CURIOUS INDEX, 1/3/08
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Tears. You wanna watch some people unravel at the end of the game, but in two completely different ways? Then watch the last five minutes of last night’s Fiesta Bowl. West Virginia, clearly boiling with unspent aggression and frustration coming into this game, puts on the biggest display of public emotion on record, delighting middle-school guidance counselors everywhere with their ability to healthily express love for each other. Bill Stewart’s crying, everyone’s hugging, and Owen Schmitt starts to talk about his team, his state, and his home and just completely and gloriously loses his shit. You might laugh at a huge man with a mohawk and blood on his face, but we don’t, both out of fear that he’ll hurt us and out of pure emotion. WVU’s contents were under pressure, but 350 yards rushing on Oklahoma and a 20 point defeat of a team favored by a TD in the Fiesta Bowl represent the textbook way to vent.
The Sooners broke up on re-entry last night: following an onside attempt that went awry and ended up in WVU’s hands, the Sooners blew themselves apart in a flurry of penalties and poor blocking. Despite giving thirty to forty pounds to Oklahoma’s offensive line, the Mountaineers and manbeast Johnny “Yeah, that’s my fucking name what about it?” Dingle rounded the corner on almost every play and nullified Sam Bradford. The disappearance of the OU run game may be the greatest mystery in this game, along with the question of exactly where Matt Versgasian saw a runaway beer truck hit a gaping hole on a fullback dive for 57 yards. If you didn’t watch the game, you can always play along with a shameless plug and check out the two minute summaries we have over at the Sporting Blog. (Cha-ching! Annoying cash sound!) You can also note that even with the introduction of a national officiating coordinator, officials in last night’s game missed textbook holds by Oklahoma linemen all night, along with chop-blocks on Johnny Dingle. Auburn does not teach chop-blocking, and waterboarding is an exfoliation treatment. The Wiz points us to the second highly public instance of Auburn chop-blocking someone into injury. Tommy Tuberville doesn’t tolerate chop-blocking. HE SIMPLY ADORES IT. He’s a man, just like his son. Do not let the Insight Bowl 2007 slip into oblivion without noting this item from the Stillwater NewsPress. While players and coaches were milling around on the field following the game but before the trophy presentation, Ray Gundy, the father of Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy, was walking around with one of Coach Gundy’s young sons on his hip. He came over to a group of media members and unleashed a profanity-laced tirade at one male columnist that concluded with, “Print that in your f****** paper!” Well, it’ll have more asterisks than Barry Bonds’ bio, but if you insist, sir. (HT: RLC) Dewayne Walker of UCLA will stay as defensive coordinator under the new Rick Neuheisel jam he’s putting together. Forty bucks a day will get you a long way in this world, man. |
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48
I’d rather take the L in the bowl than have to defend the Denver Broncos of the SEC to my friends. Happy not to be associated with a school with a coach like Tuberville.
Comment by Fesser — January 4, 2008 @ 10:18 am
47
Auburn was called for chop-blocking three times LAST season (Dunlap and Hart). There were two other incidents of the technique this year that went unnoticed because they weren’t against prominent teams. Auburn also uses teh leg-whip on a frequent basis.
It’s dirty football period. They need to clean up their act.
Comment by John In Huntsville — January 4, 2008 @ 12:06 am
46
Nice work digging up that Mike Wise quote.
Schmitt, indeed, was a rambling ghost-ridden beer truck sans brakes.
I guess the beer truck is filled with Schmitt Beer?
Comment by random kindness — January 3, 2008 @ 6:35 pm
45
Besides retaining DeWayne Walker as his defenisve coordinator, which many here said was unlikely, there are now reports that Skippy will be bringing in Michigan QB coach Scott Loeffler, and that Ryan Mallett will transfer with him to UCLA.
Comment by Doctor Strange — January 3, 2008 @ 3:17 pm
44
The beer truck reference first appeared in a Washington Post column by Mike Wise after Schmitt ran all over Maryland in 2005 …
“The Mountaineers have a fullback named Owen Schmitt, a 6-foot-3, 245-pound sophomore from Fairfax. He rumbles like a beer truck with a broken parking brake … “
Comment by DC — January 3, 2008 @ 3:11 pm
43
Fuck Auburn. Oh yeah, suck 6. Blah blah blah…
I don’t understand the tone of surprise in the comment about the officials missing obvious holding calls. THEY WERE SEC OFFICIALS. Duh… (and the best SEC crew at that… if that’s saying anything).
Comment by PeterPumpkinhead — January 3, 2008 @ 2:58 pm
42
correction
I’m NOT defending the act.
I can’t defend not proofreading either
Comment by sevenDs — January 3, 2008 @ 2:54 pm
41
There’s a penalty for holding, is it routine? How about pass interference?
Just because there’s a penalty for it doesn’t mean that it doesn’t happen. It just means that it shouldn’t.
How about a blow to the head, or roughing the passer? Any foul that occurs a “vulnerable” player might need to carry a stiffer penalty. But right now it doesn’t and since camera crews don’t care to focus on linemen, we don’t really know how much this happens. Other than the two times my Tigers were seen on tape commiting the infraction, I haven’t had an opportunity to see if anyone else is guilty of it.
I’m defending the act, I’m just pointing out that two infractions (one was not penalized) over past nine seasons doesn’t make Tuberville or Auburn dirty.
