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Los Angeles Rams QB Matthew Stafford shares thoughts on fellow UGA product Stetson Bennett
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Los Angeles Rams QB Matthew Stafford shares thoughts on fellow UGA product Stetson Bennett
ATHENS — Matthew Stafford told reporters in Los Angeles that Stetson Bennett is coming along just fine with the Rams’ franchise.
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Does anyone else wonder when MG will let go of JTD? No issues with mentions in articles providing context and color for the main story line. But to continue the narrative/notion that JTD "was all that" (e.g., "preseason Heisman Trophy favorite J.T. Daniels") doesn't reflect what turns out to be reality. Don't forget, UGA recruited over JDT too when it went after Caleb Williams. If JDT was/is so much better than SBIV, would he have transferred (again) knowing he could come back healthy? Also, JDT is now on his 4th (5th) team. I wish JTD the best but let's stop alluding to how great his is/was. He just isn't.
Bennett thrives on 'can'ts'. Bennett can't do this. Bennett can't do that. Then he eats the 'cant's for supper.
I’m some odd way, I believe he is trying to validate he was right all along about Bennett ……petty IYAM, he just can’t let it go.
Or, he is just “jonesing” for the clicks…..journalism at its best.
Honestly, I would be happy if the AJC would just cut ties with him.
“As it turned out, USC offered Williams more money…”
im not saying this isn’t true. But as a reporter, you got facts @MikeGriffith ??
At least Mike does a much better job in the self editing department than some of the writers. I believe he is very neutral, thus is probably why many take issue with his style on a pro UGA site.
remember, this is a slow season and if there are no articles, folks would complain about that too.
@doubledawg1990 Just telling the story of what happened -- Kirby, Monken, coaches had JT No. 1 throughout the offseason and he was the preseason Heisman favorite exiting SEC media days.
Georgia's talent had a lot to do with JT's success for sure, just as it does any QB who lines up behind an elite O-Line on a team with 23 or 24 other NFL draft picks.
It's not a matter of letting go so much as telling the story -- the truth is better than make believe. Stet was a third-teamer entering 2021 who persevered, and when he got his chance, he threw 5 TD passes in one half -- even after he was booed when announced as starter on Sanford Scoreboard.
Georgia did go after Williams, it's why Stet was the way he was on Good Morning America -- we didn't know what was happening at the time, but he did.
Williams is a better talent than probably anyone in the country, hard to blame Monken, but fact is Stet got better and played well enough in the big moments to lead his team to a national title and undefeated record.
It's a story with a lot of moving pieces, and it's awesome as it is. There are no bad guys -- it's just Georgia football.
@Brooksie It's just adding context to Stetson being the backup not expected to play much in LA --- I was like, "We've heard that before" And then what he did in 2021 was impressive and much more so in 2022 as he got much, much better with his footwork and skills. I believe he's still improving as a player with the Rams.
Daniels handled everything like a DGD. He never complained when he was #2 and healthy.
Stetson proved that he could lead a team to a National Championship (two of them, in fact). But that is NOT TO SAY that JTD couldn't or wouldn't have done it. Obviously, at some point the UGA coaches -- the same coaches who eventually placed all their bets on Bennett -- were all in on Daniels. If he doesn't get injured, who knows what he would have done. But he did get injured, and Stetson saved the day, and we're all happy about it. But for some to simply say that Daniels wasn't good or good enough to be a champion, is just not fair. And to say if he was all that, he would have reclaimed the job, is also unfair. Once JTD was healthy, it could have simply been a case of the Georgia coaches thinking, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." And over the next two years, it never broke. Go Dawgs!
