Reactions from the "Blue Print"
- Thread starter HeelFan58
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Any coach who would inform a player, who starts no less, before the season ending game vs. a hated in-state rival that his scholarship will not be renewed next year because he is a 4th year JR would deserve to be fired on the spot.
Perhaps that is no more stupid than blind loyalty to Keonning and Disch, but is the opposite kind of stupidity, the anti-loyal kind, that I do not see Fedora doing.
But could be it about Williams? Sure. Williams has had academic deficiencies before. Perhaps he is going to be ineligible again after this semester, meaning no Spring Practice, and Fedora has told him that becasuse of the scrutiny due to AFAM, Williams would be ineligible as soon as the semester ends, which means no bowl for him.
Perhaps that is no more stupid than blind loyalty to Keonning and Disch, but is the opposite kind of stupidity, the anti-loyal kind, that I do not see Fedora doing.
But could be it about Williams? Sure. Williams has had academic deficiencies before. Perhaps he is going to be ineligible again after this semester, meaning no Spring Practice, and Fedora has told him that becasuse of the scrutiny due to AFAM, Williams would be ineligible as soon as the semester ends, which means no bowl for him.
The pathetic effort by UNC against State is starting to make some sense. Something obviously happened leading up to that game. Obviously, some insiders have heard some stuff, but will not give any details.
This is not good at all. UNC football could very well implode due to all these difference circumstances. The program is in a really bad position right now. Need some positive things to happen to get this program headed in right direction.
This is not good at all. UNC football could very well implode due to all these difference circumstances. The program is in a really bad position right now. Need some positive things to happen to get this program headed in right direction.
Woad, with all due respect, what in the world are you talking about? That's some wild speculation with no basis in reality.
I did thanks to this thread. I must've missed whatever wild things they said. Do you have a MM:SS mark for me to replay?
I can't find the link now.
The speculation was that because Williams has been so outgoing before games, visiting with fans and signing for kids and such, and he and the entire team were down as early as Friday night, that perhasp the reason the team was totally dead vs. Moo was that there was a replay at UNC of the Russell Wilson loss of scholarship, that Fedora may have decided that Williams would not return to be a 5th year Senior.
Okay, I went back and found it.
That thought was planted by a photographer (Bruce) with no more inside information than you or me, preceded by an emphatic declaration that speculation is extremely dangerous. And it was dangerous, because it's simply not true. Honestly I'm a little disappointed that Andrew allowed that on the podcast.
My apologies to you. I thought you had pulled that out of thin air yourself.
That thought was planted by a photographer (Bruce) with no more inside information than you or me, preceded by an emphatic declaration that speculation is extremely dangerous. And it was dangerous, because it's simply not true. Honestly I'm a little disappointed that Andrew allowed that on the podcast.
My apologies to you. I thought you had pulled that out of thin air yourself.
If you listened, right before that Jones said he had heard some disturbing things but hadn't confirmed them yet... so he wouldn't talk about them... NOW... but might in a week or two. He said that right before the speculation launched. He isn't stupid, that was a pretty blatant way to get a rumor out without attaching his name to it.
Without pretending to know more than I do, I think the pressure on Marquise to leave is coming from friends and family, not from within UNC or the football program. That said, he has openly stated he'll be returning next season. Take it for what it's worth.
He's not just any photographer - he is in a position to obserb a great deal, and over a long period of time to use as comparison.
As my first response indicates, I do not think any coach would deliver such a message (we want you to lerave and not use your 5th year of eligibility) to a player before the season is over. Nor do I think anyone on this staff would do any such thing, especially as we already have to deal with other bad publicity.
But also as I said, - if the total down feeling that was enveloping the team at least by Friday night was primariuly about Williams, I could see it about him with more academic issues. And with all that keeps coming back up. there is no way to cut any more slack on any players in that area. Most football teams that have players ineligible after the Fall semester allow them to play in the bowl, on the technicality that their academic suspension does not begin until the Spring semester starts. With us under the microscope, we would need to sit out of the bowl all players who are academically ineligible for Spring.
Your suggestion that Williams may have family and friends urging him to leave and make a go at the NFL is certainly possible. And he strikes me as the type to let that slip before the game. If he did talk about the possibility, there would have been team reaction, which easily could have led to back and forth that became heated.
Something was wrong last Saturday beyond the team being ill prepared by the staff for that 1 game. Because we do not know, we can count on fans speculating.
Well, I have exactly NO inside information and NO means for confirming rumors or speculation of any kind whatsoever. I listened to the podcast and several things jumped out at me that caused me to wonder.
First was that BOTH said they had "heard" things that caused them to worry. I know, I know, but there has NEVER been any indication from what I have seen that AJ tries to drive traffic via speculation. Just not his style, so why would he mention it? I don't know, but given his track record I can't help but wonder if it has legs.
