ATHENS — For the most part, Georgia’s numbers through the first seven games of the season are exemplary. Scan SEC statistics and you’ll find the Bulldogs listed among the top few teams in the league in all the categories that matter, most notably total offense (second), total defense (first), scoring offense (third), points allowed (first) and turnover margin (plus-3).
But then there’s that one stat that stands out like a green apple in a barrel of red ones. There’s a No. 14 (last in the SEC) in Georgia’s statistical profile, and it sits right next to the category that reads “quarterback sacks.”
The Bulldogs have seven in seven games. Math majors might note that’s 1 per game. Even Vanderbilt, which is winless in conference play, has nine.
“Yeah, it needs to get better,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said this week.
Disappointing, for sure, but does it matter?
It depends. What certainly matters more than sacks is putting pressure on the quarterback. The ultimate goal, as Smart pointed out earlier this week, is affecting the opposing quarterback, in whatever form that takes. Pressure is one form, but so is timing or coverage.
In that regard, it appears the Bulldogs are doing a good job. Georgia’s defense is allowing only 9.1 points per game, which ranks second nationally, and 247 yards per game, which ranks third.
At least part of the reason for the success is that quarterbacks are getting rid of the football quickly. The Bulldogs recently did a study on the time between snap and throw and found the average to be 2.7 seconds. That goes a long way in explaining why Georgia leads the conference by a considerable margin in pass-efficiency defense (100.8). Opposing offenses are completing only 54.5% of their passes and have thrown only four touchdowns to six interceptions.
That’s chiefly because quarterbacks are throwing the ball before they or their receivers are ready.
“It’s faster than it’s ever been before the bye week,” Smart said. “We’ve played teams that have gotten rid of the ball really, really quick. I mean, the Auburn game was the only game that was over three seconds per pass, and I think that factors in the scrambles, where he would run around with the ball and throw it away. So, there hasn’t been a lot of opportunities, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t do a better job.”
To date, senior outside linebacker Nolan Smith has been Georgia’s most effective player at pressuring the passer. He has three sacks in seven games, or an average of 0.43 per game, which ranks 10th in the SEC.
But other conference teams are having a better time of it. Arkansas’ Drew Sanders leads SEC players with seven sacks (1.0 pg), and Alabama’s Will Anderson has five (0.71). Overall, sacks are down league-wide. Arkansas leads the conference with 3.0 per game, followed by Ole Miss and Alabama at 2.7 each.
Meanwhile, though Georgia is having success on defense, it’s not a leap to say that the offenses that the Bulldogs are about to face – and especially the quarterbacks – are better than the ones they’ve taken on so far.
Immediately ahead for Georgia are Florida’s Anthony Richardson, Tennessee’s Hendon Hooker, Mississippi State’s Will Rogers and Kentucky’s Will Levis. All four feature good arms, size and athletic ability.
“If they’re getting it out quick, that means they fear our pass rush,” Smith said. “They know we play a lot of man (coverage), and our DBs do it amazingly well. So, we have to do a great job of getting our hands up quick … and just get there quicker.”
The teams ahead attempt more deep passes than those the Bulldogs have faced. That means that there should be more opportunities to get to the passer.
But Georgia still has to prove it can do it. To date, the Bulldogs are significantly behind their storied 2021 defense when it comes to affecting quarterbacks. At this point a year ago, Georgia already had 24 sacks and 122 QB pressures, or hurries. This year, those numbers sit at seven and 84 through the same number of games.
Smart wants to see those numbers go up, regardless of quarterbacks’ pass-release times.
“You have to get there in 2.6 seconds, or you have to affect the throw,” Smart said. “And we’ve had several really good rushes where we affected throws in terms of bull (rush), batting balls. … But it’s tough to be where we are sack-wise, and we’re just not getting a lot of opportunities.”
Said Smith: “We just keep working on it every day. Eventually, there’s going to be a time when people want to take those shots and really try to go down the field. We just want to be prepared when our number’s called, so we keep working on it week in and week out. And if we can’t sack them, then we can affect them.”
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