You can make the case either way.
Not great, Bob. The offense looked completely out of sync. The o-line couldn’t get out of its own way and the quarterback was the epitome of the proverbial deer caught in the headlights. The defense, while playing better than the offense, gave up a touchdown on a busted coverage.
While things did stabilize come the second half, it’s not crazy to believe right now that Georgia has some real issues on the offensive side of the ball that need fixing if this team is going to win its fourth straight division title.
That all being said, it was the first game coming out of an abbreviated practice schedule, with a new quarterback and a new offensive coordinator. There were always going to be kinks that needed to be worked out; it’s just that more of those will have to be addressed in live play rather than practice.
Also, this.
Before you dismiss that, warts and all, based on the level of opposition, let me be the first to remind you that the bottom of this conference is as weak as it’s been for a while. Texas A&M, playing at home, struggled with a Vanderbilt team that Bill Connelly projected to lose every game on its schedule by at least 17 points. Missouri and Ole Miss are playing with rosters that have been crippled by NCAA sanctions. (Mizzou had a COVID bonus on top of that, too, yesterday, with 12 players out.)
The point here is that Georgia isn’t exactly alone in needing to improve. Is there a reason to believe the coaching and talent are less up to the task than the other programs in the conference?
Get The Picture 
Yes there is. Kirby’s team has shit the bed once every season he’s been in Athens. I’m not sure yesterday was our 2020 version. Kirby has a lot to learn. Nothing about Fayetteville shows we are ready for what’s ahead. If Arkansas doesn’t wilt in the second half, Odom would have had SBIV on the ropes. Auburn , Tenn and Bama won’t wilt.
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“Kirby’s team has shit the bed once every season”
well, he didn’t…..will take a win any day, ugly or pretty. a win is a win, they all count the same.
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One of the dumbest things fans say. Year after year bad wins are indicative of future losses and the same fans always say “a win is a win.”
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So, sometimes when you win, you really lose….and sometimes when you lose, you really win??
Did I get that right?
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All wins and all losses are not created equally. If they were there would be no need for dumb phrases like “a win is a win.”
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Okay then…..no more ugly wins for us.
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Saying a win is a win after a bad hame is the same as having to tout the personality of your ugly prom date. But hey, at least you got a date right?
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Only thing that counts is who has more points than the other at the end of the game.
It’s called a “win” and it goes in the win column. It is why they keep score and count wins and losses….
But you already knew that right, “Gloria”??
I’ll take’em anyway that I can get them and live another week.
You….”Gloria”, you can just count the pretty wins if it makes you feel better.
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“I’ll take em anyway that I can get them”
Your prom date must have been a smoke show.
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I’m sure you were not around in ‘80 to witness the season. But we had a lot of “ugly” games…..we just kept alive and kept on winning.
Fact is we won, we even covered. The point differential was better than all of the other SEC teams that won. Are we a finished product?….no.
Who is at this point….
Teams can improve more from week one to week two more than any time in the season.
I’m happy with any win. Performance is a different issue if that is what you are trying to say.
A win is a win, they STILL all count the same……and if we lose, I’ll be there the following week pulling for the Dawgs.
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I’m not interested in lectures about semantics. Yesterday’s offense was troubling with Auburn up next and no win against Arkansas can change that. Last line I saw was +28 and we won by 27.
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Bad game*
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Cup is always full on UGA (no matter the sport), Special Teams play plus UGA’s D carried the day until UGA’s depth was to much to bare, the O scored and it’s on to the goat luvin’ barners this saturday nite…was it a bad game, who knows, the staff will figure that out…. fans may be lucky to be able to watch your favorite team this 2020 season (?)….
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That’s a different discussion, but regardless of how many roses you try to hang on it, we couldn’t run the ball against Arkansas for most of the games. Not a good sign.
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Well then, you go ahead…..fret and brood about “ugly” wins all season.
You wouldn’t have liked the ‘80 season anyway.
I will enjoy each win…cause a win is a win, they all count the same.
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I watched the 80 season. I promise you were not winning the NC with one completed pass and one RB.
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Point is, a win is a win and they all count the same in ‘80 as they do in any year.
Please tell me you are just on keeping up & not as dense as it seems.
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Ok Greg, you go with an insult. So fuck you.
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I think what Chuck is saying is we can be happy with the win, and we can be happy with how much better the offense looked in the second half, but we can’t be happy with the totality of the game. We can acknowledge that the team has a long way to go to be better if they want to win the SEC
I still expect them to win the East, but dammit, I want to win a frakking national title, and this team did not look up to the task yesterday. You know who did? Bama. Bama always does. It would be nice if we always looked that way, too. Bama can plug in anyone at QB and they always seem to be great. We did that with Fromm, but Eason struggled, Fields struggled (granted he found his stride with an offense designed specifically for his strengths and to mitigate his weaknesses), and Mathis struggled the worst of them all.
