Teammates: Davis made decision to sit out

[DivisionN 102]

8 hours ago, 3rdgeneration said:

I was probably one of those who believed Davis was sick. And he probably wasn't. But does that then mean we don't believe Braden Smith when he said that he and several others were sick???? 

Smith played. 

[DivisionN 102]

5 hours ago, ClaytonAU said:

Everyone hating on Carlton will still be claiming him when he balls out in the NFL but hey 

No, we won't. I don't give a rat's behind about the "we hate the national anthem" professional league. 

 

[Gowebb11 9,308]

6 hours ago, PowerOfDixieland said:

The Peach Bowl didn't matter then, doesn't matter today and won't matter next week.  The dialogue however is healthy, love that his teammates were willing to speak candidly and without any personal vendetta (disagree but love him no matter what, wow what a concept)...we could all learn a lot from that.

It mattered to me, and it mattered enough for Trey Matthews and Tre WIlliams and Kerryon Johnson to play even though they had recent injuries. Which games matter as part of a competitive sport , and which ones don’t? Thats a question that will become much more important as this trend grows.  I agree with you that the dialogue is healthy, and I’m not calling for CD to be hated on. I do think integrity is important for him and Gus in this situation. CD was not the first to sit out and wont be the last. He and Gus should have been upfront about it, like Christian McCaffrey and Leonord Fournette and their coaches last year. 

[gr82be 14,401]

15 hours ago, lionheartkc said:

Just allow all teams to play red shirts without losing eligibility and everyone who may go pro can stay home and watch on TV. At least then we'll get some value out of the game.

I like the idea of this. I also think the polls should be final after the conference championship games. The 4 playoff teams are then selected/set and they are really the only ones left with anything left at risk. Positions 5-25 remain the same after the bowl as they were before it. I mean, if you're not first who cares if your fifth or eighth. The top four just shift places anyway based on the game results. The rest of the teams can just play ball. No pressure. The fans don't have a gripe because the team is already ranked based on the regular season. They also might get a glimpse of the future stars of their school. I doubt the playoff teams will have anyone sitting out but who knows, that could be next. They have just as much to lose. What price do you sell a championship season for anyway? 

[bigbird 60,368]

I see it from a couple views. One, it's a little selfish and puts the individual above the team. Another is, as a coach, you always want the greatest success for your players and CD will play for a while on Sundays if he doesn't get hurt. Why put him in a position to lose everything he has worked so hard for for one game that, in the end, means little to nothing.

CD had nothing to prove, he will/should be a 1st rounder. The others that decided to play still had something to prove to the scouts.  

 

JMO

[abw0004 10,104]

7 hours ago, ClaytonAU said:

Everyone hating on Carlton will still be claiming him when he balls out in the NFL but hey 

I am not hating on Carlton, although I do not agree with his decision.  As a more general discussion to your post, (not particularly directed at you) I do think Auburn as a whole has the right to claim any player they paid for a semester of schooling.  For example, I heard this question brought up with KP, if Auburn will try to claim him in the NFL.  I think Auburn has every right to, after they paid for 3+ years of his schooling.  If it is an out of state player, that is $40,000 a year given to him.  As a fan who paid for season tickets to watch him play (which I am), I think we can also be disappointed with his decision and still claim him in the NFL.  Season tickets aren't the cheapest.  At the same time, I am not angry with his decision, just disappointed he bailed on his team.

[gctiger 924]

For those that feel this game didn't matter, I suppose you're fine with Auburn sitting at home during any post season that they don't make the playoffs.  In the future, when Auburn has been mathematically eliminated from the playoffs, they can just forfeit the remaining games on the schedule.  

Bowl games can and should be used to propel the team into the next season on a positive note.  

#allgamesmatter

[gr82be 14,401]

20 minutes ago, gctiger said:

For those that feel this game didn't matter, I suppose you're fine with Auburn sitting at home during any post season that they don't make the playoffs.  In the future, when Auburn has been mathematically eliminated from the playoffs, they can just forfeit the remaining games on the schedule.  

Bowl games can and should be used to propel the team into the next season on a positive note.  

