David Pollack says Georgia just a 'Justin Fields away winning a national title'
Some of the more frequent questions to Kirby Smart at regular press conferences are about the offense, and if there is any change in the quarterback pecking order. In recent weeks, he has largely had the same message that Stetson Bennett is the starter, and while the other quarterbacks get work, Bennett gives Georgia the best chance to win.
It is an irritating issue for the fan base, who are looking for more from the offense, and pointed to the lackluster showing against Kentucky in a win, but hardly a convincing offensive showing last week.
On the most recent episode of CFB Podcast with Herbie, Pollack and Negandhi, ESPN analyst David Pollack said it comes down to how the offense is managed, and the types of plays the coaching staff elects to attack the defense.
“If you’re the University of Georgia and that’s the offense you’re going to run, I understand like Kentucky’s not a threat, Kentucky’s not going to score, you know that,” Pollack said. “It’s very clear Kentucky’s struggling to complete forward passes, they’re not a good offensive team. But if I’m looking for development, Kirk, and I’m trying to improve my team, I’ve got to trust my quarterback. Because next week, 14 ain’t going to cut it against Florida. I’ve seen Stetson Bennett do some good things against Alabama, I’ve seen Stetson Bennett do some good things against Tennessee, Florida’s defense ain’t a world-beating defense by any stretch of the imagination, but I’ve gotta be able to trust my quarterback. If I’m going to run the ball 75,000 times and I’m just going to throw screens and dink and dunk, then why not let D’Wan Mathis do that, who’s 6-foot-5, 200 pounds and a freak of an athlete and by the way, he’ll open up the running game, he’ll open up the boot game, he can throw screens. It’s interesting they’re not finding their pulse.”
Then Pollack shifts to a long-term issue facing the problem, and something that has been a topic of debate within the fan base. How different would it be if Ohio State QB Justin Fields had not transferred from Georgia?
“Georgia’s been a quarterback away for four years,” Pollack said. “A great quarterback, an awesome first-round quarterback away, a Justin Fields quote unquote away from winning a national title. A Justin Fields away, something like that would be the difference in Georgia winning a championship. And if you’re following what I’m saying there, you should be following what I’m saying because they had Justin Fields on their roster for God’s sakes. It’s just Georgia’s struggling offensively and we’ve done this song and dance for several years and it seems like they’re still in the same spot.”
JFC I’m so sick of hearing about JF. He’s gone. Move on.
Me too, nobody seems to remember how lost he looked when he played at GA. First option not there, tuck it and run every time. I’m sure lots of teams would be much better with them, not just UGA.
Actually
Go back and watch how Fields played in mop-up duty against U Mass; Fields was allowed to pass and actually run real plays.
Fields looked great against U Mass, made some really nice passes.
U Mass. enough said.
It’s easy to say he looked lost after getting a miniscule amount of snaps and not everyone of them being productive. This we all know, he showed up at OSU in January 2019 and by December 2019 he was a Heisman finalist. It’s hard to achieve that if he’s only a one read and run QB. This raises more questions about Smart/Chaney than Fields’s ability. I have zero confidence in Smart’s ability to deploy QB talent in games. Recruiting them, YES!!! If Mathis was a bad quarter and a half from being exiled, how did he beat out Bennett in camp? That’s the question I have asked writers who attend Smart’s Monday press conferences to inquire about. The hard, bitter, uncomfortable truth is the championship level QB we need in 2020 was on our roster in 2018 but somehow Smart couldn’t or wouldn’t see it. How can Ryan Day develop Fields into a Heisman contender in 2019 and Smart couldn’t get him meaningful consistent snaps in 2018?
He looked a little lost at UGA, it’s amazing how a good coach can turn that around
Yes indeed, that good coach let Fields take his team almost as far as our bad coach let Fromm take us…
Solid punch tho, RandyG8r, kudos, well played…
That’s a good point leghumper, I have to admit though Kirby did pretty good when he reloaded and picked up Newman
Lol, I of Stetson Bennett fame got nothing for that counterattack! Jamie who?
Haha All jokes aside, should be a good one this year leghumper, go Gators
Randy…that comment is priceless. Agreed 100%
Gotta love Georgia hate week
… Those were all run designed plays. That is half the reason he left. He was the #1 QB in the country and we were using him as a fullback. His stats at OSU prove that it was UGA and not him.
