DG's Thoughts on ... Ugh ... the Kentucky Loss.

[DiderotsGhost]

That was ugly. I definitely have my share of critiques about our performance, but I also want to step back a bit.

This is one of the weirdest games I've ever seen. Why? Because our defense played very well and we completely dominated the line of scrimmage, but somehow managed to lose 34-7. The loss was entirely on the QB position. You put Trevor Lawrence out there and we win this game 38-7. And while that's not a completely fair comparison (Lawrence is, after all, a generational QB), I do think we win this game with even semi-competent QB play. I've never seen a team look so much like "the better team" and still get blown out like this. We'll cut right to the chase.

Quarterbacks

JG. Let's just get it out of the way: that was a dogs#$% performance by JG. 3 turnovers and none of them were "forced" by the defense or even the result of defensive pressure. That's what makes it so infuriating. One of the most inexplicable fumbles I've ever seen, followed by 2 pick 6s where JG just threw extremely ill-advised passes. JG looked completely lost out there. My biggest concern with JG is that he's never improved. In 2018, I thought JG would continue to improve and that by 2020, he'd be one of the better SEC QBs. But honestly, he looks no better than he did in 2018. The only difference is that he now has better talent surrounding him at every position, which makes his performances more baffling.

QB issues. It's not just JG, though. Shrout threw an INT on his first pass. Bailey, who does at least have the excuse of not having much of an offseason to get prepared due to Covid, also looked lost out there. Why were our QBs so unprepared for Kentucky's coverage? This feels as much of a coaching issue as a JG issue; even though I think we've hit the ceiling with JG. Are the QBs not watching film? Whats going on?

Maurer? I'm still curious what happened to Maurer. He's not played a single down this season. But I'm more concerned that they didn't even play him in the scrimmage. Is he still injured? Edit: he is still injured. That's why we haven't seen him.

Solution? I don't know what the solution is at this point. Part of me is in the "let's just give Bailey the reigns and see how it goes" camp. The Covid season is odd anyway and we're all going to look back at it as a weird aberration in a few years. If we know JG is not going to get us anywhere, then maybe we just see what Bailey can do, prepared or not. But I still worry that the problem with the QBs may be in no small part a coaching issue.


Everything Other than QBs

Alright now that the QBs are out of the way, here's the good news: we played pretty well almost everywhere else. Which is why I'm annoyed at all the "FAHR PRUITT" and "PRUITT IS AN ARRFUL COACH" critiques.

The O-line dominated in the run game. After faltering last week against Georgia, our O-line completely dominated again in the run game this week. OK, pass protection wasn't perfect, but it wasn't bad either, outside of a few plays. Which does make the QB issues look even worse. Honestly, if we hadn't fallen down 24-7, we could've run the ball almost every single down and won the game.

The defense played very well. I won't quite call it "great", but it was close. The defense gave up 0 points in the 1st half. Yes, Kentucky scored 17, but those were all the result of offensive turnovers. If the offense does its job, we're probably up 17-0 at the half and it's an entirely different ballgame. (Suddenly Kentucky is the team that's forced to pass and Kentucky's passing game is awful). The defense didn't play quite as spectacularly in the 2nd half, but nevertheless, even the 17 2nd half points were partly the result of Kentucky having good field position for every single drive as a result of our offense. If the O does it job, the D probably only gives up 7-14 points for the entire game, which is good enough to win.

Eric Gray is a top SEC RB. Screw all these critiques that we "don't have an SEC RB." Eric Gray may be a top 5 SEC RB at this point. If we hadn't fallen behind so much, he might've run for 200 yards out there. The problem is, that he's really been our only offensive weapon. Albeit, that's partly because JG can't get the ball to some of the other offensive weapons.

Bryce Thompson. That Bryce Thompson strip was a thing of beauty. One of the most impressive defensive plays we've made all season. Too bad it was squandered.

2nd Best D in the SEC? There's a legit case that we have the 2nd, or at least the 3rd, best defense in the SEC right now. I'm so frustrated to see it being wasted.