All this recruiting Kirby does, and QB seems to be the biggest enigma.
I do, however, have hope for Daniels who looked really good spreading the ball around in Graham Harrell’s offense in game one of last year before he got hurt. We’ll see.
Be happy with the win. I am. Be mindful that the team has a lot of work to do.
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^ This guy is going to be shocked when Auburn is jumping all Bennett’s underneath passed. “I do declare! Who could have predicted this?!?”
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It’s like Drew Brees, Russell Wilson, Doug Flutie, Mike Vick, Baker Mayfield, and Kyler Murray never existed in your world, CB. Nor are there coaches who work around their player’s physical limitations and accentuate their strengths.
Glad I live in the real world.
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😂😂😂😂😂😂 in your world Stetson Bennett is any of those above players? On what planet could that be the case? Just because he’s short too? In that case I guess I’m Drew Brees then. I’m 6’0 so we’re all the same. Put me in coach.
The kid didn’t hit on a single deep ball yesterday. For every Drew Brees there are thousands of Stetson Bennett’s and they usually play FCS football. That’s just reality.
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I didn’t say he was, just reminding you that being short is not a problem for a QB or an offense.
As for your assertion that he can’t throw deep, well that’s a lie. He hit Washington on the money on a post route over the middle that went over 20 yards in the air. He also converted on a couple of key 3rd and longs. He did miss on a deep ball… by OVERTHROWING the WR.
This assertion that he can’t throw the ball or throw deep is simply false.
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He missed on every deep ball he attempted. Overthrow or under throw is irrelevant. He missed every single one.
A 20 yard seam route isn’t a deep ball. Sorry that’s incorrect. Being short is usually a problem for qb’s and there are basically infinite anonymous examples of that. We only hear about Brees and Wilson because they made it big. The majority of short qb’s simply fade into oblivion. Not saying we can’t win with Bennett, I’m just saying I hope we don’t have to try because he damn sure ain’t Drew Brees or Russell Wilson.
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Going by your assertion, he shouldn’t have been able to hit the 20 yard post, because how could he if he’s so short?
It’s one thing having to plead for the hot takers to think with a little context and nuance.
Could it be deep passes were missed because he didn’t get any chances in the week to throw to these receivers? That he didn’t get many reps at all, as Mathis and Daniels took most of them?
Is it possible that with a week’s worth of practices where he splits reps with Mathis and Daniels, or Mathis, or Daniels, in more equal measure, that if he were to come out and play against Auburn that he and the receivers will have better chemistry on the deep balls?
Or how about the fact that he ran the offense as designed, an offense that doesn’t require receivers to win one-on-one matchups because they’re schemed open in space, that what you’re worrying about isn’t truly an issue at all?
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All that is possible and it’s also possible to start Bennet at running back and have him rush for 500 yards against Auburn. It’s just that there’s no evidence that that or any of your hypotheticals will happen.
Ask yourself this. Why didn’t he get reps in practice? Is it because the coaches evaluated that he was a clear third QB in a room of only three scholarship players?
Perhaps I’ll take a magic carpet to the game and watch from a rainbow overlooking the stadium.
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You do you, man. You gone way past Munson into some kind of self-flagellation zone.
If you can’t take any joy, or you can’t see any reason for optimism given what we saw in the second half, then man, you should just give up. We’ll see you in the Spring.
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Lol @ All the drama queens on here talking about giving up just because I pointed out that Bennett looks suspect as a starting SEC QB.
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Yeah, that’s not exactly what you did. But like I said, you do you.
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I’m on here shattering people’s world for questioning the notion that Bennett is the next Drew Brees.
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Not only do you misrepresent what you say, you misrepresent what I say.
I guess you’re one of those “truth is relative” peeps? It’s all good. Enjoy the game on Saturday!
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The “Stetson is gonna be good bc Drew Brees” guy is accusing me of truth relativism. Fantastic 😂
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If you can find where I said that, I’ll give you $100.
Again, you’re not going to get far if you keep misrepresenting what people say to fit whatever narrative you’re building in your head.
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You named every short NFL pro bowl QB you could come up with. It was actually much worse than what I’m representing. I’m simply too lazy to type out all those names.
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Show me where I said what you said I said.
As you can’t, I consider the matter closed.
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Scroll up and read your own words clown.
