The SEC is leaving the punishment of South Carolina defensive tackle Kelcy Quarles up to his coach. Quarles threw a clear punch at LSU offensive lineman PJ Lonergan following a first-quarter play in the Gamecocks’ 23-21 loss last Saturday.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9vL8P7B4XU
Let's show this clip some love then - looks like someone else needs to be punished...
That's not a punch. That's a headslap between linemen. There's a difference between an angry punch delivered after a play and a blow to the noggin delivered during a play.
Quarles shouldn't have thrown a punch. End of story. And if Lonergan had punched Quarles, I'd say Lonergan shouldn't have thrown a punch. You can't act out with that kind of anger on the field. It's always been against the rules and it always will be.
Thanks for reading the site,
John
@John at MrSEC It may be a "headslap between linemen" in your opinion, but it's also a personal foul according to Rule 9, Article 2a. "No person subject to the rules shall strike an opponent with the knee; strike an opponent’s helmet (including the face mask), neck, face or any other part of the body with an extended forearm, elbow, locked hands, palm, fist, or the heel, back or side of the open hand; or gouge an opponent (A.R. 9-1-2-I)."
Additionally, it wasn't an extension of the action between two players already engaged. It was the only contact made. Don't pretend that was a legal action or that "everyone does it". I enjoy your site but you're wrong on this one.
Thanks,
Xilarf
@John at MrSEC I never said I thought Quarles shouldn't be punished - never even hinted at that thought.
i *do* have a bit of a problem with the after-the-fact posting of videos by fans/media calling for punitive action afterward. It quickly can turn into a battle of who can find what fouls and post videos hoping for equal publicity. I think I've made that point fairly well now.
Quarles should be punished. IMO, so should the LSU player from the link I posted. I'm not saying they are the "same", or that they necessarily deserve equal punishment - but if we're going down this road of calling for punitive action due to video after-the-fact then I believe we should "share the love" and call for punitive action for both.
Ideally, the media would leave this stuff alone at let the teams, the league(s), the officials, and the NCAA work things out. Not likely in this day and time though.
The fact that one foul was dead-ball and one foul was live-ball seems to be a big deal to you. We may just have to disagree on that. The live-ball foul appears to have prevented a sack, or at the least a pressure/hurry, and to have had an impact on the game. The dead-ball foul had no impact on the game at all. But you are much more bothered by the dead-ball foul. So be it...
Thanks again,
Xilarf
I'm going to have to start just posting the same things under every similar question. Here's what I wrote under ANOTHER story when ANOTHER person posted the same video:
"I always love how a fanbase can't simply say, 'Yeah, our guy shouldn't have punched someone.' Instead, they have to immediately scour tapes looking for something the other team did.
My comment on the play above is that it's a headslap between linemen during a play. That's different than an angry player trying to punch the face of someone who's laying on the ground after a play.
A cheap shot? Flag-worthy? Okay. But that's not fighting or punching. One COULD earn a player a suspension. One COULD earn a player a penalty.
If Quarles had been spotted by a ref, he'd have been tossed.
Anyone reading this knows that to be the case. And if an LSU player had punched a South Carolina player, I'd be saying the same thing.
Thanks for reading the site,
John"
So obviously, I didn't mean to make it sound in my response to you that I was "pretending" that everyone does what was done in the video you linked to. I was simply -- hurriedly -- trying to make it clear that one issue is in a whole other realm than the other.
If the player in question had been seen, he'd have been flagged. If Quarles' punch had been seen, he'd have likely been tossed from the game. That's the difference.
Apples and oranges in my view. I suspect many will disagree. But that is my opinion.
Again, thanks for reading the site. It's appreciated,
John
