Is this the best defense of the Richt Era?

Todd Grantham has done an amazing job with the Georgia defense. The idiots on television can say what they want about weak schedules, but the improvements we have seen this year speak for themselves. You don't have a top 10 defense in the country by luck. My question is whether or not this year's defense is the best of the Mark Ricth era, even better than the Van Gorder units. Take a look at this comparison of the national rankings for Georgia's defense during the 2002 SEC season, the 2003 SEC East Champion season, the 2005 SEC Championship season, the 2007 #2 final ranking season, 2009 (Willie's last stand) and this year:


Of the 9 major defensive categories I examined, the 2011 squad had the best national ranking in 5 of them. Arguably, this is the best defense since 2003 when the unit featuring David Pollack, Odell Thurman, and Thomas Davis helped the Dawgs win 10 games despite an offense that struggled all year. What sticks out even more is the deterioration under Martinez and the rebound under Grantham. Georgia finished second in the nation in 2007 because of the strength of the offense and the ability to get sacks, not because of their ability to cover receivers.

Can I honestly say this is the best defense of the Richt era? I don't know. But what I can say is Coach Grantham has returned us to the defense glory we once had and I don't see that changing with the very experienced group we having coming back in 2012.