Tom Brady threw a pick-6 to clinch a loss to a team that lost its starting quarterback when, and was already without its backup.

          Stetson Bennett didn’t.

          Carson Wentz threw pass basically from, well, his backside from the end zone, and it led directly to a loss.

          Stetson Bennett didn’t.

          Matthew Stafford did a Carson Wentz. Matthew Stafford.

          The whatever-freakin’-starting quarterback and preseason Heisman contender lost his job at Oklahoma.

          Stetson Bennett didn’t.

          The top five I-A quarterbacks in passing yardage are from Western Kentucky, Virginia, Mississippi State, Nevada, and Pittsburgh.

          Wanna trade? Then hush.

          Of the top 25 quarterbacks in passing efficiency, the only other ones playing for a team with a snowball’s chance of sniffing the playoff conversation are at Alabama (10th) and Ohio State, (12th). That’s it.

Wanna trade any of the the 20 or so? Then hush.

          Who’s ranked sixth in team passing efficiency?

          The one playing Stetson Bennett. Third in I-A in efficiency. Even with J.T. Daniels’ so-so game last week (that’s quasi-sarcasm).

          It’s astounding to listen to the absurd nitpicking of every flawed pass Bennett makes, flawed passes made as much or more often by the aforementioned quarterbacks. And the former quarterbacks at Georgia. The “more elite” quarterback.

          He doesn’t make the mistakes of Bo Nix, but has upper-level athleticism for a quarterback.

          Was Brady’s pick-6 not a missed throw? Has the shine dimmed with Patrick Mahomes a bit?

          Wasn’t Jacob Easom just on waivers a few weeks ago? A Heisman favorite in Oklahoma lost his job.

          An APB has been put out on favorites from Miami, Southern Cal, Texas, and North Carolina.

          It’s not a combine.

          It’s not an old Superstars competition.

          It’s not 7 on 7.

          It’s not some QB competition. It’s not a made-for-TV show.

          It’s football. It’s playing winning football. It’s make a team better. It’s not – as the QB job is – losing games. It’s not digging holes a team has to climb out of.

          The obsession with waiting for Bennett to collapse – from so many in his team’s “fan” and “media” base is exhausting.

          He can throw deep. Every quarterback – and a few non-QBS – can. Coaches have to call those plays for an offense – including the blockers and the route runners - to get particularly proficient at them.

          He can throw a fastball, thought let us remember that throwing a fastball doesn’t make you a pitcher. Ask Greg Maddux.

          Drew Brees will walk into the Hall of Fame with the silly “can’t throw deep” and “ain’ttall enough” labels.

          Got him a ring, huh? Helped save a franchise?

          Please, folks, enough with the child’s attention span or distracted by shiny but irrelevant stuff. Many of you, quit waiting for your quarterback to fail – like every quarterback does – and then start with the “Seeeeee, he shoulda played Daniels” blather.

          Maybe there’ll end up being a change. Maybe Kirby Smart and Todd Monken are wisely and patiently devising a two-QB plan to throw in the SEC title game (and if they unclench, there is great potential in Bennett and Daniels messing with a defense’s head in those final big games).

          Of course, the iffy receiving group that started the season is a lot less iffy, which makes for fewer throws to overanalyze.

          The same people vocalizing all this will change their views regardless of what happens, because you can’t much believe what people say they said because what they thiiiink they said changes with how wrong they end up being.

          Little/no accountability unless it’s written and saved and witnessed.

          But don’t belittle Bennett when he makes the same imperfect throws or reads that every other quarterback makes. And please, stop using the word “stars” unless you’re talking about how your quarterback stars on Saturday.

          That kind of star is the only one that matters. Stop with the labels of the past and focus on the success of the present.

          As with any quarterback, the other 10 guys matter. Folks forget that on game nights and game days.

          Stetson Bennett can be a national championship winning quarterback for Georgia. The “I told you so” meeting will be pretty small.

 

Loughdmouthings

          Bleckley County, Macon County, Putnam County, GMC, and John Milledge enter the playoffs carrying the “undefeated” banner as Central Georgia’s unbeaten GHSA and GISA teams. …

          Yes, the MMQB had last week off for a variety of reasons. The polls for last week weren’t changing, but they are this week. …

          Remember who said from the start of the season, even after the loss to Philadelphia, that Atlanta would be better than people expected? Who would be closer to a winning record than expected?

          Of course you do. …

          As per the Georgia High School Football Daily, there were no Central Georgia upsets two weeks ago, but clearly Veterans playing Ware County down to the final possession was a huge surprise.

          The Gators were a 41-point favorite, and survived by seven.

          The site was perfect on Perry over Howard by 35 and Marion County over Taylor County by 11.

          Some underdogs won, but they weren’t stunners by any measure.

          Last week, the upset was a big one, 27-point underdog Lamar County taking care of Northeast. Lamar County has been pretty good the past two years in a very crowded quality region.

          The surprises: 26-point favorite Mary Persons had to sweat out the final game for Sumter County head coach Ross Couch and win by two. Dublin was a 3-point underdog – not here it wasn’t – and beat Montgomery County by two touchdowns. Crawford County was a 2-point underdog – not here it wasn’t – to Hancock Central, and rolled by 26. …

          Yes, one man is doing what he can to re-introduce I-A and I-AA to verbiage. A dream that we’ll go back to that and dump this FBS and FCS stuff.

