Beck Playing Like One of The SEC’s Best Quarterbacks Despite Slow Starts

Carson Beck's game Saturday was a tale of two halves. He was ultra-conservative while the team was behind, but he amped up the aggression to score 21 unanswered points.

A pattern is forming around Georgia quarterback Carson Beck. It has landed him (right or wrong) in hot water with fans but has also showcased the unbelievable potential the Florida native has.

In each of Beck's three outings, he's started very slow. He's completing most of his passes, but those passes aren’t gaining many yards. Then, at some point in the game, a switch flips offensively, and he becomes a gunslinger. Georgia’s getting explosive plays from a variety of playmakers and defenses are left helpless.

That flip happened soon enough in the first two games for the Bulldogs to take big leads into halftime. However, it came much later during Georgia's 24-14 win over South Carolina on Saturday.

Carson Beck's First Two Games

• First four possessions versus UT-Martin
• 8 completions on 12 attempts
• 67 yards
• 5.6 yards per attempt / 8.4 yards per completion
• 1 completion of at least 15 yards
• Last five possessions versus UT-Martin
• 13 completions on 19 attempts
• 227 yards
• 11.9 yards per attempt / 17.4 yards per completion
• 7 completions of at least 15 yards
• First two possessions versus Ball State
• 8 completions on 10 attempts
• 48 yards
• 4.8 yards per attempt / 6.0 yards per completion
• 1 completion of at least 15 yards
• Last seven possessions versus Ball State
• 15 completions on 20 attempts
• 235 yards
• 11.7 yards per attempt / 15.6 yards per completion
• 6 completions of at least 15 yards

Tale of Two Halves Versus South Carolina

When Georgia trailed 14-3 at halftime, Beck had 98 yards but didn't have a completion exceeding 11 yards and only averaged 5.4 yards per attempt. He also took a pair of sacks, including one right before halftime that kept Georgia from reaching field goal range.

Something changed in the locker room because Beck was a completely different quarterback in the second half. He completed six passes greater than any he completed in the first half, starting with a 36-yard dart to a covered Rara Thomas, leading to Georgia's first touchdown.

His next deep pass fell incomplete in the end zone, but that was enough to force the Gamecocks to respect his arm, which created opportunities in the running and screen game. With more aggression in the passing game, Georgia scored 21 unanswered points.

Beck finished the game completing 27-of-35 passes for 269 yards. 7.7 yards per attempt isn't great, but he averaged 10.05 yards in the second half.

Georgia’s Next Great Quarterback?

One thing is for certain, if Beck starts games as the same gunslinger he's finishing games as, Georgia could have the most feared offense in the nation. When he's slinging it all over the field, teams are yet to consistently stop the Bulldog offense.

In those 18 possessions that took place after Beck’s slow starts, Georgia reached the end zone 11 times and three possessions ended with field goal attempts.

Behind those stellar, mid-to-late game performances, Beck has rather gaudy numbers through three games. He’s an efficient 71-of-96 passing (74-percent) with 846 yards. He’s only thrown three touchdowns, but he’s also only thrown one interception. Stretch that yardage out over a full regular season and he’s on track for 3,384 yards.

On top of that, 12 different receivers have caught a pass from Beck and Ladd McConkey still hasn’t dressed out this year. Brock Bowers, Rara Thomas, Dominic Lovett and Mehki Mews all have over 100 yards on the season. Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint has 88 yards and he didn’t even play in the first game.

How To Start Stronger

Georgia has gotten away with slow, sloppy starts because of lowly competition and its dominant defense. But there are opponents on the schedule who could make the Bulldogs pay for falling behind. So, it’s important that Georgia starts finding ways to put points on the board as early as possible.

If the issue is conservative playcalling, it might be time for the coaches to loosen Beck’s leash. Replace some of the short, high-percentage passes with riskier yet more explosive plays. He’s got the arm for it, he’s throwing to a very capable group of pass-catchers, and he’s not careless with the ball.

With more injuries in the backfield and with offensive tackle Amarius Mims out for the foreseeable future, the running game is probably not going to open up the passing game. If the Bulldogs want to achieve a balanced attack, the pass is going to have to open up the run.