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Comments
Exactly. Totally agree. The O Line has Got to do their job for the offense to be successful. Both protecting the QB and opening holes for the RBs.
They were grossly inconsistent last year. My Hope is the addition of the guy from the NFL coaching ranks will help remedy the problem. And hopefully the old adage Desperation leads to Inspiration will be the mantra for Searls.
Though they’re young there’s no law that says youth is a bar to success. If Gunner is given just a tick or two better time he’ll do his job. I just believe that. O Line was letting him get pummeled vs ND. Can’t have that and expect to win.
that and the game plan was not designed to help Gunner in any way. If only Bobo had extra time like a week to come up with something.
The interesting thing is....I watched some film on that Curtis kid. He actually, reminds me a little bit, of Ray Goff, when he went to Moultrie. He has outstanding pocket presence and mobility for a Mathew Stafford sized QB.
He may be better than Stafford…just, due to his size & mobility. He has all the other tools Stafford had, including arm strength.
I look forward to his development. I don't think he's gonna have to simmer in the pot, as long as the others. IF,...he has command of the playbook...I don't see anybody stopping him from taking the QB position in '26. But, that's a big "if"....Lol.
Gunner has everything he needs, to take UGA all the way, in '25. He's a ball distributor....with stars all over the field. The Dawgs don't need a quarterback to "win it", this year. That was last year.
This year...All UGA "needs"...is a quarterback that won't "lose it". Every other position seems to be covered.
That being said....Whomever the quarterback may be....they absolutely have to have their heads on a swivel. Especially, early in the season. The o-line is gonna need time to gel and find each other. There WILL be mistakes. Lol
IMO....Given the lack of seasoning on the o-line....The Dawgs are solid on offense, including quarterback. Barring an attack from the dadgum injury monster, that seems to live in North Georgia. The SOB needs to move on down into Florida or slide West to Alabama, for a change. Lol
Go Dawgs!
The low water mark for the UGA OL,for the last 5(?) years was '24. Even at that the UGA OL was better than most.
Who has more 4 to high 4* OL in the OL room than UGA? Those guys will be expected to play at least to the '24 "standard". No top team can expect to play better than that. Remember what UGA did to the vaunted TX OL last year?
One must wonder how much more effective the O would have been if guys just caught the ball. That ain't on the OL.
The OL will play well enough for UGA to compete in every game. Will the QB play well enough to compete in every game? That is the bigger question.
if we can’t protect the QB, we won’t win much. Plain and simple.
If we protect better at the end of the first half in the SECCG (or just take a knee) then Carson Beck is still healthy and we go further in the playoffs.
If we protect better at the end of the first half against ND (or take a knee) Gunner doesn’t fumble and give them an extra possession.
ask Patrick Mahomes if he would rather have better protection? Each super bowl he’s lost he’s had none.
Yes WRs need to catch the ball. But if a QB doesn’t have time to throw it won’t matter. If OL can’t run block it’ll make us one dimensional and easier to tee off on the QB.
Let' be careful comparing Curtis to Stafford. I live in North Texas and saw Stafford in high school. He was a standout player in high school at a high level program playing very good competition. I haven't seen Curtis, but I don't believe he's playing at nearly the competition level as Stafford. I hope he's as good or better than Stafford but that bar is pretty high for a a guy coming out of a small private school.
You're right....it's hard to project...based on his high school level of competition. I understand that...but.
I didn't see Stafford play in HS....but, I did see Goff play top level competition when he was at Moultrie. And, i'm telling you...he was a stud. A man among boys. And, had a powerful arm.
However, Goff was playing in a 2-QB veer system @UGA...most, if not all of the time, he was there. So....no Stats...1 SECC. And, at least 1 HS State Championship. Goff was every bit as good, Stafford....imo.
Curtis reminds me of him.…except for the competition level. That's the variable. I guess, we'll find out, soon enough, huh. Lol
Go Dawgs!
@Kasey "if we can’t protect the QB, we won’t win much. Plain and simple." You imply that the UGA OL was bad or couldn't protect the QB last year. In fact UGA was T5th in the SEC in sacks allowed. UGA gave up 8 more sacks than OSU, 3 more than AL and the same amount as ND. I guess you can assume that the OL will be bad in '25 but statistically it was better than most (as I said) in '24. Certainly, based on OL blue chip ratio, the UGA OL has as good a chance as anyone to be solid in '25. Or are you already blaming the OL for GS's inconsistency?
"If we protect better at the end of the first half in the SECCG (or just take a knee) then Carson Beck is still healthy and we go further in the playoffs." Probably, but that sack injury was clearly on CBeck for holding the ball WAY too long. Especially considering his lack of mobility. Blaming the OL for Beck's injury vs TX is beyond a reach.
"If we protect better at the end of the first half against ND (or take a knee) Gunner doesn’t fumble and give them an extra possession." Poor OL play? Yes but not all on injured, inexperienced LT ( MF) pressed into service during that game. WOEFUL lack of pocket presence on the QB who never checked his blind side while staring down his WR away from the blind side. Woeful play call from the OC who had his inexperienced QB turn his back on the blind side to throw wide right. Bobo didn't learn from the flea flicker flip failure deep in his own end in the '23 SECCG.
QB's get pressure from somewhere on every play. QB needs to have the ability to read the D and see where the pressure is coming from after the snap and move around.
"ask Patrick Mahomes if he would rather have better protection? Each super bowl he’s lost he’s had none." Well duh. That is a 1 game, championship game experience. Will UGA win the NC in'25? IDK. Will the OL be good enough to win the NC in '25. IDK. But that's the point. You can say that about every position group on UGA. There are enough OL (17?) in the OL room that UGA will find 5 that can compete in every game. UGA has OL guys rated as higher or higher than, as a group, as any OL room in the country.
But there is only 1 QB. He will carry all the marbles. Certainly the biggest ones. Can he be the general that makes UGA competitive in every game next season? Again, like I said, the biggest question.
"Yes WRs need to catch the ball. But if a QB doesn’t have time to throw it won’t matter. If OL can’t run block it’ll make us one dimensional and easier to tee off on the QB." The '25 RB room is expected to be better than the '24 RB room for 1 reason. The entire '24 RB room was either hurt or freshmen in '24. The RB room is expected to be healthier than the '24 RB room. Again, with that, isn't there as much talent in that UGA RB room as there is on most teams? Shouldn't that translate to some running game success? Well that is if Bobo doesn't run the dive play on 80% of running plays like previous years.
Why wouldn't the QB have time to throw the ball? Especially a mobile QB like GS who has the ability to move in the pocket, sprint out or run to keep the play alive. Statistically the UGA QB had as much or more time to throw the ball as most teams did last season.
Writing off the entire OL room at a premier recruiting institution like UGA does not seem logical. Finding 5 guys that can play out of 17 seems pretty doable. Finding 1 QB out of 2 non-freshmen QB's seems like the biggest question. Seems I've heard that somewhere before.