#Occupy Aaron Murray

For those of you who wonder why Hutson Mason doesn’t see the field more, Edward Aschoff has an answer:

Georgia sophomore QB Aaron Murray is already SEC’s leading active player in total offensive yards (5,077), completions (344), TD responsibility (48), TD passes (42) and passing yards (4,871).

I blame Bobo, of course.

114 Comments

Filed under Georgia Football, Stats Geek!

114 responses to “#Occupy Aaron Murray

  1. gastr1

    And in other news, the Gator Assoff managed to spin Brantley’s WLOCP outing into something not just good but remarkable. I bet GTU can beat that 20 ypc mark while having even worse completion percentages, though…maybe Brantley can say he was studying up on the master Tevin Washington to prepare for the Dawgs last week.

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  2. Gravidy

    I’m not criticising Murray here, but that really drives home the point that there aren’t any successful 3-4 year starting QBs in this league.

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    • Puffdawg

      Would you chalk that up to it being really hard to do or just timing?

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      • Gravidy

        Well, I take the weaselly way out and say it probably is some of both, but I think it mostly falls in the “hard to do” category. There are only so many David Greenes and Colt McCoys that can come in and start every game for four years. As for the timing issue, I think we’ll see Murray and maybe a couple of the other young SEC QBs fall into the “successful 3-4 year” starter category in the next couple of years – if they stay healthy.

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        • Puffdawg

          Next year should be strong for SEC QBs: Murray, Wilson, McCarron, Mackey, Newton, Rodgers, Bray, Shaw, Russell, Moseley, and whoever at Florida all return. LSU is the only school NOT returning their starter and they’ll have the Greatest Spring Player of Our Era in Zach Mettenberger. As for potential future 3-4 year starters in that bunch, you’ll have Murray, McCarron, Newton?, Bray, Shaw, Russell, Moseley, and UF. Shaw and Russell would be 2.5 yr starters.

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  3. Scorpio Jones, III

    I have a new philosophy about Murray, and any other player. Did we win?

    In this case yes. So Murray was ok, and so was everybody else.

    To be concerned with any other criteria is great for blogs, but bad for blood pressure and general attitude.

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    • Go Dawgs!

      I like it. It might just stave off some of the Dawgvent-ization of this comments section.

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    • 81Dog

      exactly, Scorpio! Being happy with the win isnt a blanket statement that “AM is the greatest QB ever, and he doesnt need to change/improve/work on anything.” Give the kid a break. I’ll take an ugly win over a quality loss any day.

      if you cant find something to be happy about when UGA beats Florida, you may be overthinking the whole college football thing. Win this week, try to keep improving, and then go win next week. You dont have to be better than everyone in America. You just have to be better than the team you’re playing this week.

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      • Dawgfan Will

        Considering that Murray’s critics last year kept saying “scoreboard,”I I think it’s fair for his supporters to do the same this year.

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        • What Will said above. If you’re going to knock him for not winning as much last year (despite great numbers), give him his due for winning this year despite being (arguably) more erratic this year.

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          • BCDawg97

            But he hasn’t beat a team with a winning record!!!1!!11!!!

            My friends and I recently adopted a simple phrase to ease all ills, complaints and arguments (inside and outside of football): 24-20 bitches!

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            • Cojones

              I think that some “complaints” aren’t that at all. Some are questioning whats wrong when compared to last year in a sincere gesture of help for Murray. It’s not easy to sort those folks out from the detractors that come on to attack anything moving. Sometimes it’s a cry for someone/coach to help Murray get back to his most capable status. Bobo has and is addressing the anomaly and I think he is best suited according to his stated approach.

              It also has been pointed out that new receivers to positions have missed a few routes and that mixed with his new approach to getting rid of the ball quickly and saving the sack yardage can account for over 50% of the missed connections. It will all get better, not worse. Patience children, patience.

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  4. charlottedawg

    on a slightly different topic i predict if murray fails to win a championship at georgia he’ll be “stafford’d” by a portion of the fanbase. by that i mean written off as a guy who was “overrated” or worse didn’t care because he failed to live up some preconceived expectation(s) most likely due to something outside of his control.

