NFL Beef Thread

[Lotesse]

Hey, you guys. I really don't belong in this thread, just thought I'd butt in so I could say...

go raiders.

RAIDERS!!!
Oakland or Los Angeles, it's all about the Raiders.

O.K. that'll be all out of me on this thread. Carry on, gentlemen...

[Valandil]

Originally Posted by Lotesse

:
:
...O.K. that'll be all out of me on this thread. Carry on, gentlemen...

Not so fast...

Bring us some chips and salsa, wouldja? Maybe a few more soft drinks... I'll take a root beer!

[Khamûl]

Originally Posted by Valandil

Yeah - I wasn't gonna mention him though... but then you went and blew it!

Well, it was either talk to everyone here or wait until tomorrow and talk to my dog, but I had to talk to someone because I've had it up to here.

Speaking of rookies holding out, Adam "Pacman" Jones of the Titans has irritated me. Not only is he holding out, but he's already talking smack to his teammates. Exactly how many NFL games have you played in, Mr. Jones?

I had some respect for Jones and TO. I liked Jones in college and TO impressed me with his will to play last year, not to mention that he is possibly the best wide receiver in the game. But what respect I had has been lost. I hope the Eagles do particularly well this season without TO.

[Insidious Rex]

Allow me to play devils advocate here (as usual)… And let me preface this by saying I think Terrell Owens is a self centered ass. Hes also enormously talented and certainly one of the best receivers in the game. The fact is that you are being a little misleading by saying hes getting $7 million a year for 7 years. He signed a contract for that amount yes but the Eagles aren’t obligated to pay him all of it if they don’t want to. That’s how contracts are structured in the NFL. You can sign a guy to a 50 year contract if you want but you aren’t obligated as a team to ever pay him everything that the contract says you will pay him. Once you release him the team is free of any obligation (other than incentives) to make good on their contractual promise. So of course the only leverage a player has is to hold out for a better contract.

A local sports writer put this better then Im probably doing here so Im just gonna quote him starting with when he responds to Owen’s comments about doing this “for his family�:

See, Eagles, you thought Terrell was just being selfish. As it turns out, he's doing it for his family. I guess maybe one of Terrell's cousins had to settle for the Hummer H2 with just platinum rims, instead of the platinum, diamond-encrusted rims. How can anyone be expected to live like that? The man has to do what's right and look out for his family.

Owens is an ass, there's no doubt about it... but at the same time, I'm not firmly on the side of the Eagles here, either. It's not like they're the pure, lilly-white good guys. They didn't do anything wrong, necessarily, but the way the NFL's collective bargaining agreement is set up, the teams/owners have a major advantage. The only way a player has any leverage at all is to threaten a hold out.

And yes, a contract is a contract, but at the same time... in the NFL, it isn't. I'm not going to tell Terrell Owens or anyone else in the NFL to just shut up and play out the deal that they signed. Because teams don't have to honor contracts. They can cut a guy anytime they want to. Nothing is guaranteed. And if money isn't guaranteed to Terrell Owens, I think it's a little unfair to say he has to guarantee his performance to them.

That sums up my feelings exactly right there.

[Khamûl]

I understand the structure of contracts is an issue, but the way I see it is don't give them a reason to cut you. Show up, do what you're supposed to do, be productive, and overall, be the best player you can be on and off the field. Then, I don't think the Eagles or anyone else would have any problem with paying the full amount of the contract. And if, for some inexplicable reason, you did get cut and lost the rest of the money in the contract, I'm sure there would be a lot of teams in the NFL who would love to sign a hard-working player like the one I described. Holding out can be an effective way to get more money, but if it's gone about the wrong way, it can lead to tensions and be counter-productive to everyone.

[Valandil]

Bears' second exhibition game last night - close loss to the Rams - and the Bears stayed in the game and had a chance to win right up to the final play (with their fourth string quarterback, a former Illini - who was playing quite well). Speaking of quarterback - the designated starter, Rex Grossman, got his ankle broken and looks like he's out 3-4 months - which would be almost the entire season! Deja vu all over again! His first year he just played (very well, by Bears' QB standards) in the last few games, but got injured the final game of the season. Then last year, he was our starter, but went down for the season with a knee injury in the third game - and now this! He was never hurt while playing in college at Florida, so they say he isn't injury-prone... but he sure gets hurt a lot!

[Insidious Rex]

Originally Posted by Khamûl

I understand the structure of contracts is an issue, but the way I see it is don't give them a reason to cut you. Show up, do what you're supposed to do, be productive, and overall, be the best player you can be on and off the field. Then, I don't think the Eagles or anyone else would have any problem with paying the full amount of the contract. And if, for some inexplicable reason, you did get cut and lost the rest of the money in the contract, I'm sure there would be a lot of teams in the NFL who would love to sign a hard-working player like the one I described.

