Georgia Football: How Bulldogs Plan to Recapture SEC East

The goal for every SEC coach is to win the conference. After that everything will take care of itself.

In order to win the SEC, a team has to win their division first.

The Bulldogs won the SEC East last year, which gave them the right for the to play LSU in the conference championship game.

They won the SEC East last year with good defense and quarterback play, and a little luck was on their side as well.

So how do they recapture the SEC East this year?

Here's a look of what they have to do this year to defend their title.

Play Good Defense

It's been documented how talented the Bulldogs defense was last year and it played a huge part in the Bulldogs' success.

In order for the Bulldogs to defend their divisional crown, the Bulldogs will have to play great defense this year. They have the talent to do it.

They will be without four defensive starters to start the season, but Jarvis Jones will be there as well as John Jenkins, Kwame Geathers and Shawn Williams. The Bulldogs have an opportunity to have a top-10 defense once again, it's just an matter of putting everything together.

Sound Running Game

Isaiah Crowell won SEC Freshman of the Year last season, but was inconsistent because of nagging injuries.

Because of that, the running game never got going, which would have helped the Bulldogs in the SEC championship game against LSU.

So the Bulldogs recruited Keith Marshall and Todd Gurley to strengthen the position. Both players will have a chance to play, and if both players are as good as advertised, the offense will be hard to stop.

Consistent Quarterback Play

Aaron Murray was the most valuable player on offense last year and in order for the Bulldogs to have the same success or even exceed expectations, Murray will have to play better.

Murray was able to throw for over 3,000 yards and 35 touchdowns without a consistent running game or offensive line. Because the running game and offensive line had issues, Murray made some costly mistakes towards the end of the season. If both of those positions have improved, then it will make Murray's life a lot easier, which will make the offense more dangerous.

Improved Special Teams

The Bulldogs struggled mightily on special teams last season, which is unusual since the team has one of the better kickers and punters in the country. Drew Butler was solid last year in the punting game, but Blair Walsh had a very uncharacteristic season, as he missed 14 field goals.

So the Bulldogs will go into this season with a new kicker and punter. Marshall Morgan is the leading candidate to handle the kicking duties while Colin Barber looks to be the Bulldogs punter for the next four years.

Having new specialist will help, but the Bulldogs have to play better in kickoff and punt coverage. If they don't do that, it will cost them games this year.

Winning Seven SEC Games

The Bulldogs played in the SEC Championship game last year because they went 7-1 in the SEC, with the only loss coming against South Carolina.

This year, the schedule is virtually the same from last year with the addition of Missouri, which will be the first SEC game of the season for the Bulldogs.

With home games against Vanderbilt, Tennessee and Ole Miss, and road games against South Carolina, Kentucky, Florida and Auburn, the Bulldogs have a chance to win at least six divisional games. But in order to ensure another SEC East title, they will have to win seven games, and if they are able to put their talent together, that should not be a problem.