Around the Dawg House will bring you daily updates from what people and publications are saying about Georgia, from inside and outside of Athens. 

Georgia’s offensive line is No. 1 in the SEC

Much has been made about the Georgia offensive line so far this year, as the Bulldogs have had to shuffle it around due to the injuries to left tackle Andrew Thomas and right guard Ben Cleveland and the team hasn’t run the ball as well as it did last season.

But despite those early season troubles, the Bulldogs still have the top offensive line, according to Pro Football Focus’ Gordon McGuiness. The Bulldogs edged out Alabama and Kentucky for the top spot.

“The Bulldogs will be without right guard Ben Cleveland for at least the next few weeks, likely even longer as he deals with a fractured fibula, but this is still the best offensive line the conference even with him out of the lineup,” McGuinnes wrote.  “They are the only team in the SEC with an offensive lineman with a grade above 80.0 over the past eight games, and four of their five starters heading into this weekend’s game against Tennessee have graded at 70.0 or higher. So far this season, they have allowed 10 total pressures on passing plays, the best mark in the conference.”

McGuiness factored in how the lines have graded out from the first four games of this season while also adding some of the games that took place at the end of the 20187season. Georgia is averaging 6.26 yards per carry on the ground, which is second in the conference and has given only 4.0 sacks, one fewer than Alabama, South Carolina and Missouri who lead the conference in that stat.

According to coach Kirby Smart, Thomas should be able to go against Tennessee on Saturday. Cleveland will miss the next couple of games but Georgia has a number of replacements, whether it be freshman Cade Mays or sophomore Justin Shaffer.

Dawgs in the NFL

The NFL wrapped up its third week of action on Monday night as the Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. And a number of former Bulldogs had impressive weeks, including the likes of Matthew Stafford and Justin Houston.

Below are some notable week 3 stat lines from this past weekend. However not every former Bulldog had a great week, as Miami Dolphins safety Reshad Jones missed his game with a shoulder injury and AJ Green left the Bengals’ game with a groin injury

  • Benjamin Watson, tight end New Orleans Saints: Watson caught five passes for 71 yards as the Saints pulled out a 43-37 win over the Atlanta Falcons
  • Chris Conley, wide receiver Kansas City Chiefs: For the second week in a row,  Conley hauled in a touchdown pass from Patrick Mahomes. He finished the game with two catches for 13 yards.
  • Justin Houston, outside linebacker, Kansas City Chiefs: Houston harassed the San Francisco 49ers as he racked up had five tackles, two sacks, and forced two fumbles to help the Chiefs improve to 3-0
  • Lorenzo Carter, outside linebacker, New York Giants: The rookie Carter notched his first career sack in the NFL and helped the Giants gets their first win of the season.
  • Alec Ogletree, inside linebacker, New York Giants: The former Georgia linebacker also played a key role for the Giants as he had a crucial interception in Sunday’s game.
  • Jordan Jenkins, outside linebacker, New York Jets: Jenkins tried his best to corral former Oklahoma quarterback, as Jenkins had a sack and forced fumble.
  • Shawn Williams, safety, Cincinnati Bengals: A week after forcing two huge turnovers, Williams finished his game with five tackles for Cincinnati.
  • Matthew Stafford, quarterback, Detroit Lions: Stafford went 27-for-36 for 262 yards and two touchdowns and an interception against the New England Patriots, but he did lead the Lions to their first win of the season.
  • Sony Michel, running back New England Patriots: In his second career game, Michel led the Patriots in rushing attempts with 14 and added 50 yards in the loss to the Lions.
  • Todd Gurley, running back, Los Angeles Rams: Gurley again had a big week as he ran for 105 yards and a touchdown while also hauling in five passes for 51 yards. The former Georgia running back is a big reason why the Rams are unbeaten.

In all a total of 35 former Bulldogs were on an NFL roster this weekend in some form or fashion.

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