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Next the fan police are gonna tell me I’m not allowed to be happy if Bennett starts and plays well. 😂
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Okay Chicken Little….focus on a loss if it makes you feel better.
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Correcting stupidity makes me feel better. I’ll continue doing that.
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Not PFF, who has Bennett as the 5th ranked college QB for this season so far. Tied with a familiar face from South of the border
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Nothing would make me happier than for Stetson Bennett to become the next Baker Mayfield walk on sensation. I’m by no means an NFL scout so I could be dead wrong, but I just don’t see it. The kid could not complete a deep ball down the sideline, and I’m guessing that’s an important aspect of an offense that wants to air it out. I’d happily eat my words humbly if proven otherwise, but we need Daniels cleared ASAP imo.
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Be careful CB, you backpedal any further and you’ll trip over your words and fall on your ass.
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Drew Brees, Russell Wilson, Michael Vick, Doug Flutie who were the rest? Go play with your blocks. I stand by every word I’ve said, meanwhile you’re trying to pretend like half of your asinine statements never happened.
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LOL… no, again, show me where I said what YOU said I said. You can’t. Because I never said Stetson Bennett WAS those guys. I just provided a list of short QBs who are good.
It’s not the same thing, you know it, which is why you keep going-round-and-round. It’s okay, CB. Just admit you were wrong and move on.
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What have I been wrong about? Your entire list is ridiculous. Why don’t you just prove Bennett’s future success by listing some great qb’s with curly hair. That would at least make sense given that hair isn’t a distinct disadvantage when playing QB as opposed to size which is a clear issue.
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Buddy, again, do you have severe reading comprehension issues? I never once said any of that. Didn’t even insinuate it. These are all your words, not mine. All I did was provide a list of short QBs who are successful to show people who continue to harp on his height in ridiculous ways that others have been successful who are similarly height challenged. All these things you read into that? That’s you. The things you say I said that I didn’t say? That’s you.
You have problems, man.
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Oh I read you loud and clear bro. The idea that every short QB has a shot at greatness bc Drew Brees and Russell Wilson is perhaps the single most idiotic football of the last 20 years.
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Idiotic football take*
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Your words. Not mine.
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That’s your entire point of view. You’ve now spent the past day trying to restate it in a way that sounds less childish, but that’s the foundation of your perspective. Deal with it.
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You had the option to clear it up and answer…. no insult there. So I will just assume for now the answer is the latter.
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You put that better than I ever have in 20 years of blogging.
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Y’all so cute….
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Or perhaps rather than Arkansas “wilting,” Georgia’s offense actually functioned after the change at QB. Maybe Bennett can’t do the same against future opponents, but he deserves credit. It’s also he first game in a weird year, and Auburn and Tennessee looked as mediocre as anyone Saturday. Hell, even Bama gave up 19 points to a pretty crappy Missouri team.
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I need to see more. Hoping the team will feed off the criticism and settle in.
We’ll have our hands full with Seth Williams Saturday. Auburn has some stud receivers.
BTW, really loving the heaping praise on Florida. Their offense was sensational. In spite of their record performance, they outgained Ole Miss by < 30 yards.
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Senator you left out the special teams were outstanding yesterday.
First game for all SEC teams was against an SEC team. It’s much different than the normal directional school opener for 12 of 14 schools. I’ll take our warts over anyone but Bama’s. Most of ours are correctable, like 50 replacing 55 yesterday.
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Special teams will be referenced in tomorrow’s Observations post.
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A lot of the “but new everything!” narrative gets blown out of the water when you see that Leach took Miss St into Baton Rouge and came out with a win…
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I think the “but new OC new scheme” is vastly oversold. Every year is a New Year in college football coordinators change all the time . the play books evolve and develop and often get redone. the roster has significant changes. People seem to think that every single player has to know every single thing. Mostly, just a quarterback that needs to have the vast knowledge.
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This is a good point. No sport in the country has turnover year to year like CFB.
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Half empty? Hell, I’m out of beer. Buckle up boys because this season might make out our livers hurt.
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Our handling and development of QB’s over the last 4 years was/is abysmal. It needs to improve significantly and quickly.
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Riding a true freshman qb to a SEC title, Rose Bowl title and a national title game IS abysmal.
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Are you under the impression we “rode” Fromm in 2017? Really?
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Word choice aside, we accomplished a great deal with a true freshman qb.
This is also a team that doesn’t need an exceptional qb to go places. But we do need basic competence at the position.
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It’s pretty wild to think about. We could be sitting here today with Jake Fromm as our starter. Or Justin Fields. Or Jamie Newman. Or J.T. Daniels. And instead we’ve got…Stetson Bennett?
