Tate turns Berry’s Heisman hopes into roadkill
Big Ben rolls over Berry on his way to 128 rushing yards.
By: Kevin Strickland
Eric Berry for Heisman? Sorry, but no.
Auburn running back Ben Tate derailed that fleeting notion when he lowered his shoulder in the third quarter of the Tigers’ 26-22 Saturday win over the Vols and flung the Tennessee safety through the air like a rag doll.
Heisman Trophy candidates do not fly backward through the air for five full yards and hit the ground so hard they dig a trench with their butt. That’s what happened when Tate rammed Berry. The Tennessee safety looked like Superman running in reverse. If Superman started his flight flat on his back with a confused look on his face.
It should be noted that Tate kept his feet and picked up eight more yards after turning Berry into a flopping chew toy.
Lane Kiffin’s Tennessee Volunteers are desperate for attention. Kiffin subscribes to the notion that any mention, even bad, is still attention. Kiffin will say anything and do anything to get the spotlight to shine on his Vols.
Substance? Who cares. Kiffin is the Paris Hilton of coaches.
Despite his rocky tenure with the Oakland Raiders, he bought into at least one facet of the philosophy of crusty owner Al Davis. If people are talking about you, that means you’re on their minds.
As part of that craving for attention, Kiffin endorsed a Berry for Heisman marketing campaign.
There’s a website (www.berry4heisman.com). There’s a band, The Love Berrys, that rips off the FreeCreditReport.com crew. Berry stars in a clever sendup of the Geico caveman commercials. It probably hasn’t dawned on anyone that Berry is playing the part of the caveman, but it’s creative nonetheless.
There’s also a well-produced SwiperBoy rap video that’s got nice bounce.
The song is smooth, there are plenty of gyrating Tennessee gals in skimpy outfits and the mascot Smokey busts a move. Berry, who stars as himself in the video, looks horribly uncomfortable and would lose to Old Smokey in a Dancing with the Stars competition. It wouldn’t be close.
Plenty of style but so little substance.
Even Kiffin had to realize that a defender being taken seriously as a Heisman candidate was a longshot to start with. This really isn’t about Berry at all.
Although Berry is presumed to be the center of attention, the real purpose of the video and purported Heisman campaign is to enhance Tennessee recruiting.
It’s something Kiffin and his staff will show potential signees. It’s their way of saying look how far we at Tennessee will go to pimp you and promote this program.
What would probably work better for Kiffin, Berry and the Vols is to spend less time worrying about helping SwiperBoy craft dope hooks and spend more time putting a quality product on the field.
Slick video packaging will only go so far. Sure you can show the video of Berry dancing like a wooden puppet to his own beat to recruits. Opposing coaches will counter with passes doinking off receiver’s helmets and Berry doing the five-yard helicopter after being shoulder butted by Tate.
That clip isn’t up on Berry’s Heisman site yet, although it is a staple on YouTube. Perhaps Berry’s webmaster just hasn’t had time to add it to the highlight reel.
Not to discredit Berry entirely, he did have 14 total tackles against the Tigers and was as solid as any defender on the field. The junior is currently third in the league, averaging nine stops per game. He’s tied for 13th in the SEC in tackles for a loss with four.
But Heisman? Really?
Berry isn’t in the Top Ten in the SEC in any other significant defensive category. Not interceptions, not fumbles forced or recovered, not passes defended, not sacks.
The rap videos are cool. The image of Berry being turned into dead-armadillo roadkill by Tate is the one that lingers.
2 Comments
Berry is a beast. The hit on Tate was more of a wiff than a trucking on Berrys part. Correct, Berry is not in the top 10 of the SEC. Why is that? Nobody throws your way when you are close to setting a all time NCAA record.