In case you need a reminder it’s Tech Week…

… hate them sumbitches.  Hate ’em.

Blame? When it comes to the offense, there’s plenty of that to go around.

This is a pretty honest assessment:

On his radio show Monday night, Richt was asked about the state of the offense, and started out by pointing all the different things that have gone wrong. Then he said the ultimate responsibility lies with the coaches.

Here was Richt’s full response:

“There’s a lot of things that go into it. Some of it is just the fact that we turned the ball over at some inopportune times, that has kept us from scoring. There have been some times where we maybe didn’t pass protect as well as we could have. There’s been times where we maybe didn’t pass protect as well as we could have. There’s been times when quarterbacks haven’t hit their targets. There have been times guys have dropped the ball. The execution overall just hasn’t been consistent. There’s been moments of time where we’ve done everything the way it oughta be done. But there’s been too many guys taking turns not quite getting it done, whether it’s a dropped ball or a ball not thrown just right, or missing protection here and there.

“But that’s coaching. That’s us. The players certainly have some accountability in that. But it’s everybody doing their job, staying focused and down after down after down on a consistent basis executing. We just have not executed well enough. And to me that always go back to us as coaches, just not getting them to the point where they can perform on a consistent basis.”

Of course, that just begs the question… what are you gonna do about it?

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Regrets, he’s had a few.

Hello, hindsight.

Richt says if he could do last year's squib kick against GT again, he'd kick it deep.

— Jason Butt (@JasonHButt) November 24, 2015

Observations from the 35, Senior Night edition

Well, winning is better than losing, so in that sense the Dawgs had a good night on Saturday.  But they sure didn’t make it easy on themselves or us along the way.

• Boy, that first series Georgia ran was a pleasure to watch, wasn’t it?  Obviously scripted, and nicely set up by a 40-yard kickoff return from Reggie Davis, the offense looked crisp and confident.  Lambert even managed to hit Chigbu on what looked like his third read.  There was also a good throw to Malcolm Mitchell where Lambert took advantage of very soft coverage.  The fly sweep with McKenzie was marked by perfect timing on the hand off and great downfield blocking (although it could be argued that Mitchell got away with a wee bit of holding).
• It would prove to be the offense’s best series of the night, unfortunately.  The next series saw the blocking start to break down and a resulting sack of Lambert.  That was salvaged by a Ramsey punt downed at the GSU one.  After forcing another three-and-out, Georgia looked to be in business, setting up in Southern territory, only to see things fall apart when Mitchell fumbled the ball after Lambert read the defense well and hit him on a quick slant.
• And that was pretty much how most of the night went for the offense – moments of good calls and execution eventually hamstrung by untimely turnovers, ineffective play calling, bad line play or inconsistent play from Lambert.
• In particular, third down plays continue to be sad things to watch.
• The offensive line had a rough night.  The main culprit was Hunter Long, who struggled with run blocking and pass protection, but there were misses by almost everyone.  The unit appeared to lack cohesion and did a bad job communicating who had responsibility in the face of GSU’s stunts and blitzes.
• Lambert was his usual self, some good, some bad, some luck.  He should have been intercepted twice, but skipped both throws.  (And, no, it wasn’t on purpose.)  He continues to miss open receivers frequently and has a hard time deciding to throw the ball away when the play isn’t there.  To his credit, he had some nice passes out of play action, where he looks comfortable, and did check down on occasion.
• Bottom line, the offense continues to look discombobulated.  It was no surprise that it failed to gain 300 yards in regulation for what has to be the umpteenth time this season.  After eleven games, and against another defense that, while physical and well-coached, isn’t going to be confused with Alabama’s or Florida’s, that’s a little depressing.
• The defense, though, continued its good work, although it took a little time after some early success.  After shutting the Eagles down in the first two series, the defense struggled with contain on the outside option stuff and was burned by a couple of good plays by the quarterback.  There were a few missed tackles that contributed to GSU’s success, too.
• Pruitt’s halftime adjustments were effective, as they’ve been for the past few games.
• While Floyd and Jenkins had monster games, some of the credit for that has to go to the defensive line, which turned in one of its best efforts of the season.  Georgia Southern struggled to run up the middle all game – something the triple option has to do well to flourish – and on plays that were flushed to the edges, Georgia’s line did a good job of engagement so that the linebackers were free to roam and make plays.  All of that with Trent Thompson out of the lineup.
• It’s getting routine to say this, but Ganus and Parrish turned in another set of solid performances.  Ganus is one tough son of a gun.
• I can’t say how big Bellamy’s sack was, since it still left GSU with what appeared to be a makeable field goal, but it certainly didn’t hurt.  And he deserves credit for playing that right, especially considering he got yanked the week before for overpursuit.
• Special teams play?  Well, Ramsey did his part, helping Georgia maintain field position early on (not that it amounted to much).  Davis, as I mentioned, managed an excellent return to get the game off to a good start.  Morgan was shaky, missing one field goal and banking an extra point.  The coverage teams didn’t allow anything damaging to speak of.
• Richt continues to squeeze what he can get out of this team.  The Dawgs survived their usual second quarter swoon, didn’t panic after the McKenzie fumble that led to GSU’s second touchdown, or after the Eagles took a fourth quarter lead and then stepped up and took the game away in overtime.  You can bitch about his being conservative with the calls at the end of both halves, but with the way the offense was going, what exactly could he have done with it?  It’s not like he’s got Aaron Murray back there directing traffic.

