2012 NFL Offseason thread

[Grover]

Originally Posted by Julio Riddols

But then, I guess thinking about the situation and actually being in it might be a different story all together. I don't know how I would react to having a shit ton of money dumped in my lap, but I do know how I would like to react.

Make it raaaaaaaaaaaaaain!

[kingfc22]

Apparently Aldon Smith was at a party last night that saw him receive stab wounds and two other party goers were shot. All non-life threatening.

Why do athletes insist on hanging out with idiots?

[Radii]

Not sure what thread this is best for but hopefully our lawyerly types will enjoy:

Fred Davis, Attorney at Law: The Courtroom Transcripts | Local News | Washingtonian

Fred Davis and a female "celebrity broker" (or possibly "pimpette" according to the story) are having some sort of civil dispute and they're both representing themselves.

No idea wtf the context is but this is my favorite part:

Davis: But as it shows, you also have your hands on his genitals. I mean, why would you take a picture like that?

Chaka: I do not. Let’s look closely at the exhibit right here, Judge. Where is my hand placed in this exhibit?

Judge: I don’t answer questions, Ms. Chaka.

Chaka: Oh, sorry.

Judge: The witness does.

That judge must be having a great time.

[stevew]

I thought the interpretation of Brees franchise tag was interesting. I suppose it is rare a franchise player would be tagged by two different teams. It's a much bigger deal for non QBs, as I'd think a bump with the third tag would not happen for a position player

[JonInMiddleGA]

Cleveland DT Kiante Tripp arrested on burglary charge (made the local paper since he's a UGA alum)

[mckerney]

Adrian Peterson arrested for resisting arrest, a situation where I still can't comprehend how it can happen.

[gstelmack]

Originally Posted by mckerney

Adrian Peterson arrested for resisting arrest, a situation where I still can't comprehend how it can happen.

Originally Posted by CNNSI

that Peterson was arrested at 2:30 a.m. at a downtown Houston nightclub in Bayou Place

How predictable was that part of it? Note to athletes: being at clubs in the wee hours of the morning is just asking for trouble.

[stevew]

Maybe this belongs in the NFL Burn Out thread, but I'm tired of every battle turning into court proceedings. I feel like the CBA was just signed, and that more or less people should just deal with it. Vilma and the other people crying need to just shut the fuck up.

[RainMaker]

Are they allowed to suspend players in Minnesota? I mean we already know they don't have to follow the steroid policy.

[stevew]

Seems out of character for Peterson to get arrested I think. Despite playing on one of the worst franchises in pro sports, he's very marketable and one of the faces of the league.
I'm pretty sure there's a dickhead cop involved in this process.

[Young Drachma]

Originally Posted by Julio Riddols

Yeah, it seems a little crazy how easy it sounds to not fall into that trap. You get a big ass signing bonus on your most recent deal, so why not get yourself a nice home to live in in a place you wouldn't mind being for the long term, then putting a big chunk of the remaining funds somewhere safe where it can grow? Use the rest to rent a nice house in the current city you play for, and that's that.

But then, I guess thinking about the situation and actually being in it might be a different story all together. I don't know how I would react to having a shit ton of money dumped in my lap, but I do know how I would like to react.

A lot of these guys are subject to a lot of the same pressures as lottery winners in the sense that their families hound them for money, they might have a lot of kids (not necessarily a lottery winner trait) and then they're not exactly prepared for it (same as lottery) or have a family with many people who come to the situation well off.

Of course, for every one of these guys who blows it all, there are a large percentage who manage to do just fine after their careers are over. But yeah, it's easy for us who live our lives in more conventional ways to see it and make sense of it; but if you spent your whole life being trained (by parents or whoever else) to play a sport at the detrement of many of your other traits or personal development skills...then I can see where one might recede or have a hard time discerning the "right" investments from the "wrong" investments.

Hell, if people on Wall Street can't figure it out and they're supposed to be the best and brightest, it's no surprise that a bunch of athletes often have trouble keeping their shit straight.

The difference is, the Wall Street/C-suite types can work for many years and the athletes are pretty much done making their big money in as fast as it takes a comet to cross the sky and then that's it. TV doesn't pay what being on the field does.

It's not as if I have sympathy for them really, just it makes sense how it can happen.