Both talked about the body language and facial expressions of the team on the walk. It wasn't good and everyone there saw it. If you are going into the last game of the season against arguably your biggest rival after they have talked ish all week, how in the hell can you NOT be pumped up and ready to go and let everyone there know it? Unless something seriously wrong made you feel like it wouldn't matter either way.
MW - IF Fed told him he wasn't welcome back, then I think the man need to be fired. Plain and simple. If for no other reason that this would be a conversation for AFTER the season is over, not before the biggest game of the year for you. Not to mention that IF he told him that then he would have to be an idiot with the way MW has played this year. A little more refinement and this kid could be a complete beast next year. Frankly, I don't think that was it, but there have been some things with Fedora that made me wonder if he wasn't in over his head here. I DO NOT like what happened at dook. Hell, you have everyone in the country looking for you to screw up so what in the world would possess a coaching staff to allow players to spray paint a team's locker room? And there is NO WAY some coach didn't either know about it while it happened or immediately after it happened.
Now, what I DO think happened is that something was told to the team about the future of the program. What that is, who knows, but the comments within the comments from the podcast lead me to believe it COULD be something bad. Had the Wainstein report and all the fallout from it not hit when it did, I wouldn't likely be too paranoid, but with the NCAA you just know that they will do something big if they can. If I were a betting man I would say it might be as simple as no bowl game this year regardless and possibly next year as well or it might be REAL bad. How bad? Not SMU level bad, but bad enough that the team just said "screw it" and decided it wasn't worth the effort on Saturday.
Or, like Woad said, it may be an academic issue with MW that he let slip out and the team reacted. Who knows? I certainly hope that is it and it isn't something worse.
Of course all of this begs the question of "Why now"? Why would anything be said before that game? Why would anything, regardless of how bad it was, be even mentioned then? Well, that is where I think it is either incompetence or it is just plain bad. I REALLY hope it was incompetence. MW letting something slip seems to be the most plausible and I hope that is what it was.
At this point I am not sure what to believe, but given how bad things have been thus far I guess I am more of a "negative Nelly" than I used to be. I fear for what may be about to happen to the program. I sure hope I am wrong.
This post was edited on 12/5 8:55 AM by Littlejon
First was that BOTH said they had "heard" things that caused them to worry. I know, I know, but there has NEVER been any indication from what I have seen that AJ tries to drive traffic via speculation. Just not his style, so why would he mention it? I don't know, but given his track record I can't help but wonder if it has legs.
Both talked about the body language and facial expressions of the team on the walk. It wasn't good and everyone there saw it. If you are going into the last game of the season against arguably your biggest rival after they have talked ish all week, how in the hell can you NOT be pumped up and ready to go and let everyone there know it? Unless something seriously wrong made you feel like it wouldn't matter either way.
MW - IF Fed told him he wasn't welcome back, then I think the man need to be fired. Plain and simple. If for no other reason that this would be a conversation for AFTER the season is over, not before the biggest game of the year for you. Not to mention that IF he told him that then he would have to be an idiot with the way MW has played this year. A little more refinement and this kid could be a complete beast next year. Frankly, I don't think that was it, but there have been some things with Fedora that made me wonder if he wasn't in over his head here. I DO NOT like what happened at dook. Hell, you have everyone in the country looking for you to screw up so what in the world would possess a coaching staff to allow players to spray paint a team's locker room? And there is NO WAY some coach didn't either know about it while it happened or immediately after it happened.
Now, what I DO think happened is that something was told to the team about the future of the program. What that is, who knows, but the comments within the comments from the podcast lead me to believe it COULD be something bad. Had the Wainstein report and all the fallout from it not hit when it did, I wouldn't likely be too paranoid, but with the NCAA you just know that they will do something big if they can. If I were a betting man I would say it might be as simple as no bowl game this year regardless and possibly next year as well or it might be REAL bad. How bad? Not SMU level bad, but bad enough that the team just said "screw it" and decided it wasn't worth the effort on Saturday.
Or, like Woad said, it may be an academic issue with MW that he let slip out and the team reacted. Who knows? I certainly hope that is it and it isn't something worse.
Of course all of this begs the question of "Why now"? Why would anything be said before that game? Why would anything, regardless of how bad it was, be even mentioned then? Well, that is where I think it is either incompetence or it is just plain bad. I REALLY hope it was incompetence. MW letting something slip seems to be the most plausible and I hope that is what it was.
At this point I am not sure what to believe, but given how bad things have been thus far I guess I am more of a "negative Nelly" than I used to be. I fear for what may be about to happen to the program. I sure hope I am wrong.
This post was edited on 12/5 8:55 AM by Littlejon
I never said there wasn't something wrong. There obviously was. I'm simply saying that baseless conjecture seems like a worthless and harmful exercise, but suit yourself.
If Marquise was going anywhere, and knew it before the game, I'd like to think he would've been considerably more distraught being carted off as it would've been potentially his last game.
This is Carolina football fan pessimism manifesting itself in a ridiculous form.
This is Carolina football fan pessimism manifesting itself in a ridiculous form.