So let's not go full gloom-and-doom here folks. We have some major issues at QB. But all the people saying the entire team is playing bad are flat-out wrong. This team played well yesterday, outside of 1 position. But Pruitt better figure that position out soon, or it's going to undermine everything else he's done. Right now, I'm worried that he might become the next Will Muschamp; a guy who built elite defenses, but who has never won big, largely due to terrible QB play.

That's all this week.

GBO!

 

[ReadCT]

Nice write up.

Reminds me of what my grandfather used to call "sugar on ****".

 

[mktmaker]

So let's not go full gloom-and-doom here folks. We have some major issues at QB. But all the people saying the entire team is playing bad are flat-out wrong. This team played well yesterday, outside of 1 position. But Pruitt better figure that position out soon, or it's going to undermine everything else he's done. Right now, I'm worried that he might become the next Will Muschamp; a guy who built elite defenses, but who has never won big, largely due to terrible QB play.

That's all this week.

GBO!

A few decades ago, a MLB manager said "We're only two players away from being a World Series team."

The TV commentator said, "Right. Two players. Babe Ruth and Ty Cobb."



Perhaps the Vols were beaten at home by a better team.

 

[nomads-11]

Interesting to hear a prominent DAWG fan say GA has issues at QB. Ranted extensively on it for a period today. Sounds familiar. I'm guessing it's relative.

I'll not be accepting any repeat comment from CJP that JG gives us the best chance to win. It just hasn't been proven historically, and today flat out contradicts it. Don't do it CJP! Not a solution, but I don't think you can't put JG back out there. It's pretty much insane. I'd take this week, the bye week, and up to Arkansas to go with a new depth chart and starter. And so we may have to regress to progress, just like correcting a wrong turn. I said late last year the QB position could be the lone liability given the growth around it on both sides of the ball. Well here we are......and that applies to the entire group and, now, the associated staff.

Loved the drive that went, what, 75 yards on running plays only? Not sure we could do that last year. Depending on how you count it, defense gave up 20 or less points. A good offense with a pulse beats that all day. If the D can clean some stuff up ...... they'll be really dangerous. I like a good D, especially when it's in orange. And I agree, Gray played at another level today......he has definitely improved over a relatively short period. There are things to build on.....we just got to stop the self inflicting wounds.

 

[jwilliams]

@DiderotsGhost Thanks, I needed to read that.

 

[titansvolsfaninga]

Yes, it is impossible that JG gives us the best chance to win. He threw an out with a man in press coverage, and Pruitt blames that on Chaney. Like HTF?

 

[Volinnooga]

What concerns me is that the team seems to have quit on CJP. While many will say they are demoralized by QB decisions (and there may have been some of that yesterday), I think it runs much deeper than that. JG was solid in the opening 2 wins, and was really good the first half against GA. But it’s pretty clear, at least in my opinion, that GA made excellent halftime adjustments, came out and hit us in the mouth, and we didn’t respond. No adjustments, no energy and no fight in the second half. Yesterday’s beginning was horrendous but as bad as it was, we come back and score to make it 17-7 at halftime. Not good but nowhere near as bad as it could have been. So what happens? 17-0 second half. No adjustments, no energy, no fight in the second half That’s 44-0 in the second half of the past 2 games. What I see is no adjustments, no energy, no fight from a number of players.

 

[Creekcat]

What concerns me is that the team seems to have quit on CJP. While many will say they are demoralized by QB decisions (and there may have been some of that yesterday), I think it runs much deeper than that. JG was solid in the opening 2 wins, and was really good the first half against GA. But it’s pretty clear, at least in my opinion, that GA made excellent halftime adjustments, came out and hit us in the mouth, and we didn’t respond. No adjustments, no energy and no fight in the second half. Yesterday’s beginning was horrendous but as bad as it was, we come back and score to make it 17-7 at halftime. Not good but nowhere near as bad as it could have been. So what happens? 17-0 second half. No adjustments, no energy, no fight in the second half That’s 44-0 in the second half of the past 2 games. What I see is no adjustments, no energy, no fight from a number of players.

