%; and
- hold opponents’ yards per pass completion closer to 9 yards than the 2010’s average of 13.5 ypc
So, how did his defense do with those? All in all, not bad.
Yards per completion went from 13.5 in 2010 to 11.3 in 2011. A clear improvement, but still only good for seventh best in the conference. (And, technically speaking, the defense didn’t quite meet his goal.)
As for the conversion rate test, Grantham’s defense aced that with flying colors. Georgia’s 2011 opponents converted seven out of eighteen opportunities in the air and zero out of twenty two chances on the ground. That makes for an overall conversion rate of 17.5%.
I’m curious what the 2012 benchmarks might be.
Get The Picture 
Has to be red zone improvement, I’d think. As I recall, the other metrics were pretty strong across the board.
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It’s really amazing that a coach even provides measuarble goals for achievement/success … instead of “working hard” and “put players in posistion to win” and “execute better”
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Give me a break.
There are only 2 measures that great defenses go by:
1) wins against top 25 teams (0-4 record)
2) points allowed against top 25 teams (12th in SEC against ranked teams)
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What percentage of those points came on special teams rather than defense?
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Has Rambo’s term of suspension come down from on high (sic) yet?
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Defense really needs to overhaul red zone defensive scheme.
Gave up 13 td’s, on 16 red zone attempts against big teams.
81% RED ZONE TD CONVERSION %!!!!!
http://www.cfbstats.com/2011/leader/911/team/defense/split13/category27/sort05.html
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That’s the gaping sore I hope Grantham focuses on this season.
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Didn’t you just point out that stats like that don’t matter? Change your mind when you saw that stat?
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Are we seriously the only fanbase with this many folks that seemingly will not be happy unless Georgia goes undefeated every year winning every game by at least 3 TD’s? Please tell me it’s not just us.
I mean, there’s the Munson-esque pessimism which I can totally understand and feel that way myself sometimes. However, there’s also this group of fans that we have that are determined to do nothing but shit on the team/coaching staff/AD/other fans that sometimes actually enjoy watching and cheering for the Dawgs (why would you choose to follow sports if you get no joy out of it?). Those are the people that I just can’t understand for the life of me.
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Personally, I was ecstatic about our defense’s performance last year. As the original post was about goals, though, red zone defense was pretty clearly an area of weakness. That is all.
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AuditDawg, I hear you. but to be fair I’m not sure that is what OV’s angle is… Maybe he’s just a stat guy like what’s his name on the Movie, Moneyball. Personally, I’m jacked up about the fact the entire Defense is coming back this season… That tells me much more than red zone stats could ever tell me. It says that these players are having fun, believing in what Grantham’s preaching, and think they’re going to be pretty darn good. I get much enjoyment from that…
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That attitude will get your program on the level of Clemson. Big stats on little teams and can’t for the life of them figure out why they get hosed against the Big Boys. Only stats against ranked teams should even matter. Clemson fans liked to talk about how WV put up all those yards on LSU. Yeah, but what did the scoreboard say? The biggest stat people can’t measure or don’t talk about is the eye test. Clemson fans didn’t notice how WV was man handled by a physical LSU. They also didn’t seem to notice LSU’s depth.
Look a what Georgia has become, a DC’s drama with…….wait for it……..Vandy’s head coach. That’s right Vandy. Worry about Columbia, Baton Rouge, Tuscoloosa, and Gainsville and you will be just fine.
As Saban would say, ” I ain’t got time for this shit”. He kind of reminds me of Blue Duck on Lonesome Dove. ” I come on your land, rape your women, steal your children, and you never even knew I was there.”
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Right. We’ve forgotten about Georgia winning the SEC East last season because we’re totally absorbed about James Franklin.
Overstate much?
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Yeah and got ass raped in the ATL by Lesticles. I can’t think of a game where Georgia dominated a team. Can you? Lately, winning the east gets you a beatdown by a west team. The eye test. Screw Franklin, why can’t Georgia talk about grindin’ with the Big Boys? You know. The folks with the crystal footballs. The SEC east champ has been the tallest midget in the SEC of late. Honestly, the SEC was won by Carolina not beating Auburn at home. It wasn’t won by Georgia kicking ass and being a great team. Look no further than the sexual assault in Atlanta for how Georgia stacks up to top teams.
I guess the UCF loss and the steller “come from ahead” loss to the bridesmaid of the slow 10 has made me understand reality.
Remember Richt getting pissed at player’s jumping on the Vandy V after a nail biter? This program doesn’t beat teams with better talent. It has become a program that is rewarded by beating inferior teams. To be the man, you got to beat the man. With talent in the state of Georgia, the dawgs should be shoulder to shoulder with LSU and Bama. Why aren’t they? I believe Georgia has a fanbase similar to Carolina. They like to beat their chest over accomplishments that aren’t relevant in the big picture.
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Georgia dominated that same Auburn team you mention cost SC the East. Honestly.
My point isn’t to homer up last year’s results. The bowl game left as bad a taste in my mouth as it did yours.
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Do you think Georgia “won” the east or Carolina “lost” it? Either one was going to be mauled in Atlanta. As bad as I wanted Georgia to be a good team, they just weren’t. Since the 31-0 at halftime of the Alabama game, I have seen a team that couldn’t hold its own with the elite of colege football. Murray is not a QB that can take a team to the next level. Pressure makes him shit the bed. I hope like hell Richt and Bobo have an answer for Clowney and Taylor this year in Cola.
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Georgia won the East. C’mon, man. Does it hurt that much to admit it?
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Our red zone defense is the worst in the conference. That should be a focus. We are especially vulnerable to the rush in the red zone. We improved in 2011 as compared to 2010, but we still finished last.
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I don’t know a lot about the 3-4. After Grantham attempted to explain it I knew even less. But I have been studying up on it, as we say down here. The way I understand it, the 3-4 can be vulnerable to a power run game, as in short yardage in the red zone. I might move, say Washington to OLB and bring in Kawame to beef up the line. It seems that the first priority of the D in the red zone would be to stop the run. I believe CTG will make the proper adjustments once he pinpoints a problem.
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