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On the Beat: 3 areas Georgia football can shore up during the bye week
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Posts: 11,472 admin
On the Beat: 3 areas Georgia football can shore up during the bye week
ATHENS — Georgia football reached the halfway point of the season undefeated and ranked No. 1, but Coach Kirby Smart has said there’s plenty fo work left to do.
Comments
I wish the AJC writers would quit obsessing over a single JT Daniels stat (ie. 9 for 9 completions on 3rd downs). That is impressive, but in my opinion I think Stetson’s accomplishments smother JT’s. Here are a few: Stetson 11 TDs with 2 INTs and JT is 5 TDs with 2 INTs, Stetson averages 12.2 yards per pass attempt while JT averages 7.9. Stetson averages more yards per carry (7.8) than any of our running backs (with numerous 3rd down conversions) while JT is our only player averaging “negative” (-5) yards per carry. Stetson has a QB RTG of 211 vs JT’s 161……..and most of Stetson’s stats were against nationally ranked teams. I’m not saying Stetson is better than JT, but I am saying we seem to ignore the obvious and just focus on “9 for 9” and not the other amazing stats. Go Dawgs!!!
Remember when they told Stetson he would never start for UGA?
JT and Bennett's stats are very similar. so I think both can be classified as "very good". Which is the better QB to start? I'd personally prefer JT but certainly Bennett has proven himself this year.
A better comparison is Bennett this year vs last year.
Last Year:
This Year:
For all the talk of JT’s “NFL arm talent”, Herbstreit said on a recent Dawg telecast that Stetson has the stronger arm of the two. Both QBs are very adept at getting the team into the correct play. Stets changed the play on the TD to Bowers when he saw KY did not have a safety to help the corner leaving Brock one-on-one.
A lot is made of Bennett being a former walk on and JT was a five star. That has absolutely zero bearing on their status as college players. Both are blue chip college QBs that have proven they can compete at a very high level for a championship caliber team.
I understand now what the real issue with the QB situation is. It comes down to a simple question:
"Do you want a great NFL QB or a great college QB?"
It seems like a simple question, but it's not. Compare Matthew Stafford and Aaron Murray (both DGD by the way).
Stafford has (and will) make many, many millions of dollars and has incredible NFL stats. Aaron Murray never played a down in the NFL (didn't make past practice squads) and did short stints in AAF and XFL.
But look at their COLLEGE records (note that Stafford had 3 years at UGA vs 4 years with Murray):
Stafford: 7,731 Yards (57.2% completion) | 133.4 Rating | 51 TD to 33 INT (1.54 Ratio)
Murray: 13,166 Yards (62.3% completion) | 158.5 Rating | 121 TD to 41 INT (2.95 Ratio)
Which one would you choose if both were on your team at the same time at their college level???
I remember Herbstreit saying that. I thought at the time, and still do, that he was clearly mistaken or had misspoken. I don't consider that one comment evidence of anything.
As for the stat comparisons this year, it's kind of a glaring omission not to account for the fact that Daniels has been injured all year. I know durability is an important attribute, but I'm still going to have to see what this offense looks like with a healthy Daniels before I conclude that Bennett should be the starter going forward. So far, there hasn't really been a fair basis for comparison. From what I've seen from Daniels even while injured, I still think he will probably be the better option once he gets healthy. It comes back to the third down statistic; I think it's a good microcosm for comparing the two. When the pressure is on, and something really needs to happen, that's when Daniels shines. With Bennett, it's almost been the opposite situation - what the coaches and team needed from him was to NOT try to be "that guy." And as well as Bennett has generally been playing, when we start facing elite opponents in pressure packed situations, I think the former style stands a better chance of carrying the team through.
But, again, Bennett has been playing well. As is pointed out below, he's really improved since last year and I'm not nearly as nervous over the thought of him having to be the guy down the stretch as I was at the beginning of the season. Time will tell, for all of it.
Here's to what QB can get us the next win against our best rival who happens to be the Florida Gators. Keep doing what has worked so far and that's playing winning football, Defense, Defense and more Defense to the forefront and just enough offense to outscore the opponent. 2021 version of Stetson Bennett over the 2020 version of Stetson Bennett is playing winning football. Forget stats between Daniels and Bennett. Between the two UGA is 7-0. 5 more regular and 3 playoff games to go.
Stetson vs JT - Yeah, both of them will serve the Bulldawg Nation well. I think that as JT gets more healed, we will certainly see more of him in upcoming games. I wouldn't doubt that he will start the FLA game in fact. No sleight to Stetson at all, as he has been rock solid as our starter and if he is named starter for UF, then I feel pretty good. I think having JT healthy adds a whole new game-planning exercise to UF defense so I think that is a BIG plus by itself. At the end of the day though, I am certain that Stetson and/or JT will deliver a BIG win over the Gators.