You know what we’ll be talking about Monday? That if field’s hadn’t transferred….
ga. Would have beaten Florida. True story
As long as it ain’t if not for Jamie Newman opting out, I can live with that…
captain obvious
People act like this doesn’t happen all the time. We were a Will Grier away from possibly winning a NC. Breaking news, there are MANY teams that would increase their chances of a championship with a QB at the caliber of Fields. I feel like constantly bringing this up is stating the obvious and is getting old. Georgia has one of the best (if not the best) defenses. Of course, Fields would improve their offense and make them a better team. Judge Georgia based on the team they have, not the team they could’ve had. Hindsight is 20/20
I think Pollack is speaking to a much larger issue: Why is it that a team that recruits like UGA doesn’t have a QB talented enough to bring home a championship? Pollack’s point has very little to do with Fields and more about UGA – loaded everywhere else – having to rely on a 5’10” former walk-on at QB.
True, I dont think there is a recruiting culture issue at QB either though. UF had QB problems recently and even when we had the talent, we chose the wrong one. Imagine if Trask transferred out? Even if he didn’t we were lucky that he is the QB he is as he is not the standard bluechip programs would want initially. Sure we have Emory but he clearly isn’t ready yet for the caliber we are playing at. Again, hindsight is 20/20. You had Fields at one point and Fromm was close to the answer you needed but just not quite. I think Georgia is fine and there is no call for panic.
I worry there is a development issue with QBs. Fromm’s last season was his worst – statistically. Maybe that was because of a void of talent at receivers. Who knows. Mathis emerges from preseason as the starter, then commences to look like he’s a kid who was just pulled out of the tuba section and asked to play QB. Bennett saves the day but doesn’t really seem to be progressing. He’s thrown 5 picks the last two games and seems to have about every 4th pass batted down at the line. Still, no Mathis or Daniels. I’m sure Bennett is our best bet, I just don’t know why.
Because Fromm left early, Newman opted out and JT is still hurt. I do agree with him about Mathis. With the gameplan we ran against Kentucky Mathis would have been a better option hand he is a much better athlete. Not to mention he’s 8″ taller.
Yeah, I am taking your word on the status of Georgia as I don’t follow them as much. Georgia is still good and Im sure Kirby will find a solid QB soon enough. Unfortunately, it may not be the year you have the defense you do.
Kirby is a defensive coach primarily…recruits five ***** stars by the boatload and coaches the D-players up…the QB’s well, not so much.
@AeroGator, it’s okay for fans to operate in hindsight but it is not okay for coaches to lack critical judgment. Tons of Dawg fans are questioning Smart’s judgment in who he plays at QB.
I agree with you about Will Grier but my biggest question about the Gators QB room is how did Franks play ahead of Trask. Hindsight makes that as hard to understand as Fromm over Fields. I rarely read Gator message boards unless it’s about our game on SDS, so do you have any thoughts on how Franks was ahead of Trask?
Honestly it is hard for most gators to understand too. My understanding is Franks was a better athlete and was more involved in the system when Mullen arrived. Additionally, I believe Trask was injured when he was being considered. Mullen is a QB whisperer with his success at QB but his decision to play Franks above Trask is still up for question. These things happen and I believe Georgia is having similar issues.
Also, practice vs. games may be an indicator. Trasks biggest asset is how calm he is in the pocket. Franks might have shown the same attributes in practice but obviously, he choked with poor decisions during games. The world may never know.
Feleipe Franks always had the tangibles: size, mobility, big arm but his problem was between-his-ears.
Prior to 2019, Trask was supposed to start ahead of Franks several times, but the injury bug got in the way on several occasions. Had Trask not gotten injured after coming in to replace a struggling Franks in 2018 against Mizzou, he probably would have been the starter the rest of 2018 and beyond.
In 2019, while he made some bone head plays against UM, Franks did play well enough to keep his starting job until the injury against UK.
Yes, UGA would be much better off with Fields. In 2019 UGA doesn’t lose to SCar and plays LSU much closer in the SECCG. UGA would have been the 4h CFP team but still loses to LSU for a 2nd time in the season. LSU was a team of destiny in 2019 (when a ton of talent and incredible coaching.)
In 2020 UGA is undefeated with Fields as the QB.
In Kirby’s defense Fromm was a solid, border-line elite QB in 2017 and 2018. Benching a QB that won you the SECE, SEC, a CFP win and was NOT THE REASON we lost the NC would have been insanity.
Who knew Fromm would regress in 2019. Field would have replaced Fromm in 2019 and would be rolling in 2020. If only Fields had been patient.