Not even saying that as a criticism of Kirby’s QB management, although perhaps some criticism is deserved. Mostly I think we’ve just been victimized by a lot of bad luck and unfortunate circumstances (Fromm making a poor decision to go pro, a pandemic hitting and Newman supposedly opting out as a result, Daniels taking longer to be cleared than initially expected, etc.).
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There is no denying that Fields leaving hurt us the most. But Fromm going early is also a head scratcher. Just bad luck in the QB arena overall for us the last couple of years.
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Say what you want about Bennett I think he is every bit as good as Trask.
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Trask has more velocity and better flight. He also has Pitts, which helps. Stetson probably smarter. Trask ain’t winning any mensa awards
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PFF rates them exactly the same through one week fwiw. I was howling when I saw this. Trask is the thing every Gator hyper points to. Let’s see if he figures out the UGA secondary this time around. Last year was rough for him
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I don’t think anyone expected Daniels to be ready. He was always next years quarterback.
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I thought we hit on a lot of good stuff that gets harped on here. Great special teams play including a blocked punt and several good returns, threw a touchdown to a TE, and the defense looked as promised.
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And Bennett looked like Aaron Rodgers slinging it out there. The kinks will take care of themselves under Kirby’s meticulousness.
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I think Bennett looked fine, but Rodgers has one of the best arms in the history of the NFL.
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Rogers? Lol. Oh man. The Kool aid is always good with Georgia fans and QBs.
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If you aren’t drinking the GA Kool Aid, then whose Kool Aid are you drinking?
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FWIW I’m pretty sure Saban pissed on the fire and called in the proverbial dogs pretty early.
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Absolutely
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We’re going to have play better on offense if we want to beat a team with a pulse.
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My glass was half empty first half and full during the second. Now it’s leaking and getting half empty again. There’s a lot to fix before All-barn.
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AU wasn’t impressive.
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Maybe not but there are still things that need to be fixed.
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Two observations about the penalties in the first half. 1. The refs were taking charge of the game and calling a very close game. Other games saw crews letting them play but our crew was flag happy. 2. With what I just said we had more bonehead penalties, even on defense, than we have been used to in a long time. We can’t afford to give the other teams a do over time and again like we did yesterday.
Best Special teams play in a long long time. Actual punt returns, be still my heart. They were getting after it on coverages, ole Scott has got our boys going after it.
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It certainly felt that way. SEC Refs in mid-season form. Except for… the out of bounds hits. I saw multiple completed tackles that started out of bounds – and what’s up with the dude that landed on Bennett full body weight on the 2-point conversion?
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SEC officiating was in prime form in Auburn-Kentucky game. Cats scored a TD in every way except the blind replay official’s booth, then they throw a pick 6 to close the half. Except the refs throw a makeup flag ON THE REPLAY to take away the score.
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Half full.
If Bennett starts the entire game, we score 50 and he throws for 400 yards and 4 TDs and Zeus gets 140 yards and 2 TDs.
That’s what is called context. You won’t find it anywhere, however, as all CFB media has become hot take machines that push narrative and ignore everything that’s inconvenient or disproves the narrative.
Believe it or not, the only place I’ve been able to find ANYONE talking about Floriduh’s terrible defense is on SDS by their Floriduh writer (and Floriduh fan) Neil Blackmon.
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Bill Connelly knocked UF’s defense down 13 spots in SP+ today.
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That’s good.
Seriously though, the hot takers are out in full force.
I’ve asked all of them what they’d be saying had Bennett started the entire game and Georgia scored 50. Would they be calling him the new Baker Mayfield this morning?
None of them have responded to that question.
Context does not exist in their dojo.
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Who has a defense that can be leaned on the way we can?
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Punters – we go ourselves a for real punter – he may be the best in the country.
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Carmarda was the mvp.
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All 5’10” of Stetson Bennett would like a word.
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When the offense was struggling and not taking advantage of field position that the defense and special teams was gifting them, Camarda just kept hammering them against their goal line. You could make the case SB4 and Jake were co-players of the game, but I can’t discount what Jake did on his regular punts and his field position punts.
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Oh, I don’t. At all. He was great. Only one punt rolled into the end zone. He saved our bacon in the first half and Stetson saved our bacon in the second half.
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The 1 minute drill SB4 ran was beautifully executed. While Pittman saved us by calling the 2nd timeout, Bennett calmly moved the team into position to get points. We then come out in the 2nd half and are moving when Cook fumbles (good hit by the Arkansas defender). Bennett then consistently moved the team from that point forward.
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As I said yesterday and really want to keep emphasizing this week… THAT is what the offense should look like.
WRs schemed open in space and a QB who hits them on the numbers.
