Destiny is a two edged sword by the way...

Tigers fall short in final BCS National Title Game

     I'm not here to celebrate FSU beating Auburn. It's all pretty inconsequential  if Alabama isn't playing for the national title. I've been telling all my Auburn friends that this 'team of destiny' mantra was just plain silly. If you believe in destiny, which I don't, it doesn't mean or even imply that the end result will be good.  Ask Napoleon if that's true or not. The truth of the matter is that Auburn had a marvelous run this season and I don't think the most ardent Alabama fan would disagree. So let me ask my Auburn friends this - if you believe it was your destiny to win the national title then doesn't that imply that someone or something beyond your teams' blood, sweat, and tears was responsible for the season?  Was it your destiny to win a national title, or was it your destiny to have your still beating heart torn from your chest in a last minute drive?
 

      I think believing in destiny takes away from what the Auburn football team actually accomplished, but moreover I think it tells us something about the mental state of Auburn fans. Is it true that AU fans must believe that some supernatural force or being is in charge of their football team? I believe that's truly the case. Alabama fans don't seem to believe in all that destiny non-sense. Feeling entitled is not the same as destiny. Believing in destiny is knowing you are not entitled, and hoping God or something descends from the clouds to give you a helping hand. Not only is believing that meaningless but is a slap in your team's face. I don't recall FSU or Alabama saying it was their destiny to win a national title. FSU might be led by an egotistical self-centered quarterback who has convinced himself he is beyond the laws us mere mortals, but at least he believes it was his own abilties which  saved FSU. 'the team got on my back and rode me  to the National Championship'.  Honestly, doesn't anyone think that a class or two in public speech might save the embarrassment named Jameis Winston was last night in post game interviews.

     The national media might be standing in line to consensually get in bed with Winston but I think he showed his true self last night. I didn't know if he was a Flamingo dancer or football player with those roses tucked behind his ear secured by a big head. Celebrate as you wish, but for heaven's sake at least speak the King's English from time to time. Coach Bryant said "act like you've been there before." FSU was the best team according to the score board. The difference was that the FSU defense was only slightly better than the Auburn defense, which has been terrible all season.  Kudos to Ellis Johnson for his attack mode approach the game though.  In retrospect, it is something that Alabama would have been better served in doing when they played Auburn. Of course, FSU had some  pretty decent cornerbacks.

     You have to hand it to Gus Malzhon. He turned a laughing stock into a bully with a gimmick offense and a crummy defense. I personally don't think there were any truly great teams in the NCCA this season. There were lots  of good ones and that parity led to some exciting games. All this high scoring might continue for another couple of seasons but defensive coordinators will figure out a way to stop the smoke and mirrors. Remember the wishbone? Unstoppable until coaches figured out a way to stop it. The no huddle hurry up offense may look unstoppable but its has a shelf life like anything else. Alabama had a good defense, but the corners were young and inexperienced. I think if Alabama had a couple of NFL quality corners on the field the new hurry up offense would have been stopped. I think that is why the Tide coaches are so concerned about signing quality corners.

     All things considered you have to give Auburn its due. I didn't think the Tigers would beat FSU, but if they played next week I might think differently. The Tigers drive to retake the lead late in the game was big time. Unfortunately, the their defense was starting to understand that their destiny might be a little different than the home fans thought. Auburn's run of miracles. luck, heavenly intervention ended because the real destiny of their team rested on the shoulders of a poor defense. And only Auburn controlled that themselves.

Bama loses to Oklahoma

Always a little something missing from this team    

    

Honestly, there has been something not quite right with this year's Alabama football team. The offensive line never reached a championship level. The Defensive backs were just not up to Alabama standards. The were too many long runs, to many long passes, and two many third downs given up all season. Despite all that the Tide scored 31 points last night. You'd think that would have been enough to win any game the Tide played. That doesn't appear to be true anymore. At least with the talent level the Tide had on defense this season it's true.

    Cyrus K may be a first round NFL pick. I don't see it. T.J. Yeldon proved that even a gifted back can appear lackluster behind a average line. The loss of Anthony Steen hurt. The place kicking was pretty good except when it mattered most. The players and coaches gave it a hundred percent all season but the talent level just wasn't there in my opinion. The loss of so many early departures to the NFL finally brought the Tide done a notch. I hate that A.J. McCarron got torn and tattered in his final game. He is the best quarterback who has ever played football at Alabama.  In terms of ability,  character, and leadership he stands in a class with very few members. Life isn't always fair. Life wasn't fair when A.J. nearly died as a five year old.  He survived that accident.  He'll survive the Sugar Bowl game. We will not remembe him because of the bowl game. There are too many high points to recall beyone that one game.

