Keep Texans Talk Google Ad Free!
Venmo Tip Jar | Paypal Tip Jar
Thanks for your support! 🍺😎👍

Professional Commencement

Mollywhopper

Mollywhopper

Facilitator
Staff member
So the big hubbub now is Christian McCaffrey following Leonard Fournette's lead and sitting out his team's (essentially meaningless) bowl game, and what this mean's moving forward for the sport.

Can't say I'm at all bothered by the decision of either considering their status as prospects and the superfluousness of these bowl games, but I'm hearing the arguments ...

a) Why not just stop short once your team is eliminated from title (national, conference) contention?
b) Why not just sit out your last year of eligibility entirely if your status is already solid and not risk injury whatsoever?
c) What about a guy on a playoff team who decides he's going to sit out those games because he's locked in his draft status and feels it just isn't worth it?
d) What about guys who aren't first round locks deciding they have a best interest to look out for too?

I hear all of this, but I don't think we're at all at these scenarios yet. Bridges to cross if/when we get to them. For now these are kids that are in unique positions for other people simply not to judge them as no one can look out for their futures like they can, b*tch*ng and crying from fans/media be damned. I'd like to hear what Willis McGahee and Jaylon Smith have to say.

Does anyone else think this isn't such a big deal ... or think we're careening off the amateur cliff ... or think maybe that's not such a bad thing?
 
I think that the decision weakens the product, obviously, but I don't blame them for making the decision. Bowl games are fun for fans and they produce a lot of revenue for a great variety of industries, but they're almost all meaningless. It seems as if a lot of players don't play very hard or atleast to their potential in them anyway, so it shouldn't come as a surprise that others decide to skip them entirely.
 
This is just the beginning. It's hard to argue against the reasoning from the athlete in this situation especially considering what happened to Jaylon Smith just last year.

Somewhat off-topic but also somewhat related...my hope is that this will eliminate the 15-20 meaningless bowl games we now have and cut it back down to ideally 20-25 games where every team has 7-8 wins minimum. Not likely to happen but a man can dream.
 
If I was an athlete looking at a 4 year contract with $10 Million in guaranteed salary if I'm healthy VS a rookie contract with no guarantees if I get injured, absolutely no doubt I would avoid the risk.
 
Texian said:
If I was an athlete looking at a 4 year contract with $10 Million in guaranteed salary if I'm healthy VS a rookie contract with no guarantees if I get injured, absolutely no doubt I would avoid the risk.
Click to expand...

Would you do so (avoid the risk) if it were an FBS playoff game instead of an essentially meaningless bowl game?
 
I think it is likely a smart decision by McCaffrey and Fournette, but doesn't mean I have to like it. For guys like Fournette and McCaffrey I think this has little impact on their draft stock. Linwood on the other hand will probably see his stock go down. For many athletes it would likely help them stay out of trouble. Seems every year a handful of prospects lose millions due to a stupid decision they make while traveling for the bowl game.

IMO, if this becomes more common the colleges will take precautionary measure to make sure there is a cost in place if the player removes himself from the team.
 
gs27 said:
I think it is likely a smart decision by McCaffrey and Fournette, but doesn't mean I have to like it. For guys like Fournette and McCaffrey I think this has little impact on their draft stock. Linwood on the other hand will probably see his stock go down. For many athletes it would likely help them stay out of trouble. Seems every year a handful of prospects lose millions due to a stupid decision they make while traveling for the bowl game.

IMO, if this becomes more common the colleges will take precautionary measure to make sure there is a cost in place if the player removes himself from the team.
Click to expand...

- McCaffrey & Fournette can't go up much more. All risk, no reward. Linwood could absolutely stand to increase his stock. Some risk, lots of reward. He has a right to make whatever decision he feels best for his business just like the previous guys, but I don't think it's the most wise.

- What kind of measure?
 
Mollywhopper said:
Would you do so (avoid the risk) if it were an FBS playoff game instead of an essentially meaningless bowl game?
Click to expand...
In that case I think you owe it to your teammates and your school who gave you the opportunity. So you commit to do your very best for them and yourself. If you don't I don't want you on my team and I don't draft you. Character flaw.
 
Texian said:
In that case I think you owe it to your teammates and your school who gave you the opportunity. So you commit to do your very best for them and yourself. If you don't I don't want you on my team and I don't draft you. Character flaw.
Click to expand...

