I don’t think I have to delve into much deep analysis to make a point about the job Jeremy Pruitt’s done on the field, just recite a few numbers.
Total Defense
- 2013: 375.5 ypg (45th nationally)
- 2014: 337.2 ypg (17th nationally)
- 2015: 298.0 ypg (
10th8th nationally)
Scoring Defense
- 2013: 29.0 ppg (79th nationally)
- 2014: 20.7 ppg (16th nationally)
- 2015: 16.9 ppg (
8th10th nationally)
That, for want of a better phrase, is what a top ten defense looks like, folks. And keep in mind that while some of the improvement in the 2014 numbers came from brilliant management of field position and turnover margin, both of those factors were not the case this season.
Get The Picture 
Guy can flat out coach. What’s better is that he’s doing the same kind of job recruiting to his scheme. He was a great hire.
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It breaks my heart that we didn’t have him or someone like him in 2005, 2007, 2008, 2011, 2012, or 2013, my God what would have been possible with the offenses we had.
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The trend is good, no doubt, but if ever a trend belonged in the “lies, damn lies, and statistics” Hall of Fame its this one because we may have played the worst offenses, collectively, of any team in the nation this year.
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While a fair point, it’s also worth pointing out that our own abysmal offense did not do our defense any favors this season.
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This is the kind of comment that doesn’t mean jack shit without research to back it up.
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Agree on that, but he’s found a way to keep the team in games despite a barely functioning offense that can’t score. It’s all been on the d and they’ve come through.
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Yes, it’s really hard to sort it out, and you’ve all made your points for and against pretty clearly. The defense appears to be the best we’ve seen since pre-2006 days, in an era where offenses are privileged by strategy and rule. To further make the case for the defense, noting that many of the offenses we have played have been very bad and that our defense did not do well against Alabama and Tennessee (two good, but not great, offenses), maybe we should consider how they did versus those teams’ average yards and points this year rather than the broader categories of total yards/total points.
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They did well against the Tennessee offense until they got left on the field pretty much the entire 2nd half. You could make the case the defense gave the team the 24-3 lead, and then special teams and the offense wasted it.
The Alabama game was similar. The defense was holding their own until the blocked punt, the shanked punt, and the pick 6 put the game out of reach.
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Our offense and defense sucked vs Tenn & Bama. Defense sucked again vs Tenn. Offense played pretty well that game.
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The game was not out of reach after the blocked punt. The little 50 yard TD pass that even Gary Danielson called beforehand is what really put the team behind the 8-ball.
I agree that the D played well for a while, but not nearly long enough. Alabama was a total team effort, IMO.
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I have to agree. I thought the defense played well in the 8 wins, terrible in the 3 losses. Seemed to depend on the competition. I thought the offense played well 9 games, terrible against Bama and Florida.
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Terrible against Florida? Not sure about your logic on that one….
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Team gave up 4 td’s to the 92nd ranked offense. Not great.
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Team….not the defense….
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Oh, and yes, the offense was awesome against Missouri…..who are we all going to believe, you —- or our lyin eyes, lyin stats, and well…everyone else
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Had the ball for 28 minutes in that game, complete domination.
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Here’s a trend
2014 no SEC Championship No BCS appearence
2015 no SEC Championship No Major Bowl appearance
2016 no SEC Championship No Major Bowl appearance.
That’s the trend I think that matters everything else is white noise.
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Fire Pruitt. As a Disney Dawg I demand mediocrity to be satisfied with. Nothing less or more will do.
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I like good pruitt, held to 11 points a game in the wins, but bad pruitt gave up 34 a game in the 3 losses. I’d be ok with firing him, hard to imagine worse than 34 points a game and anyone can hold sorry offenses to less than 2 scores a game.
No shutouts in 2015, hard to believe.
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Just a straight troll post, through and through.
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I’ve been equally fair on our offense, they had the same yo-yo season, scoring 2x more in the wins than losses. Plenty of blame to go around.
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So pick sixes and special teams count against the defense, eh…..fair my ass….
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Unfortunately, yes, they are counted against the defensive scoring.
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So Your citing stats that include offense and special teams ineptitude as proof of bad performance by the defense….genius…
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Hey, if you’d be OK with firing a coach that had the #1 defense in the land the year before we hired him and has improved our D statistically each year and has us looking at the best recruiting class in program history, that is of course your right.
Thankfully, no one who would be trusted with that decision would ever do such a stupid, stupid thing. Decisions of that sort are not how you get a program being mediocre for 10 years like Tennessee, they are how you get a program being mediocre until the sun has spent all of it’s energy and engulfed half the solar system.
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We had “Anybody” before and what did it get us???…
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I gather those offensive stats are lies and damn lies, too.
The truth of the matter is those offensive stats barely are recordable in D1.
Offense could not get one yard against Tech on third and fouth down. Wantto check out those formations and Tech’s defense. Tech adjusted after the 34 yard run, but Shotty and Richt did not.
Will say again the Dawg mike linebacker had a bad game.
On defense linebacker play has to move up their play and recruits.
