Time for our newest debut feature at RSS: Quick Hits. Quick Hits will give us a chance to give our thoughts on a subject in the world of sports that we might not otherwise cover throughout the week. It'll be a short article analyzing a person, game, moment, or anything else. Quick Hits can be inspired by a moment of greatness, stupidity, questions that need asked, analysis you won't find anywhere else, or in this case, a football coach who is a major-league chach bag.
Pete Carroll is a hypocrite. You would have thought the sky was falling when Jim Harbaugh and Stanford went for 2 against poor, defenseless USC two weeks ago. Pete Carroll asked Harbaugh "what's the deal" at midfield and was generally angry and upset that he got showed up. A lot of people might say that running up the score brings shame and disrespect to the game. Others would argue that it's the defense's job to play defense and that you can score however many points you want, this is a capitalist society after all.
But, whichever side of the debate you fall on, don't be a hypocrite. If you're going to be incredulous against a fellow coach for running it up, don't pull this junk in your next game. Up 14, in the last minute, Carroll pulled this stunt after UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel called a timeout. It wasn't that big of a deal, except we almost had the 2009 LA Riots...
Carroll said that it was a "great frickin call" to embarrass UCLA like that. And, I have no problem with USC throwing it deep after Neuheisel called the needless timeout. However, this is the same guy that whined when another coach did the same thing two weeks earlier. I hope Neuheisel asked Teflon Pete "what's the deal" at midfield. I hope every opponent takes every chance to run up the score against USC in the future, just so Carroll can be further exposed as the hypocrite he is. By the way, for all of the USC players jumping up and down on the sidelines... you've had a crappy year, you're not going to a BCS game, UCLA sucks... get over yourselves. USC's behavior makes the entire program look childish and petulant. Pete Carroll, you might be the biggest hypocrite in sports this year. Enjoy the Holiday Bowl.
7 comments:
Hey Randall, you're clueless. How is going for two when you're up 4 touchdowns the same thing as finishing the game off against an opponent who is calling timeouts and trying to get the ball back?
Before you write commentary you should understand what you're writing about.
Agreed that the two aren't exactly the same, you can make a good case that Carroll made a good call. But, then he showed his true colors jumping up and down on the sidelines like he just won the national championship. Then he gets his players to woof at UCLA and almost start a mass brawl? Would you still say what Carroll did was harmless if an ugly fight started? I think not. That on the heels of his whining makes him a hypocrite. He can't have it both ways.
Mr. Yoder I knows indeed what he is talking about. Pete
Carroll, for all the love he is receiving from the Mothership, is a hypocrite.
It is the fact that Pete Carroll has exhibited this baby-ish attitude of crying foul when something doesn't go his way they retaliating in a rather immature fashion.
Neuheisel had 3 timeouts to use, so why wouldn't you want the ball back to try and score some points? Should he just lie down at the malevolent feet of Pete Carroll?
What Jim Harbaugh did to him was just desserts, and for people to not see past the arrogance that Pete Carroll has exhuded since he arrived at USC and see Harbaugh's actions as worth it, then you are blind.
- Brother Y
Anonymous, thanks for your comment.
It's not exactly the same thing, but the intent is the same: to run up the score. Again, I made it clear that I have no problem with the individual act of throwing the deep ball against UCLA. You'll remember the ad Ricky took out in the papers to call out USC.
Saying that Carroll was just trying to finish the game though is misguided. SC was up 2 touchdowns with under a minute left. If anything, the deep pass there is the absolute worst play call to finish the game. A sack and a fumble, or an int are both possibilities. A run or simple pass to get the first down is the smart play to "finish the game". Do you think the UCLA players would be ready to fight at midfield if Carroll was just "finishing the game"? Me neither.
So, either Carroll is a fool, or a hypocrite who wanted to run up the score, you decide.
No problem with Neuheisel calling timeouts and trying to get the ball back. But as soon as that happens it's fair game for SC to continue competing as well. SC went for it, hit it, and ended the game. No way UCLA or anyone else can complain given that SC was trying to take a knee. The bush league stunt pulled by Harbaugh is in no way comparable.
I'll agree with you anonymous. UCLA should have absolutely nothing to complain about. But I believe that Carroll's actions are a lot closer to Harbaugh's than what you think. Thanks for your thoughts.
I'll throw my two more cents in, and agree with most of everyone's comments. But, the debate has to be looked at in two separate acts. The actual act of the play call for the deep ball, though risky, was completely fair and justifiable. It completely put the game away for USC and in a vacuum was a brilliant call. Nobody would have a problem if that was how the game ended without incident.
But, when Pete Carroll starts jumping out of his clothes on the sidelines and egging on his players to taunt an already beaten opposition, that crosses the line. To me, Carroll was trying to prove he's still the bully of the Pac 10 after his rep had been taken down a notch by Harbaugh's equally questionable decision to go for two. Two wrongs don't make a right.
Thanks again though to anonymous for sharing his thoughts on the debate, although unfortunately I'm agreeing more w/Y1 in this round.
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