Commie_High96

November 8th, 2013 at 7:56 PM ^

This is not news. He has been struggling since the big opener and even sat a half out 1 game. Did you perhaps miss watching the second half of the PSU game? Do you think the coaches thought he wasn't necessary and benched him for fun?

Joined: 02/10/2012

MGoPoints: 19679

Commie_High96

November 8th, 2013 at 9:43 PM ^

Dude, football has not changed as much as you think. There are still millions of dollars on the line here for coaches and for Lewan. I know you have like 10k points on this site, but so much unsavory shit goes down at UM, just like everywhere else where a lot is on the line. I know it doesn't fit our little naritive and we think we are different, but over the past decade of being an attorney in A2 I have known several UM coaches, a bunch of AD reps and a lot of UM and A2 cops though my job. A lot of stuff does not get released for a variety of reasons.

Joined: 02/10/2012

MGoPoints: 19679

Commie_High96

November 8th, 2013 at 10:47 PM ^

This is easier to figure out than a Murder She Wrote episode. Taylor has been off for a while, watch the game tape. The ironic thing, is that a close friend of mine who is the head coach of a women's sport at UM said to me that there is an increased level of scrutiny on head injuries, and he thinks that his players sometime claim a headache when they want a day off ( he coaches a contact sport, even for women), but he specifically stated that football is not as strict about it as other sports. A lot of it is that football player lobby to go back in while toughness is not as much a credo for other sports. Things are glossed over. If you think that is BS, fine. If you think that we don't face the same pressures and take some shortcuts as everyone else you are living in candyland. Also, I do not put up police blotter stuff on the board unless it is reported elsewhere, but I will say that I don't talk shit anymore about MSU's arrest record.

Joined: 02/10/2012

MGoPoints: 19679

MSHOT92

November 9th, 2013 at 8:03 AM ^

refreshing to see a post that isn't all "we're so awesome we shit gold" mentality. I've grown so tired of the experts who probably never played a down of football at any level but courtesy of their generous donations, season tix, and the aid of a keyboard they have the Gospel truth locked up... Reality is a much different world inside the athletic department. I will admit what goes on in Ann Arbor is probably minor in comparrison to many other D1 programs but our program like ALL others is about $$$$. and with that kind of money on the line for all invested it spells trouble. You get a kid with Lewan's super hero status, it's a matter of time before shit turns up.

Joined: 02/07/2011

MGoPoints: 400

Magnus

November 9th, 2013 at 2:41 AM ^

Actually, you do. Lewan went back onto the field without the coaches' permission, which is why they took away his helmet. It doesn't matter what type of injury it is - head, knee, ankle, wrist, etc. Hell, sometimes you take away a player's helmet for disciplinary reasons.

The point of taking the helmet away is to prevent the person from going out on the field, not to signify that there's something wrong with their head.

Joined: 07/17/2008

MGoPoints: 166007

WolvinLA2

November 9th, 2013 at 12:10 AM ^

Personally, I'm not a huge fan of suspensions for this type of thing.  I'm not necessarily against those decisions when made, I just think there are better way to punish that particular player than to have him sit out.  Giving that player a punishment outside of PT will teach him better than sitting out, and it won't punish the rest of the team.  If you suspend Taylor Lewan for a game, that's really punishing Gardner more than Lewan, and I know it's a team game and everything, but I don't think that's the best way.  

Now, my opinion only works when the coach actually punishes the player himself. If the coach doesn't have a problem with the action on the field, then the league stepping in is the only way, since in that instance it's the team that needs the punishment.  The problem there, though, is that's impossible to determine.  

Joined: 11/13/2009

MGoPoints: 58191

Section 1

November 8th, 2013 at 7:54 PM ^

I might have tolerated a Lewan suspension, if Gholston had gotten suspended for his helmet-twist, and his evil arm-bar on Lewan, and if Marcus Rush had gotten suspended for injuring Denard. But since they didn't, I'd have protested any suspension for Lewan. Fuck Dantonio and his filthy team and that filthiest of games.

Joined: 06/29/2009

MGoPoints: 16535

Reader71

November 8th, 2013 at 8:01 PM ^

I would have been OK with it. Its probably stupid of me, but I expect more from our guys than I do from theirs. Regardless of the B1G, I hope Hoke punishes him, even if its just the first series. Snap his consecutive starts streak. Its not a big deal, but it would be a great teaching moment for the team: that stuff wont be tolerated, no matter who does it.

Joined: 08/30/2009

MGoPoints: 22968

michgoblue

November 8th, 2013 at 8:22 PM ^

The B1G should not suspend them for this, so they got t right. My reasoning is they if they didn't suspend ghoulston, or numerous other thug-like plays, it would be unfair to suspend our guy.

However, hoke SHOULD have suspended him. It was a classless move and we hold ourselves out as being better than that. I am frankly surprised by hoke not doing so. I expected more.

Joined: 11/16/2009

MGoPoints: 32166

Jeffy Fresh

November 8th, 2013 at 9:02 PM ^

I'm not sure if you understand how this game is typically played.  Everyone likes to get on their high horse and demand that our players play with such class and boyscout honor.  This is a very violent game.  Most of the time, our players are trying to mame the guy across from them. It is war.  It is an angry affair.  Sometime emotion gets the best of you.  Sometimes choking the guy you are going against or punching the guy in the throat with the ball when there is a fumble happens.  With the amount of video analysis now this is getting more and more exposed.  But make no mistake, the big uglies on the team are not there to play paddycake.  They are out for blood.  Like it or not, that is the game of football, and if you played on a competitive team, you would know that this is the norm.  Sorry to burst all your sensitive bubbles.  This is a game for men with anger and cock and balls.  It is changing unfortunately, and it will soon be flag football and it's all going to be all your fault.  Fuck me I quit America.

Joined: 03/21/2009

MGoPoints: 834

WolvinLA2

November 9th, 2013 at 12:15 AM ^

Before you say that you expected more from Hoke, remind yourself that playing time suspensions are not the only punishment a player can receive.  I'm sure Hoke handled it in some way, but don't say you "expected more" simply because you weren't informed of what the punishment is or was.  

Joined: 11/13/2009

MGoPoints: 58191

Seth

November 8th, 2013 at 9:28 PM ^

If I was Hoke I would have suspended him. I believe that Gholston should have been suspended too. When he goes to the NFL if they get tape of that same sort of thing they'll fine him. What's more with the state the O-line is in and with the offensive coordinator and OL coach under fire right now there's every appearance of having OL depth influence the decision to not take away the unit's far and away best player. On the other hand if they did suspend him it would send a clear message to everybody inside and outside the program as to what kind of team this is going to be.

From what I know of Lewan he would have accepted it. And it would be good for the young guys in that unit to witness how an adult takes his due punishment and then comes back and gets back to work.

Most importantly, however, he twisted a guy's helmet after the play was over, and that could have led to the kind of injury that people don't come back from. In a perfect world that would be the only consideration.

Joined: 10/14/2008

MGoPoints: 149219

MaizeMN

November 8th, 2013 at 10:06 PM ^

Are you taking the rest o' the magic mushrooms from yesterday? It was a bone-headed foul, probably born of frustration and circumstance. I don't condone the act, but I recall at least one occassion where a MSU player was grasping Lewan under the helmet where the ear pad meets the chin strap. He complained several times. No one wants injury, but I tend to agree with Dominick's Lunch on the issue. Been there. Been bitten. Been pinched. Been punched. Been pissed.

Joined: 01/28/2012

MGoPoints: 4590