MG - if you're going to "tell the story", then by all means do that. Maybe try: "preseason Heisman Trophy favorite (that turned out to be overhyped) J.T. Daniels" or "preseason Heisman Trophy favorite J.T. Daniels who never quite lived up to hype and was even later replaced by at WV by 3 Star Garrett Greene (#21 rated quarterback for 2020)" -- something a little more complete and current. I get that you don't like to dig at players - especially when they sort of fall on hard times. I really feel the same way. But you continue to act as though JTD was a victim of circumstance (injury, recruited over, subjectively preferred by coaches, etc.). The truth is, he would of been the starting quarterback after the 2021 natty if he was better than SBIV - for the same reason Kirby was recruiting Caleb Williams. He's always looking to play the best players. JTD may yet prove to be a top tier QB - and I really hope he does. He hasn't so far and there is plenty of tape to show that at this point.
For the record, I think JTD was/is a DGD. Just find it hard to see (IMHO) MG heap undeserved/unearned praise on him in each article about SBIV.
Thanks for the openness to other opinions!
"...broke don't fix it." Except that's not how Kirby works as illustrated by him trying to recruit Caleb Williams after the 2021 natty. Does that mean he thought SBIV was "broke"?
I watched Stetson play live 25 times in high school. I always thought he could play on a higher lever just had to get used to the big defensive lineman rushing. He proved what he can do. If you go back and look at his highlights you realize he can throw the ball on a dime. He's also got mobility that is necessary in the pros. There are 32 teams with each has a backup and a few 3. If you're telling me Stetson isn't better than some of these 75 well then I've got some mountain property in Daytona beach for sale. Not sure how he'll fair but I think he'll at least be a solid backup.
JTD was healthy at WVA...lost the job. Had little protection. Transferred out last I knew. Watched some of those games....Stets was and is better mainly because of his mobility. He kept defenses off guard...they knew how dangerous his feet are. Was a big JTD fan for a long while. Loved his arm but Stets was just too mobile and had a good arm himself that just needed to develop. It did and two National titles later..solid proof. I will admit he had plenty of protection from the OL's and great defenses. Just my simple observation.
Hey jvillebil...I live in Daytona....we call them hillocks.....lolol I'll sell ya one.
"Williams is a better talent than probably anyone in the country, hard to blame Monken, but fact is Stet got better and played well enough in the big moments to lead his team to a national title and undefeated record."......MG, I beg to differ. Williams is good but SBIV was a far better QB. Had Stet been the QB for USC, they would have been undefeated, especially against Tulane and the wouldn't have squeaked by Oregon State....I dare say that had Williams been our QB, Mizzo, Kentucky and TOS would have beaten us simply because Williams is a "ME First" player and doesn't inspire TEAM!
Of coarse it's all moot.....Lincoln Riley would have never seen the potential in SBIV and Williams would have never taken the "coaching" Monken daily applied to SBIV!
Just keep him away from parades.
FYI. I ran across this story by "Rivals", regarding the "Bennett vs Daniels" question of 2021.
Note: It was written in 2022. Why could everybody, but Dawg Nation writers see it...and...report it? I don't know. Maybe they started believing their own hype. Lol
BTW...This will be Daniels' 6th year of College Football. Where are the "age and seniority jokes"? Every Bennett story included a jab at his age, for some bizarre reason. SMH
The statement was..."Bennett is Better than Daniels. True or. False?
January 1, 2022
Mike Farrell’s take: FACT. There is zero debate any more. Last season everyone waited for Daniels, the former five-star from USC, to get healthy and save Georgia's season as Bennett struggled. This season people were confused that Bennett was the man by game two after yet another lingering injury to Daniels.
But now? After a national title it is clear that Bennett is the better quarterback and that having him back is much more important than having Daniels back as the latter has hit the transfer portal.
Yes, we ranked Daniels just behind Trevor Lawrence and Justin Fields when he came out early in 2018 so of course I want him to live up to that hype, but the bottom line is he’s been run out of LA and now Athens by much lower-ranked players. And he’s just not that good.
Beck was never really in the conversation, until after the Clemson game. Daniels was placed on "IR", Bennett was bumped to starter and Beck moved up to #2.
Which is what Kirby was asked after the Clemson game..."Who is the backup going into the UAB Game?". He answered the question..."Beck". A lot of reporters took that to mean, "if Daniels couldn't go...Beck was next man up".
