Mailbag 10/20

The ACC Commissioner said he wants to see targeting enforced more consistently. In the interview, he talked about widely varying results of very similar appearing incidents, which is fair. But, he also endorsed the idea of calling it more frequently. Thoughts? - Bill Brockman

Ben: I don’t know that I like the idea of calling it more frequently. I will say that I like how it is called now, with the penalty being called and then immediately reviewed. Football is a fast game, and it can be easy to misjudge a hit, so I like that facet. I don’t know that I want to see it called more frequently, though. I don’t think there are a lot of missed targeting calls as much as there are overturned reviews of targeting calls.

Sammy: Eventually I think we’re going back to the “No Helmet” days. I think you’ve seen defensive backs give up on plays early because they’re scared to get called for targeting, or they go super low and risk lower leg injuries to the offensive player. If they do start calling it more often, there needs to be an offensive penalty incorporated to protect defensive players. If a safety can’t obliterate a receiver running across the middle anymore, then a running back shouldn’t be able to duck their head and use it as a battering ram to gain extra yardage. I know that technically targeting can be called on the offense, but it never gets called.

Logan: I think we need to consult Batman. That dude runs around getting hit over the head with baseball bats, punched, and shot on a regular basis without getting concussions. What armor is he wearing? If we can get that in college football then we don’t need to worry about targeting anymore since no one will get hurt anymore. I hope that answers your question.

Jake: I think it should be called less. Call it roughing the passer (or whatever) on the play, and then if it needs to be reviewed, make it a reviewable call and decide from there. Because sometimes the hits are bad or roughing, but not targeting, and then nothing gets called at all.

Robert: I’m not sure where I heard this first, but I think there needs to be two levels of targeting penalties, especially if they are going to be calling it more. Unintentional would get the 15 yards, and intentional would then also get the ejection.

Buying or Selling Invesco QQQ? And I’ll rephrase for the Jury your Honor: “where can I find a string of Joctober pearls?” - DressHerInWhiteAndGold

Ben: Pick your favorite jeweler which, if you’re listening to the Braves on the radio, is probably Shane Company, you’re friend in the diamond business.

Sammy: As Grant McAuley from Talking Chop brought up, the real question is - “When are they going to rename the Chop House the JOC House??”

Logan: You wantsky good priceky, come in and see Kaminsky!

Jake: It is very weird to see Georgia Tech feature for the length of a whole commercial from an entity that is not Tech. I can’t be the only one that thinks that, right?

Coach Geoff Collins landed his chopper at my kids’ high school football game last Friday. I’m guessing he was there for someone on the other team, as our record ain’t great. (My kids are in the band, so I’m pretty sure he was not there for them.) I was busy with band stuff and never got close enough for a conversation, though you couldn’t miss his neon green shoes across the field. So my question is if you ran into Collins at a high school football game or an unexpected location and only had time for a quick word, what one question would you ask him? - SullyGT

Ben: My struggle with this is that no matter what I asked, I don’t feel like I would get an actual answer, just some words about GriT or effort. So, yeah, I would probably go with “What’s the good word?” or something along those lines.

Sammy: I read somewhere that he doesn’t order hashbrowns when he goes to Waffle House, so mine would be - “Why don’t you order hashbrowns when you go to Waffle House?”

Logan: “Hey coach, who is your favorite Smash Bros. Character?”

Jake P.: “Is there a reason why you dress like a sophomore in high school?”

Austin: “Who’s going to be the next offensive player moved to defense?”

Jake: “Why do you have a chopper when we’re in nine figures of debt?” Surely there have to be other ways to woo high schoolers.

Carter: “How do you have both a Twitter account dedicated to your shoes and a complete aversion to wearing socks?”

Is corn bread allowed to be sweet? - gtbadcarma

Ben: I don’t have a problem with sweet or unsweet cornbread, but if you’re going to give my unsweet cornbread, I better have something to put on it. Unsweet cornbread is the driest thing in existence and needs some good honey butter or pot liquor.

