Matthew Stafford's Improvement as QB Is Key to Georgia's '08 Season

For the first half, Stafford was average across the board. He was better at avoiding interceptions than would be expected, but he was a lot worse in accuracy. His completion percentage lagged the expected level of production by 5.58%. You'll also notice that his attempts were nearly even with the projected amount.

Georgia, as you would expect, ran the ball a lot more in the second half. Stafford's attempts dropped by 48 from the first half, and his total was way below the expected amount. His accuracy was better, basically even with the projected figure. His yardage and touchdown rates went up, but his interception rate more than doubled.

Stafford clearly benefited from the emergence of Moreno. As teams had to focus on the run game more, his production improved. His accuracy wasn't great, but it was better than it had been. He was at his best when he wasn't asked to carry the offense, but sophomores aren't generally asked to do so.

A natural comparison point for him is David Greene. Stafford is on track to start all four years (should he stay all four), and Greene did that for the Bulldogs earlier this decade. Through their first two years, Greene has a definite edge having put up better numbers in nearly every statistical category in his freshman year than Stafford did in his sophomore year. Greene's passing efficiency actually was lower his sophomore year, but his 137.3 mark was still better than Stafford's 128.9 mark a year ago.

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