Georgia Football: Six Things The Dawgs Must Do To Beat Bama

Cornerbacks Not Named Deandre Baker Must Cover Well

Deandre Baker is a finalist for the Thorpe Award, that goes to the nation’s defensive back. He has held his own on an island in coverage for the Dawgs all season long. Baker has intercepted two passes and has only allowed 18 receptions on 38 targets this season.

Deandre Baker has nine pass breakups on the season and has forced 13 incompletions for the Dawgs this year. According to Pro Football Focus, his forced incompletion rate of 34.2, is tops among all defensive backs.

It’s legitimate possibility that Deandre Baker could be asked to shadow Alabama wide receiver Jerry Jeudy all game. Jeudy leads the SEC in receiving touchdowns with 11. He also is second in the conference in receiving yards with 1079. He is one of just two SEC receivers to gain 1000 yards this year.

Jerry Jeudy was also fifth in the Southeastern Conference in yards per catch with 19.3. He’s certainly a formidable foe for Deandre Baker, but no team has made a living targeting Baker and I don’t see that starting now. This will make the performances of the other cornerbacks in coverage extremely important.

Eric Stokes was inserted into the starting lineup two weeks ago and has performed at a high level in a small sample size. Tyson Campbell who Stokes replaced, still sees plenty of snaps. He has the height and speed that coaches covet in a cornerback, but teams have picked on the freshman with a decent level of success this season.

Junior Tyrique McGhee and Sophomore Mark Webb, are expected to see the remainder of the snaps at cornerback or star in coverage. Both have been solid contributors for the Dawgs, but are certain to be tested on Saturday.

College Football Film Room provided this chart showing yards allowed per target by the Georgia defensive:

Disguise and Mix Up Coverages

It’s well-known that Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa relies a lot on reading defenses pre snap in order to see where he wants to go with the football. For this reason it is imperative that the Georgia Bulldogs disguise their coverages. If done properly, this is a great way to create a turnover in the ballgame.

Alabama often sends a guy in motion before the snap, to help Tua determine rather the defense is in man or zone coverage. UGA can help disguise the coverage, by sending the defender in front of the motion man to follow him across the field, even when in zone coverage. The other players then adjust their zones accordingly.

Another way the Bulldogs can disguise coverages, is by showing blitz and dropping certain players back as the ball is snapped. This could force Tagovailoa to hesitate when trying to diagnose who is blitzing and who is not.

Bringing a safety into the box and having him bail out last-minute to take a half or a quarter of the field, is an additional way to try to confuse a young quarterback.

The cover one man robber defense, in which everyone is in man coverage except a deep safety and a linebacker, is a good defense to mix in against Bama. The linebacker can be used to roam the shallow middle and help intercept passes. As a bonus he can be used as a quarterback spy.

Besides disguising coverages, Kirby Smart and Mel Tucker must mix a combination of different man and zone coverages. They must go deep into their bag of tricks and make every effort to confuse Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.

Control The Run Game Without a Loaded Box

A different type of Alabama team, must mean a different strategy to defend them. Traditionally the strategy against Alabama would be to load the box and force the Crimson Tide to beat you over the top, passing the ball. That has changed thanks to Tua Tagovailoa and offensive coordinator Mike Locksley.

Georgia will how have to deal with an Alabama spread offense that actually wants to throw the ball downfield and take deep shots. With this development it’s essential that the Dawgs defense control the run game, without having to bring safety J.R. Reed down into the box.

Despite the improved passing game, the Crimson Tide do still have the number 12 rusher in the conference Damien Harris and the number 17 rusher Najee Harris. The Alabama running game most certainly has to be accounted for.

Nose tackle Jordan Davis, who has helped shore up the Bulldogs run defense after being inserted in the lineup, will be key to controlling the line of scrimmage. Defensive linemen Tyler Clark, Malik Herring and Jonathan Ledbetter also must be strong at the point of attack.

Outside linebacker D’Andre Walker will be a key to setting the edge. The inside linebackers Tae Crowder, Juwan Taylor, and Natrez Patrick being in the proper run fits, could make or break the Dawgs run defense. Monty Rice would certainly help in this area, but it’s unknown rather he will be recovered from his foot injury enough to play.

Prediction:

Georgia is a heavy underdog in the SEC Championship Game. Alabama has yet to win a game by less than 20 points this season. Alabama is tough, yet their run defense isn’t quite as good as it typically has been. This bodes will for the Dawgs who lead the SEC in rushing.

D’Andre Swift if playing the best football of his college career. The same can also be said about quarterback Jake Fromm. The fact that UGA covers very well and they fixed their run defense after the LSU game, tells me that the Dawgs have a legitimate shot to get this done.

The Dawgs Shock the world! UGA 34 Alabama 31

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