Georgia Football: Five Keys to Georgia Beating Missouri

Pressure The Quarterback

The pass rush has been one the few points of concern for media and fans, when evaluating the performance of the Georgia Bulldogs’ defense. Georgia is last in the SEC in sacks.

Head Coach Kirby Smart has stated that the Dawgs first goal is always to stop the run. Dawg Nation’s Mike Griffith offers some good quotes from Smart in this article.

Despite the downplaying of the rush by Smart, getting pressure on an NFL caliber quarterback like Drew Lock is essential. Most importantly, the Dawgs’ defense must get pressure on third and long scenarios. High level signal callers like Lock will find a good matchup, given enough time.

I’m definitely not recommending that Georgia Football runs all out blitzes Buddy Ryan style. In fact quite the opposite. A future pro like Drew Lock invites the blitz, and is ready to hit his hot routes with a flick of the wrist. The Bulldogs must get home with four pass rushers.

Occasionally a blitz mixed in would be nice, but getting pressure while using seven in coverage will be paramount. The Dawgs being able to get to Drew Lock rushing four, would make life very difficult for Mizzou.

D’Andre Walker has been a one man gang on the edge for Georgia this season. A pressure partner emerging on the other side, would shore up the one perceived weakness with the Dawgs’ defense. Brenton Cox is a young player who has the speed and ability to be that guy.