Seeing the video, I think Matthews should be suspended for 2 games. It was an unprovoked attack (at least physically unprovoked; the Oregon player may have been been running his mouth, but can you blame him?) and we can't have players going all Ty Cobb on guys for basically no reason. Not good.
Notice how when Matthews kicks the oregon player he graces the inside of his thighs and groin but the Oregon kid fakes and grabs his shin. Vlade Divac would be proud.
That Oregon d-back to a Varejao-inspired soccer flop, though.
Nah, don't suspend him. Just give him a warning. And tell him he sucks at kicking. He totally missed at such close range.
kinda bad sportsmanship though, not what i like to see from michigan
Our draft-worthy players don't train with Gittleson when they are preparing for the combines, they go to that special S&C camp that all the top players go to, so it's actually possible that players like Leon Hall are faster in the pros than they were in college due to a superior conditioning program after their UM careers are over.
Count me among the "suspend him" crowd, but I've been on the business end of an ass-whooping before, and I know how frustrating it can be. I doubt Matthews did it with any malicious intent, but he does need to keep his emotions in check in that situation.
Notice how when Matthews kicks the oregon player he graces the inside of his thighs and groin but the Oregon kid fakes and grabs his shin. Vlade Divac would be proud.
I piss maize and blue | 09.14.07 - 11:09 am | #
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Actually, if you slow it down, you see Matthews hits the top of the knee and the Oregon player is reaching for that general area. I don't think it's a flop at all, just an idiotic move by Matthews.
I don't know anything about the S&C coach other than what I just read, BUT I do know that if you don't know where your supposed to be/go, you WILL look slow getting there...
Okay, after reviewing the cheap shot, the Oregon player definitely flopped. Greg Mathews hit him around the upper inner thigh, closer to his groin. The Oregon player reached for his knee. Still, Greg Mathews shouldn't have done that.
After watching the ND video from last year - Who's that #2 ? He looks like a beast. If we only had a guy like him playing this year....
Stephen,
Look at Matthews' heel on the replay...it clearly hits the top of the Oregon player's knee
Nothing can compare to that feeling from last year which lasted from Burgess' first pick to about halftime of the OSU game. To borrow a phrase from Johnny, if heaven is an eternity of that, I better get on someone's good graces.
I'm in the camp that thinks the Oregon player pulled an acting job. I think the situation is mitigated by the fact he stood over the UM player after making the tackle, which is a cheap thing to do esp when you've got a 32 point lead.
Still, Matthews was out of line and should get a punishment, like a real one like not running the stadium steps like.
Not to be nasty or anything, but who gives a shit where Matthews hit him, or if he hit him at all? The fact that he attempted to do so is, in my opinion, grounds for suspension -- regardless of whether he completed the act.
Let me correct my spelling - Mathews.
I think it's pretty clear from the Zabruder film that Mathews kicks the Oregon player in the thigh but his foot glances downward at 45 degree angle and exits thru the back of Kennedy's head. Further, the sound of 2 gunshots is an illusion caused by an echo. In conclusion, there was only one kicker.
Back...and to the left. Back...and to the left.
did you say keith HERNANDEZZZZZZZ?
ChicaGoBlue,
I completely agree with you. The only reason I brought it up is because by people saying that the Oregon player "flopped" or that he stood over Mathews, they're minimizing the nature of what Mathews did.
Let's all just agree it was a stupid move by Mathews, he should be suspended a game or two and move on.
Re: Mathews - completely unexcusable. But . . . I think that the defender put his knee into Mathews' ankle while getting up. I remember thinking that watching live on high def, but in the shadowy clip linked here it is kind-of hard to see. This makes sense b/c Mathews seemed to be agitated after the play as well.
Again, not saying Mathews' reaction was warranted at all, but I think that there was more than just jawing going on.
Can we please put this "a 4.7 guy going the right way is better than a 4.4 guy going the wrong way" or "something along the lines of if you play slow if you don't know what you are doing"....yes they are all true but you are missing the main point when you are putting forth these arguments.
The fact remains that all the folks you see going in the top two or three rounds do so because of combine training at some of the top S&C facilities in the nation.
