College FB: Oregon vs Boise St.

[AmareIsGod]

Curious, what did you think about the game UODucks4Life. What about Blount and his actions on the field after the game with a) punching another player in the face b) almost fighting the fans and c) almost fighting security guards and police after the game. The guy is a joke, in my opinion, and shouldn't play college football ever again.

[LazarusLong]

A scrub running back comes bouncing up to an opposing player, taps him on the shoulder and woofs at him after the game and gets punched. Would the BSU scrub have done the same thing if he was on the opponent's home field and if the player in question was surrounded by teammates? The Oregon player was walking through BSU players.

True, Blount's reaction was not taking the high road. But the smart-ass BSU player asked for it. In video clips you can even see his own coach grabbing him after he woofed at the Oregon player.

The BSU player is the sort of spineless jackass the only exhibit courage when he's surrounded by a gang on his home turf. I feel no sympathy for the jackoff.

[AmareIsGod]

That's all fine and dandy. He got punched and maybe deserved it (though you're forgetting that "shit talking" is a regular occurance in football). Minimum punishment. However, he then started hitting his own players (though it may have just been adrenaline at that point) and then going after fans. When restrained, he then went after security and police officers. This kid definitely has issues with anger and rage.

[LazarusLong]

The Oregon player got out of control, to be sure. From what I have heard, he's been in trouble on a number of other instances, so he's probably out the door.

But I'm not going to feel sorry for the little wet-fart turd of a player he slugged.

[LazarusLong]

c'mon, UODucks4life ... we need a take ...

[AmareIsGod]

Just I suspected. Done for the year, including any bowl games.

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=4446898

[Andy_S]

I don't think anyone feels bad for the kid who got decked. He was an idiot. But Blount is far worse. He revealed himself as a degenerate who can't lose and can't handle a little jawing. Not going to go far in football with that sort of immaturity. He deserves his suspension, and he should lose any scholarships he has with the school, too. They brought him there to play, and now he can't because he's stupid and a child among (young) men.

[UOducks4life]

Let me start by saying the Boise State program should be ashamed of the way their players and fans acted after that game. It was grossly unsportsmanlike and perpetuated their dirty, yet holier than thou, image. However, none of that was is an excuse for what LeGarrette Blount did after the game.

The writing has been on the wall since this past spring with Blount. Keep in mind he is a junior college transfer who just completed his first season of D1 football. He set a school record for touchdown runs (17) last season and his narrow minded head blew up to enormous proportions. He was suspended for a lengthy period of time in the spring for not fulfilling team obligations, i.e. not going to class or scheduled workouts. His weight ballooned as quickly as his work effort declined.

Then fall camp rolled around and an overweight, out of shape, "star" running back was working his way back into form. He was kicked out of the first practice in fall camp. The Oregon Football PR machine said it was a misunderstanding and lack of communication between Blount and head coach Chip Kelly, but everyone read between the lines and knew what had happened. Blount lost his temper and was way to aggressive with an opposing defender well after the whistle was blown. Strike two. Then his aunt in Florida died. According to Blount she was his primary care taker in his youth. He missed practice for the better part of a week, but the emotional toll from the loss hurt him more than his physical condition.

On game day we did not see the record setting LeGarrette Blount. Eight carries, five yards. Negative five yards. Pull up a video or two of last season and you'd see Blount leaping his 200lbs.+ body over and through defenders all season. Building on what he started last season he was a shoe-in for a first day NFL draft pick. Against the Boise State defense he looked slow, indecisive, and disinterested. Part of the blame goes on a bad offensive game plan, but a lot of it was due to a fantastic defensive scheme by Boise State. Yet Blounts deficiencies in the last eight months were brighter than the blue Boise turf.

I turned the game off with about 2 minutes left to play. I was disgusted, a little drunk, and in need of some good rest. Then my phone blew up like a fucking telethon. I walked downstairs, turned on ESPN and my jaw hit the floor. All I could think was Ron Artest, Ron Artest, Ron Artest... I was watching the infamous Pacers/Pistons game live when that brawl broke out and I had the same reaction in my gut when I watched Blount punch Byron Hout and then went ape shit on everyone near him.

When I finally made it back to bed I wanted Blount removed from the football team. I had seen enough. More than enough. I thought the right thing to do was to kick him off the team but let him stay on scholarship. He doesn't deserve to be locked out by the University, he just lost his privilege to play football representing the University of Oregon. As it turns out, that's exactly what they did, and I'm very happy with the results of this early season nightmare.

In retrospect a part of me believes that if he had just punched Hout, lowered his head and made his way to the locker room, we'd be looking at a half season suspension. He could've attended counseling and still repaired his on field image. But when he completely lost it by hitting one of his teammates, charging the Boise State fans near the tunnel (who by many accounts were shouting racial slurs toward Blount and the rest of the Oregon team and instigating violence with Oregon fans), and requiring law enforcement to remove him from the field is what completely did him in.

This is really a disappointing case of the fragile egos of young men from less than ideal inner city upbringings. It's obvious that Blount has never had much discipline in his life, which is the primary reason why a talent like his had to attend junior college for two years before he could meet NCAA admission requirements. Again, none of that is an excuse for his actions, but one would have to be ignorant to not see a few parallels between his reaction after the game and the lack of mentors during his childhood in Florida.

About six weeks ago I was having a discussion with some fellow Ducks fans about Blount and the upcoming season in general. At the time I compared Blount to Amare Stoudemire. A lot of talk, a world of talent, and remarkable inability to see the larger picture at hand. Most of them, as Blazers fans, though I was crazy making that comparison because, as they said, "Stoudemire is the Iverson of big men. Theres nothing that says Blount is a selfish player with an oversized ego." At the time they were right, but now I think they understand where I was coming from.

[UOducks4life]

Here's a little piece on the epilogue of the situation.

http://www.registerguard.com/csp/cms...8-41/story.csp

[LazarusLong]

Thanks for your perspective, UOD. I'd heard that Blount was in stage 3 meltdown and all was needed was a match to set the charge. Hope the guy can get some counseling to get his head back together. As for Boise State and their fans, they make Salt Lake City look evolved.