Falcons vs Packers Preview
By: JJ Lanier
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
So, here we are. After 17 weeks of the regular season, plus another two weeks in the playoffs, we finally arrive at the NFC championship game with the two teams we all thought would be there from the beginning: the Green Bay Packers and the Atlanta Falcons?
Well, I’m sure some people thought the Packers would be here, but I doubt anyone outside of the most optimistic Falcon’s fan thought that Atlanta would. Of course, I don’t really think Atlanta cares all that much-as they say “that’s why they play the game”.
It’s going to be pretty easy to look back to the Falcons week eight matchup against the Packers in preparation for the NFC championship game, which would make some sense. For one, it was a tremendous game. But, almost more importantly, it was around that time that both team’s seasons really took off.
The Falcons were in the midst of trying to prove to themselves, as well as the rest of the country, there would not be a repeat of last season’s collapse. Rodgers’ game on the other hand, while he played great against Atlanta, was in the middle of its own “Where’s Waldo” saga.
Since that game Atlanta’s offense has been arguably one of the best in the league and Ryan has put up MVP type numbers. The only other quarterback and team that has come close to matching them; Rodgers and the Packers.
If you’re looking for defense you may want to YouTube videos of ESPN’s “Jacked Up” because you won’t find much of it in this game. I’m halfway expecting to see Sterling Sharpe and Brian Finneran’s name show up in the box score.
The best approach to slowing down both of these offenses is ball control and doing everything you can to keep their respective offense off the field. Well, since that is how neither of these teams play, and it is certainly not in their best interest to do so, I really have no idea what to tell you on how to stop them. It’s kind of one of those “You can’t stop them, you can only hope to contain them” type games.
For this reason, and this reason only, is why I give the Packers a slight edge. I mean absolutely no disrespect to Matt Ryan at all- I think he is having the best season of his career and is more than deserving of the MVP- but right now nobody is playing better than Rodgers. At this point I just trust him a little more than I trust Ryan.
I’m thrilled for the fact that Atlanta is getting to host the game, particularly this season. The Falcons will have to make sure they use home field to their advantage though because I don’t necessarily think it will be a disadvantage to Green Bay, if that makes any sense. The Packers have been in this type situation before and I just don’t see the pressure of playing on the road affecting them all that much.
Their initial meeting this season was one of the better games I saw all year. Since both teams are currently playing at an even higher level I fully expect this one to be just as good, if not better.
Neither of these teams may have been popular choices at the beginning of the season to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl, but whoever comes away with the win on Sunday will certainly have earned it.
2016 SEC Rankings
By: Kipp Branch
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Now that college football season is over and we must wait another 9 months for the joy of fall to arrive back in God’s Country also known as the SEC. Here are my final 2016 SEC power rankings.
14. Missouri: The Tigers finished the season with the worst overall record in the SEC, but closed with a big win over the Arkansas Razorbacks. Mizzou will always be decent on defense, but must find a way to score points in 2017.
13. Ole Miss: Yes, the soon to be NCAA poster child for sanctions finished at 5-7 with all of that talent. The Bears/Rebels will bounce back hopefully in next 5 years after sanctions beat them to a pulp.
12. South Carolina: The Gamecocks will get better under Muschamp. The Ole Ball Coach left a mess behind for will to clean up. A loss to a directional Florida school during the bowl season lands South Carolina here.
11. Mississippi State: Tough year in Stark Vegas, but a bowl win and winning the Egg Bowl helped the Bulldogs stay out of the number 13 spot in these rankings.
10. Vanderbilt: Wins over UGA and Tennessee and a trip to Shreveport made the season one to remember in Nashville. I like Derek Mason and think he will continue to do a fine job in the Music City.
9. Arkansas: How do you blow a 24-point lead at the half in a bowl game? Well the Piggies did, and this team is hard to figure so they land here.
8. Kentucky: The season was a success for the Wildcats. The Cats made a bowl. Now just go do your job its basketball season.