    The coaches did perhaps their best coaching job in covering up glaring shortcomings on this team. Great isnt' always measured in undefeated seasons. I think this team played to the max of their potential. Throw in three injuries to defensive starters and you have a defense that struggled at times. The loss of Sunseri seems to have really hurt. I'd think if you were a defensive back you be looking at Alabama  as a place to get instant playing time. Some welcome news was that Hootie Jones is back in the fold for the Tide. Bama also got Tony Brown yesterday. That is another 4 and 5 star addition to an already unbelievable recruiting class.

    You have to be excited about the play of one Derrick Henry. The Florida native gave warning that next season is going to be a stunner if decent line play evolves. My guess is the line is going to be much better. Hungry young lineman won't be willing to just wait their turn. They will play, take their lumps, and then become solid players. 

     You don't replace C.J.Moseley but the Tide has more than enough to cover up for his marvelous career. Players like Rueben Foster will step forward. The quarterback sitution will be an old fashioned bar fight. Someone will emerge. The coaches will manage him and let him develop.  This was a bad ending for Alabama this season. The world is not over.  The sun came  up. I'd rather have Alabama's pool of talent than most team. For whatever reason this team seemed to run of seven cylinders instead of eight. There have been some lessons learned, perhaps the fans won't be so full of unrealistic expectations.

SEC OPINIONS - Auburns says they will beat Bama

How Auburn believes they will beat 'Bama...

         (Before going any further let me thank Donald Allen Kelly for giving me his insight in this article. He knows more about football any person I've ever known.)

     

Nick Marshall is the trigger man for the Tigers

Auburn is going to try to beat 'Bama', something no team has done this season, by controlling the line of scrimmage. Okay, that's nothing new. The question is how are they going to do it. Auburn believes their offensive line is better than Alabama's defensive front. They may or may not be that good. The main point here is that they honestly believe they are. They will set out to prove that believe by handling the ball to Tre Mason on the quarterback read. Mason is a superior running back. He is probably the best back the no one ever pays attention to. Mason will always attempt to run between the tackles but has the ability to bounce the ball outside.

            

Tre Mason - running back - 1153 yards on 208 attempts. That is an average of 5.54 yards per carry. His long run of the season is 53 yards. He has 17 touchdowns this season. He is tough, runs low the grown is an very rarely brought down on initial contact. He is probably the best running back in the game. He is certainly the most effective running back in the game.

If Auburn is able to run Mason inside the will then use the read option and try to seal off the defensive ends to allow Nick Marshall to run the ball. Auburn is very good at executing their offense They use this basic play 95% of the time. In the games where the Tigers have run up big numbers the offensive line has done  the job. The line and blocking back has done an excellent job all season long in doing this. If you watched the Tigers play Ole Miss and Tennessee (and others) you have to be really impressed with the execution. Don't think for one minute that Auburn in not capable of moving the ball, having some explosion plays, and score a lot of point.

            Nick Marshall - the trigger man. For someone who has played quarterback only two seasons it is amazing how well he has played. He is smart. savvy, and a great athlete. He's not Cam Newton. I'd call him Newton lite. His ball skills on the read option are outstanding. He is a winner. Don't think he can' run the offense or throw the ball. He can do both. He is particularly dangerous on long passes.  Auburns big, strong, and tall receivers are a lot like Mike Evans, particularly Sammy Coates. He is a big time, first round draft type player. When Marshall throws the ball you have know that Coates is his first option. The only thing that Marshall hasn't done this season is throw the ball when he is forced to do so. He is not as accurate in medium routes. He is good enough to keep drives alive however when he has time to throw the ball. Auburn wide outs are excellent blockers down field. The Tiger full back and H back are great blockers. The open holes for Mason and are sometimes lead blockers for Auburn to seal the corners. They also pull to lock for the Tiger power sweep.

