Hats off to the UAT players

[Mikey 16,751]

As much as I hate bammer, I'll have to give their players a tip of the hat. Not a single one of them is wimping out and abandoning his school, fans, coaches and teammates. They are all playing in their bowl game.

I equate wimping out of a bowl game as peacetime's equivalent of leaving a buddy stuck in a foxhole in a war zone. It's a cowardly thing to do. Sadly, we've had a few Auburn players abandon their teammates in previous years. They lost all my respect. I'm certain they aren't losing any sleep over that but regardless of what they may have accomplished previously I no longer think of those few quitters as Auburn Tigers. They are quitters, nothing more.

I dislike Saban, but here's his comment on the subject, paraphrased a bit: " You improve your value as a player by playing football. What does getting ready for a combine do for you anyway? Nothing." He said more but that's it in a nutshell.

When AU gets back in bowl games I sincerely hope we no longer have quitters on the team who will leave their teammates to twist in the wind.

[E'Town4Bama 111]

8 hours ago, Mikey said:

As much as I hate bammer, I'll have to give their players a tip of the hat. Not a single one of them is wimping out and abandoning his school, fans, coaches and teammates. They are all playing in their bowl game.

I equate wimping out of a bowl game as peacetime's equivalent of leaving a buddy stuck in a foxhole in a war zone. It's a cowardly thing to do. Sadly, we've had a few Auburn players abandon their teammates in previous years. They lost all my respect. I'm certain they aren't losing any sleep over that but regardless of what they may have accomplished previously I no longer think of those few quitters as Auburn Tigers. They are quitters, nothing more.

I dislike Saban, but here's his comment on the subject, paraphrased a bit: " You improve your value as a player by playing football. What does getting ready for a combine do for you anyway? Nothing." He said more but that's it in a nutshell.

When AU gets back in bowl games I sincerely hope we no longer have quitters on the team who will leave their teammates to twist in the wind.

Like Joel Klatt said, "he was surprised to here all bama players were playing but he was pleasantly surprised."

[WillMunny 1,384]

8 hours ago, Mikey said:

As much as I hate bammer, I'll have to give their players a tip of the hat. Not a single one of them is wimping out and abandoning his school, fans, coaches and teammates. They are all playing in their bowl game.

I equate wimping out of a bowl game as peacetime's equivalent of leaving a buddy stuck in a foxhole in a war zone. It's a cowardly thing to do. Sadly, we've had a few Auburn players abandon their teammates in previous years. They lost all my respect. I'm certain they aren't losing any sleep over that but regardless of what they may have accomplished previously I no longer think of those few quitters as Auburn Tigers. They are quitters, nothing more.

I dislike Saban, but here's his comment on the subject, paraphrased a bit: " You improve your value as a player by playing football. What does getting ready for a combine do for you anyway? Nothing." He said more but that's it in a nutshell.

When AU gets back in bowl games I sincerely hope we no longer have quitters on the team who will leave their teammates to twist in the wind.

I respect the Alabama players as well for this.

Didn't Christian McCaffery start the cowardly act of "opting out of a bowl game" and abandoning teammates?

[cole256 17,084]

As usual you will always have men that never even had the talent to fathom what you do or enough talent to be in the situation to judge you for it. 

That's what you got these days though

[Mikey 16,751]

2 minutes ago, cole256 said:

As usual you will always have men that never....

Never understood what the terms duty, honor, loyalty mean. The quitters are part of the small segment of society that makes up the "me first" group. They needed a four-year enlistment in the military service. Those terms would have been fully explained to them there.

[cole256 17,084]

I guess now football is war

[PowerOfDixieland 3,226]

1 hour ago, cole256 said:

I guess now football is war

Might as well have been for Melvin Bratton in the '88 Orange Bowl.  That injury cost him $Millions.... 

As for the "duty, honor, loyalty" argument, it could be said their commitment to family requires the same.  The days of playing for love of school and team are long gone.  None of us are blowing out a knee running to the copy machine.  

[Gowebb11 9,386]

15 minutes ago, PowerOfDixieland said:

Might as well have been for Melvin Bratton in the '88 Orange Bowl.  That injury cost him $Millions.... 

As for the "duty, honor, loyalty" argument, it could be said their commitment to family requires the same.  The days of playing for love of school and team are long gone.  None of us are blowing out a knee running to the copy machine.  

It was the National Championship game. Should players sit those out too? I fully  support players sitting out. To each his own. But the facts are that you can count on one hand the number of players this has costs their careers. Willis MaGahee slipped in the draft after getting hurt but went in to an extended and profitable NFL career. Ditto Jaylon Smith. 