7. Texas A&M: Start fast and finish slow is the Aggie blueprint. Top 5 in October and unranked in the final polls. Kevin Sumlin’s seat is red hot going into 2017.
6. Auburn: You finish the season with a loss to UGA, Alabama, and Oklahoma in the Sugar Bowl a place you had no business being at. Florida should have received the Sugar Bowl bid.
5. Georgia: A nice win over TCU in the Liberty Bowl. But 8-5 with home losses to UT, Vandy, and GT just will not cut it moving forward Kirby. Help is on the way with this monster recruiting class. This is a team on the rise.
4. Tennessee: Who did less with more than the Vols in 2016? The jury is out on Butch Jones. 2017 will be a make or break year for Butch.
3. LSU: Coach O turned it around down the stretch and the Tigers looked great in their bowl game in Orlando. A team to watch in 2017. I like the Coach O hire.
2. Florida: Back to back East titles and a nice win in Tampa during Bowl season. I think the Gators drop back a little next year.
1. Alabama: The gold standard of the SEC. The Tide just keeps on winning. The title game loss to Clemson which I predicted in the preseason by the way does not tarnish a great season. Alabama is not going anywhere soon. The rest of the Sec must catch up.
The SEC was down in football in 2016. It was Alabama and the 11 Dwarfs. The rest of the SEC must pick up its game in 2017.
The ACC from top to bottom was the best football conference in America in 2016. Ouch!!!!
New Lead Wildcat
By: Drayton Hogarth
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The Georgia high school football coaches carousel has been spinning all over with coaches coming and going since the close of the football season.
When Camden County’s previous coach, Welton Coffey, decided to make the move to the office of the athletic director, it opened a vacancy at one of the premiere coaching jobs in the southeast.
Well, that job has now been filled, and what a job the search committee did by bringing in Coach Bob Sphire, previously the head coach at North Gwinnett High School in Suwanee, Georgia.
There are many times when a coach will not want to enter a situation where the former coach is the new coach’s boss. Coach Sphire brings such a resume to the Camden program that there is not concern for being intimidated by that position.
Plus, Coach Sphire has a huge advocate in his corner in Coach Coffey. I reached out to the future Athletic Director Coffey to get his thoughts on the hire. “We are excited to be entering a new era of Wildcat football that is coming to Camden County. The committee did a great job in identifying the best candidate for the job. It was not an easy decision because of all of the tremendous candidates that had applied for this job. Coach Sphire brings a great pedigree, not only in the state of Georgia, but also while coaching in Kentucky as well. Coach Sphire and his family are very excited about the opportunity at Camden.”
I asked what factor pushed Coach Sphire to the top of the list? “It wasn’t just about his on the field record or accolades, but it was his ability to work and mold young men,” Coffey replied.
Of course, the question had to be asked as to what the Wildcats would look like on offense next year, given that the wing-t has been a staple for Camden, while Sphire was a big proponent of the spread offense. “The great thing about Coach Sphire is his ability to adapt. He will be able to meld his offense to the talent that we have coming back. The players will also be able to fit to his style of play. I will say there will be some philosophy changes both on the field and off, but most importantly any coach needs to be structured for his players.”
Coach Bob Sphire brings a high school career coaching record of 250-79 spanning over 26 years. Sphire has been the coach at North Gwinnett since 2006, leading the Bulldogs to the state title game in 2007 and 2013.
North Gwinnett would win five region championships in 7-AAAAA, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014. Sphire’s record at North Gwinnett was 110-28. Coach Sphire has had notable players such as CJ Uzomah, Ja’wuan James, and Scott Hosch go on to play in both college football and in the NFL.
Camden County has made a big-time hire to help get the Wildcats back to the upper echelon of high school football. The Eastern Kentucky graduate is coming to Kingsland at a great time. The Wildcats have taken their share of lumps the last couple of years given a rare dip in football talent at the massive high school.
