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On the Beat: Georgia’s lucky No. 13 ‘a hard guy not to like,’ and look ahead to Auburn
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On the Beat: Georgia’s lucky No. 13 ‘a hard guy not to like,’ and look ahead to Auburn
ATHENS — Georgia football has the best walk-on story in recent college football history, and as Kirby Smart would say, some are “missing the window.”
Comments
SB4 reminds me of the horse, Seabiscuit. The runt of the litter, but gives110% every time...and wins. If he was 6'2+ and just slightly more arm strength, pros would be salivating. DGD.
Mike, Bennett is probably the best we have other than Daniels right now in understanding the offense and having the mobility and also the chemistry/leadership amongst the players. That is all positive stuff. But, let's not kid ourselves, his stellar performance this season was against a lowly UAB team. Then he threw an interception against Vandy (almost 2), and what should have been another interception against Arky. Like I have said before, he scares me every single time he drops back to throw anything downfield. I like the guy, and I'm not saying he is a bad QB - certainly not - BUT, he is wildly inconsistent with his accuracy and decision making.
We go with what we've got, and if neither Beck or Vandergriff are ready to lead the offense forward then we go with Bennett until JT heals up.
I don't necessarily agree @MontanaDawg that Bennett is "wildly inconsistent with his accuracy." Does he force some throws? Yes. But so does JT Daniels. Both of Daniels' interceptions this year were on passes that he should not have thrown. And, like Bennett, Daniels has also had a couple of other passes that COULD or SHOULD have been intercepted. All QB's make bad decisions at some point. But the key to winning is keeping those bad decisions to a minimum. And right now Bennett does that better than Beck, and Kirby Smart knows it. Go Dawgs!
The “Mailman” keeps delivering and I’m thankful he has stuck it out with our team. It’s annoying how the doubters continue their negativity and constantly looking for flaws in Stetson’s game with comments like “….and he nearly had another interception”. I can easily make that same comment about JT. It will be interesting to see if Bennett sticks around in 2022 for a 6th season……and JT may not go pro next year if he continues to miss games this season. Go Dawgs!!!
Understand your point and agree somewhat. The inconsistency is also why I have never been completely sold on Daniels as well. I was just getting more comfortable with JT, seeing some improvements where I thought was needed, when he injured his lat. Like I said, Bennett is a leader and has great chemistry with the players. I like his mobility and what that brings to the offense just as Kirby does. But, I still stand by my belief that he makes too many inaccurate throws and throws that should never have been made. I see confusion from Bennett on routes and on coverage - even more so than JT.
I think everything has been said that needs to be said about Bennett. He is at his ceiling and gives it absolutely everything on the field.
Has he proven himself? Yes. Is he better than Beck/Vandagriff right now? Maybe. Can he take us all the way? Unsure.
Everyone wants to get into that LOVE or HATE mode, but I'm not sure that either is appropriate. Here's how it has been so far this year:
So, take from that what you will. The starter has done well in all games, while the reliever (granted, 2nd/3rd strings) has been less impressive. Bennett has done well, but don't forget about the passes that were almost intercepted. If you say that its-not-fair for the stats for when Bennett wasn't the starter, then you need data for Beck being the starter to compare. Smart has indicated that Beck has done well in practices, so unknown why not enough time. Little seems to be mentioned about Vandagriff, but playing as a true Freshman is rare.
Daniels clearly gets the nod when he's 100%.
Whether Bennett is NC level will be may be shown here in our next 3 games against ranked opponents.
Daniels has not been able to answer the bell...Stetson has and has made the most of it... IMO. His deep ball has a much better trajectory and velocity, but he does force throws at times...they all do. He can run out of pocket at will and even score. When his throws are off...note.,...he has a tough time seeing over the giant red wall in front of him...a bit short....but not that bad. I like the kid. He has a pretty decent mentor in JT Daniels.....who has helped him hone his long-ball. I do believe he will start against Auburn. I do believe he will help defeat Auburn. I do believe Stetson Bennett IV...the fifth year senior... is a winner.
Bennet can shoot you in and he can shoot you out. It's why Kirby put the reins on him in the second-half(did he throw a pass in the second half?) couldn't have bee more than 2-3. With the game firmly in hand instead of further building confidence in our receivers in preparation for Auburn, Kirby chose to shut him down. Think about that one a moment.
Only two reasons you do that IMO. Either you don't want to run the score up against your old buddy coach or you're scared to death Bennet will throw a pick or two and some how bring Arkansas back into the game. My guess is the latter.
Don't tell me our receivers like Ladd and Adonai, and Bowers couldn't have used some receptions just to build off of the previous week going into Auburn? The game wasn't even close after the first quarter.
Just becasue you don't "have" to do something in order to win doesn't mean you shouldn't do it, if there is a benefit in doing it. So, what was the risk? Interceptions.
Smart answered that question. The receiver room is pretty beat up so why risk injury to the healthy guys when it's not necessary.
Imagine where we'd be had Kirby not succeeded in getting Stetson to return to Athens!
Go, Dawgs!
Stetson reminds me of an upgraded Buck Belue. In 1980 Belue only completed 49% of his passes over the season and was 1 for 13 (7 yards) in the NC game against Notre Dame. Stetson and Buck are both great leaders and know how to win….even when it’s not pretty. Go Dawgs and Go Stetson!!!
SB4 has a brother at the University of New Hampshire. How do I know? Stetson Bennett III flew from ATL to Manchester, NH after the game. SB3 was wearing Georgia clothes and the pilot said, "Go DAWGS!" to Mr. Bennett. SB3 identified himself to the pilot who then dropped him and the other passengers off in Manchester. The pilot mentioned this to his brother... me! My brother was the pilot flying Stetson Bennett III to Manchester.
Smart gave you the answer he wanted you to have. You bought it.
How anyone can criticize Stet and still call themselves a Dawg fan is beyond me. He wasn't responsible for the florida loss (up by 14 when he left the game injured). Not a good game against Bama and, of course, he is the only qb not to have a good game against Bama, right (just ask the talented Mr. Corral about last Saturday). What do you want from him? Me, I'm tickled $hitle$$ to have him as our quarterback in the absence of Daniels.
Or perhaps you've made up your mind and there is no other 'right' answer.
At the end of the day we can say all we want but if we are wrong nothing happens. He has to make the decisions that affect the team and it's ability to win. So if his answer, that he has to provide or it leads to the press running wild with speculation, is one that protects his team then I say that is his call to make because the buck stops with him.
The answer he gave made sense to me and I think it made sense in that circumstance. But if it was just made to protect Bennett's feelings then that may be the best answer as well in that situation. Would you have him answer the question; "...well we didn't trust Bennett to protect the ball so we ran it."? And then potentially hand the ball to Bennett again next week against Auburn?
If we had a fully healthy WR room, then by all means throw those guys out there and give them reps, but what happens if somebody rolls an ankle or worse? Sure it could happen in practice as well but at this point it's risk aversion. It's a tight rope to be walked, but at the end of the day we can be wrong and nothing happens. Much easier to make a decision with no skin in the game.
I do agree though, I would have loved to see those guys get more work.