That is one thing that has plagued CJP from the start of his career as coach at Tennessee.

 

[BeecherVol]

Pretty good take.

UT held UK 50 yards below their total offense avg yesterday.

UKs first offensive td came in the 3rd quarter and it put UK up by 3 scores.

Not that it isn't well documented but you can't win in this league without good QB play. Mediocre QB plus a good defense will still equal in a mediocre result.

The string was pulled yesterday, it will be interesting to see what happens next.

 

[99gator]

There is one thing in that write up that needs to be said because it was as concerning as anything.

The score was 17-7 at the half and the game was winnable. A 10 point deficit is nothing these days.

They were thoroughly dominated in the 2nd half, in some part because there was a point in time that they flat out quit.

Players quit and then even coaches, based on play calling quit.

I get what you are saying that if the 1st half doesn’t happen, the second half looks a lot different.

But, the question needs to be asked.....how many other teams come back and win or at least make it a ball game? Punt, punt, punt and Kentucky score, score, score should not have occurred for a team that was dominating. I know my thought at the half was the score Tennessee made before the half was huge and if they don’t turn the ball over in the 2nd half, they’ll win. That’s what I honestly thought.

Tennessee laid down and died.

No bueno

 

[BigOrangeLoyalist]

Agree on all accounts DG.

In the first two games, we just ran the ball and controlled the line, not requiring much from JG. A pass or check down or smart throw away here and there. That’s all we needed to do against Kentucky and JG didn’t deliver. Certainly someone on this roster can fill that role. The defense has played well all season, but at what point do they also give up on the offense / QB?

 

[rikberry31]

That was ugly. I definitely have my share of critiques about our performance, but I also want to step back a bit.

This is one of the weirdest games I've ever seen. Why? Because our defense played very well and we completely dominated the line of scrimmage, but somehow managed to lose 34-7. The loss was entirely on the QB position. You put Trevor Lawrence out there and we win this game 38-7. And while that's not a completely fair comparison (Lawrence is, after all, a generational QB), I do think we win this game with even semi-competent QB play. I've never seen a team look so much like "the better team" and still get blown out like this. We'll cut right to the chase.

Quarterbacks

JG. Let's just get it out of the way: that was a dogs#$% performance by JG. 3 turnovers and none of them were "forced" by the defense or even the result of defensive pressure. That's what makes it so infuriating. One of the most inexpiable fumbles I've ever seen, followed by 2 pick 6s where JG just threw extremely ill-advised passes. JG looked completely lost out there. My biggest concern with JG is that he's never improved. In 2018, I thought JG would continue to improve and that by 2020, he'd be one of the better SEC QBs. But honestly, he looks no better than he did in 2018. The only difference is that he now has better talent surrounding him at every position, which makes his performances more baffling.

QB issues. It's not just JG, though. Shrout threw an INT on his first pass. Bailey, who does at least have the excuse of not having much of an offseason to get prepared due to Covid, also looked lost out there. Why were our QBs so unprepared for Kentucky's coverage? This feels as much of a coaching issue as a JG issue; even though I think we've hit the ceiling with JG. Are the QBs not watching film? Whats going on?

Maurer? I'm still curious what happened to Maurer. He's not played a single down this season. But I'm more concerned that they didn't even play him in the scrimmage. Is he still injured? Is there some other issue? Why is Maurer MIA right now? Is something going on and Pruitt is trying to protect him? I know he's had issues with depression in the past and I hope he's alright, but I admit I'm very curious what's going on.

Solution? I don't know what the solution is at this point. Part of me is in the "let's just give Bailey the reigns and see how it goes" camp. The Covid season is odd anyway and we're all going to look back at it as a weird aberration in a few years. If we know JG is not going to get us anywhere, then maybe we just see what Bailey can do, prepared or not. But I still worry that the problem with the QBs may be in no small part a coaching issue.


