Athensvol
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Kaltefleiter: Poor fundamentals puzzling this far into the season
| | Story updated at 11:31 PM on Saturday, October 6, 2007
John
Kaltefleiter
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - Kelin Johnson can talk faster than Tony Stewart can drive, but his pace of speech was brisker than usual Saturday night as he sat crestfallen in the bowels of Neyland Stadium.
Georgia's senior safety was in the line of fire after Georgia's 35-14 loss to unranked Tennessee, answering question after question about how the Volunteers built a tinderbox around the Bulldogs defense and set it ablaze Saturday. The more he talked and tried to explain how Tennessee piled up 28 points in the first 21 minutes the more you got the sense the Bulldogs should've seen this coming.
"To be honest with you, we let the crowd take over our emotions and take over how we were supposed to play, and we can't let that happen," he said.
The sure sign of a unit filled with young players is its inability to handle a chaotic situation unfolding around it, and Georgia's defense fell into that trap in the first half. Tennessee kept capitalizing on Georgia's inept offensive approach and quarterback Erik Ainge and the Volunteers kept gashing the defense time and time again.
Of course, it didn't help Georgia's cause that its defense suffered a stunning lapse in fundamental techniques. Georgia defenders put forth the most revolting display of tackling seen during coach Mark Richt's tenure. The whiffs and poor pursuit angles would've been enough to make Thomas Davis or Greg Blue dry heave.
Defensive coordinator Willie Martinez, who certainly will bear the brunt of criticism after what transpired in the first half, offered his tiresome "We-didn't-make-the-plays-and-they-did" diatribe after the game. But in order to make stellar defensive plays, doesn't a player have to be fundamentally sound? Right now, Georgia's lost its sharp defensive techniques. They've been cast aside since the Bulldogs' loss to West Virginia in the 2006 Sugar Bowl and have been rarely seen since.
Sure, Georgia's defense is young and inexperienced. Frankly, the group hasn't been the same since Alabama's back-to-back scoring drives late in the fourth quarter. Even Ole Miss put together impressive drives against Georgia a week ago, one in fact that lasted nearly the entire third quarter. Maybe those defensive slipups should've been addressed long before the Bulldogs stepped onto the charter plane headed for Knoxville.
"When we made a mistake they made us pay," Martinez said. "We said from the beginning that this was a young group and we didn't know how they were going to react."
Oh, does Martinez know now.
Georgia's defense was as bad against Tennessee as it's ever been against another team, including West Virginia in 2006 or LSU in the 2004 SEC title game. Its performance against the Volunteers was Goff-like.
Spread the blame like Vegemite on rye, because it wasn't one player or one defensive group for Georgia responsible for making Tennessee look Southern California - it was the whole lot.
"They got that 51 points that they put up on us last year and they put up a good number (Saturday)," Johnson said. "That's unacceptable for a Georgia defense. I'm really embarrassed. I've got to be honest. I'm really embarrassed."
Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer said earlier in the week that the Volunteers used their off week before Georgia to sharpen their tackling and coverage techniques. After all, Tennessee was rated one of the worst defenses in the league after four games.
Georgia doesn't have the luxury of a bye week for another two weeks, but perhaps the Bulldogs should take note when they it arrives.
If Georgia's defense doesn't strengthen its basic principals, Tennessee won't be the only team that turns a much-anticipated SEC game into a beautiful disaster.
| | Story updated at 11:31 PM on Saturday, October 6, 2007
John
Kaltefleiter
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - Kelin Johnson can talk faster than Tony Stewart can drive, but his pace of speech was brisker than usual Saturday night as he sat crestfallen in the bowels of Neyland Stadium.
Georgia's senior safety was in the line of fire after Georgia's 35-14 loss to unranked Tennessee, answering question after question about how the Volunteers built a tinderbox around the Bulldogs defense and set it ablaze Saturday. The more he talked and tried to explain how Tennessee piled up 28 points in the first 21 minutes the more you got the sense the Bulldogs should've seen this coming.
"To be honest with you, we let the crowd take over our emotions and take over how we were supposed to play, and we can't let that happen," he said.
The sure sign of a unit filled with young players is its inability to handle a chaotic situation unfolding around it, and Georgia's defense fell into that trap in the first half. Tennessee kept capitalizing on Georgia's inept offensive approach and quarterback Erik Ainge and the Volunteers kept gashing the defense time and time again.
Of course, it didn't help Georgia's cause that its defense suffered a stunning lapse in fundamental techniques. Georgia defenders put forth the most revolting display of tackling seen during coach Mark Richt's tenure. The whiffs and poor pursuit angles would've been enough to make Thomas Davis or Greg Blue dry heave.
Defensive coordinator Willie Martinez, who certainly will bear the brunt of criticism after what transpired in the first half, offered his tiresome "We-didn't-make-the-plays-and-they-did" diatribe after the game. But in order to make stellar defensive plays, doesn't a player have to be fundamentally sound? Right now, Georgia's lost its sharp defensive techniques. They've been cast aside since the Bulldogs' loss to West Virginia in the 2006 Sugar Bowl and have been rarely seen since.
Sure, Georgia's defense is young and inexperienced. Frankly, the group hasn't been the same since Alabama's back-to-back scoring drives late in the fourth quarter. Even Ole Miss put together impressive drives against Georgia a week ago, one in fact that lasted nearly the entire third quarter. Maybe those defensive slipups should've been addressed long before the Bulldogs stepped onto the charter plane headed for Knoxville.
"When we made a mistake they made us pay," Martinez said. "We said from the beginning that this was a young group and we didn't know how they were going to react."
Oh, does Martinez know now.
Georgia's defense was as bad against Tennessee as it's ever been against another team, including West Virginia in 2006 or LSU in the 2004 SEC title game. Its performance against the Volunteers was Goff-like.
Spread the blame like Vegemite on rye, because it wasn't one player or one defensive group for Georgia responsible for making Tennessee look Southern California - it was the whole lot.
"They got that 51 points that they put up on us last year and they put up a good number (Saturday)," Johnson said. "That's unacceptable for a Georgia defense. I'm really embarrassed. I've got to be honest. I'm really embarrassed."
Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer said earlier in the week that the Volunteers used their off week before Georgia to sharpen their tackling and coverage techniques. After all, Tennessee was rated one of the worst defenses in the league after four games.
Georgia doesn't have the luxury of a bye week for another two weeks, but perhaps the Bulldogs should take note when they it arrives.
If Georgia's defense doesn't strengthen its basic principals, Tennessee won't be the only team that turns a much-anticipated SEC game into a beautiful disaster.
