Washington State assistant Jim Mastro declines to help NFL teams defend the Pistol

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick had a great deal of success in his first year as a starter. He led the 49ers to within a whisker of the Super Bowl title. NFL teams are still trying to figure out a way to contain Kaepernick after he excelled in the 49ers version of the Pistol offense.

The Pistol is generally was the formation Kaepernick played in while starring at Nevada. Former coach Chris Ault is thought of as the inventor of the Pistol. Former Ault and current Washington State assistant, Jim Mastro, is the godfather.

With the knowledge Mastro possesses, NFL teams have come calling. Mostly to get some insight and some knowledge on how to stop it.

Mastro has declined NFL offers due to his loyalty to Kaepernick.  Mastro told CBSSports.com's Bruce Feldman, as long as Kaepernick is in the NFL he won't help teams with ways to defend the Pistol.

"As long as Colin [Kaepernick] is in the NFL, I'm not going to do that," Mastro told CBSSports.com Monday. "He is like a son to me.

"There are plenty of people they [NFL teams] can get ahold of that can help them."  

I'm wondering if the Green bay Packers were one of those teams. Kaepernick single handedly destroyed the Packers, running for 181 yards in the process.

Nevada Might Not Make It To The Mountain West

The Universtiy of Nevada has been a pretty competitive mid-major school in both football and basketball in recent years. They've had a run to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA tournament back in 2004 in basketball and the football team has made a few bowl appearances in the past few years.

You think with that recent success while competing in the WAC and moving to the Mountain West in 2012, they would have a few dollars in the athletic department coffers. Not so fast. The Wolfpack might be in danger of losing their status in Division I athletics.

Athletic director Cary Groth says the school is facing a $1.5 million cut in state-appropriated funds that could "change the face of the department."

The cuts, which are part of a proposed $59 million university-wide budget reduction at UNR, could threaten Nevada's ability to maintain Division I status or force the department to cut another sport. The reduction is contingent on the state legislature's final higher education budget and board of regents deliberations.



"I would say maintaining the integrity of a Division I program is our main focus right now," Groth said. "We're right on the line of a few things as is."


In the past three years, the Wolf Pack's state-appropriated funds have decreased from $7.054 million to an estimated $3.817 million for the 2012-13 fiscal year.

The school doesn't have too much margin for error financially, so it may have to cut sports or reduce scholarships. Hopefully the move to the Mountain West can pump more money into the school, that's if they make it there.









 

Is Kaepernick's Arm Really This Strong?

When I saw this video I had to call b.s. on it. I know Nevada's Colin Kaepernick has a stronger arm than I'll ever dream of having, but to chuck it more than 200 yards across ESPN's campus is absurd. Check out the video to see if I'm wrong for questioning this feat.