#allgamesmattered

The problem is getting all of the players to feel that all games matter. It mattered to me but then again I used to like practice. 

[corchjay 5,311]

35 minutes ago, bigbird said:

I see it from a couple views. One, it's a little selfish and puts the individual above the team. Another is, as a coach, you always want the greatest success for your players and CD will play for a while on Sundays if he doesn't get hurt. Why put him in a position to lose everything he has worked so hard for for one game that, in the end, means little to nothing.

CD had nothing to prove, he will/should be a 1st rounder. The others that decided to play still had something to prove to the scouts.  

 

JMO

If you had a DB on your team that was say... was a first team all-state player and committed to Texas.  As a coach would you for his success suggest he skip the last 2-3 games of his senior season?    

Also I've heard multiple people point to our Bowl record under Gus to judge him as a coach.  As I said leading up to the Peach bowl.  The fans had zero interest in the game.  Obviously it looks like our first round draft pick player had zero interest in the game.  Yet we lay it at he feet of the coach for not having interest in a game that "means little to nothing"

I'm of the opinion that bowl games don't matter except the playoffs.  So really what difference does it make and I don't care if players choose to sit out if their team isn't in the playoffs.  It's a generational thing.  It's not finishing what you started.  It's just like being committed but only being 90% committed in recruiting.  We have pampered and played to athletes needs/wants for their entire lives and this is the byproduct of that behavior.  

[AUsince72 11,084]

8 hours ago, Mikey said:

Why didn't you watch Gus's comments leading up to the game? He was as fired up and into it as I've ever seen him.

Well, I've learned to take a lot of what Gus says in pressers with a grain of salt.  Now, granted, he gets fired up during games (and practice, I assume) but I'm not sure how you can tell he's fired up when he's talking to the media.  He could be talking about chess or the weather or Alabama's Defense and it all comes across the same.

As for why I believe this about him, I've stated it in more than one thread but bottom line is, the man is paid muli-millions of dollars (even BEFORE the new contract) to be laser focused 12-15 weeks per year.  At the VERY least 2-3 weeks per year, for obvious reasons.  One of those he should be MOST focused on would be the Conf Champ Game.  That's the very reason the man is paid!!

He wants to split his focus, the focus of his coaches, the focus of his players & heck..even the focus of the fans on playing chicken with AU & Arky?  Do it during ULM week or OFF week...not during the very week that defines the point of your job.

If you or I held our boss hostage and threatened to leave for another company cuz we got all full of ourselves for FINALLY doing what we were supposed to be doing anyway, but were failing miserably, for the previous 3 years, all while we were supposed to be preparing for one of the biggest deals of our career.....and then lost the deal, lost the account, and then even lost a smaller, but still significant deal/account after that?  We'd be told to hit the bricks.

[Mikey 16,550]

4 hours ago, bigbird said:

Every time I see you rush in to defend anything negative said about Gus this is what is picture.

 

You didn't see any of Gus's appearances leading up to the bowl game? If you did, you saw him in an unusually strong "this game is important" mode. As far as the Mighty Mouse gif, somebody needs to point out all the silly, groundless bashing. That might as well be me. There are things to criticize. Mindless criticizing as an indoor sport, which some practice here, needs pointing out when it's done.

[McLoofus 35,182]

17 minutes ago, corchjay said:

If you had a DB on your team that was say... was a first team all-state player and committed to Texas.  As a coach would you for his success suggest he skip the last 2-3 games of his senior season?    

Also I've heard multiple people point to our Bowl record under Gus to judge him as a coach.  As I said leading up to the Peach bowl.  The fans had zero interest in the game.  Obviously it looks like our first round draft pick player had zero interest in the game.  Yet we lay it at he feet of the coach for not having interest in a game that "means little to nothing"

I'm of the opinion that bowl games don't matter except the playoffs.  So really what difference does it make and I don't care if players choose to sit out if their team isn't in the playoffs.  It's a generational thing.  It's not finishing what you started.  It's just like being committed but only being 90% committed in recruiting.  We have pampered and played to athletes needs/wants for their entire lives and this is the byproduct of that behavior.  

