Was he or wasn't he?

There was a bit of back and forth between LaVar and Dan Steinberg about whether LaVar had ever played in a blowout as big as Monday night's.

Thanks to our readers/viewers we found out that he had: a 49-14 loss to Michigan State on Nov. 29, 1997 when he was at Penn State and a 37-0 loss to the Packers on Sept. 24, 2001. But, as it turns out, Lavar wasn't on the field much for either of those games.

Here's his side of the story:

"It's different when you get blown out and didn't play. I wasn't on the field for either game. In '97 I was a freshman and didn't play and in 2001 I got injured in the first quarter. The results could have been different in either one if I had played. They should have played me as a freshman and 2001 was one of my best years. I was killing teams that year."

Our crack staff confirmed the 2001 injury.

Here's the lead to the notebook that ran in the Post on Sept. 25 2001.

Arrington, Greer Suffer Knee Injuries

By Mark Maske and Liz Clarke
Washington Post Staff Writers

GREEN BAY, Wis., Sept. 24 -- Washington Redskins linebacker LaVar Arrington left tonight's game with a sprained right knee. The injury occurred late in the first quarter when Redskins defensive end Bruce Smith landed on top of Arrington when both hit Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre on a third-down play. Arrington remained down on the field and, with help from the team's trainers, limped to the sideline to receive treatment. He was back on the field for the first two plays of Green Bay's next offensive series. But then he was removed from the game and sat on the bench with an ice pack strapped to his knee while undrafted rookie Antonio Pierce took over at his outside linebacker spot.

LaVar adds that what our reporters didn't know was that he also suffered a concussion on that play.