Running lanes for Zeus, who was oh so close to breaking a few. Had Stetson played all game, anyone else think he would’ve? I do.
I know everyone wants to embrace their inner Munson this morning, but the offense WORKS. It really works. It just needs a QB who can run it. Stetson can. Mathis can’t. He looked bad coming back into the game in the fourth quarter. He just can’t do it right now. Doesn’t mean he can’t forever, but he can’t do it this year. Needs more time to learn. That’s okay.
The only question is, when will Daniels be available. He has the same kind of experience that Stetson brings but more sheer talent.
But shit… if we have to roll with Stetson Bennett and he can run the offense and make it look like that, I’m good.
And for everyone knocking his arm, did you actually see some of the throws he made? Go back and watch just the second half. Actually watch it. He has some lasers. Anyone knocking his arm is full of crap.
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There’s a reason he’s called The Mailman. He gets it there quick and on time.
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I saw an offense trying to change things up but Mathis got nerves. There were several QB keepers that gained yards where previously we would have handed off to the RB for no gain. Also saw us use several receiving targets including the tight ends. And there were the usual opening day gaffes like Mathis stepping out 1 yard short of the first down and Bennett taking a sack instead of just lobbing the ball out of bounds.
Pod did okay kicking, thanks to the Pitt Boss calling time out. I still wonder if Zirkle will take over. Camarda was outstanding with his punting. He punting deep coupled with our defense will let us steal a few scores this year.
I think the Mailman can move the ball but we will be limited by his lack of arm strength. The question is how long do we ride him and if JT is cleared the week of Bama, does Kirby make the switch?
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“I remember throwing punches around and preaching from my chair…”
My wife invited some of her genteel friends over for the game so I agreed to moderation for the duration of the game. I didn’t start drinking for real until after (I must take my hat off to the bottle of Absolute that sacrificed most of itself so valiantly in the struggle to understand Georgia’s inability to have a functioning offense) so looking back?
D’wan ain’t it.
Attaboy Stetson. It’s the most Georgia thing ever to have a career backup as a starter and still win a bunch of games. It’s the curse of Mike Bobo and until somebody figures out exactly what sacrifice the football gods require to break it well, here we are. No shit though, I was proud of that kid last night and for some reason kept thinking: “Doug Flutie”.
Sam Pittman is a damn good football coach. I’ve got to message my Arkansas cousin later today and congratulate her on the hire. Arky showed up to play. I wish Pittman was our OC.
The “punth in da mouf'” was administered last night. Kirby knows what we have to work with. My vote is to make Stetson the guy and go kick aubruns ass.
I’m so glad to have football back, I’ve missed you guys. Ya’ll were awesome drinking buddies last night.
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I’m not writing D’Wan off. It wasn’t a great start but you can see the potential there.
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The moment was way too big for him. He couldn’t see the field. He missed the receivers he did throw to, badly. He left the pocket way too early, or held the ball too long… doing both those things is difficult. He has a good arm, but it’s inaccurate, and inaccurate does not work for this offense. You must throw on time and you must throw accurately. Mathis needs a ton of work in the film room and on the practice field.
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OK. I’ll rephrase. D’wan ain’t it right now.
UGA is behind the 8 ball on offense thanks to attrition at QB. Do you want to develop a QB or win football games? It’s not fair to the team to sacrifice their efforts to make one guy a better player for next season or beyond.
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What makes you think Stetson is beating Alabama?
With the added running dimension Mathis could give us a chance in a small ball, low scoring game.
I don’t see Stetson taking us to Atlanta.
My understanding is that you get there by winning games.
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Do you really see D’wan beating Alabama? Maybe if JT can get in against UT and get some reps under fire he could but D’Wan looks like he is not ready for the SEC at all. The offense is in place but it depends on accuracy not necessarily a “big” arm. We are fighting an uphill battle this year for sure.
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Cut out the penalties, get the center snaps corrected and get some production in the run game and we’ll see.
He’s fast. He can run for power. He can throw it a mile. Thats difficult to defend.
The kid had to be showing something in practice to get the nod.
We need to be patient here.
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Counter argument:
He doesn’t see the field.
He is inaccurate.
He makes the wrong reads.
He doesn’t feel the rush, he anticipates it, and bales out of the pocket.
He’s not a smart runner.
He has all the talent in the world, but he is simply not ready. He needs more seasoning. More practice. A shit-ton more film work. I’m never a throw the baby out with the bathwater guy, but Mathis shouldn’t start another game this season unless out of pure necessity.
