FB: Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[AndOne]

My feelings regarding Paul Plinske's departure are to some extent mixed.  On one hand we are losing an excellent administrator who oversaw the most significant growth and development in our athletic program's history.  He'll be the first one to deflect credit to all of those with whom he's worked and that's true to a point.  However several of them are his hires and it takes much more than good coaches to achieve the kind of success we've had during his tenure.  He's going to be damn hard to replace.  As a WARHAWKS alumus/supporter even though I knew his leaving was inevitable I'm disappointed. 

On the other hand I've considered Paul a personal friend and as such I'm really excited for him and his family.  This is a great opportunity and if anyone deserves it it's Paul.  I wish him nothing but success and I'll be following the Lopers, whatever that is , in the future.     

The school mascot is the "loper," as in "antelope," the standard American name for the animal more specifically called a pronghorn.

http://www.unk.edu/Student_Affairs/student_org/spiritsquad/Louie_the_Loper!/

[AndOne]

For those who can't get enough   , here is more Blanchard...........similar to the previous posted articles, but a little different.      

http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20130814/sports/708149636/

[cubs]

How do you WIAC fans feel Osh Kosh will perform this year? Being a Central fan, Im hoping they dont hit their stride for a couple of weeks  .

For the last two years I was Mr. Oshkosh (as a UWW fan).  I am no longer he.

I didn't know Superfan posted here!!!!

BTW-how come you are "no longer he?"

[bleedpurple]

How do you WIAC fans feel Osh Kosh will perform this year? Being a Central fan, Im hoping they dont hit their stride for a couple of weeks  .

I would pick them 3rd in the WIAC: Wara no mo.
But stride or no stride, I'm guessing the Dutch will have their hands full.

[02 Warhawk]

Crap....Matt taken to the locker room after one series. Looking at his hand after the sack. He's probably done for the night.

[02 Warhawk]

After watching the replay a couple of times it looks like he's favoring his left hand. Which is a bit of relief.

[02 Warhawk]

Fractured knuckle..left hand.

That blows

[voice]

Fractured knuckle..left hand.

That blows

Matt Blanchard was injured on his fourth snap in the Chicago Bears' first possession of the second half.  According to ESPN Chicago - Blanchard suffered the injury when he was sacked with 8:03 left in the third quarter for a 10-yard loss by Jarius Wynn.

http://espn.go.com/blog/chicago/bears/post/_/id/4684731/bears-lose-blanchard-with-fractured-knuckle

[footballfan413]

Fractured knuckle..left hand.

That blows

Matt Blanchard was injured on his fourth snap in the Chicago Bears' first possession of the second half.  According to ESPN Chicago - Blanchard suffered the injury when he was sacked with 8:03 left in the third quarter for a 10-yard loss by Jarius Wynn.

http://espn.go.com/blog/chicago/bears/post/_/id/4684731/bears-lose-blanchard-with-fractured-knuckle

Damn! Damn! Damn! This could not be worse news for Matt!!!  Forces the Bears to bring in another QB when they had demonstrated, so far anyway, that was not their intention.  At least the 1st string showed  a glimmer of a possibility of being able to protect our QB this season.  Poor Matt gets sacked 6 times in one half and a series.    He showed so much promise, hopefully, this just makes their decision easy to park him on the practice squad while he heals up. With a bone break to his nonthrowing hand, they know he will be 100% again! Not like a knee or ankle injury. Fingers crossed.

[badgerwarhawk]

The last thing a player on the bubble can afford is an injury that limits his practice/playing time.  I hate to say it but I suspect this pretty much eliminates any opportunity he had of making the 53 man roster.  Hopefully for Matt's sake they've seen enough to consider him worth developing and a spot on the practice squad.  Unfortunately it's a cut throat business. 

That offensive line they had in front of him last night was pathetic.

[02 Warhawk]

The last thing a player on the bubble can afford is an injury that limits his practice/playing time.  I hate to say it but I suspect this pretty much eliminates any opportunity he had of making the 53 man roster.  Hopefully for Matt's sake they've seen enough to consider him worth developing and a spot on the practice squad.  Unfortunately it's a cut throat business. 

That offensive line they had in front of him last night was pathetic.

That's exactly what I'm afraid of to...this really kills his chances. Such horrible luck, that really upset me last night...such as buzz kill after the Bears' starters had a pretty good night. Looks like Matt had stuck his left hand out to direct traffic, and when he did that the helmet/facemask of the defender went right into Matt's hand....ouch!

