Looking at Dasher’s breakdown of the 2022 defense, all I can say is that Kirby’s done the Lord’s work on the recruiting trail. Yeah, there is some formidable experience walking away, but there are plenty of talented bodies ready to step up and fill some holes.
Quick takes, by position group:
- D-line. Jordan Davis will be missed, but it’s not as if Jalen Carter is chopped liver. I worry, relatively speaking, about how they replace Travon Walker’s freakish athleticism.
- OLB. Two returning starters from season’s end, plus some really talented youngsters. My guess is they’ll figure it out.
- ILB. My favorite position group of 2021 is gutted, but again, there are players behind them. I am really big on Dumas-Johnson’s future.
- Safety/Star. As a returning group, they are the 2022 equivalent of the 2021 defensive line — plenty of experience and talent coming back, especially if Poole’s CFP performance wasn’t a mirage.
- Cornerback. There is talent, but a lot of it is green. Like last year, this is the most likely place I see Georgia going to the transfer portal for a reinforcement or two.
And you?
Get The Picture 
Jordan Davis got all the hype, but your point about missing Travon Walker is a well-founded. He didn’t take over games like some of his peers but he made plays that a DE isn’t supposed to be able to make.
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Travon Walker’s freakish athleticism and Devonte Wyatt’s freakish underrated-ism. I think we know how good he was, and one mock draft I saw yesterday had him as a late 1st rounder, but Wyatt didn’t get hyped quite the way the others did.
Devonte was a favorite of Herbie’s, FWIW.
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The video of Wyatt running track in HS (back when he was committed to S. Carolina) made him a freak we had to get, for me. You don’t move that fast when you are that big, unless you’re something special. I was worried when he had to go the JUCO route, so happy his college career ended with UGA and a Natty .
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It’s really really really going to miss the big brain on Nakobe Dean. When observers talked about Georgia’s defense being an algorithm which adjusted play-by-play, it was because Dean was directing the show.
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Nakobe Dean has a LIFETIME length future in football if he wants it.
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I’m with you on #10.
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I am really big on Dumas-Johnson’s future.
Me too!
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LMFAO!
I keep cans of A&W in the beerferator. After cleaning fish I poured that in a frosty mug for my tomboy eleven year old neighbor. The look on her mom’s face when she came to pick up her and the mess of fish with the Corona bottle next to the kid was priceless.
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A few nice scoops of Haagan Dazs vanilla bean in that frosty A&W is a nice place to be…
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Can Mykel Williams come in and participate right away?
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CKS has found his place in coaching, he gonna’ play “D” in the largest sense, he gonna’ attempt and I say attempt to use that “D” to squeeze the opposition and use a short field to go up by multiple scores early, if not fast (1st qtr.) and then continue to squeeze the opposition with “D” and special teams play, have that lead at half time and play the 3rd qtr., then get through the 4th…rinse, lather, repeat, until your opponent requires some serious consideration…GO DAWGS!
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Stay ahead of the chains ALWAYS
Have a world class punter
Run Stop by eliminating the middle as an option, preferably with one giant
Speedy linebackers for edge run stop and QB havoc
All of this leads to great redzone D, if the opponent even gets there. The flip is that you lean on them so heavily from a field position point that the dam just breaks. And it’s not pound pound football necessarily. It’s more “we’re in 2nd and 3, good luck defending these three 6’5″ H-back / slot tight ends that can run like deer. Even if they’re not wide open, they can box your ass out and catch it anyway. Oh and, if you get too cute, we’ll just run behind them because they can knock your linebackers dick in the dirt too.”
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Mykell Williams is a flat out stud and will definitely be a force as a freshman. Kirby will certainly play him a lot early, in my opinion.
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Corner is super thin/young. Kirby will be dialing up a starter in the Transfer Portal.
Need the young pups to step up at ILB.
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Is there going to be a Derion Kendrick type of player in the portal?
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Kendrick was just short of being a shutdown corner, so probably not. We really lucked out on him. Stars have to align to get a Natty.
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Exactly my point. Kendrick gave up a few plays, but he was solid all year.
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Replacing the freakish talent of Davis, Walker and Wyatt ain’t gonna happen, even with Carter being the best returning DL in cfb. The ’22 defensive line will have a lot of depth. Those backup DLs and newbies need to step up.
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The defense is the last thing Ill worry about while Kirby is here. While some years we wont have the greatest defense of our era (GDOOE), he’s on the mother. We will never suck on defense, and thats good enough.
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I’ve been waiting to see the Dawgs in reload mode a long time. It’s a good feeling.
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I think 2022 is one of those “Honeymoon years” where everything is gravy. However, we’ve got plenty of talent to expect to compete for another national championship. Kirby has recruited mass amounts of speed which will always have you in any game.