This offense doesn’t need a game breaking athlete to work. It needs a smart QB who can sit in the pocket, make the couple of reads that are live, find the receiver that’s open, and make an accurate throw. This opens up the run game and in turn makes the offense extremely difficult to defend.
At this point in his development, Mathis can’t do that. So give him time in practice and in the classroom to continue to learn, and for this season, roll with Bennett and Daniels.
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You aren’t a coach corch. Stop acting like you’re some sort of football savant. You aren’t.
Write a letter to greg and tell him you can do a better job at picking our qb than cks or get over yourself.
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You go right to the ad hominem and insult me, yet you don’t refute ANYTHING I said, because you can’t, because you know I’m right, and you know you’ve been embarrassed for having a bad take. Again.
Classic Derek.
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about that dictionary…
Anyway tell us your history, experience, training and results with qb assessments.
All I’m saying is that you’re talking out of your ass.
Prove me wrong.
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Refute what I said.
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CKS picked mathis. In that light, refuting you isn’t necessary.
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The coach of the Bears started Trubisky the last three games. Coaches make mistakes and aren’t infallible. We should know that about Kirby.
He made a mistake with Mathis. I even said yesterday that maybe Mathis is a practice hero and a gamer zero. Some guys just can’t put it together when the camera goes live. I’m not saying that’s the way it always will be, but I rewatched the first half twice this morning, and I reran the Georgia offensive drives many times. What I saw is what I saw. Which was a QB who didn’t see open receivers. Which was a QB who didn’t throw on time. Which was a QB who didn’t feel the rush, he anticipated it, and bailed too early. You can be an ass about it, or maybe just admit I’m right.
Either refute what I said or dispense with the ad hominem attacks because you can’t and GTFO.
I’m bored.
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I don’t think anyone is beating Alabama. YMMV
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I was pulling hard for Dwan but I think yesterday was his chance to make his mark and he couldn’t do it. Its likely that once Daniels is cleared, it’s his or Stetson’s show. You have Beck waiting for his shot and Vandagriff coming in next season so IMO, that leaves Mathis as the odd man out. He may well turn out to be a good player, but I don’t think it will happen in Athens.
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Three plays that I think really would have settled Mathis down had they gone the other way:
The first down he converted with his legs, only to be called back by a terrible hold on Hill.
Getting rocked 4 yards short of first down, instead of stepping out, then……
Stepping out a yard short of the marker for no reason on the next drive.
I know they were all running plays, but if those 3 plays go correctly, I think he would have settled down and gotten into the game a bit. Not saying he would have played better than Bennett did, but a new QB needs a few things to go right in his first start.
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Doesn’t change he couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn.
I don’t think anything settles Mathis down yesterday. The moment was just way too big for the kid. Way too big. Nothing would’ve changed that.
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You could be right, it’s speculation either way. But his OL was doing nothing for him, the corresponding running game did nothing for him, the whole team team was flustered at one point there.
Kudos to Bennett, he deserves credit for being part of settling the team down. But our offense also didn’t do a hole heckuva lot under him until the Arky defense gave out in the 3rd quarter. Please don’t take this as me knocking Bennett, that’s not my intent, I’m just not sure the first quarter or so would have been drastically different if Bennett had started.
But, again, it’s all speculation.
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I put the question out there yesterday:
Why was the line so much better for Bennett than it was for Mathis? Could it be because they knew where Bennett would be whereas Mathis kept anticipating the rush and bailing instead of feeling the rush and moving up in the pocket? Could it also be subconscious on their part, that they knew Bennett could run the offense while Mathis couldn’t?
The fact is, once Bennett entered the game, almost all of the problems on the o-line went away. Except for Hill’s snapping. Not even Jesus could fix that mess.
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I’m pretty sure Hill moved over to Guard and Ericson moved over to center in the second half. Hill is like nitroglycerin you never no when it’s going to blow but you know it will eventually.
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The glass was full of preseason happy juice. It’s now 1/10th full with a win. Let’s haul some water boys.
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I like this take. This is an extremely good take. Rational. I like it!
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There are a great many questions that could be asked after yesterday’s victory.
A great many.
But here is one I have for the fan base:
Why are you confident that we must have JT Daniels in the lineup?
JT Daniels, like Mathis, hasn’t played ball in quite a while, has health questions, lost his position to another player at the last school he played at and you have yet to see him play a down in the Red and Black?
Shit, you don’t even have G-Day QBR ratings to point to.
What you have witnessed with your own eyes is a quarterback who likely took no more than a fourth of the snaps in practice, come in, complete 70% of his passes, throw a couple of touchdowns and 200+ yards in basically a half of football, not turn the ball over, display some very decent mobility and make plays with his legs, turn around what was a complete offensive shit-show, get the ball out on time, and lead the team to success.
