| Left Outside | Left Middle | Right Middle | Right Outside | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20+ | 1/1 | 0/2 | 1/2 (TD, INT) | 4/4 (2 TD) | 6/9 (3 TD, 1 INT) |
| 16-20 | 0/0 | ||||
| 11-15 | 2/2 | 2/2 | 1/1 | 0/1 | 5/6 |
| 6-10 | 1/3 | 1/1 | 1/1 | 3/5 | |
| 1-5 | 4/4 | 2/2 | 6/6 | ||
| 0 | 3/4 | 1/1 | 1/1 | 5/6 | |
| Total | 4/6 | 10/13 | 4/5 (TD, INT) | 7/8 (2 TD) | 25/32 (3 TD, INT) |
Situational Accuracy
Outside the Pocket: 3/6
Under Pressure: 5/10 (1 TD, 1 INT)
Red Zone: 2/2 (2 TD)
3rd/4th Down: 4/5 (2 conversions)
Forced Adjustments: 2
Explosive Plays (25+ yards and/or touchdown): 5
Throwaways: 0
The Georgia Bulldogs entered the weekend with the best defense in the country. By a lot. Not only had Kirby Smart’s unit allowed just 37 points through their first three games, but ESPN’s SP+ metric had them as the No.1 defense with a 7.1 rating — lower is better for defense. For reference, Clemson sat in second place among teams who had played with a 15.4 rating, with Notre Dame trailing them at 17.1. It was not a close race at all. [[ad:athena]]
As such, last Saturday’s game was supposed to be a brutal challenge for quarterback Mac Jones and the Alabama offense. Not that Jones left much room to be skeptical about him through the first couple of weeks, but even the best quarterbacks deserve some degree of doubt cast upon them when facing a juggernaut defense. Any and all doubt cast Jones’ way was all for naught.
Mac Jones INT pic.twitter.com/cq7aVPpmpS
— Derrik Klassen (@QBKlassClips) October 20, 2020
Oddly enough, Jones opened the game with a disaster of an interception. The Georgia defensive front got pressure, forced a wobbly pop fly as a result of hitting Jones on the throw, and scooped the interception. Jones was trying to rip a deep throw down the seam, but just did not have the time to get it off. Considering Georgia’s defense had done this to everyone they faced previously, one had to assume this was an omen that Jones may not be in for a fantastic game.
Wrong!
From there on out, Jones played about as well as anyone could ask for against the best defense in the country. Jones was aggressive, flashed a dash of creativity outside the pocket, and placed a few touch throws that showcased his NFL-level arm talent. Sure, that hyper-aggression bit him in the behind on that first play from scrimmage, but it served him well for the rest of the match.
Jones’ willingness to strike down the field helped unlock the explosive potential of the Alabama offense. Throwing to three NFL wide receivers (perhaps all first-round picks) helps, but someone has to get the ball to those guys 30-plus yards down the field, and Jones proved again that he is more than excited to give it a go at any opportunity.
Mac Jones deep TD pic.twitter.com/oOMAcAYDL5
— Derrik Klassen (@QBKlassClips) October 20, 2020
Here is Jones’ first deep touchdown. It is hard to tell if Jones saw the blitzing cornerback from the boundary pre-snap. Following the play-fake, however, Jones got his eyes to the deep-half safety and realized no cornerback was in a trail position to help cover wide receiver John Metchie. Jones trusted that his guy could beat the safety and launched a legitimately perfect pass right in stride for the receiver. Uncommon blitzes and coverages such as this have thrown previous quarterbacks facing the Bulldogs for a loop, but Jones remained cool on his way to throwing his first of three scores on the day.
Later in the half, with Alabama trailing by a score, Jones showed off some comfort outside the pocket. Jones is not a good athlete by any stretch of the imagination, nor is he particularly fluid in his mechanics when on the run, but he showed that he at least knows when to move as well as be willing to make tough throws from outside the pocket.
Mac Jones outside the pocket pic.twitter.com/sZAbFSmvor
— Derrik Klassen (@QBKlassClips) October 20, 2020
Jones is not exactly sprinting away from a pass-rusher here, but there is something to be said about how a quarterback understands moving windows while playing from different angles. The angles on certain throws playing from outside the college hashes versus playing in the middle of a pocket is quite different. That Jones could scoot outside the pocket, orchestrate a scramble drill of sorts with his receiver, and deliver a heater is what you want to see from a quarterback who should never be expected to be an athlete. All quarterbacks need to show some degree of ability outside the pocket and Jones did that here.
A majority of Jones’ success also came down purely to ball placement. Even on the deep pass touchdown a couple clips earlier, it is clear how well Jones can thread the needle between putting enough velocity on a ball while still giving it enough air. Finding that perfect blend to create a good arc is tough, but Jones proves week in, week out that he has the kind of arm for it.
Mac Jones RB wheel pic.twitter.com/XOvQqn0BW3
— Derrik Klassen (@QBKlassClips) October 20, 2020
Here is a rather tame example of that touch. Alabama motions their running back to the left side of the formation before asking him to run a wheel route. Jones immediately opens to the left to see that Georgia #11 gets caught up in traffic with the tight end. As soon as Jones sees that, he knows he can rip the wheel route. Seeing as the ‘Dogs were in a two-high shell, though, Jones was aware that a deep safety would be able to play this wheel route over the top if he tried to throw it vertically. In turn, Jones had to put enough air on this to get it over the underneath linebacker while still putting enough heat to have the ball arrive before the safety can roll down. Jones also leaves this on the running back’s outside shoulder so as to create the most possible distance between the catch point and the incoming safety.
Mac Jones corner TD pic.twitter.com/FCYSdXAEUU
— Derrik Klassen (@QBKlassClips) October 20, 2020
This beautiful touchdown strike is what really drives it home for Jones. Alabama’s wide receiver is running a corner route, but with how physical the cornerback is playing this and with how effectively he is playing the underneath leverage, trying to rifle in this corner route is a no-go. Jones has to leave this ball high, whether that is in the very back of the end zone or more towards the pylon. The receiver is going to have to get vertical either way. Jones leaves this ball just high enough to get past the cornerback’s outstretched arm, yet allows it to arrive there with just barely enough time for the receiver to go up and come down with it in bounds. Jones had to throw this one into an imaginary basketball hoop and delivered a crisp swish.
Prior to this Georgia game, had not really played a defense that was supposed to stop them. That is not to say every defense they saw were pushovers (especially not Missouri), but Georgia was supposed to be the first to give them a real run for their money. Beyond the first play, that simply was not the case. Jones established himself as a legitimate quarterback.
Keeping an eye on how Jones operates under pressure and on critical downs (3rd/4th) when the burden is really on the quarterback will be key to his growth as a prospect. Even in this game, Jones was not exactly fantastic through either lens, he was just so good at delivering down the field that it did not matter. If Jones can show off some better play in those spots, he may well ascend to QB3 in this class behind the obvious pairing of Trevor Lawrence and Justin Fields.