However, the rising junior and sophomore classes are chock full of big time athletes that should thrive in the spread and defensive system implemented by the tough-minded coach.
This is a time for Camden County to be excited! Coach Sphire should bring the Wildcats back to prominence once again and compete in the ultra competitive region 1-AAAAAAA. As everyone knows, if you can win in that region you can beat anyone in the state.
What’s Next For Bama and Clemson?
By: Jason Bishop
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
What a game, right? Clemson came from behind twice in the fourth quarter to take down the Giant Alabama, 35-31.
Whether you like Alabama or not, the truth of the matter is the last two touchdowns passes for Clemson were illegal rub routs that were not flagged. That is not to say Clemson still would not have scored if they had been called by the officials, but we will never know. Nor, is that taking away from the amazing game the Tigers played.
The difference was, of course, Deshaun Watson. Watson threw for over 400 yards and 3 touchdowns. For those of us that have followed Watson his entire career we should have seen that final drive coming.
When Watson was a senior at Gainesville he eclipsed record after record in the state of Georgia for the Red Elephants. Watson and Gainesville found themselves in the GHSA State Finals in the Georgia Dome against the Ware County Gators and what was then, the best defense in the state.
Most said Ware would shut down Watson and that he had never seen a defense as fast or as physical as what the Gators put on the field that season. Ware was led by two amazing linebackers that season, Xavier Tobler and Dedrick Mills. Tobler is now at Georgia Southern and Mills at Georgia Tech.
None of that would matter as Watson carved up that vaunted Ware defense en route to a 49-13 woodshedding of the Gators and State Title.
So, what is next for both programs? Obviously, Watson will head on to the NFL and will likely not only be the first QB taken but probably the first pick overall.
If Clemson is going to stay at the elite level and build a juggernaught as Bama has they will have to reload at QB.
On the other side, Alabama will lose a good bit on defense but they have shown us the program is littered with 5-star talent up and down the roster and will not skip a beat.
That coupled with Jalen Hurts only being a freshman the Crimson Tide program will continue to dominate the SEC west and likely the SEC.
Bama may start getting a challenge out of Athens in the next few years as Georgia looks to be in good shape to make huge strides in where the program is.
Dabo A Difference Maker?
By: JJ Lanier
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
As sports fans we spend an inordinate amount of time coming up with reasons why an opposing player or team is overrated- why they are not worthy of the accolades they receive.
I was never a big fan of Shaquille O’Neal and would argue how he wasn’t really all that talented, just big. My go to argument, besides his free throws, was how he never really hit a shot outside of 5 feet.
Of course, I completely ignored the fact that if you’re that big and dominant in the paint, who cares if you can hit a 15 footer. It’s like knocking someone for constantly getting to the rim for a lay up because it’s easier than hitting a jump shot.
Just like I finally came around to acknowledge Shaq’s skills, it’s time I do the same with Dabo Swinney and where he ranks among current college football coaches.
For some reason I’ve never been a fan of Swinney’s. I’m not sure if it’s his demeanor and the fact he sometimes comes across as being aloof? Or maybe Clemson always seems to underachieve, to the point where the term “Clemsoning” has become a legitimate thing. I’m sure it’s mixture of both of those, along with others I’m not cognizant of, but either way Swinney deserves more credit than I’ve given him.
If you had asked me last season why Clemson made the championship game, Swinney’s name would’ve probably been down on that list. This year is different. Maybe I’m being a little gullible here, but to be able to make it back to the title game for the second year in a row, when those are actually the expectations, is extremely impressive.
On the surface their return trip may not seem all that difficult. Clemson had a lot of returning talent from last year’s team- especially on the offensive side of the ball- and they play in the ACC, which isn’t exactly a who’s who of football royalty. To believe that though would diminish what the Tigers have accomplished.
