Neuheisel ON: The Wall
Opening thoughts:
"A deal's a deal. When they were talking about it in spring practice, I said, 'Listen, the wall thing started in bowl practice. You get to bowl practice, then you can start to thinking about things like this.' So they did."
On the players keeping it quiet (as Kai Forbath walks by smiling):
"They did a nice job of this one, keeping it under wraps. Look at Forbath with the big grin. I do compliment them on the choice of days. When you're still in kind of the get-back-into-football mode, and young guys are getting their chances to work, I think it was a wise day to pick. I'm pleased with the leadership in terms of the choice. But obviously I would have loved to practice."
On the history of The Wall:
"This happened many years ago. Kenny Easley led the group over the wall, and it was a good thing. I enjoyed it more as a player than as a coach, though, I'll be honest with you. There's no question about that. Sometimes coaches forget what it was like as a player. I try not to do that."
On his plan for the day now:
"We can go get back on Temple film. This is a great opportunity for us as coaches to get more into the game plan. We have not introduced a game plan. We won't do that until Tuesday morning. This is great staff time for us. It's a little bit of a missed opportunity for the younger players, but we can catch that up, too."
On not knowing the plans:
"I did not. It caught us all by surprise. But that's kind of the fun part of it for the players. I was just telling them we need great effort today and then, boom. We got great effort ... only about six feet of it."
I bet this is payback for (i) the way that CRN verbally abuses his players in front of the camera every Saturday, and (ii) pulls scholarships from Dorrell players in order to bring in new players (Jeff Miller and 3 other JRs this year, Osaar Rashan and others last year). Pent up resentment and agression finally released. A symbolic F*U to Dictator CRN! The Rebellion of the Unclean Masses.
Hung Lee '81
I love the way Coach Rick can spin anything negative into a positive. I have to humbly take my hat off to him. I would've been mean-spirited enough to cancel all the remaining practice days, enjoy some precious time off with my family, and then throw these youngsters to the lions on Bowl game day. Remember Ancient Rome and the 'Christians vs the Lions'? And who won that stoush? Heck....like I said, I guess I'm just mean-spirited.
Hmmm. Or maybe it's a bunch of 20-year-old kids acting their age and letting loose.
why would players who didn't lose their scholarships be angry? I don't get it, Hung. Ok to call this a lame and irresponsible tradition, but let's not get crazy.
That man could talk the camel through the eye of the needle...
BRAVO, SIR RICK!
@Hung - Maybe a little decaf tomorrow?
As I recall, the last time this happened some high school coaches were there to watch practice. Having driven a long way, they weren't very happy. I believe the quote was..
"I guess this is why they're in the Lay's Potato Chip Bowl this year".
Lay'Potato Chip Bowl >>>>> Emerald Nut Bowl
Enjoy sharing the sidelines...LOL
First of all, the players should be told this is not a tradition. It's a dumb stunt which is embarrassing to them, to the fans, and to UCLA.
Second, I was planning on going to the bowl game but have been so deflated by this dumb stunt that now I'm staying at home and maybe watching the game on TV. At least, I'll save several hundred dollars. Why should I spend that kind of money on a team which doesn't take itself seriously.
Third, the way to prevent this dumb stunt from happening again is quite simple. Coach Neuheisel should invite Kenny Easley to the first day of spring practice and ask him to give a talk about the consequences of taking a pass in life.
Since when is 32 out of 119 a disappointing thing? I think being in the top third of defenses while your offense is one of the worst in the country is a pretty damn good accomplishment. And as far as the "Wall" goes. It's a tradition, it's stupid as hell, college kids are stupid as hell. Let it go. Not like we are missing anything.
Amazing to see how much free time U$Cumbags have...commenting on the BRUINS blog.
About the wall...it is about fun, about team. Folks, this is college football, stop taking it sooooo seriously. These kids work hard, stay out of trouble, and represent us all very well. Give them a break.
Go Bruins!
I think the coaching staff needs to take a tougher stance on this in the future.
I am all for suspending players that participate in this crap. If too many people do it and there aren't enough players to play the game, so be it; they made the decision.
Although I would be disappointed at having to forfeit a game I would hope that in the long run it will prevent this garbage from happening.
I can't think of any situation where a player skips practice and is not punished. I know they do "extra work" the next day, but it's time to up the penalty since it obviously doesn't deter it.