Because he’s short?
Because he doesn’t have enough Rivals recruiting stars on his resume?
The so-called superior arm talent and athleticism was an abject failure compared to the talentless Joe-Bob, who made simple plays and heady reads.
And yet your take away is “We clearly need moar raw talent”?
Perhaps what we need is just a guy that can execute.
Do I think Bennett can beat Bama? Probably not.
But I didn’t think Mathis, Daniels, Newman or a Senior Jake Fromm would either.
But this obsession with the shiny golden bauble that is allegedly JT Daniels’ clearly-superior-ability that we have yet to see just befuddles me.
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JT Daniels didn’t lose his position to another player. He beat out the other guy, but then tore his ACL in the first game. He knew it would be difficult to beat out Slovis again considering he wasn’t going to be a Spring Practice to give him the ability to do so, so he left.
Context matters.
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Look, I’m not arguing that he sucks.
He may be the best.
But what evidence is there of it?
He has a career 3:2 touchdown to interception ratio playing in the PAC-12.
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He played much better in that first game before tearing his ACL. Like, much better.
He’s accurate and he can throw on time. There’s honestly not much more you need.
I think y’all are overthinking this. Monken’s offense does not need a world beater to work. It needs an accurate QB who throws on time. Period.
Monken turned BRANDON WEEDEN into a first round draft pick.
Monken took Lazy Jameis and FitzMagic and had the third best offense in the NFL.
Mathis was really bad yesterday, because he couldn’t sit in the pocket, find the many open receivers, and throw on time.
That cannot be discounted.
This is a scheme that works. This is not a scheme that needs an amazing QB to work.
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And trust me, it really pains me to take this position.
I’ve just spent 2 years taking the position that it was a mistake to opt for the game-manager, low arm talent Jake Fromm over the physically superior Justin Fields.
So everybody on this board can feel free to filet me over that if they like.
But Mathis isn’t Justin Fields and Bennett basically put up a half of football spreading the ball around and making good reads better than anything Jake Fromm produced through most of the SEC schedule.
It’s awkward, but you all have convinced me that execution and experience are paramount over unproven physical talent right about the time that everyone else is abandoning that philosophy.
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Again, it’s the scheme.
The scheme works if you have any kind of a QB who can sit in the pocket and throw on time with accuracy.
Jake Fromm would’ve put up 400+ yards yesterday in this offense. He would’ve looked Heisman-worthy in this offense. He should’ve stayed, but he didn’t know Kirby was going to demote Coley, so he made his choice.
If you run a pure zone read spread option or Gus Bus offense, yes, you need a QB who is an athletic game breaker. It’s a must.
If you run Monken’s offense, which will scheme WRs open in space (the opposite of Chaney and Coley’s phone booth offenses), all you need is a QB who can sit in the pocket and throw on time with accuracy.
Monken turned Brandon Weeden into a first round draft pick for Pete’s sake!
Monken took Lazy Jameis and FitzMagic and had the third best offense in the entire NFL.
This scheme that Monken uses is great.
That should tell you just how bad Mathis was yesterday. This wasn’t a kid who was gun-shy because he got smacked in the mouth. He was baaaad from the first snap. He was inaccurate. He couldn’t see the field. He missed so many open receivers. He made one good read the entire day, and the completion got called back for holding.
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Mathis didn’t start the game because our coaches are too stupid to realize he’s not as good as Bennett. He won the job. I don’t think Daniels is the guy this year. JT came here to be our quarterback next year. We didn’t expect to need him this season and I don’t think he’s going to be physically ready. Bennett, despite the fact that he played very well yesterday, has never risen above third string quarterback at UGA. There’s a reason for that. If he’s our guy all year I think we probably lose two or three games. So, I’m hoping things start to click for Mathis. Otherwise it’s going to be very frustrating to watch Georgia this year. I honestly don’t think Stetson is capable of more than a Joe Cox like year.
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Daniels needs to get cleared and be a 5 star or Bennett needs to have a Baker Mayfield type of walk on career arch. Otherwise we’re in for a rough October and beyond.
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Which, IMO, is unacceptable in year five of a regime with the recruiting we’ve had
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Fair. Ideally this would have been the year Fields took the program over, but we simply can’t have nice things.
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One thing that I feel is being overlooked in the Bennett praise… he looked great, had poise, all those things are true. He also had an O line that was giving him the time he needed. What we saw in the second half will fall apart against teams with talent along the line. Bennett will continue to look great against sub par teams, but we will be lunch for anyone with a D line.