Agreed... so, what is a meaningless bowl game? Who is it meaningless to? Both Stanford and LSU stand to make (or lose?) millions off the bowl games these guys are going to miss
 
Mollywhopper said:
- McCaffrey & Fournette can't go up much more. All risk, no reward. Linwood could absolutely stand to increase his stock. Some risk, lots of reward. He has a right to make whatever decision he feels best for his business just like the previous guys, but I don't think it's the most wise.

- What kind of measure?
Click to expand...

Maybe some sort of contract for reimbursement for scholarship dollars. Would be tough to sell if every college did not require the contract and if only a few do, those schools would struggle getting the top recruits.
 
gs27 said:
Maybe some sort of contract for reimbursement for scholarship dollars. Would be tough to sell if every college did not require the contract and if only a few do, those schools would struggle getting the top recruits.
Click to expand...

So you want kids to be coerced to play at the risk of penalty?

Bit draconian, no?
 
gs27 said:
Maybe some sort of contract for reimbursement for scholarship dollars. Would be tough to sell if every college did not require the contract and if only a few do, those schools would struggle getting the top recruits.
Click to expand...

Being forced to be out there is the last thing you want a player to feel
 
I don't see how you govern it. You can't make someone play. And then if you could you can't make them play hard or go out and fake twisting an ankle on the way to the huddle.

To keep those "meaningless" bowls fun for the fans, maybe allow he redshirt players to play without losing a year so that way you get to see some of the upcoming talent.
 
Tyler Brooke ‏@TylerDBrooke 2h2 hours ago

C0OjIigUoAAHnyO.jpg:small


As much as I'm a fan of the college football playoff, I think he's got a point.
 
This was happening with or without a College Football Playoff.

All sports are trending this way.

Players crying for shorter seasons and taking rest days. Players not playing professional games deemed "meaningless".

Everything today is about the individual and the money. Teams only matter when they are champions or champion contenders, otherwise no one else cares about anything except personal accolades to increase their next revenue earning negotiation.
 
Except it had never happened before the College Playoff and the unimportance of the average bowl game is precisely the ajar door to be kicked open.

And no one had ever said anything about a shorter season, at least until season's had grown bloated themselves with cash grab conference championships, bowls, and playoffs.

But yes, maddening that people would have concerns over finances relative to their career path. The nerve of them, really.
 
Mollywhopper said:
Except it had never happened before the College Playoff and the unimportance of the average bowl game is precisely the ajar door to be kicked open.

And no one had ever said anything about a shorter season, at least until season's had grown bloated themselves with cash grab conference championships, bowls, and playoffs.

But yes, maddening that people would have concerns over finances relative to their career path. The nerve of them, really.
Click to expand...

lol, you fighting to fight. I said ALL Sports. LeBron James is the head of the shortening the NBA season movement, he's been crying about it for years. He decides when he will and won't play basketball for rest days.

This isn't something that has happened overnight. All sports are trending this way. There's a reason very few MLB players of any real value go to college anymore. Watch a college baseball game lately? Probably not. Dead sport. College basketball been trending that way for years and now they mandate a 1 and done rule and now kids just go overseas and learn even less about defense than before. Outside of filling out a bracket in March that sport is a joke now. No one I know even watches regular season anymore, when everyone I knew used to love it.

The only difference the College Football playoff made is that it made 2 more teams relevant for the title hunt as opposed to 2. One could have argued every single other game that wasn't the National Championship (previous to the CFP) would have been a "meaningless game" and skipped those also.

Everything in sports from my view all seems to be trending towards the individual and the "F everyone else" mentality.

That's fine though if you view it differently, we all see things from different perspectives. I hate to see sports I enjoy die and no one can sit here and say this won't get worse every year and believe it. College Football will die and eventually we'll get something like soccer where these kids just do sprints and JUGS machines for 10 years leading up to the age that Gooddell determines to be OK during whatever year we are referring.

You have your own agenda though, so do you.
 
I was clearly keeping the conversation to the point at hand (and certainly of this thread), college football. Like your first sentence.

As far as agendas, and that next to last quasi-mental paragraph, are concerned I haven't the first idea what you're on about. I've a feeling you don't either.
 
I wouldn't try and untangle that mess I where you either.

But I'm on the edge of my seat for you of all people to point out what I said that was so 'dumb'. Should be a hoot.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top