Brodie calls Southern Miss play dirty

[Draven 0]

Brodie "Southern Miss was trying to hurt me"

Croyle: USM took cheap shots

Monday, September 12, 2005

TUSCALOOSA -- Alabama quarterback Brodie Croyle did not like the tactics Southern Miss defenders used during the Crimson Tide's 30-21 win on Saturday.

"It seemed like at times they were going straight for my knees, trying to twist them," Croyle said the day after the Golden Eagles put some heavy hits on the Tide quarterback who has had both knees reconstructed.

Croyle was also slammed to the grass like a rag doll by USM defensive lineman Tom Johnson after the officials blew their whistles for a false start in the second quarter. Johnson drew a personal foul penalty for the dead-ball infraction and a lot of lip from the Crimson Tide.

"That's probably the maddest I've ever been on a football field," Croyle said. "As mad as I was, JB (Closner) and K.D. (Ken Darby), I thought they were fixing to start swinging at people."

Fans got a muffled earful of the on-field fire-spitting talk for several seconds after that play, as referee Penn Wagers had turned on his microphone to announce the penalty.

Croyle warned his mother to consider the circumstances if she saw a tape of the moment and could read his lips.

"I was probably the nice one on the dialogue," Croyle said. "There was a lot of people saying a lot of stuff at that point in time."

SPURRIER TIDE TALK: South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier will face an Alabama team for the first time since the 1999 SEC Championship Game when the Tide visits Williams-Brice Stadium on Saturday.

Spurrier, whose Gamecocks dropped a 17-15 decision at Georgia on Saturday, already has a decent grasp on the current Tide.

"We sit around talking, their defense is probably a little better than Georgia's," he said on his Sunday teleconference. "It was last year and probably will be this year.

"It seems like as the (Southern Miss) game wore on, Alabama got stronger and stronger. Alabama's offensive line kind of took over. That is what happened, isn't it?"

--INJURY REPORTS: Alabama's running back situation behind Ken Darby got a little murky after two freshmen were nicked up on game night. Glen Coffee (concussion) will miss considerable practice time this week and is probably doubtful for Saturday, while Jimmy Johns (shoulder) is day to day. "Hopefully, he'll be able to go later on this week," coach Mike Shula said.

The Tide expects to have RG Mark Sanders (knee) back at some point this week, but LB Terrence Jones' status with an ankle sprain is less certain.

For South Carolina, TE Andy Boyd (knee sprain) will not play against the Tide, and DB Ko Simpson (hip flexor) will miss practice time this week, Spurrier said, but is probable.

--TANK RECALL: If not for Alabama's comeback from an 11-point deficit against the Golden Eagles, well, let Roman Harper explain: "If we lose to Southern Miss, the whole season almost goes down the tank," Harper said.

The threat of a loss was certainly vivid after USM rallied from a 10-0 deficit to move ahead 21-10 on Gerald McRath's 32-yard interception return, a 13-yard, one-play touchdown after Jasper Faulk's long punt return, and a 64-yard drive for a score on Dustin Almond's second touchdown pass to Anthony Perine.

"I truly believe what I said last night, that two years ago I don't think we could have won that game," Shula said. "The upperclassmen were keeping everybody together. There wasn't panic in the locker room."

--TIDE BYTES: Tyrone Prothro earned player of the week honors on offense and special teams, while defensive end Mark Anderson won the honor on defense.

Prothro caught a career-best seven passes for 134 yards, returned two kickoffs for 97 yards and brought back four punts for 34 yards.

Anderson posted a team-high six tackles and 1½ sacks.

© 2005 The Mobile Register

© 2005 al.com All Rights Reserved.

Maybe they got tired of being held, or maybe has all southern miss on the payroll I didnt see these "actions" so I cant say if they were trying to hurt him or not if so I can understand the anger and personally will never justify hurting another player even if he does wear dark pink.

Maybe he is venting from the obivious lack of protection by his own o-line and has his anger misdirected? Thoughts anyone?

[rebdawg 5]

Hello, Pot. I'm Kettle. We appear to be similar in pigment.

[CarolinaTiger 0]

i watched a bit of the UNC/GT game this pat weekend, and thought GT continued their cheap shots this past week. too bad.

as for brodie, i'd be mad too if somebody tried to end my senior season after all he's been through.

[Guest Tigrinum Major]

Well, I did see the USM player that was ejected throw a punch. Granted, it wasn't against Brodie, but it was a cheap shot and he deserved to be kicked out.

Don't agree that Brodie was treated any differently than any other QB, but there are things that happen in a pile or between two players that we don't always see. He obviously felt compelled to take it to the press.

[Proud Tiger 4,261]

I saw a good bit of the game but didn't see any cheap shots at Brodie. But he seems to be an honest kid so I will take his word. For sure he was mad because he used some foul language on an open mike, uncharacteristic of him. He said he hoped his Mom didn't hear it. Of course he has a coach using the F-word all night so what the heck.

[bammanmr 0]

The personal foul call was a cheap shot and deserved the flag. Other than that, I thought that both teams played hard and the cheap shots were at a minimum.

