Notre Dame’s Brian Kelly Rightfully Ends Navy Cut-Blocking Controversy

By Matt Heinz @MattHeinz_Rant on October 31, 2014

Does Navy play dirty? Is there bad blood between the historically friendly Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the Midshipmen of Navy? Plenty of posts and tweets from the internet out of Golden Domers would indicate so.

The bad blood of Irish fans stems directly from Brian Kelly’s comments last season after Notre Dame suffered numerous injuries following the games with Navy and Air Force in back-to-back weeks. The academies both run triple option offenses which are known for their use of cut blocks.

Cut blocks are legal plays but some in the football world frown upon them. The rule reads: “Offensive players in the tackle box at the snap who are not in motion are allowed to block below the waist legally without restriction. All other players are restricted from blocking below the waist.” It is illegal to cut block a player while he is engaged with another blocker, and that is another reason some call the academies blocking schemes dirty.

Last year, Kelly was asked if the leg injuries of his defenders had to do with cut blocks and he said: “I can attribute it to Kona Schwenke‘s injury. He got cut, and it caused that injury. I can contribute it to Ishaq Williams‘ ACL. He was cut, and it caused that injury. And Sheldon Day, his re-injury, all of them contributed specifically to those. You know, it’s unfortunate. It’s the style of offense that the academies play. It is what it is.”

That was last season. Currently, reporters and message board enthusiasts tried making the cut blocking controversy an issue again leading up to Kelly’s statements for the Navy game. Some even cried for the Irish to cancel their historic series with Navy due to player safety concerns.

Being above internet rumors, Kelly ended the controversy this week by saying: “As it relates to the cut blocks, stop being crybabies, and go play the game. I don’t want to hear about cut blocks. Get in your stance, get off the ball and play the game. I don’t want to hear about it. It’s part of the game, and they’re legal, and you’ve got to get off the ball and go play. I told our guys this is a no cry zone this week. I don’t want to hear about it. Go play big games and go play the game the right way.”

There is a big difference between how a fan looks at something and how a coach looks at something. A fan will want to make an excuse or blame someone for a problem. A good coach will try to fix the problem. Kelly isn’t giving his players any room to make an excuse and he is right to do so.

Matt Heinz is a college football writer for www.Rantsports.com. Follow him on Twitter @MattHeinz_Rant