I’ve got a follow up question for some of you guys who think Smart’s just playing hide and seek with Gene Chizik on who the starter will be. Per Chip Towers,
Smart expressed a level of frustration with regard to the ongoing quarterback competition. Once again, he indicated that none of the three played to significantly better than the others to the point of establishing some distance on the depth chart. So Jacob Eason, Greyson Lambert and Brice Ramsey will continue to rotate repetitions with the No. 1 offense evenly. But they can expect to that pared down at the end of this week. Scrimmage No. 2 coming this next Saturday will be a big determining factor.
So, if that’s the case, how does Smart parcel out the reps after the next scrimmage?
1 offense: 50% Lambert & 50% Ramsey……# 2 offense: 100% Eason. That is the way things like this usually go.
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Usually goes that way for teams that haven’t recruited the #1 QB in the country and aren’t in desperate need of a downfield threat…which makes this decision even more interesting.
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Just because he may have a good arm, or the best arm (“downfield threat”), does not mean he may be the most ready to lead a team. It is getting down to nut cracking time, at least one of them will move to the number 2 offense imo….and Kirby may not even show that (open practices). Just guessing of course, as I am sure Carolina is too.
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Agreed. A LOT depends on our running game to make that decision…and thats why they pay those guys the big bucks…
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That feels different than previous QB post. If none have distinguished themselves, Eason is the only one with a trajectory that isn’t flat. Time is unfortunately probably not going to help the other two appreciably, DGD though they be.
Perhaps let Lambert and Ramsey battle for the #1 and #2 starting QB spots but give Eason snaps in games every chance you get until he becomes your true backup and eventual starter.
I would possibly let my #1 starter and Eason practice with the 1’s, splitting reps 75/25.
My #2 starter go with the 2’s, also giving Eason 25% of those reps.
I am certain that’s a prescription for disaster to any sound football mind. 🙂
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Oh goody. A quarterback rotation.
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No offense intended, Cosmo. But no need to be putting ideas in our heads. We are all twitchy enough after the last couple of seasons.
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I can’t think of any two qb teams that have won sec titles:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/1976_Georgia_Bulldogs_football_team
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006_Florida_Gators_football_team
http://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/schools/georgia/1966.html
It’s also unheard of to win a sec title with a true freshman quarterback:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tommy_Hodson
Maybe years ending with “6” go a little different? (Maybe 1996 breaks it up a bit but even their qb went through significant platooning before that season, so I’ll count it too.)
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’76….Ray Goff & Matt Robinson.
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How about UGA 2002?
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If nobody is able to beat Lambert out..you probably go with him until that time…
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I seriously doubt UNC has anything to do with it.
They have two good corners. They will trust both on an island and bring both safeties down. No matter who we trot out at QB.
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They won’t after a few TEs receive a few long tosses. Use your imagination for the thrower.
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Uh oh. Sounds like somebody had better go park a new Trans Am in front of the house of that kid from Cartersville.
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Trevor Lawrence? Man, I hope we don’t have to wait that long for a QB.
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I have to disagree with Cosmic Dog above: Ramsey has got to be on an upward trajectory as well. Smart had a front row seat to his miserable performance against Bama last year; if he’s pulled even with Lambert and Eason, for any reason, that’s good news for #12. (Brice Ramsey 2016: I want to believe.)
I just wonder if they are all being measured by the same metric. Smart’s comments about good and bad plays seem to relate to taking care of the ball and making good decisions — an area in which Lambert should have an obvious advantage over at least Eason. If that’s not the case, does that indicate that a) Lambert started at square one along with the other two in Chaney’s system and isn’t adjusting any faster, b) or that both Ramsey and Eason have caught up in their ability to run the offense the way Smart wants?
To answer the question from the previous post, everything Smart has said in public indicates to me that he’s looking for the same thing in his quarterback that his Alabama teams had under Saban. So that would indicate to me that while Ramsey and Eason are coming along well, Lambert might not be good enough by Smart/Chaney’s evaluation to be the “default”/”safe” choice that we have all assumed he would be.
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I hope you’re right – I’m rooting for all of ’em to reach their full potential.
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I don’t understand why everyone jumps on Brice for the Alabama game. He wasn’t given many snaps up until that game.. that game’s weather was horrendous (a downpour), the game’s situation was horrendous (losing and losing badly), and he came in and made risky plays to try to get us back in the game and failed.
This is more of a failure on coaching than on Brice.
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+1.
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If we are in a position where a true freshman that is not really shining at practice is somehow the best option at qb, 8 wins might be a stretch this season. If Eason isn’t separating himself from Lambert and Ramsey people should maybe step back from their infatuation with him.
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I have to admit that back in January I was convinced that Eason would start. Now, after his apparent inability to separate himself from Lambert and Ramsey and all the Debbie Downer statistics (damn statistics!) that the Senator keeps posting about true freshman QBs in the SEC, I am actually starting to think that Smart will/should (I can’t believe I’m saying should) start Ramsey or Lambert over Eason this season.
Cry cry.
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Sam Vaughn #4 walk on looked pretty good with TD throw. About 35 yard swing pass to FB.
Just sayin………….
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Spot On Athens Dog… I noticed that too!
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Vaughn may be the real deal after all the dust settles.
