I told someone the other day that if Kirby Smart elected to start Jacob Eason on Day One of the 2016 season, it was an indication that the staff had decided to write off winning the East in return for building the program for success in the following season.
There’s a pretty solid rebuttal to that, though.
Following Will Grier’s unexpected one-year suspension in October, Florida won the East without a reliable quarterback over the second half of the season, an indictment on a weak division as much as it was the Gators going 3-1 against SEC competition without him.
The East isn’t exactly a bastion of excellence this season, either. Every team except for Tennessee will either start someone at quarterback who wasn’t the opening game starter last season or has a new head coach. And I’m not sold yet on Tennessee, for that matter.
So, another reader poll for you today – could Georgia overcome the impediment of starting a true freshman quarterback and still make an appearance in the 2016 SECCG?
Comments, as always, are welcomed.
Get The Picture 
Don’t see why not. All we have to do is show up and play in every game. If Florida and Tennessee did it, it can’t be that hard.
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Anything is possible. My father and I have a bet going right now. He says Eason is going to start the season, and I say it’s going to be Lambert. My reason for saying Lambert is that he’s a known quantity and Eason has too much to learn and too many bad habits to work on before any sane coach would want to start him. My father says it’ll all come down to the pressure Smart will feel from the Dawg Nation and he’ll have no choice but to start Eason, because that way even if he sucks he can yank him and put in Lambert. Whereas if he starts Lambert right off people will be screaming for Eason blah blah. I think I’m starting to come around to my dad’s way of thinking….
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The problem for Lambert is that he is a known quantity. 😉
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All you have to do is look at how many dropped INTs Lambert had. Lambert almost single-handily lost the Missouri game. WR and D saved him on the first pick, crappy DBs missed the other 2-3 picks he tried to give them.
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Yes, merk..it was uncanny how many pics he had dropped. I don’t even want to imagine what the W/L record would be if even half of those were held on to. I
The good news is that it’s an indication that ‘Old Lady Luck” is still smiling on the Dawgs in some respects.
I wouldn’t be suprised to see B R get the nod. I still think he’s got the skills and if he has just seen the light a little bit, he could still make it happen. It’s all up to him..but I can’t see KS just letting him sit stagnant…he’s got talent, Kirby needs talent, and somebody’s going to win out on the war of wills.
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Anyone that watched 13 games most in person and several practices with the QB play we had knows Eason will start first game of season.
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I only watched 4 games in person and Lambert is a decent backup QB. And that is about it. If I see him throw one more 2-yard underneath route when it is 3rd and 8, I might spontaneously combust.
Fix Ramsey, or go with Eason from the start.
And this is from someone that watched in person when Stafford got pulled for poor QB play and Joe Cox had to save the day late against Colorado.
So, yeah, I know the downside for a young QB in the SEC.
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My favorite Lambert throw, is when the WR is open and he throws it at their knees or feet.
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Should have held this poll until after GDay!
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There had better be another poll post G Day game.
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I’ll be shocked if Eason doesn’t start against UNC and beyond. While Eason’s HS competition was considered mediocre to poor, he still has all the tools and was ranked accordingly by all the recruiting services. He also supposed to be a bright kid as well and been in the program since Jan, thus I think he’ll be further along in his development than many of us anticipate.
Frankly, while starting a true freshman is a big risk, unfortunately starting Lambert is a big risk as well, given his inconsistencies overall…especially in big games. Thus, you might as well go with the option with greater upside and potential, and take your lumps as they come.
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You could have said the same thing about Stafford and he didn’t start Game 1. The transition from HS to college is a big jump. Especially coming from an offense where Eason didn’t get under center. He has to learn the entire process of reading the defense from under center vs. in the gun, getting the snap, dropping back correctly while reading his keys, and then throwing with the correct timing. That is on top of learning a new offensive scheme and adjusting to the speed of the college game.
I think he will play/start eventually this season but I would be very surprised if he starts against UNC.
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thank you. he’s got a huge amount of things to learn, piled onto the fact that just because he’s a 5 star with a big arm, it doesn’t guarantee success.
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Yep, and Stafford had never taken snaps from under center as well. #7 was a very special talent, and he couldn’t win the starting job on week 1.
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The poll should say “could” Georgia win the east? Who knows what they “will” do with any QB?
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If Matthew Stafford (who was MUCH more advanced as a QB at this point than Eason appears to be) didn’t start over JT3, there’s no way Eason takes the first snap over Lambert (or Ramsey) in the Georgia Dome. Yes, I understand that Richt & Bobo aren’t running the offense anymore. Yes, I do believe Eason is going to play (likely in week 2). If he does start vs. the Tar Heels, I believe Kirby knows that he’s taking his lumps during the honeymoon period with the idea of building the team for 2017.
