Thunder & Lightning: Was Mike Leach Right to Criticize Opt-Outs?

[HD6]

Mike Leach is never one to not share his opinion, and when the opportunity to speak on the trend of players opting out of bowl games presented itself, the Mississippi State head coach had no problems delivering his thoughts. Brian Hadad and Robbie Faulk discuss that, the weekend in recruiting,...
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[Dawgg]

Yes.

 

[Emma’s Dad]

Leach’s honesty and disregard for what others think of him are refreshing qualities.

 

[HumpDawgy]

Yes, as long as Leach never leaves before the end of a season for another coaching job.

 

[Maroon Eagle]

Eh. I’ll say no.

Most bowls are exhibitions. The playoff bowls are the obvious exceptions.

Honor the players for their contributions during the season and the practices mean that backups get repetitions and increased playing time.

 

[TheDawgInMe]

As long as he's consistent and openly criticizes all the coaches who do the exact same thing every year.

 

[SirBarksalot]

I’m a likely 1st round NFL pick. Am I going to suit up for a 100% meaningless bowl (to me). That’s gonna be a hard no for me dog..

 

[woozman]

Yes.

So you’re telling me that if your son was about to be a 1st or 2nd round draft pick and a multi-millionaire that you would expect him to risk an injury in a meaningless bowl game?

If you say “yes” again, I won’t believe you…

 

[PirateDawg]

Well, why play in the Egg Bowl then? Where do you draw the line? Prima Donna attitude if you ask me. With that said, I'm proud of the job Cross did during his time at State and wish him well. Don't see how one more game is going to hurt.

 

[SirBarksalot]

Well, why play in the Egg Bowl then? Where do you draw the line? Prima Donna attitude if you ask me. With that said, I'm proud of the job Cross did during his time at State and wish him well. Don't see how one more game is going to hurt.

I’d say the Egg Bowl is more important than the Liberty. One more game could certainly hurt.

 

[WilCoDawg]

1999016[/URL]]Eh. I’ll say no.

Most bowls are exhibitions. The playoff bowls are the obvious exceptions.

Honor the players for their contributions during the season and the practices mean that backups get repetitions and increased playing time.

This describes some of our regular season games too. Can players opt out of those as well?

 

[dawgstudent]

I don't like it and wish they would "finish what they started" but it is what it is. If I had a chance at $10 million and I knew playing in a bowl game would increase my chances of not getting $10 million - then I might consider it too.

 

[Hot Rock]

Mike Leach is never one to not share his opinion, and when the opportunity to speak on the trend of players opting out of bowl games presented itself, the Mississippi State head coach had no problems delivering his thoughts. Brian Hadad and Robbie Faulk discuss that, the weekend in recruiting,...
The post Thunder & Lightning: Was Mike Leach Right to Criticize Opt-Outs? appeared first on SuperTalk Mississippi.


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I think we may be missing a part of what Leach was saying. They are giving up their final game in college and they can't go back and relive that experience. The whole idea is so foreign to him because he can't imagine a player quitting on his team before it's done. It's just not something he would have ever even considered and quite frankly, neither would I or hardly anyone of my generation.

For those that don't think this will creep into the regular season it already has. Several Florida players opted out with minor injuries mid-season. Most guys would have kept playing or only missed a game or so but they opted out of the rest of the season. Football is a violent sport and football players know that by the end of the season very few are playing without some sort of ailment. Guys quitting can become a problem.

I am on the fence, I am on record as saying it doesn't bother me but after reflecting, it kind of does. I would play myself but I do try to understand guys opting out of a bowl game that isn't a playoff. They are not getting paid and that paycheck is right around the corner for some guys.

Silver lining: Guys opting out do force the staff play other guys and actually may even help next years team develop.

 

[Maroon Eagle]

Reread my third paragraph that you quoted and ask yourself how that would apply to your question (and vice versa).

 

[Ralph Cramden]

I understand the coach wanting his best players available, I know his team mates wanna win, I want him to play cause I know it will help us win. I do not have a personal investment in these players lives. If Cross was my son I would advise him to skip it and prepare for the combine. And I do not blame either of them for skipping. I would prefer they play but I totally understand.

 

[thekimmer]

I do not think he is right....

Mike Leach is never one to not share his opinion, and when the opportunity to speak on the trend of players opting out of bowl games presented itself, the Mississippi State head coach had no problems delivering his thoughts. Brian Hadad and Robbie Faulk discuss that, the weekend in recruiting,...
The post Thunder & Lightning: Was Mike Leach Right to Criticize Opt-Outs? appeared first on SuperTalk Mississippi.


More...

I think disappointment is understandable but certain players opting out is also understandable. College football is all team, team, team but the business side cannot be ignored. Nobody says much when coaches jump ship for a better opportunity before finishing the season. Nobody says much when players are 'processed', i.e. run off because they were not good enough or the team signed somebody better. I wish these projected high draft players would play, and I think they would love to play too, but I fully understand and respect their decision not to because it is based on a pretty sound business reason. They have played the entire season and there is little they can do to push their team further up the ladder. Their future is also somewhere else. A future that is at a crucial and uncertain juncture where a healthy body can literally make a difference in millions of dollars to their bank account and the biggest obstacle between them and that potential payday is low tier bowl game that will not move the needle any higher for them. I'm not saying that such games don't have importance. But look at our own fanbase's lackluster response to the liberty bowl.