[AURainman 6]

The personal foul was deserved. But it wasn't a cheap shot. The ref blew the play dead after the player had already beat his man on the line. He didn't hear the whistle. Still, it had to be called, but it wasn't a cheap shot.

[Guest Tigrinum Major]

The personal foul was deserved.  But it wasn't a cheap shot.  The ref blew the play dead after the player had already beat his man on the line.  He didn't hear the whistle.  Still, it had to be called, but it wasn't a cheap shot.

180933[/snapback]

Don't know which personal foul you are referring to, but that is not the one that I am talking about.

In the fourth quarter, Bama runs a play up the gut and a USM linebacker comes in and throws a punch into the pile, obviously at a Bama player. It was Kevis Coley, I think. He was ejected. That was a cheap shot.

[Streyeder 0]

Cheap Shot:

The play in question was a play whistled dead on a line motion penalty. An USM player rushed through, took Brodie and slammed him to the ground, while everyone was pretty much just standing around.

[WarTim 3,457]

Didn't Sou Miss know that the skinny kid in the dark pink #12 jersey was not to be hit?

Come on. Football is a contact sport. If he thinks THAT game was tough, he will see more of the same ALL YEAR long.

[TrueBlue72 0]

I didn't see anything in the USM/Bammer game that came close to the cheap shots that GT took at Brandon Cox. I also didn't see Brandon Cox in front of the microphones, making accusations and whining. Brodie just needs to wear his pink practice jersey in the games and immediately drop to the ground and beg for mercy after every throw!!!

Maybe the USM players were pissed that they were being held on every play and took offense to that not being called. I understand that one of Bammer's OL was their leading tackler for the game.

[Guest Tigrinum Major]

Bama was flagged five times for holding Saturday. Granted, it probably could have been more, but don't act like they never get it called on them. Their O linemen are well coached on how to do it and not get caught. This group is inexperienced.

I am no Bama fan, as is well borne out by earlier posts, but personally, I am just a little tired of all the referee bashing. They give the test every summer for high school officials. I suggest some of you take it, call a few peewee games and then come back to criticize after listening to others like yourselves call you everything but a Christian on a Saturday morning. There might be instances of referees trying to help a team, but it is far less common than internet message board members would have you believe.

One more thing: if there is no punishment, there is no crime; ie, the referee doesn't mark out yardage, there is no "foul". The act may have occurred on video in front of thousands, but if the official keeps his hanky in his pocket, suck it up and drive on.

[sportwareagle 0]

I think bringing this in front of the media was a very Bammer thing to do. Not only do you sound ridiculous talking about hits you took as a football player (since that is supposed to be part of the game), but you also let other teams know that they can get to you by hitting you hard, which, again, is what you're supposed to do.

I think Brodie needs to take a lesson from Brandon and keep his mouth shut!!!

[WarEagle_57 0]

Croyle warned his mother to consider the circumstances if she saw a tape of the moment and could read his lips.

"I was probably the nice one on the dialogue," Croyle said. "There was a lot of people saying a lot of stuff at that point in time."

Guess he's taking lessons from ole Mike.

[Draven 0]

I am no Bama fan, as is well borne out by earlier posts, but personally, I am just a little tired of all the referee bashing.

No referee bashing was implied by me personally if wanted to do that I would have put it in the shed and called Brodie a big cry baby. I was stating reasons to why they "may" have been doing it. OK the UT thing was a joke, the holding not so much so but wasn't trying to referee bash. If you are on the d-line and getting held a lot I am sure it wears on you and you get mad just like everyone else. Still keep the temper under control no need to play dirty and take cheap shots.

[Guest Tigrinum Major]

I am no Bama fan, as is well borne out by earlier posts, but personally, I am just a little tired of all the referee bashing.

No referee bashing was implied by me personally if wanted to do that I would have put it in the shed and called Brodie a big cry baby. I was stating reasons to why they "may" have been doing it. OK the UT thing was a joke, the holding not so much so but wasn't trying to referee bash. If you are on the d-line and getting held a lot I am sure it wears on you and you get mad just like everyone else. Still keep the temper under control no need to play dirty and take cheap shots.

180973[/snapback]

Not talking about you specifically, Scorp. There are others that harp on nothing but referees letting Bama cheat. Some are USM fans on other boards, some are Auburn folks that are members here and some are ITAT regulars.

Sorry you took it that I was referring to you.

[Draven 0]

I am no Bama fan, as is well borne out by earlier posts, but personally, I am just a little tired of all the referee bashing.

No referee bashing was implied by me personally if wanted to do that I would have put it in the shed and called Brodie a big cry baby. I was stating reasons to why they "may" have been doing it. OK the UT thing was a joke, the holding not so much so but wasn't trying to referee bash. If you are on the d-line and getting held a lot I am sure it wears on you and you get mad just like everyone else. Still keep the temper under control no need to play dirty and take cheap shots.

180973[/snapback]

Not talking about you specifically, Scorp. There are others that harp on nothing but referees letting Bama cheat. Some are USM fans on other boards, some are Auburn folks that are members here and some are ITAT regulars.

