The past couple of weeks haven’t been easy for Jarret Doege. After getting the life beat out of him against Oklahoma State, the Bowling Green transfer would turn the ball over three times against Baylor. Although he would finish the game with two total touchdowns, each turnover gave the Bears excellent starting field position.
Many fans have been hard on Doege, and some are even beginning to whisper that it may be time for Garrett Greene. Despite all of the things that have gone wrong, Jarret Doege is not the problem with the offense. Not even close.
When a signal-caller is facing constant pressure by opposing defenses, accuracy will be affected. The offensive line has struggled mightily in pass protection, and Doege has paid the price for it. Baylor obviously saw something in the Oklahoma State tape and would often send the house at Doege. He had virtually no time in the pocket and would be forced to throw to his check down.
Not only the line, but his receivers have occasionally let him down as well. His receivers have dropped wide open passes in all three games. It has not been a single culprit, but multiple guys in the receiving corps have not been able to hang onto a perfect pass from Doege.
That is not his fault. He did all he could do on those plays, and even hit his receivers in their number. At that point, that becomes the fault of the receiver. Whether that be a lack of concentration or fear of a defender right on their tail, it doesn’t matter.
To sum up the argument, the offense’s struggles are not all on Doege. He cannot help that he is given no time to pass, nor can he catch the ball for the receivers. Yes, he is going through somewhat of a tough stretch. But the whole offense is too.
This was an offense that was absolutely horrible in 2019, and we can’t expect an overnight fix. The offense is far better statistically so far, showing gradual improvement. Jarret Doege isn’t the problem, the entire unit is. With time, things will get better and the offense will only continue to gel together better.
Quit putting the blame all on one person.