 

          The Auburn Defensive  - Auburn is going to play 10 defensive linemen through out the game. Auburn wants their best linemen fresh in the fourth quarter. The names stand out. Dee Ford who is a better passer than anyone Alabama  has right now. Gabe Wright, the guard is a better than average player, and LaDarius Owens constitute a great pass rush. Auburn has given. Auburns defensive line has improved as the season progressed. Auburn fans believe the Tiger Defensive line will handle the Tide on Saturday. They are counting on the homefield crowd which gives the Tigers a tremendous advantage. A.J. McCarron needs to hit crossing patterns and short passes to keep Auburn from playing 8 men in the box. The Tigers are supremely confident their corners can cover any 'Bama receiver one on one. We'll see. Apparently they have forgotten about the forth quarter. The Tigers have lost a couple of defensive backs to injury earlier in the season. Ellis Johnson, the defensive coordinator, says he is happy with defensive backfield. If the Tigers a clearly visible it would be with the linebacker. The linebacker play is the main reason Auburn has give up loads of yardage on interim pass routes and running backs who make it into the second level.

Auburn Keys to Victory

• Establish Mason inside so the Tigers can exploit the corners
• Outplay Alabama's offensive line forcing the Tide to pass more often
• Try to get Marshall running on the corners
• Pass when the Tigers want to and not when they have to pass
• Put pressure on McCarron when passes to help the linebackers and DBs.
• Get off to rocket start and try to rattle the Tide.

 

SEC OPINIONS - Scarbinsky is wrong on this one

KEVIN MISSED ON THIS ONE...

            I've know Kevin Scarbinsky for longer than either of us would like to admit. The first time I met him was at a media basketball game. It was at UAB. Incidentally, he is a really good basketball player. He's an even nicer man. His writing is first class. If you knew him you'd expect nothing less. The problem that Kevin has had from day one at the News is this bizarre penchant he has for telling the truth. That's not popular in Alabama. Sometimes fans just don't want to hear the truth. That goes for Bama and Aubie. The truth is often a stranger in the world of fandom. This week will be no except. The pride and arrogance of some fans will  prove this to be true. The stupidity of other fans will verify that. And finally the game will be played. Some will celebrate and others will cry. I think Kevin is mistaken in his conclusion.  He is being truthful in his opinion. Being truthul and being the truth are not the same thing. At least he had the courage to say what he believes. Kudos for that.


        Kevin said he believes a Bama loss will be the most crushing in Saban's  coaching career. I don't agree. Crushing? There could be no doubt about that. Every defeat in Tideland is crushing. A loss would keep Alabama from winning a third consecutive BCS national championship. What I disagree with him is in the word most. An Auburn win won't even be their most important win. That win over Oregon was the most importnt win in their school history. It better be because if you are a Tiger and saying this is the most important win ever you'd have to admit that beating Alabama is more important than winnng a national title. I do think a lot of Auburn fans believe that to be true.  

         Do you know how unlikely it would be for any coach in America to be in a position of coaching to be where Nick Saban is today? We don't know. No coach has ever done this in here in the BCS era. I think that Saban would be disappointed. I really think he'd blame himself for overlooking some tiny detail.. He might spend weeks trying to determine exactly what he did wrong. He wouldn't blame the players. He'd just go home and double his efforts for next year. He isn't going to hide in the basement. His place in college football history is already secure. He is a Hall of Fame coach just waiting for induction. Do you think if Gus Malzhan wins the game he is going into the hall of fame? 

        Winning a third straight national title would be nice. It would be historic.It would make Saban proud. But don't think that the man's ego will rise or fall on one game regardless of how important it seems to be. There are lots of emotions being invested by the fanbase of both schools. I think Alabama going to win because they have a better team. The better team seems to always win this game. I don't think this year's Bama team is the greatest that Saban has put on the field. But Saban knows how far this year's team has come from first game againt Virgina Tech. Remember that one?  It was the game that sent grown men and women screaming in the streets the sky was falliing.Therapists probably doubled their income the next week. Auburn is said to be a team of destiny. A team's destiny can be good or bad. Alabama is a team of destiny as well. Good or Bad? Destiny is a  range fate.I'd rather be team of preparation.  We'll know late Saturday afternoon. Let me ask this question?  Have you ever seen anything crushed? I can't imagine Nick Saban being crushed to the point he can't get up. When something or someone is crushed it is over. Saban? Nah, he's the type of guy that can survive a lighting strike. And he'd have a plan to ensure it wouldn't happen to him in the  future. For me, I'm going with Never Again sign that still hangs in the Bama locker room. Alabama is destiny. Good enough to win and bad enough to knock your teeth out.  I'd much rather be a team that runs off the field knowing you didn't need blind luck to win. Auburn beat Georgia on a lucky play. Alabama doens't need luck.

