Illinois 34, Western Illinois 14 POSTGAME

#77      

Spanky

S
Spanky
Second and Chalmers said:
How do you judge a thing like that? I feel like at some point we're going to flip a switch and stop doing that, but what if we don't?
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If you're going to try to get a look at everyone on the roster, then doing it vs a Western Illinois is probably the best time to do it. I don't understand complaining about Epstein's carries. Why run him 20 times vs a team as bad as WIU? If Bush is dinged up, then no issues keeping Rivers in.

The first game, the starting o line played all the snaps. I am surprised they aren't at least rotating a couple guys in there to get them experience.
 
#79      

ChiefIllini

C
ChiefIllini
As long as Bonner isn't rushing it more than 10 times a game, I'm a happy man wrt the running game. He's a great goalline/short yardage guy, but has zero explosiveness. Having him out there on 1st and 10 limits our offense greatly.
 
#80      

Eisenmerchant

E
Eisenmerchant
WeatherfordForMVP said:
So the defender can snap his own neck on the tackle?

Again, never played myself...but I think we've reached a point where the tackling in football and the rules of football are so unaligned that players can't play the game.
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I agree that the targeting call in question was a tough one - largely because I thought he did not lower his head all that much. But it's a safety issue for both the defender and the offensive player if the defender lowers his head. Most serious spinal cord issues (as opposed to concussion issues) in football arise from the defender injuring himself by lowering the head and hitting with the top of the helmet. Spinal cords don't get blown up by your head getting snapped back if your head is up. It's uncomfortable, and can cause "stingers", but compression impacts from the top of the head straight down the spine are what tends to cause the catastrophic paralysis-indusing injuries. So head up protects offensive players from concussions, and also defensive players from debilitating spine injuries.