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I wonder if Mark Richt is aware of how the QB battle at UGA is unfolding. If so, he must be smiling smugly as he remembers how many people (including myself) called he and Schotty stupid for not naming a until Week 1…. Meanwhile our Savior CKS looks like he is on track to be doing the same thing…..
In the final analysis I think Chaney will go with his gut on this. It won’t be about any practice stats. And I don’t think CKS will have much input. I think he’ll ask Chaney, “Who’s it gonna be?” And he’ll tell Smart who it’s gonna be. And Smart will say, “I hope you know what the hell your doing.” And Chaney will say, “You worry about what Mel’s doing and I’ll worry about averaging 40 points a game this year. lol
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All things being equal, my heart says to go with the guy why has the higher ceiling. (Read: Eason). While it doesn’t surprise me that Eason hasn’t necessarily come in and murdered the competition, I personally find that more damning for Lambert/Ramsey than I do and indictment of Eason’s ability to learn the playbook/ game manage. When you have a graduate transfer who won 10 of his 12 starts last year (albeit underwhelmingly at times), and a rJr. who would’ve been given the keys had Bobo stayed – I see that as they’re unable to put in some separation over a kid who was in AP English this time, last year.
Chaney has to be QB Whisperer Royale to get anything resembling a competent performance out of Ramsey, and to de-spook Lambert. #11 appeared to shake like a chihuahua every time he got the snap, last year. I guaran-damn-tee you that opposing secondaries aren’t going to be as INT drop-happy as they were against Lambert in 2015. His stats were artificially skewed towards not murdering him in his sleep for that simple fact.
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I just realize I went to the “murder” well twice. Apologies to those with sensitive constitutions.
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Well now that Quincy Mauger is hurt, I’m just glad cmr isn’t around to make eason the starting safety
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Lambert 20%
Eason 35%-40%
Ramsey 45%-40%
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2014 Clemson Tigers…that’s what I expect to see. In fact, I think that is more likely the longer RamBert doesn’t distinguish himself from Eason.
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BTW…I think we all need to realize that the dynamic changes when you go from a coach who assumed (rightly it seems) that he had to go with a win-now approach every season to continue to justify his job to a new coach with the security that he is ‘building’ something different.
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…but KS said he would go with the player that gives us the best chance to win…now even. He has talked about building depth and down-played our current talent, but I don’t remember him suggesting wins wouldn’t come while he was having to build. Just saying.
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It’s not a scrape and rebuild…but I don’t think Richt ever felt like he had the luxury of letting Ramsey learn how to be a QB in 2014 or 2015.
What’s the goal? Winning the SEC, right? You probably aren’t doing that in 2016 with any of the three guys they have on the roster. The difference is that Richt couldn’t say ‘well…Brice gives me the best shot in 2015 or 16 so I’m going to let him take his lumps instead of playing Mason or Lambert’ because he knew after they didn’t win one with Murray, he was one 8-4 season away from getting fired. Kirby can take 8-4 if it gets him to 12-1 in 2017.
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You figure the freshman is going to have the most big plays although some might be to the defense. On the other hand the senior will give the least away to the defense but can’t be counted on when you need a big play on offense.
My guess:
#3 – Ramsey – he didn’t even throw that much in high school
#2 – Lambert – he’s the safe one
#1 – Eason – this is where Chaney earns his pay
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Maybe someone can answer this. Are they equally good or equally bad?
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Yes.
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Strongly doubt if KS and staff will go thru a decision making process like CMR and staff went thru prior to the UF game last season.
Plus KS does not put much out there between the hedges for public consumption like CMR did. KS learned something from NS.
No doubt they want to start putting their UNC game package in asap, plus some for Mizzou and Ole MIss. Three road games will cut down on prep.
Plus who know what schemes Chaney and KS plan to use.
What bothers KS the most is what he is seeing from Lambert and Ramsey, and then relating that back to the hose down his Bama defense did last year on these two. No doubt that stays with him.
Who knows, but many care. I always think a QB can get it done if the defense is lights out, gets turnovers, the O is turnover free …Buck Belue taught me a lot in the NC game about handoffs even when Walker was shut down for a half…but that was back in the day.
I am very curious to see the Chaney offense more than the QB matter.
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The most puzzling thing to me about the QB play the past two seasons plus going into 2016, is those two past bowl games. Granted Louisville and PSU were not a UF or Bama, but many thought the coaching situation in those two games would be a concern, but the QBs on a whole did okay.
Four piss poor 2015 QB games…Vandy, Bama, UF, and GT. 2-2, but damn if Vandy and GT were way too close because of no receivers and no passing game.
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Maybe the QB’s aren’t lighting it up because that Mel Tucker aligned defense may be ahead of the pack.
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Kirby is a Chester cat. He’s only gonna let so much out. But as time and season wears on I think Eason will be the QB
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A chester cat? Do you mean a cheshire cat? …or is this some term I’ve never heard of before?
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It gets better, too: we have a walk on QB, former Bama recruit, eligible to play immediately.
https://www.dawgnation.com/football/georgia-adds-a-walk-on-quarterback-with-alabama-ties
Hmmmm.
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If there is not much separation, go with Eason and Lambert. Eason is the future and if his youth doesn’t separate him from the other two makes no sense not to have him ready. Lambert has experience, so he’ll be the backup.
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