SEC OPINIONS - AS BIG AS IT GETS

 

Auburn and Alabama clash for the Western Crown, and perhaps a whole lot more...

 

       It would be a lie if I said I wasn't worried about the game next Saturday. Auburn fans are already calling the Tigers "the team of destiny".  You shouldn't take anything away from Auburn. They were not expected to do so well. Most pundits said 7 wins might be possible. The Tigers are going to be the top ranked One lose team in the BCS standing on Monday night. A lot of momentum is swinging toward Auburn right now. They are coming off a win that it seems that God himself caused. They are playing in Jordan-Hare, which is one of the loudest places I've ever been  The Tide will be playing a team that believes that they will win. Frankly, Alabama has looked flat the last two games.Perhaps they are looking forward to big game this weekend. The Tide has made it through this season with remarkable few injuries for a league as tough as the SEC.
  

 

 

Some tough quarterbacks for a new defense to contain    

 

  

     Bama has a few players nicked up. All were held out of the UTC game to avoid further problems. Arie K turned an ankle but is expected to be back. the Tide has been an excellent road team. In fact, they seem to play better away from Tuscaloosa. They have an experienced quarterback, great running backs, an offensive line which has improved greatly from the first game. They have the best big game wide receiver I've ever seen in the Crimson and White. The Tide has a middle linebacker that will track you down and punish you. The have a defensive line that has stopped the run all year. The linebackers are more than solid. The safeties are outstanding even though they lost on of the best in the SEC to injury. The corners are considered weak, but I wonder how much of that is because they are compared to the other parts of the defense.  They have also played against Zach Mettenburger, Johnny Manziel, Bo Wallace, and Logan Thomas. Any of those gentleman can beat you. 

 

Consider this...

     

  Here is an interesting stat: Alabama has given up only 102 points this season. By Alabama standards that might seem  like a lot. But the offensive schemes are so good now that is a really good number. 42% of those points were given up in one game. It was the second game of the season and was on the road, and Johnny Manziel is like no one I've seen in the SEC since Archie Manning. In the other ten games the tide gave up 60 points. That's less than one touchdown a game. That is incredible in today's college football. Since the TAM game the Tide as surrender only 50 points. Georgia State got a field goal.The backups gave up 5 touchdowns.  And this was done with a defense that had some major holes to repair after the NFL draft was over.

 

Playing with a new offensive line

  

     On the other side of the ball the Tide lost 4 of 5 starters from what is generally considered the best offensive line who ever suited up in college football. The offensive line proved they can dominate when the embarrassed tough boy LSU in a 38-17 win. Those 38 points were a season high for LSU. When you look at the offense you have to remember the times that Saban called off the dogs in order to not embarrass the opponent. Alabama does none of that ridiculous ringing up 80. They could have but didn't.

       There isn't a better big game player in the SEC than A.J. McCarron. Auburn hasn't played in a game this big. They beat a lackluster Georgia team for three quarters and then hung on for dear life when Georgia finally started passing the ball. We all know about the last second touhdown pass that was caused by a couple of egotistical defensive backs who had to try to intercept a pass. All they had to do was knock the ball away. Still, take nothing away from AU. They didn't quit. They didn't roll over like last season's team might have.
 

 

Auburn's defense is improved...

 

       Auburn's defense is getting better. Then the Georgia game exposed some real problems. Auburn can't play run defense and stop the pass. If they play to stop the pass they couldn't stop the run. But they play hard, mean, and determined. What they lack in talent they try to make up in effort. For the year the Tigers have give up 226 points this season. That surprising puts them as the 28th ranked NCAA team. Bama is ranked 1st in defense. The Tide is ranked 18th in scoring. Auburn is ranked 16th having scored 2 tenths more  per game than Alabama. Here's a number I love to follow. The Tide is scoring 28 more points per game than they give up. The number for Auburn is scoring 17 more per game That's a big difference in my opinion. At home the Tigers have given up 100 points. They given up 128 on the road. Bama has given up only 36. On the road the Tide has given up 66. 42 of those came in one game. to be fair to Auburn the Tigers gave up 41. Both teams gave up a ton of points to TAM but won.

