What is missing at quarterback for this Georgia Bulldog football team?
There just seems to be a little something missing at quarterback for this Georgia Bulldog football team. Dawn of the Dawg looked at some numbers and diagnosed the problem.
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The most accurate passer in the SEC is Hutson Mason, 70.5 % completion rate. No obvious problem there.
But, here’s a more specific comparison.
Nine SEC teams complete over 59% of their passes, but only three quarterbacks throw for a high percentage while throwing less than 29 passes per game. Mason has achieved a 70.5% completion rate while throwing only 21.5 times per game.
Only Blake Sims (67.8 % completions on 24.8 passes per game) and Dak Prescott (63.9 % completions on 24.4. passes per game) are throwing over 60% completions with less than 29 passes per game.
No obvious problem there.
But, let’s keep digging.
Any true blue Georgia Bulldog football fan worth his salt can find something wrong with a Georgia quarterback – it’s practically in our blood.
So let’s get down to cases.
The most important thing a quarterback does is win.
Mason has the Dawgs in first place in the Eastern division.
No obvious problem there. I’m not sure we are really trying.
Let’s just get to the bottom line.
The last thing any team needs is a QB that folds when his team needs him to step up and win the game, so let’s look at how the top completion percentage quarterbacks in the SEC performed in losses. (We’ll have to leave out the undefeated quarterbacks.)
In Alabama’s lone loss, Blake Sims threw one interception and earned a 116.6 QB rating – 53 points below avg.
In Texas A&M’s two losses, Kenny Hill threw 1.5/interceptions per game earned a 154 QB rating – 7 points below avg
In Tennesssee’s three losses, Justin Worley threw 1.34/ interceptions game and earned a 114.2 QB rating – 16 points below avg.
In Kentucky’s lone loss, Patrick Towles threw 3 interceptions and earned a 130.9 QB rating – 12 points below avg.
In South Carolina’s three losses, Dylan Thompson threw 1.34/ interceptions per game and earned a QB rating 124.9 – 8 points below avg.
In Auburn’s lone loss, Nick Marshall, threw 2 interceptions and earned a 106.2 QB rating – 32, points below his average.
In Georgia’s lone loss, Mason threw no interceptions and earned a 175.7 QB rating – 35 points above his 141.2 average .
In the darkest, direst moment so far in the 2014 Georgia football season, Hutson Mason threw no interceptions and earned a quarterback rating 35 points above his average .
No, no obvious problem there.
Something is becoming obvious, that’s a fact.
Perhaps Mason has some advantages no other quarterback has.
The presence of the greatest runner in the country certainly accounts for something. Until this past week, Mason has had Todd Gurley in his backfield all year.
Without Todd Gurley, Mason threw no interceptions and with 137.2 quarterback rating – 3 points below his average – while the Georgia offense rang up 20 first half points on the road against a rested and ready Missouri football team.
Seems pretty obvious to this pundit, there is nothing missing at the Bulldog quarterback spot– nothing that matters.