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Pinball Anyone? 50 is The New 30.

BobLeeSays: Nov 12 '12
A coincidence? The Who performed Friday night in Greensboro..... and “pinball wizards” performed in Kenan on Saturday afternoon? The football opera performed in Kenan was co-orchestrated not by Pete Townsend and Roger Daltrey but by

The Heels & Ramblin’ Wrecks“.   They sure played a mean pinball” on a BEE-youtiful November Saturday amid the remaining lofty pines. ....... Good day @ The Carter for TO’B’s future.... Bad Day in Tuscaloosa for anyone not named Johnny Football........

TO’B can buy green bananas. He’ll likely still be around when they ripen after dispatching Grobe’s Deacs. No one is considering naming the Carter turf – TO’B Field just yet (except for TheRealBobKennel who still lobbies for an endowed Lee Fowler Chair at the NC State School of Coach Searching).

Wuffs beat Deacs..... Deacs beat Heels..... Heels beat Wuffs..... ergo, logic dictates that Butch Davis will be the next Director of The CIA.

Director Butch’s first case will be “who chopped off the head of the Nick Saban statue in front of Bryant-Denny Stadium and scrawled FireNick.com across its stomach”.

Meanwhile amid the remaining lofty pines.....

The Kenan scoreboard operator is in intensive care in the Jim Knight Wing of UNC Hospitals suffering from severe carpal tunnel syndrome. Did you ever imagine a Kenan scoreboard lighting up like a Dean Dome scoreboard?

“50 is the new 30” in college football. Each week there are a dozen teams passing half-a-hundred. If you don’t like it, might I suggest soccer or hockey as more your speed.

If The Fedorians had the 68 and the “other guys” had the 50 would the Franklin Street teeth-gnashing be the same today?   Was it more fun to ring up 60 on the Idahoians than have 60+ run up on us? Heck yes.

I perused a few media comment boards frequented by the oh-so-predictable Tar Heel knee-jerks. They are oh-so-predictable, duh!    The FireDaveHuxtable & SendHisFamilyToAGulag Society has reopened for business. They were a fun bunch of pathetic sickos from the early Bunting Era. This pack o’ rabid dogs decided Bunting’s Defensive Coordinator – a nice experienced guy named Dave Huxtable – was all that stood between them and BCS Glory.   They finally ran Dave off but their own miserable lives remain BCS-less.

Their knee-jerking counterparts on The Brickyard during their Amato Era did the exact same with Chuckie’s Offensive Coordinator de’jour for 3-4 years running.   It got so bad that Chuck’s OCs simply rented a room at the Ramada Inn by the Fairgrounds knowing their stay would be "shorter than a Monte Towe bobblehead doll". ...... I digress.

Big Time College Football is indeed in its pinball era of point-a-minute offenses. If you prefer trench warfare and “3 yards and a cloud of dust” then go rent The Woody Hayes DVD Collection at Blockbuster.   'Dem days is long gone.

Just wait. In three years the football rules guys are going to narrow the width of the playing field to 25 yards. Plant land mines in The Red Zone and require all wide receivers to tie one hand behind their backs. These things run in cycles. Trust me.

“Pinball football” is a perfect complement to great big flat-screen HDTVs.   Aerial shows featuring cannon-armed bomb-throwers and glue-fingered gazelles.... wearing glo-in-the-dark helmets. “Everybody Go Long” is now the basic game plan.

To quote the leader of The Fedorians:

“if you leave your seat to go to the rest room you’re gonna miss a Tar Heel touchdown.” Yesterday that was modified to “turn to the guy next to you to ask ‘which one is Gio’ and you missed both teams scoring.”

Me? I like Pinball Football. Of course I like Home Runs in baseball and 3-point shots in basketball too. Not everyone does. I watched a bevy of long-faces exiting Kenan on Saturday muttering obscenities centered around “get rid of whoever our defensive coordinator is and go hire Buddy Ryan”. Buddy Ryan ??? Beats Bud Foster I suppose.

Mel Kiper wannabees are muttering “we have great talent on defense but all Fedora cares about is offense”.   No, amateur Mel Kipers, you’re wrong AGAIN. We DON’T have a bevy of “great talent” on defense and Larry Fedora cares about WINNING and, of course all that “mold men & build character” yadda yadda too. Of Course!

Carolina Football has labored under 2+ years of “damage-control recruiting” due to a certain lingering unpleasantness. While every coach claims each recruiting class is “exactly who we wanted from Day One” only Nick Saban would “pass a poly” on that one. Ergo for 2+ years the depth of incoming talent has been less deep than desired and the incoming “NFL can’t miss-types” much less too. In case you have forgotten, “those types” bring with them “other issues” that can complicate a program..... oh yeah!