Thats a bit idealistic though in a sport where injury is such a prominent factor. Thats why you dont have true guaranteed contracts in the NFL. Because if you sign a guy to ten years and he blows out his knee in year two you are screwed for eight years with an enormous contract you are obligated to pay. And with the salary cap you are at a significant disadvantage when competing with other teams for players who arent hampered by a devastating injury to a money player. So just showing up and trying hard isnt good enough in a blood money league like the NFL. Sounds nice though. Salaries in football are as much about insurance and gambling as they are about compensation. If the NFL was forced to truly guarantee every contract you would never see anything more then a one year contract. Because the risk of injury loss would be just too great a gamble.

[Insidious Rex]

Jerry Rice

1,549 career receptions
22,895 receiving yards (8,000 more then the number two guy! 8,000!!)
197 receiving touchdowns
23,540 yards from scrimmage
274 consecutive games with a reception
22 receiving TDs in a season
1,848 receiving yards in a season
14 seasons with 1,000 or more yards receiving (!!)
and 30 more official NFL records under his belt…

Has there been a bigger lock on the hall of fame since Michael Jordan retired?

[Rían]

I'm not a big football fan, but even I know who he is, and have seen him make some amazing catches. What a set of stats!

(Hubby has decided that our 3-month experiment of turning the tv off can now come to an end ... hmmm, football season is just starting? )

[Curubethion]

We'll all miss Jerry Rice.

[Lotesse]

Originally Posted by RÃ*an

(Hubby has decided that our 3-month experiment of turning the tv off can now come to an end ... hmmm, football season is just starting? )

Hah! LOL , now that's funny... Men!

[Curubethion]

What's that?
( )

[Insidious Rex]

Hey Val, went to the Bears - Redskins game yesterday. Quite the barn burner... Lets hope both teams get their offense going a little more. If the Redskins hadnt fumbled the ball inside their twenty it might have been a shut out. Nice sports weekend here though. Saw a Nationals come from behind win friday and the 9-7 Redskin squeaker on sunday.

[Lotesse]

Hi, guys! Isn't someone around here a big Patriots fan - so, what about the Panthers spankin' em the other day? Anyway - I don't know jack-all about football, except to be a Raiders fan, but I like to read what you guys talk about so I bumped this thread.

[Valandil]

How about that NFC north! We've got the Packers, the Lions, the Vikings and the Bears (our hometown Bears lead the division at 1-2) - those four teams are a combined 3-11. Worse than that, they've had two divisional games, which means that the division is 1-9 versus the rest of the league so far! Minnesota got the lone non-divisional win against New Orleans.

Since they went to the four team divisions, I've been waiting for a sub-500 division winner to make the playoffs. Hasn't happened yet, but this could be the year... and it might even be our very own Bears!!

[Insidious Rex]

All right lets see how clever you guys are... all three or two of you who care about football here... Heres a quiz. Name the NFL teams represented by the clues. Some are easy. But some are tricky...

And hey since this place is so rife with geeks (including myself) I would think even many of you who are adamantly anti-football as a rule would be able to get a few of these.

FOOTBALL (NFL) TEAM QUIZ
Based on the clues, figure out the names of the NFL teams.

1. A dollar for corn A: BUCCANEERS (barrelrider110)
2. Communist epidermis A: REDSKINS (barrelrider110)
3. What can they do for you? A: See Count Comfect's post for all the rest...
4. Ducks have them
5. Used for battering
6. Benny was with them
7. not quite half a hundreders
8. Soldier + Insects
9. Thieves misspelled
10. After Summer + prisoners
11. Roman 6 + Rulers
12. Tolerates
13. Go marching in
14. They elect the pope
15. Bucking equines
16. Head guys
17. Type of scout
18. View raptors
19. Invaders
20. Credit card users
21. Suitcase stuffers
22. MGM Animals
23. girls toy + fish arms
24. Benatar + violent protests
25. bovine + young men
26. Franklin's Girls
27. 45s
28. People who never forget the Alamo
29. Expensive cars
30. Heavy breathers with an H
31. Poe’s nemesis
32. Remember them

[barrelrider110]

1. Buccaneers
2. Redskins

I'll let someone else have some fun.

Nice post.

[Insidious Rex]

So far so good. Ill update as people post answers.

[Count Comfect]

3. Browns
4. Bills
5. Rams
6. Jets
7. 49ers
8. Giants
9. Steelers
10. Falcons
11. Vikings
12. Bears
13. Saints
14. Cardinals
15. Broncos
16. Chiefs
17. Eagles
18. Seahawks
19. Raiders
20. Chargers
21. Packers
22. Lions
23. Dolphins
24. Patriots
25. Cowboys
26. Bengals
27. Colts
28. Texans
29. Jaguars
30. Panthers
31. Ravens
32. Titans

Hmm... should check out this thread more. Especially since the 'Hawks are kicking ass and taking names.

[Insidious Rex]

Good gracious... well that was fast. Remind me to make some tougher ones for basketball and football.

And the Seahawks still have to prove they have what it takes when the playoffs come around. They have a habit of folding then.