          And, um, people, isn’t the Football Bowl Subdivision determining a champion? So AREN’T BOTH OF THEM FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP SUBDIVISIONS? …

          Now that the regular season is over, of the nearly-40 GHSA schools in The Sports Report’s always-the-same coverage area, how many coaching changes can we expect?

          The over-under is four.

          Didn’t foresee a change at Jasper County after one year, albeit a winless season, albeit coming in the still-COVID early.

          One possibility involves a multiple-job holder cutting his workload in half.

          There are a few where progress has stalled, and some will “resign” – situations where “fired” is misspelled – and some will actually resign because of a stagnation, and maybe some  administrative changes in that district that won’t help stability. Translation: meddling administrators with pals who want a job.

          And there might be one or two who have decided head coaching isn’t for them, and it’s time for a change, and some time with non-coaches, and better sleep and diet.

          Sam Zanders at ACE is the only interim coach, and he and that staff have certainly earned a serious look at staying.

          The clock is definitely on a few next year, especially some who might get through this year. And in a year or two, we’ll start seeing some eyebrow-raisers, expected and unexpected.

          Perhaps, perhaps some of the always-looking-to-move aren’t looking to move yet, too.

          Yet. …

          The will-this-be-the-week guessing if Georgia will be challenged has had a few weeks off here, waiting for this week.

          You’ve read here that Tennessee and South Carolina would be better than people thought. From the start of the season. Tennessee would be better than South Carolina would be better, but both would be better – not great – than expected.

          The Vols should probably be 7-2. Regardless, their offensive plan – Josh Heupel ain’t scared – is the one that is most likely to make Georgia’s defense work.

          That’s been the thing. That’s why Georgia’s defense shouldn’t quite get the blind loving. It hasn’t faced an offense good enough to make it work hard.

          Tennessee is eighth in team passing efficiency (really, the top teams should up one spot because Army shouldn’t be No. 2 with only 65 attempts). The Vols have a nice 22-2 TD-INT ratio, are 40th in completing 64.3 percent of their passes. Missouri is 17th and Florida 39th in completion percentage. Arkansas is 19th in team passing efficiency, and No. 59 Florida is next among UGA opponents.

          So yeah, again, Georgia hasn’t been challenged much by quality or consistency or open-mindedness.

          Sure, Georgia has more talent, but Georgia hasn’t faced any crunch time yet, hasn’t sweated going into the fourth quarter. This is probably the best-coached and most confident Tennessee team Georgia has played in a good while.

          If the Vols can avoid the remarkable self-destruction of Arkansas, Auburn (it’s called “Nix-in”), Kentucky, and flubbin’ Florida, we can finally have a four-quarter game, and the kind of game that sends Georgia to where it wants to go. (Pause). With the Pierce County kid at QB.

 

Polls

          Reminder that we split up the polls into divisions, because, well, it makes sense. A so-so record by a bigger school against better competition likely means deserving a higher ranking in an overall poll than a smaller school with a better record.

          One game is one game. Polls are big-picture items. Who would beat who right now? If they played 10 times, who’d win more? Tis mere reality.

          This is more fair, allows for more teams to be ranked. And there are many more 3A, 2A, and A programs in Central Georgia than larger programs, so they deserve more rankings.

Division I (6A, 5A, 4A)
1. Warner Robins

          You know, you almost wonder if the Demons are playing a little possum to set up for the playoffs. A number of teams are very unhappy Warner Robins is in their bracket. OK, all teams.

2. Jones County

          Funny thing. Jones County may not, maaaay not be quite as good as in recent years but can go just as far. And maybe pull off a late surprise.

3. Perry

          It was as if the Panthers were just waiting from last year’s quasi-asterisk win over Baldwin to put all questions to rest

4. Baldwin

          Can the Braves get past such a thorough pounding at home in a championship game? The first-round opponent will be a task.

5. Northside

          Will a first-round win at home ease some of the mumbling around Green Street? Granted, a steady start-to-finish performance wouldn’t hurt.

Division II (3A, AA, A, GISA)
1. Peach County

          The Trojans scored 10 straight, gave up 28 straight, and then scored 22 straight a week later. Who the hell are these guys?

2. Macon County

          Handling a challenge in a region title game with a perfect season sitting there is pretty burly.

3. John Milledge

          What a boring team, doing the same thing every week to everybody they play. This is a recording.

4. Bleckley County

          A dream season, a perfect regular season, and a week off while everybody else stressed. Probably a fair number of relaxed smiles last week in Cochran.

5. Mary Persons

          Whoever said the strongest prayer late in the Jackson game, congratulations.

6. Northeast

          The loss to Lamar County wasn’t, in some circles, a huge shock. It should serve as a needed re-focusing for the Raiders.

7. Washington County

          If the Golden Hawks’ romp over Jasper County cleansed them from the fourth-quartr losses and they enter the playoffs with clear minds and full hearts, they could be a pest.

8. Putnam County

          The War Eagles are one of the more underrated teams in the state. A middlin’ program taking care of business two years in a row is big, but let’s see what happens now.

9. Dodge County

          The Indians no doubt feel like they let one get away last week.

10. (tie) Dublin, Tattnall, FPD

          GMC drops out because the other three played last week, and showed something in each one.