Central Georgia Sports ReportComment

Monday Morning QB: Missing the point - and tackles - on UGA-Bama; Falcons getting there, but about the O …; Loughdmouthings galore (the wit, the wisdom, the sarcasm …)

Central Georgia Sports ReportComment
Monday Morning QB: Missing the point - and tackles - on UGA-Bama; Falcons getting there, but about the O …; Loughdmouthings galore (the wit, the wisdom, the sarcasm …)

          Courtesy of the broadcast bozos, every Monday is overreaction Monday. Actually, ever hour is overreaction hour.

          And for fans, every minute is – and it doesn’t have to be, but we excuse it – overreaction minute.

          Happened Monday with the Braves, and sure happened Saturday night.

          Why don’t people like accepting some logic and all, even during a game, even when they suspend what’s left of their reality and logic during a game?

          No, Georgia wasn’t going to lose by 50. Yes, Georgia was going to adjust. No, Carson Beck wasn’t going to play four quarters like that. Yes, Georgia’s defense would improve. No, Alabama wouldn’t stay that sharp up big.

          It’s simple, in every such game, the needed mentality. “We can do in a half what they did in a half.” Every time. That’s the absolute truth, especially when teams are fairly even and such dominance is highly unexpected.

          Georgia coming back to make it respectable was, in reality and objectivity, not a shock. Taking the lead, well, yeah.

          Nevertheless, fans being fans – meds anyone? – miss points like teams miss tackles.

          Georgia’s defense lost that game. Period. Georgia’s defense, of all units. It didn’t make plays the entire first half, thus the shovel and huge hole. It had 30 minutes to make Jalen Milroe uncomfortable, and to cover and/or tackle somebody, anybody.

          In the first half, Alabama ran 38 plays, faced third down only five times, converted two. Georgia had a whole half to get off the field. Doesn’t matter the yard-line a drives starts on, the defense has the same chance to make stops.

          Beck was uncharacteristically brutal, threw three interceptions, and they were bad, as were so many where’s-he-throwing? incompletions. But note: Alabama scored only once off of four turnovers.

          As much as it pains people to read it and then ignore it and return to their bubble, Mike Bobo’s playcalls had nothing to do with those bad passes. Nothing to do with Alabama covering and tackling properly, or players on offense missing calls or blocks or not running routes properly.

          As is the case in championship-winning games, yeah, obviously some playcalls are a little odd or predictable. Remember, though, coaches on game day are among the most clenched and conservative people alive, no matter what.

          There is logic in every playcall, defendable logic. Sometimes, barely defendable, yeah, but defendable, especially when a civilian can look at a replay and see why it didn’t work, which is usually because a player failed to do his job. Sometimes it’s because of the other guy just won the play, sometimes it’s the inherent overcomplication of the game that is endemic to those in charge, but really, you block and tackle and catch, and a play works.

          If you don’t block, it takes a miracle.

          Yes, Georgia was outcoached more in the first half than Alabama was in the second half. Up big, there’s always a letdown, and Georgia’s offense – Georgia’s offense, with Mike Bobo calling plays – “oh yeah, well, pffft” - and Carson Beck completing passes and people catching passes and others blocking – came back and TOOK THE FRIGGIN’ LEAD.

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          And Georgia’s first-half defense promptly returned, and they made the already-great Ryan Williams look even better, by completely botching a play fundamentally about five times, and covering 75 yards.

          Georgia’s defense, period, gave up the game-winning play, of 75 yards, on the first play after taking the lead. End of debate. You wondered if defenders were having medical issues.

          Defensive coordinator Kirby Smart better spend 30 minutes a day on tackling drills this week, and he and the assistant DCs – and coaches everywhere – need to yank players who aren’t making fundamental plays, when they’re not playing up to their potential.

          All that said, even if Georgia hadn’t come back, it’s one loss. In October. During a season in which all of the title favorites can lose a game or two or three.

          Alabama? Can lose to Tennessee, Missouri, and Oklahoma. Texas? Can lose to Oklahoma, Georgia, and maybe Kentucky or Texas A&M. Ohio State? Can lose to Oregon, Penn State, and Michigan. Oregon? Can lose to Ohio State, Michigan.

          Miami (until Miami Miamis)? Can lose to Louisville, Duke, and Georgia Tech.

          And somewhere along the line, there’ll be an upset, like we just had with Kentucky and Mississippi.

          We just got into October. We can’t really start thinking playoffs until we’re thinking turkey, because, yes, people, there’s that much football left. Every team is susceptible to serious humility at kickoff.

          Plus, it’s already looking up for Georgia to rectify this Saturday those many problems from last Saturday.

          Auburn’s coming to town. For homecoming. 

Falcons do it again

          It’s time for folks to breathe, and admit what some of us have told them.

          Atlanta’s pretty good. OK, Atlanta hasn’t necessarily looked all that good as often as needed, but good teams win games when they don’t play well.

          That’s what Atlanta is doing, especially on offense.

          So, faaaaaaans, quit bellyaching about the faults and praise the results. I know it’s difficult, based on history and the preference of “fans” to wake up whining, but this is a team that could easily be 4-0.

          “Yeah, and could be 0-4.”

          Hush. True, but hush. That they’re not 0-4 or 1-3 is a sign. They’re battling, and that’s important. They show signs. That’s important.

          The four opponents went 10-7, 11-6, 11-6, and 9-8 last year. One won the Super Bowl for the second straight year, So the coulda-been-0-4 is a little more respectable than if the opponents were Arizona, the Giants, Tennessee and the Jets.

          Atlanta needs to be better in some defensive areas, but is overall playing fairly well, especially in points allowed.

The offense will get better. It’s sometimes pretty, and not pretty, and somewhat effective. It should start now, because a quarter-ish of the season is enough to see the mild issues and fix them, as well as tweak strategy.

          Little has happened to change calling this a 12-5 caliber team.

         

Loughdmouthings

          Perry ran 48 plays to 94 for New Hampstead, which tried 71 passes. Take away the two fumble returns, the pick-6, and a kickoff return for a score, and Perry still scored 52 against New Hampstead, whose QB threw for – sit down a second – 635 yards, a GHSA single-game record. …

          Thoughts and prayers to the college “media” people whose teams lost or didn’t play well last weekend. …

          Watched Westside’s KD Iverson go for 314 yards Saturday against the No. 2 team in AA – that didn’t necessarily play like it, tackling often like Georgia did later – and it was seriously legit.

          Predictable offense, he was banged up a little, and many carries came off the snap, adding to predictability. And he ran, hard and fast. Among the more impressive efforts – and there was effort, only a few carries were fairly easy – you’ll see. …

          Odd local high school football trend: no start-to-finish public-address announcers. Lots of tweets about … never mind.

          But not having a P.A. announcer for a homecoming game ? Really? Wow. …

          Prediction: Kyle Pitts will have a game with – OK, I’ll say it – seven catches, and everybody will lose their minds. …

          Stunning. More props to the Tide. Not just did Alabama have a great opponent, the Tide won by posting the depth chart long before the game.

*Sigh* Are college game plans really changed by scanning a two-deep? Really?