ATHENS —Jordan Rodgers knows all about Georgia’s offensive personality with Stetson Bennett at quarterback, but the ESPN analyst shed light on another issue limiting the Bulldogs’ pass game.
The receivers.
Rodgers, who knows what its like to quarterback a Top 25 football team, leading Vanderbilt to its winningest season in 97 years in 2012 with a 9-4 record and Top 20 finish, said beyond Bennett’s inability to push the ball downfield with deep throws, there are two major issues.
“It’s the youth they have on the outside …. they want to be more multiple in the formations that they do, the motions, how they move pre-snap, which if you turn on football in the NFL or watch Alabama right now, that’s what football is right now, it’s eye candy.”
Rodgers explained that motions and pre-snap shifts force defenses to have to communicate and move before the snap, opening things up for the quarterback and his receivers.
“Reading between the lines, they’re not really trusting of those young guys and being able to execute (movement) and their responsibilities on the play.”
Georgia had two freshmen receivers on the field more than 80 percent of the time with Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint joining Jermaine Burton on several multi-receiver sets.
“I think they are a little handcuffed in what they would like to do right now,” Rodgers said, “but they still need to push the ball downfield.”
The other pass game issue, Rodgers said, is not having George Pickens more involved in the pass scheme.
“I think Kearis Jackson is the most dynamic and well-rounded receiver they have, but you’ve got to get George Pickens the ball more,” Rodgers said. “I think he’ll be back against Florida, and I think that it will be a great opportunity to build upon how I think they want to use him.”
Jackson is the team’s leading receiver with 24 catches, followed by Pickens (13 catches), tailback James Cook (10 catches) and Burton (nine). Rosemy-Jacksaint has three catches, and freshman tight end Darnell Washington has two catches.
Rodgers has suggested lining up Pickens at different receivers positions to get him mismatches.
Rodgers, the host of SEC Nation and part of the SEC Network’s Saturday broadcast team with Tom Hart and Cole Cubelic, provided an hour’s worth of insight and breakdowns on the Ingles On The Beat Show, chatting with Mike Griffith and other special guests Mike Bianchi and Edgar Thompson of the Orlando Sentinel.
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