NW's Pat Fitzgerald rants: "RPO is the purest form of communism"
Pat Fitzgerald, at his Tuesday press conference, blasted run-pass options as, well, Communist Football. "Yeah, it's communism. RPO is the purest form of communism," he said when asked about the concept. He continued:
I don't understand how offensive linemen can be downfield...it used to be when you and I played, when you tripped and fell down, it was an illegal man downfield. Now, if you're just an uncovered lineman, and you go 2.3 yards, it's not a penalty, but if you go 3, it is, and nobody can see it until after the ball is thrown.
So, again, it's the rules, you can complain all you want. If I want to get it fixed, I guess I can beg to get on the Rules Committee. But it's the most en vogue change, I think, in football, that if you're a purist of football, it's not the game. It's not.
I mean, people downfield blocking, and the ball being thrown, should be illegal. But, as a defensive head coach, with defense in my background, we will absolutely 100% take full advantage within the frameworks of the rules that are given to us. So, RPO forever."
Video below:
"RPO is the purest form of communism."
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) September 11, 2018
You can't watch football without hearing "RPO" these days, and @coachfitz51 has some strong thoughts on the Run-Pass Option: pic.twitter.com/isVYvkPCvr
So, Jim Harbaugh is officially a practitioner of Communist Football! Welcome to the revolution, Comrade!
September 11th, 2018 at 3:39 PM ^
Embed didn't work in the OP, so here's take two:
"RPO is the purest form of communism."
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) September 11, 2018
You can't watch football without hearing "RPO" these days, and @coachfitz51 has some strong thoughts on the Run-Pass Option: pic.twitter.com/isVYvkPCvr
September 11th, 2018 at 5:06 PM ^
Someone replied: "Is chop blocking libertarianism?"
September 11th, 2018 at 3:47 PM ^
Strong username to post content ratio.
Please start a twitter and tweet directly at Fitzgerald
September 11th, 2018 at 5:31 PM ^
how you knew to be the first commenter on this thread feels similar to the juxtaposition of communism's mutual exclusivity of the proletariat vs bourgeoisie.
September 11th, 2018 at 5:47 PM ^
It's his thread
September 11th, 2018 at 7:55 PM ^
Commie bastards.
September 13th, 2018 at 2:09 PM ^
Question for those who know more about the rules in re: to what Fitzgerald is complaining about:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZZwFMHRJvo&t=9m7s
This play right here, should this have been an illegal man downfield call? It looks like at least 1 of the Ole Miss players is blocking further than 3 yards downfield. It seems like this would be a very hard call to identify and make in the moment. If it is an illegal man downfield, is that a call that refs can make on review?
Thanks in advance!
September 11th, 2018 at 3:40 PM ^
One of Pat Fitzgerald's odder re-Marx.
September 11th, 2018 at 3:43 PM ^
Sounds like he'll be in-Stalin the RPO anyway...
September 11th, 2018 at 3:53 PM ^
Pat calls non-enforcement of rules "Bolshevik!"
September 11th, 2018 at 5:35 PM ^
And yet, Fitzgerald's Northwestern defense has long used a Nikolai-back on passing downs.
September 11th, 2018 at 3:54 PM ^
It may take awhile. There is a steep Lenin curve.
September 12th, 2018 at 10:18 AM ^
What does this have to do with laundry?
September 11th, 2018 at 4:39 PM ^
It's a terrific means of production
September 12th, 2018 at 10:10 AM ^
In Communist Football, RPO installs you!
September 11th, 2018 at 3:52 PM ^
This is just a red herring to disguise the fact that his team may not be that good
September 12th, 2018 at 8:05 AM ^
Oh, I get it...
Russian Dressing.
September 11th, 2018 at 4:01 PM ^
Plus one imaginary!
September 11th, 2018 at 4:08 PM ^
Good jokes, everyone. You've pretty much covered all the different Engels one can cover with commie jokes!
September 11th, 2018 at 4:46 PM ^
Surprisingly, this great humor manifestoed out of nowhere!
September 11th, 2018 at 4:57 PM ^
Yes indeed, it's as if it dialectically materialized out of nowhere!