The fans- well, the average fan- has to scrape together couch change to even get in the stadium to watch a game. The coach gets paid millions of dollars to care. 

And it's really, really off-base to say that Carlton Davis had zero interest in the game, unless you spoke to him about it. He didn't play. He had his reasons. It might not have been an easy decision for him. 

 

[Gowebb11 9,308]

An interesting subplot to this is the fact his teammates made it public. If I really respected you as a teammate, I would've covered for you when asked why you didn't play. CDs teammates had that option but chose to go public with his reason. Just thought that was interesting. I wish CD well in the NFL. 

[Mikey 16,550]

4 hours ago, DivisionN said:

Davis didn't just make the decision to sit out the game. He traveled with the team, participated in the activities, received the gifts, told the coaches he was sick and could not practice. This had to be demoralizing to the team and had to affect the game plan of the coaches.

This much of your post I completely agree with. If some player wants to hang his team mates, coaches and fans out to dry, that's sad enough but to act like you are going to play, take all the goodies and then go home is not sad, it's something I'd give one of my own kids a whipping for.

[ClaytonAU 4,606]

8 hours ago, Maverick.AU said:

Plenty of us could care less about the nfl 

Cool! 

[Mikey 16,550]

4 minutes ago, Gowebb11 said:

An interesting subplot to this is the fact his teammates made it public. If I really respected you as a teammate, I would've covered for you when asked why you didn't play. CDs teammates had that option but chose to go public with his reason. Just thought that was interesting. I wish CD well in the NFL. 

Here's how I see it: Davis hung them out to dry. He wasn't acting like a good teammate at all so he doesn't deserve to be treated like a good teammate. I'd have gone public with it, and apparently some teammates feel the same way.

[ClaytonAU 4,606]

4 hours ago, DivisionN said:

No, we won't. I don't give a rat's behind about the "we hate the national anthem" professional league. 

 

Hahahahahahahaahahahahahaha

Hahahahahaahahahahaahahaaha

[AUsince72 11,084]

3 minutes ago, Mikey said:

Here's how I see it: Davis hung them out to dry. He wasn't acting like a good teammate at all so he doesn't deserve to be treated like a good teammate. I'd have gone public with it, and apparently some teammates feel the same way.

This...we are in agreement.

[NoALtiger 3,849]

9 hours ago, ClaytonAU said:

Everyone hating on Carlton will still be claiming him when he balls out in the NFL but hey 

I haven’t seen-at least can’t recall- anyone disowning the guy or hating on him so to speak. Just disappointed in his decision, as are some of his teammates/friends apparently. Of course we want him to do well and always will claim him. 

[Mikey 16,550]

1 hour ago, bigbird said:

I see it from a couple views. One, it's a little selfish and puts the individual above the team. Another is, as a coach, you always want the greatest success for your players and CD will play for a while on Sundays if he doesn't get hurt. Why put him in a position to lose everything he has worked so hard for for one game that, in the end, means little to nothing.

CD had nothing to prove, he will/should be a 1st rounder. The others that decided to play still had something to prove to the scouts.  

 

JMO

Very high draft picks at Ohio State and Louisville, to name just two, did the right thing and played for their teams in "meaningless" bowl games. I'm sure their fans, teammates and coaches respect them for that and appreciate their decision. Apparently some of Davis's teammates don't respect his decision and I can assure you that at least one fan does not appreciate his decision at all. That won't make him lose a minute's sleep, I'm sure.

[AUsince72 11,084]

53 minutes ago, corchjay said:

If you had a DB on your team that was say... was a first team all-state player and committed to Texas.  As a coach would you for his success suggest he skip the last 2-3 games of his senior season?    

Also I've heard multiple people point to our Bowl record under Gus to judge him as a coach.  As I said leading up to the Peach bowl.  The fans had zero interest in the game.  Obviously it looks like our first round draft pick player had zero interest in the game.  Yet we lay it at he feet of the coach for not having interest in a game that "means little to nothing"

I'm of the opinion that bowl games don't matter except the playoffs.  So really what difference does it make and I don't care if players choose to sit out if their team isn't in the playoffs.  It's a generational thing.  It's not finishing what you started.  It's just like being committed but only being 90% committed in recruiting.  We have pampered and played to athletes needs/wants for their entire lives and this is the byproduct of that behavior.  