Mainly...because Smart...known for keeping personnel decisions close to the vest, had not told anybody, that Daniels was benched and Bennett was #1. Assumptions were made...speculation flourished...and, Kirby smiled.
Smart later verified that the decision to start Daniels over Bennett in the Clemson game WAS NOT a unanimous decision, among the coaches. There was a lot of debate over which quarterback gave them the best chance against ALL of the teams, they would face in '21. Eventually, they settled on Daniels...which turned out to be the wrong decision. And, I believe that to be Monkin's "wrong decision"...though, we'll probably never know, for sure.
Beck was a true freshman...and, nowhere in the actual conversation for "starter". According to Mike Griffith and the Dawg Nation Narrative....Beck, who never played a college down other than a Spring Scrimmage, before the '21 season....was supposed to be #2...ahead of "#3 Bennett"...a Senior, with 4 years of experience ('17-'20)...half of '20 as "Starter".?
And, lost his job in the 1st week of "game planning" practice. I DON'T BUY IT...and, won't until I hear more from all involved. What?...did he forget how to pass or forget all the plays? What could have possibly cost an unproven backup quarterback his job, before he ever set foot on the field? He had been under the "intense training & scrutiny" of the coaching staff and teammates, for months? They didn't have an idea of where Beck was in development after Spring Practice? Summer OTA's? Fall Camp 2-a-days & scrimmages?
They had to wait until the 2nd week of practice to see he wasn't ready.?
Never heard of that in my life. UGA's Coaching Staff is not incompetent...and, that's what that spells, to me.
I do remember...Kirby NEVER released a depth chart for QB. He took Daniels to Media Days with him that Summer...so, it was reasonable to assume he was going to be named "starter". I think Kirby later regretted committing himself to Daniels, like that...cause it haunted him until Daniels' transfer.
FYI...Here's a Sean McVay quote, i read in "Ram Digest", I thought you guys might be interested in seeing....
[["The guy is a winner. He's a competitor. He's been able to overcome some different things. He's got a lot of athleticism. He's got a natural ****," McVay said. "I thought they did such a great job at Georgia, which makes it a little bit easier to eval, with a lot of the concepts you are going to ask guys to try to activate and execute. He'll get to learn under a great former UGA Bulldog, Super Bowl champ Matthew Stafford".]]____Sean McVay, on Stetson Bennett_____Ram Digest
I watched a few of the West Virginia games exepecting to be impressed with JT as I was with him when he was here. I wasn't impressed. I was dissapointed. I had pulled for him so hard when he was here at UGA. I had watched many of his HS highlghts and felt like he was a unique talent. At this point I wish him well but somehow his talent at the HS level didn't translate to the college level. Maybe it was the injuries or a lack of confidence or just he's not mobile enough. BUt he certainly played down to his supporting cast at WVU. It's a sad saga at this point.
Yeah...I've been keeping up with him, too. I thought,he really screwed the pooch, when he picked WV. At least he would've had two quality WR's to throw to, at Missouri, in Burden and Lovett...In the SEC, with all the exposure and accolades that go with it, no less. Smh
I'm still pulling for him...but, I'm starting to wonder if those physical injuries, didn't have a psychological effect on his game. It's like a golfer with the "yips" or a batter in a "slump". His confidence is dinged up.
Kinda like Rattler was, when he was benched at Oklahoma. Rattler finally shook off his "yips" toward the end of last year...and, looked like the QB that was advertised, in 2020
Daniels can still play, if he can put his head back together and avoid further injury. Somehow, I think his pedigree will follow him into the draft, next year. If he can throw some big numbers on the board and win some games, this year...he's still got a decent shot at a pro career.
I don't think I'll ever understand why he selected a program (WV) that was in the market for a "mobile quarterback" to operate an offense similar to the Dawgs, with an air raid style...and unlike the Dawgs...poor blocking. That "Waste of a Year"...."Makes No sense, From Here".