Matt Stinchcomb was a two-time All-American offensive tackle at Georgia in the late 1990s and went on to a six-year career in the NFL, with Oakland and Tampa Bay. He is now an analyst for the SEC Network, among other endeavors, including the Allstate Community Good Works program.
Stinchcomb spoke this week to DawgNation about what he sees with Georgia’s offensive line, the defense, the Jake Fromm-Jacob Eason dilemma, and the Bulldogs’ chances overall.
Some answers have been edited for space.
Former Georgia Bulldogs player Matt Stinchcomb (left) talks UGA for ESPN. (Twitter)
Dawg Nation: What stands out about the offensive line? It seemed like they’ve really taken a step forward the last couple of games.
Matt Stinchcomb: Yeah, they played really physically the other night, which was something to really behold. Georgia put it on pretty good … I would say, Georgia put it on pretty good. I would say that guard to guard, it was as good of a performance as I’ve seen. Isaiah Wynn, I think is a good player. He has been a good player for a couple seasons now, personal guy. I mean, you look at him and he gets off the bus and nobody’s gonna be overwhelmed, but you watch him play and he’s a good player. And, this Andrew Thomas kid at right tackle, you can see the game slowing down for him. And, once it does it’ll continue to do so over the course of his career, and I don’t think it’ll be, I’ll be surprised if he’s in Athens longer than three years. I think that guy is as talented and as firmly as any offensive lineman we’ve seen in a good long while. There have been some good ones that are back to play early.
Dawg Nation: The defense, you’ve watched Georgia for a long time since your playing days. Does this defense stack up? Is this kind of like the old Brian Van Gorder defenses, this one right now?
Matt Stinchcomb: Nah, this defense is different to me … and of course, it’s built different. The game has changed quite a bit. But, if we are talking about performance, ability to support wins and help the team achieve division titles and that sort of thing, then yeah, I would say it would be more reminiscent of the year that’s seen under Van Gorder. But, as far as structure, as far as personnel is concerned, this is one of the fastest defenses I think Georgia has probably ever fielded, top to bottom. And, I wouldn’t say that I’m not even speaking about necessarily the defensive back position, or in the secondary. Their front seven is just fun to watch. Roquan Smith is a fun player to watch. To see a guy close the way that he is capable of closing, to watch him diagnose and read and react. Georgia has had players similar to him in the past, but I don’t think that in recent years we’ve seen anybody that’s playing as consistently as he is, and at a high level.
And then, the defensive front the other night, they were not only able to re-establish the line of scrimmage from a push standpoint, and to contain in their fast rush, but when they want to get penetration, when they are playing and they’re jetting the gap where they’re trying to get up to them quickly, they’ve got guys that can do that. And, it’s not just Trenton Thompson. It’s Tyler Clark, it’s Jonathan Ledbetter. They are guys that, they’re rolling two deep and John Atkins does a great job inside. It’s a fun front seven to watch. And [J.R. Reed] in the secondary, we heard about him in the spring when we did the spring game … He might be a leader on the team.
Dawg Nation: The quarterback thing, everyone has an opinion, or maybe they don’t have an opinion yet. You know, when Jacob Eason is ready to go, what do you do at this point?
Matt Stinchcomb: Kirby has said: ‘You know you’re evaluated in other positions. That’s how you practice, that’s how you perform.’ I think he means that … You want to have the largest impact on your team in the fewest number of moves … You’re talking about a guy now, in Jake Fromm, who has been your quarterback for [nearly] four games. You’re coming off a dominant performance. I don’t think anybody is even talking about this week, as far as who the starting quarterback is. It’s in many ways kind of a luxury to know that you’ve got a guy that does have starting experience, that, if things were to change on the other side with the kid who is currently starting now, maybe you make the change. The idea that you don’t lose your job to injury? You know I’ve been on the losing end of that assumption before, and I can’t say that the wrong decision was made. As a player [who is] playing well, you get injured, the other guy goes in there and the team continues to play well. You come back, and it’s like, ‘Look, right now it doesn’t make sense to make a change.’ I was a tackle. I blocked one, maybe two guys a play … This is a quarterback. Quarterbacks affect the trajectory of the entire offense. Right now the offense is playing well. I think it would be a tall task for Jacob Eason to unseat Jake Fromm just based on practice performances, unless the team becomes compromised by Fromm’s play in games. And of course, it’s a scenario that I don’t think they’re gonna calmly take my input on.
Dawg Nation: What are you doing with the Allstate Good Works Team and how did that happen?
Matt Stinchcomb: I was honored to have been recognized as a player … Georgia is among many schools that are very intentional about getting their athletes involved. Not just college football players, but their athletes in general. You’ve got an opportunity to have a really positive influence, not just around the university, but your hometowns … and our society at large, wherever you go and wherever we can play … I was on this team and then, was asked to be a selection committee member. I get to sit through [the] 20 or 40 guys at each level that we try to evaluate, as far as who is worthy of this recognition. You know, to recognize 222 guys nationally. And, I think it demonstrates all the good that’s coming out of college sports and college football in general. And these are great kids, and not just great football players. Some you’ve heard of them, others you haven’t. Aaron Davis, who is a very important contributor in that, as a secondary, he can play all of the positions. A former walk-on, it’s a great story … But, he’s also on the student-athlete advisory council. He’s also leading initiatives against bullying and domestic violence. The fact that he’s even able to find time, in what is otherwise a very crowded schedule is something that is worthy of not only recognition, but also emulation. That, hopefully other people would say, ‘You know what, there’s a way that I can contribute in a similar fashion.’ And, that’s the point of the national Good Works Team in general.
Dawg Nation: Any cautionary things you want to throw out there, or do you think the Bulldogs are the prohibited favorite to go to Atlanta [for the SEC Championship Game]? And can they challenge Alabama?
Matt Stinchcomb: At the start of the season, I said Georgia should win the SEC East. Based on what we’ve seen, I haven’t seen anything that would dissuade me from thinking that Georgia should win the division. I don’t know how good Mississippi State is. I don’t know how good LSU is. Right now, you get into this transitive property of who is good relative to how they beat another team that you’re not going to play. Georgia is not going to play LSU. So, how good is Mississippi State? Well, Mississippi State has Auburn this week; maybe we’ll find out. But, how good is Auburn? It gets pretty difficult pretty fast. Nobody was expecting Mississippi State was one of the best teams in the West division coming into the year. And yet, that’s been the biggest victory. Georgia dominated and maybe they dominated a really good team, but that would be the only reason to kind of say, ‘Ah, it’s not a full-grown conclusion, it never is. A lot can happen.’