September 11th, 2018 at 4:19 PM ^
I see what Che did there
September 11th, 2018 at 4:29 PM ^
The contest against the Big Red (army) on October 13th just got a lot more interesting.
September 11th, 2018 at 4:41 PM ^
Will they still be in the Hunt?
September 12th, 2018 at 12:59 PM ^
Hey, Harbs is the most manball guy around, but even he has been Fidel-ing around with this.
September 11th, 2018 at 8:17 PM ^
Just another feeble attempt by Fitzgerald to Kapital-ize on people's attention.
September 11th, 2018 at 8:20 PM ^
Pat has a 5 year plan.
September 11th, 2018 at 10:40 PM ^
What, don’t die?
September 12th, 2018 at 7:34 AM ^
He’s just scared of the RPO. Apparently his defensive strategy is only effective against a Russian attack.
September 11th, 2018 at 3:41 PM ^
I guess he has a point about the blocking, but I don't get the whole Communist angle.
September 11th, 2018 at 4:02 PM ^
Meh, ya see. It's the 1960's all the time to Pat Fitzgerald, see. Callin' people communists and getting them thrown in the slamma is just good fun. Wacky idea? Must be a communist. RPO? Sounds like a commie to me!
September 11th, 2018 at 4:04 PM ^
Wrong clip my friend. THIS is the movie you were thinking of (Dr.Strangelove)
September 11th, 2018 at 4:13 PM ^
I'm not sure 1920s Al Capone voice was the right tone for that comment either...
September 11th, 2018 at 7:40 PM ^
This is the podcast I was thinking of.
September 11th, 2018 at 8:13 PM ^
You can tell hes done that a time or two
September 12th, 2018 at 12:54 AM ^
What's that? Not inhale?
September 11th, 2018 at 3:41 PM ^
Perfect poster of this story
September 11th, 2018 at 3:43 PM ^
The whole reason I took the username is because a Michigan linebackers coach under Lloyd Carr called read-option dual-threat QBs "communist football."
Although some Wolverines said they didn't care what kind of offense they played, others said they're happy to know some more traditional ones are up next on the schedule.
"Thank God. We're happy about that," linebackers coach Steve Szabo said. "I call that Communist football. I'm so tired of it. Good, red-blooded Americans snap the ball, hand it to the guy and have a normal run game or pass game."
September 11th, 2018 at 3:53 PM ^
EDIT: Whoops, misplaced.
September 11th, 2018 at 3:57 PM ^
You seem to have misread my comment.
September 11th, 2018 at 7:06 PM ^
So we have not, in fact, been at war with Eastasia?
September 11th, 2018 at 4:27 PM ^
I cannot stand dual threat QBs, but only on other teams.
September 11th, 2018 at 10:09 PM ^
I remember reading that quote for the first time and thinking it couldn't be real. It perfectly encapsulates the Lloyd Carr era.
September 11th, 2018 at 3:43 PM ^
I see his complaints, but what has communism anything to do with RPO?
September 11th, 2018 at 4:47 PM ^
Russian Pass Option
September 11th, 2018 at 3:44 PM ^
I'm going to go way out on a limb here and guess that Pat was NOT a political science major at Northwestern.
I get his complain about downfield lineman. His analogy about communism though makes no sense whatsoever.
September 11th, 2018 at 3:46 PM ^
His point, like Steve Szabo's, is that there's a good, old fashioned, red-blooded American way to play football: manball. Schemes that rely primarily on deception, rather than primarily on being bigger and stronger, are communist.
September 11th, 2018 at 6:03 PM ^
He could also be making a point about RPOs, like the spread before it, breaking up the control of capital (football) by the capitalists and bourgeoise (blue blood programs). A revolution meant to benefit the working class.
September 12th, 2018 at 10:17 AM ^
He's being a total hypocrite though! He's strictly talking about linemen blocking downfield and saying it shouldn't be a pass in that situation. Which means in that context, instead of passing yards he wants Russian yards.
/ tosses smoke bomb, runs away but in a totes proletariat manner