For one, just because you’re returning that level of talent doesn’t automatically guarantee success. You’d be hard pressed to find anyone outside of Tuscaloosa that didn’t think Ohio State wasn’t the most talented team last year. Yet, where were they when playoff time arrived?
Plus, Clemson lost some big name players on the defensive side of ball, much like the year before, that they’ve been able to overcome. I once heard someone say “I don’t care how knowledgeable a maintenance man is, I just want to make sure he knows who to call when he can’t figure something out.”
It’s a weird comparison, I know, but a head coach is very much in that same vein. I don’t necessarily care how they are when it comes to X’s and O’s, just so long as they bring people with them who do. Swinney checks that box.
As for the ACC part, you could argue that it was the second or third strongest conference in football this season, which just adds to the difficulty in Clemson making it back to tonight’s game.
Swinney doesn’t bring in top 5 recruiting classes every year and he’s not looked at in the same way as a lot of the big time coaches in the country are. Getting that elusive championship ring, with a victory over this year’s Alabama team, would go a long way in helping Swinney get the recognition he probably deserves.
Even I would have a hard time arguing against that.
National Championship Preview – Alabama vs Clemson
By: Kipp Branch
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
In my 2016 Clemson preview I predicted the Clemson Tigers to go 15-0 and win the National Championship. I said this would be the best Clemson team I have ever seen. I still stand by that. I messed up and did not see the Pitt loss late in the season so the Tigers stand at 13-1 after a 31-0 thrashing of another overrated Big 10 playoff team called the Ohio State Buckeyes; who the national media anointed as the championship game opponent for Alabama.
Why is Clemson an elite program right now? It starts with Deshaun Watson who should have won the Heisman Trophy. The Heisman has lost its luster to me anyway so no big deal if you watched the Heisman winner against LSU in his bowl game.
The Clemson offense is the best in all of college football. Watson is the trigger man who torched an awesome Alabama defense in the title game just one year ago. And coming off a torching of a highly touted OSU defense.
Watson is primed again to have a big night against an Alabama defense that has an awesome front seven but to me not as good in the back of that defense as they were in 2015.
Then you have the gold standard of college football and they are the Alabama Crimson Tide with Nick Saban, who is the best coach in all of football. Yes, I said all of football.
Jalen Hurts has taken the country by storm in 2015 and Bo Scarborough looks like another future NFL running back. That defense has 50 sacks and I love the way Reuben Foster attacks a ball carrier.
Alabama played around with Washington even with Lane Kiffin calling a silly offensive game plan. Kiffin finally got on Saban’s last nerve and was relieved of his duties after that game. Now Steve Sarkisian is front and center and if the Tide gets beat you can probably expect the media to toss Sark under the proverbial bus.
I expect this game to turn into another shootout like last year. Jonathan Allen and the Tide defense is a special unit, but when you look at the fire power on Clemson’s offense you see Watson, Gallman, and Williams who missed the championship game last year you wonder if a NFL defense could stop this offense.
I think both teams come out and light each other up all night long on offense. The storylines leading up the game will be:
Nick Saban and his quest to tie Bear Bryant with six national titles in the poll era. The sudden Lane Kiffin departure. Can Watson lead Clemson to the title? The great Clemson Offense vs the great Alabama Defense. The media discussing whether the playoff selection format needs to be tweaked.
I may get hammered for saying this being the SEC loyalist that I am, but I think from top to bottom the ACC has been the best conference in America this year.
Outside of Alabama the SEC has been down. Alabama hung 54 on Florida in the SEC Title game, Auburn and UGA with 5 defeats, Tennessee the preseason media darling with 4 losses, LSU fired Les Miles and went 8-4.
Alabama is Alabama but is the SEC as good as it has been?
I think Clemson wins this football game 38-35. Alabama’s old nemesis rears its ugly head and that is field goal kicking as the Tide misses one from about 40 yards to send it to overtime.
Clemson is your 2016 National Champion, and Deshaun Watson goes down as the greatest player in Clemson football history regardless of the outcome.
