Taking inventory of exactly what we witnessed from new Georgia quarterback JT Daniels this past Saturday, let’s just say it was something stronger than impressive.
Here’s a snapshot:
- He was the first quarterback in Georgia history to throw for more than 400 yards in his first start - and the first with four touchdown passes as well.
- Looking for more explosiveness on offense, the Bulldogs saw Daniels go 11-of-15 for 303 yards and 3 TDs on passes of 10 or more yards.
- Daniels was particularly effective on third down, completing 10-of-11 throws (91 percent) for 144 yards. His QB rating of 94.8 and his efficiency rating of 197.06 were the best in the nation on Saturday.
- He threw five passes to three different receivers that went 30 or more yards. Georgia seven such completions in the first six games
- Daniels had a through-the-roof mark of 139.8 in IQR. What is IQR? It’s an obscure stat that takes into account dropped passes and interceptions and includes the requisite results (not sure if this means Daniels is awarded three touchdowns on the possession that resulted in Georgia’s last score of the game).
Not surprisingly, Daniels was named SEC offensive player of the week on Monday. Pretty good for his first game.
Also, receiver Jermaine Burton, who caught eight of Daniels’ passes for 197 yards and two touchdowns, was SEC freshman of the week.
All of that is wonderful for Daniels and for Georgia’s offense, which desperately needed a dose of positive reinforcement. But it might seem unreasonable to expect Daniels to perform on that level every week.
Not if you’re Kirby Smart. Georgia’s coach was talking Monday about what all Daniels needed to do better.
“There’s always a lot of room for improvement,” Smart said in his weekly news conference. “In terms of protections and … making sure we have the right guys on the right guys in terms of where pressure is coming from; in terms of (looking for) in certain routes, there were a couple of times that he had his eyes on the wrong side. … He had the one errant throw that went off the hands of the defender early in the game. That may have just come from the rust of not playing. A lot of times you have to get out there and play, but certainly he can grow and get better. He understands that as well as our other guys.”
Smart did acknowledge that Daniels played well.
“He threw the ball well and was very accurate,” Smart said. “He protected the ball and made good decisions with the ball.”
Smart’s desire for even more is understandable. As it was, the Bulldogs put up 31 points and had 409 total yards against Mississippi State. But that remains far below the offensive standards being set in the SEC.
Alabama leads the league and is third nationally in scoring average at 49.4 points per game, followed by Florida (44.7) and Ole Miss (41.0). The Rebels are averaging 564.9 yards a game, followed by the Crimson Tide (548.6) and the Gators (522.3).
At 29.3 points and 386.6 yards per game, Georgia’s numbers just don’t measure. In Smart’s never-ending quest to build a championship program, the Bulldogs would like to at least be playing in the same neighborhood.
They know with Daniels at the controls now, that’s at least a possibility.
“Some quarterbacks can handle more than others,” Smart said. “We are not going to be limited by what JT can do. We will be limited by what we can do with our offensive line, our tight ends, our receivers, and backs because everything you do with JT, they have to be able to do as well.”
The irony as it heads to South Carolina this weekend is Georgia’s running game is what is holding it back now. The Bulldogs managed only eight yards rushing this past Saturday.
A little more balance would be nice. Daniels has proven he can take care of the throwing piece.
“We’re going to use this week to focus on ourselves,” tight end John FitzPatrick said. “We’re going to focus on tying up those loose ends in every facet of the game, run game, pass game, special teams, and we’re going to go execute.”
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