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Will history repeat itself? Will a team wearing red and black not start a stud true freshman and fall so far behind they have no second half hopes. I bet Louisville wishes they had started Jackson last year vs. Auburn
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I can’t disagree with any of that. Coaches aren’t known as a group willing to step out on a limb especially those that have the gig for the 1st time.
At points last season, I thought Eason was the best QB on the team even though he wasn’t on the team. I would be very surprised if Kirby and, more importantly, Chaney throw Eason into the deep end of the pool in game 1 to see what he’s got.
Kirby has to balance winning now with what’s best long term. I’m not sure he has that luxury because there will be the segments of the fan base on each end of spectrum that won’t give him the benefit of the doubt. On one end, the “championship or bust” crowd will say putting in Eason didn’t get us anything other than a “Belk Bowl championship.” Those who are still resisting the change will be saying, “We could have had this with CMR.” The majority of us in the middle want to see the team succeed now and want to see the future. You play the guy who positions you best to win now whether that’s Lambert, Ramsey or Eason. If the goals change, you change to the guy who will give you the best opportunity to win in the future.
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The quarterback discussion inevitably sucks all the air out of the room, but IMHO, questions on the O-line and D-line are much more important. If Georgia does win the East, it won’t be because of world beating QB play, it will be on the back of a solid running game and good enough defense that can stop the run.
In that scenario, the best quarterback is the one that doesn’t make mistakes. This is why I probably won’t read too much into the starter at the beginning of the season. But if we start seeing games being put on to the quarterback’s shoulders, that’s a sign the original formula didn’t work, and chances of winning anything significant probably aren’t great.
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Solid comment.
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Well said
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In Re How Green…
Christopher HItchens credits that movie with an early (if not the) moment of social consciousness.
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I voted no. Any team in the SEC that starts a true freshman game 1 is destined to struggle through more lows than highs…that’s just the nature of the beast. Lambert will start in the Dome vs UNC and Eason will play a few series here and there. That being said, Eason will be the starting QB before the midpoint of the season.
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Exactly my thoughts as well, Skeptic. Excellent point of view.
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You could make a case that UGA’s chances are better IF Eason starts than if he doesn’t. To have earned enough confidence from the staff that he has some command of the offense by September is the best sign we could have. Both Lambert and Ramsey have had support from fans and/or coaches to be the starter in the past season, I would say Eason will have to be pretty danged good to be selected by those who have seen him at over 35 official practices by then.
I don’t think it is inconceivable that any of the top three contenders could win the East, regardless of who starts at UGA, there just isn’t a strong case for any of them. Slight edge to TN but the UNC game has no impact on winning the East Division. Smart has a chance to ride with Eason if he is anywhere close to being the best choice for the opener, gives him experience before the serious conference schedule begins, and a leg up on 2017. With no insight at all of what is happening on the practice fields, I would say the odds are about 35% on both Ramsey and Lambert, and 30% on Eason. But I do hope they can get at least 20 pounds on the skinny QB before mid August.
Starting Eason would take some pressure off Smart this first year and have minimal downside (unless he is a total flop at grasping the college game before summer practice, in other words, he just has to be close to where Stafford was in his first season.)
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Recent pics are quite clear that he’s put on 15-20 lbs of late, and not necessarily a good kind of 20 lbs. So he’s already good to go there. During recruiting visits he mentioned his love of Chick-fil-A and various southern foods, and it seems he’s had his fill since arriving in Athens.
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Frequent trips to Barbaritos could also explain it.
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Too many trips to Weaver D’s ?
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I voted YES because of how weak the SECe is (again) and we have a great shot at winning it whoever is at QB. I absolutely can’t see Eason starting until Kirby and staff have the utmost confidence in the OL. No way you get your future QB killed behind a leaky OL. Lambert can manage wins and Ramsey has his last chance to take charge. I don’t think we see Eason at all unless the season gets away from us, and still only if the OL is good enough to protect him.
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I think we’ll see Eason. It’s just a matter of when and how much especially if you believe we’re only going to have him for 3 years regardless.
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I think it will be Eason as long as Kirby doesn’t think he is going to get killed back there in the early games due to our rebuilt offensive line. That kid is too important to lose straight out of the gate in his true freshman campaign because he gets completely blindsided on a blitz. Anyhow, no…we will not win the East if Eason starts against UNC.