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I swear y’all, if Dan Quinn didn’t exist, Kirby Smart would need to invent him.
There’s quite like getting a mediocre Georgia performance out of the news cycle because the Falcons gave up ANOTHER two-score lead in the fourth quarter.
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*There’s NOTHING quite like…
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The corch Derek saga continues.
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Kirby’s going all ad hominem on Corch, literally.
https://www.dawgnation.com/football/georgia-football-uga-kirby-smart-dwan-mathis-start
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Where Derek thinks Kirby wouldn’t prop Mathis up regardless of how actually poor he played.
LITERALLY.
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“I know a lot of people will blame D’Wan — fans, media or whatever — but end of the day, it’s on all of us to get it right.
“It’s not all on the quarterback, but to the average fan’s eye I get it, there will be criticism.”
He’s clearly calling you out tho“average” maybe a tad bit too kind.
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Bless your heart, Derek.
It’s like you don’t actually understand what Kirby is trying to do here.
This isn’t for me, or you, or the media. This is for D’Wan.
Kirby knows he was terrible yesterday. He wouldn’t have replaced him otherwise.
You keep making points that do nothing but continue to prove my points, but it’s like you’re not smart enough to understand why.
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You’re struggling with the concept that theres a difference between agreeing that he played poorly yesterday and your declaration that he’ll continue to play poorly…because you say so.
You have no basis to make, nor is there the slightest basis for me to rely upon, that conclusion.
It may be a reach but i think cks and monken know more than you about, well probably everything but definitely, football.
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You’re struggling with the concept that I never said it would be forever, just that he has far too much to work on without the necessary cupcake games to do so.
He needs real time to fix these issues, which are far more serious than you seem to believe. Georgia doesn’t have the ability to give him the in-game action to do so.
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You made clear that your declaration was that D’Wan should be done for the season.
Cks and monken started the kid.
You are clearly saying you know better than they.
We both know you don’t.
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Dude, if you think it’s just me (as your fixations here tend to revolve around me), you really need to take a trip around the interwebs today.
I’m not the only one saying Kirby made a mistake. I’m not the only saying the moment was way too big for Mathis. I’m not the only one saying he played extremely poorly. I’m not the only one saying Kirby obviously is trying to keep his head up by blowing smoke.
Mathis played about as poorly as a QB could play. His performance didn’t just effect the plays called, it effected the people he played with on the field.
He does need to sit. He does need to learn. He does not run the offense well. He may at some point in the future, but where the fuck do you expect him to be able to get the reps IN THIS YEAR to be able to learn on the job?
You’re a ridiculous person. You’ve not refuted anything I’ve said. Not one thing. Not one specific point I made about Mathis’s performance. You haven’t refuted any of it because you can’t. Instead you do what you do and talk circles around nothing. You think you’re smart, but you’re just Fredo.
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You know the future. Got it.
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Good thing Derek is here as a representative of all the great football minds to explain Saturday to us simpletons. Wasn’t it CKS and Monken that pulled Mathis? Or did a fan in the stands make that call? There is even less evidence that Mathis’ play will improve going forward than there is that he will continue to play poorly. Either could happen but based on the Arkansas game it doesn’t look great.
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“The average fan”? The coaches are the ones that pulled Mathis? And it probably wasn’t because he was doing a good job.
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I just rewatched the pick. I will allow that the receiver drifted too far inside. The throw was still awful.
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Don’t tell Derek that. Nothing that happened yesterday was D’Wan’s fault. KIRBY SAYS SO!!!
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Stetson has been on the scout team for years for a reason. I remember one day playing South Carolina we had a quarterback set an NCAA record and we thought we had lightning in a bottle. Declearing him a Saint from one game against 1 horrible opponent is a big stretch. Let’s see a few more games at the least. And it seems to be forgotten and overlooked that he tried really really hard to throw some picks early on. Lucky, in fact, they weren’t. He had a tipped ball and releases low and hes not that tall to boot.
He has continued to be a team leader and took the bull by the horns. But seriously, its just one game against a team that may only get 1 win.
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I think that’s an overstatement on the “lucky they weren’t picks”. The tipped pass still could have been caught (and was the only tipped pass), and the two passes that were defended weren’t bad decisions and unlikely to be picked (though the throw to Jackson over the middle was too high). If I have a concern from a physical standpoint, it’s that the trajectory of his passes may lead to high throws. He had a couple that he would have ideally brought down. He did throw some very good balls, though. The pass to Burton on the cross was perfect, for example. We’ll just have to see if he’s as efficient against Auburn Saturday. It’d be a fun story if he does actually turn out to be good. Part of me thinks it’s going to be Cory Phillips all over again.
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