Quarterback is typically the most critiqued position on any football team.
Jake Fromm can certainly attest to that.
“What’s wrong with Fromm" has been a question fans have been asking on Internet message boards and sports talk shows for the second half of the season.
The questions haven’t been without merit.
After coming into the year having completed 64.8 percent of his career passing attempts, Fromm will start Saturday’s SEC Championship (4 p.m., CBS) having completed less than 50 percent of his throws for four straight games.
Opinions have run the gamut. From mechanics to confidence and everything in between, everyone, it seems, has a take as to what’s been “bugging” the Bulldog quarterback. Why doesn’t he look quite the same?
Offensive lineman Cade Mays seemed to suggest that Fromm has heard the comments.
“He’s definitely handled it well. He knows himself, and he’s true to himself,” Mays said. “He comes out and works hard every single day, and he doesn’t let anything affect him. He’s focused on what he’s supposed to do."
One suggestion is that Fromm simply hasn’t been able to mesh with James Coley, who is in his first year as Georgia’s offensive coordinator.
“No, I don't think so. We really don't have a new quarterback coach, because it's the same guy that did it last year,” head coach Kirby Smart said. “It’s a different coordinator. If anything, they're probably more on the same page, because they're in a second year of being in the room together.”
Fromm brushed off the notion, when asked about it during an afternoon teleconference to preview Saturday’s game.
“For us, I think it's just getting the whole unit to buy into what we're trying to do as an offense. For us, it's about playing tough, playing physical, and being relentless,” Fromm said. “We want to go out and score points every time we get the ball. I guess, for us, it's all about all 11 guys moving in the same direction and trying to do good for the football team.”
When pushed further, Fromm finally acknowledged that there was a little bit of adjustment, but quickly added it’s never been a huge deal.
“I think any time you get change, I mean, it could be a little different, but I think things have been extremely well with Coach Coley,” Fromm said. “Coach Coley has been a huge factor in why we're 11-1.”
Smart, meanwhile, sees Fromm’s “issues” as more of a matter of who’s not here than anything specifically that his quarterback may be doing wrong.
“The biggest difference this year is who is healthy and who is out there playing,” Smart said. “I mean, three guys are in the NFL that were out there playing last year and, really, five when you count (Elijah) Holyfield and (Isaac) Nauta. So, there's not been a level of consistency with the perimeter skill that there probably was last year. That's the biggest difference.”
If the Bulldogs want to beat No. 2 LSU and earn a spot in the College Football Playoff, Fromm will obviously have to play a huge role. His job will be more difficult with Lawrence Cager out for the game, George Pickens out for the first half, and D’Andre Swift nursing what’s been described as a shoulder contusion.
“For us, it's about winning first downs, and how can we win our one-on-one battles?” Fromm said. “All 11 guys are playing for the team, but it kind of revolves around winning the one-on-ones. So, we have to win our one-on-ones, and we have to win on first down.”