Sammy: Yes. This is America.

Logan: yes

Jake P.: Go to a Mexican restaurant and ask for the cornbread. It’s typically very sweet and very good. Southern cornbread is good either way.

Jake: Absolutely, sweet cornbread is very tasty.

Austin:

Carter: ....is it allowed to not be?

Do you put salt on watermelon? - gtbadcarma

Ben: I’ve tried it, but I didn’t like it enough to do it consistently. I thought it was fine but way overhyped.

Sammy: No. But I had balsamic vinegar on it one time and it was actually pretty good. A little fancy for my taste... but good.

Logan: yes

Jake P.: Watermelon no. Grapefruit yes. Kind of off-topic, but I really want to try grilled watermelon.

Austin: I just cut out the middle man and start every meal with a lip full of salt. That way if my food is under seasoned, I’ve got some in the chamber ready to go.

Jake: I like it, but have never done it anywhere near consistently. It is pretty good.

Carter: Never done it, but I’m open to it.

Is it pronounced pee-can or puh-kahn? - gtbadcarma

Ben: I use both. If I’m talking about pecans or pecan pie, I will say pee-can, but if I’m talking about butter pecan ice cream, I will say puh-kahn.

Sammy: Ben hit the nail on the head.

Logan: yes

Austin: Pee-can pie, otherwise puh-kahn. Anything but pee-ginn.

Jake: Pekin, like the city in Illinois. I haven’t mentioned Illinois in a while in the mailbag. There ya go.

Carter: I’ve always pronounced it “puh-kahn” (and, for that matter, “prah-leen”), but I feel like this issue has gotten particularly divisive. We need to come up with a new, unifying pronunciation for it. Maybe — hmm, let’s think. What about “poo-cone”? I like that. We’re calling them “poo-cone”s from now on.

Is a Pop Tart a ravioli? - gtbadcarma

Ben: That depends on your definition of the term ravioli. If it is just a dough enveloping some kind of filling, then yeah, it’s a ravioli. However, Google defines ravioli as small pasta envelopes containing ground meat, cheese, or vegetables. The dough in a Pop Tart is not pasta, and the filling is not ground meat, cheese, or vegetables, so using that definition, it would not classify as a ravioli.

Sammy: Is a hotdog a sandwich?

Logan: yes

Jake P.: A Pop Tart is a ravioli, so by definition a Pop Tart is also a calzone.

Ben (again): No, Sammy, a hotdog is a taco.

Austin: It’s an empanada.

Carter: Food is a construct.

Jake: I HAVE JUST THE MEME FOR THIS OCCASION! This was my contribution to the conversation the last time this question came up back in my undergrad days. I have a question for you: is an egg roll a burrito?

Ben (again for the third time): Actually, I like Austin’s idea. There are empanadas in every culture, so Pop Tarts are America’s empanadas.

When do you think we are going to see some consistency on the offensive side of the ball? Gibbs has to be frustrated with how quickly and often people are in the backfield and I would have thought his stats would be better at this point than they are. What is it going to take to have a consistent attack? (submitted via email)

Ben: It all starts up front. If the offensive line can’t get any push up front, then the offense has no chance to establish any kind of consistency.

Sammy: Definitely need the offensive line to improve, but the injury to Jeff Sims early in the season didn’t help. Both QBs can be dangerous but have different strengths/tendencies, so it has clearly taken some time for the team and the players to adjust. The WR group has been really impressive in my opinion.

Logan: yes... wait what was the question?

Austin: Ah, *cracks knuckles* here we go. Self awareness is key. It helps establish an identity and allows you play to strengths. What’s been a constant for Tech this year? Subpar protection up front. You gotta recognize that and work around it to be successful. Rolling our QB out and/or having more pre-snap sweep action could buy the QB more time and keep the defense on their toes, especially if we mix in throws to the backs/motion man early. We most likely aren’t going to line up and bully our opponent, so scheming advantages by moving the defense’s eyes would do wonders given the numerous athletes we have.