Everything Other than QBs

Alright now that the QBs are out of the way, here's the good news: we played pretty well almost everywhere else. Which is why I'm annoyed at all the "FAHR PRUITT" and "PRUITT IS AN ARRFUL COACH" critiques.

The O-line dominated in the run game. After faltering last week against Georgia, our O-line completely dominated again in the run game this week. OK, pass protection wasn't perfect, but it wasn't bad either, outside of a few plays. Which does make the QB issues look even worse. Honestly, if we hadn't fallen down 24-7, we could've run the ball almost every single down and won the game.

The defense played very well. I won't quite call it "great", but it was close. The defense gave up 0 points in the 1st half. Yes, Kentucky scored 17, but those were all the result of offensive turnovers. If the offense does its job, we're probably up 17-0 at the half and it's an entirely different ballgame. (Suddenly Kentucky is the team that's forced to pass and Kentucky's passing game is awful). The defense didn't play quite as spectacularly in the 2nd half, but nevertheless, even the 17 2nd half points were partly the result of Kentucky having good field position for every single drive as a result of our offense. If the O does it job, the D probably only gives up 7-14 points for the entire game, which is good enough to win.

Eric Gray is a top SEC RB. Screw all these critiques that we "don't have an SEC RB." Eric Gray may be a top 5 SEC RB at this point. If we hadn't fallen behind so much, he might've run for 200 yards out there. The problem is, that he's really been our only offensive weapon. Albeit, that's partly because JG can't get the ball to some of the other offensive weapons.

Bryce Thompson. That Bryce Thompson strip was a thing of beauty. One of the most impressive defensive plays we've made all season. Too bad it was squandered.

2nd Best D in the SEC? There's a legit case that we have the 2nd, or at least the 3rd, best defense in the SEC right now. I'm so frustrated to see it being wasted.

So let's not go full gloom-and-doom here folks. We have some major issues at QB. But all the people saying the entire team is playing bad are flat-out wrong. This team played well yesterday, outside of 1 position. But Pruitt better figure that position out soon, or it's going to undermine everything else he's done. Right now, I'm worried that he might become the next Will Muschamp; a guy who built elite defenses, but who has never won big, largely due to terrible QB play.

That's all this week.

GBO!

Totally agree. I was pulling my hair out, we dominated both lines of scrimmage and we spot them 21 points. This game was all on JG, rarely can a loss be pinned on one player but this is one. In all other phases we played pretty good. In the long run this game may tun out to be a watershed moment because now something has to be done about the quarterback position.

 

[lifeVol]

What concerns me is that the team seems to have quit on CJP. While many will say they are demoralized by QB decisions (and there may have been some of that yesterday), I think it runs much deeper than that. JG was solid in the opening 2 wins, and was really good the first half against GA. But it’s pretty clear, at least in my opinion, that GA made excellent halftime adjustments, came out and hit us in the mouth, and we didn’t respond. No adjustments, no energy and no fight in the second half. Yesterday’s beginning was horrendous but as bad as it was, we come back and score to make it 17-7 at halftime. Not good but nowhere near as bad as it could have been. So what happens? 17-0 second half. No adjustments, no energy, no fight in the second half That’s 44-0 in the second half of the past 2 games. What I see is no adjustments, no energy, no fight from a number of players.

When you hear all week your HC say "JG's our QB" what is there to fight for ?

 

[Gandalf]

There is one thing in that write up that needs to be said because it was as concerning as anything.

The score was 17-7 at the half and the game was winnable. A 10 point deficit is nothing these days.

They were thoroughly dominated in the 2nd half, in some part because there was a point in time that they flat out quit.

Players quit and then even coaches, based on play calling quit.

I get what you are saying that if the 1st half doesn’t happen, the second half looks a lot different.

