Central Georgia Sports ReportComment

Monday Morning Quarterback: The Falcons, um, well, see, you can, …nope, no idea; Surprises; Loughdmouthings galore (Tech unis, SEC schedule, UAB twit, repping Dodge County, more)

Central Georgia Sports ReportComment
Monday Morning Quarterback: The Falcons, um, well, see, you can, …nope, no idea; Surprises; Loughdmouthings galore (Tech unis, SEC schedule, UAB twit, repping Dodge County, more)

          People who listen, who read, who research, who have no team(s) or are capable of objectivity and logic – all of which aggravates the bejeebers out of some – can usually come up with some reasons why something happened.

          Not excuses, reasons. There’s more to most things than folks acknowledge.

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

          But man, I’m kinda done trying to figure out Atlanta or defend Atlanta or push how good they are or should be.

          A few weeks ago, here was this observation: “I’ve sat on a 12-5 prediction for about four straight years now. Clarification: This is a 12-5 roster with an 8-9 coaching staff right now.”

          I recall changing it from a 7-10 staff.

          Oops.

          It’s now a 5-12 staff, and the players have to make up for that. Sunday, they didn’t, and that’s on them. Whatever was missing from the coaches, effort isn’t coached. It’s about the substance of a player (or person, worker, whoever).

          And noted a few weeks ago, regarding Raheem Morris: “We need a tantrum. We need a profanity to slip through. We need players and coaches to start worrying about executing. We need fewer clichés after these kinds of games, no matter how many positives.”

          I hate to use the V word, but we need to see something from Morris that goes viral, be it in a press conference or on the sideline.

          There have been warnings from this spot: Penix was nice last year when he played, not great; the coordinators are shaky; there’s something missing from Morris.

          And now, you wonder about player leadership. How do you go from that Minnesota game to that Carolina game?

          Everybody wants to pile on Morris, and a chunk of it is justified, but players determine wins and losses. Period. End of debate.

          It’s a team effort, yes indeed, but players aren’t coached to be dumb, or lazy, or tempermental.

          I wasn’t enamored with the Morris hire. Could’ve done better, could’ve done worse, let’s see what he can do with better talent than he’s had in his other stints as a head coach.

          It ain’t happening.

          I don’t know where the closest knee-jerker meeting is. Well, OK, the nearest bar or social media site. I don’t know I’m not much allowed in there as an anti-knee-jerker (and man, are those meetings lonely, leftover pizza and coffee every time).

          But whoever in the front office with a clue and any influence on the Owner Who Needs To Sell better be updating The List.

          The playoffs was a given. Now, once they’re mathematically eliminated from going 9-8, it’ll be time.

          They won’t reach 9-8. And while I hate multiple transitions in a short period of time, I just can’t see Morris digging them out of the hole in 2026.

Surprises

          Remember who said Northside was better than its record? And that Veterans would challenge Warner Robins?

          Yessir, right here, and yessir, the meetings with those of such thoughts had plenty of leftover coffee and pizza.

          Not surprised with East Coweta beating Perry, but not by 17.

          Figuring out Howard is difficult, for me and head coach Trey Porter. Figured that me not being at Northeast-ACE might lead to the first close game in series history, and, well, I missed that one.

          That John Milledge and Brentwood went pretty much all 48 minutes wasn’t a surprise, but FPD being kind of handled by Westfield was.

          Mount de Sales is a little confusing, apparently looking better since it lost quarterback Zavion DeShazier, a somewhat illogical situation. Just as illogical is that Howard has not gotten better.

          Boy, these kids sure are baffling.

 

Loughdmouthings

          Dear Georgia Tech, go ahead and send those uniforms from Saturday to a community needing clothes, and stitch a few of them together as tent covers. …

          The SEC has released who the annual opponents are for the next four years.

          First: Each team should rank the four must-have such opponents, even though you only get three, and that third and fourth opponent can be changed every two years.

          For Georgia, yeah, swapping South Carolina and Tennessee works. But an SEC without LSU-Alabama, LSU-Auburn, Mississippi State-LSU, among others?

          Yessir, SEC has actually lost some juice, much of its inherent SEC-ness, with the “additions” of A&M, Missouri, Texas, and Oklahoma.

          Second: Send any emails about your concerns to the greedy-ass conference commissioners, and any and every SEC president, chancellor, and athletic director.

          Everything that’s going to suck about college sports is their fault, pure and simple. Sent them emails every year, and if you see them somewhere and want to yell something quick and move on, OK.

          Now that they’ve so clustered it, let’s go back to divisions. They’re fun.

          West: Arkansas, LSU, Mississippi State, Missouri, Oklahoma, Mississippi, Texas, Texas A&M.

          East: Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vanderbilt.

          Wow, that was easy. …

          The UAB player who shoved a Tennessee holder and then stomped on the Tennessee kicker’s foot should’ve been this close to being a non-scholarship former UAB player on the bus ride back to Birmingham.

          Hey, Sirad Bryant – who, calm down, is from Cordele and transferred from Georgia Tech – that was quite the jackass move. And the apology, well, could’ve been better.

          Really, if you would suspend yourself for a game, since outgoing head coach Trent Dilfer won’t do it – would be better, as well as you having to look at that play once a day for a couple weeks.

          Do better, Bryant. Do better, people in general. …

          We still have some winless teams: Northside, Rutland, Central, Twiggs County, Wilkinson County, and Tattnall.

          Rutland and Wilkinson County will break their streaks, although it’s hard to figure out against who. Could be a couple wins in there.

          And again this week, don’t be surprised if Northside gives Coffee more trouble than expected. …

          Our totally cool moment of the day: Grinder and outstanding teammate Daylon Gordon of Dodge County peeled off a 47-yard TD run for Georgia Tech in his 4th career carry.

            It was a burst, with a nifty little cutback. He got hammered more by ecstatic teammates than touched by any Owls. Outstanding.

            Honor roll student, graduated, busted ass on special teams, still there and still working.

            There’s your posterchild for how it’s supposed to be, dammit. …

          Boy, ESPN sure did shove Wrestlepaloozamanianess down our throats all day Saturday, huh? …

          From former Macon Telegrapher David Hale of ESPN.com in his weekly “Best of” (a good read every time out):

“Vandy is 4-0 for the first time since 2008, back when (Diego) Pavia was just a 36-year-old redshirt sophomore at the New Mexico Junior College Institute of Learning and Subway Sandwich Artistry, which we've all come to understand did not actually count against his college eligibility.

          “ After Saturday's win, Pavia celebrated by taking all his grandkids out for dinner and ice cream.”