Georgia Bulldogs and Kirby Smart need Gunner Stockton to make major leap before facing off against SEC schedule
Gunner Stockton must see the field better and build chemistry with his offensive playmakers
Kirby Smart and his Georgia Bulldogs made quick and easy work of Marshall in their Week 1 45-7 victory, but Gunner Stockton showed that he still needs to take a major leap before facing off against a full SEC schedule here soon.
The ground game carried Georgia for much of the game as the team piled up nearly 240 rushing yards. A few explosive plays helped buoy the aerial attack for the Bulldogs. However, coach Smart needs to make sure Gunner Stockton gets in sync with his wide receivers and sees the field better against Austin Peay this weekend. Otherwise, Georgia’s offense might struggle once they face off against competent opponents.
Gunner Stockton needs to get on same page with Georgia Bulldogs WRs and improve his field vision
Gunner Stockton did throw two touchdowns against Marshall, but he ended up completing just 14 of his 24 passes (58% completion rate) for 190 yards. The 58% completion rate wouldn’t be too concerning by itself, but Stockton ranked 90th in average depth of target among all FBS quarterbacks with 10+ pass attempts in Week 1 action. Just seven of his passes were thrown beyond 10 yards of the line of scrimmage. His inability to complete even 60% of his passes on that kind of target distribution against an extremely bad defense is not great.
Yes, it was nice that he connected on one deeper target to Oscar Delp. The phenomenal yards after catch from Zachariah Branch were likely a fun sign of things to come with the Bulldogs’ new electric weapon there. Unfortunately, as far as Gunner Stockton’s passing attack is concerned, those were just about the only bright spots.
When pressured Gunner Stockton complete one of four passes for just six yards. He made some rough misses on throws that could have been significant plays. Stockton flat out didn’t see some wide open receivers running down the sideline and over the middle for what would have been some huge plays too. In fact, the post below from Chris Hayes outlines one of Stockton’s easiest misses–the kind he really needs to see and hit every time–on what could have been a huge play to wide receiver Dillon Bell. Stockton just wasn’t seeing the field well enough against Marshall to cash in.
Gunner Stockton absolutely must improve how he sees the field moving forward. Given how many yards Stockton left on the field on misses or bad reads that much is obvious. He also has to handle pressure more effectively, especially when he gets to Georgia’s SEC slate. The good news? Georgia gets to face off against Austin Peay this weekend. This should be a perfect opportunity for him to take his time, go through his reads, survey the field, and start building some chemistry with his wide receivers.
If Stockton can’t start to click against the weaker portion of Georgia’s schedule fans might need to be concerned here soon. He has the weapons to execute. Zachariah Branch should help create explosive plays if Stockton can find him. Colbie Young is proving that he’s taken a step forward already in his ability to get open (which is why he led all Bulldogs WRs in snaps last week by a mile). Dillon Bell and London Humphreys are showing their assignment sound improvements (in competition for WR3). Stockton just needs to take his next step, and soon.
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