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    • Normaltown Mike

      Not sure I agree. Stafford was clearly the most talented QB we’ve had in the modern era.

      Aaron won’t be crowned with those type laurels (talent, arm strength, size) which makes his achievements even more substantial (IMHO).

      If he wins an SEC ring, I think he’ll be on par with DJ or Greene in terms of popularity. However, if the next two years are anything like the first two, then he’ll be remembered as a Joe Cox nice guy that couldn’t deliver.

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      • yurdle

        Murray may benefit from a defense that Stafford never had.

        And if he can cut the number of easy completions that he just misses for no reason in half, he could make a serious run at some records.

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      • Spence

        Stafford never played with anything other than a little Willie defense. His offense stats per year are the best for any QB in the RIcht era.

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        • HamDawg11

          Not sure what Greene’s stats were, but I’d take him over Staff any day. Staff’s fresh/soph stats aren’t all that impressive. He threw way too many picks. AM will eclipse all UGA QB’s stats before he’s done, I don’t think anyone will argue that. Barring injury, he could possibly finish with 12K+ passing yards, 90+ TD’s, and close to 60% completions if he continues to grow and progress as a QB.

          Plus, the kid’s a leader on and off the field. DGD

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          • Zdawg

            Hard to compare them unless you start with similar defenses. Stafford was probably asked to do more in order to keep UGA in the game.

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          • dean

            Remember that Greene redshirted and Stafford was thrown in during the 2nd game (I think) at USC as a true freshman. You’re going to throw a lot of picks when you’re learning as you go.

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    • hassan

      I’ll take another #1 NFL pick in the draft. That would speak well of the program as far as recruiting.

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    • Go Dawgs!

      The way some people talk about Stafford is pretty unfair. We all love Eric Zeier… what did he win at Georgia? Stafford gave his all for Georgia and then made the same decision 99% of us would have made when starting down 40 million dollars of guaranteed money. And he’s doing a lot for the program’s recruiting now just by having success in the NFL.

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      • Puffdawg

        The thing that nobody ever talks about Stafford is that he committed over a year early and NEVER wavered. On top of that, he never got into legal trouble at UGA. And he’s one of the greatest QBs of all time at UGA in terms of stats. And yet because he never made some bullshit rah rah speech after losing a game, and because most of the defenses he played with were average at best, he gets a bad rap for “not caring enough.” Stafford was a DGD and it always breaks my heart to see Dawgs fans casually dismiss him.

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        • Mayor of Dawgtown

          I don’t casually dismiss Staff. I think Staff was the best pure passer UGA ever had and that he was the best QB in the nation when he was in college. The only reason UGA didn’t win the SEC and/or the BCSNC while staff was at UGA was the D. The guy was the #1 pick in the draft.

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          • Gravidy

            I think I might list Eric Zeier as UGA’s best pure passer. He just didn’t have the body to do it in the NFL. Am I wrong here?

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            • Go Dawgs!

              I’d say you are, but what do I know? UGA has never had an arm like Matthew Stafford’s. There wasn’t a throw on the football field that he couldn’t make.

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              • Gravidy

                I agree with your point about Stafford being a much bigger, stronger, and physically gifted player than Zeier. But Zeier’s stats stack up awfully well against Stafford’s.

                I do have to admit that his best two years (statistically) were his junior and senior years, and those two teams lost a lot of games. Oh well…maybe I just have a soft spot in my heart for Zeier that is clouding my judgement.

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                • Go Dawgs!

                  Heck yeah, in no way am I saying anything against Eric Zeier. He deserves his spot in Bulldog lore. Just saying that Matthew Stafford does, too.

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    • Macallanlover

      I think the “ESPN Generation” puts too much emphasis on championships determining how an athlete is judged in team sports. Everyone knows the objective is to win games, win the big games, and get titles. I get it with individual sports like golf or tennis, but no one player will win a championship in football. They can shoulder a heavy load, be the difference maker, but winning and losing in football is ultimately the combined effort of the entire team.

