It's a Saturday, so this is going to be brief.
-- Eric Smith is apparently hanging by a thread, but the guess here is that if he was gone for good, Chizik would be straightforward enough to at least tell us that. (I think.) Which, you know, fine. Severe punishment (for what looks like a pretty severe lapse in judgment), sure. Make him earn his way back, sure. But a straight boot from the team for a (sober) disorderly conduct arrest ... not my team, I know, but I don't think I'd be alone in saying that would be more than a little on the draconian (and potentially morale-sapping?) side.
-- The eternal clash of swords between reporter and coach, illustrated.
-- The scrimmage today was apparently more about polishing up the rough edges than breaking any new ground. Which isn't surprising when the coaches are unanimous in declaring the depth chart "90 percent" filled out.
-- That Ted Roof was in a better mood is a good sign, I guess. Given that he's having to play a nasty balancing act between hitting enough to have his guys ready for the season and not hitting so much as to shatter Auburn's already egg-fragile depth chart, I wouldn't expect him to be in a good mood under any circumstances.
-- Todd 2 (the Toddening) allegedly led a successful two-minute drive. Signs of life, that's all we're asking for.
-- Luper and Lolley look headed for the coaches' box. Not surprising in the cerebral Luper's case, but I would think an old hands-on high-school grinder like Lolley would want to be within screaming distance of his players.
-- Anthony Gulley's name continues to pop up. He may redshirt, but it won't surprise me at all if he doesn't. When was the last time you heard anything--anything--about, say Derek Winter or Quindarius Carr?
-- Not much at all to report from Friday's practice, apparently. (Other than Smith's absence, of course.) McNeil was back on the bike, at least. But D'Antoine Hood was back on the sidelines.
See you Monday, most likely.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
5 comments:
Unless somebody I've missed has provided more details, I'm not ready to freak out over Smith's arrest, if only because "disorderly conduct" so often means nothing more than "pissed off some jerk on a power trip". If he was drinking, charge him with public intox or MIP. If he was acting a fool and refused to leave, charge him with trespassing. If he was fighting, charge him with assault. If the only charge you can stick to someone is disorderly conduct, chances are there wasn't much going on. Not saying I want a Saban-like approach to discipline, but I want more facts before I condemn this kid as a troublemaker.
Anon.: I'm not calling Smith a troublemaker. (At least, I'm not trying to.) But being out at a bar that late on a school night with the season just weeks away and being involved--even if only peripherally--with any kind of a fight is a bad, bad idea that Smith should have thought better of. You're right that there probably wasn't much going on, that it's not worth "freaking out" over, that the Tide fans trying to paint Smith's arrest as somehow equivalent to Upshaw's (ugh) are deluding themselves. But I don't blame Chizik for being pissed, either.
In the end, I'll be really surprised if Smith isn't back with the team soon.
I wish Quindarius Carr had been a sleeper two-star player. My high school hasn't produced many (oh who am I kidding...ANY) major college football players. When I heard that Auburn had landed an HHS recruit, I was excited. But he's been pretty disappointing. Oh well.
I agree Jerry. Comparing a late night bad choice vs. beating a woman senseless is stupid.
Well, if we're going to get onto the Tide fans for exaggerating the severity of Smith's arrest, we can't do the same to theirs, right? Upshaw didn't "beat" Gryzb. He grabbed her hair and her neck and the policeman who saw it said it looked like he was trying to push her to the ground.
Which is, you know, horrible. But it's not beating her.
Post a Comment