But, the question needs to be asked.....how many other teams come back and win or at least make it a ball game? Punt, punt, punt and Kentucky score, score, score should not have occurred for a team that was dominating. I know my thought at the half was the score Tennessee made before the half was huge and if they don’t turn the ball over in the 2nd half, they’ll win. That’s what I honestly thought.

Tennessee laid down and died.

No bueno

I agree with you here that although the first half sucked, with all the stupid mistakes, in some way the second half was more troubling. This team has the talent that they could have come back. I mean same team held GA on the goal line on inches a week before. In the second half though, they simply gave up. That is a problem and may have been what Pruitt was referring to in his post presser. Wondering if there is some dissention in the locker room as to who should be QB. That same Oliine who was opening up holes for Grey to pour through was not protecting JG very much. Dont know but that lack of heart, just giving up is not good and it is up to the coaches to knock them out of it. Chaney, I am looking at you - the D has been pretty good and you were hired to get the O in order since that has not been Pruitt's side of the ball.

@DiderotsGhost - Mauer has been on the injury list with a hamstring the last 3 weeks, which sucks because he had gotten almost all the backup reps during spring training and was probably the primary backup. HB and Shrout had almost none since it was COVID limited.

 

[BeecherVol]

There is one thing in that write up that needs to be said because it was as concerning as anything.

The score was 17-7 at the half and the game was winnable. A 10 point deficit is nothing these days.

They were thoroughly dominated in the 2nd half, in some part because there was a point in time that they flat out quit.

Players quit and then even coaches, based on play calling quit.

I get what you are saying that if the 1st half doesn’t happen, the second half looks a lot different.

But, the question needs to be asked.....how many other teams come back and win or at least make it a ball game? Punt, punt, punt and Kentucky score, score, score should not have occurred for a team that was dominating. I know my thought at the half was the score Tennessee made before the half was huge and if they don’t turn the ball over in the 2nd half, they’ll win. That’s what I honestly thought.

Tennessee laid down and died.

No bueno

I think the middle portion of your post is the key.

I think you have it backwards chronologically tho.

The feel was after JG was reinserted the gameplan changed to one similar to the second half against BYU last year. Dont give him too many chances to put the ball in harms way. Essentially he was handled like a Tr Fr that you have no clue how he responds to the poor play.
The big difference UT was ahead against BYU and that theory could and should have won that game. They were behind against UK and by 2 and 3 scores into the 3rd quarter. That theory wasn't going to work yesterday. UT found success running on one drive but needed the balance to have a chance to come back. It wasn't even attempted.

Its simple to me. If JG (5th year Sr) is going back in the game, you have to give him a chance to work through it and call a half based on the circumstances that give you a chance to win. He could throw 3 more pick 6s and you re still gonna get 1 loss at the end of the day.

If you re not gonna put him back in, you manage the replacement based on his experience and ability the best way you can.

Just based on what I saw it didnt appear that we called the second half plan with the urgency that we created and that filtered down through the players.

 

[99gator]

I think the middle portion of your post is the key.

I think you have it backwards chronologically tho.

The feel was after JG was reinserted the gameplan changed to one similar to the second half against BYU last year. Dont give him too many chances to put the ball in harms way. Essentially he was handled like a Tr Fr that you have no clue how he responds to the poor play.
The big difference UT was ahead against BYU and that theory could and should have won that game. They were behind against UK and by 2 and 3 scores into the 3rd quarter. That theory wasn't going to work yesterday. UT found success running on one drive but needed the balance to have a chance to come back. It wasn't even attempted.

Its simple to me. If JG (5th year Sr) is going back in the game, you have to give him a chance to work through it and call a half based on the circumstances that give you a chance to win. He could throw 3 more pick 6s and you re still gonna get 1 loss at the end of the day.

If you re not gonna put him back in, you manage the replacement based on his experience and ability the best way you can.

Just based on what I saw it didnt appear that we called the second half plan with the urgency that we created and that filtered down through the players.

There was enough time in the game, they didnt have to abandon any part of their game plan.

JMO.