It was a game that felt like early on Georgia was going to dominate (and it would have likely gone in a different way if Mitchell doesn’t fumble and they take it in to go up 14-0), then felt like it was sliding away in the second quarter and for much of the third.  At least the Dawgs managed to find their footing in time to pull it out.  It should have been a comfortable win, but that’s not the way this team rolls.

In other words, this season in a nutshell.  Don’t expect anything different this week.

“At some point in time, there’s a me in this.”

As a general rule of thumb, it’s not a good sign when the media is hearing more about your fate from your bosses than you are.

Then, again, nothing’s happened so far.  Makes you wonder if that $15 million buyout the school would owe if Miles were dismissed is a little more daunting than some are letting on.

“Some people just love college and love playing college football.”

I have to admit this isn’t what I expected to hear from Leonard Floyd.

As of now, Floyd said he has not made a decision on staying in college or turning pro.

“I’m going to definitely talk to my circle, which is my people I trust the most,” Floyd said. “I plan on talking to them after the (Georgia) Tech game. Probably the following week, we’ll start making my decision.”

The situation isn’t simple, according to Floyd. His mind doesn’t revolve around an impending paycheck and suiting up every Sunday next fall. Plus, a championship hunt with Georgia still weighs heavy on his mind. His words bear no semblance of someone anxious to start a professional career, at least, not yet.

“Some people do it for more than just going to the league,” Floyd said.

Admirable to hear a guy be thoughtful about his present as much as his future with talk like that.  But I still think it would be a major upset if Floyd suited up for the red and black in 2016.

Not that I’d complain about it, if it happened.

Pity the poor journalist.

I could have taken the complaining at this symposium a lot more seriously if Michael Wilbon hadn’t played the “people sit in their mother’s basements and write this crap” card.

Damn, that shit was lame a decade ago.  Although I should probably give him credit for not bringing up shaving and showering.

“We can’t seem to get out of our own way.”

Is Justin Thomas going to play for Georgia Tech this Saturday?  Based on the Jackets’ last game, that looks like it may be a big deal.

The status of Georgia Tech starting quarterback Justin Thomas for Saturday is up in the air after he left the Miami loss midway through the first quarter.

Coach Paul Johnson said after the game he thought Thomas “hit his head on the ground.” He said he did not have a concussion.

Redshirt freshman Matthew Jordan replaced Thomas in Georgia’s Tech’s triple option and fumbled six times, losing one at the Miami 3-yard line.

“We don’t know for sure who’s going to play so it’ll be hard to say for sure,” Richt said. “I don’t think they’re going to reinvent what they do.”

The Yellow Jackets had nine fumbles, losing two.

Nine fumbles?  That ain’t good.  Tech tossed a couple of interceptions for good measure (on only nine pass attempts for the game).

Thomas hasn’t had as good a year this season as was expected, but that’s not all on him.  Basically, it turned out that losing most of his surrounding cast has left him in the position of trying to carry more of the load than he’s capable of doing.  Still, based on what happened at Miami, he sure seems to beat the alternative.

“We treat ‘em good.”

Really, if you’re a high school football player who believes you’re good enough to play on Sundays one day, how could you not be impressed with the way Nick Saban relates to NFL scouts?