 

 

Tiger, Tiger, running bright

 

      Even though the Tigers run from the spread they are a running team. They have averaged over 325 yards per game on the ground. The Tide is a a distance 28th in the NcAA at 245 per game. That says a lot or does it? Bama splits their passing and running equally. Auburn is about 90% on the ground. Bama has averaged 5.8 yards a carry. The Tigers have averaged 6.4. Advantage AU but not by much. Anyway you figure the numbers the Tigers can run the ball. Tre Mason is averaging 104 yard per game. The most astounding stat to me is that AU is averaging 73 plays per game. As hard as this is to believe that is only 66th in the nation. Alabama runs paltry 65 plays per game by comparison. The key to Bama's success will be long sustained drives to keep AU on the bench. I doubt that Auburn is going to run the ball as well as they have against lesser teams. But they'll get some yards, and probably break a long run or two. The AU backs are very, very good. Don't minimize that. Alabama transfer, Cory Grant, will get a chance to play his old teammates. He's the sweep specialist. The Tigers will put him in motion to build up a head of steam and then hand the ball to him. No doubt the Tide has the speed to deal with Grant. The Tide question is whether or not the Tigers can seal the corner to give him running room. One thing that you have to be impressed with in watching the Tigers play is the ability of their wide outs to make their blocks.

 

 

Three running plays...

     Auburn basically runs three plays. They use the read option to see if Tre Mason has some room to run. If the defensive end commits to stopping Mason, then quarterback, Nick Marshall, will take off like a rabbit at Green Track. He's good. He's been a major surprise, and is the trigger of the Tiger offense which is primed and loaded. The Tigers also run the sweep mention above off the same formation. No doubt they have a reverse to run off the formation and have already had a half back pass off reverse this season. Expect some surprises. The Auburn head man can't help his own self on  trick plays. Bama might have one or two as well, but it's more likely that it will be AU that tries them.

 

 

  

    For Alabama the equation is simple. Run the ball and win the line of scrimmage. Establish Yeldon and Drake and then throw the ball. The Tide can do it the other way around but it isn't what Saban would prefer. If Alabama's offensive line can open up some holes against the AU front they might break off some long runs. The weakest point of the Tiger defense is their linebackers. That's why other teams have found both run and pass success against the Tigers. The Tiger secondary is improving but still has some problems due to their talent and some key injuries.

      Marshall is an effective passer. He has a nice touch, and is generally throwing to wide open receivers because the safeties commit to stop the run. That means that Marshall sees a lot of man coverage on the outside. While Marshall doesn't have outstanding numbers in the passing game he has shown the ability to throw the ball down field vertically as well. The question is whether he had the ability to do so against a defensive line that will rush him, but really just try to contain him. While that game plan didn't work against Texas A&M it might be the ticket against Auburn and Marshall.

 

 

     

 

SEC OPINIONS - Winston's DNA found on the victim...

WINSTON'S ATTORNEY CLAIMS CONSENSUAL SEX...

Victim to be interviewed today by authorities
Process could move quicker now
update below on the status of Winston Case

Tim Jensen

     It wasn't Jamis Winston who spoke up about what happened with the victim in his  ongoing legal problems. It was his lawyer. "I don't think it's a secret what the defense is when I tell you that we are not surprised his DNA was found," Tim Jensen said, according to USA Today. "We anticipated it would be found. We never, ever said he wasn't there." Janson also slammed the Tallahassee Police Department for leaking information about the results of evidence garnered from a "rape kit". The kit is designed to collect and protect evidence in sexual assault cases. In this case the DNA was found in the undergarments (according to sources) of the young woman who claimed she was raped. I'm not sure why a DNA sample would be found in such a location if such an event was consensual. That's an interesting point. Also interesting is the fact that Jansen said that two affidavits had been submitted to the Tallahassee Police Department by other individuals who claimed that sex acts between Winston and the victim were consensual. Hmm...? What the heck does that mean Were there spectators? The more of this sordid affair that is uncovered the more bizarre it seems. That is exactly what a defense attorney wants to do. He wants to bring doubt and even confusion among the public. Cause the general public to lose confidence in their police and prosecutors, and you might cause law enforcement to just drop the entire matter. That's good lawyering. It rarely leads to the truth however. Ask O.J. Simpson. The question in this case is whether the there will ever be an opportunity for the truth to be found. That's important to Jameis Winston as much as it is to the victim. Winston might find that the case will not lead to an arrest. He will forever be known as the man who got the law to look the other way in order for FSU to win a national championship. That's just the way people are these days. What is going on in Tallahassee reminds me of something George Orwell wrote in Animal Farm.  In that book, the Pigs ruled the barnyard.They would say that all animals were equal but pigs were more equal. In Tallahassee all people are equal. Football players are more equal so it seems.
    
