Todd Monken's Job: Make Georgia's Offense 'Explosive'
Dawgs' new offensive coordinator thinks he has the players to make it happen
Georgia offensive coordinator Todd Monken got his annual opportunity to speak with reporters via Zoom on Tuesday.
He said the word ‘Explosive’ anywhere from 10 - 500,000 times.
Honestly, I lost count. But I got the picture. Explosiveness is his goal. That’s his job in 2020.
In case you’re wondering what an explosive play looks like, Monken defined it with specific yardage:
If you want a more general idea of how explosive Georgia’s offense was in 2019, and didn’t watch / forgot, the answer is, “not very.”
Here’s a metric for you to consider:
LSU (historically great last year) had an explosive drive rate of .356 last season. That means 35% of the Tigers’ drives averaged at least 10 yards per play. Absolutely insane, and yes, they were #1 in that category.
For context - Alabama’s rate was .321, #2 only behind LSU.
Georgia’s was .142.
#59.
Georgia State finished seventeen spots higher.
Monken also stressed the importance of finishing drives in the red zone with touchdowns. Seem overly simple? Well, he also said this:
Back to the advanced metrics.
Alabama led the country in the percentage of offensive drives that resulted in a touchdown last season (55.4%).
LSU finished second behind the Tide in this metric, at 53.7%. I’m sure Nick Saban is doing excitement-fueled jumping jacks.
Georgia? Twenty-six point nine percent, or 67th in the country.
Maybe LSU’s 2019 production is a tough bar to strive for. The Tigers enjoyed what many (myself included) consider to be the best collective college football season ever played, led by a Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback who many (myself included) consider to have enjoyed the most magical individual season ever played.
Todd Monken might bring some major Joe Brady vibes and results to Athens. It’s ultimately on a new combination of offensive linemen, running backs, wideouts and quarterback (Monken said it’s an open competition. If the starter isn’t Jamie Newman, I’ll try out to be Spike the inflatable mascot) to make things pop.
Oh yeah, and they’ll be doing against 10 SEC teams in the regular season.
Oh, oh yeah, because of a pandemic.
Oh, oh, oh yeah, and they’ve been on the field together for less than a week.
LSU’s explosive drive rate was a grim 13% in 2018. There’s room to grow, and it’s possible.
Much like the SEC’s attempts for a 2020 football season, whether it happens or not…
…you can’t say Todd Monken isn’t trying.