ATHENS — Is it live or is it Memorex?
If you’re too young to remember that timeless commercial, in essence it wanted you to decide if what you were hearing was real or not. Which brings me to Thursday’s report that first-year Georgia coach Kirby Smart and offensive coordinator Jim Chaney have decided to hand the starting quarterback duties for Saturday’s season-opener against North Carolina to Greyson Lambert.
Can we believe this as the sign that Smart and the Bulldog staff have truly determined that the fifth-year senior won the job outright over true freshman and surely-the-future-of-the-Bulldogs-program Jacob Eason?
Are the Bulldogs tipping their hand in the fashion of the Henry Gondorff character (played by the late Paul Newman) in The Sting just before he pulls out a four-of-a-kind in the famous card game scene to out-cheat the other cheater (played by the late Robert Shaw)? Will Georgia pull the switcheroo and trot out Eason instead?
Whichever scenario plays out on the Georgia Dome turf, I think it’s the right move to start Lambert. The tall right-hander has 29 career starts at the Football Bowl Series (FBS) level to none for Eason. While Lambert may not be eye-candy in the form of big plays and athletic prowess, he is nothing if not steady.
I will be in the Georgia Dome providing coverage of the Dogs' 2016 opener for AccessWDUN and with live tweets on @AccessNGASports along with a game story to follow once the smoke clears.
Lambert was 10-2 as a starter for the Bulldogs in 2015, with the two losses coming in a road loss to Tennessee (38-31) and at home against Alabama (38-10) in a game that was over after the first quarter. He completed 63 percent of his passes for nearly 2,000 yards (1,959 to be exact) with 12 touchdowns and just two interceptions. He also set an NCAA record for completion percentage in a game going 24-of-25 against South Carolina.
Lambert is not going to lose you the game. But can he win it for the Bulldogs? Doubtful without a lot of help.
But that is probably what Smart and Chaney are banking on. Help. As in the form of Nick Chubb, (hopefully) Sony Michel, Jeb Blazevich, and Isaiah McKenzie, to name a few.
I see this as a win-win for Eason. If Lambert and the Georgia running game — behind a rejuvenated Chubb — have success, Eason can relax and stand back and watch and learn and get acclimated to the speed of the college game.
If things don’t go well for the Dogs, at least initially, Eason could have that fairy-tale beginning where he comes in as the hopeful savior of the game, running onto the field to thunderous roar, and expectations, of a Bulldog Nation waiting in anticipation.
I for one am looking forward to seeing what Eason can do against live competition. I’m hoping to get a glimpse of a bigger sample size of his abilities than what we witnessed during the spring game.
Nothing against Lambert, but I already know what he can do. He’ll keep Georgia in the game by not making mistakes, but if the game is on the line, that’s where my confidence quickly fades.
Still, as far as sending someone out to take the first snap of the game, Lambert is the right call.
But here’s to hoping to see No. 10 trot out for the second play and beyond.