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Always CB’s. You can not have too many. Let them compete
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I think # 32 Chambliss might surprise us before the year is done. The kid is a headhunter.
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Sadly, the days of the true headhunters like Greg Blue, Jermaine Phillips, Sean Jones, and Thomas Davis are over. It is one thing to be a great technical DB, it is quite another dimension to be feared by anyone thinking of catching a ball in your vicinity.
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True, true. Even when the defender does it right the speed, violence and force of action draws a flag. Subsequent reviews sometimes prevents an ejection; but, the days of the slobberknocker hit is over.
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As a LB he can get away with more violence as long as he doesn’t use the helmet to inflict said violence.
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Lewis Cine would like a word.
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There is way to lay wood and send a message without drawing the yellow hankey. Cine knows 🙂
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I get your point, I am just saying that a lot of the soul-separating hits from those guys in the late 90s and early 2000s would land guys in a nearly perpetual string of missing games. They were high, often on defenseless players in the air, vicious, and dangerous. It is truly a miracle that more players weren’t maimed or paralyzed. If a player got hit in 2021 like Reggie Brown did by Junior Rosegreen, there would be calls for the defensive player to be suspended for multiple games.
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Now they are chesthunters.
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Good Lord could Greg Blue lay the wood to a player…he definitely was a bone crusher
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You know you’ve had a monumental year when the 2022 defense may lead the league in every category and still fall short of what this year’s defense accomplished. If they hold opponents to the 15-17 ppg range that would be an incredible defense while still taking a step back. Comparing ANY defense to this year’s defense is not fair.
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Testing
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Jordan Davis is one of my all-time favorite Dawgs and one of the best we’ve had for a while. That said, I think Jalen Carter is as good, and maybe better. We’ll see that next season with Stackhouse and Walthour lined up with him. Add in Williams and Alexander as new talent (plus Logue, Norton, etc). DL will be fine.
Saying we have two starters returning at OL is seriously understating the importance of Nolan Smith returning. First, he’s an outstanding talent. But probably more importantly, he’s been a team leader for the defense. I think he’s similar to Nakobe Dean except that his position isn’t such that he can be the QB of the defense. He will make some money next season.
In the backfield, Chris Smith, Tykee Smith, Ringo, and even Dan Jackson back there with the remaining talent keep me calm.
All in all, our defense may not be other-worldly, but it will be great, especially by the time we arrive in Atlanta to kick Bama’s ass out of the CFP.
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“… I think Jalen Carter is as good…”
I agree with the basic idea that he is an equal talent to Davis. But, the two together made each other better than either one of them by themselves. That isn’t to say we are screwed, but I hope Kirby and Tray can find a couple of people to put around him that will same effect as Davis this spring.
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Yep, C. Smith, A. Smith, Ringo, Jackson and Poole is a good group to build around.
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Kirby’s goal will still be <13 ppg. It’s reasonable to believe the next defense can do it, too. There will be busts. What you hope is that your seasoned DBs are able to keep a cap on the offense. If you do that, it comes down to the redzone… where freakish athleticism is a huge advantage.
I’d really love to see us improve our turnover ratio….
We had HUGE Special Teams success this season, too. Was it two blocked punts? 3? Blocked a PAT, blocked 2-3 field goals. Those were all huge in our defensive success as well. Those plays don’t just prevent points, they can crush the psyche. Can’t understate the psychological impact of Bama driving for 14 plays and then getting the ball slapped out of the air.
That stuff doesn’t just come together out of luck, tho. All is traced to 1) Great athletes. 2) Great coaching. We still have both!
Go Dawgs
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Carter is MVP of the defense next year, but he’s only one guy so he can’t replace 3 DL starters. It’s a problem for sure. Dean, Stackhouse and Logue have transformed their bodies pretty well per some reporting but 2 of them need to step up and there’s likely regression next year. Gotta love the LBs behind them though and the young guys should fill in depth there nicely. I still worry about a corner and a safety.
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D line, and corner for sure. I could see Kirby bringing in an ILB depending on how much he trusts Marshall and Davis to take over. They have questionable injury history, but the staff might feel good about those two along with Sorey and Mondon rotating.
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And Dumas Johnson of course. Didn’t mean to leave him out.
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Jalen Carter getting more playing time next year is going to be a serious problem for most teams on the schedule.
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The Dawg’s D may take a step down. The O will surely take a step up. It’s hard to say how good the Dawgs will be next season, but they will be very good. Better than any of their regular season SEC opponents for sure. Kirby is evolving into the type of HC I’ve always wanted at Georgia and the program is where I want it to be. I’m enjoying speculating on the upcoming season while still basking in the bliss of winning the NC. Subtly rubbing it in is the best part. The bitches.
Georgia Bulldogs 2021 National Champions.
We run this nation.
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