Fortunately the current crop does have enough O-talent to delight the local aficionados to no end, especially the talent embodied in a certain #26. The talent on the “stop’em” unit is, alas, of a lesser level of magnitude. I’m confident Mother Fedora son’s Larry is quite aware of all this and “has a plan”.

Larry’s “plan” might include calling Dave Huxtable, but I doubt it.

PS: If you missed our Good Sports show w/ guest SI’s Curry Kirkpatrick; your life is a little less complete than it could have been.   It’s being widely hailed as “Greatest FB Pre-Game Show in WCHL History”.   I’m not entirely objective, but I tend to agree. I introduced Curry as “Billy Arthur’s back-up” then it all kinda got outta control.....

Many many many of you are panicking that I’m going to force you to learn Twitter, Facebook, Swahili and goodness knows what to maintain your BobLeeSays fix.   Chill homies..... ain’t gonna happen.   We’re tweaking this thing, not overhauling it.

The average age of Twitter and Facebook addicts is just slightly older than my F-150 pick-up truck. That’s about 40 years below my audience demographics. As for Swahili, that will always be an elective here.

Ladies & Gentlemen..... may I proudly present:

"A Tar Heel Full House"
Three Legends & A Pair o' Comparatos

BobLee, David “Goal Line” Bomar, Don McCauley with Paige & Nicole
.... for those of you in Rio Linda

+++

AgentPierce has ignited a Holy War
That is rivaling The Inquistion, The Crusades and Who Shot JR. (CLICK)

+++

Posted: November 11, 2012 at 4:49 PM by SaidWHATMedia | with 8 comments | Tagged as: Football, UNC

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Comments

	The Cowdog
	Better late than never, I guess. CNR, you must recall that had Cowdog gone all-in with the Ben Schwartzwalders, Bill Dooleys, or Sonny Randles of the coaching world, it would have been his tail playing Three Card Monty against the options of the era. As it was, the whispy, lispy guy in Raleigh had other plans suitable to my idea of football... Catch the ball, screw chasing it. Pinball football was right in the old wheelhouse. And still is. That said, I spend more time watching defense these days. I guess it's because it is the most difficult of chess matches. Unless, of course, you have two weeks to plan for a Dana Bible philosophy. Coach London, up in Charlottesville, knows a little'bout that. Segue: BL, what did your DC do with his 2 weeks over there? IMO, the option Os are actually the easiest to prepare for. Gap and contain, a strict regimen of discipline is all that is required. All ya gotta do is make a few 18-20 year old kids keep it in mind. :) To add to Ol' Mac's point...Mr. Kennel should be quite aware that Fowler, indeed had next to nothing to do with TOB's employment. That is no myth. Speaking of Texas football...How 'bout that wishbone tribute to Darryl Royal ? Come out in the wishbone formation near your own goal, and...and...ya throw it ! Pinball football indeed ! __________ BL: Time to prepare for a quirky O is great but ya gotta have the boots on the ground to implement the plan. UNC's D personnel is "average" at best and shallower than a parking lot puddle. One stud-duck in Reddick and the rest are place-holders. LF has burned 4-5 redshirts he did not intend to burn just to slow down the other O's. ... He will be concentrating on beefing up his D between Year 1 and Year 2. ... 2+ years of "damage-control recruiting" takes its toll. .
	11/15/2012 7:43:26 AM

	Old MacDonald
	I can assure anyone who cares that Kennel is totally out of it. Fowler had nothing to do with hiring TOB. By that time of that hire, Fowler had demonstrated himself to be the cartoon character we all know he is. _______ BL: I shall declare that matter to ba "a family affair" amongst the pack. Have at it guys. .
	11/13/2012 2:34:39 PM

	58 Wolf Kennel
	BL, seems like too many of my "friends" read your blog. They're always asking crazy questions, sometimes prompted by you. For the record on AD's and hirings/firings, I believe in "Institutional Control" at Universities, Churches, and Governments. Not the roll of bloggers or anonymous lunatics. With respect to Lee Fowler, I thought he did a good job in general (certainly not like his fellow flagship AD). I think Debbie Yow is doing an excellent job without a velvet glove. Fowler did make a good hire in Tom O'Brien, and I still support that choice. Told you not to give up on Major Tom. He's still 5-1 against the Heels; will be going to his fifth decent bowl game; should be 4-0 against solid bowel competition like West Virginia, Rutgers, and Louisville - all top 25); turns out NFL QB's regularly; runs a military tight, high integrity program; and keeps the academic interface clean. I'll take him! Also ask Wake Forest if 50 is the new 30. State's defense laid a whippin' on them. Go Pack - football, men's basketball, and watch out for women's basketball. _______ BL: TRBK, I have always admired your unfaltering loyalty to your alma mater and your dogged determination to defend same against all threats internal and external. AND you back up your support w/ nice checks. .... the lunatic fringe doesn't do much/any of the latter. I think NCSU has a fine roster of both coaches & admins in place. Your fan base's bottom-feeder faction is no more/less rabid than any other. UNC loonies are on the warpath vs the DefCoor this week. .
	11/12/2012 2:12:37 PM

