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Kirby Smart on Georgia’s defense: We need to start ‘knocking the crap out of people’

Published: Nov 4, 2019 · 1:17 PM EST

The silver britches of Georgia’s defense are known for its no-holds attitude, creating chaos on the field and forcing opponents into turnover situations.

That hasn’t been the case for Kirby Smart’s team so far in five conference games though, as the Bulldogs have only forced four turnovers, with just one being an interception. Smart has the answer to what his defense needs to do to start causing more game-changing moments on the field.

“I think a lot of interceptions come through zone defenses and being able to see the ball a lot of times. We’re not always looking at the ball,” Smart said. “We’re looking at the man, whether it’s a zone matchup or a man matchup. But it’s what we think gives us the best chance to make people inefficient. It doesn’t always promote a lot of interceptions. Historically, we have not had a lot of interceptions. We got to do a better job getting turnovers, there’s no doubt about that. That comes with forcing them, havoc, tipped balls, batted balls, strip outs, knocking the crap out of people. Ripping the ball out, those things all affect turnovers. But we’ve been short interceptions for sure.”

The Dawgs will start trying to do just that this upcoming Saturday as they host Kelly Bryant and the Missouri Tigers in Sanford Stadium. Through eight games, Barry Odom’s side has turned the ball over 11 times, with seven of those coming in conference games.

It would also be wise to cause chaos in the Dawgs next game against Auburn as the Tigers, with freshman quarterback Bo Nix leading the way, have struggled to take advantage of a defense coordinated by Kevin Steele that has been top-notch. Put that offense in some bad situations — the Tigers have 10 turnovers in six conference games — and a big win on the road at Jordan-Hare Stadium could be in the cards.

Brian Stultz

Brian Stultz covers SEC football for SaturdayDownSouth.com. A graduate of Auburn University, he is a member of the Football Writers Association of America. You can follow him on Twitter @brianjstultz.