Georgia Football: Why Bulldogs Need Aaron Murray to Reach New Level

In the NFL, the most important position is quarterback. If a team does not have a signal-caller that can make plays, they will not likely be playing football in January.

In college, it's a different story. The quarterback position is important, but a team can win a national title with elite defense and a great running game.

For Georgia, Aaron Murray is one of the better quarterbacks in the conference and has improved each season. The Bulldogs love what he has done for the program, but they need for him to play at whole new level in 2012. Here are some reasons why.

Winning the SEC

Last year, the Bulldogs were able to reach the SEC title game because the play of Murray. However, they lost to LSU in the title game because of the play of Murray.

In order for the Bulldogs to take that next step, Murray has to play better, and the one thing that will make him a better quarterback is protecting the football.

Murray has a couple of costly turnovers in the SEC Championship that changed the game. If he can cut the interceptions and fumbles down this season, the Bulldogs will have a real chance of winning their first conference title in seven years.

Winning a National Title

Another reason the Bulldogs need Murray to play at a new level this upcoming season is they are looking to be a contender for a national title.

As I said earlier, a team can win a title with a serviceable quarterback if they have an elite defense and a sound running game.

The Bulldogs will likely have a top-five defense, and the running game looks to be improved. But the most valuable player on the roster is Murray, and the Bulldogs will go as far he will take them.

Questions with the Offensive Line

One of the weak spots on the team is the offensive line, and it's not because of talent. The Bulldogs are replacing three starters from last year, and it will take some time for the new offensive line to gel.

So Murray will have to make plays with his arm and legs to put pressure off the offensive line. And once the offensive line does find their grove, they will be able to put pressure off of Murray, which will make the running game better, and the offense will be much improved from last year.

Taking Pressure off the Defense

If Murray does reach a new level this season, he will not only take pressure off the offensive line.

The defense won a few games for the Bulldogs last year, but with the early suspensions of key starters, they may have some growing pains to start the season.

But if Murray is able to make a ton of plays the first quarter of the season, the defense will not have much pressure on them to try and make plays in order to win games.

Proving Doubters Wong

There are a lot of media members that love the way Murray plays. However, there are some fans out there that think Christian LeMay and Hutson Mason are better quarterbacks than Murray.

This year is a great opportunity for Murray to have a big year and show he is the right guy for the Bulldogs. Murray wants to get better and has all to tools to do so. If he can learn from the mistakes he made last year and continue to build relationships with his receivers and tight ends, there is no reason why Murray won't have a big year in Athens.