Robert: I certainly echo the sentiments about protection. But with the personnel issues we still have, scheme simplicity and play calling sequences are the best tools at our disposal. Specifically, we need to throw more on first down and set up second and short opportunities to run. Jeff Sims is far more effective without being pressured, and he is pressured far less on first down throws. Use that to our advantage.

Hello Fellow Braves Fans,

Hope everyone is doing well this week. I am enjoying the sports weekend, especially since I didn’t need to worry about how Tech would perform against a team. It made things much more relaxing, at least until the Braves games started.

This sudden rivalry between the Dodgers (after the stuff last year) is tough, but we’ve come out on top in walkoffs twice. Its been a wild ride. I hope the Braves continue the success. They have many people stepping up across the board. You got Joctober with the pearls, Austin Riley with the clutch hitting, Swanson with the clutch defense... And that’s before you get to Albies, Freeman, and the pitching. Honestly Freeman has struggled with the Dodgers despite his performance against Milwaukee so the team still finding success is good to see.

Brings me to my question, in sports which “non-star” player has had the most memorable performance to you. As referenced above Joc Pederson was acquired through a trade to cover the gap caused by Acuna’s injury (sorry I don’t know how to type tildes) but was not considered a prominent member of the team until he started turning things on going into the playoffs. The pearl necklace also helps. So which player on any of the teams you support was not a star but someone you remember because of a great play or a great run they made to help your team.

Not sure if I should disqualify Lance Austin. I love him, but I think everyone would pick him for the Miracle on Techwood if I left him as an option. Your call. Have a nice rest of the week. Go Braves and Go Jackets.

- Terrence “Mount” Cody (submitted via email)

Ben: So the name that comes to mind immediately is David Tyree, a wide receiver from the New York Giants who made an incredible play to help clinch Super Bowl XLII over the undefeated New England Patriots.

Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images

Sammy: Since baseball was the theme of the question, and we’re in the middle of the NLCS (Go Braves), I’m going to go with the best “non-star player” answer I can think of, especially in terms of affecting the outcome of a game. This guy is such a “non-star player” that he isn’t even a player. That’s right. Steve Bartman. I will never forget watching that Cubs game and thinking - “wow... he might die tonight.”

SetNumber: X69459 TK6

Logan: If Lance Austin isn’t an option... Lets go with an interesting one. This man was by no means a slouch but he was not a “star” in the same way as some of his opponents such as Evander Holyfield and Mike Tyson were considered “stars”. James “Buster” Douglas took down Mike Tyson in one of the greatest boxing upsets of all time, which gave Douglas the title of undisputed heavyweight champion of the world (after Tyson dropped some disputes he had). Buster then went on to immediately lose his title in his next fight to Evander Holyfield. I don’t believe people really think of Buster outside of being the guy who beat Tyson that one time but he did have a long boxing career. There is no doubt that beating Tyson was the highlight though, and Buster deserves some respect for pulling that off.

SetNumber: D30738

Jake P.: I’ll have to go with Shaun Micheel. The man taught himself how to play golf at a young age and turned professional in 1992. With only two wins (one in Asia and one on the Korn Ferry Tour), Micheel was ranked no. 169 (nice) in the world going into the 2003 PGA Championship at Oak Hill Country Club. Micheel sealed the tournament with a shot hit to 2 inches from over 170 yards away. After winning one of the four biggest tournaments in golf, Michael never won professionally again.

Austin: It’s a tie for me. In honor of his extension this week, first I’ll go with Red Velvet (Kevin Huerter) in Game 7 against the Sixers.

#2 is Jason McElwain, the basketball manager turned sharp shooter who was hotter than a pistol from three. The video still gives me goosebumps 15 years later.

Jake: I mean, the Blackhawks runs were memorable for several key contributors from non-stars and that probably comes to mind first since I am currently watching them on TV. I’ll remember seeing Bickell and Boland score twice in 17 seconds to tie and then clinch the 2013 Stanley Cup forever.