Broncos Thoughts on the Illegal Block

Plus a new angle of the block.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMxb31NIn4Q



That video is clear to me. It was from behind. Just a dirty, dirty cheap shot.

Very dirty play. Reading the guy's lame ass excuse is even more galling. He did this with intent, especially when he rolled up on Fuga's calves.



Horrible miss call and horrible response by the WAC review committee

this is the video i was referring to in the other threads I was commenting on. Slow motion says it all. He dives on purpose to the knees, behind him, and rolls up on purpose too.

While I'm in no way condoning the action, given the play and the angle taken, it is conceivable that Fuga could have potentially made a play on the screen pass and likely should have been blocked.



That said, the way he was blocked is completely unacceptable and for anyone to condone that action while hiding behind the "it's technically legal" shield is a coward.



For the player to not apologize in person is unacceptable. He should have gone to the BYU locker room immediately following the conclusion of the game to express his regret and well wishes. The fact that he left Provo without doing so shows what kind of low-life this guy is.



I guaran-damn-tee that if a BYU player had done that, the bus would have waited for them while they went to the opponent's locker room and said what needed to be said.

I'm sure I'll catch hell for this but watching it again I'm not sure Bender had any malicious intent. I posted on UteFans on Saturday that I thought it was a cheap shot but now I'm not sure he meant to hurt him.



I'm looking at :09 and :14/:15 and it looks to me like he got (or was trying to) his head in front of Fuga. It actually looks to me like his head is at Fuga's waist.



Sorry for Fuga. I don't wish injury on anyone.

Sometimes results matter more than intent and process. The outcome of this event - season ending injury - have made the action much worse. If Fuga had just gotten up and chased the play, this whole conversation isn't happening.

kitic77 wrote:
Sometimes results matter more than intent and process. The outcome of this event - season ending injury - have made the action much worse. If Fuga had just gotten up and chased the play, this whole conversation isn't happening.

Personally I don't think you can ignore intent. None of us know Bender's intent. I'm just saying after looking at it again I'm not as sure as I was when it happened-the first time I saw it was live and at full speed.



He definately acted like an a-hole after the fact and I'm sure that rubs people the wrong way. After the play if he had shown any concern and/or compunction I bet a lot of people feel differently.

MTM wrote:

Sometimes results matter more than intent and process. The outcome of this event - season ending injury - have made the action much worse. If Fuga had just gotten up and chased the play, this whole conversation isn't happening.

Personally I don't think you can ignore intent. None of us know Bender's intent. I'm just saying after looking at it again I'm not as sure as I was when it happened-the first time I saw it was live and at full speed.



He definately acted like an a-hole after the fact and I'm sure that rubs people the wrong way. After the play if he had shown any concern and/or compunction I bet a lot of people feel differently.

Come on MTM! He rolled over his legs! That is prima facie evidence of an intent to injure. Any lineman KNOWS THAT It was a malicious play that should be sanctioned And this from the same guy who was penalized for tripping another potentially dangerous move. The guy was out to hurt and he accomplished his goal and that is why he was high fiving after it happened...It does NOT take blue goggles to see and understand that. He's a dirty player

BoiseBYU wrote:

kitic77 wrote:
Sometimes results matter more than intent and process. The outcome of this event - season ending injury - have made the action much worse. If Fuga had just gotten up and chased the play, this whole conversation isn't happening.

Personally I don't think you can ignore intent. None of us know Bender's intent. I'm just saying after looking at it again I'm not as sure as I was when it happened-the first time I saw it was live and at full speed.



He definately acted like an a-hole after the fact and I'm sure that rubs people the wrong way. After the play if he had shown any concern and/or compunction I bet a lot of people feel differently.

Come on MTM! He rolled over his legs! That is prima facie evidence of an intent to injure. Any lineman KNOWS THAT It was a malicious play that should be sanctioned And this from the same guy who was penalized for tripping another potentially dangerous move. The guy was out to hurt and he accomplished his goal and that is why he was high fiving after it happened...It does NOT take blue goggles to see and understand that. He's a dirty player

I'll grant you it looks nasty and my first reaction was that it was a cheap shot.



All I'm saying is that after watching it again I'm not as sure as I was. At :09 it is clear that his body is in front of Fuga's legs and he's not at the knee-he's at the thigh. At :15 it appears his head is in front of Fuga.



No flag on the play and no sanction after a WAC review suggests that, while a dangerous and questionable play, it was not illegal. Wasn't there even some quote from the head of officials that acknowleged he has been trying to get the rule changed but that by current rules the play was legal? I thought I heard something to that effect.



Don't get me wrong. Bender seems like a d*ck. If he had shown any remorse I think a lot of this blows over and is seen as a terrible injury but simply part of the game.

Bender was not the guy who was tripping earlier. The ref called his number, but the offending tripper was actually a different lineman.



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MTM, you're attempt to sound objective sounds like a new lawyer with a new license to travel. All books, no common sense. I'm not impressed.

Ask anyone who has played and especially played line--O or D. They damn well know the probable outcome of rolling 300+ pounds full tilt on someone's knees. Why do you think many conferences are trying to get this stunt banned? BECAUSE ITS UNDENIABLY WRONG AND DANGEROUS!! MAybe you could find a job in a communist country and use the law or the absence of a law to justify and explain away immoral behavior that is deemed "legal."

dmcougar wrote:
MTM, you're attempt to sound objective sounds like a new lawyer with a new license to travel. All books, no common sense. I'm not impressed.

Ask anyone who has played and especially played line--O or D. They damn well know the probable outcome of rolling 300+ pounds full tilt on someone's knees. Why do you think many conferences are trying to get this stunt banned? BECAUSE ITS UNDENIABLY WRONG AND DANGEROUS!! MAybe you could find a job in a communist country and use the law or the absence of a law to justify and explain away immoral behavior that is deemed "legal."

