Monday Morning QB: Monday Morning Quarterback: Suddenly, we saw Ridder and Smith in Falcons black again; notable numbers, on campus, and Loughdmouthings galore
Well, that was, um, unsatisfying.
And surprising.
And confusing.
And agitating.
And unsettling.
None of us expected to have Desmond Ridder flashbacks. Ridder minus any mobility.
There was some soccer influence, because of Atlanta receivers could have caught passes with their feet âŠ
Some folks were way too amped about Raheem Morris. Not that Sunday was a huge statement, but there was a little too much happy in the preseason.
He needs to bring out the hammer, for himself, his staff, and his players. It was a team effort, although the defense was respectable. Allowing no touchdowns is tough, and while itâs hard to complain about giving up only field goals, yeah, giving up six might be something to discuss.
First and foremost, they need to come clean on the health of Kirk Cousins, and to be honest, thereâs a chance a substantial fraud was perpetrated on everybody. That was a Kirk Cousins people may have never seen.
Honesty is honesty, whether youâre talking competitive advantages or basic human traits. Weâve been told Cousins has been fine for awhile, and he clearly wasnât fine.
Had he been fine, weâd have seen some scrambling. Had he been fine, weâd have seen better play-action, some stretch fakes. Had he been fine, weâd have seen a more diversified offense.
He sure doesnât seem fine.
Part of that falls on the offensive line, of which there was much falling. How people were rating this group so high in the preseason was confusing. It could be an upper level group midway through the season, but upper level means blocking well for the pass, too, and thatâs been an issue for awhile.
There was a lack of adjustment to the Wattness of T.J. Watts, and a general pass rush. That has nothing, nothing, to do with a first-time offensive coordinator, or new staff.
The debut was a disappointment across the board, leading to a predictable â and mildly forgiven â knee-jerking panic and overreaction.
No, itâs not time for Penix, not time to consider jettisoning Cousins. One game is one game, people, get a frigginâ grip. Weâre not writing the Saints into the Super Bowl yet, either.
Execution wasnât good, but the administration fo this game, i.e. the coaches, was more subpar. The appearance of a poor game plan and few or no noticeable adjustments or personnel changes puts the bulk if this mess on Morris and his staff.
There shouldâve been something more comforting, even in a loss, not comparisons to Desmond Ridder passes and Arthur Smith management. Now, that mess is in playersâ heads, and both groups need to bow up and at least be competitive for four quarters against Philadelphia.
Not great, not a win, but better.
Notable numbers
FPD has scored six points in its last two games, losing one and winning one. Both point totals were unexpected, weather or not.
More stunning is Jones County being held to three points. Jones County. Three. Last time that happened was in 2022, 35-3 at Peach County. âŠ
The average score of the last, oh, seven games with Houston County, Northside, Warner Robins, and Perry playing each other: 40-23.
On the college campus
Based on what South Carolina did, Georgia might could put a money-game score on Kentucky this week. A 31-6 loss and then No. 1 coming to town equals a bunch of empty seats, or tickets sold to Georgia fans.
Not sure what happened to Georgia Tech, other than, hey, itâs college football. The Yellow Jackets are still something of a growing program â like most of the ACC â and Syracuse isnât bad, especially at home with a loud crowd.
Something Tech would like to have, a chance from the old rich people dressed as empty seats from the 40 to the 40 on the side TV shows us.
Mercer is off to a solid start under Mike Jacobs. The Bears havenât much played like itâs early in the season. Taking care of business on a long road trip to South Florida is quite a good sign, and is momentum entering Southern Conference play on the road.
One GSU had a good Saturday, one had to sweat it out. Georgia State needed to buck up to get past FCS Chattanooga, while Georgia Southern went a long way and pulled out a good defensive win.
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Loughdmouthings
Really and truly, almost every loss can be chalked up not to Xs and Os and overcoaching, but to bad, bad, bad tackling, and then ridiculous busts on pass coverage, and ignoring rushers to block nobody.
Watching a high school game recently with as bad as it gets in tackling efforts and physicality. Another game made you wonder if the receiver had such bad body odor that the defenders just stayed away.
Watch any game, and âbroke tacklesâ 40 percent of the time is really just wretched tackling mechanics.
Fundamentals put the fun in football. âŠ
OK, we can now say Florida State is out of the playoff picture. The Seminoles will get better, but there are still a few losses waiting. âŠ
The reality: There are about four Central Georgia coaching changes on schedule, as of now. One will be soon after the season, another will probably take a little time (aka negotiation and wrangling and grousing). âŠ
Tyreek Hillâs been speeding for years. Finally got caught, but it took a cop car on pavement to do it. âŠ
There are about 20 teams that are currently playoff candidates. In three weeks, about seven wonât be. And then will be again.
Thatâs the way itâs going to be. Of course, such speculation is imbecilic until October, meaning âmediaâ and ESPN will speculation daily starting three weeks ago. âŠ
Boise State, UNLV, Liberty, and Central Florida got AP votes this week.
The mountain team under the spell of a narcissistic scammer was embarrassed. Again. Still. Thatâs this team under this âadministrationâ Period. Folks need to put aside their blind following.
The grammar hammer who knew what his teamâs biggest weakness was â he never looked in the reality mirror â apparently didnât much address it, and his son again ran for his life.
A mic drop from ESPNâs David Hale, one of the few wise âmediaâ people to see through the crap from the start, on Saturdayâs outing: âThe outcome was particularly surprising to Buffs coach Deion Sanders, who felt his team dominated in all three phases of the game: TikTok, Instagram and number of players related to Deion.â
This road show and money grab may not finish next season. And it will not, notnotnot, move to the NFL in a high position. âŠ
Preseason action matters. Gee, if it was good enough for Kansas City and Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce, who are not newcomers to their teams, shouldnât it have been good enough for Atlanta? And others? Itâs a big-picture situation, not just about one game.
Going back to parts of the drawing board after one game is a sign. âŠ
A funky week indeed. Jones County and Ola teamed for 10 points. Thatâs 10 percent of what Houston County and Warner Robins came up with. âŠ
In 2017, Peach County's Noah Whittington went out of bounds and came back in and caught a pass from Antonio Gilbert for what appeared to be a TD vs. Calhoun in the 3A state championship. It was ruled incomplete. Huge controversy (proper result, missed call).
Saturday, Noah Whittington took a punt return 100 yards for a touchdown for Oregon against Boise State. And dropped the ball before crossing the end zone. The call, stunningly, stood.
That's just beyond bizarre. Way beyond. More than bizarre.
Sports, man, whaddaya gonna do?