Star players skipping bowl games

#26
#26
fade route said:
Fournette could've played but chose not to in order to avoid making the injury worse.

You may not respect it but NFL teams sure don't give a crap about your principles. Fournette and McCaffery were top 10 picks.
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The NFL has a sliding morality scale. The NFL will view a late round talent who quits during the middle of a game or season (Hurd) differently than first round talents who makes a business decision to skip a meaningless bowl game.

And many times, when you play not to get hurt, you end up actually, getting hurt.
 
#27
#27
Boca Vol said:
There were discussions among the talking head whether or not it would hurt their draft status. It clearly did not.

Your example isn't an apples to apples comparison.
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Well, everything except the SECC + BCS reference was actually intended as blue-font, but if you think a particular student athlete's scholly places them above the Team and Program / should exclude any particular athlete from playing the game, then of course that's also an opinion.

So, if we win the SECC and make the play-offs, which Tenn players do you think will have the right to skip the BCS games?
 
#28
#28
If you are a great player and not playing in the playoffs makes total sense why risk the injury to cost yourself money
 
#29
#29
You have two options. Which one do you choose?

1. Automatically electronically deposit $25MM into your bank account

2. Drive across South Memphis at night to put the money in your bank account. Chances are, nothing bad will happen but like South Memphis, football is one of the most dangerous activities out there. It just takes one wrong turn for everything to change.
 
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#31
#31
UT-Rex said:
Well, everything except the SECC + BCS reference was actually intended as blue-font, but if you think a particular student athlete's scholly places them above the Team and Program / should exclude any particular athlete from playing the game, then of course that's also an opinion.

So, if we win the SECC and make the play-offs, which Tenn players do you think will have the right to skip the BCS games?
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None...in that scenario.

In a MCB, Taxslayer, etc...yeah, I could see and wouldn't have that big of an issue with it.

And the scholly thing is a bit of a reach. Hell, there were a lot of posters on here that were quick to point out (when UT needed to weed a few players out to make room) that schollies are 1 year agreements. Fans can't have it both ways in that its an outrage when a star player sits out and it's perfectly acceptable to yank an under-performing players scholarship.
 
#32
#32
BigOrangeMojo said:
You have two options. Which one do you choose?

1. Automatically electronically deposit $25MM into your bank account

2. Drive across South Memphis at night to put the money in your bank account. Chances are, nothing bad will happen but like South Memphis, football is one of the most dangerous activities out there. It just takes one wrong turn for everything to change.
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Great analogy.

Being from Memphis, I get it.
 
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#33
#33
fade route said:
SIAP - McCaffery and Fournette skipped their bowl games to protect themselves from injury and risk their draft status and they went #4 and #8 respectively. Jake Butt tore his ACL in Michigan's bowl game and was projected to be a 1st round pick and slipped to the 5th round because of the injury.

My question is this - would you hold it against a star UT player for sitting out a bowl game to protect their draft status?

What if it's a significant bowl?

My opinion is that I don't have a problem with it unless its the playoff game and national title game. Guys have to protect their futures and there is so much $$ at stake and the differences between rounds is huge. What say you?
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I would be upset because I'm greedy for Tennessee. But if I was the kid, I'd think long and hard about sitting out. It's a tough decision to make.
 
#34
#34
I have to look at it from the perspective of advising my own son.

Your choice, but if it's anything less than one of the major bowls (Sugar, Rose, Orange), or playoffs, take a seat son, and guarantee being set up for life.

And most of the guys making these decisions probably have a lot less than me, sans McCaffery.
 
#35
#35
fade route said:
Agree, what if it's an average year, say 5-5, heading into our last 2 games against Mizzou and Vandy? Would a future 1st round pick feel obligated to keep playing? The NFL clearly doesn't care, and why would the players care what a bunch of internet fans like us think? If this trend picks up steam I could see this kind of scenario.
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Bowl games are one thing, regular season games are another.
 
#36
#36
fade route said:
They have zero obligation to the fans, and no one said that they weren't going to class, only skipping bowl games or the end of the season.
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Really? Who buys those tickets that fund the scholarships? And pays for the trainers and coaches and everything else? The big money donors? Yes they get their say in how things are run you can bet your last dollar. The every day fan that spends his last $400 to make his 1 game per year. We get no respect and no say. So when I say yes they have an obligation I mean Yes. I pay my taxes in TN which pays for that school in Knoxville. I for one am tired of the little fan being slammed. If you are not in a luxury box you get squat. The food is expensive and lousy and don't get me started on the bathrooms in Neyland.
 