[M GO BLUE!!!]

Are we sure it was the Adrian Peterson of the Vikings & not the one who used to play for da Bears?

[spleen1015]

Maybe I am ignorant and I don't know how the system works.

Drew Brees has said that he believes the Saints are low balling him on his new contract because he was involved in negotiating the new labor deal.

At the same time, he's not going to report to training camp with a new long term contract.

Um, Drew. You were involved in the negotiations. You agreed to the franchise tag rules. Aren't you being hypocritical by holding out and not following the rules you helped establish?

[stevew]

I think it would be awesome if he didn't report until the final 6 or 7 games. He isn't under contract right now, so he isn't hurting his team. Someone would have probably offered him a long term deal if the exclusive tag didn't exist. He did his time at a belie market salary. If I were him I would insist on the saints paying 25M a year in order to make up for not redoing his deal 2-3 years ago when he was obviously outperforming it. He was getting Kevin Kolb money FFS.

That being said, Brees is a fake douche.

[jbergey22]

Originally Posted by stevew

Seems out of character for Peterson to get arrested I think. Despite playing on one of the worst franchises in pro sports, he's very marketable and one of the faces of the league.
I'm pretty sure there's a dickhead cop involved in this process.

Where does this come from?

They have made the playoffs 26 of the 50 years they have been in existence. 4 Super Bowls and numerous league championship games. Hardly one of the worst franchises in pro sports.

If you were talking popularity that doesnt hold any merit either as the Vikings fanbase is also one of the largest in the NFL basically because much of the Dakotas and Montana are Vikings fans as well.

Most Popular Sports/Teams by state - CBSSports.com

NFL’s Most Popular Teams

If you meant currently one of the worst teams in the NFL, Id agree.

[stevew]

I don't have enough time to detail everything, but their arrest record is shameful. They always seem to be 20-40M below the cap, maybe not lately. They almost blacked out playoff games. They play in a dump.

[jbergey22]

Originally Posted by stevew

I don't have enough time to detail everything, but their arrest record is shameful. They always seem to be 20-40M below the cap, maybe not lately. They almost blacked out playoff games. They play in a dump.

At one time their arrest record was bad but they brought in that clueless Childress to clean that up. I dont see the salary cap as a problem because up until recently went after players they wanted. They werent wasting the money. And I agree that the metrodome is a dump but a new stadium is on the way. I mean the franchise has had its fair share of issues but they have done a good job of putting a winning product on the field most years and they did more than most teams would have to fix the arrest issues.

I guess Im not sure when a playoff game was almost blacked out. The Vikings dont have as many season ticket holders as a lot of teams but they sell out most of their games. Companies have had to purchase tickets to prevent blackouts before but the games will sell out by Sat or Sunday. NFL has a deadline of Thursday I believe where they want to blackout games.

[stevew]

Most importantly--

Your head coach was scalping tickets cause he was making less than public school administrators.

[jbergey22]

Originally Posted by stevew

Most importantly--

Your head coach was scalping tickets cause he was making less than public school administrators.

Haha, Mike Tice....

[jbergey22]

Originally Posted by stevew

Most importantly--

Your head coach was scalping tickets cause he was making less than public school administrators.

You should be more worried about that idiot Paul Alexander preaching to your fellow Pirates fans about how sabermetrics are stupid and the Pirates shouldnt trade Hammer because apparently they can afford to pay a relief pitcher 8m per year

So on my way to work this morning, I was listening to The Fan. Yes, I realize that this was probably my first mistake. However, coming off a good win yesterday and the first 4-game sweep at PNC Park in six years, I figured it would just be a nice way to hear some good "Go Bucs" talk. I was wrong. As a disclaimer, I must first say that I was not one of the callers. I am not simply trying to defend myself. One guy called in this morning and asked quite simply whether the Pirates might consider trading Joel Hanrahan at the deadline. Paul Alexander, quickly dismissed the idea and assured the caller that the Pirates weren't sellers anymore. A few minutes later, another guy called in and very calmly said that he thinks it might not be a terrible idea for the Pirates to try and move Hanrahan for another bat or a starting pitcher. Alexander started yelling about how it was a stupid idea. The guy jumped in and said that he actually had some stats that back up his point of view. Alexander said he didn't care what the guy's stats said, not just anybody can close. Not to be deterred, the caller jumped in again and pointed out that the Braves used 10 different closers during their 14 playoff appearances from '91-'05. Good point, right? Wrong. Because the Braves "only" won one World Series during that time. Apparently, a decade and a half of playoff baseball including five NL Pennants and one World Series title isn't good enough for Mr. Alexander. Alexander pointed to the Yankees' most recent dynasty and said that their string of WS titles proves that closers are important because Mariano Rivera was the closer the entire time. I see, Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada, Bernie Williams, Andy Pettite, Roger Clemens, Jason Giambi, Alex Rodriguez and the rest of the Yankees 200 million dollar payroll had nothing to do with it, it was all about Mo. Shame on me for not seeing that earlier.

