Great read. Very poignant. Young Parker showed real courage and humility. Wish him deep blue skies.
A wonderful article in the Raleigh N&O this AM from DBR's newest member/contributor, Steve Wiseman:
https://www.newsobserver.com/sports/...215448820.html
Thanks, Steve!!
[redacted] them and the horses they rode in on.
Great read. Very poignant. Young Parker showed real courage and humility. Wish him deep blue skies.
Nothing incites bodily violence quicker than a Duke fan turning in your direction and saying 'scoreboard.'
Great article. Thank you Steve. Very happy to see how coach, players and professor handled this tough situation. Giles-Harris is a helluva friend.
"This is the best of all possible worlds."
Dr. Pangloss - Candide
Great story, well-written. Thanks!
fine story indeed, but the fact that Parker won't be placekicking for the first two weeks of practice seems like an ironic postscript...maybe Wareham is a better choice at this point, but it seems disappointingly illogical.
Sage Grouse
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'When I got on the bus for my first road game at Duke, I saw that every player was carrying textbooks or laptops. I coached in the SEC for 25 years, and I had never seen that before, not even once.' - David Cutcliffe to Duke alumni in Washington, DC, June 2013
Thanks for reading and for the kind words, everyone. Austin's candor and willingness to accept his mistake make this story possible. So h/t to him.
Couple of things on the kicking and punting:
My understanding is that Collin's work in the offseason with Jackson Hubbard holding and Ben Wyatt snapping has them in a good rhythm. That's important. Cut values this.
That said, Cut and staff will closely monitor the kickers during August camp. He won't hesitate to get Austin back in the mix if he sees a need. Of course Austin has to earn his starting job(s) back. Nothing was promised when he returned from an absence of his own making. He's more than willing to earn it back. When I asked him what he'd learned from this experience, he said "I learned that hard work is the key to success." He'll get the chance to put those words into action.
^ hopefully it all works out...but with the first game less than five weeks away, one might think Parker could use some FG kicking work as well (now). We'll see how it turns out.
Meanwhile, the punting debacle we witnessed last year has to improve...punting was mediocre at best, punt returning was disastrously bad.
We cannot go through another season of T.J. Rahming allowing the ball to hit the ground and roll 15 or 20 more yards. If he can't, or will not, catch the ball, someone else has to be given an opportunity. Josh Blackwell? He demonstrated good hands during the Spring Showcase.
Bob Green
I returned punts and kickoffs in high school. It's not that hard if you have good hands and it seems TJ has good hands. I think TJ is "hearing footsteps" and is tentative. That is why he let's some of those kicks roll away from him. He just doesn't seem fearless like Crowder. I know that's asking a lot because Jamison was great in all aspects of the game. GoDuke!
But why would “footsteps” matter if calling for a fair catch?
Sage Grouse
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'When I got on the bus for my first road game at Duke, I saw that every player was carrying textbooks or laptops. I coached in the SEC for 25 years, and I had never seen that before, not even once.' - David Cutcliffe to Duke alumni in Washington, DC, June 2013
There's a split second where you have to make the decision do I catch the ball in traffic or do I "fair-catch" the dang ball. That's where the footsteps come into play. I never had that problem because I was mentored by an All Conference running back/returner as a freshman & sophomore. Yes, I had rather see TJ fair catch them all rather than let them roll 20 yards down field.. But that's not the job of a good punt returner. GoDuke!