One of the biggest benefits to playing in a bowl has been said to be the extra practice time. Well wouldn't that extra practice time and playing time, most benefit players that are going to be on the team next season? I think we should take that as an opportunity to get them that time and wish those well who have already made it to the top of the mountain with nothing left to prove as they get a head start climbing the next peak in front of them.

 

[dorndawg]

 

[Dawgg]

So you’re telling me that if your son was about to be a 1st or 2nd round draft pick and a multi-millionaire that you would expect him to risk an injury in a meaningless bowl game?

If you say “yes” again, I won’t believe you…

I’m not saying that at all. It’s Leach’s job as the head coach to field the best team he can for each game. He would be derelict in his duties if he participated in the normalization of bowl opt outs.

It’s also every player’s right to opt out.

So, the answer is “yes”, Leach was right to criticize, but that doesn’t mean that the players should play in the bowl game just because they don’t want to be criticized by Leach.

 

[thatsbaseball]

I'm a Mike Leach fan and actually agree with most of his opinions but voicing an opinion on a subject that it will have absolutely 0 impact on but could negatively affect (even in a small way) recruiting is not smart. At 5mil/yr I'm looking for a lot of smart.

 

[woozman]

I’m not saying that at all. It’s Leach’s job as the head coach to field the best team he can for each game. He would be derelict in his duties if he participated in the normalization of bowl opt outs.

It’s also every player’s right to opt out.

So, the answer is “yes”, Leach was right to criticize, but that doesn’t mean that the players should play in the bowl game just because they don’t want to be criticized by Leach.

Gotcha - I agree with you then…

 

[tbaydog]

This is America, he can say what he likes and players have rights.

 

[Hanmudog]

I know I am old fashioned but I would hope that some of these players want to leave the program in better shape than they found it and leave something for the next group to build on. Ditching your teammates before a bowl and possibly leaving us in a position to finish 7-6 with a bowl loss does not do that like sticking it out, winning the game, and finishing 8-5. I will always have huge respect for Jeffrey Simmons playing in that Outback Bowl even though we lost.

And for the love of Pete, stop calling a bowl game "meaningless" knowing that you will still **** a brick if we lose the game.

 

[CookieMonster.sixpack]

It's not as cut and dried as that my man. Football is a team sport.

What if Texas Tech's DE breaks Will's shoulder in the bowl game? We'll wonder if that would've happened if Cross had been in there to block him instead of a back up.

The logical conclusion of what you're suggesting is the elimination of bowl games all together. I'm not sure schools like ours want to peer too far down that road.

 

[johnson86-1]

I’d say the Egg Bowl is more important than the Liberty. One more game could certainly hurt.

Why would that objectively be more important to the players? Our bowl position was already more or less set before the egg bowl. We were already out of the division race. I'm not sure what the argument is for not opting out after the Arkansas loss, other than it would hurt your draft prospects, but there is no real reason for opting out of the end of the regular season to hurt your status more than opting out of the bowl game, except that everybody is not doing it yet.

 

[Maroonthirteen]

"The Egg bowl matters because there is a trophy." (Loosely quoted.) Hahahaha. The Liberty Bowl has a bigger trophy. ***

Yes, the regular season matters more than the Liberty Bowl. But the "skip playing in a meaningless bowl game to avoid the risk of injury" argument is flawed. If you really believe the bowl is meaningless, then all games are meaningless once the player has a NFL draft grade and/or a school is eliminated from playoff contention. Which that threshold was crossed last time State played in the Liberty Bowl.

But yalls point of him being a current MSU player and future millionaire. Therefore you don't want to piss him off......is why you guys and others will excuse players skipping the bowl. You really want him to play and you really want to win this "meaningless" bowl game.

 

[messageboardsuperhero]

As long as he's consistent and openly criticizes all the coaches who do the exact same thing every year.

Ding ding ding.

We have coaches negotiating with other schools during the regular season and bolting way before the bowl game. If we’re not criticizing the guys making millions, no way am I criticizing a young player trying to stay healthy before the draft.

If this was the playoff or a NY6 game, I’d have a different opinion. But we are talking about the damn Liberty Bowl here. I actually kind of like the fact that we could get a good look at Richardson and Nick Jones in live action against a P5 team.

 

[Smoked Toag]

/thread

 

[FISHDAWG]

I'm curious ... How many of the MSU greats have opted out ? ... Say from Michael Haddix to Dak

 

[Dawg1976]

Yes. He was on the money.

 

[AlCoDog]

So you know for sure Texas Tech gave him a choice?

 

[bully12]

Agree totally with his statements and respect him for openly expressing them.

 

[DawgInThe256]

Interesting point brought up on the Dan Patrick Show recently, could a bowl game offer an appearance fee to a high profile player under the NIL?

 

[DawgESQ]

No.

The only value a bowl game provides is money for the school, some free swag for the players, a chance at a trip for the team, and some extra practice reps for next season.

None of this is affected in any way by a player opting out.

It would only be an issue if a marquee player dropping out caused a bowl selection committee to pass over the team as a result.

 

[BSDawg]

Yes

 

[Fogdog]

So you’re telling me that if your son was about to be a 1st or 2nd round draft pick and a multi-millionaire that you would expect him to risk an injury in a meaningless bowl game?

If you say “yes” again, I won’t believe you…

Let me get this straight, Mississippi State gives Cross the platform to display his talents, putting him in position to make those millions...he certainly couldn't have done that alone...and then he bails on his obligation to team and University? Just so I'm sure that I understand the entire equation...