Sideline Warning

The third quarter just ended in Starkville and there are two things that have become pretty clear. First, LSU is not playing like the second best team in the country. Second, Michael Henig is probably the worst quarterback in the SEC. If each of his completions had been touchdowns, his TD-to-INT ratio would still be horrible.

It’s true that LSU’s defensive line is big and nasty, but they’ve really not been putting a whole lot of pressure on Henig. He’s been making absolutely horrible decisions and the secondaries in the SEC are just too good to be throwing the balls that he is.

The MSU defense has actually been doing a pretty good job, but with Henig handing LSU points (24 out of 31 in the first half came off of interceptions), not even the best defense in the country is going to keep you in the game.

Alabama fans are often accused of “living in the past”. Of course, the simple fact is that there’s nowhere else to live. Living in the present is fun, but once a game is over it’s really in the past. Living in the future is much happier, but doesn’t really impress anyone.

Most people draw artificial lines to separate the “present” from the “past”, and it typically coincides with their recent runs of success being “present” and everything prior being “past.” Fact is, though, that everyone who has a past of any import remembers it, is proud of it, and talks about it. Any sane Auburn fan would trade their last five years for Alabama’s history. Why? Because success and failure come and go, but what’s done is done.

There’s another benefit to not ignoring the past: perspective. Those who spend too much time harping on the pseudo-present end up, like a lot of Auburn fans have, losing all sense of perspective. See, e.g., Jay Coulter’s breathless puff-piece on the media’s take on Saban and Alabama. They assume that because a team has had some bad years that their time has passed, that they’re “washed up”, or that they’re “has beens”. I call it The Auburn Delusion.

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I was as disappointed as anyone to see that Alabama WR Tyrone Prothro has been given a medical scholarship. What’s going to be more unbearable, over the next few days, will be the number of commenters, bloggers, and pundits (many of whom have never stepped on a football field, let alone coached on one) belly-aching about how he never should’ve been in the game.

To put my response it in the kindest possible way: horseshit.

This sort of argument is lazy. Unsurprisingly, The Wizard of Odds is first on the scene (and this should surprise no one) with this argument’s trademarked half-assed logic. Let’s look:

The bottom line: Prothro’s injury should have never happened. The Crimson Tide held a 31-3 lead over the Gators with under nine minutes remaining when Prothro, who should not have even been in the game, got hurt. And Alabama coach Mike Shula should have known better. In 2004, he lost quarterback Brodie Croyle to injury during a blowout against dreaded Western Carolina.

At the time of the Injury, Alabama had been incubating a nice reputation for being chronically unable to play a full game of football. So let’s go back. After scoring on the first possession of the half, Alabama had been sputtering. Florida got the ball at their own 31 with about two minutes to play in the 3rd quarter. The quarter ended with three straight completions, taking the Gators into Alabama territory. Florida came out of the gate with two incomplete passes to start the final quarter of play, before converting a 4th and long situation with pass, taking them to around the Alabama 35.

That’s when the defense stood up. Alabama sacked Chris Leak and, on the next play, a defensive lineman got a good jump and Florida had to take a holding penalty. Florida tossed a quick pass on 2nd and 20-something, which was stopped for very little gain. On 3rd and long Ramzee Robinson picked off a pass and returned it to the Florida 43 yard line.

Okay, coach, what do you do? Shula had two options:

1. Send in the second team, with 9 minutes of football to play, and let the subs get some playing time. Ignore the fact that Florida had been putting together a drive, that they had recently beaten the #5 team in the nation, and that your team’s play so far that season had been spotty at best. OR…
2. Go for the throat. Punch it in with your starters and earn a decisive victory. Show your team what it means to own the fourth quarter. Light a spark under your team.

Sure, after the fact we see that Prothro got hurt and the immediate reaction is “he never should’ve been playing.” And if all you do is look at the score, maybe you’re right. Of course, the game is more than just the score, and the season is even more than that. This isn’t the NFL. College players have a lot to learn, and (for once) Shula was teaching. His coaching performance from that point forward makes him an easy target, and it seems to be popular to evangelize the laziest possible analysis of every college football event, but it just doesn’t work here.

I supported Shula’s decision then and I support it now. Do I wish Prothro hadn’t gotten hurt? Absolutely. Do I think it was the wrong decision to play the starters? No.