Chris Simms calls Dante Moore injury a ‘Debbie Downer moment,’ blames Oregon QB for sliding late
By Adam Spencer
Published:
Defenders in today’s college football are often put into tough spots.
When a QB escapes the pocket and scrambles, it can be tough to know when to hold up and when to go for a tackle, especially when QBs sometimes try to trick defenders into allowing them to gain extra yards.
However… that was not the case in the USC-Oregon game on Saturday night. This is about as clear as it gets when it comes to targeting:
That’s a pretty obvious targeting against USC’s Desman Stephens, and it was upheld upon review. Meanwhile, Moore was carted off the field and taken to the hospital.
Yet, on the NBC halftime report, analyst Chris Simms actually blamed Moore for the play:
“It was a Debbie Downer moment,” Simms weirdly starts his monologue. “We all want to see these teams be at their best. He’s one of the best players in college football. … When you’re out in the open, big guys like (Stephens) go ‘Oh, I can hit the quarterback!’ So there is that. You want to slide in plenty of time to keep your body safe. You’ve also got to have a little soft spot in your heart for defenders right now. You’ve got to think about — Dante Moore’s 6-foot-3, 220 pounds. He’s running at you. … Yes, you the defender have to know in this day and age that you’ve gotta be careful with the quarterback. But I would also say, Dante Moore, I do think slid very late and put the defender in a kinda no-win situation.”
Again, there are situations where QBs slide late. The Moore slide didn’t appear to be one of them. Add in Stephens’ behavior after the play and it’s hard to agree with Simms here.
We’ll have to wait and see what the prognosis is for Moore this week, but hopefully he can return to the field fully healthy soon.
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Adam is a daily fantasy sports (DFS) and sports betting expert. A 2012 graduate of the University of Missouri, Adam now covers all 16 SEC football teams. He is the director of DFS, evergreen and newsletter content across all Saturday Football brands.