Ill post this in the MLB thread. Doesnt need to be discussed here.

[mckerney]

Originally Posted by jbergey22

At one time their arrest record was bad but they brought in that clueless Childress to clean that up. I dont see the salary cap as a problem because up until recently went after players they wanted. They werent wasting the money. And I agree that the metrodome is a dump but a new stadium is on the way. I mean the franchise has had its fair share of issues but they have done a good job of putting a winning product on the field most years and they did more than most teams would have to fix the arrest issues.

I guess Im not sure when a playoff game was almost blacked out. The Vikings dont have as many season ticket holders as a lot of teams but they sell out most of their games. Companies have had to purchase tickets to prevent blackouts before but the games will sell out by Sat or Sunday. NFL has a deadline of Thursday I believe where they want to blackout games.

The Wilfs have been terrible owners. Now that they have a stadium deal hopefully they'll be willing to put some effort into the team and hire real football people to be in charge of the team.

[Matthean]

50 funny fantasy football team names

[RendeR]

Originally Posted by stevew

Seems out of character for Peterson to get arrested I think. Despite playing on one of the worst franchises in pro sports, he's very marketable and one of the faces of the league.
I'm pretty sure there's a dickhead cop involved in this process.

This ^^

Originally Posted by stevew

I don't have enough time to detail everything, but their arrest record is shameful. They always seem to be 20-40M below the cap, maybe not lately. They almost blacked out playoff games. They play in a dump.

Originally Posted by stevew

Most importantly--

Your head coach was scalping tickets cause he was making less than public school administrators.

is not determined by these ^^



The vikings history is long and filled with honors and glorious seasons. Yes their RECENT history has been pretty god-awful but that still does not drop them to the depths of "worst franchises".


Just wait till the old fart in pittsburgh finally kicks off. You'll be subject to times like these as well (and yes I am awaiting such times with bated breath)

[jbergey22]

Originally Posted by mckerney

The Wilfs have been terrible owners. Now that they have a stadium deal hopefully they'll be willing to put some effort into the team and hire real football people to be in charge of the team.

Yeah, they like to talk a big game and they were very generous to buy the surrounding lots of the Metrodome to keep the tailgating alive and well but the franchise has certainly taken a step back lately.

I think Ziggy wants to win but he has no idea on how to do it.

[mckerney]

Originally Posted by jbergey22

Yeah, they like to talk a big game and they were very generous to buy the surrounding lots of the Metrodome to keep the tailgating alive and well but the franchise has certainly taken a step back lately.

I think Ziggy wants to win but he has no idea on how to do it.

Their biggest problem is that they want to be the ones in charge of decision making on just about everything short of player personnel even though they're awful at it. What made them think Rick Spielman was worth hiring based on his time with the Bears and Dolphins, and then deserving of a promotion for building a team that had just gone 6-10 and 3-13 OS beyond me.

[Aylmar]

Originally Posted by RendeR

Just wait till the old fart in pittsburgh finally kicks off. You'll be subject to times like these as well (and yes I am awaiting such times with bated breath)

You mean the old fart who lives in Ireland and ceded control of the team to his son years ago, or some other old fart?

[jbergey22]

Originally Posted by Aylmar

You mean the old fart who lives in Ireland and ceded control of the team to his son years ago, or some other old fart?

In any case the Steelers will have down years again as they have before just like the Cowboys have had them and the Patriots have had them. Kicking the Vikings franchise when they are down and forgetting about the strong history they have had is narrow minded.

