Georgia football: Overreactions from the lopsided win over Tennessee

Georgia football defeated Tennessee 38-12 Saturday to improve to 5-0. All five wins have come by double-digits and the Bulldogs have scored over five touchdowns in ever game.

For decades, there’s been a saying if football that the backup quarterback is the most popular player on the team. An interception or a few incomplete passes from the starting quarterback always seem to prompt some pocket of fans to clamor for the coach to give the backup a shot. Or in some cases, for the backup to unseat the starter entirely.

There’s been a lot of that inside the Bulldog Nation following the 38-12 win Georgia football had Saturday against the Tennessee Volunteers. Oh how this fan base has come full circle. Just two years ago, some said Jake Fromm would easily start over Jacob Eason. Now Fromm apparently isn’t good enough to lead the Georgia offense. Or at least not as good as Justin Fields could.

Now, before I continue, any fan reaction to the struggles we’ve had on offense the last two weeks, I do not consider an overreaction. I’m right there with you. We should have scored 50-plus points on both Tennessee and Missouri. There’s plenty of blame to go around, Fromm is not excluded.

But if you think it’s time for Fields to start over Fromm, that’s an overreaction. I agree, at times when the offense needs a kick in the rear, Fields should come in. He’s a five-star recruit, he’s here and we’re not going to redshirt him. Might as well use him. Fields has proven himself well in that role so far. He already has 115 rushing yards and three touchdowns. Which means he’s already surpassed D.J. Shockley’s freshman rushing totals.

Fields has also looked pretty good passing as well with 15 completions on 19 attempts with a pair of touchdowns. That’s pretty good, but he’s yet to make a tough pass. He’s only averaging 7.7 yards per attempt.

Fromm however, is averaging a first down with every pass with a 10.2-yard average. He has 924 yards and nine touchdown passes. He wasn’t great against Tennessee at all, but to say he played bad enough to lose his starting job is way too extreme. Keep in mind, two of his six incompletions were not his fault. Both D’Andre Swift and Terry Godwin missed passes that could have scored touchdowns. At the very least, they would have moved the offense deep into Tennessee territory. If those passes are caught, your opinion on the day Fromm had are drastically different.

I’ve also seen questions about his pocket presence, particularly focusing on the two fumbles. And true, that’s something Fromm needs to work on. But if you played behind an offensive line that was called the best in the SEC prior to the season, that also gets help from a former no. 1 ranked tight end, wouldn’t you be a little more trusting of your blockers than you perhaps should be?

And on Fromm’s last strip, he dropped the ball just mere seconds before passing. Just a split second away separated Fromm from a “quarterback who lacks pocket presence,” to possibly “tough competitor who hangs in the pocket to make the big pass.”

It’s easy for us to judge from the stands, our recliners or from a bar stool. But neither you nor I are paid the millions the University of Georgia pays this coaching staff to put out a winning product. Kirby Smart led us to a National Championship Game last year. He brought the SEC Championship back to Athens. He’s built a team that so far as blown out every opponent in 2018. Smart isn’t some bum of a coach. If he says Fromm is the starter, I have to trust his judgement.