Georgia’s wreak-havoc philosophy on defense showing up in big way in 2020

Bo Nix had to escape.

The Auburn quarterback had been under duress from the Georgia defense all night, and this fourth-and-13 late in the third quarter saw him pursued yet again. He rolled to his left and lofted a pass that fell into the arms of senior Georgia defensive back Mark Webb, effectively ending any chance of a Tiger rally in the 27-6 loss.

This scene has been common for the Bulldogs this season. After mixed results a season ago, the team’s focus on its defensive “havoc rate” is showing up in a big way on the field so far in 2020.

The Bulldogs have forced four turnovers this season, all interceptions. They have also pressured the opposing quarterback on 46.5% of drop-backs through two games.

“I feel like our goal is basically just do our job,” sophomore linebacker Nakobe Dean said. “If doing our job contributes to throwing (the quarterback) off his rhythm, then that’s great with me. As long as we do our job and we do it at a high level and execute, everything’s good.”

The secondary hauled in a trio of interceptions in the season opener against Arkansas, two by senior safety Richard LeCounte and a pick-six from junior corner Eric Stokes. The next week against Auburn, the pass rush took center stage.

Georgia pressured Nix on 22 of his 44 drop-back attempts. When pressured, he completed 6-of-19 passes for 50 yards and the interception to Webb.

“Pressure on the quarterback causes indecision. It causes doubt, it causes confusion,” Georgia head coach Kirby Smart said. “I think it affects every quarterback differently because some do better against pressure, some do worse. You look at statistics and see how does he do against three-man rush, four-man rush, five-man rush, six-man rush.”

The rush benefits the secondary, Webb said, because they can sense the quarterback is in trouble and better time their jump on the ball. He makes sure to thank the pass rushers every day in practice for disrupting the passer.

“A good pass rush makes the quarterback have to be on his toes,” junior safety Chris Smith said. “Good coverage makes the quarterback have to hold the ball a little bit longer, so they always go hand in hand.”

Great defenses like Georgia can generate pressure with just three or four rushers. However, the defensive staff elects to blitz on occasions both to heat up the pocket and to keep the opposing offense on its toes.

“If you throw a mean fastball and it’s 101 miles an hour and that’s all you’ve got, eventually they’ll hit it,” Smart said. “When you’re pitching, you better have a couple pitches. The idea behind pressuring versus not pressuring is to be able to pitch.”

Next up for the Bulldogs defense is Tennessee and the stout Volunteer offensive line. Georgia had one of its best havoc games of the year in Knoxville last season, generating three sacks and two turnovers.

If the Bulldogs want to run their record to 3-0 with their second-straight win over a ranked opponent, they’ll need to keep generating that havoc in Athens on Saturday afternoon.

Georgia football game this week

Who: No. 3 Georgia (2-0) vs. No. 12 Tennnesee (2-0)

When: 3:30 p.m. Saturday

Where: Athens (Sanford Stadium)

TV: CBS

Line: Georgia by 13

This story was originally published October 7, 2020 at 7:25 AM with the headline "Georgia’s wreak-havoc philosophy on defense showing up in big way in 2020."