2017 Predictions
By: Drayton Hogarth
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
2016 was quite an interesting year for everyone, and that includes the sports world.
Many of our local teams experienced ups and downs and surprises of all kind. Now that we have arrived to the New Year of 2017, it is time to make some predictions for our area teams as we march forward throughout the coming months.
The Atlanta Falcons will finish this 2016-17 season with a playoff run. There are not many teams entering the playoffs playing at a higher level right now.
MVP candidate Matt Ryan has a plethora of offensive weapons he can utilize, as well as a solid line to protect him. In fact, it is a team that is good enough to make it to the Super Bowl, but that is where the dream will end as the Falcons will come up short against the New England Patriots in a shootout.
During the offseason, the Falcons will pick up another pass rusher in the draft to complement Vic Beasley. Plus, add in a couple more quality free agent signings, and the Falcons will make another Super Bowl run.
In Athens, Coach Kirby Smart will bring in the best recruiting class in Georgia history. Even better, the on the field product will be much improved as well, as the talent in the program is upgraded to levels that Bulldog fans have hoped for the last half decade or so.
Georgia will finally win the SEC East and challenge for the college football playoff. It’s gonna be the beginning of a fun ride, Georgia fans. Be scared, college football, the sleeping giant has awoken.
Coach Paul Johnson will be expected to challenge for the ACC title in 2017, but same as recent history, the Jackets will not be able to live up to the lofty expectations.
Johnson and his Yellow Jackets seem to do much better when the perception is that they will struggle. When people underestimate Tech, that is when they are at their most dangerous.
Georgia Tech fans will grow weary of this roller coaster ride and will make a surprise move of letting the long-time coach take his triple option offense elsewhere. Look for the Jackets to make a run at current Colorado State head coach, and former Georgia Bulldog, Mike Bobo as their next coach in 2018.
Tyson Summers will get the Georgia Southern Eagles back to the upper level of the Sun Belt. Look for the Eagles to go 10-4 with a loss in the Sun Belt title game, but win their bowl game.
Brand new Suntrust Stadium will see the Atlanta Braves continue to improve and be more like the competitive team that we saw finish the 2016 season. Having Freddie Freeman, Dansby Swanson, and Matt Kemp in the lineup for a full season will allow the Braves to be the best offensive lineup in the National League.
It will be the pitching that will prevent the Braves from making the post season. Look for the Braves to get to .500 or better in the coming season, with prospects for a strong run in 2018.
The Atlanta Hawks will make a deep run in the NBA playoffs and will finally beat the Cleveland Cavaliers, but only three times. Thus, they will lose in seven games to Lebron James and the Cavs—who will lose to the Golden State Warriors.
On the hardwood in Athens, the Georgia Bulldogs will either win two games in the NCAA tournament, or they will be replacing Mark Fox as the head coach of the hoop Dawgs. Oh, and there will be a new athletic director making that decision at the University of Georgia as well.
Look for Josh Pastner to get the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in the NIT and continue to restore the Jackets to respectability in the college basketball world.
Well, that should do it for most of my predictions for the upcoming year. Go ahead and save this article to refer back to, and if I get even half of these correct, you can thank me later, maybe in 2018. Happy New Year everyone!
Tom Coughlin To Jaguars?
By: Kipp Branch
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Ok Jaguar fans Tom Coughlin interviewed for the vacant head coaching position in the River City on Wednesday. Why not go back to man who made you into contenders in the 1990’s?
Coughlin, 70, previously coached the Jaguars from 1995-2002, leading the team to a 68-60 overall record and two AFC Championship games. Recently inducted to the Giants’ Ring of Honor, Coughlin is best known for two Super Bowl victories, in 2007 and 2011, while amassing the second-most wins in team history.
This would be a homerun hire for Jacksonville. You have a man who is loved by the masses in North Florida and South Georgia and has two Super Bowl rings. One thing you can say about Coughlin is that he runs a tight ship.
