It took the Bulldogs eight games against power five or major bowl teams to do what Daniels did in four. Georgia’s passing attack in 2019 wasn’t where it needed to be, and that cost Georgia in critical moments of of the season – like when Georgia was upset by South Carolina in a game where it managed only one pass further than 20 yards. That continued to be the case in 2020.
Consider that in the first six games of 2020 the Bulldogs had 15 total passing plays that resulted in 20 yards or more. Five of those plays were touchdowns. Running back James Cook, who is certainly explosive, and tight end Darnell Washington had more explosive passing plays in the first six games of the year (2) than George Pickens (1). Once Daniels got behind center the receivers took off – specifically Pickens.
As everyone saw, UGA simply took off. JT Daniels had six explosive plays, with two of them being touchdowns, in his first game at Georgia alone. He ended the 2020 season with 22 explosive passes. Jake Fromm only had 31 explosive pass plays in 2019 against power five foes – and that was in 12 total games to Daniels’ four. Fromm had 36 in both 2018 and 2017.
Tl;dr version: Todd Monken isn’t James Coley.
Get The Picture 
In all the years I’ve watched football, I honestly noticed multiple receivers running free on more plays with Monken at the helm than I’ve ever seen before.
That was pre JT. That gave me great hope and when JT could finally play, he took advantage of that.
As JT wasn’t 100%, it gives me great hope that when he is, we will be seeing many more running free, but with the ball delivered in stride!
God, please deliver a couple stud CBs for spring ball and we will be all set!
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Right…the tl;dr version also is “Stetson was a nice story but really isn’t an SEC qb.”
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From the article:
JT Daniels – 5.5 per game
Stetson Bennett – 3.0 per game
Jake Fromm – 2.9 per game
Is it that “Monken isn’t Coley”, or is it that “Fromm is Bennett”?
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Strong trolling game this morning… gotta give you credit.
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I think it’s a reasonable question to ask.
Fromm got many passes (no pun intended) because of Coley and “inexperienced receivers”, but he played multiple years under Chaney as well with a plethora of professional talent at receiver, tight end and running back.
I think Monken definitely has a more open design, but I think JT has more of a home run hitter mentality and a better arm than Fromm.
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We win the East last year if Fromm had stayed and I think we have a legit shot at National Championship with him last year.
Go rewatch the two Bama games from 2018 and 2019 and tell me Fromm was the problem.
Fromm is equal to or better than Mac Jones
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Fromm when throwing over 30: 0 and 6.
Jones was 6-0 in games he threw over 30 in 2020.
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Are we ignoring the difference in Fromm’s Wr corps and offensive coordinator?
If that’s the case, then I certainly grant you those stats make some sense.
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Those 6 games came across three seasons of football.
My point is that when we needed to put the ball in the qbs hand to win a tough game, fromm never got it done.
Bama was very content to let Jones chuck it around.
Btw: I haven’t looked but my guess is that Mac threw over 30 in a loss to auburn in 2019. I think he had good wrs and the same oc that year. Jones became a better player from 2019 to 2020.
Btw2: If we learned anything last night it ought to be that Weis, McDaniels and Leftwich as oc, and whoever the fuck is catching balls, pale in comparison to having Tom Brady at qb when it comes to winning championships. Those three ocs haven’t done a damn thing when they were calling plays for anyone else.
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Jones was 26 of 39.
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Jones had multiple costly turnovers as well didn’t he?
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I think you’re making the classic mistake of only defining a “tough game” (a.k.a. big game) as one which UGA loses. Go to the 8:30 mark of the video below. In a close game we needed a conversion on 3rd down to keep the ball out of the opponents hands and Fromm delivered. Could he have been better in those losses you’re referring to? Of course. But in most (if not all) of those, the rest of the team could’ve been better too.
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That drive to tie the Rose Bowl after the eventual hero’s fumble turns into a scoop-and-score had nothing to do with Jake Fromm’s passing skill. That game was put on his shoulders at “do or die” time, and the freshman delivered. He may not have thrown it 30 times, but he threw it successfully when every person in the stadium knew he had to throw.
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“when we needed to put the ball in the qbs hand to win a tough game”
There are two independent ideas there:
1) its a tough game.
2) we we’re not able run it effectively.
That would NOT be the Rose Bowl on both counts. One count? Sure.
Not suggesting Fromm never came up big in big spots. I’m saying that when it all came down to qb play, we always came up wanting. Even in not so tough games like USCe.
Compare that to Daniels first start.
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I would like to have been able to take our chances with Fromm throwing 30+ times per game in Monken’s system last year rather than relying on a grad transfer who backed out 2 weeks before the season. Of course, if Fromm had stayed, would we have seen Daniels in Athens?
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I think the answer to your question is very possibly “yes”. Daniels came knowing Jamie was here and the likely starter in 2020. Same position he would have faced if Fromm had been here for his senior season.
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No bc we had plenty of qbs. We got newman bc we were in a bad way for experience, and Daniels bc Newman was throwing strong bad vibes from very on
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Difficult to say.
If Fromm gets a separated shoulder against Florida, it is difficult to see where the outcome is any different.
And Bennett did lead us to a 3rd quarter advantage over the National Champions until late in the third quarter.
