ATHENS — A lot of eyes this week will be on the quarterback Georgia faces, as the Bulldogs welcome Jared Curtis into Sanford Stadium.
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Not all of the third quarter problems are on Gunner Stockton.
Still, there is a lot to clean up, a lot to improve upon. The receivers have work to do, as does the offensive line. Gunner, too. Yes, Gunner had a mortal game and a very bad third quarter. Yes, he can improve, and really needs to.
All that said, we were playing Oklahoma and their great defense. Remind me again of the score. I'll remind you of the Georgia Standard and the fact that the scoreboard doesn't matter.
Go, Dawgs!
I like Gunner but don't like his throwing into double coverage and missing open receivers. The so called stellar performances were not against high ranked opponents. I would be satisfied with good field mgt and a 65% completion rate against SEC foes. Hope that is possible as we are going to be facing some stern tests before the season is over. Perhaps some TEs and WRs can step up and help him acheive his aspirations
Almost zero use of TEs in the Oklahoma game. By design? I don't know, but my bet is we will see (hopefully) Bobo open things up more - either by choice or necessity - in the Bama game.
Gunner made a couple of excellent throws against the Sooners, and Taylor is potentially the best weapon in the WR group that we have had since McConkey. The WR screen needs to go and die, and I can't believe we continue to throw that largely wasted play in the mix.
If he can, I think Bobo will stay pretty vanilla for the Vandy game.
Gunner still evolving….he'll definitely be tested against Bama and the better competition. He still makes unforced errors and misses open receivers, but I think he is performing better overall.
I'd say we've gotten a whole lot of mileage out of the various WR screen plays. Sometimes they have worked very well. Sometimes, not. I find it interesting how much criticism Mike Bobo gets for his play calling, sometimes from me, compared to the praise which is oftentimes heaped upon him by football people, folks who are much more knowledgeable and football savvy than most fans especially including me. Not to say that Bobo's play calling is perfect. Of course. Nobody's play calling is perfect.
Much that happens is beyond the control of the OC/play caller. Sometimes badly called plays go very well in spite of being very stùpid calls; the play caller looks like a genius even though they're a lucky idiót. Sometimes the play called is brilliant and timely, but things beyond the offense's control effect the outcome and the brilliant play ends up looking like a horrible play call.
It seems to me that Kirby is genuine when he says the standard is constant learning, constant improvement, and work towards perfection. I believe he demands the same of himself that he demands of his coaches and his players. This seems to be the culture he wants to create, and works to create. Gunner, and the entire team, can improve. So can Bobo. So can Kirby. We need considerable improvement on everyone's part. On any given Saturday anybody - including Vanderbilt - can beat you. Kirby says Vanderbilt is a good team, and very physical, and capable. He doesn't care what the spread is. He doesn't care what the scoreboard says. He cares about what he says he cares about. Winning is high on his list.
The WR screen needs to go and die, and I can't believe we continue to throw that largely wasted play in the mix.
Maybe because it works for 8-9 yards every time they do it?
@JimWallace…I have to push back a bit on the WR screen. Over 30% of Gunner's passes last year were BEHIND the line of scrimmage. 60% of his total number of passes were less than 10 yards in 2025. The crazy (81) receptions in 2025 for Branch is a very misleading stat. Because the rest of the receiving room struggled to consistently separate downfield, elite opponents easily anticipated the screen logic. They swarmed the perimeter blockers and pinned Branch down near the line of scrimmage, leaving Georgia without a robust backup plan. The pass did not work MOST of the time. Because Bobo called screens behind the line of scrimmage on 31.1% of pass attempts, opposing defenses quickly stopped respecting the deep threat. They aggressively squeezed toward the line of scrimmage, which dragged down quarterback Gunner Stockton’s Average Depth of Target (ADOT) to a remarkably low 7.3 yards. Our lack of explosive plays and a downfield threat is one of the reasons the Dawgs didn't make it past the 1st round of the playoffs.
The WR screen pass was used several times against Oklahoma. I rolled my eyes when I saw it. Let's just hope Bobo is not going back to that as any major part of our offensive game plan.
@Bdw3184…absolutely false.
Read my response to @JimWallace.
@Bdw3184…let me clarify: In 2025, the WR screen absolutely did not work most of the time. This past Saturday it worked 1 out of 3 times…for less than 8 yards. If Bobo wants to sprinkle the WR screen in occasionally that is fine…I guess. Otherwise, I think we need to concentrate on the vertical threat and explosive play.
And Yet our Dawgs went 12-2 and a SEC Crown. And lost only by 3 points to Chambliss. The Safety occurred with only 6 seconds left. Everyone knows that was a desperation play. People in the media and even some of our fans look to disparage Gunner’s play. Either not mentioning at the TDs and critical first downs he got with his feet or down playing them. Gunner has done his job very well by and large. I’m proud of and for him. Glad he’s our starting QB. Go Dawgs !!
@JimWallace Great comments !! Agree !!
If it’s Rain ball as being predicted it won’t be a good day for QBs. Both teams will try to run the ball which should favor our Dawgs !!
i am talking about the receivers he has this year…… Taylor, Dandridge….they get yards everytime he throws to them
it has not been just this past game (against a very stout defense, i might add) but every game this year, that play has worked.
and the vertical game has been highly successful, not as much against OU, but stout plays. even this past week Talyn had three catches over 20 yards.
I’m not a coach, not an expert. But speaking for me, Gunner does seem improved. He stays in the pocket more often and longer. His passes are nice tight spirals. Though yeah he might have missed some open receivers ( allot of QBs do that) he seems to see them better. His deep passes to Taylor looked really good to me.
The TV announcers complimented both Gunner and Taylor. I believe he will get better as the season goes on. The designed runs don’t look as effective as the runs he made last year out of necessity. It seems something is clueing in the rival defense that there’s about to be a designed run. Where as when his receivers are covered and he takes off it seems more effective to me.
I’m not inside Gunner’s head. But I believe he could care less about personal accolades. He wants to do his part for Team success. If for some reason Kirby decided to go to another QB on a permanent basis. Sure I’d wonder Why ? But I’d support whoever that is Fully !! Go Dawgs !!