      Would Stafford have been any better QB if either one of three seperate, weird circumstances involving TN against SC, Vandy, or KY had gone normally? Without the three miracle outcomes in 2007, UGA would have played a very weak LSU team in the SECG and won the SEC. Stafford would have played a key role, but we would have won with just the usual Stafford game. He would still have been the same QB over his three years, but would have had one more win.

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      • Jason

        I’ve said the same thing for years and I’ll take it a step further. The media as a whole as well as fans will overlook a bad performance if a key player’s team wins a championship. Kobe was pretty bad in Game 7 of the 2010 NBA Finals, but LA pulled it out in a low scoring defensive game. Had LA lost Kobe would have been hammered, but LA won so no one said anything about it. Most folks judge a game by the scoreboard first and the box score second. They just don’t have the ability to see the game any other way.

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        • Macallanlover

          Agree with you. Like I was telling the cock psoter, any fool can read the scoreboard (headline), and all know that is how you determine the W/Ls. But the real story of the quality of a team is often found in “the rest of the story”. That is a better predictor of future performance, or any rematch if the teams were to meet again. Has nothing to do with “moral victories”, you either win or lose when you want a history lesson, but boxscores and storylines are just a better way of analyzing a team.

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  5. JaxDawg

    And yet we clearly see unrealized potential, ie, more accuracy, better decisions, generally that he could be more productive which shows just how talented he is. This isn’t a criticism since he’s only a rsS and will improve over time. He’s not Andrew Luck, yet.

    I hate to discuss “next year”, but with us returning our WR’s and RB’s, his weapons/options should be translate into more productivity. Assuming the line comes together.

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    • The Lone Stranger

      He has certainly fallen off from last season, but no one should discount the added complications of a Fr. running back taking most of the snaps & the loss of Green at WR. King and Brown and Bennett are fine recievers, but I doubt any of them command double-teams (those are probably going more to Charles). The skill it would be nice to see Murray grasp is the long ball. Maybe the more technique saavy on the board here could suggest as to whether this is a ‘learned skill’ or more of an innate ability.

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      • adam

        I think the long ball is just a matter of timing. Greene and Shock both threw it pretty damn well. And Stafford (as a sophomore and junior) was decent at it. Cox was good at the deep pass because he had so much practice in the system. It’s all timing. Murray threw the deep ball well last year to AJ, but he hasn’t really figured it out with the guys this year. He’ll figure it out.

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  6. Go Dawgs!

    Aaron Murray is a hell of a player. It’s just that simple. I think the reason we’ve been frustrated by some of the miscues this year is that we know what he’s capable of. I’m excited to see how he develops in his last two years at the helm. Go Dawgs.

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  7. Normaltown Mike

    RE: Occupy Aaron Murray.

    If Aaron is a 1%er, does that mean the other QB’s should be building a tent city at Butts-Mehre in protest of his success?

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  8. Russ

    Fire Bobo…uh,..wait, what?

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  9. 81Dog

    by my count, Bobo has already coached 3 guys at UGA who got a shot in the NFL, including a number 1 draft choice. Clearly, the guy is incompetent.

    /sarcasm.

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    • The Lone Stranger

      Only 1 has ever seriously sniffed a starting position. Was Shockley even drafted?

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      • Mayor of Dawgtown

        Shockley was drafted by Atlanta in the 7th round and was in the NFL for 3 years.

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      • Puffdawg

        “Only 1 has ever seriously sniffed a starting position.”

        Show me another college coach who has put 75% of his starters in the NFL Draft.

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        • The Lone Stranger

          Didn’t recall Shockley being drafted — once players hit it for “The League” my interest mostly leaves with them, mostly.

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          • 81Dog

            Good point. No point in letting yourself get bogged down with actual facts, just go with your uniformed opinion. That’s the ticket!

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  10. Boz

    There is no I in TEAM. If Murray goes down, it would be nice to have a backup with a little game experience… before he transfers.

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    • Go Dawgs!

      I think you can expect to get your backups some experience on Saturday, Boz. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with going with your most experienced play in close SEC games.