Fields still would have had to deal with Coley in 2019 which, in my opinion, was the major factor in Fromm’s “regression”
Yes, thank you.
You may be right concerning Fromm’s regression.
Exactly. Coley should take a lot of the blame for both Fromm’s and the offense’s regression in 2019.
@TDOWTheGreat,
Hurts was more accomplished than Fromm but it didn’t keep Saban from benching him IN the NC game. I wish Saban saw it the way you do because there’s not doubt in my mind we would we have won the NC in 2018. I was alone among my friends who thought Fromm should have remained QB1 but I changed when I saw Fields first 4 games at OSU. Surely Smart had to see something in practice that at least slightly let him know he had a difference maker at QB.
I think Fields would have been patient if Smart had given him 2-3 series in every game like Greene/Shockley or handle them the way Swinney handled Bryant/Lawrence.
I feel sorry for uga fans. I really do
You ought to be ashamed Pollack! I thought you were a DGD.
Don’t get upset because Pollack was speaking truth.
And if OSU fails to win the CFP this year, two in a row with Fields, is that Kirby’s fault as well? Maybe it’s OSU that is one Kirby Smart away from the title.
Don’t waste your time with dumb replies. It makes you look bad.
There, there, Snowflake. Yeah You want DP to tell you all is well while Stetson throws the ball around like FR Juco player? Let’s not hurt feelings in a comment area.
When is the last time USC was relevant? Keep your ass out west
Kirby Smart & Justin Fields…That’s a topic that could fill a book.
Some decisions will haunt you.
It was his decision. Most UGA fans are over it.
Speak for yourself. Kirby blowing it with Fields is still a talking point in the fanbase.
I am speaking for myself. That’s why I said most. I know there are still some that dwell in the past. Most of us have moved on.
Yes, the lunatic fringe is alive and well.
Any time you use the phrase “most of us” you OBVIOUSLY are not speaking for yourself. As far you are concerned JTF, the lunatics are you guys in denial about Kirby sh!tting the bed with his roster management.
You should be a coach Dirty. Show us all how it’s done.
Kirby has made mistakes, yes, but he’s only in his 5th year as HC. And he’s done a lot of good with his roster management too. Let’s not overreact. The first year post-Fromm with a new OC was always going to be a little rough.
Boxster, it’s way past the panic stage. Uga hasn’t won a n.c. since 19 freaking 80.
I’m wondering what year Smart needs to be in before Dawg fans stop saying it’s only his ___ year as HC? Is it 6 years, 9 years, which one is it before they stop giving him a pass for that? I would think being in year 5 with top 3 recruiting classes every year, that they’d have a problem with the offense being where it is right now. We had a head coach not too long ago that had a huge second season with the previous coach’s recruits but would up neglecting the offensive side of the ball and only focused on having a great defense. That man is in year 9 now of coaching in the SEC and still hasn’t figured that side of the ball out.
I believe it took Dabo 9 and Saban 11…so let’s go with 10 please
Lol these are just like all those posts about Jimbo and his salary. Sometimes I guess these guys don’t know what to write about and bring up old same topic over and over again.
That’s the difference between Saban and Kirby. Saban plays the best QB, even if it means a legend like Hurts has to sit. Smart let Fields (and Eason) transfer instead of benching Fromm.
Saban sat Hurts at halftime of a national title game that he was losing by two touchdowns! What did he have to lose by making the switch?!?
Fromm was the best choice for 2018. It’s unfortunate that he transferred, but that doesn’t mean Smart’s decision in 2018 was wrong.
*unfortunate that FIELDS transferred, of course.
If it meant losing Fields it was definitely wrong. Fromm is gone, Fields is balling out of his mind, and we are stuck with a guy that should be playing juco ball somewhere.
@Classof98, Saban felt he had something to lose and that probably prompted his decision. If he stayed with Hurts they probably would have lost the game. In the LSU game of 2018, Fromm was clearly off but Smart stayed with him for the rest of that game instead of giving Fields a shot in that game. One coach was courageous in a NC game while another was not in a regular season game. It should have been easier to play Fields in LSU than Tagovailoa in the NC game.
That’s not really the entire story. There were people all season long saying Tua was the better QB. It took nearly losing the championship game for Saban to make that switch. If he hadn’t, Tua would have transferred like Fields. Two quarters is the only difference.
Wow. Could I meet up with you and let u read my palms?
Who’s gonna win the election?
Tiger TD you nailed it 100%
Fields in 2020 is a terrific player!
