Georgia Football: Bulldogs Won't Have to Rely Entirely on Aaron Murray's Arm

It's been documented that Aaron Murray is one of the top quarterbacks in college football. So it's natural to think that if he has a great season, the Bulldogs will accomplish their goals.

Last season, Murray threw for over 3,100 yards and 35 touchdowns, which led to the Bulldogs winning 10 games since 2008 and reaching the SEC title game for the first time since 2005.

But do the Bulldogs have to rely on Murray in order to get to the next level? Does Murray really need to have better numbers than last year for the Bulldogs to win the SEC and have a shot at the national championship.

No he doesn't, and here's a closer look why.

The Running Game

One of the things the Bulldogs want to do better this season is have stability in the running game. Isaiah Crowell was solid, but was injured toward the end of the season and rarely saw the field.

So the Bulldogs signed Kieth Marshall and Todd Gurley to add depth and competition to the position.

The Bulldogs also hope that Ken Malcome builds on what he accomplished toward the end of the year and Richard Samuel is back to end his career on a high note.

The running back position is crowded this season, but this will help the coaching staff get the best players on the field and hopefully that will lead to more big plays on the ground.

The Offensive Line

Even though Murray is a veteran, they don't want to put him a position where he has to get the offense  out of trouble early in the season. This is where the offensive line comes in. With three new starters, the coaching staff wants to be sure they are able to establish the line of scrimmage in the first few games, so offense will be more run oriented and Murray will use a lot of play-action.

Then once the O-Line finds their grove, Murray can make more plays with his arm, which will lead to a more explosive offense.

The Defense

Another reason the Bulldogs had success last year was the defense was much improved. With players coming back like Jarvis Jones, Bacarri Rambo, Alec Ogletree, John Jenkins and Kwame Geathers, the Bulldogs are poised to have a year where they could break records.

The defense will have to survive the early suspensions of Olgetree, Rambo, Branden Smith and Sanders Commings, so that will be interesting how the rest of the unit plays together when they are gone. But once they are back at full strength, all Murray has to do is manage the game and the defense can do the rest.

The Schedule

Like last year, the schedule plays into the Bulldogs favor. In fact, it may be a little easier this year since the Bulldogs don't play Boise State and the South Carolina game won't come until midway through the season.

If the Bulldogs continue to play good defense and have a great running game, Murray will not have to do too much. The SEC is always a tough conference, but the teams the Bulldogs are facing like Tennessee, Florida, Auburn and Vanderbilt are not as talented. If the Bulldogs establish the line of scrimmage, there is no reason that they can go 7-1 in SEC play without Murray having to make play after play.

Things to Work on

Murray may not have to have a huge season for the Bulldogs to have success, but he does have to improve on a few things moving forward.

The first is accuracy. Murray only completed 59 percent of his passes last year and that was because he missed on some deep throws early in the year. That stat should go up this year because of the experience he has gained the last two seasons.

Another area of improvement is turnovers.

Murray had some crucial interceptions and fumbles toward the end of the season and that can't happen this season if the Bulldogs want to win the SEC. Both of those things are fixable and because Murray is a continuous worker on and off the field, he will improve in those areas, which will make him a better player.