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Good post – agree with everything you’ve written. If #10 is the first guy out there, we aren’t likely going to Atlanta, and he clearly doesn’t need to be out there if he’s going to get beaten up.
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The sec east is in terrible shape. I think we should win the division regardless of who the QB is. Heck, even if we abandoned all 3 QBs and went with the wild dawg I’d still give us a better than 50% chance of winning the division.
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Still don’t understand why nobody here respects UT. Not saying they’re going to beat Bama or anything, but they beat us last year and return their awesome QB. Our best case scenario involves getting Chubb back and a freshman QB that has a fast learning curve.
Lots has to come together for us to be better than UT.
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Part of the lack of respect is the fact that it took the worst tackling performance of the defense all season plus losing Chubb on the first series for them to eke out a one-score win at home, and Lambert still almost brought the team into position to tie it (both an OK final drive, and a perfectly-thrown-but-dropped bomb that would have been the tying TD).
So this season there’s no Cursed Turf, it’s in Athens, the offense isn’t called by Schotty, and surely such shoddy tackling won’t be replicated on defense.
Meanwhile, UT did upgrade at DC, but Willie Mart’s still “coaching” the DBs.
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Yep..last years loss to Tennessee was uncalled for. Georgia clearly could have and should have won….but there is an overlooked fact..a very telling fact..that happened in that game that made the difference. Butchie Boy went for it on fourth down a couple of times, when a certain other coach was playing conservative. By doing that, he showed his team he had faith in them and that if they would play “lights out”, then they would steal that game. Their whole reputation as a renewed SEC favorite was built in that game. Georgia can get pay back this year and climb on top for a good while with a solid win over Tennessee in Athens.
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They haven’t beaten UF since 2004 and they haven’t beaten Bama since 2006. That’s why.
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In my opinion, we blew the game. Yes technically they beat us but I say we beat ourselves. Now, we probably are not as good as last year ? I havent kept up with UT except the off-field escapades of some players but are they supposed to be better than last year ?
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I would put the top three in this order: UT, UGA, UF. I think UF is a distant 3rd.
UGA has the easiest schedule of all three (Ole Miss and Aub, both winnable games). UT has their Bama annual and at A&M from west. UF has a loss against LSU (loss) and at ARK.
UF is gonna lose at least three SEC games (to UT, UGA and LSU).
UT v. UGA IN ATHENS will decide the East. Will Mr. Eason have enough experience by then?
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I think we have equal talent and as good or better coaching as last year…we won 10 games and should have beat UT…AND we replace Bama with Ole Miss. I’m thinking we play in Atlanta come December.
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Am i the only one upset that Godwin was not an option on there for QB? Guy was one of the best WR we had last year and made a pretty good case for QB in the bowl game.
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So starting anyone other than Eason locks up the SEC EAST ? wow.
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I voted yes, largely because last year, as bad as Lambert looked in some games, the QB play was rarely the difference in the actual outcome of the game. You can’t blame the Bama game on him because so many things – special teams in particular – went wrong about the only thing was make the score a little closer. UF might be a QB case except it wasn’t Lambert. We should have scored more against Mizzou, allbarn, Yech, Southern, etc., but we still won.
If we end up needing a QB to put the team on his back and save the game, I’d say we’re going to be screwed this year. But hopefully we’ll complete enough that it won’t come down to that.
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Good points, DDB, but if you look at points made early in this thread, you will notice references to the number of dropped pics that Lambert lucked out on last year. Lambert is gifted with size, and apparently a great practice gig, but his skills under game pressure seem to deflate.
Georgia was really fortunate to win ten games..and to escape the embaressment of losing to Georgia Southern. Don’t know if we’ll be lucky enought to pull those games out without some better play all around and especially at QB.
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Exactly Ugly… Lambert is all-world when no pressure (see South Carolina game) but against even a mediocre D, he reminds me of Steve Bartkowski after he had the knee surgery – as soon as the pocket started shrinking he gets happy feet and treats the ball like a hot potato.
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If the staff “decided to write off winning the East in return for building the program for success in the following season”, would they redshirt Eason? Should they?
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I would be very surprised to see Eason sit the whole season. If he’s as good as advertised, he’s leaving in ’18 regardless of whether he started for 2 years or 3 years.
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Yeah, that’s a good point. I hadn’t thought about it like that. Thanks.
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I voted “Yes” because Spring football is a lie and I intend to lie to myself for the next several months thank you very much.
Pass the Kool-Aid®, please.
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Hope springs eternal. Here, refill mine too.
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