What did the punter for Carolina ever do to this poor guy?

[albionmoonlight]

hxxp://www.profootballweekly.com/PFW/Features/Super+Bowl/2003/modglin012904.htm

hxxp://www.profootballweekly.com/PFW/Forums/default.htm?forum=2&message=19928&post={B70F2C4A-D2B4-4419-8862-7ABC93767B8A}

The top link is to a pretty vanilla piece about the Super Bowl.

The second link is someone's angry response.

Why the punter?

STORY:

If you’re at a Super Bowl party, especially a sizable one, keep an eye out for a handful of things:

1.) The guy who eats and/or drinks too much. You can start to see it in his face by the third quarter. He has that look about him, that unsettled look that says I wish I was at my own place right now.

2.) The guy who wants to place bets on everything before, during and maybe even after the game. He wants odds on which player will get hurt first or which cheerleaders are the best looking. He looks at the Super Bowl pool sheet about every five minutes. Chances are he placed bets before he got there and will tell everyone about them, doubling the amount every time he opens his mouth.

3.) The guy who pretends to know everything about the players, the schemes, the game … everything. He just hasn't gotten the call from ESPN yet. Everyone who reads this knows someone in your life like this guy. If you don’t, you might be looking at him in the mirror. And Super Bowl Sunday, with a few strangers around who don't know his annoying tactics, is his time to shine.

4.) The woman who actually does know a lot about football. This is the woman you’ve previously only heard tales about and had come to accept as a figment of your imagination. The woman who isn’t trying to raise eyebrows or impress anyone when she’s caught watching SportsCenter on her own time. They do exist, and with any luck one will be at your get-together, and she will draw attention like an albino gorilla at the zoo.

5.) The handful of women, and maybe even a guy or two, who somehow find each other and disrupt the party's chemistry by talking about anything other than football. American Idol, John Kerry's charisma, how fattening guacamole is, whatever.

Whether you're at a party or not, here are some things to watch for during the big game itself:

1.) Kris Jenkins and the Panthers’ D-line — A year ago, most people didn’t even know who he was. Now everyone does, especially the offensive linemen he abuses on a regular basis. Jenkins, in short order, has become one of the league’s elite interior defensive linemen. Some say he’s the best defensive tackle out there. He is big, quick and agile and can single-handedly turn the pocket or a running lane into a mess that would rival a teenaged skateboarder’s bedroom. The Panthers’ front four is awfully good as a whole, and in my mind, probably the best in the league. They will have to try to rattle the unshakable Tom Brady, who is as accurate as they come on three- and five-step drops. Getting hands in the passing lanes will be key since actually getting to Brady is difficult with how quickly he gets rid of the ball in New England’s short, controlled passing game. One benefit for the Panthers: They should be able to keep extra defenders back in coverage because of the consistent pass rush typically generated by the line.

2.) A few big plays from Jake Delhomme — The Panthers will have to have some. I can’t see them winning without a big pass play or two. Knowing Bill Belichick and the defensive game plan he’s capable of generating in a two-week span, it’s safe to assume he’ll have something in store to neutralize Carolina’s ground game. Delhomme, who has proven capable in his first year as a starter, needs to be big on third downs and will have to handle the pressure that Pats defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel will bring throw at him from all angles and in every scenario imaginable.

Think about this for a minute: If the Panthers pull of the upset, the last five Super Bowl-winning quarterbacks will be Kurt Warner, Trent Dilfer, Tom Brady, Brad Johnson and Jake Delhomme. Keep in mind, Warner and Brady only got into the lineup because of injuries. The four Super Bowl-winning passers before that were John Elway, Brett Favre, Troy Aikman and Steve Young.

3.) Whether the Patriots’ defensive backs will be able to get away with the hyper-physical game they played against Indy - The Patriots are the best in the league when it comes to taking an opposing quarterback out of his rhythm. They do this by getting up in receivers’ faces, getting their hands on them and disrupting the timing of their routes, which in turn allows pass rushers an extra step or two to get to the prize. Some observers believe the Patriots toed the line in the AFC championship when it came to following the league rules for holding and illegal contact in battling Marvin Harrison & Co. Carolina offensive coordinator Dan Henning said yesterday that he has as physical a group of wideouts as he has ever been around, but the Patriots can get in your head easier than a good psychiatrist, so it’ll be interesting to watch this matchup.