Damn! Impressing you was my primary objective.



If you want to get all lawyer talk can you PROVE Bender's intent? Nobody can.



Why wasn't there a flag or any kind of sanction or even a reprimand ala Max Hall? I honestly want to know your opinion on that.



I'm not defending him. It just doesn't look as egregious to me in super slo mo and at different angles. That's just my opinion. Nothing more, nothing less.

snoscythe wrote:
Bender was not the guy who was tripping earlier. The ref called his number, but the offending tripper was actually a different lineman.



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Thank you for the clarification



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MTM wrote:

MTM wrote:

Sometimes results matter more than intent and process. The outcome of this event - season ending injury - have made the action much worse. If Fuga had just gotten up and chased the play, this whole conversation isn't happening.

Personally I don't think you can ignore intent. None of us know Bender's intent. I'm just saying after looking at it again I'm not as sure as I was when it happened-the first time I saw it was live and at full speed.



He definately acted like an a-hole after the fact and I'm sure that rubs people the wrong way. After the play if he had shown any concern and/or compunction I bet a lot of people feel differently.

Come on MTM! He rolled over his legs! That is prima facie evidence of an intent to injure. Any lineman KNOWS THAT It was a malicious play that should be sanctioned And this from the same guy who was penalized for tripping another potentially dangerous move. The guy was out to hurt and he accomplished his goal and that is why he was high fiving after it happened...It does NOT take blue goggles to see and understand that. He's a dirty player

I'll grant you it looks nasty and my first reaction was that it was a cheap shot.



All I'm saying is that after watching it again I'm not as sure as I was. At :09 it is clear that his body is in front of Fuga's legs and he's not at the knee-he's at the thigh. At :15 it appears his head is in front of Fuga.



No flag on the play and no sanction after a WAC review suggests that, while a dangerous and questionable play, it was not illegal. Wasn't there even some quote from the head of officials that acknowleged he has been trying to get the rule changed but that by current rules the play was legal? I thought I heard something to that effect.



Don't get me wrong. Bender seems like a d*ck. If he had shown any remorse I think a lot of this blows over and is seen as a terrible injury but simply part of the game.

You completely ignore the rolling up on Fuga's legs and instead decide to do a second by second video dissection of the play just like those lawyers did to get the cops acquited who beat the crap out of Rodney King. I know you won't change your mind but what we saw was an effort to hurt an athlete. It was wrong



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BoiseBYU wrote:

BoiseBYU wrote:

kitic77 wrote:
Sometimes results matter more than intent and process. The outcome of this event - season ending injury - have made the action much worse. If Fuga had just gotten up and chased the play, this whole conversation isn't happening.

Personally I don't think you can ignore intent. None of us know Bender's intent. I'm just saying after looking at it again I'm not as sure as I was when it happened-the first time I saw it was live and at full speed.



He definately acted like an a-hole after the fact and I'm sure that rubs people the wrong way. After the play if he had shown any concern and/or compunction I bet a lot of people feel differently.

Come on MTM! He rolled over his legs! That is prima facie evidence of an intent to injure. Any lineman KNOWS THAT It was a malicious play that should be sanctioned And this from the same guy who was penalized for tripping another potentially dangerous move. The guy was out to hurt and he accomplished his goal and that is why he was high fiving after it happened...It does NOT take blue goggles to see and understand that. He's a dirty player

I'll grant you it looks nasty and my first reaction was that it was a cheap shot.



All I'm saying is that after watching it again I'm not as sure as I was. At :09 it is clear that his body is in front of Fuga's legs and he's not at the knee-he's at the thigh. At :15 it appears his head is in front of Fuga.



No flag on the play and no sanction after a WAC review suggests that, while a dangerous and questionable play, it was not illegal. Wasn't there even some quote from the head of officials that acknowleged he has been trying to get the rule changed but that by current rules the play was legal? I thought I heard something to that effect.



Don't get me wrong. Bender seems like a d*ck. If he had shown any remorse I think a lot of this blows over and is seen as a terrible injury but simply part of the game.

You completely ignore the rolling up on Fuga's legs and instead decide to do a second by second video dissection of the play just like those lawyers did to get the cops acquited who beat the crap out of Rodney King. I know you won't change your mind but what we saw was an effort to hurt an athlete. It was wrong



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Look guys, I don't come here to stir up sh*t and I respect all of us have differing opinions at times.



I'm not arguing for Bender for Mayor of Provo. I just stated my opinion. I recognize it's not popular. I didn't have any intention of making anyone agree with it.



I'll leave this thread alone.

Bender admitted going at Fuga's knees. He's dirty.



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ABYUFAN wrote:
Bender admitted going at Fuga's knees. He's dirty.



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I missed that admission. If he said that then my opinion has changed.

Everybody is ignoring the fact that the shots show two referees staring right at it. They all said they 'didn't see it' to Bronco.

I like to think that his intent wasn't malicious, I don't think it was at that instant. It was just a stupid play and a dangerous play. Now if I had made that mistake on the football field and the guy I just blocked was writhing on the ground in pain I would have at least done the decent thing and stood over him and made sure he was o.k. and in some way apologized. When I played and hurt a player that was always my reaction. His reaction is much more telling then the act itself. And his reaction spells dirty player.

I can hit you from behind and get my head around too. That doesn't do anything to "justify" this hit. He can read the number on Fuga's back and not the number on his front. He came from the side and behind. He targeted him low and took him out. He probably didn't intend to end his season but he was well aware of it being a very good possibility considering that he is a D-1 lineman. Like I said in another post, its like a pitcher throwing a bean ball high. He doesn't intend to end the guys season but he bloody well knows it is very possible.