Monday Morning Quarterback: Teams in transition deserve patience from the peanut gallery; Surprises; Loughdmouthings
Is there an over-the-counter version of Valium out there?
Apparently not. Too bad, because they could use some at a few Central Georgia high school nations.
If anybody, anybody thought that Northeast would bear any resemblance to even a half-decade ago, they need meds.
If anybody thought Veterans was going to look supremely different, same.
Tattnall? Same, with a little extra coating.
In two cases, there are new coaches for a reason. In one case, there were a lot of quality starters graduating.
Another needed med is for those allergic to reality and/or context.
The reality is that Northside and Veterans will be better this year despite the strong possibility of having the same record as last year.
Theyâre in a hole, and in a region that has programs good for two or three playoff wins, if not more. That doubles the size of the hole.
Neither program will make region noise until theyâre in something of a different region. Maybe a bigger one with less powerhouses, and a chance to get some momentum and confidence.
Anybody who thought Tattnall was in for a revolutionary or Memory Lane year needs a light bopping about the head with a plastic whiffle ball bat.
The name of the head coach has substantially more impact on 50 year olds than 16 year olds. This ainât 2004.
Nor is it a veteran staff thatâs worked together or with the players. Hearing dads and uncles rave about the head coach is only going to inspire eye-rolling from teen agers.
And nobody on the other side is going to genuflect. If anything, some fan bases will be amped to put some Ls on the coach who racked up so many wins.
Thatâs why this has â.500 seasonâ written all over it.
Patience is a virtue. Reality is a virtue. A grip is a good thing to have. Today isnât yesterday is something to remember, as is 2025 isnât 2015 or 2005.
And get out of this feeling that your team deserves success because it had it in the past.
That was then, this is now. Folks were skinnier and had no gray hair back then, too.
Yessir, those sure were the days.
Surprises? Most definitely
We canât really get into many surprises until at least two games are in the books, but there canât certainly be some eyebrow-raising in the first week.
The biggest surprise in the Southwest-Macon County game came before the surprise of the final score.
Chase Dupree was nowhere on the public radar in the preseason â I was under the strong impression that he was a 100 percent full-time basketball player - and suddenly pops up in the second quarter Friday.
Another surprise: he picked up a good bit of where he left off from playing two years ago and after sitting out last year.
And, of course, Southwest beating a region champ by 25 wasnât on many bingo cards.
Dublin leading by two touchdowns at home in the fourth quarter and losing by one? Yessir, very much a surprise.
Warner Robins losing by double digits to Lee County wasnât a surprise. Not really being in the game, though, was.
Tattnall losing solidly at Brookstone wasnât a surprise. Losing by 43? Yes.
Picked Perry to win by double figures. Never expected it to be a game with Baldwin for only a quarter or two.
Putnam County hammering Greene County by 27 was unexpected, as was the level of thrashing handed St. Anne-Pacelli by Stratford, and little Flint River taking out Gatewood at the Gatorsâ house.
Loughdmouthings
It remains mighty stupid â yeah, stupid â for NFL teams to not play starters in preseason games.
Young players need game-type reps. New players need game-type reps with their new teammates. Quarterbacks need to run a huddle with starters. Coaches and players need reps on communication.
Itâs not difficult.
Yes, not playing Michael Penix or Kirk Cousins â agaaaaain â is stupid. Sure, defendable, but stupid.
Players can get hurt doing anything at anytime. But donât complain about a lack of sharpness when youâve done nothing to sharpen things up, and donât use âwell, itâs earlyâ as an excuse for stumbles in the first few games. âŠ
Dear head coaches: Check your roster on MaxPreps. Please take care of the minor detail of making sure your kids names are spelled right and have the right number, and are only listed once.
Please make sure your schedule is correct. And if somebody postsed stats, check âem.
Kids, parents, and fans deserve the effort of accuracy. âŠ
Howard is quite snakebit against Westside the last two years. Good grief.
Last year, the Huskies had some control of Westside, 20-6 in the fourth quarter, only to lose in overtime.
And this year, a timeout erased a game-winning field goal. And the next try was blocked, the huge exclamation point coming when the block is carried back the distance for icing.
Goodness.
The Huskies will again be a playoff-caliber team, but they have a tendency â as do some local pals â for unnecessary mistakes. âŠ
Honest to God, if a radio crew has three people, one person can do stats. Really. Come on. Listen to the crew and tell me that the third voice â if not the second â can be quieter and take down basic stats, which believe me, add so much more to the broadcast than 93 percent of any verbiage.
No reason to not have stats with a multi-person crew.
Dang. Shut up some and pay attention. âŠ
From Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel:
âIn (the recent) preseason opener, Jaguars kicker Cam Little made a 70-yard field goal that would have been an NFL record had it come in a regular-season game.
âThe Jags havenât seen this much legwork since Urban Meyer skipped the team flight to hang out at a Columbus bar.â