If you have watched the Jaguars play this year you will not notice a lack of talent, but some sloppy play on both sides of the ball which communicates a lack of discipline that Coughlin will clean up quick, fast, and in a hurry.
Coughlin, I believe still has a home in Jacksonville and does a lot of charity work in North Florida. I think he could come in and make the playoffs in year one of his return to Jacksonville. The biggest mistake Wayne Weaver made as owner of the Jaguars was firing Coughlin back in 2002.
Fast forward to his time with the New York Giants where two victories over Tom Brady and the Patriots earned Coughlin rock star status in the Big Apple.
Super Bowl XLII took place in Glendale, Arizona on February 3, 2008. The game pitted Coughlin’s New York Giants (13–6) against the undefeated New England Patriots (18–0) coached by Bill Belichick. The Patriots were favored by 12 points. The underdog Giants beat the Patriots 17–14 in one of the biggest upsets in NFL history. Many were calling the 2007 Patriots the greatest team of all time.
Coughlin developed a young Eli Manning into a Super Bowl winning QB. Blake Bortles took a huge step back in 2016, and maybe a veteran championship coach like Coughlin can get him on track and playing up to his vast potential.
The pieces are in place in Jacksonville for a coach of Coughlin’s caliber to come in and win immediately. The AFC South is not a tough division and with the right man running things the division could be there for the taking. Coughlin would attract a proven offensive coordinator, and certainly with the talent on defense someone would follow him and have that unit peaking in 2017.
Previously under Coughlin, the expansion Jaguars made the playoffs in year two of its existence and made it all the way to the AFC title game, and made the playoffs 4 straight years from 96-99, and the AFC title game twice. Led Jacksonville to 14 wins in 1999.
The current state of this franchise is one that has lost 11 or more games for 6 consecutive seasons. This team is about as low as it can go. It is time to bring back the only man to have led Jacksonville to a division title twice. No other head coach for this franchise has accomplished that.
Coughlin had a 4-4 playoff record in Jacksonville. This team has not made the playoffs since 2007. Coughlin always packed the stadium in Jacksonville, and with his return you could probably say goodbye to the tarps in the upper decks that cover empty seats.
It is time to bring back the man who put the Jacksonville Jaguars on the football map.
Mark Fox Not The Answer at UGA?
By: Drayton Hogarth
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
With college basketball well underway, teams all over the country are preparing to enter the conference portion of their schedule.
Many teams are still trying to find their identity after winding down the out of conference slate. One of those teams that is in need of a new identity is the Georgia Bulldogs under long time coach Mark Fox. The Bulldogs are as good as they are going to be under Coach Fox, and that isn’t good enough.
Entering his eighth season in Athens, Mark Fox was hired by former Georgia Athletic Director Damon Evans, after a successful run at Nevada. It was thought at the time to be an interesting hire, mostly due to geographical concerns.
In other words, would recruits know who Coach Fox is here in the southeast, and the home state of Georgia in particular. Fox has amassed a record of 134-107 so far. It isn’t so much just the lack of wins, Georgia has never been a great basketball power, but it is more than that.
It is how the team is losing that is so maddening. The Georgia sports information department, which does a fantastic job, likes to espouse the fact that Georgia has won twenty games three straight seasons under Coach Fox. While that used to be a staple of big time programs, in today’s schedules of teams playing 35 or more games, it does not hold the same merit that the 20 game plateau once did.
How Georgia is losing games is what can be so frustrating, the team has an amazing tendency to go into offensive droughts for multiple minutes at a time; seemingly at the most inopportune times.
The droughts are equal opportunity offenders. When Georgia is competing against a top ten team, such as earlier this year against Kansas, the team goes into a drought for virtually the entire first half, where Yante Maten, was the only player who was a constant threat to score for the Dawgs.
