Ed Cunningham quits mentions Iowa outback bowl

There did come a time in that bowl game where CJ needed to come out, regardless of what he wanted to do. I don't think he took any head shots, but he was clearly hobbled.
 
homes said:
There did come a time in that bowl game where CJ needed to come out, regardless of what he wanted to do. I don't think he took any head shots, but he was clearly hobbled.
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Exactly. I don't care how much CJ "deserved" to be in there, there was absolutely no reason to leave him in that long. The game was out of hand, CJ was risking further injury with a future NFL playing career, AND it was a perfect opportunity for Stanley to get some reps and experience. One of the more mind-boggling decisions of Kirk, although there are many.
 
tksirius said:
As far as the CJ thing goes, I think we were all saying the same thing then. It was really weird how long he was kept in the game.
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I was going to say who wasn't thinking that who watched that game... I understand he was a senior and last game but good lord I was thinking if he gets seriously hurt and can't train for the combine/draft he should almost be able to sue the coaching staff. (I know that'd never happen or hold water if it did) It was pretty darn bad. I sure as hell hope we don't see anything like that again. Coaches did CJ and the team no favors with how they handled the second half of that game.

As far as Ed goes that's too bad I always liked him. I'd have noticed him not being out there if I didn't see this... I can certainly see how he draws a strait line from what he feels his job is to glorifying the violence on the field to fans... Perspectives change as we get older... We are getting more information as we go on the results of the violence from football. I for one have no problem with it. I think players know what they are signing themselves up for and if they are willing to sacrifice their elder years health for being rich and famous in their youth then who am I to say they shouldn't be able to do that? We don't all need to live till we are 150 do we?
 
I was at the Outback Bowl. I would go one step further; CJ should not have started that game. He was limping off the field from the first series of the game. There were multiple opportunities on pass plays for him to tuck and run, but he either didn't, or waited too long. It was a shame, I am not suggesting that Iowa would have won with a healthy CJ, or Stanley starting, but it would have been a much closer game.
 
Hawk90 said:
I was at the Outback Bowl. I would go one step further; CJ should not have started that game. He was limping off the field from the first series of the game. There were multiple opportunities on pass plays for him to tuck and run, but he either didn't, or waited too long. It was a shame, I am not suggesting that Iowa would have won with a healthy CJ, or Stanley starting, but it would have been a much closer game.
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Your first hand vision says a lot. Perhaps CJ should have been pulled earlier but there is no way he should have played after halftime. Regardless of a players desire, there has to be a line that the coach will not allow the player to cross. That is what the coaches are there for. It's hard for a player to see past the immediate situation.
 
Ed had a former teammate kill himself, and met a couple more players who would later do the same. He played against Iowa in the Rose Bowl, and won a National Championship with the Huskies. He is walking away from a six figure a year job with short hours, travel, and a "kid in a toy store" atmosphere.
 
I understand where Cunningham is coming from, but disagree whole-heartedly with his reasoning. As a top-flight color guy, he would have MUCH more opportunity to speak out against the dangers of the game in its current state, the bone-headed in-game coaching decisions (i.e. Ferentz playing an obviously injured CJ, Hoke playing an obviously concussed QB, etc), and make general commentary on the overall state of the game.

But by removing himself from that bully pulpit, he doesn't have near the opportunity to effect change than he would by staying in.

It seems like the "easy" way out....at least to me it does....
 
"The last straw, he said, was working the Outback Bowl in December, when he saw the Iowa quarterback C.J. Beathard hobbled, taking hits and being left in the game until the final two minutes of a 30-3 blowout loss to Florida. Beathard went on to be taken in the third round of the N.F.L. draft by the San Francisco 49ers. The bowl game (“a game that means less than zero,” Cunningham said) still rankles Cunningham.

“I know some of the coaches from that team, known them for years,” he said. “And it was hard for me not to walk down after the game and just say: ‘Dudes, what are you doing? Really? What are you doing?’ These are just kids.”

Hard to argue with..........
 
We all know what the real answer is, right? Stanley comes in and leads them to a TD drive and then we all lose our minds.
 
eledmonster said:
Your first hand vision says a lot. Perhaps CJ should have been pulled earlier but there is no way he should have played after halftime. Regardless of a players desire, there has to be a line that the coach will not allow the player to cross. That is what the coaches are there for. It's hard for a player to see past the immediate situation.
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Didn't KF try and shift the decision making to the medical staff? Which I found pretty cowardly. He wasn't getting examined by any docs at any point on the sidelines was he? He'd have to had been looked at before anyone could do that. For that it falls on the HC. The assistants both on the field and in the booth could see even better then us that he was toast. They should have been telling KF that CJ was a shell of himself and to take him out.
 
Hawkfnntn said:
Didn't KF try and shift the decision making to the medical staff? Which I found pretty cowardly. He wasn't getting examined by any docs at any point on the sidelines was he? He'd have to had been looked at before anyone could do that. For that it falls on the HC. The assistants both on the field and in the booth could see even better then us that he was toast. They should have been telling KF that CJ was a shell of himself and to take him out.
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The flipside is when you've got a warrior like CJ, who led you to an undefeated regular season on one leg, who commands the respect and admiration of the entire team...you let him be a man and make that call. The game was out of reach anyway, so I don't fault KF for letting CJ go out on his own terms.....
 
SpiderRico said:
The flipside is when you've got a warrior like CJ, who led you to an undefeated regular season on one leg, who commands the respect and admiration of the entire team...you let him be a man and make that call. The game was out of reach anyway, so I don't fault KF for letting CJ go out on his own terms.....
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To me that's all irrelevant. It just is. So to your point why did he end up taking him out at the very very end at all? I bet he didn't want out then either.. Look CJ wasn't a professional. He was an amateur. What football player has ever jumped up and down and said take me out? Something like that shouldn't be his call at that point. He played no less then 3 series' too many. Nobody with all that he'd done in his career was going to think anything different of him if the coaches were to have taken him out with 8 mins to go. He's pretty lucky he didn't get hurt worse because it was his own play that was getting himself hurt as much as anything. He couldn't move and was holding on to the ball way too long...
 
Not defending KF on that decision but all I know is that their were a hell of a lot of straws that could have been the last one over his broadcasting career. Seems to me their could be something a little deeper involved in putting that as his final straw. KF isn't the only coach by any stretch of the imagination to leave a player in to long. I know he was doing the game and it was right in front of him, but damn to single out that one situation to justify his decision to quit is BS. If you're going to quit, quit don't blame or single out one person for the reason.

JMO
 
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