[PowerOfDixieland 3,226]

1 hour ago, Gowebb11 said:

It was the National Championship game. Should players sit those out too? 

Every kid has to weigh the opportunity cost and make that decision for himself.  I can't see a player sitting out a semi or final, but that's not my (or anybody else's) call.  If it's one of the other 39 bowl games that mean nothing...from a business standpoint, there's nothing to profit and potentially everything to lose.  There's been at least one player sitting out an entire season to eliminate the potential of ending a career from injury before the daft.

Edited December 27, 2022 by PowerOfDixieland

[cole256 17,084]

2 hours ago, PowerOfDixieland said:

Might as well have been for Melvin Bratton in the '88 Orange Bowl.  That injury cost him $Millions.... 

As for the "duty, honor, loyalty" argument, it could be said their commitment to family requires the same.  The days of playing for love of school and team are long gone.  None of us are blowing out a knee running to the copy machine.  

What's funny, well actually sad is if they do get hurt people talk for what? Maybe 3 days don't give a damn after. Meanwhile at their jobs they call in if it storms too hard at their job. But try to talk down to a guy who makes the wisest decision to ensure they get enough money to change their family's trajectory forever. 

Also in the same sport you have coaches who won't even stay and coach their team for a bowl game with no risk.....

[Gowebb11 9,386]

34 minutes ago, cole256 said:

What's funny, well actually sad is if they do get hurt people talk for what? Maybe 3 days don't give a damn after. Meanwhile at their jobs they call in if it storms too hard at their job. But try to talk down to a guy who makes the wisest decision to ensure they get enough money to change their family's trajectory forever. 

Also in the same sport you have coaches who won't even stay and coach their team for a bowl game with no risk.....

This discussion arises every year around this time. The truest solution in my opinion is for the NFL to create a minor league. Trying to pretend that college sports is an amateur venture is a huge joke. Make it like baseball where a kid can go for the immediate dollars and incur the risk that comes with the minors, or lock down in College for at least 3 years and be happy being an amateur. The current system isn’t working. 

[Mikey 16,751]

3 hours ago, PowerOfDixieland said:

Every kid has to weigh the opportunity cost and make that decision for himself.  I can't see a player sitting out a semi or final, but that's not my (or anybody else's) call. 

Where do you draw the line? Play the first three games of the season against weak opposition, rack up some stats and then go sit? If you are a member of a TEAM you owe a certain debt. Quitters are not paying their honest debt. They are hanging their teammates out to dry while they hope for big $. I wasn't raised that way and neither were my sons. The quitters are shameful.

[Gowebb11 9,386]

55 minutes ago, Mikey said:

Where do you draw the line? Play the first three games of the season against weak opposition, rack up some stats and then go sit? If you are a member of a TEAM you owe a certain debt. Quitters are not paying their honest debt. They are hanging their teammates out to dry while they hope for big $. I wasn't raised that way and neither were my sons. The quitters are shameful.

In the past few years, CFB players have been granted monthly stipends, the transfer portal, and NIL. That’s on top of the full tuition, nutrition, tutoring, physical training, and player development. It’s getting much harder to say they’re being exploited by playing one more game with and for their teammates. 

[WillMunny 1,384]

On any team I ever played on, a quitter, for whatever reason, was never again respected.

Loyalty and commanded respect go out the window when any player chooses to quit on their team to skip a bowl game to "concentrate on the NFL draft".

Bama doesn't have that problem, because of the quality athletes they recruit and attract.  Hell, both Bryce Young and Will Anderson are playing their "meaningless" bowl game, yet they are arguably the best players in the NCAA at their respective positions.

Football is a rough sport that is much like the military.  Players go through hell together in spring practice, learning to depend upon one another.  Trust one another.  Fall camp is much of the same.

Then the season is played out, and some players choose to quit on their teammates and sit out a bowl game.   I hope none of those type of players ever come to AU.

Edited December 28, 2022 by WillMunny

[WillMunny 1,384]

4 hours ago, Gowebb11 said:

This discussion arises every year around this time. The truest solution in my opinion is for the NFL to create a minor league. Trying to pretend that college sports is an amateur venture is a huge joke. Make it like baseball where a kid can go for the immediate dollars and incur the risk that comes with the minors, or lock down in College for at least 3 years and be happy being an amateur. The current system isn’t working. 

Yes, an NFL minor league.  Like the NBA G-league.

I can see a solution forward from that.

Thanks.