I think that was the main point not directed at you.

[Aylmar]

Originally Posted by jbergey22

In any case the Steelers will have down years again as they have before just like the Cowboys have had them and the Patriots have had them. Kicking the Vikings franchise when they are down and forgetting about the strong history they have had is narrow minded.

Of course they will. I didn't kick the Vikings franchise. I'll probably go see them live once they move to LA. ;-)

[jbergey22]

Originally Posted by Aylmar

Of course they will. I didn't kick the Vikings franchise. I'll probably go see them live once they move to LA. ;-)

Haha, might be awhile. The new stadium will keep them in Minnesota for atleast 25 more years Id assume unless the deal falls apart.

[Aylmar]

Originally Posted by jbergey22

Haha, might be awhile. The new stadium will keep them in Minnesota for atleast 25 more years Id assume unless the deal falls apart.

This is true. Who am I settling for then when it comes to local tickets? The Jags? Rams? Kinda hope the deal falls apart in that case....

[jbergey22]

Originally Posted by Aylmar

This is true. Who am I settling for then when it comes to local tickets? The Jags? Rams? Kinda hope the deal falls apart in that case....

Yeah, Id choose option C. Expansion team.

[Logan]

D.J. Williams Just Kept Giving The NFL Non-Human Urine Samples

[bhlloy]

This news just makes me even more outraged about Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens. Baseball is tainted! PUBLIC OUTRAGE!

[Logan]

Cleveland used a 2013 2nd round pick on Baylor WR Josh Gordon in the Supplemental Draft held today. No other players went.

[stevew]

He better be good to justify exercising the 34th pick next year.

[jbergey22]

Originally Posted by Logan

Cleveland used a 2013 2nd round pick on Baylor WR Josh Gordon in the Supplemental Draft held today. No other players went.

I am trying to think of who that is. Was he hurt last year? I remember Wright, Williams and Reese but I cant recall any WR named Gordon last year that RG3 was throwing to.

[SackAttack]

[quote=spleen1015;2686657Um, Drew. You were involved in the negotiations. You agreed to the franchise tag rules. Aren't you being hypocritical by holding out and not following the rules you helped establish?[/QUOTE]

There's a difference between "agreeing to the franchise tag rules" and "the franchise tag rules requiring the tagged player to sign the tender."

The former is true. I'm not aware of any provision of the CBA involving the latter.

[Logan]

Originally Posted by jbergey22

I am trying to think of who that is. Was he hurt last year? I remember Wright, Williams and Reese but I cant recall any WR named Gordon last year that RG3 was throwing to.

Got kicked off the team for drug issues.

[RendeR]

I'm kinda shocked anyone was willing to gamble a 2nd rounder on Gordon. I definitely expected a 3rd, but a 2nd, that boy best pan out or CLeveland fans will ....well..shit....Nevermind.

[stevew]

Supposedly the Bills offered a 3rd and they had order priority over Cleveland

[kingfc22]

Originally Posted by Logan

D.J. Williams Just Kept Giving The NFL Non-Human Urine Samples

Well, that explains a lot.

[albionmoonlight]

Drew Brees signs with the Saints:

$100 million over 5 years. $40 in the first year. $60 guaranteed over the first three years.

[StLee]

Originally Posted by albionmoonlight

Drew Brees signs with the Saints:

$100 million over 5 years. $40 in the first year. $60 guaranteed over the first three years.

I am . . . relieved.

[DataKing]

Matt Forte signs four-year deal with Chicago Bears - NFL.com

I'm glad that's over with.

[Coffee Warlord]

I'm glad it wasn't as outrageous as it coulda been.

[Logan]

Ray Rice got a new deal as well. $17.5MM guaranteed in year 1, $25MM over the first two years.

[M GO BLUE!!!]

Cliff Avril says no to 3 years, $30 mil, with $20 mil of it guaranteed.

Looking around Detroit, I think that guaranteed $20 mil could be better spent anyway. I'd explore trade options

[Matthean]

Lions got a lot of tough decisions coming in the next couple of years. It will be interesting to see how well they handle it.

[Lathum]

Dez Bryant of Dallas Cowboys arrested on domestic violence charge - ESPN Dallas

[stevew]

Dez Bryant choked a whore