Stafford taking what he can get

ATHENS – It took Mark Richt just moments this spring to see something he has been looking for from quarterback Matthew Stafford.

“I think he’s just more willing to take what the defense will give him,” Georgia’s head coach said. “I saw that more (in the first day of spring practice) than I’ve seen from him. In any certain progression, you don’t have to hit the deepest guy. You don’t have to prove you can squeeze it in. He’s able to, but why do that. Just sling it out there until they get tired of it. If he throws it like he did today every day, his percentage will go up.”

That’s what the Bulldogs want from Stafford, who never has completed more than 56 percent of his passes in a season. Georgia’s annual goal for its quarterbacks is 62 percent, offensive coordinator Mike Bobo said.

“I think he’s very capable of doing that this year,” Bobo said. “It’s not just the quarterback. It’s from protection to the things you can call. It’s running good routes, making plays when the ball is not right there, (but) just talking as the quarterback coach, if he plays better, I think the other guys will pick up their play.”

Stafford isn’t worried that the coaches are trying to stifle his play-making, he said.

“I don’t think they’re trying to make me not make plays or anything like that, it’s just when an opportunity is there, make sure you take it,” he said. “You need to look at (completion percentage) because that’s efficiency, that means you’re moving the ball, you’re converting on third down. Sixty-two percent is good. I’d love to be more than that, but that’s definitely something to shoot for.”