I will not judge him as a person, as so many have stated, he had his reasons...they could be good or bad, I don't know.  But, like my opinion of Gus' performance on SECCG week, the point of his football scholarship is to play in football games, so if his teammates hold him a grudge, I get that too.

With that said, the bolded part is hammer & nails.  The Bowls used to be huge.  They used to be important.  But first the BCS lessens the importance of the bowls and now the CFP pretty much removes any value they had.  They have truly become just exhibition games.

And, I agree it's a generational thing.  History, pageantry, tradition... These have all become "bad words" and things to be derided by younger persons now.  And the importance of seeing things through for "team"?  Each year there seems to be yet more and more examples of the "me first" mentality.

[ClaytonAU 4,606]

21 minutes ago, NoALtiger said:

I haven’t seen-at least can’t recall- anyone disowning the guy or hating on him so to speak. Just disappointed in his decision, as are some of his teammates/friends apparently. Of course we want him to do well and always will claim him. 

Disowning no, to an extent. There are people hating on the kid for being safe and not ruining his future. 

[McLoofus 35,182]

28 minutes ago, ClaytonAU said:

Disowning no, to an extent. There are people hating on the kid for being safe and not ruining his future. 

"I lost a ton of respect."
"I'd whoop my kids for doing that."

Definitely qualifies as hating. Typical and expected, though. I'm actually pleasantly surprised at the tone of the conversation. I expected more self-righteousness than we're seeing. 

Carlton Davis is one of the main reasons our defense has been so good the last couple seasons. We might not have even been in the SECCG without him. I'm grateful for how he chose to spend his time at Auburn and I will root hard for him on Sundays. 

[bigbird 60,368]

1 hour ago, corchjay said:

If you had a DB on your team that was say... was a first team all-state player and committed to Texas.  As a coach would you for his success suggest he skip the last 2-3 games of his senior season?    

 

That kind of depends. Are we 1 and 9 or three rounds deep in the playoffs. Also, if a senior gets injured, they still have time to make an impact on their career. CD would lose millions if he got injured at that time. And CD didn't skip the last 2-3, he skipped a bowl game to ensure he was healthy for the millions waiting for him.

[lionheartkc 6,150]

2 hours ago, bigbird said:

I see it from a couple views. One, it's a little selfish and puts the individual above the team. Another is, as a coach, you always want the greatest success for your players and CD will play for a while on Sundays if he doesn't get hurt. Why put him in a position to lose everything he has worked so hard for for one game that, in the end, means little to nothing.

CD had nothing to prove, he will/should be a 1st rounder. The others that decided to play still had something to prove to the scouts.  

 

JMO

The thing that stands out the most to me is that these players are so worried about a freak accident that, as far as I've been able to determine, has never occurred.  I can't find a single reference to a player not making it to the NFL because they got hurt in their final college game. Yes, it could happen, but they could also get hit by a car driving to their draft party (I'd be willing to bet that's statistically more likely), but none of them will think twice about that.

Of course, now that Miami had one of their cornerbacks suffer a neck injury in the Orange Bowl, I have a feeling more players will be sitting out bowl games.

2 hours ago, gctiger said:

For those that feel this game didn't matter, I suppose you're fine with Auburn sitting at home during any post season that they don't make the playoffs.  In the future, when Auburn has been mathematically eliminated from the playoffs, they can just forfeit the remaining games on the schedule.  

Bowl games can and should be used to propel the team into the next season on a positive note.  

#allgamesmatter

Maybe it used to matter back when every mediocre team didn't get to go to a bowl, but now it's really just a bunch of kids being used to make money for stadiums and sports networks. The fact that Auburn was gifted the worst of the New Years Day bowls and the opportunity to travel somewhere that they frequent on weekends and a stadium they just played in a few weeks prior makes it very hard for them to care. I don't envy the coaches trying to get the players hyped for this game. Obviously it didn't excite the fans at all.