Yeah, it’s a nice example of preseason happy talk, but there’s some good stuff to take away from this article about Georgia’s defense. Like this:
For the first time in program history, two Bulldogs defenders who earned All-America honors the year before (linebacker Jarvis Jones and safety Bacarri Rambo) are returning to Georgia’s lineup.
I have to tell you, I never would have guessed that.
Get The Picture 
The Chattanooga papers have always had at least as much good Georgia copy as the AJC. Even back in the good ole 20th Century.
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David Paschall is a throwback….he actually works at this stuff…every day.
He may be the best SEC beat writer these days, we are lucky to have him working Georgia.
The AJC is reduced to pique….while Paschall polishes his craft.
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To say I’m fired up about our Defense would be an understatement. I’m not the overly optimistic type, but I genuinely believe we could have the best Defense in the country. Now that offensive line…
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Is Rambo under a 4 game suspension?
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No.
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I believe the punishment is under appeal.
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No comment from Richt yet, but the conscensus rumors seem to be that they are mulling over whether the “brownie affair” was his 2nd or 1st offense charge concerning pot pot. If it’s the 1st, then he serves a 1-game (10%) suspension instead of four. The stop he had with the girlfriend didn’t have him charged with pot; it was just found in her possession in the car.
I think Richt is playing a great hand close to the vest in order that teams don’t know quite how to prepare for who will and who will not play, esp at Mizzou. I hope he holds off announcing until game time in Columbia. If Zou guesses wrong (there is a high chance they would), we blow them out. If they guess right , we still have good athletes to throw in the fray and who could save the day. It is an intriguing idea that puts a little cloak and dagger and more guesswork for our opponent(s) into the game. It’s friggin’ fun!
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“If Zou guesses wrong (there is a high chance they would), we blow them out.”
Is Mizzou’s gameplan really that dependent on whether or not Rambo plays? I think they’re going to spread it out and pass the ball around no matter what.
I see the element of uncertainty as complicating their gameplan, but I don’t think it’s going to completely make or break their game by any means.
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I agree that they’re going to spread it out and pass, but the long downfield throws will have to take into consideration whether the D-back is fast enough to intercept those throws. While Green is a Leonard Pope on steroids, I think the D-backs with Bacarri will give pause to Franklin and other long throwers who would be more confident if he wasn’t in the game. You are not All American in the SEC without all the coaches agreeing to that premise. I think that the difference is sufficient to create the doubt that preempts a subdued O and game plan selection that involves far less points.
Add to the above premise the situation that Franklin will be in: 1) Avoid Injury and: 2) Get rid of the ball quickly to avoid Jarvis and company from dragging you down. It takes time to develop a long route into the D-safety territory.
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Well if Mizzou is assuming that we’re going to be without 4 defensive starters in the secondary, they may draw up their game plan to try and exploit that. That’s how I see it being a danger for them, anyway.
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They’re gonna try to exploit it either way. That’s their offense!
What else are they going to do? Run the ball at John Jenkins?
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I get why coaches act strange about this stuff, but he didn’t bring up Rambo’s suspension for the Boise game last year, either. Not like that seemed to make a hell of a lot of difference in their game plan.
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Exactly
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It’s great to see talented upperclassmen coming back to play for the Dawgs. With all the early departures we’ve had in recent years, we should appreciate that 90% of our eligible players decided to come back and play for Georgia. I hope their decision pays off.
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I’m really concerned about our corners; Boykin was excellent at stopping the fast screen to the sideline and in run support. I hope we have someone that will fill that role, but I haven’t seen anybody do that yet.
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Mitchell can do it. He’s already our best corner, even though he missed the latter part of Spring.
~~~
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That safety in the bowl game was a thing of beauty. Boykin was a DGD.
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Two AA’s returning … I guess it’s true on paper. Too bad it’s not reality on the field.
~~~
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What do you mean by that? I’d love to hear this…
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I think he’s referring to the (potential) suspension of 1 out of the 2.
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I mean Rambo is no bonafide All-American. He made the AP team but, on the field, he’s not even All-SEC. IMO, of course.
Thanks, Bevo, but my remarks had nothing to do with his suspension. I’d be elated if we had two REAL AA’s coming back. We do on paper, but not in reality.
I’m thankful to have one .. in Jarvis Jones.
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Dawgs ALWAYS have the talent to go far. A 3rd year QB who tossed plenty of TD’s and a terrific returning D would put any team in the top 10 nationally. Unfortunately, our strengths never seem to outweigh whatever weakness we happen to have. But I always expect us to be a very good team. No good reason bama, fu and LSU can win championships and we can’t. We’re not an inferior school. It’s not happy talk to want to realize our potential.
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Yes, that’s all we have to do. Play to our potential. We did that the first 4 or 5 years of Richt, but we haven’t done it since.
But your point is dead on. If we do that, everything else will take care of itself.
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Rambo not wanting to hit Lattimore as a freshman will forever be in my mind. B. Smith hasn’t showed me he is even close to lock down corner. Jarvis Jones is the one guy that fits with the early 2000’s defense. Rambo can’t hold Sean Jones or Thomas Davis’ jock. Thomas Davis and Pollack were the two most enjoyable players to watch on defense. Throw in Odell Thurman and is was a thing of beauty. Thurman is better than Olgetree to me. While this returning defense is good on paper, they are a long way from the 2003 or 2004 D. Looking back, that D was dominating.
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Losing Boykin is like Carolina losing Ingram. Big time play maker.
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I have to agree with all of that. I do think that this defense has a chance this year to be as good as those defenses were, but there’s certainly a ways yet to go.
No matter how you slice it, on the field Georgia is not yet a dominating defense. I hope we’re close already, because if we’re not it’s probably too late. I hope we’re on track, and think we might be.
I also agree that Ogletree has yet to blossom as a player. I like him, sure. But he hasn’t shown the kind of stuff that deserves a lot of hype. Not yet. He hasn’t reached the Tony Gilbert/Thurman level. I’m hoping this is his coming-out year.
But what’s exciting is there may be several other young MLB’s that have a chance to get there.
As far as Rambo goes … getting beat over the top, taking bad angles, being late, and shoulder/back-bumping big backs and TE’s isn’t going to get it done. True, he made some plays, as he’s supposed to do at that position. But those are things Rambo was doing just last year … his AA year. Unbelievable.
It’s unfair, IMO, to guys like Jerome Phillips, Sean Jones, Thomas Davis, and Greg Blue, to even mention Rambo’s name among theirs.
~~~
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