4.) Kevin Faulk and DeShaun Foster — Both teams rely on their bigger backs, those being Antowain Smith and Stephen Davis. But the backups — shiftier, speedier and better receivers out of the backfield — have made a difference before in the playoffs and could very well be centerstage again.

5.) Todd Sauerbrun, Rod Smart and Bethel Johnson — Yes, a punter, "He Hate Me" and a No. 4 wide receiver. I’m not kidding. These special teamers could have a significant impact in a close, defensive battle that hinges on field position.

RESPONSE:

Saurballs succks the behemoth!

Posted by master bait & tackle

C'mon, Saurbraun? The only way he'll be a factor is with crappy punts, giving NE stellar field postion. He's going to choke when he goes out there to boot. I hate that guy. What a wuss. Total loser. He might single-handedly lose the game for Carolina. Carolina better hope they don't need to rely on thids guy. What a tool!

[The_herd]

Saurbraun was a known ass while at WVU. He actually considered going pro as a junior (yes a punter leaving school early for the NFL), but didn't have a very good junior year and had to come back for his senior year. I don't know why the hell this guy said this though, because the guy can flat out kick the crap out of the ball. But it is interesting he chose the punter to pick on though.

[tucker342]

wow, what an insightful post.... he could at least have some facts to back up his claims.

what an idiot.

[Crim]

Possibly, just maybe possibly, I know where that comment was coming from. Judging from the author's handle, he's prolly a dumb redneck. I live near Tampa, home of the World Champion Buccaneers . We have a thriving population of dumb rednecks in this area, who are suddenly (since the fairly recent emergence of the Bucs as an elite team) diehard, loyal Buccaneer fans (or as I prefer to call them, "band wagoners").

Okee, I don't know how much press a story like this one gets, but a while back, I think it was last year, it was a big story briefly around here that Sauerbrun had made some disparaging comments about Tampa's kicker, Martin Grammatica, and his brother Bill, who is the kicker for the Cardinals. Said something along the lines of "They act like making any little chip shot field goal or extra point is such a big deal and dance around like idiots. Kicking field goals is their job, right?" Or words to that general effect.

So, anyhoo, my take on this is it's a rabid Polk- or Hillsborough County hillbilly who can't let bygones be bygones or something.

On an almost unrelated note:

A good friend of mine and I think it's hilarious that Sauerbrun is in the Superbowl. His team (Miami) and my team (Denver) are out of it, so we've made a sort of consolation agreement to root for Carolina, because of Sauerbrun.

Why, you ask? Several years ago, when Sauerbrun was a Chicago Bear, My friend and I were watching a Bears vs. ______ (who knows) game, and Sauerbrun made a terrific open field tackle against a punt returner. We were still chuckling about the physical play of the punter a bit later, when on another punt, Sauerbrun drew a 15 yard penalty for, if I recall correctly, Unsportsmanlike Conduct! At that point (with the aid I'm sure of plenty of beer), we broke out in hysterical laughter, and "adopted" Todd Sauerbrun as our favorite punter.

Go Panthers (I guess)!!!


Crim

[Axxon]

Crim,

Close but not exactly. He had a problem with Martin because Martin kicked four field goals to beat the Panthers 12-9. Poor baby got a widdle upset that Martin celebrated his kicks too much to suit him. Made some pretty low class remarks.

The next time they played, Martin went after him which is incredibly stupid, granted, as Sauerbrun is a big boy. After the game, the youngest Gramatica, who kicks for USF confronted Sauerbrun outside the Carolina locker room ( really stupid ) which prompted this response from Sauerbrun.

"I don't know who this kid thinks he's playing with but I'm not the most mild-tempered guy,'' Sauerbrun said. "If he would have said the wrong thing to me there's no telling what I might have done ... that kid is as big of an idiot as his brother, and I'm sure his other brother is, too. It goes right down the line.''

Quite the tough guy act but that's all he had to ever say about Bill. The whole thing was bitterness because the Panthers lost. It was punk trash talk by a bitter punter.

Now, quite frankly, Sauerbrun is a great punter but I wouldn't bother to piss on him if he was on fire.

The whole feud was comedy gold though.

