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Comments
For the life of me, I cannot follow the logic in this piece. Yes, missing Pickens will hurt. But how exactly would his presence in the first half of the tech game have prevented the missed field goal, the muffed punt, Swift's fumble or the fumbled kickoff? The article only references the second quarter, picking up after the offense scored 17 points in the first quarter without him.
As for the suspension itself, I think it's a bit much. Yes, he participated in the fight. But it wasn't until after he'd been struck twice, and it became clear that the officials weren't interested in breaking it up, that he swung back. Sorry to invoke a cliche, but the punishment should fit the crime. With the benefit of watching from the stands, on TV or in hindsight, we can say he shouldn't have reacted like he did. But I think it was a perfectly understandable error in judgment, and a carry-over suspension is excessive. Had he been the instigator, I would be perfectly fine with him having to sit out the first half of the next game. But he wasn't, and I would argue that the ejection alone would have been an appropriate consequence.
Lastly, people will say it's always the second guy who gets caught. That doesn't apply here, and doesn't explain why Pickens was dealt with more harshly than the tech player. I counted 6 swings from Swillings (or whoever), thrown both before and well after Pickens' two.
Looks like we have the latest version of Odell Beckham. Sure Pickens is really, really good but the Dawgs aren't going to be defined by their passing offense in this game. This should be a "line of scrimmage" game, which gives us a chance to move on. This will be our seventh consecutive play off game and the boys will show up big time!
Monty Rice said it best: "Ain’t no way around it. Ain’t no woulda’, coulda’ shoulda’. All you have to do is not throw a punch or slap or whatever it was. You just have to be smart.” The players know what Pickens did was beyond the pale. Let's stop making excuses (it doesn't matter whether Swilling threw the first punch; the referees are under no obligation to stand between out-of-control players swinging punches; the rules are absolute -- if you get ejected in the second half of a game for any reason, you're automatically suspended for the first half of the following game). Pickens, who not only threw punches but also tried to ram Swilling's head into a wall was wrong. Period. Paragraph.
And now the entire team must pay for his error. And it's not a frigging headline has anything to do with it. At this point in the season, it is devastating. We are already without Cager. Even if we don't throw the ball to Pickens, just having to account for him on the field would provide a big help to the UGA offense.
And I agree with those who say coddling him doesn't help him. I, too, wish Fromm wouldn't must parrot Kirby Smart. This ain't about tough love and all of that. We need to say it was **** and wrong and somone needs to say it will not be tolerated. If he transfers, he transfers. But people on this forum and elsewhere are always talking about the lack of class at Auburn. Well, making excuses for this kind of behavior is how you wind up just like that. And sooner or later, it becomes who you are. Georgia is NOT that. I hope PIckens learns from this and goes on to not only be a great player for us, but a model citizen as well. If he cannot, best to bid him adieu before we're dealing with something a lot worse than half-game suspension. Go Dawgs!
I've had about a day and a half to think about this...my first reaction..."Well it was just a fight"........But I still can't get over that he tried to slam the guy into the wall...Some might even argue that is worse than swinging a helmet at someone....I think there is a possibility that Pickens has played his last game at the University of Georgia