        That's my cynical view. I suspect it is also the view of a lot Alabama fans. Seriously, the matter is a lot more serious than all that. Today the TallahasseePD has reported they will interview the complainant. Things could speed up quickly after that. Like many rape cases it often come down to a he said, she said situation. If Winston is innocent, his is an odd way to address his innocence. Winston has rolled the dice believing that public pressure and his football status will protect him. I'm not sure it will. A he said she said situation supported by eyewitness testimony, and other demonstrative evidence such as DNA is serious. If there are other witnesses that is also needs to see the light of day. This is exactly why we have trials, and guilt must be established beyond a reasonable doubt. It is not up to the police or public officials to decide what happened. If the victim is credible and the defendant is credible, guilt or innocence is a jury decision. It is not a police  decision, the schools decision, or the publics decision. It should be decided in the halls of justice under the rule of law. That's fair to both parties. Juries make mistakes. I've seen that happen. Must most often I believe that a jury gets it right.

        The problem that Winston and FSU has it that the only way to resolve that is a trial before a jury. Now, all the parties are backed into their respective corners. Winston's life is on the line. The young woman's life has been devastated. The real question is why would she make a rape report if it didn't happen? No demand for a civil settlement has been demanded. The Tallahassee Police Department tanked the case, tried to intimidate a victim, and leaked information to a national news source. Why would that be leaked. In my opinion it is because the Tallahassee PD has a tiger by the tail and can't let go. If reports are true that they tried to scare witness victim that's bad. If they closed a case file after intimidating a victim it is even worse. Clearly, the TPD is trying to justify moving forward on the case despite popular sentiment from the local populous. I'd bet most people would rather have a quarterback facing a felony play football than justice being served. All of this could have been avoidable if Winston and his lawdog had cooperated up front from the start.

       One thing is certain. FSU football program as some real problems.  FSU has to carry on business with a axe over the head of their football program. What if the two mentioned affiants are also football players?  Best case scenario is that they could shed some light on what happened. Worst case scenario is they would lie for a teammate. How would they know that consensual sex occurred? Were they watching Winston? Regardless, the chase for the national football championship has been tarnished for FSU.But it has also been tarnished for all football fans. The belief that the FSU may be playing a rapist at quarterback. That may not be fair. But I believe that everywhere but in the FSU nation it seems to be true. How horrible for the BCS. It's a no win situation for fans and teams. ESPN has done a great job in uncovering this story. Some of their commentators also prefer to say that FSU isn't any different from any team in the country. Meaning that any team could be without the QB. That analogy is a so misguided and untrue. I'd bet that the majority of schools would have already suspended their QB in a situation like this. Of course, most schools wouldn't have such a situation to face.


    ***   Espn updated their reports on the Jameis Winston case. The prosecuter has finished interviewing the victim in the case. Mr. Meggs says he is waiting on information from other people and doesn't expect to make a decision on whether to prosecute Winston until next Tuesday (11-26-2013). He hinted it may take longer.

      My take on this is that if a decision is made public on that date will be done to circumvent blowback. Most people will be involved in Thanksgiving holiday and family matters. In my 30+ years as a criminal defense attorney I have never seen a suspect afforded such leeway and scrutiny. If Jameis Winston was not a star football player he would have long since been arrested

     My collegues and I have been discussing what might occur. Most believe that Winston will be arrested soon. I'm not sure. Justice is Florida has been an iffy thing on high profile cases. If the case doesn't result in an arrest than means that the prosecuter will say that he believes the victim isn't credible. Given the evidence as it has been leaked to the publce there is certainly more than enough evidence to make an arrest. A jury would be the ultimate finder of facts regarding guilt or innoncence. It is a very slippery slope for any prosecuter to fail to allow this fact situtation to not go to a jury trial. That means the prosecutor has set himself up as judge and jury in the matter. That is what preliminary hearings are for. The real issue in this case is whether the prosecutor has the courage to have Winston arrested given his desire to continue to serve for the People of Florida.  In other words, he might find his own future hurt by having Winston arrested.
       