You're asking a lot from the Bears to have their third-string oline block, when their first-string has trouble with it.

[voice]

The last thing a player on the bubble can afford is an injury that limits his practice/playing time.  I hate to say it but I suspect this pretty much eliminates any opportunity he had of making the 53 man roster.  Hopefully for Matt's sake they've seen enough to consider him worth developing and a spot on the practice squad.  Unfortunately it's a cut throat business. 

That offensive line they had in front of him last night was pathetic.

That's exactly what I'm afraid of to...this really kills his chances. Such horrible luck, that really upset me last night...such as buzz kill after the Bears' starters had a pretty good night. Looks like Matt had stuck his left hand out to direct traffic, and when he did that the helmet/facemask of the defender went right into Matt's hand....ouch!

You're asking a lot from the Bears to have their third-string oline block, when their first-string has trouble with it.

In Michael C. Wright's ESPN Chicago story on Blanchard, he wrote, Blanchard had drawn praise from Trestman and offensive coordinator Aaron Kromer for his quick grasp of the offense, decision-making skills and his confidence. That led me to wonder if the Bears' night put Matt on the injured reserve list. Do they want to make that move even though he was a long shot to make the 53 man roster?  BTW I'm pretty sure practice squad contracts are week-to-week and if Chicago does sign him to their practice squad after he heals he could still be signed by another team, possibly as a #3 QB.  I'm just saying...

[02 Warhawk]

Brad Briggs - Chicago Tribune
Blanchard, who suffered a fractured knuckle, is the third quarterback and was a longshot to make the 53-man roster. His loss -- assuming he cannot play with the injury -- will likely lead to a roster move this weekend and might create an interesting situation at final cuts.

Brad usually knows his stuff too...so it's not looking good.

%$^#%^%$^#!!!!!!

[footballfan413]

The last thing a player on the bubble can afford is an injury that limits his practice/playing time.  I hate to say it but I suspect this pretty much eliminates any opportunity he had of making the 53 man roster.  Hopefully for Matt's sake they've seen enough to consider him worth developing and a spot on the practice squad.  Unfortunately it's a cut throat business. 

That offensive line they had in front of him last night was pathetic.

That's exactly what I'm afraid of to...this really kills his chances. Such horrible luck, that really upset me last night...such as buzz kill after the Bears' starters had a pretty good night. Looks like Matt had stuck his left hand out to direct traffic, and when he did that the helmet/facemask of the defender went right into Matt's hand....ouch!

You're asking a lot from the Bears to have their third-string oline block, when their first-string has trouble with it.

In Michael C. Wright's ESPN Chicago story on Blanchard, he wrote, Blanchard had drawn praise from Trestman and offensive coordinator Aaron Kromer for his quick grasp of the offense, decision-making skills and his confidence. That led me to wonder if the Bears' night put Matt on the injured reserve list. Do they want to make that move even though he was a long shot to make the 53 man roster?  BTW I'm pretty sure practice squad contracts are week-to-week and if Chicago does sign him to their practice squad after he heals he could still be signed by another team, possibly as a #3 QB.  I'm just saying...

Before a player can be assigned to the practice squad, he has to be put on waivers for a few days and another team can pick him up.  But once on the practice squad, I don't believe that another team can sign a player away but not sure about that.  Is the practice squad similar to a MLB farm team?  Or, if another team wants to sign a player from a competitors practice squad, do they just have to serve notice and the team has to either move him to the roster or let the player go?  I don't know about the chance of putting him on IR.  I do think that the injury changes things for Matt because he has a contract and if they cut him now, they will have to pay him an injury settlement, at least.  Pete Schmidt was in the same position, injured and had played in a few preseason games and received a check. A lot of unknowns right now, the most important being the quality of QB that the Bears can bring in.  All in all, a lousy break for Matt and the Blanchards 
Sure was cool listening to the commentators talk about UWW and the Warhawks though, wasn't it? Can't buy that kind of publicity!   

[02 Warhawk]

Sure was cool listening to the commentators talk about UWW and the Warhawks though, wasn't it? Can't buy that kind of publicity!   

Hell yea it was...lots of friends/family started texting me soon as Matt came in, as well as when they talked about Whitewater . It was very cool seeing that on ESPN.