Sorry you took it that I was referring to you.

180974[/snapback]

No worries just didnt want to come off as one of "those" type fans.

[TrueBlue72 0]

I didn't really see anyone whining about Bammer's holding, but it is well known that they do hold and get away with it more than other teams. Maybe it is the way they are cocached but it does happen.

Ignoring it only makes it seem that it is acceptable; I don't believe it is. Should we just pretend that it doesn't happen and let it continue or make an issue of it and put some attention on it and on the officials to call it when game time rolls around. I'm not trying to knock the officials, but they respond to complaints just as anyone else does.

[Guest Tigrinum Major]

Maybe the USM players were pissed that they were being held on every play and took offense to that not being called.

I doubt they were held on every play.

There were five holding penalties called.

Referees do not cheat for one team or against the other.

Coaches coach players to play the way officials officiate.

Calls get missed. Officials are human.

Complain all you want, but realize it don't hold much water to me until you have walked a mile in the officials' cleats.

My opinion and mine only.

[SKCAUB 0]

"Granted, it probably could have been more, but don't act like they never get it called on them. "

Ahhhhh...listen and learn, young grasshopper...it's not how many...it's WHEN. The refs are very adept at this devious subtlety. They can make the stats look absolutely dead even...and yet kill you with their timing!

[Guest Tigrinum Major]

"Granted, it probably could have been more, but don't act like they never get it called on them. "

Ahhhhh...listen and learn, young grasshopper...it's not how many...it's WHEN. The refs are very adept at this devious subtlety. They can make the stats look absolutely dead even...and yet kill you with their timing!

 

181036[/snapback]

Yeah, yeah.

Strap on some stripes and stand a post. Good officials (and you don't get into the SEC without being a good official) make calls automatically WHEN THEY SEE THEM. They miss calls, no doubt. Are they trying to give one team an advantage by "timing"? Don't think so.

I'm done with this thread. Talk about officals missing calls all you want. Don't insult my intelligence by claiming that officials cheat. And don't pull the "Bryant used to have them in their pocket" arguement either. Whether he did or didn't, I don't care. That is just as much ancient history as the 1979 MNC to me.

[WarTim 3,457]

Bama was flagged five times for holding Saturday.  Granted, it probably could have been more, but don't act like they never get it called on them.  Their O linemen are well coached on how to do it and not get caught.  This group is inexperienced. 

I am no Bama fan, as is well borne out by earlier posts, but personally, I am just a little tired of all the referee bashing.  They give the test every summer for high school officials.  I suggest some of you take it, call a few peewee games and then come back to criticize after listening to others like yourselves call you everything but a Christian on a Saturday morning.  There might be instances of referees trying to help a team, but it is far less common than internet message board members would have you believe.

One more thing: if there is no punishment, there is no crime; ie, the referee doesn't mark out yardage, there is no "foul".  The act may have occurred on video in front of thousands, but if the official keeps his hanky in his pocket, suck it up and drive on.

180962[/snapback]

A late-long time friend of mine was a HS Official for years. He once told me he had NEVER missed a call. If he sees it, he calls it. If he doesn't see it, it is not a foul. Makes sense to me.

[Ryan Sanders 123]

Tigrinum Major, I love how you can speak for every damn referee in the country. LOL. How do you know there hasn't been some that help out teams? I know for a fact it has been done.

BTW, if you don't know sarcasm when you see it, you might not want to read about Alabama on this forum, because obviously you can't handle it.

[Guest Tigrinum Major]

Tigrinum Major, I love how you can speak for every damn referee in the country. LOL. How do you know there hasn't been some that help out teams? I know for a fact it has been done.

BTW, if you don't know sarcasm when you see it, you might not want to read about Alabama on this forum, because obviously you can't handle it.

181062[/snapback]

Ok, I lied, I am not done with this thread.

Fact, huh? Care to give us some examples, Ryan? And if you will read carefully, I said:

There might be instances of referees trying to help a team, but it is far less common than internet message board members would have you believe.

I know sarcasm when I see it and I know unwarranted whining when I see it. No one on this forum (WarTim included) has less love for Alabama than I do. I am not taking up for the team to the west. I am stating my informed opinions on the integrity (not competance) of the SEC football officials. If you can't handle that, you might want to use the ignore feature of the forum.

[AUesquire 1]

There's good and bad people in all professions, including referees. I'm sure there's been some corrupt refs over the years, just as I'm sure there have been a few corrupt people in my profession. Actually, I've never heard of any bad apples in my line of work but I'm just assuming there may be one or two.

I think it's understandable for TMajor to get upset when he hears constant bashing of referees, especially when it's something he does. I imagine most do it because they love being part of a particular sport and I'd also imagine 99% of them are great people. We tend to overlook that when it's commonplace to call a ref every name in the book, including corrupt.

I'm proud of my profession and truly proud to tell people I'm an attorney when asked. But I also understand that if I didn't have pretty thick skin, I'd have a real hard time socially, as fashionable as it is to make lawyer jokes and bash my profession. Oh well, I'm off my box now.