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Again, Stetson is a great, GREAT story and decent player, but when JT was available, it is back to our regularly scheduled quarterback, IMO.
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Um, no.
Mac posted the highest QB rating in NCAA history this season. Despite facing 13 P5 defenses. Better than Burrow, better than Baker, better than Kyler in their Heisman years.
Fromm’s seasons, last to first: 141, 177, 180.
The games he posted 200 or better over his career?
Arkansas St, Murray St, Middle Tennessee St, ‘18 Vandy, UMass, ‘18 GT, Samford, ‘17 Miss St, ‘17 Vandy, ‘17 GT.
10 games in a 3 year career. Mac averaged over 200 in a 13 game P5 schedule featuring 5 top 10 opponents.
Fromm had his moments, but it’s not like he was a Heisman candidate surrounded by shit talent. He was surrounded by high end NFL draft picks. He was a very good college QB who needed a clean pocket and a nice high-low read.
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You could have plugged 10-15 QB’s into that system with that talent and put up monster numbers.
Best OL in the country, best RB in the country, best WR corps in the country, and arguably the best OC in the country.
Mac Jones did everything asked of him, but to pretend that he is some sort of elite QB talent is absurd.
He was a consensus 3 star, is 6’2” and has a slightly above average arm
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And he didn’t have to play Bama!
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The premise was that Fromm is/was “equal to or better than Mac Jones,” which requires a deliberate disregard of both stats and game tape. I am not arguing that Mac Jones is the next Tom Brady. Although Jones is being projected by a lot of NFL types as a late first round pick, which suggests some evaluators do see him as potentially elite.
Fromm was surrounded by talent. Linemen and running backs all over the first and second rounds. NFL receivers. He had plenty of players around him.
Jones has a level of anticipation and accuracy that Fromm never displayed, and he has it with defenders breathing down his neck, something Fromm definitely never displayed. Jones moves in the pocket better than Fromm ever did. He finds guys downfield and throws them open under duress frequently. At the Senior Bowl practices, Alabama’s two senior offensive linemen looked outmatched at times. Meanwhile, Jones was throwing dimes to McKitty. Maybe Jones made his line look better than it was?
Go back to that long Waddle touchdown (it’s in the “longest touchdown by each team” video a few days back).
Nolan initially chips the TE for a second, then heads straight for Jones. It’s a nice disguise – pre-snap and a beat post-snap says Smith will be in coverage rather than rushing the passer. And he has a free run. Fools the protection completely.
Jones doesn’t panic, gets the ball off a tick before Smith can hit him, Waddle catches it in stride, 87 yard TD.
Fromm would have thrown the check to DeVonta for a 5 yard gain. Or taken a sack.
Jake won a lot of games for Georgia, and he flashed enough ability for a NFL team to draft him in the fifth round. He was a very good college QB. Bu the idea that he was a first round, Heisman finalist guy betrayed by Kirby’s recruiting of players and coordinators badly overestimates Fromm’s ability.
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Politely disagree.
Comparing Mac’s redshirt junior season with that collection of talent and an entrenched elite OC to what Fromm was dealing with isn’t logical to me.
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My man
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Man you really are on the weed. You do realize jones has to read and adjust and still throw the ball accurately. Probably not
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Sort of related, but in hindsight, Chaney criminally wasted a lot of Harman’s talent when he was here.
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Thats some serious revisionist history
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I think Fromm deserves his share of the blame for the fall off over the second half of the 2019 season.
But as far as Fromm = Bennett goes, I think you’re in a tiny minority. Assuming you’re serious about that, of course.
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Eye roll
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Fromm definitely ain’t Bennett!!
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Waiting on the guy with the seething hatred for all things Legge to comment on his lack of writing skills. You can usually set your watch by it.
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I like him. I wish he still did the podcast.
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That piece makes me salivate and make the same sounds as Homer J. Simpson when he eats “mmmm…the forbidden doughnut.” /nom/nom/nom
If you remember that episode, which I think came from the second or third season, then – like me – you are probably old. “mmmm…social security…”
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I’m not going to harp on Bennett too much because he did bail us out in the first game and played well enough to have us in the game against Bama for a while. What really gives me confidence about Coley, though, is that we had guys open an season and the play calling looked really good. We just didn’t have the right QB. I feel like Coley and company got about all they could out of what we had at QB.
Looking at 2021, I REALLY hope we’ll stop running our offense down to the level of the opponent or not showing much as we’ve seemingly done in the past. As long as the starters are in, I’d like to see the offense with its foot in the gas from game 1 and not let off. Drill it so we’ll hopefully be prepared for when it matters. Fortunately(or not), game 1 will matter a LOT.
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Run your full playbook when trouncing someone for live practice is almost like a funal lesson for Kirby. If its 28-3 in the third, freaking keep the heat on high
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2019 USC, ugh! Credit to Muschamp but it was so obvious that Coley wasn’t it. He’s a prime example of a play chart coach. No feel for a game or answers when doing what you usually do isn’t working. A lot of coaches use charts but they also mix it up and use their gut. Coley was a freaking computer. Game film told opposing coaches exactly what he was doing for a given down, distance and field position.
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