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Barns, Holmes and Allis per wraltv. That sucks.

wow....big loss.

“This is, without doubt, the most difficult thing teams and coaches face. This is not a reaction to anything that has occurred during the last couple weeks. This has been something that we have worked very hard with these young men to continue to understand what's expected of them," Cutcliffe said in a statement.

http://www.wralsportsfan.com/duke-dismi ... /15115680/

For whatever the reason, this event made me think of the basketball team back a few years ago when they couldn't seem to gel the entire season. One of the players left (McRoberts) and the tone lifted immediately. Discord can eat away at all sorts of good intentions.

I also think back to one of these dismissed players being involved in a fight (maybe his first year). There were those who made light of it, almost under the boys will be boys heading or that's what football players do. Sometimes people do better when given another chance and sometimes they don't.

Devil in the Blue Dress wrote:For whatever the reason, this event made me think of the basketball team back a few years ago when they couldn't seem to gel the entire season. One of the players left (McRoberts) and the tone lifted immediately. Discord can eat away at all sorts of good intentions.

I also think back to one of these dismissed players being involved in a fight (maybe his first year). There were those who made light of it, almost under the boys will be boys heading or that's what football players do. Sometimes people do better when given another chance and sometimes they don't.

So very true. Will be interesting to see how the team shows up this weekend. Of course, I thought they would respond positively after Miami, and then thought the same after unc; I'm running out of games for them to bounce back with effort from.

Ugh! Lots of thoughts on this one...

Barnes has pretty much been a disappointment in the #1 receiver role so on the one hand losing him is no big deal but on the other hand we have no one to replace him in the short term. I guess Nash gets the role by default. He has been pretty good lately.

Alls had a ton of potential but in the long run he is no better than Chris Taylor if Taylor can get healthy. Perhaps this adversity will motivate Trevon Lee.

Holmes has been a non-factor all season and the 2016 class is stacked with LB talent.

I hate to see this happen to the individuals, but I love Coach Cutcliffe setting and enforcing high standards. I really, really hope this is a addition by subtraction situation. We need to kick Virginia's butt and move on!

Barnes was suspended a game a year or so ago for a bar fight. IIRC, he broke the jaw of another student athlete, though I don't remember what sport the other guy played.

lawgrad91 wrote:Barnes was suspended a game a year or so ago for a bar fight. IIRC, he broke the jaw of another student athlete, though I don't remember what sport the other guy played.

Lacrosse

Barnes ended up with a cast on his hand as well.

I have many thoughts on these new developments as well.

First of all, I am not going to put much stock into Barnes's suspension for his fight at Shooters last year. Trust me, I have met many lacrosse players that I wouldn't mind punching in the face.

Alls has had his issues off the field dating back to April. Obviously, these dismissals were not based on one incident. To my knowledge, these three have been failing to live up to the standards of the programs for months. I never like seeing players dismissed, but this team had one of its worst showings in the Cutcliffe era this past Saturday. I saw zero positive emotion from the sidelines the entire game, it was very hard to watch our team not provide any emotion or spark on a Senior day. I am hoping that these dismissals, combined with the extra-long team meetings that took place earlier this week will lead to an inspired team on Saturday.

Finally, this season still has the potential to be a GREAT SEASON. I hope the players still know this. We finish the regular season against Virginia and Wake Forest. UVA has played well as of late, but we are still a more talented team than they are. Wake Forest is still very limited in talent and this should be a game that we must win.

Winning these two games, followed with a bowl win would secure us a 9-4 season with our first bowl win under Cutcliffe. I would argue that this result would be a much better season than last year. I know these last few weeks have been disappointing, but this team still has the potential to have a great year. Im hopeful that this coaching staff and the seniors will do their part and finish the season the right way.

Regarding the nightclub fight two years ago, it's obviously not the triggering event for dismissal. I view it as a symptom of ongoing problems which continued.

wolfpackdevil wrote:I know these last few weeks have been disappointing, but this team still has the potential to have a great year. Im hopeful that this coaching staff and the seniors will do their part and finish the season the right way.

I agree with you 100 percent. Once the team travels to Charlottesville and beats Virginia, the atmosphere will improve dramatically. I am disappointed in the casual fans (obviously I am not talking about the hard core fans like us) sudden dismissal of the season as a lost cause. We finish up with two very winnable games, which will result in an 8-4 record and a trip to a Tier 1 Bowl. Hopefully this week's events will serve as a catalyst.

Devil in the Blue Dress wrote:Regarding the nightclub fight two years ago, it's obviously not the triggering event for dismissal. I view it as a symptom of ongoing problems which continued.

DitBD, this was exactly the reason I mentioned it. By itself it doesn't seem like much but as a part of a larger picture it carries more weight.

lawgrad91 wrote:

Devil in the Blue Dress wrote:Regarding the nightclub fight two years ago, it's obviously not the triggering event for dismissal. I view it as a symptom of ongoing problems which continued.

DitBD, this was exactly the reason I mentioned it. By itself it doesn't seem like much but as a part of a larger picture it carries more weight.

The dismissals arose from ongoing patterns. One has to wonder what effect these patterns of behavior or attitude have had on teammates and the team as a whole. The source of poor chemistry may be easier to identify on a smaller squad such as a basketball team than a larger one like a football team. Loyalty and trust are the foundation of team success. It is my hope that the dismissals have cleared the air and opened up a path to success.

Very Duke Blue wrote:Barns, Holmes and Allis per wraltv. That sucks.

THEY let the WHOLE TEAM DOWN !!!!!