Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Every Train Needs an Engineer

No, not the kind that you'll find at the North Ave Trade School. I'm referring to the driver, the person that calls the shots, makes the decisions......the Quarterback.

While I don't necessarily believe that the quarterback has to win it by himself, a la Vince Young, there have been several instances of the qb throwing it away. The qb needs to be the game manager. He's gotta protect the ball and make solid decisions. Experience is definitely a plus at the position.
Alot of hopes and dreams ride on Matt Stafford's right arm

Matt Stafford (Jr, 6-3, 237) made great strides in his sophomore season in each of those intangibles. I think it's safe to assume that he will improve even more in 2008. After the severe growing pains that Matt went through as a freshman, he rebounded well last year by improving his td-int ratio to 2:1 on the plus side. Let's face it, every qb makes bad decisions on occasion. Matt greatly reduced that number last year as compared to his first. He's proven beyond any doubt that he is the leader of our offense. A recent article noted that Matt would like his completion percentate to increase to 65%. That would be great, but I don't think that will be the deciding factor on the success of the season. What I've stated for the last 2 seasons was mentioned by Matt and the coaches. It's all about footwork. When Matt plants the right foot and steps into the throw, there's no other qb in college football that will throw better. It truly is a thing of beauty.

Matt has proven to be a winner. He knows what it takes to get it done. It's definitely time to step up and deliver.



Joe Cox has been solid when called upon

Joe Cox (Jr, 6-1, 208) came from an elite high school program and found himself in the race for the starting job in 2006 as a freshman. He came off the bench to lead UGA to a win over Colorado and actually started the Ole Miss game before stepping aside for Stafford. He doesnt' have ideal height but he does have some talent and is an adequate backup.


Is Logan the future?

Logan Gray (RFr, 6-2, 185) drew rave reviews from the 1st team defense while running the scout team in 2007. A legit 4.45 in the 40 and a good arm, Logan is more suited to the offense that we ran with DJ Shockley. Coach Bobo has designed a few plays to get him on the field this year, maybe as a wideout. Coach Richt has since stated that Logan will get reps only at qb for awhile in order to get a better grasp on running the offense. Logan would seem to be the heir apparent to Stafford at this time.

I can't recall the last team to win a MNC with a backup QB. I'm sure it's happened sometime along the way, I just don't remember when. It's extremely important to the success of the program for Matt to remain healthy throughout the season.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Although I believe the QB is a very important position, for UGA the TB position, OL, and PK are the ones that give me the most concern. CMB doesn't ask the QB to pass 30+ times a game, but he does expect the running game to be solid and control the game. I believe that if Moreno and King stay healthy we could win consistently with Cox or Gray if necessary. That is, of course, if the OL, TE, and WR positions block effectively and our kicking game is solid. Don't get me wrong, I would much rather have Stafford at the helm, but I think we could still move the ball with the other guys. Just my opinion.

HamDawg11

Anonymous said...

Colorado won when Darian Hagan went down in 1990 with Charles Johnson.

jacksrbettor said...

Thanks,
I should have remembered Johnson.