Georgia’s offense isn’t quarterback-centric (13th in the conference in pass attempts), so this probably isn’t getting as much attention as it should be getting:
Through three games this season, Georgia sophomore Jake Fromm is completing 80 percent of his passes, which leads FBS quarterbacks and would surpass the SEC single-season record set by former Kentucky star Tim Couch in 1998.
Georgia freshman Justin Fields, the No. 1 overall player in the 2018 ESPN 300, also has played well in limited action this season, completing 14 of 17 passes for 141 yards with two touchdowns and averaging 9.6 yards per carry.
That translates into passer ratings of 206.60 for Fromm and 191.34 for Fields.
Lot of credit goes to Coley, who’s coaching them up, Chaney, who’s putting them in good positions in games to excel, and, of course, Smart, who’s managing a situation that hasn’t shown a hint of drama so far.
And while something dramatic would have to happen for the pecking order to change, Fields is probably going to see an increased role, as well.
“I’ve been pleased with both guys, and I think both guys are improving,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said. “Both guys have room for improvement and are continuing to work hard. I think the biggest thing for each one of them is if you can continue to prepare at the highest level so that you’re prepared for every situation you can be presented in a game.”
Fields got his most extensive action in last week’s 49-7 win over Middle Tennessee State. When he replaced Fromm for good in the third quarter, the Bulldogs led 35-7 and had 382 yards of offense. Fields ran for a 15-yard touchdown and threw a 9-yard scoring pass to Jayson Stanley.
Smart had decided last week that Fields would play more against MTSU. He isn’t divulging how much Fields will play going forward, starting with Saturday’s game at Missouri.
“I think he just got more and more comfortable,” Smart said. “I think, early on, he’s a freshman, he’s hyper, he’s excited. He sees things well, can come over and tell you what he saw. That’s important to me, to make sure his eyes are downfield and he’s seeing the right things, and if things break down and if there’s pressure, he can use his feet to create. He does a good job doing that.”
So far, so great.
Get The Picture 
Fromm will get most, if not all, of the meaningful snaps this year, I expect. The problem, if there ever is one, comes next year when Fields is pretty much as ready to play as Fromm and you have to make a decision.
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You really can’t say that definitively, even for this year. What if the offense stalls and we get behind vs. LSU or Auburn. Then, Fields comes in and we come back to win. At that point, it will become a tougher situation to handle for Kirby.
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I didn’t state it definitively, but I also don’t expect the offense to stagnate against anyone but maybe Alabama in the championship game.
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I believe Fromm is #2 in ESPN and Saturday Down South’s QB rankings FWIW.
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Stable of hyped running backs, monster O-Line, 5 star receivers, and a surgically efficient but underrated QB? David Greene says that seems like a recipe for devastating play action.
Some poor defense and a CBS cameraman is going to get embarrassed this year.
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There can be almost zero criticisms of Fromm, but the one I have is how badly he executes fakes on play action passes. Hasn’t hurt him yet, but he is nowhere close to the slight of hand fakes David Greene showed us. I am surprised, given how detail oriented this staff is, that we have seen little evidence Jake has improved from a year ago. I watched one example in last week’s game and wondered why he just goes through the motion. He barely gets close to the RB, guess the blocking look and having a RB in the same zip code is enough these days. Kind of a nit because Fromm is so damned good, but that is all the more reason it should be worked on, he has time to work on it. No camera man is going to have trouble getting this right, wasn’t the case with Greene (and I am not talking about the “hide the sausage”, back-to-the defense play.)
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And Mahomes is on pace for 80 TDs and 0 INTs
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As a Texas Tech and UGA grad, I would have absolutely loved to have seen Pat Mahomes play for UGA, or really anywhere with a decent line and a defense. That kid is a baller, through and through.
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No team ever has a QB problem unless adversity hits. Then things get interesting in a hurry.
Which is why the #1 solution to a QB problem is a great defense. And which is why Georgia has QB options, not a QB dilemma.
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I think Fromm has been a little off this year. I haven’t seen the growth I was hoping to see. His decision making has been slow and he still doesn’t see the middle of the field. We will see how he does against better competition. Next year is the year Fields could challenge for the job.
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Imagine what he could do if he was on. I feel like I live in a different world than other people sometimes. He played one bad quarter against South Carolina.
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Senator:
I have to assume you want us to pronounce this headline as “How-stin”?
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Really pithy. I wonder how many ATL folks get that…
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This can’t be right. I commented after the USCjr game that Fromm seemed off and wasn’t throwing well. (Senator, can you delete that comment?)
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The actual quote from astronaut Jack Swigert is: “Houston, we’ve had a problem “. I think Tom Hanks is the one who said: “Houston, we have a problem.” But Tom Hanks wasn’t really on Apollo 13.
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They both said it, Swigert, then Lovell.
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Swigert said it first and Lovell repeated it when Houston asked them to repeat it.
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Lots of slants.
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I just hope Downing plays a lot of 4th quarters.
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Is it too early to give Cortez Hankton a bit of credit? I know our talent base in the WR room has increased dramatically, but it seems like we’re also able to rely on pretty much anyone to catch the ball now.
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All the stats and Fromm is throwing to the right side of the field to boot! I know in a Grown Man football sense this does not make sense, but i would like to see what Fromm would do with 35 pass attempts.
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You sure about that?
He had 28 attempts at Auburn last year.
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Tua who?
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