Here's an interesting Gramatica quote that widens the mystery.

"One hundred percent of the people that know (Sauerbrun) don't like him, so how can I get upset about that?" Gramatica said. "I don't respect him.

If this is true then it could be anybody writing the above quote.

For your information though, if it wasn't for the rednecks from Polk or Hillsborough the Bucs wouldn't be in Tampa. Who do you think was buying seasons tickets during the lean years? Who do you think voted for the new stadium??

It certainly wasn't the transplants who come to tampa for the weather, low taxes, and to mock the natives. No, they'd help sell out the Packers game every year and the Giants and teams like that but support the city and the team? Forgetaboutit. I bet they all have Bucs jerseys now though.

All you'd have to have done is gone to a game during the lean years and you'd realize how ridiculously unaware you are of who the teams fan base really is but that would be too much to ask of someone as superior as yourself I guess.

I don't know who's worse, Sauerbrun or stereotyping jerks.

[ waits for the obligatory 'you must be a redneck' retort. Can you be a Cuban redneck?? ]

[Axxon]

dola - I must admit that those fans of other teams in the old Central that went to the games were mostly class act fans. My seasons tickets were on the visitors side so I met a lot of them but they certainly weren't there when we played any other games but the teams they supported. Had some fun times though, especially Packer fans back when both teams sucked.

[Abe Sargent]

I love Sauerbrun because he is one of the few kickers who can be relied upon to actually tackle. Chris Gardocki is also a pretty tough, mean punter, and that's what I'd like. When he flipped off the Steelers, man, that was great.

Additionally, in a league where everybody picks on the kickers and punters, maybe being a tough punter is a way of surviving.


-Anxiety

[Comey]

That's Martin Gramatica's alias.

[hoopsguy]

Count me among the Sauerbrun fans. There was an awful Redskins/Bears game going on a few years back that was highlighted by a stellar punters duel between Turk and "The Todd". Anyways, Sauerbrun obviously was in the zone and must have been having a good week in the weight room as well because he was on the sidelines with scissors cutting up his jersey to better show off his pipes. I'm expecting him to out-flex Hoculi (sp?) on Sunday and then head to Disney.

[The_herd]

I think it was Cincy's football team that came to Morgantown one time, and after WVU beat the crap out of them, their coach was quoted as saying something along the lines of, "I knew it was going to be a long day when I looked out at their team during warmups and even the punter was ripped."

[Crim]

Err, Axxon, I was going from memory, and off-the-cuff, and typing partly to make lighthearted fun of friends of mine who are Buc fans.

Originally Posted by Axxon

The whole feud was comedy gold though.

This was my point, as evidenced by my story about adopting Sauerbrun as my favorite punter, in a fit of drunken hilarity. I mean, who has a favorite punter? Well, possibly anyone who is a close relative of a punter might be biased toward having a favorite, but, you get what I mean...

All you'd have to have done is gone to a game during the lean years and you'd realize how ridiculously unaware you are of who the teams fan base really is but that would be too much to ask of someone as superior as yourself I guess.

Did. Got no problem w/ the team, or the (real) fans. However, I reserve the right to call them bandwagoners, because it unerringly results in a fierce (but friendly, dagnabbit!) debate w/ my friends. And, you might very well be one of my friends, as that "someone superior" remark is similar to many verbal bombs that have been lobbed at me face to face over the years.

I don't know who's worse, Sauerbrun or stereotyping jerks.

Umm, Sauerbrun? No, stereotyping jerks! Ack, just put me down as "undecided"...

waits for the obligatory 'you must be a redneck' retort. Can you be a Cuban redneck?? ]

Uhh, you must be a redneck.



Hugs,
Crim the Misunderstood (sniff)(\sniff)

[Axxon]

Hey Crim,

I'll buy that. This is the internet though so you never can tell so I threw my stuff out there. It really does get old though hearing people bag on your city and it's fans. Now that I know where you're coming from, I've got no problem with it.

Favorite punter?? I don't know about now, but I certainly was a fan of Ray Guy. This was one punter who deserved the honor.

As for the Grammatica correction, don't take that the wrong way. That was nothing more than straightening out the story. It wasn't meant any other way. It did make me lose respect for Sauerbrun though because I can't stand sore losers.

Later.