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  11. Bobo is likely a very good QB coach if not near extremely good, BUT not as offensive coordinator. He seem to get stuck on some comfort zone like Richt and stays with it win or lose. If not for the DAWGS Grantham defense, UGA likely would be at best 5-3 at present. Take a look at the scores.

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    • Guest

      Bobo is a QB coach (and recruiter) worth keeping, whatever his shortcomings as OC. He might even be open to demotion, though it’s hard to see how NCAA limits on coaching staff would permit a new OC plus Bobo staying as QB coach (unless we combine receivers and TE coaches).

      Grantham is a beast as DC. If he hangs around Athens awhile, his name might be whispered reverently about like Erk’s is now. Erk wouldn’t have put a public whoopin’ on an opposing head coach or publically choked an opposing kicker, but you have to like CTG’s fire. About time to show some!

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  12. paul

    I’ve had Bobo on double secret probation for a while now. Murray is no doubt an extremely talented young man. So far, he does seem to get a little too wound up in big games. Hopefully, he’ll learn to relax. If he does and if he hangs around, I think we will remember him as one of our best.

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    • Dog in Fla

      “I’ve had Bobo on double secret probation for a while now.”

      Excellent! It’s good to know somebody besides Mark is manning that wall. Am confident that your probation of Bobo, along with CPA Trey coaching what’s left of our running backs, will be more than enough to get everything back on track

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      • Cojones

        Don’t make snarky remarks about our running backs coach-in-waiting!

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        • Dog

          My only doubt about CPA Trey is whether he can recruit as well as his predecessor could.

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        • Dog in Fla

          I think CPA Trey’s tough love* way of coaching will do just fine as long as he takes Cosmic’s advice. The only doubt I have is with CPA Trey will be able to recruit as well as his predecessor

          *Trey (@cpadawg) November 1, 2011 at 3:46 PM
          “I guarantee you this would not have happened if I were the RB coach… because I wouldn’t let them test everyone at my position at the same time. Oh, and also, because if I caught any of my players smoking anything – legal or otherwise – I would make them run until their lungs exploded.”

          Cosmic Dawg November 1, 2011 at 6:57 PM
          “Yeah, right on! I say we let Trey coach the running backs! You want to get high? I’ll give you a reason to get high – we’re gonna let a CPA coach your ass.
          “Dang, Coach Trey…lookit you turnin’ all red and everything…we was just gonna smoke us a little weed, now you’re trying to mess us up and make our lungs explode. And look what we did – we gave some to Blair, put on some Chi-Lites…now he’s gigglin’ like a little girl, tryin’ to get him to just chill a little, get loose n’ all…lookit him dancin’ over there.
          And we gave some to Aaron, too…he’s wound up TIGHT, throwin’ the ball to Russ, throwin’ the ball to the mascot, throwin’ the ball to somebody he thinks lives inside the ground…damn…like a crazy person.
          I think Coach Todd might need him some too. I ain’t gonna bring it up, you know, right to his face and all, but maybe you can get him some.”

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  13. Mike Cooley

    I hope the Hutson Mason lovers never get a chance to see him. Murray going down would be a huge blow. People don’t realize what they are saying. It’s a football cliche because it’s true; people love the backup qb until they have to watch him play.

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    • WFdawg

      I hope we don’t see HM for that reason. I hope we do see lots of him in the second half Saturday because we’re already up by 30.

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  14. Guest

    I don’t mind Mason getting some playing time against Coastal Carolina and hopefully this weekend’s game, but I’m tired of seeing these articles where he whines about playing time. The last article I read on Mason was that he would make a decision “at the end of the season” as to whether he will come back. Wrong attitude for a team player!

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    • Mayor of Dawgtown

      Correct. I also seem to recall Mason not being recruited all that highly and being sooooo grateful when UGA signed him. That said I like the kid and hope he stays. If he is going to go he better do it after this season, though. He still has a redshirt year to use if he wants to transfer.

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    • Zdawg

      Well, he’s sandwiched between Murray and LeMay. There is a chance he may never see the field for an entire game. Hard to blame him, but he could be a little more under the radar about this.

