By Michael A. Lough
The Sports Report
***centralgasports@gmail.com***

It’s as if Arthur Blank is in office.

Ignore the obvious. Continue to employ those not helping the cause at all. Deflect. Possess really fancy and high-priced blinders. Blow off reality. And come up with excuses galore to pass the buck away from incompetence in charge.

At least he’s not dangerous.

Some of us can only use one word with ‘mis’ in front of it after years of it: mismanagement.

Atlanta’s a cluster, and Blank, despite his generosity and basic humility, is in large part to blame for a general process that isn’t working like it’s work in his other businesses.

He’s a failed owner of Atlanta, pure and simple. For somebody who, again, is remarkably generous and humble and helpful, it doesn’t change other facts.

We know of people who are very generous and who are in general jackasses toward most people. Being financially successful isn’t the same as being competent.

The apparent meddling of Blank himself and Blank through the Curse of The Falcons Rich McKay continues, and it will continue until Blank fully divests himself – and puts in writing “I shall not meddle, I shall only deposit checks and go to games and otherwise spend money quietly on Atlanta sports and other entities and charities” – and McKay, and a few others, of all legal connections to the Falcons.

Monday Morning Quarterback, 2025

🏈 Nov. 3: Whoopdeo do, the first college rankings are out, which means a big “soooo what”; Good stat stuff/surprises; Loughdmouthings
🏈 Oct. 27: Will this Atlanta turkey of a season have a coaching change by Thanksgiving?; Bears are ballin’ at Mercer; Loughdmouthings
🏈 Oct. 20: What do we know about our main teams in Georgia, near and far? Well, it’s complicated, and entertaining; Surprises, Loughdmouthings (a readable podcast, OK?) galore
🏈 Oct. 13: Sit down, get some coffee, and let’s revisit the Palooza on the Plains, because it must be done; Surprises, Loughdmouthings
🏈 Oct. 6: Nobody knows who’s in the CFP, nobody, so get ready; Surprises, Loughdmouthings (are loaded up, from ball dropping, high schools, fibbing …)

🏈 Sept. 28: Revisiting the Dawgs, Jackets, and Falcons (“oh my”, times 3); Surprises galore; West Laurens’ Cummings; Loughdmouthings: Mercer, screamers, Class A mutes, bummer)
🏈Sept 22: The Falcons, um, well, see, you can, …nope, no idea; Surprises; Loughdmouthings galore (Tech unis, SEC schedule, UAB twit, repping Dodge County, more)
🏈 Sept. 15: A good Saturday on campus for Peach State teams; Stat stuff, surprises; Loughdmouthings galore
🏈 Sept 8: Atlanta again puts the F in … Falconing, but there’s progress even in that; Surprises; Loughdmouthings galore
🏈 Sept. 1: Saturdays will never be the same without Lee Corso; Loughdmouthings galore
🏈 Aug. 25: Southwest and Northeast lost their cool, and then people done lost their minds; Surprises, Loughdmouthings
🏈 Aug. 18: Teams in transition deserve patience from the peanut gallery; Surprises; Loughdmouthings

There’s not really joy in thinking that – especially since it’s been a fan base and some “media” mantra and excuse for awhile - but it’s the reality.

No, Blank on the field has not a damn thing to do with anything. No, catch phrases and themes have not a damn thing to do with anything. Complaining about them is absurd.

Execution is execution (pause for John McKay reference from the 1970s that may have never happened) and the other things just don’t matter. Atlanta, from the top down, isn’t executing a successful or professional plan or process, starting with the hiring process.

I sure thought Mike Vrabel was an obvious choice. Nope. At least Atlanta didn’t Atlanta and hire Bill Belichick, because his strong comfort zone with the pros aside, he’d have botched the organization for the long term more than it’s doing it by itself.

Atlanta won’t get the really and truly right guy until there’s that divestiture.

That said, go ahead and make the coaching move now.

It’s a personal backpedaling, because I think coaches deserve more time than 92 percent of fans and 68 percent of “media” hacks believe. Progress can be interpreted different ways, and it’s really, really hard to see any progress at all with Raheem Morris and this staff.

At all.

Every part of the teams and a selection of players have all digressed. You’ve read here about a 12-5 roster and a 7-10 or 5-12 staff. The players are starting to come back to the staff, and it now feels like a 9-8 roster, although one it feels here should be able to overcome more of the staff mistakes.

Atlanta is 3-7, and has given up only 44 more points than it’s score. Carolina is 6-5, and is minus 42. That’s a notable number, one that’s been shared here before to show that Atlanta was close, better than the record.

But three and four years of that is kind of ridiculous.

It’s time for Blank to mosey into Home Depot and rent the most powerful cleaning apparatuses, and take ‘em to Flowery Branch. He’ll have to appoint somebody to clean out his office as well.

If Arthur’s not sure, OK, I’ll take over the organization. The generosity with remain, rest assured, but you talk about a clean slate with the current employees and future employees?

