Steele ranks Georgia dead last nationally in percentage of tackles returning.
When you put it that way, it looks kinda grim.
Filed under Georgia Football, Phil Steele Makes My Eyes Water
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Get The Picture · Bloviation for the Dawgnation
Get The Picture 
Probably one of the least significant stats I’ve ever seen.
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Per Steele, “At the bottom of the chart is Georgia who returns just 34% of their tackles from last year. The Bulldogs only return 3 starters on defense and lose their top 4 tacklers.”
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It’s a meaningless stat because the tackles are still going to be made, no matter who makes them. The relevant question is, “Will the tacklers on this year’s team be better than the ones on last year’s team (and give up fewer yards per play)?”
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Agreed, but as a general rule, shouldn’t more experience make it likely for that question to be answered affirmatively?
Georgia’s top four tacklers last season, by the way: Ogletree, Williams, Jones and Rambo.
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We live in hope. Personally, I don’t remember being that thrilled with the tackling on last year’s team, especially our inability to stop the run up the middle. But maybe that’s just me.
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So experience is meaningless?
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No, but it’s only one of several factors in making a good tackler or player. Manziel didn’t have any experience as a college quarterback, and he did alright.
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I think if you read the introduction to Steele’s post, he’s making the same “one of several factors” argument you are.
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What makes this whole concept insignificant to me is the way Steele is quantifying tackling experience. If a team is returning 100% of its tacklers who gave up 10 yards per carry, does that have any real meaning? Sure, they may get “significantly better,” but the bar was pretty low to begin with. I guess he’ll prove his point if at the end of the season Arizona has one of the top defenses and Georgia has one of the worst. And let’s see how Trey Matthews does with no experience.
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But he makes it clear he’s using this metric as part of an overall evaluation of experience.
And you are now overstating the case. He’s not arguing that Arizona will wind up with a top defense. He’s making the point that its defense should be improved.
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You have to assume the coaches were putting in not simply “a senior” or “an experienced player” but the best tackler at every position regardless of their class or experience. So if the previous tacklers were giving up 10 yards per carry, we have to assume the fellows behind them would have given up more.
HOWEVER – it may be that our players on D were the best in general, but did not always give their best effort. We can hope the guys behind them have worked extra hard this off season, and our freshmen are working hard as well. I personally love the idea of more competition and some new blood on the defense.
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So…..When are you guys going to stop playing “Money Ball” with CF? This sugar honey iced tea is pissing me off.
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By the way; bait stand shouldn’t you be out training for climbing Mount Kilimanjaro? I would recognize that drivel anywhere.
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Which is particularly worrisome since Rambo and Ogletree were both out for 4 games.
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And Jarvis missed two, don’t forget.
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Means nothing. Nada. Zip. Steele would be better served by making a list of teams like Tech that has the number of MISSED tackles returning.
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Mayor, Why do you make references to Tech, when they are not in the SEC,? Talk about Nada, Zip….means nothing.
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Take your meds and go back to sleep.
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Yes, Doctor….
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Still, on a Friday afternoon you never like to see your team ranked dead last in anything, even if it is a contrived statistic. Except maybe the Fulmer Cup. It makes me think how much we will miss guys like Jones and Ogletree. As contrition I think you owe us some Dawg Porn.
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However … If some of the non-returning tacklers were absolutely real “bell cows” for your defense, meaning other offensive coordinators sought those particular players out when viewing film and scheming game plans, it means a hell of a lot. Be interesting to go back and look at UGA’s defensive stats and records in the year following a stalwart defensive group (or player’s) graduation/turning pro (Pollack, Thurman, etc.). We have young guys who will tackle … but do we have guys on D that can LEAD or step up and take over a game when the overall defense is struggling (see: 2012 Missouri)?
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I wouldn’t say the stat is meaningless because making tackles is a primary objective of any defense, and we clearly lost some of our top finishers from last year’s defense. The main concern I have is getting players in the position to make tackles and defend passes. If we accomplish that with the talented newcomers we have on board, I won’t worry about the result, they will get the ball carrier down and knock/intercept the passes. That is the easier part. I still feel the defense will out perform expectations in 2013, and the offense will fall short. The degree, and timing, of those two things will determine how satisfied we fans will be in December.
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We were #3 in pre-season. Why can’t Todd space out his recruits better
http://www.philsteele.com/Blogs/2012/May12/DBMay31.html
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Returning 13 tacklers last year didn’t help out all that much. Not returning 13 tacklers this year? Who the hell knows.
Dawg hopes spring eternal no matter who doesn’t return. Ain’t gonebe no different this year.
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It was already scary as hell. But look on the bright side, Steele ranked S.Car. defensive line #1 in the SEC (#3 nationally). So we should only have a little more difficulty with them than we did last year.
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I dont think that the lack of experience on that side of the ball surprises anyone paying attention to UGA football…surprised that no one else is worse off than we are though.
However I was surprised that we were not ranked higher in the returning offense yards chart the other day and a little surprised by the number of returning starts we have on the OL.
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USC East and UF don’t fare much better but nobody is thinking that their defenses will fall off the map, most think they are still the strength of the team.
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True to dat. There is a continuing predisposition to stroke the infernal Spurrier Axis per the perceptions of hidebound journalists. None of it is worth a plug nickel. Dawgs will disprove it between the white lines.
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Well, a couple of year ago everyone was gnashing their teeth about our lack of receivers and where would the catches come from! Up stepped Bennett & Mitchell and others. I think it will all be about attitude from our young defenders, but I’m thinking they surprise some folks.
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We are gonna miss Williams
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Well, dayum, that’s not what I want to have to think about while I’m mowing the lawn this weekend. Does somebody have some gaudy Gurley or Murray stats to share?
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I can give you something to think about while you are mowing the lawn this weekend..
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I guess the Genius is going to kill us…………..ha
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This may not be so bad for UGA.
Fot instance, AU probably has fewer tackles returning, yet more players returning.
Think about that.
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Not worried. Have a friend who has a friend that has two sons who are thinking about UGA. Already have feelers from Bama, Notre Dame, and Ohio State. Dude, Steele, you must be crazy. These boys have the bleachers already reporting how they can bring the hits to the leathe. They are part of the 2018 class.
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Thanks for the inside skinny. Let us pray that they pick GEORGIA!
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