Or, the droughts will make an appearance against a team like Oakland, in Michigan, where Georgia was winning the game by double figures, only to turn around and go into the tank in the second half, being outscored by 14 in that time frame. It is not just a one year issue, it is one of the constants of the Georgia team under Mark Fox.
In addition to a lack of on the court performance, seeing the elite players from the state of Georgia almost all going elsewhere to play their collegiate ball is even more disappointing to Bulldog fans.
The talent has finally gotten to a competitive level at Georgia in the last couple of seasons, as Fox was intent upon not delving into the world of AAU recruiting early on in his Athens tenure. While Fox has changed his recruiting strategy, more needs to be done in the recruiting front.
The state of Georgia is one of the deepest basketball talent pools in the country. Don’t believe me? Just take a look at almost every program in the top ten and you will find a player from the state of Georgia. North Carolina, Duke, Kentucky, all have significant contributors on the team from the Peach state; not only this season, but for the last several seasons now.
A coaching change likely won’t be made very soon, and despite evidence that a change is needed, that could be a good thing. My reasoning is, it won’t be too much longer before there will be a new person in the Athletic Director’s chair.
Current athletic director Greg McGarity should be retiring soon, and the decision of who to hire as the new basketball coach should belong to the incoming athletic director, whoever that may be. Let’s hope it is one of his or her first orders of business.
Grayson Allen Overblown?
By: JJ Lanier
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
In all your years of following sports, however long that may be, can you recall a time where a coach announced during the postgame press conference that he or she was voluntarily suspending a player based upon their actions during the game?
I’ve been watching for 30+ years and I can’t remember a single time that has happened. And neither can anyone else I’ve talked to.
Yet here we are, in our age of social media and need for instant gratification, bashing Mike Krzyzewski for not immediately disciplining Grayson Allen mere minutes after their game against Elon concluded.
Where has this national outrage been towards Steve Kerr and his lack of discipline towards Draymond Green’s complete disregard for a man’s groin? I don’t remember there being articles on Skip Prosser’s decision to wait and suspend Chris Paul for one game the day after he used Julius Hodge’s nether region as a punching bag, although it was not Paul’s first altercation.
Instead, we criticize Coach K for not handing out discipline on a timeline we deem worthy, when we find later on that his choice to listen without prejudice was the right decision.
Look, even though I’m a Duke fan I am not a Duke apologist. Not only do I believe Allen deserved to be suspended for this most recent transgression, but he should’ve sat a game last year, after the second tripping incident.
So, if you want to condemn Coach K and how he has handled Allen’s past discrepancies up to this point, you won’t get much of an argument from me. Let’s be honest though, if you’re not satisfied with how he’s handling things now, you’re not going to be satisfied no matter how he handles it.
As for all the vitriol that has been directed towards Allen, let’s just put things into perspective a little bit. If you don’t like him because you think he’s a dirty player, that’s fine. If you can’t root for him because he plays for Duke and you despise everyone and everything associated with that shade of blue, that’s cool. However, some of the things I’ve read, from the media in particular, has been astonishing.
Since all this happened I’ve seen respected members of the media say everything from Allen should be kicked off the team, all the way to Grayson should be arrested because if you trip someone in public they can charge you with assault.
If that’s the case then the entire NFL would be behind bars since last I checked I can’t legally tackle a lady in supermarket because she grabbed the last box of Cinnamon Toast Crunch.
I understand the yearning to see some sort of punishment handed down, but make sure it fits the crime. Allen wasn’t caught driving with a blood alcohol content of .247, and there isn’t video of him knocking out a girl unconscious in bar- all things that have happened around the same time, yet haven’t received nearly the same amount of publicity.
The most disturbing part of the whole thing was Allen’s reaction to the event on the bench afterwards. It is obvious that there are some issues he needs to work out and I trust Krzyzewski to not only be a father figure in helping him out, but to keep him off the court until those troubles are addressed- no matter how many games Allen misses.
Whatever that number of games actually becomes Allen has to realize that’s it….he isn’t going to get one more try.