I don’t think what I saw yesterday will ever occur again. One half, a team turns the ball over 4 times (2 are defensive scores) and is out scored 17-7. The other half, the same team has no turnovers and is outscored 17-0.

 

[BeecherVol]

There was enough time in the game, they didnt have to abandon any part of their game plan.

JMO.

I don’t think what I saw yesterday will ever occur again. One half, a team turns the ball over 4 times (2 are defensive scores) and is out scored 17-7. The other half, the same team has no turnovers and is outscored 17-0.

Which is the point I'm making. What you are saying they should have done and what they did are not the same thing. IMO.

I think the second half was a result in lack of trust.

Either in the QB they put back in the game or what they were not willing to let him do in a game that required something different that what you did for a half. Save one series.

What I think is the case, Chaney knows at worse your QB has to be good enough to provide balance. Even in the second half yesterday, if UT had a chance it need a QB to make a few plays. If you re going to compete with best he has to be something even above that.

The bigger concern is why that position is still the problem that it is.

 

[i2amavol]

Solution? I don't know what the solution is at this point. Part of me is in the "let's just give Bailey the reigns and see how it goes" camp. The Covid season is odd anyway and we're all going to look back at it as a weird aberration in a few years. If we know JG is not going to get us anywhere, then maybe we just see what Bailey can do, prepared or not. But I still worry that the problem with the QBs may be in no small part a coaching issue.
GBO!

Looking back at our qb's, we have Maurer who was considered the 63rd best player in Florida (Rivals). Now, I recognize that Florida has a lot of talent, but can we expect to win in the SEC with the 63rd best player that year in the State? Likewise, Shrout was the 51st player in California for 2018. They were both 3 star players.

Next, we can look at JG's accolades in high school all day long, but I think he has proven to just not have the "it" factor.

That leaves Harrison Bailey. He looked really good and effortless on that first throw. After that, not so much. I think the case can be made that he just hasn't had a chance to develop, with COVID-19 and all, but now should be his golden opportunity. He either has the ability, or we are in trouble.

With all the "excuses" I just gave, I think you have to put it on the coaches at some point. They can either earn their pay, or it is time to move on. Part of being a good coach is knowing talent when you see it, and attracting it to your school. This is not year one here.

I will give them the COVID mulligan for the moment, but it is time to get this crew in gear. I say Go with Bailey, and lets see how we can finish out this year. The team obviously has no faith in JG.

The elephant in the room just happens to be our next opponent. At least, their defense seems to have taken a step back...but this is terrible timing for starting over at QB. That is the only thing that gives me pause about starting a Freshman. Oh well, what better choice do we have?

 

[99gator]

Which is the point I'm making. What you are saying they should have done and what they did are not the same thing. IMO.

I think the second half was a result in lack of trust.

Either in the QB they put back in the game or what they were not willing to let him do in a game that required something different that what you did for a half. Save one series.

What I think is the case, Chaney knows at worse your QB has to be good enough to provide balance. Even in the second half yesterday, if UT had a chance it need a QB to make a few plays. If you re going to compete with best he has to be something even above that.

The bigger concern is why that position is still the problem that it is.

I see.

Yeah, if you don’t trust him, you can’t put him back in.

 

[BeecherVol]

I see.

Yeah, if you don’t trust him, you can’t put him back in.

I'm not sure the trust stops with the staff tho. Which is a bigger issue if you dont make a change.

Players get it. If you throw a Fr out there (given the abnormal preseason) they re not gonna have full trust and an open playbook with him either. But they would understand that. Doing it with a SR is very different.

 

[DiderotsGhost]

Looking back at our qb's, we have Maurer who was considered the 63rd best player in Florida (Rivals). Now, I recognize that Florida has a lot of talent, but can we expect to win in the SEC with the 63rd best player that year in the State? Likewise, Shrout was the 51st player in California for 2018. They were both 3 star players.