Comment by sevenDs — January 3, 2008 @ 2:51 pm
40
Yes, it was unfortunate yet routine for the Clemson defender to shed his high block, only to be chop blocked in the side/back of the knee after crossing the Goddamned line of scrimmage. Cut blocks are routine. However, it is not routine for the offensive lineman to dive at the side/back of a defender’s knee after he has been beaten. Unless of course you are the Denver Broncos. That is what makes it cheap.
Comment by Tater Salad — January 3, 2008 @ 2:50 pm
39
Holding is routine, yet their is a penalty. Every chop block does not result in an injury. If they did, there would be no more defensive linemen. It is a dangerous play and it should be penalized, but I think it is just wrong to assume that these kids are out there doing this on purpose or that the coaches are teaching this technique. Every team cut blocks. Sometimes assignments get screwed up in the “heat of battle” and a guy doesn’t release his man on time or whatever and the result is an illegal chop block. These are unfortunate, isolated incidents.
Comment by karlhungus12 — January 3, 2008 @ 2:41 pm
38
Yep, happens all the time. It’s hard to remember a game this year or any other year that didn’t have to be stopped in order for an injured defensive lineman to be moved from the field of play after the routine chop block.
I say play on. Watching kids roll around, wallowing in fake pain and real self pity should be left there, penalizing themselves and their team for being a wuss not fending off the odd 360 lb lineman harmlessly drifting into the side/back of the knee.
Karlhungus, you brainless twit, if it’s routine, why is there a penalty for it?
Comment by Joshua — January 3, 2008 @ 2:35 pm
37
You all obviously don’t know what you’re talking about with this chop block stuff. It happens all of the time and it is almost always unintentional. No. 33, you should send a letter to the NCAA detailing your ideas on rule changes. I am sure they would give it their due attention (i.e., file it under “who gives a fuck”).
Comment by karlhungus12 — January 3, 2008 @ 2:15 pm
36
So two chop blocks in one season makes Auburn classless thugs?
What that say for David Palmer? There’s a reason he was nicknamed “the Deuce.” Two DUIs, an action that can result in death of innocent people, yet he stayed on the roster.
Typical example of Bama wanting to win at all costs. Speaking of cost, how much did you pay for Albert Means? Did you get a full refund or was there a 15% restocking fee when he transferred?
Comment by sevenDs — January 3, 2008 @ 2:09 pm
35
Hook ‘em Tide:
Uh, SIX.
Take it. Choke on it. You like it, don’t you?
Comment by gurn — January 3, 2008 @ 1:41 pm
34
Yup. Fuck Auburn. Fuck Tuberville. They are exposed as the classless pricks that they are.
Yes, I know my language hardly makes an argument in favor of “class”. But when faced with unabashed classless behavior like Auburn’s intent to injure, I find no reason to stay above the muck. So, once more with feeling: Fuck Auburn.
Comment by Murphy — January 3, 2008 @ 1:33 pm
33
Diving at a player’s knees while that player is engaged should be an ejectable offense.
Break a rule by punching a guy in the helmet, an action from which injury is virtually impossible — ejection.
Break a rule by diving at an engaged lineman’s knees, an action that will likely end that player’s season, if not career — 15 yard penalty.
Ok, that makes sense.
Comment by SD SMP — January 3, 2008 @ 1:32 pm
32
I don’t know if the chop block made that much of a difference in the Auburn-Clemson game, but seeing that clip just pisses me off again.
Fuck Auburn, indeed.
Comment by MagicHobo — January 3, 2008 @ 1:31 pm
31
remember the last time Alabama beat Auburn? nah me neither.
Comment by suicidewatch — January 3, 2008 @ 1:17 pm
30
Did you catch the joke the announcer made when Berry and Dingle were sitting on the bench next to each other?
He said something, like “Whoa, good thing those guys aren’t sitting in the opposite order on the bench. The bloggers would have a field day with that.”
Comment by Colonel Corn — January 3, 2008 @ 1:11 pm
29
I get cut blocks as a tactic and I know it’s common. My point is that Auburn is obviously not emphasizing the clean way to do it, or at least not to go low on somebody when they are already engaged. Haven’t we seen this before?
It’s the responsibilty of the coaches to make the players play clean. You’d think they’d have gotten the message already. Fucked up stuff is inevitable in football even when everyone has the best intentions, so its especially important for coaches not to tolerate this shit.
Comment by Hook'em Tide — January 3, 2008 @ 12:14 pm
28
At least Matt Vasgersian brought some emotion into the game, much better than Brenneman.
Comment by R.D. Baker - Retired Blogger — January 3, 2008 @ 12:11 pm
27
#26
Every O-Line in the country cut blocks on short passes. It’s like how you fucking block for short pass routes. Chop blocks happen all the time in every game. Sometimes they are called and sometimes they are not. It is unfortunate that two guys got hurt on chop blocks against AU this year, but I guarantee you if one of them had not been Glenn Dorsey, it would have hardly been noticed.
Comment by karlhungus12 — January 3, 2008 @ 11:49 am
26
Fuck Auburn. They’ve been pulling that chop-block shit all year. They often block low on short passing plays to make the defensive line get their hands down (to avoid knock downs), but it often degenerates into doubling up and a chop block.
Seriously, Fuck Auburn.
Comment by Hook'em Tide — January 3, 2008 @ 11:28 am