Dawgs getting healthy and what to do at LB

This week being a bye week couldn't come at a better time for Georgia. Several key players are banged up and several others that have sat out games are due to come back. Two offensive linemen, Burnette and Gates, have been playing through injuries after each missed games earlier in the season. Tyson suffered a mild knee injury against Vandy though he was able to return to the game. Wooten has been out several games with a concussion and Mitchell missed the Vandy game with a hamstring pull he suffered against UT. Brown had the best game of his career despite his ankle still not being at 100%. Boykin while not having missed any games due to injuries has limped off the field several times and had his teeth wired after being knocked lose. Smith was limited early in the year as he healed up from a pre-season injury. Crowell has been banged up with one issue or another most of the season.

The hardest hit was the linebacking corp. Ogletree has not played since breaking a bone in his foot in week 1 against Boise. He is expected to return this week and should be a full go for the UF game. Robinson missed several games and has been working his way back the last two weeks in a limited role. Not exactly an injury but a third starter, Washington, from the linebacking corp missed the last two games due to suspension.

Barring any set backs in practice the next two weeks Georgia should have everyone back and close to 100% for the Florida game. For most of the positions it is obvious that the returning players will return to the exact role they were in before, i.e. guys like Mitchell and Crowell will be starring at their positions. The question is how to handle the linebackers. I think Washington is way ahead of the other outside linebackers and even if he does not start he will play the majority of downs opposite Jarvis Jones. Drew is starting to come on but is not up to the level of Washington yet. Jarvis Jones will no doubt remain in his starting position. That leaves the two middle linebacker positions to be filled by four players. Robinson is the most seasoned at the position and Ogletree has the most raw talent. The (good) problem is that in their absense Herrera and Gilliard started to play lights out defense. Gilliard is leading the team in tackles and Herrera is 7th. I expect those two to start with Robinson and Ogletree providing depth, at least for the Florida game.

The fun part is that if Coach Grantham and Coach Olivadotti can find the right combinations these four could be a deadly force in the middle for Georgia. First there should be little chance of fatigue as they can rotate in and out to stay fresh. Second they can mix and match the 4 based on strength's and weaknesses. Finding the right combinations will be key. Ogletree was once a safety and could be used to match up with a good tight end or to drop into a deep zone. Herrera and Ogletree are the two bigger guys. Gilliard is a tackling machine and is second on the team in tackles for loss. Robinson lacks the size and speed of the others but knows the defensive play book better than any of the others.

Here are a few combinations I could see. Third and long, going into primary coverage, only 3 or 4 rushers, then use Robinson for his knowledge and Tree for his experience in the secondary. Want to bring an extra man in the blitz package mix Tree or Robison in for coverage with Gilliard bringing the heat. Wanna go big, you can put Tree and Herrera in together. There are more combinations and reasons to use them but these were just used to make a point. The best part is that at least for a week or two Grantham can use certain packages for each set of MLB's and the other teams won't have much tape to tip them off to what is coming from which package. This position has gone from one of the thinnest to possibly the deepest outside of tight end. The coaches ability to exploit that depth and talent will be a key factor going forward.

Who replaces Washington?

With Cornelius Washington out for at least one game and probably two the question is who does Grantham put in at OLB? The first thought would be a combination of Chase Vasser and Ray Drew as they have have been the backups this season. However Grantham has said time and again that he will put his 11 best on the field. With the return of Robinson his best four linebackers are Herrera, Gilliard, Robinson and Jones. I don't know if they will play all the snaps at OLB as a lot of it will be determined by how many snaps Robinson is ready to play but my initial thought is that Herrera or Gilliard will be moved outside to start for Washington.

Production replacement - Linebackers

Outside of WR the linebackers lost more production in terms of numbers than any other group. Akeem Dent let the team with 125 tackles. Houston was the runaway leader with 19.5 TFL and 11 sacks. Overall the linebackers lost 288 tackles (33% of the team total) 34.5 TFL (34.5% of team total) and 15 sacks (62.5%). While technically not losing all four starters (Washington and Robinson both started) they did lose 4 guys who started at some point, Gamble, Downtin, Houston and Dent. Dent was a tackling machine while Houston was responsible for 1/4 the teams TFL and one shy of half their sacks.

This group will be hard to replace but the group doing it will be a much more athletic group. Washington slides over to his more natural position by switching which outside position he plays, going from the more balanced side to take Houston's position as the primary pass rusher. I don't expect him to put the same numbers as Houston but his production should jump from where it was last year. He will be pushed for playing time by Ray Drew who most expect to be ready to compete with him right away as one of the top recruits in the nation.

Taking over at the other outside LB position will be Jarvis Jones, a former 5 star recruit who has been in college for 3 years now, playing one year at Southern Cal and sitting out last year for a redshirt to fully heal from an injury. All reports point to Jones having an instant impact and possibly being a better rounded player than Houston was last year. He should offer the ability to pass rush from his position but also be better at covering TE's and RB's than any OLB we had last year.

Manning one inside position will be Robinson. He is experienced, talented and is expected to be the leader of the defense. He is the top returning tackler amongst this group and his production should shoot up as he will no longer be splitting time with Dowtin. The other inside position will be filled by Alec Ogletree who moved this spring from his starting position at safety. He is a big hitter with a ton of speed and should fill in well for the graduated Dent. Richard Samuel could provide some depth here if he is able to fully adjust after playing two years at running back and then redshirting while making the transition to LB last year.

With all the production lost from last year it would be easy to grade this position as an overall minus from last year. With the addition of Jones, Ogletree, Samuel and Drew the talent level is higher. With a second year for most of the players in the 3-4 it should also benefit this group as a whole. My prediction, this group will be more explosive than last year’s group and at the same time much more fundamentally sound.