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1st half the middle linebackers did not play well … the 2nd half was a completely different story. Ganus had the one questionable taunting penalty, but otherwise, the defense locked down the tech offense. Natrez Patrick (one of those middle LBs) was everywhere in the 2nd half.
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So I bothered to look up win loss or our opponents. I may be off a couple here and there. We also havent played a bowl yet
2013
105-62
2014
96-70
2015
65-64
So much like our short lived love affair with Grantham, he benefitted greatly from a friendlier schedule. Lets see how we do when we actually play a decent schedule again.
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I’d also note the recruiting trend. For 2 years running we’ve landed the #1 D player in GA – Thompson and Carter. As well as a majority of the top D players in GA. Look for another top D class in February – if Pruitt stays. This is what building a championship D looks like.
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He’s building talent on that side of the ball, for sure. He’s sold on the Alabama model for relentless recruiting. It’s a change in culture for UGA.
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Shotty complains about the hours he has at collegiate level to work with offense and quarterbacks as opposed to NFL..
Guess when he signed that D1 contract his agent failed to tell him that. And I guess CMR failed to clue him in.
Has same hours Lincoln Riley has at OU. Riley moved the number 1 qb and replaced him with Mayfield. Plus in his first season with Sooners he has transitioned the offense from three wideout oass heavy to a very stout running game.
All about coaching. Like cal loo ing back to back up the middle plays on short yardage and getting nothing.or calling back to back time outs.
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What happened to that OU coaching vs. Texas?
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Love how Pruitt’s boys forced 3 turnovers, true it was a 3-9 team, but it was nice.
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I like the positivity…but only one of those turnovers was “Forced” … Sanders’ interception was a case of the QB simply not seeing him. He got the ball thrown directly to him because he was blocked in the QB’s line of sight. Parrish’s interception was a desperation throw on the game’s final play.
That fumble was awesome, though.
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Ben, 3 turnovers is pretty awesome, I do give him credit for that. Recently whoever wins the turnover battle win the UGA/GT game. I noted it was against a 3-9 team, sure could have used that kind of performance against Bama or Florida.
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he’ll be missed.
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Senator…I’ll do the research. Look for my blog later today.
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Ain’t much research to do. Offense averaged 30 points per game in the wins, 15 in the losses, defense gave up 35 points per game in the losses, 11 in the wins. That was the season. They both played 2-3x better in the wins than the losses. They both laid eggs vs the 3 best teams.
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Correction, defense laid eggs in all 3 losses, offense did play well vs TN, I’ll give them credit for that.
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Offense scored two td’s in the UT game. Is that your definition of good? Sheesh!
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444 yards of offense and 38 points the team scored sucks? Since when?
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Not much research to do indeed for intellectually lazy people. Defense laid an egg against Florida? One TD on a busted play and one late I the game when it was over. The other points were not the defense, bud. Alabama…..mmmm…..let’s see…..24 points and below Bamas season average on rushing….an egg indeed. Tennessee, which I consider their worst performance of the year….I seem to remember Sony fumbling on the kickoff. Guess that is Pruitts fault. Oh, and Tennessee ran somewhere around 456 offensive plays.
Dude, we appreciate opinions, but reading your last post makes me shake my head about how fucking lazy most of the arguments you read on the good Senators websites really are….good luck winning your converts.
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8th? Your link says 10th.
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Oops, got ’em backwards. Thanks for the catch.
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What is “ypd”?
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Richt just fired
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Yes. That’s the stupidest thing ever done to the program in 15 years.
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Very stupid. All the anti-Richt guys got their wish. Let’s see what happens now
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Well Richt is fired…
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ESPN reports Richt fired. Time to clean house at AD and B-M.
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This is insane. Any details?
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Yes!!!!! Finally!!!!!!!
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Let the games begin.
Thank goodness the “fans” do not choose the direction of the program. Big booster and supporters have sway but they must stroke checks to make an impact. Will they step up and monetarily participate in this process?
Our AD and Moorehead have a generational opportunity to take this sleeping giant of a program to the top with this hire. GET IT RIGHT.
And oh yes, keep Pruitt by all means necessary.
And finally, God bless Mark Richt who is a fine a man as there is. He will land at Miami like I have been told. If not, then he will land on his feet. Godspeed.
Now — let’s GATA. GO DAWGS!!
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GRUDEN!
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Georgia’s Defensive Efficiency (from ESPN):
2013: 51.8
2014: 70
2015: 79.7
Average Opponents’ Offensive team efficiency (again from ESPN, not including FCS Opponents):
2013 = 59.7
2014 = 56.6
2015 = 47.7 (may go up after the bowl game)
According to ESPN’s ratings (which are adjusted for strength of schedule and down-weighted for “garbage time” (based on win probability), Georgia’s defense is clearly improving, but it is true that opposing offenses have been weaker (go figure with the QB play across the conference in 2015).
I can expand the analysis if someone has a better recommendation than using ESPN’s efficiency ratings.
Further info: the last three opponents (Auburn = 61.3, Ga Southern = 61.3, and Tech = 46) average 56.2 and the defense has been awesome IMO. Clear sign of progress I think, and given the youth that has been playing I think Pruitt can overcome the loss of Jenkins, Floyd, etc next year.
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