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      • Cojones

        You are point on, Zdawg. He’s looking over his shoulder at a 4-5 star rated rsFr. Hope it works out for all, but once the itch to move takes over, you can’t tell what the outcome may be. LeMay came in knowing he could be another DJ. Think that his attitude is weathering the in-game meter well. A pat on the back every once in a while won’t hurt.

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    • Stephen Garcia

      If Mason wants to go someplace other than Georgia I know a place that has a vacancy at QB. Have him call me.

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      • Boz

        And if he plays his cards right, he can skip spring practice every year !!1!!

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        • Cojones

          Nah. He’d have to go through getting a fake 21 card, suffer inumerable ego beatings at the hands of his coach and learn to be a two-fisted drinker. This is a squared up Eagle Scout we are talking about. He just needs to be patient, learn to roll a joint and relax.

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    • Siskey

      Exactly. He was offered a scholarship at the last minute. He should be happy and do what he can to contribute. Maybe if he is good enough he can play at some point in the future. If not it is unlikely that he would go somewhere else and improve his position. Unless he seriously downgraded the scenery and level of competition.

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  15. DeerHunterGuy

    You’d expect Murray’s numbers to be good, UGA QB’s always are. Especially this year’s last 6 games, teams have been really bad, most have 4 losses, some have 5 or 6 losses. Little surprised his numbers arn’t higher considering that.

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  16. DeerHunterGuy

    I’m reserving praise for Murray until he beats at least 1 winning or ranekd team in his career. All these stats and wins against bad teams don’t impress me.

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    • Puffdawg

      Would that be when they play, or after the season? Or both? Or neither? Good Lord some of you people are retarded.

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      • DeerHunterGuy

        What’s the win/loss record of the best team Murray beat in 2010 and 2011? Goodness, some fo you are funny.

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        • Puffdawg

          2010 Kentucky 4-3 when we played them
          2010 GT 6-5 when we played them
          2011 Coastal Carolina 2-0 when we played them
          2011 Tennessee 3-1 when we played them
          2011 Vandy 3-2 when we played them
          2011 Florida 4-3 when we played them

          As for ranked teams,
          2010 GT ranked as high as #15
          2011 Miss St ranked as high as #16
          2011 Florida ranked as high as #12

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          • DeerHunterGuy

            You didn’t answer the question. I said what’s the win/loss record of the best team Murray beat in 2010 and 2011? And none in 2010 ended up with a top 25 ranking. Point is, he’s never beat a strong team in 8 tries.

            How many of Murray’s td’s have come against ranked teams % wise in 2010 or 2011? Eever REALLY looked at his stats?

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            • Cojones

              What the hell do you mean, DHG. UCF was ranked when we played them in the bow……wha?…. really?….uh, well we played them (looking down at my shoe toe making circles in the dirt).

              Seriously, I don’t need no stinkin’ rankin’ for the teams we beat. Just enjoy football like Puffdawg and a whole lot others do. This ain’t no damn NFL. When the time comes to whip some ranked ass, most of us feel the team is up for it and we will enjoy cheering for them no matter who they play.

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          • Mayor of Dawgtown

            Not siding with DHG on this–I like Murray–but none of the ’10 teams you mentioned had winning seasons when the season was over, which is the only way you really can look at it. The ’11 teams all look like losing seasons except possibly Florida (whom I hope loses all remaining games except the USCe game) and Coastal Carolina. I guess Vandy is a possibility, too, if they get to a bowl and win that bowl game. UT is headed to oblivion (I hope).

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      • Keese

        Puff, he has a qualified point. Murray still needs to get over the hump.

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    • D.N. Nation

      Florida had a winning record when he beat them.

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  17. 69Dawg

    Aaron is his own worst enemy. He just gets too jacked up. He needs to run more to work off some of that energy. The other problem is the coaches never take him out after a big hit, instead they leave him in a dazed state and he throws a pick. It has happened a few times over the last two years. He’s tough but get him out and let him clear his head.

    We never seem to have the stars align for us, we get the best QB and RB in 25 years and the D sucks. We get a good QB and the OL sucks. Damn I wish Mark’s luck would change but it’s been bad for so many years it might not.

