Jesus, Gawd, make this stop.
Both Steve Spurrier and Jadeveon Clowney got a good laugh over media suggestions that the All-World defensive end should consider sitting out his junior season at South Carolina to avoid an injury and secure his spot as the top pick in the 2014 NFL Draft.
On Monday night, after watching the topic debated by ESPN’s talking heads, Clowney tweeted, “I’m playing lol.”
Spurrier laughed when asked about it on Tuesday by the AJC:
I told myself I wasn’t going to post anything about this nonsense – a media frenzy over something one of its own invented in a fit of offseason speculation – but Carvell actually goes out and asks Spurrier to comment? How stupid is this going to get? Well, I’ll tell you.
“I wasn’t surprised by the media reaction to the idea because those guys have got to talk about something for three hours every day, and that’s something to talk about,” Spurrier said. “Should he stay? Should he sit out and wait for the money?
“Most of the guys that say he should sit out, they don’t realize the benefits of being on a college football team, and continuing with your teammates to have as big of a year as you possibly can. The money is going to be there down the road, so why would a person give up the thrill of playing college football?
“Those people have never played football, so they say he should sit out and get the money. That’s the only side of sports they see — the money. There’s a lot more to it than just the money.”
Steve Spurrier, of all people, pulls out the “in the arena” defense. And it works. That’s how dumb this whole thing is.
Get The Picture 
It’s quite a challenge to be a bigger @ss hat than the head Cock, but Carvell pulls off the feat
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Carvell is a complete joke. I really almost feel sorry for him. He sucks as a journalist, so he has to invent these ridiculous narratives around different situations. I think the best example of it is this little bit of commentary on Saban’s recruitment of Shaq Wiggins:
“[Note: It was an ingenious recruiting approach by Saban. If Wiggins takes the deal, Saban wins one of Mark Richt’s recruits in Hollywood fashion. If Wiggins declines (which he did), then technically Alabama never offered]”
http://blogs.ajc.com/recruiting/2012/02/27/nick-saban-to-uga-recruit-ill-offer-if-you-commit-today/
I mean . . . Carvell handily takes the prize for douchiest sports blogger on the web. He writes about football, but he is COMPLETELY out of touch–and as OBC points out, likely was never involved–with football.
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The sad part is that he’s a UGA grad. The saban fellacio-fest is rididiculous
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That’s not what he said
http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/photobooth/2012/12/paul-finebaum.html#slide_ss_0=1
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Steve Spurrier is coaching for a whole helluva lot more than just the thrill of coaching a college football team.
But, I agree, this speculation is ridiculous. I really just wish Spurrier had gotten his way on his proposal to pay players.
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Rumor is he is going to skip the Senior Bowl and just play in the Pro bowl next year.
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The funny part is that since he will only be a junior he can’t play in the Senior Bowl.
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They were debating this all morning on 790 the Zone. Gonna be a long off season.
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They made one good point every OT is going to try to be the one that takes JC out. It will make them more valuble in the draft.
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199 days of no Ball on the wall, 199 days of no Ball…
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The parinoid part of me cranks up tho – we point and laugh but what if this becomes discussion year after year and then all of the sudden morphs into the norm. Just another way to harm my favorite game.
Is playoff creep making me a conspiricy theorist? I’m not smart enough to be a theorist on anything! Hep me, hep me..
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To be a conspiracy theorist, you don’t have to be smart, you just have to get a security clearance
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I, for one, am all for Jadaveon sitting out next season. I think it’s in his best interest. Aaron Murray and John Theus approve this message.
The best way around this is to allow the colleges to pay for a kid’s insurance policy, and for that insurance policy to be more in line with his guarnteed money than the paltry $1-3 mil that most policies currently are. If the NFL Draft advisory board says he’s a surefire 1st round pick, allow the college to pay a $15 mil policy for him. If the college refuses to do so…then the kid should sit out. It’s not that complicated. We don’t have to pay kids, just protect them. That’s all any parent could ask. As it stands, moms and dads pay for those policies. What if they can’t afford them?
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You get an NCAA approved loan (yes they do exist) that will pay the premium, then the loan is paid back via your first contract or the proceeds from the policy if you collect.
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“There’s a lot more to it than just the money.”
Steve learned that from Stephen and the 5 women
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Sometime this summer, we should expect the following from Carvell:
“Sources close to Foster say that he is considering ‘sitting out’ his first three seasons at Alabama to preserve as many carries as possible for his NFL career…”
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Steve could have just said the names “Mike Williams” and “Maurice Clarett.” They both took time off challenging the NFL’s draft restrictions and ended up as huge busts.
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Pingback: DawgsOnline » Clowney and Noel
Steve should call up Nerlens Noel and laugh it up about the thrill of playing college ball and how it’s worth it.
Talking about sitting out a year misses a legitimate point of discussion: age restrictions on the draft. If the Chiefs are willing to draft Clowney #1, and Clowney is willing to forgo two years of college to enter the NFL, why shouldn’t it happen? The NFL put the sophomore rule in just to protect themselves from themselves just like the NBA did with its one and done rule. It helps the NCAA, it helps the NFL, but it sure as shit doesn’t help Clowney if something happens to him next year.
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I’m opposed to age restrictions, so you’ll get no argument from me about that.
Just keep in mind that if those are ever removed, it’s not likely to improve the level of play in college ball. As so many CBB observers are quick to point out these days.
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As much as it pains me to say it, CBB as we know (knew) it is dead. I was embarassed watching our guys play last night and go ~10 min without hitting a shot. There are some AAU teams that would make the NCAA tournament this year.
I say let’em all go whenever they feel ready.