SEC OPINIONS - FSU HAS SOME REAL PROBLEMS WITH WINSTON

FSU NEEDS TO ACT REGARDING WINSTON...

Is FSU's starting quarterback a rapist?  It's a question that needs to be addressed by FSU and the Florida State Attorney
Fisher needs to man up...
  

  

Some would call him a coward.

    It might be the biggest travesty in Florida judicial history if the State of Florida doesn't arrest Jameis Winston. It will be an even bigger travestry if the President of FSU allows this to continue.  My bet is both will not happen unless FSU happens to lose a game on the road to the national championship game. If FSU doesn't act then whatever reputation they have as an educational institution is gone.  Now, none of what I have said above means that Winston is a rapist. The victim says he is indeed a rapist. The victims family said that law enforcement in Florida tried to intimidate the victim and her family from following through with her case. Good for you whoever you are. Winston must be arrested because he has given the State's Attorney no choice. You have a very credible witness  who says he raped her. She identified him after the fact. She didn't really know who he was when the alledged crime occured. She learned who he was, recognized him, filed a complaint as is her right, and has cooperated completely. Winston on the the other hand will not cooperate with the State Attorney, instead he refuses to make any private or pubic statement regardng his part in what occured.  I support anyone's right to remain silent. That's not the same as being innocent however. Probably, as a general rule the opposite is true.

         FSU and the State of Florida value Winston's services as a quarterback and not the value of the victims life which has been torn apart. FSU and law enforcement officials, prosecutors, and others want to make sure that Winston plays for the Seminoles on the quest for a national championship. Do those people understand exactly what they are saying to the rest of the world. It's time for the NCAA to get involved in this as well. If a member institution will not make any attempt to determine why one of their student athletes refuses to cooperate with the law in a rape case, a moral imperative mandates intervention.

         The story here is that the attempt to keep the truth from being known is going to become larger than the national championship game itself. If Winston is innocent he should assert that innocence. He needs to make a public assertion of that innoncene. He doens't need to make it through his lawyer or spokesman. Jimbo Fisher needs to man up on all this. He needs to suspend his quarterback until he breaks his vow of silence.  Winston doesn't have to say a word if he chooses not. When he is arrested he doesn't have to say a word.  I can almost imagine the coming teardown that is coming Florida State and all these law enforcement people their way. You have a prosecutor who is a FSU graduate. Why doesn't the school and the State of Florida just shoot the victim to shut her up. In reality, that is what they are doing right now. I want everyone to imagine for a moment that FSU and the State knows that Winston is guilty and are exerting pressure on the victim to keep quiet and go quietly into the bad Florida night. Surely that isn't true. If so, that is a serious crime. It's not against the law to look the other way. If the State's Attorney does he will be disbarred.

     An accusation doesn't make anything true. A failure to cooperate and maintain your innocence is enough to put Winston on the bench. Anyone recall what happened when three Alabama players were accused of a much less serious felony. Let's assume they chose to just keep quiet. Saban would have suspended them anyway. Those players would have to go to the coach and convince the coach of their purity in the matter. Even if the coach believed them he would have still suspended them. FSU, Fisher, and Florida doesn't have the integrity to do that. That sick. The three F's are all trying to keep the lid on this thing in my opinion. You want to know what's wrong with this country? When educational institutions, coaches, and the law looks the other way you have the answer. That's as bad as a member of Congress having a felony reduced to a misdemeanor for possession of Cocaine. The man has the arrogance not to resign. That's whats going on in Florida right now. Misplaced values and arrogance in search of a football game. That's even sicker.

     I wish the NCAA would make it abundantly clear that if FSU plays a rapist at quarterback and had reason to know that, they would be stripped of any games he plays in now. If they win a national chammpionship the school would be stripped of the title. That seems fair. But the bottom line on this matter is this - Winston thinks someone will make the whole thing go away, he mght make some sort of public statement after a certain football game is played, or he may have a trial. Take your pick. I'm going with the first one. Who thinks that this 'investigation' will be cleared up in the next two months or so?

Important update:  the family of the victim disclosed today that a DNA sample of the perp was taken. The Tallahassee Police Department refused to take Winston's DNA citing a fear the test would tip of Winston. They then closed the case shortly thereafter (according to ESPN)