quote:
But if you call that a cheapshot, watch the game yet again and see how many times Alabama players were pushing after the play was over throughout the entire game. I don't think they should have been flagged, but that's the point. They weren't and neither should Alexander have been

The problem is, the referee really couldn't ignore that one. It was right in his face, and it was a full-on shove, not just jostling in the pile. I would agree that games should be called consistently, but Alexander made an incredibly stupid decision to escalate right in front of the ref well after the whistle had been blown. Did the Bama guy oversell it? I have no idea (though I've seen enough LSU fans cheering their own flopper that I would shake my head at any who get upset at the idea of another team flopping.) But he did fall back and it was a direct result of an entirely unsubtle push right in front of the ref. It was the very definition of a dead-ball foul regardless of whether you consider it inconsistently called. That's really not in question. Football players take cheap shots in piles all the time (I know, I was one, for about 3 minutes every game in high school

) but they at least try not to make it obvious. Alexander made no such effort.