We’ll have a clean slate. Just because a person has a big ol’ butt doesn’t mean it’s kissable, and we’ll have no butt-kissing. Been around too many wet butts the last several decades.

Almost no connections to the Falcons will push people up the interview list. And never having been in a nice tax bracket, I’m not delusional about stuff, so that helps the process, too.

OK, back to the here and now, and a very long remainder of the season for Atlanta, one of teases and of the wasting of a year of some really good young players and of making it harder to attract quality veterans.

Raheem Morris talking way too fast – more decaf, Coach – and speaking clichés with confidence does nothing, and his inability to realize that and do a better job of messaging – if the staff can’t do a better job of coaching and adjusting – is one list of signs that, well, Atlanta’s gotta find a way to make a change.

The reasons to make a change have grown and grown. Morris’s daily/weekly “gotta find a way” has become so farcical as to earn meme status.

Then there was this comment Sunday:

“We’ll go find out what Kirk does well this week,” Morris said. “And so, you know, (offensive coordinator) Zac (Robinson) and those guys will work together, depending on what happens with Michael, and we’ll be able to figure those things out when we get closer to practice on Wednesday.”

Dude, are you serious? Atlanta had Kirk Cousins all of last year. Got him for a reason, like, because they knew what he does well. Have had him for a good while, and they have to come up with a plan?

Goodness, this staff couldn’t recognize last year that Cousins was wounded, and didn’t have the brains or guts to yank him, and then butchered some game plans and game management down the stretch.

I’ve never been a triggered knee-jerker who piles on to fire coaches at the hint of a problem. Tried to defend Arthur Smith, and he made it hard. Tried to be patient with Morris, and he’s made it even harder.

And the players have earned more skepticism with too many “what in the hell are you doing?” plays, especially on defense.

There’s no faith that they’ll be able to “figure those things out” because they’re not new things and they haven’t been close to being figured out.

I’m rarely a concrete “should be …” and “should’ve won …” person, but rarely doesn’t mean never. And yeah, Atlanta should be 7-3 and should’ve won more games last year as well.

This qualifies as waste.

And very much qualifies as a shame.

Surprises

The shocker of the year, it seems, came on Friday up I-75 in Barnesville, where 3-7 Berrien scored seven on undefeated Lamar County, and that was enough to win.

Wow.

Perspective of how shocking? Berrien now has three state playoff wins since it started football in the 1950s. The Rebels are now 271-445-16 in those 72 seasons.

It was great news and bad news for underdogs. Yes, it can be done, but it’s unlikely to be done this week, because scores of coaches will be posting those seeds and records and that score on locker room walls all week.

Warner Robins is grooving after proving many of us wrong with a solid home win as an underdog.

Rabun County handling Dodge County like that was unexpected. And one of us picked Macon County to win, not get taken care of at home.

Otherwise, Friday mostly went as expected. Central Georgia favorites in the Maxwell Ratings predictions pretty much met expectations, with Warner Robins the only underdog to win.

And yours truly went 21-4 with predictions. It gets tougher indeed.

Loughdmouthings

Four Central Georgia teams are at home Friday in the second round.

Weather will be so nice it’s stupid.

Go to a high school football game.

(Memo to Dublin fans: your team is at home. Good seats available. Too many good seats available).

John Milledge is at Mercer for its Class AAA state title game on Friday, and Brentwood and Stratford are there on Saturday for championship games.

It’s OK to watch a team not your own. …

A needed rerun: Any time – like the present – is a good time for high school coaches still playing to take time and check their MaxPreps roster and stats (except those keeping the success of their kids a secret, as “strategy”).

Media will consult MaxPreps, hoping – not assuming, anymore – that the information is accurate and updated (even if MaxPreps’ computers gum up the info).

Such details can’t be too much to ask, can they? (That’s a rhetorical question). …

Anybody else get the feeling that South Carolina will be open in about 14 months? Blowing a 27-point lead – no matter the opponent or location – is absolutely brutal. …

For those Mercer fans planning ahead, the Bears will likely get that first-round bye, and be at home on Dec. 6. And don’t be surprised if they’re home again on Dec. 13 or 14.

Regardless, really and truly, they’re worth a visit. Keep an eye on them this weekend against Auburn. The Bears haven’t been as good as they are now and Auburn’s been better, and it’s been a game longer than expected.

Ask those who rode the Gus Bus back in the day.

What they wrote

“… Colorado trailed Utah 43-0 at the half and was outgained by 416 yards. (A week later), Colorado trailed Arizona 38-7 at the half, and was outgained by 154.

“And, frankly, it's unfair that's all people will talk about rather than mentioning that Colorado was only outscored by seven combined points in the second halves of those two games. It's like the hate for Coach Prime is so deep that everyone refuses to look at the positives he's accomplishing every week.”

- David Hale, ESPN.com