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#37
#37
I would hold it against them. Ultimate selfishness. There is insurance for that if they're THAT worried about an injury. If they sit out, they should have to pay back their scholarship money to the school for that year.
 
#38
#38
IMO if a player decides to lay out of the bowl game then they also shouldn't enjoy all the free "swag" the players get as a result of going. In fact I don't think that player should even be allowed to travel with the team to the location where the bowl game is being held. If they're not willing to play to help their team win, then they are no longer part of the team in my opinion. They probably wouldn't care anyway but no way do I let a player travel with the team that puts themselves before them.
 
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#39
#39
VolBricks said:
Really? Who buys those tickets that fund the scholarships? And pays for the trainers and coaches and everything else? The big money donors? Yes they get their say in how things are run you can bet your last dollar. The every day fan that spends his last $400 to make his 1 game per year. We get no respect and no say. So when I say yes they have an obligation I mean Yes. I pay my taxes in TN which pays for that school in Knoxville. I for one am tired of the little fan being slammed. If you are not in a luxury box you get squat. The food is expensive and lousy and don't get me started on the bathrooms in Neyland.
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So is every player obligated to stay all 4 years regardless of their NFL potential because you buy tickets?
 
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#40
#40
volboy81 said:
I would hold it against them. Ultimate selfishness. There is insurance for that if they're THAT worried about an injury. If they sit out, they should have to pay back their scholarship money to the school for that year.
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Speaking of ultimate selfishness
 
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#43
#43
fade route said:
SIAP - McCaffery and Fournette skipped their bowl games to protect themselves from injury and risk their draft status and they went #4 and #8 respectively. Jake Butt tore his ACL in Michigan's bowl game and was projected to be a 1st round pick and slipped to the 5th round because of the injury.

My question is this - would you hold it against a star UT player for sitting out a bowl game to protect their draft status?

What if it's a significant bowl?

My opinion is that I don't have a problem with it unless its the playoff game and national title game. Guys have to protect their futures and there is so much $$ at stake and the differences between rounds is huge. What say you?
Click to expand...

i wouldnt hold it against them, it would be a harder pill to swallow if it was a bigger bowl game, but the idea makes sense to me in protecting long term investment in themselves.

btw I see i cant call ya Lebron no more :)
 
#45
#45
fade route said:
They have zero obligation to the fans, and no one said that they weren't going to class, only skipping bowl games or the end of the season.
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These guys aren't here on an academic scholarship, though; they're here on an athletic scholarship, and with that comes the responsibility of playing in games even if you'd rather not to for non-compelling personal reasons (and, no, acting in the best interest of your future employer and your wallet is not a compelling reason).

As has been said multiple times in this topic, draft insurance is absolutely the answer here. Butt should not have fallen as far as he did solely due to a bowl game injury, but I hope McCaffery flails fast in the NFL and proves to be a huge bust so that teams become leery of players skipping workouts and their collegiate finales.
 
#47
#47
TrumpedUpVol said:
These guys aren't here on an academic scholarship, though; they're here on an athletic scholarship, and with that comes the responsibility of playing in games even if you'd rather not to for non-compelling personal reasons (and, no, acting in the best interest of your future employer and your wallet is not a compelling reason).

As has been said multiple times in this topic, draft insurance is absolutely the answer here. Butt should not have fallen as far as he did solely due to a bowl game injury, but I hope McCaffery flails fast in the NFL and proves to be a huge bust so that teams become leery of players skipping workouts and their collegiate finales.
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If McCaffery fails it won't be because he skipped the Sun Bowl. Good grief!
 
#48
#48
Boca Vol said:
If McCaffery fails it won't be because he skipped the Sun Bowl. Good grief!
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Sitting yourself in your final game(s) because you're worried about being injured doing the precise thing for which you've been given a scholarship/you're literally hoping to do professionally the following fall is not indicative of a team-player mindset, and refusing team workouts should raise a few red flags.

If McCaffery fails at the next level, teams should have pause about giving players who engage in the same behavior the benefit of the doubt.
 
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#49
#49
What if in bowl games you could play a guy with a redshirt and not burn it. I think that'd be exciting
 
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#50
#50
Two thirds of the bowls are awful and poorly attended… absolutely no reason whatsoever to play if you are a high draft choice and you're playing at the Liberty bowl, Sun bowl etc.
 
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