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Good point as is the insurance point made by sUGArdaddy, above. It also helps the colleges, the coaches, CBS, NBC, ABC, ESPN, the Longhorn Network, the soon-to-be SEC Network, radio networks, bar, restaurant and motel owners and RV dealers. As Dickie V. says (maybe), “well, nobody wants to see anybody get hurt, it’s really a sad situation.” But, that’s entertainment, Plantation style
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/early-lead/wp/2013/02/13/nerlens-noel-knee-injury-raises-new-debate-about-nba-age-requirement/
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I honestly have NO problem w/ the NFL age restriction. I don’t think college athletes have evolved to the point that the 3-year requirement has become outdated; it’s still a good general rule of thumb. Regardless, that is a matter entirely up to the NFL; they’ve weighed the policy concerns and have determined that age restrictions protect the product. Why should the NFL care what is best for Clowney?
It’s about the bigger picture. Like you said, it’s better for the NFL. Incidentally, it’s better for the NCAA, but I also think it’s generally better for the players. It’s not like this rule doesn’t have a paternalistic aspect to it; if players were allowed to declare for the draft right out of high school (as many would feel compelled to do if allowed), their value as NFL prospects would be extremely low, and their chances of success would be severely reduced. Requiring them to play a few years of college ball (the natural result of the age restriction) after graduating from high school helps them elevate their draft stock, develop physically and mentally, and realize their potential.
Yes, there are players whose NFL careers have suffered b/c they suffered a serious injury in their junior year of college; however, I bet more players’ careers have suffered b/c they declared for the draft prematurely.
To be clear, Clowney is fully ready to begin his NFL career, but he is the exception rather than the rule; overwhelmingly, most players (who go on to play NFL ball) are not ready to declare 2 yrs out of high school. If you think there should be some sort of age-requirement-waiver, how would that work? How would the NFL be able to make such a determination? Can you think of any objective criteria that could be used in forming such an evaluation?
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“Why should the NFL care what is best for Clowney?” They shouldn’t. However, it’s also clear that neither the NCAA nor Steve Spurrier have his best interest at heart. That’s the point.
“It’s not like this rule doesn’t have a paternalistic aspect to it; if players were allowed to declare for the draft right out of high school”. Yes, very paternalistic.
“If you think there should be some sort of age-requirement-waiver, how would that work?” I don’t think there should be a waiver, I just don’t think there should be an age requirement. I don’t think there would be some run on high school seniors by the NFL. What would happen, really, is the things gained in college (proper nutrition and access to food, weight training, time for physical maturation, and football reps) would swamp the decision to enter from high school for players and for NFL teams drafting them. Nick Saban doesn’t have time for this shit, but Bill Bellichick is going to both waste a spot on the 53 man roster on someone who physically can’t play and also spend extra time with an 18 year old teaching him fundamental techniques?
So, what we’re really talking about, then, is telling college Sophomores that you can’t properly make the decision whether or not entering the NFL draft is the right thing for you now…but just wait a year because then you can.
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Every year, we see lots of players declare for the draft as soon as they become age-eligible, but many of them are not ready. The reason they do it is the allure of money, and probably more often, the need to support family. While it works out great for many players, it’s a short-sighted decision for many and not the best path for their careers.
If the NFL allows players to declare right out of high school, the best decision OBVIOUSLY is to go to college and develop. However, the reality is that many (perhaps most) players would make a bad (premature) decision, declare for the draft, and then they would be foreclosed from getting a football scholarship if they hope later to go to college. That’s a recipe for disaster. Many immature kids are self-deluded, thinking they are talented enough to be immediately successful in the NFL. Others would be victims of external pressures (family pressure, sleazy predatory agents, scams, etc) to declare. Regardless of the reason, I don’t think “the things gained in college . . . would swamp the decision to enter from high school for players and for NFL teams drafting them.” Logically, ALL players should play in college; but some players are too immature to be logical, and others don’t have the luxury of making a logical decision.
Clowney might be ready now, but I think it’s better for the NFL to have an occasionally over-inclusive rule than to open the floodgates on players declaring for the draft prematurely. Maybe that’s where we differ. If the age-restriction was lifted, I think there unavoidably would be too many players declaring right out of high school (or one-and-done, or whenever). A 3-yr requirement may be somewhat arbitrary; but it generally serves players well, and it keeps NFL teams from having to take even riskier gambles on less-experienced and less-developed draft prospects. You gotta have a bright-line cut-off at some point. Sucks for Clowney, but it’s a completely reasonable restriction (not to mention it is completely the NFL’s prerogative to impose such a rule). I think we’re still at the point where most 2-yr players (except the occasional runningback) are not ready for professional ball; they are certainly are not close to maximizing their potential and draft status. Generally, a 3rd year makes a considerable difference in a player’s development.
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I would like to point out that the insurance only pays off if the injury ends your football career and not if it merely lowers you draft status. Marcus Latirmore would not collect a dime unless he does not get a job in the NFL. One snap in the NFL and no insurance payout.
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Regardless of whether you think that this was a conspiracy or just another example of why SOS is a tool bag; me thinks CLOWNey is so good that he should declare now, skip the combine, somehow get drafted AND THEN then hold out for more money AND THEN sit out his entire career in the NFL. He’s that fucking good. While he’s at it, he should propose to Carmen Electra and get married in wedding dress and wear make up.
Now please listen up. The media people, coaches and players are entertainers; similar to clowns (pun intended), but without the makeup. The faster you realize this, the faster you will realize that the thousands of us average joe’s ARE MUCH BETTER FOR SOCIETY vs JUST 1 OF THESE MEDIA, COACHING TYPES or FOOTBALL CLOWNS. Yet no praise for us, huh ? Sheet, we should take the day off because we are that fucking good.
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