I am not saying it is wide spread, and very likely never done by a head coach.........but I also think may coaches don't discourage it either.....seems like certain teams always have players getting caught on film doing things.....like eye gouging in the pile.......or "pile driver" tackling.
The only proof we can have is our crying eyes seeing what players do in games. Duke in 2 straight games has now demonstrated that it approves of its players intentionally trying to harm the opponents QB. That is either taught by the coaching staff (D most likely) or encouraged by very fact of not stopping it. Sure Richt likely doesn't demand the D try and injure Tech's QBs or skill players but year after year those players clearly and intentionally try and do just that. They just had D coordinator who got in trouble for making choking signs on the sidelines. What are you gonna believe? The evidence on tape or your desire to think well of Cutcliffe or Richt?
Of course I see things on TV. Until I hear someone come out and say that intentionally hurting someone (other than from clean hard-nose, legal play) comes down from the top, it will only leave me believing that it is a desire that mostly comes from the dirty player and perhaps a rogue coordinator or position coach. To say that head coaches on any meaningful level openly condone it is really beyond the pale.
To be fair, it was Roger Goodell who made the call, so that's really not proof of anything.
My point I've been pushing is that yes, the thugs in the NFL do it but in college...not so much. People saying it's the Cutcliff way. I've said that's nuts.
I find that typing on tablets without a traditional keyboard doesn't lend to spending the right amount of time fully explaining one's point.
I wish it were that way; that's the way it should be.