But it would have made no sense to make him the starter, as a true freshman, on the 2018 UGA team that had legitimate national title aspirations and had a QB who had already proven he could take team to the very cusp of a national title.
This revisionist history is so tiresome.
I’m a die-hard UGA fan who has been watching the Dawgs since before Pollack was born.
I believed going with Fromm was the right decision in 2018, I do now, and I always will.
When, exactly, was Smart supposed to bench Fromm for Fields? In the 4th quarter of the 2018 SECCG that UGA led into the 4th quarter, a game that if UGA won would have clinched a playoff birth?
Other than Nick Chubb, Pollack is my all-time favorite UGA player.
But sometimes he says some really dumb things. He was a fantastic player and a mediocre broadcaster/expert/talking head.
WE GET IT OUR QBS SUCK.
join the crowd kirby. The only east team with a really good QB is florida. Kirby and Pruitt saying the same “he gives us the best chance to win” about bennett and Guarantano. Difference is uga still has everything in front of them and with the way mathis played i would probably do the same thing if JT is still not capable. Going against florida with a new starter is probably a mistake but if you go down by a couple scores it may be time to dust off mathis or JT if he can play. For Ut there is no reason not to make a change but G still “gives us the best chance to win” (that is arguable as well). Vol fans ready to start grooming our future. I could live with losing if I knew we were getting Bailey ready. Dont you guys have another big time freshman recruit too?
I think the Mizzou kid is ok
If Ohio State fails to win the CFP again this year, will the statement be “Justin Fields only one Kirby Smart away from CFP title”?
The difference being Ohio State will have made the playoffs while UGA probably won’t even make a NY6 bowl.
That loss haunts the hell out of ga. fans. You’ll never get over it either. So, u have to live this life knowing saban owns uga, then, you die
The lengths you go to in attempt to insult UGA fans is pathetic.
I just like getting under your skin. And, it’s certainly working. Now it’s your turn
I like it because you’re arrogant as hell. You seem to think you’re a genius
Ha! I’m arrogant as hell?? I think I’m a genius??
Wow. You came up with that all by yourself? Ok, I’ll bite: please provide evidence.
Also, if you enjoy making an utter clown out of yourself for the so-called mission of getting under one’s skin, that says a lot about you.
2nd and 26
I would say they’re actually closer than that. More like a Matt Corral away.
Matt Corral with Lane Kiffin as a OC. Corral without Kiffin is less than Feleipe Franks.
LSU was a QB away for years. Then, we got a little lucky with Burrow and won a title. UGA was trying to do the same with their transfer QB’s, but one opted out and the other isn’t healthy enough to play yet. Not very lucky there. UGA does recruit QB’s well, so one of them ought to eventually develop into the guy they have been longing for.
People seem to forget that we DID give Fields a shot as a true freshman. He got 39 attempts, was allowed to score 4 TDs and wound up with a rating nearly identical to Fromm. I mean, everyone expected Fields just to be the starting QB after Fromm took us to the NC game? Come on. Fields OWED us another year. Period.
However, the fact that no QB has thrown a pass since Bennett has taken over here at the halfway point of the season is totally unacceptable. The fact that Daniels hasn’t even TOUCHED the ball in a game is unacceptable. This is stubborness on Smart and it’s not a good look on him. I was fine giving Bennett the start even against Bama (although I figured it’d be ugly), but just because he do so well in practice doesn’t mean anything in real results.
I expect Mathis and Daniels to transfer. Beck transferring would be a bit extreme, but if he gets 0 snaps then it’s understandable as well.
I will say this. Should Vandagriff get scared off from committing, Smart is going to be shocked when people start calling for his head. As foolish as it might be, he could lose his job over this QB situation.
Didn’t OSU have Fields on their team last year? Did they win it all last year? I’m not a Dawg fan but I’m tired of hearing about what Fields could have done. Fields was a good QB on a great team last year. He also had a year to mature so it’s unfair to compare what he did/didn’t do his freshman year. I also remember the terrible pass that ended the Clemson game. Of course, this is the same man who said losing a receiver shut down another teams chances of a championship.
Getting a great QB is a crapshoot. People ask why Ga let Fields go and why they can’t figure out the position. Why or how did Stanford get Andrew Luck? North Dakota St get Carson Wentz? Tim Couch to Kentucky for that matter? Texas Tech and Pay Mahomes. Why did Joe Burrows have to bounce around?
There are few consistencies when it comes to the QB position.