Time To Embrace The Taylen Green Experience

Rollercoasters are not for everyone, but for Razorback fans it might be time to fully embrace the Taylen Green experience.

There is no quarterback controversy at Arkansas. Green is the guy, now and moving forward, assuming he remains healthy.

Yes, I watched the games. Yes, I agree that 44% completions and two interceptions against Auburn isn’t good enough.

No, a 53.7 completion percentage for the season — which ranks last among SEC quarterbacks — is not ideal and needs to improve.

Yes, I see the Pro Football Focus numbers that show Saturday was Green’s lowest grade in terms of overall offense (65.4) and passing (57.2). Yes, he ranked 17th out of 22 SEC quarterbacks to take a snap. Ironically, he was still ahead of his backup (Malachi Singleton), his opponent (Hank Brown) and his upcoming counterpart (Marcel Reed).

[Related: Hard not to feel good for Sam Pittman after feel-good win at Auburn]

However, for all the bad, there is still plenty of good when it comes to Green’s performance. It is worth noting that he is still fourth in the SEC in passing, eighth in rushing — first among quarterbacks — and second overall in total offense.

Sometimes, though, performance goes beyond the box score. In Green’s case, the intangibles have to be factored in. For all the questionable decisions and misfires, he is always one play away from producing a SportsCenter Top 10 worthy highlight.

Green, even at his worst, is always a big-time, big-play threat. He gives Arkansas a constant puncher’s chance. His dynamic as a dual-threat quarterback as well as his knack for the big moment changes the way coordinators defend the Razorbacks as a whole.

Case in point: A massive answer on a 3rd-and-19 late in the third quarter at Auburn where Green scrambled away from danger, heaved the ball more than 60 yards in the air and connected with Isaiah Sategna for a go-ahead touchdown.

“I didn’t even realize it was 3rd-and-19. That’s pretty wild,” Carmona said. “When Taylen rolls out of that pocket, you know something special is going to happen. When that ball was in the air, I was like ‘who is he throwing that to?’ You just see Sategna running. When we went up and got it, I was like ‘Thank God.’

“At that point we were in a rut, and we weren’t moving the ball as well. You just need your star players to make plays, and that’s exactly what both of them did. They made a play, and it ignited our team for the rest of the game.”

Interestingly enough, prior to Green’s game-changing play, there were questions as to whether or not he had been benched.

Following Green’s second interception of the afternoon early in the third quarter, and after a subsequent Auburn punt, it was Singleton who emerged from the huddle with the offense.

The Hogs went three-and-out on that possession, and Green was right back in the game the next time Arkansas touched the ball.

Head coach Sam Pittman made it clear following the victory that Green was dealing with cramping issues and was not removed from the game due to performance.

“We didn’t bench him,” Pittman said. “He had cramps. He was cramping up. Getting some fluids in him and then him coming back shows a lot about what we know about the kid from summer workouts. That’s who we see.

“Offensive line wise, wideouts, running backs, Taylen, that was a big, big drive in the game. For them to execute and get it done with great calling by Coach Petrino was awesome.”

After returning to the game, Green led the offense on three consecutive scoring drives to help put the game away and seal a much-needed 24-14 road win at Jordan-Hare Stadium.

Still, it is fair for anyone to point out that what was good enough to beat a scuffling Auburn team may not be enough to get Arkansas over the hump against better competition on the horizon.

Green can be unquestionably be the guy, but he would also be the first to admit there is plenty of room for individual and team improvement moving forward.

The turnovers need to decrease and the completions need to increase, which will only amplify Green’s unique running ability.

Many would rightfully point out that Green could do a better job of spreading the wealth to his pass catchers.

Andrew Armstrong has been a security blanket for Green throughout the last three games, but until Sategna’s breakout on the Plains, nobody else had emerged as a reliable target.

As Pittman pointed out in his postgame press conference, the tunnel vision isn’t completely a Taylen Green problem. There are improvements to be made across the board with the offense that could lead to a more balanced attack in the passing game.

“All that works together,” Pittman said. “In other words, those other guys have to get open, and we have to give them time. We busted a 63 protection today, a running back busted it. When you do that you have no time.

“We have to get better as a whole, and when we do we’ll be fine. Make no mistake, I’m happy as hell when (Green) throws it to 2 (Armstrong). But, we’ve got to find more targets for 9 (Hasz) and 6 (Sategna) and 5 (Broden). We tried to get it to 5 a bunch tonight. And 17 (CJ Brown) and 82 (Monte Harrison)…

“But it all goes hand in hand. The backs have to be better in protection. The line has to be better at protection. We have to be better at route running to get the whole thing involved. That will help Taylen as well.”

Green and the Razorbacks (3-1, 1-0 SEC) will return to action Saturday when they travel to AT&T Stadium in Arlington to face No. 24 Texas A&M (3-1, 1-0 SEC). Kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m. (CT) on ESPN.