Maurer was very underrated by the recruiting services coming out of college. Those services mostly evaluate players based on their Sophomore and Junior seasons and never update after the Senior year. His Senior campaign was on a completely different level than his Junior one. He also played for a terrible team. To put it in perspective, they actually lost a game where the offense scored 67 points.

Also being the #49 player out of Florida is not necessarily bad. Florida is absolutely loaded with talent. Dak Prescott was the #23 player in Louisiana and was lower rated than Maurer, so I wouldn't put a ton of stock in the star ratings in this case.

If Maurer doesn't win the starting job here, I wouldn't be shocked to see him transfer to somewhere like Memphis and put up insane numbers. He can be very successful and he's exactly the type of player that can carry a team on his back.

Shrout is a different situation. He's more of a raw specimen that needs to be developed. I don't think we would've taken him in a normal year, but we didn't have a QB in 2018 (the other 2 left when Butch was fired), so we took a gamble on him. He has one of the strongest arms in college football, but the knock on him is that he wasn't very accurate and didn't always make great decisions with the ball in high school. NFL scouts are interested in him, but I kinda think he'll always be a backup here and that's fine.

Otherwise, I agree with everything you said.

Maurer or Bailey is likely the future of the QB position either way, so I hope to see more of those two in the 2nd half of the season.

 

[chattavol420]

My only complaint to your right is that it’s so puzzling how people always say why don’t we have anyone behind JG. Shroud was just as bad and Mauer can’t even get on the field. How many reps have they had with the ones? How many games have they started knowing they were the guy? The entire quarterback room is held hostage by JG having the job as long as he has. WasMy only complaint to your right is that it’s so puzzling how people always say why don’t we have anyone behind JG. Shroud was just as bad and Mauer can’t even get on the field. How many reps have they had with the ones? How many games have they started knowing they were the guy? The entire quarterback room is held hostage by JG having the job as long as he has. maurer, shrout, and bailey would all absolutely be better than JG if given the opportunity. It makes my skin curl to see people say why can’t shrout or maurer get out there. THEY CANT PUT THEMSELVES OUT THERE!!! And they haven’t had any reps with the 1’s. If shrout or maurer had 4 or 5 games as the undisputed no1 without having to look over their shoulder...then and only then can we start to formulate an opinion as to how they compare to JG. And who knows until then. I’ll say this, I’d bet the damn house any of the backups would be better having had the same amount of opportunity as Jg

 

[Volinnooga]

When you hear all week your HC say "JG's our QB" what is there to fight for ?

Your teammates. Besides, as I mentioned in my initial post, the argument that they don’t want to play with JG makes no sense as an explanation for quitting in the second half of the GA game.

 

[i2amavol]

If Maurer doesn't win the starting job here, I wouldn't be shocked to see him transfer to somewhere like Memphis and put up insane numbers. He can be very successful and he's exactly the type of player that can carry a team on his back.

Doesn't that point to coaching? If he can put up insane numbers somewhere else, then can't he be a capable SEC QB here? I think the clock should be ticking for some coaches. They need to find someone who can do the job, or they need to be looking for one (a job elsewhere).

Even Bailey has been on campus for almost a year. Josh Dobbs notwistanding, it's not rocket science.

 

[GBOx2]

Even Bailey has been on campus for almost a year. Josh Dobbs notwistanding, it's not rocket science.

To be clear - Covid has made this year a train wreck. Bailey had 1 practice in the spring prior to the spring season being canceled. Then he has been stuck in the contact tracing mess once the fall season rolled around. So the reality is that as an early enrollee he hasn't gotten any of the athletic benefits of being on campus all this time. He's actually be at practice very little. It just is what it is.

All that being said - I'm 1000% in support of handing over QB position to him & building for the future. I think his high school numbers show he's a gamer. I believe that we'll be pleasantly surprised at what it's like to have a real QB at the helm again. Don't get me wrong I totally expect him to make some mistakes but not any worse than what we are seeing from JG right now. I think HB's upside far outweighs the alternative of sticking with the below-average result we are continuing to get from QB1.