	CNR
	PS: Can we hear from Cowdog, the former excellent DB regarding his thoughts on pin ball football. How about it, Cowdog. What say you?
	11/12/2012 1:03:00 AM

	CNR
	Not a good time to be a defensive coordinator in the college game. “If we can hold them under sixty, we can beat SC,” the DC at Oregon was heard to mutter.” Sixty-three to fifty-one proves the fellow knows of what he speaks. How different than when John McKay’s ’67 national champions went up to Oregon State and lost 3-0. That SC team had Ron Yary, OJ Simpson, Ty Salness, and Earl McCullouch. A few years later, I asked Ty how in the world could they not have scored? His answer, “Coach, it rains and rains and rains up in Oregon. They have a field made to play the California teams. It is so slippery, It must be like playing hockey in leather soles.” Still, they scored just 21 and 17 in the Coliseum against Oregon State the year before and the year after. You are right about the cycles. Rules guys make them. In basketball, one of the guys on the rules committee can’t get the ball inbounds to a teammates hands within five seconds against a 40 press. He has many colleagues around the country, including another on the committee. Simple solution. We'll change the rule. Now you only have to get it out of your hands within five seconds, including being able to call TO within the five seconds. Old rule. No TO after three seconds. Why learn how to coach when you can simply change the rule? The fellow on the hot seat is the QB and OC at Bama who is in his first year. He hails from Oregon. Fans have been grumbling about the offense for some time. Somewhat like Lane Kiffen taking the credit for Norm Chow’s great offenses at SC, he has taken credit for developing Jake Locher at UDub. Coach Steve, a BYU QB, had a little to do with that development. My Bama guys tell me that he has not been prepared for the SEC and Bama playing at Idaho and coaching in the Pacific Northwest, including British Columbia.Often it is best that God does not punish prayers of wanting something. As for Fedora, shoot he’s a Texan, his family has been through the meat grinder that is Texas high school football. He understands that it takes time to build a program that is somewhat predictable. During the early going there are going to be ups and downs. It is common knowledge that we live in a time of instant gratification. Not good for coaches. Paul Bryant was 1-9 his first year at A&M; Bill Snyder was 1-10 his first year at Kansas State; Ben Schwartzwalder was 4-5 at Syracuse. John McKay was 4-6 at USC. Woody Hayes was 4-3-2 at Ohio State. All but PB were national championship coaches on those campuses. Coach Bryant won a few at another place. Patience will out and often brings great things to those who wait. "shorter than a Monte Towe bobblehead doll". . You are the man, BL. Agree with you regarding "Pin Ball football." Out in San Antonio, Johnny Football had another nickname: Johnny Pin Ball. Did you notice the reference to Ty by Gary Danielson. I missed it, but received calls from around the country regarding same. Haven't looked at DVR yet. _____________ BL: Ron Yary Lives! :-) .
	11/12/2012 12:39:25 AM

	nctravellinman
	I've got a feeling (no I'm not an "insider") that AD Yow has already made up her mind on whether TOB stays or goes between now and end of the season. I can't imagine AD Yow being indecisive on anything. __________ BL: I don't have an opinion on that. He'll likely be 7-5 and go to a Whozit Bowl, as most programs do. .
	11/11/2012 10:10:01 PM

	WillWuff
	Does Kennel really want to endow a "chair" for Lee Fowler? ______ BL: He didn't, but now that I suggested it he is writing the declaration as we speak. I loved his plan to name all the wuffs on Wuff Mountain after Todd Turner's cousins. No true genius is ever fully appreciated in his own time. .
	11/11/2012 4:57:21 PM

	Eugene
	"shorter than a Monte Towe bobblehead doll"..... I simply don't know what to say. AWESOME! Speaking of Awesome..... I suppose you have the patent on the Comparato Barbies? ____________ BL: Yes, as a matter of fact I do. .
	11/11/2012 4:05:00 PM