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Kirby Smart's QB decision in 'Show Me' State previews future of Georgia offense
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Kirby Smart's QB decision in 'Show Me' State previews future of Georgia offense
Georgia football coach Kirby Smart has a big decision to make at quarterback this week for the Bulldogs game at Missouri
Comments
Yep. Should at least give the start to Beck or Daniels. Our goal for the season is 95% out of the window because of QB play, so why not try something different. They could even trot the guy out who transferred in from utah or utah state. If we cannot reach our goals, may as well go for broke. What choice do we have at the present time?
Agree with you Mike. Has Kirby gone soft? Is he telling us that Beck and Daniels - 4 and 5-star recruits - aren't better than Bennett or Mathis in throwing ability and understanding/moving the offense? Hard to imagine that one of those guys can't be better. Just makes no sense to me, and at this point with 2 loses already under our belt let's make changes and see what happens in the games coming up. We've got nothing to really lose but time in continuing to play Bennett & Mathis. I don't care what Kirby says, the play thus far from Bennett and Mathis will not, under any circumstances, move us towards our goals next season. Neither Bennett nor Mathis is our future. I feel like this is really an even worse situation than the Fromm-Fields debacle. At least Fromm was a really good QB as a game manager and kept us pretty competitive most times. Kirby just lacked the vision to see a 5-star dual-threat Fields was the FUTURE of the program.
I don't see Bama or Clemson complaining about their QB or worried about what happens when guys get hurt, transfer, or graduate. It's next man up. Season after season they prove they have the winning formula.
We can't ever say under Smart that we have lacked the player talent. We have no excuse when it comes to talent. SO, the rest of that formula is development, coaching, attitude, and putting the right people in the right place. Kirby just hasn't figured out that winning formula. Like Bill King said, there are "structural deficiencies" at least on offense.
And nobody even mentions Carson Beck, who was supposed to be a pretty darned good QB in his own right. We're not in the film room or on the practice field, but is sure looks messy from here.
Kirby has a blind eye for the offense. Understandable since his career has been focused on defense. He needs to turn the offense over to someone that has focused their career on offense.
If you are going to recruit 4 and 5 star QBs, let them go to work. Personally, I think Eason should have gotten his job back.
Just to throw this out there (as I was curious), here are the Top Pro Style QBs from the 2020 class:
#1 - DJ Uiagalelei - 71/104 with 4 TDs/0 INTs
#2 - CJ Stroud - No Passes
#3 - Harrison Bailey - 7/13 with 0 TDs/2 INTs
#4 - Ethan Garbers - No Passes
#5 - Jay Butterfield - No Passes
#6 - Shane Illingworth - 36/49 with 3 TDs/1 INT
#7 - Tyler Van Dyke - No Passes
#8 - Drew Pyne - 1/2 for 5 yards
#9 - Carson Beck - No Passes
I know everybody is demanding that freshman QBs start, but I just don't think it's to be expected. #1 and #2 KNEW they were going to be benched as they were behind the Top 2 Draft Picks. #3 is with UT and threw 2 INTs compared to 7 passes. #8 only has gotten 2 pass attempts and the only real exception is #6 with Oklahoma State which has played a bunch of basketball schools with #17 being their toughest opponent. 0 Passes combined for #2, #4, #5, #7 and #9 (Beck).
Beck can't have expected to be the starter. He, however, WILL be hoping to be the #1 for next year. If he transfers, that really isn't fair. Keep in mind that Newman will be 23 in December and Daniels 21 in Feb. Big difference vs a true Freshman who just got to campus summertime during the pandemic.
Mark my word....Stetson start against MO. I wish fans could all be in the stands this year so Kirby could hear the boos for him
Smart said Bennett wanted to play....
If only there was some person on the sideline with the authority to override the wishes of a student athlete. If only someone was in charge that could make those decisions. If one person could say "No, you're hurt or you don't have it today. Let's give someone else a shot."
I hope we find that person who probably gets paid a lot of money to make decisions like that.
@kirkhilles...good analysis. I agree that normally a freshman QB might not be expected to start Day One - especially with a shortened pre-season. However, in Georgia's case, we lost Newman unexpected and neither Bennett nor Mathis has the talent to be our future. Therefore, we need to play Daniels and/or Beck for the remaining games to find out who might be our QB "foundation" for next season. And get that QB some experience this year so next season we can hit the ground running instead of the situation we find ourselves in this season. Vandergriff gets a full Spring season to compete with #1 and we find out who is going to start the season.
Also, your #1, DJ, has been phenomenal so far. Sure, he has made some mistakes but for a true freshman this guy has done very well and almost pulled it out against ND. Also, although Mac Jones at Bama had a little experience as backup for Tua prior to this season, when he played us that was only his 7th start for Bama. The guy does not even have one full season under his belt as a starter.
Clemson and Bama don't skip a beat when it comes to next man up at QB or whatever the position ends up being. They have figured out the winning formula while we continue once more to struggle and trip in the world of QBs. It shouldn't be this hard, because talent-wise, we have no excuse.
Can anyone confirm or deny that a couple of UGA QB's (don't know who) have blocked/deleted/unfriended UGA from their Facebook accounts?
Do we have a dedicated QB coach or is that also Monken's job?
Kirby wakeup! Your program is sinking.
I see lots of similarities between Mathis and Fields (at UGA.). He has the most talent in the QB room with more height, speed and arm strength. It’s all the mental items that all FR QBs struggle with—the speed of the game, reading defenses, decision-making quickly and under pressure, and learning to control your adrenaline to deliver the ball accurately, on time with the right trajectory and velocity. It took Fields an entire offseason and spring and fall (and excellent development) to become the reliable playoff-caliber QB we saw last year. And even more refinement this year. (I actually think he’ll be the first QB pick in the draft, not Lawrence.). 2020 is almost a lost year for any QBs In a new system. No spring practice and limited unofficial group workouts has severely limited development everywhere. Teams returning experience, particularly at the QB-WR combinations in the same system, are massively ahead of teams that do not. What do Alabama, Florida and Texas A&M have in common? What do LSU, UGA and USCe have in common. QB play at UGA this year will be underwhelming, no matter who is playing. In that case, I would play Mathis and Beck almost exclusively the rest of the way to get them the experience needed to compete next year. I love Bennett’s story, commitment and moxie, but we know the ceiling for him and he’s reached it. As for Daniels, something is obviously wrong. Despite medical clearance, he either is not confident in the knee, is not progressing in the offense, or some personal issue is in the way. (Personal injury insurance or claim?). We will likely never know. I suspect he will never see the field at UGA. That said, nobody will pull harder for the Dawgs than I will, regardless of who is or isn’t playing. Go Dawgs!