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  18. Mike Cooley

    Some people are malcontents and overthink this stuff. They will complain no matter what. Murray hasn’t been perfect but he has been good. Do you think we would have the same record with Joe Cox as our starter? Better question, would we have a better record with Mason as our starter? I seriously doubt it. Murray has had a strange year. But it’s called the sophomore slump for a reason. I think his biggest problem may be that he tries too hard. I’m glad he’s our qb. Would yall rather have Brantley?

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    • DeerHunterGuy

      Soph slump? He had a Fresh slump too, went 0-6 against ranked teams in 2010.

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      • yurdle

        So did the rest of the team. Your point?

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        • Andy V

          Aaron has struggled against ranked teams both in wins and td production. No argument there. He has put together some impressive numbers from the other teams he has faced though, no argument there either.

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          • Keese

            Last year at Auburn and the drive at the end in this years SC game he was the best I’ve seen him play

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          • adam

            He looked pretty good against #1 Auburn last year until the offense tried to slow down and the OL decided to call it a day with 3 quarters left. He was also Jekyll and Hyde against Florida. How Jekyll was really good though.

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  19. DeerHunterGuy

    Only 11 of those passing td’s, roughly 1/3, came against ranked teams.

    Roughly 2/3rd of Murray’s pass td’s were against unranked teams.

    Doesn’t impress me.

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    • yurdle

      What would? Show me a game where Murray has been a net negative. Florida last year? Liberty Bowl? USC this year?

      I want to see major improvement from the guy – he gets jitters and misses the easy guy way too often. But your fixation on beating a ranked team simply defies my capacity to understand. Did Murray let Lattimore run for 3 miles in two games? Did Murray fail to stop Cam Newton? Did Murray fumble the ball in the redzone against Colorado? Did Murray fail to defend a fake punt?

      It takes a team performance to beat a ranked team. Murray has played well enough to beat ranked opponents.

      And, in any event, what’s your point? Is it “don’t think too highly of Murray because he hasn’t won the big game yet”? Almost everybody agrees with that. But if your point is “Murray should sit and somebody else should start,” then it’s time to put down the rubber cement.

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    • DawgWalker07

      But only 4 of the 21 teams Georgia’s played in the past two seasons have been ranked by the end of the season (since we don’t know who will be ranked by the end of this season I didn’t count any of them in this statistic-see I can do creative math too), so that means 1/3 of his passing touchdowns came against 19% of his competition. Even if you lump Boise State and SC in to the mix that’s still 6:21 or only 28.5% of his competition.

      Booyah.

      And as an aside, I don’t disagree that Murray has struggled against ranked opponents. This is just a completely lame and meaningless measurement of his worth as a QB because it’s so easily manipulated.

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  20. If you don’t think that Bobo is holding Murray (and our whole offense) back, then you’re not as smart as I thought you were.

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    • Cojones

      For what reason dumbshit? Unfortunately his arm won’t reach out on the field to throw the pass, to receive it and to block for Murray to throw it. Do you guys hang around on dead trees waiting to throw some insult at the first chance you think you see? You can put that where the sun don’t shine…and if you really are Andy Coleman, go look for a job somewhere else.

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  21. D.N. Nation

    DeerHunterGuy = BuLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLdawg.

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  22. Mike Cooley

    Why do you think that Murray has to “impress” you? As someone said, the entire team lost those games. You think some of those losses might have had something to do with the fact that we were in year one of a new defensive scheme with a new DC and new position coaches sans Garner? Think that might have been part of it? Or were each and ever one of those losses Murray’s sole responsibility? If we had won them would it be all because of Murray? Or would you still be carping that he didn’t complete all of his passes?

    Again, do you think Hutson Mason wins those games? And if so, what evidence do you have to back that up? Like I said, some will complain no matter what.

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    • Tennis Guy

      Mike,

      I think a little competition at QB wouldn’t hurt anyone. We have to find a way to start winning the games against the good teams, frankly, any UGA quarterback could win games 3-9. Question is, how can we start winning against the Boises, the Gamecocks, Auburn, and so on.

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  23. SAVBOB

    BEEJEBUS, Deer Man became Tennis Guy!

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