Quick example: Harris and Burgess, both have similar speed and atleticism with Burgess having the edge as he started out as a OMG shirtless safety. Harris went to Parisi (top school) while Burgess went to some place in Chicago. You guys all know how they performed at the combine, Harris blew the scouts away not just with straight line speed but also with other athletic attributes, while burgess was mediocre. Now please do not argue that a better starting or sprinting form can account for .3 sec of your 40 times or account for similar differences between Harris and burgess in other combine tests.
Bottom line, these things matter and we are a trailing other schools!!
Point of fact: the Oregon player was still moving when he was kicked. He was not stationary over Mathews, and in fact was turning to move away when he was kicked. Watch his head and shoulders - he's starting to walk away. He had only just stood up, you know.
\but the Oregon kid fakes and grabs his shin.//
We've got a number of soccer fans on here...those folks would totally recognize that move from Rivaldo in the 2002 World Cup in Group Play against Turkey.
Still, Mathews embarrassed the program. Getting your ass handed to you on national TV by a previously lightly regarded Pac 10 team is bad enough...losing your cool like that is unacceptable. I'm glad Jake Long got in the dude's grill...some of the guys on that team still knows what it means to be a MICHIGAN MAN.
I can buy the Hillary/DeBord analogy, but Jeff Tedford is a lot more accomplished in his field than Obama. Obama might be like Boise's coach - might be good, but his track record's really skimpy.
Interesting point, carc. Which coach is Joe Biden?
I'm bothered by the Bush/Carr analogy because there is some traction to it.
[blank] only hires his cronies and it is slowly destroying [blank].
Who would Ron Paul be?
Is Urban Meyer Kim Jong Il?
I'm not saying what Mathews did was appropriate -- just that the Oregon dude flopped like a sissy.
Both acts were embarassing.
Maybe instead of actually playing this game we could have Matthews fight Travis Thomas at midfield (like Brad Pitt and that huge guy at the beginning of Troy).
You know, someone could put the JFK assassination to the Benny Hill soundtrack and there's a 50/50 chance I'd laugh at it.
What, too soon?
Kudos to Jake Long for almost literaly picking Mathews up and getting him out of the situation. That's what a leader and captain should be. A true Michigan man.
Joe Biden? Hmmm . . . maybe Norm Chow? Seems like a pretty bright guy but doesn't captivate the masses.
Not only was Gittleson "in the shit", according to some ex-M players I know, he was the guy who crawled in the Viet Kong hideout hole with a flashlight and a .45!
when is mouton back?
The reason UM get's players in the nfl has nothing to do, imo, with any athletic enhancement Git might be providing-since he provides none.
Those guys get into the league because of their talent and despite the piss-poor s & c program.
If you have very talented players, an s & c coach can just about get away with training them in any way, the Git way and they'll still be talented players. He can't take that away from them.
Will they be trained optimally in such a program, though? No way. Hence our underachievement.
my brother played football at M and was "conditioned" under Git. My bro is now a certified trainer. He will tell anyone willing to listen that Gittleson is a hack whose regimen is outdated and in som respects DETRIMENTAL!
I know Hilary ain't everyone's cup of tea, and I'm not a huge fan of her's, either. That said, Mike Debord has never done anything remotely similar to getting elected to the US Senate from a major state like New York. I'd say he's more like Bob Dole.
Phil Fulmer = Fred Thompson
Ron Paul = Mike Leach
Rudy Giuliani = Lee Corso
Whoa there. Bob Dole was a Senate majority leader. If you don't think Hillary warrants the DeBord comparison, I have no idea why Dole would.
I can sort of see the Hillary-DeBord thing. Both have benefitted from a kind of nepotism. DeBord was hired by CMU on Lloyd's recommendation. Hillary was elected Senator on the basis, apparently, of being Bill's wife.
Original C, I agree with you regarding such speed arguements. When Burgess signed on with group from Chicago my first thought was that I'd never heard of them before-the results showed us why. Had Burgess signed on with a reptutable combine prep group like Parisi, Athlete's Performance, DeFranco, Tom Shaw etc. he'd likely have had much better results.
Anybody who argues that what Gittleson does is good or even acceptable must have about zero background in coaching, speed development, s & c. There are a number of good reasons why HIT is very much in the minority among BCS schools. Only PSU and MSU run hybid programs with UM(at least these programs supposedly use a number of free weight exercises unlike UM), apparently, running the only program that's close to the original HIT principles(or should it be called sHIT?). BTW, the univ. of Cincinatti is no longer HIT. So only three with HIT remnants remain.
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