[PowerOfDixieland 3,226]

1 hour ago, WillMunny said:

Bama doesn't have that problem, because of the quality athletes they recruit and attract.  

Here is the latest list of players for the Alabama Crimson Tide that won’t be participating in the Sugar Bowl.

 

Opt-outs for NFL Draft or transfer portal

Traeshon Holden, WR
Christian Leary, WR
JoJo Earle, WR
Trey Sanders, RB
Khyree Jackson, DB
Amari Knight, OL
Tommy Brockermeyer, OL
Damieon George, OL
Javion Cohen, G
Braylen Ingraham, DL

[PowerOfDixieland 3,226]

Anybody see the injury to Grayson McCall on the TD run just now in the (high value) B'ham Bowl and say "Oh s***, I hope he didn't just break his neck"?

 

Edited December 28, 2022 by PowerOfDixieland

[Mikey 16,751]

2 hours ago, PowerOfDixieland said:

Here is the latest list of players for the Alabama Crimson Tide that won’t be participating in the Sugar Bowl.

 

Opt-outs for NFL Draft or transfer portal

Traeshon Holden, WR
Christian Leary, WR
JoJo Earle, WR
Trey Sanders, RB
Khyree Jackson, DB
Amari Knight, OL
Tommy Brockermeyer, OL
Damieon George, OL
Javion Cohen, G
Braylen Ingraham, DL

Those guys have entered the portal. They are no longer on the team so they didn't "opt out" of anything.

Edited December 28, 2022 by Mikey

[Cardin Drake 1,857]

I don't know. I can't get bent one way or the other.  I think it's cool when a player decides to play in a meaningless bowl.  I think it earns him some points in the intangibles category with the NFL. On the other hand, I can understand a player opting out with millions of dollars at stake. It's financial security for him and his family. I can respect that. Sometimes you just gotta do what's best for yourself and those you care about the most.

[Mikey 16,751]

3 minutes ago, Cardin Drake said:

Sometimes you just gotta do what's best for yourself and those you care about the most.

That's the mantra of the Me First crew.

When the ship Titanic went down in 1914 women and children were supposed to be put on the life boats first. Some of the crew knocked the kids and women out of the way and secured their own seat on a lifeboat. These quitters abandoning their teammates are the same type of people.

[Cardin Drake 1,857]

Ah Mikey, I respect your opinion, but opting out of the bowl doesn't kill women and children.  Not a good analogy. I respect those who choose to play, but I just can't judge harshly those who don't.

[CoffeeTiger 5,181]

15 hours ago, Mikey said:

Where do you draw the line? Play the first three games of the season against weak opposition, rack up some stats and then go sit? If you are a member of a TEAM you owe a certain debt. Quitters are not paying their honest debt. They are hanging their teammates out to dry while they hope for big $. I wasn't raised that way and neither were my sons. The quitters are shameful.

Are coaches held to a similar standard? They sign a contract, become the face and leader of a schools football program, but oft times they'll get what they consider a better job offer from somewhere else and just get up and quit on their team..leaving the players they recruited and the coaches they hired out to dry...sometimes leaving in the middle of the night. 

 

Is Hugh Freeze a shameful quitter because he left his Liberty team and the contract and commitment he made to Liberty before the season was over and before their bowl game?

[Mikey 16,751]

9 hours ago, Cardin Drake said:

Ah Mikey, I respect your opinion, but opting out of the bowl doesn't kill women and children.  Not a good analogy. I respect those who choose to play, but I just can't judge harshly those who don't.

It's a perfect analogy. The only difference is a question of degree. Remember the old joke?

Guy to hot chick, will you have sex with me for $20. Girl: NO! How about for $1 million? Girl: sure! Guy: Now that we've established what you are, all we have to do is settle on a price.

It's a question of character.

6 minutes ago, CoffeeTiger said:

Are coaches held to a similar standard?

No they aren't.

[CoffeeTiger 5,181]

8 minutes ago, Mikey said:

 

No they aren't.

Why? 

18 year old football players putting their physical health and safety at risk to play a game are held to a higher standard by you than the grown adult men who sign million dollar contracts and coach and mentor these players? 

 

Edited December 28, 2022 by CoffeeTiger

[Mikey 16,751]

8 minutes ago, CoffeeTiger said:

Why? 

18 year old football players putting their physical health and safety at risk to play a game are held to a higher standard by you than the grown adult men who sign million dollar contracts and coach and mentor these players? 

 

Because coaches changing jobs is a known and normal situation in the profession. Players abandoning their team is not.