Arena The Official NFL Discussion Thread (Now Featuring Time's Person of the Year, Taylor Swift!)

Not that I care per se that Philly won -as an impartial observer tonight, I wanted a close game, and well, I got it!-, but making history by becoming the 1st NFL franchise to win 2-games, after being down double-digits in each, to open a season? Wow.

 

Wonder how much money the refs won on this one...

 

That was a "cat that swallowed the canary" win for this Eagles fan, but I'll take it. Did anyone catch when Gruden called Sproles' (utterly ordinary) 19-yard touchdown run "one of the most memorable runs I've seen"?

 

There are those of us who are NFC East fans that are not happy about this. Given that the Feebles lead the division.

 

Who cares? The Eagles are the only team that aren't a dumpster fire.

 

COWBOYS!

 

At least the East isn't the worst division in the NFC (to this point). That embarrassing title belongs to the South.

 

I don't see how he doesn't suspend AP.

Honestly, the most logically sane decision is the one that will never happen: sit down with DeMaurice Smith and say "what will you get your member to agree to without appeal" and just do it. Swift, silent.

But he can't show weakness by talking with the NFLPA outside of class as it would potentially show weakness for the next CBA negotiation.

 

I agree, but the NFLPA could then come in and say "yes, they've been indicted, but they haven't been convicted" which has almost always been Goodell's MO in dealing with off the field issues in the past (Big Ben notwithstanding) and they can save a bit of PR face by saying "We're just protesting this for the well - being of future players who may not be charged with heinous crimes such as this, but could end up getting banned before the legal process has run it's course."

Edit: dp4m, I suspect strongly that's partly what happened with the inital Rice suspension (we know that's what occured with the Aldon Smith suspension - but that's a somewhat different issue since Smith has been getting help for his off - field problems), and well, it blew up in everybody's faces.

 

Here's the thing though... the Big Ben thing was a precedent; and the NFL drug testing policy also relies on testing for illegal drugs and not having the players go to jail (and, in fact, is lightening even the illegal drug part to focus more on less-illegal PEDs). It's not a stretch to have Goodell try and start punishing players preemptively for these things and then negotiating it in the next CBA as a concession to the players.

 

Oh I'm not saying he woudn't suspend Hardy and/or Peterson before the court cases run their course (especially since Peterson likely won't see a courtroom trial until 2015 at the earliest), I'm just predicting what the NFLPA will likely do to try and block such suspensions to save face to the rest of the players that are not Peterson, Hardy, or Rice.

 

They don't have a leg to stand on in AP or Hardy; I fully expect Rice to win his appeal (as he absolutely should).

 

So I think we can safely say the theme for the 2014 season is:

Hit yo' kids, hit yo' wife.

 

He may very well win, but right now there's no team out there that would even touch him, even if they did have a need at RB, not even an Andy Reid team.

 

Clearly. I'd put the chances of Ray Rice winning his appeal somewhere near 98%. I'd put the chances of his playing on a team before 2015 at somewhere around i%.

 

I'd put his chances of ever playing in the NFL at all again around 15%. I'd say 0%, but as we've seen, there will always be teams that give players second chances.

 

*cough*Michael Vick*cough*

 

That's actually who I was thinking off with that comment.

Edit: *looks at next week's MNF match up* UGH, the Eagles play next week again AND get a full week in of practice as a result? UGH. I feel bad for the Bears.

 

Again, please stop with Michael Vick. It says more about you and potentially racist tendencies than anything else.

The man was convicted of a crime, went to jail, served his time without complaint, did everything asked of him on parole, started making a living at the one career he was trained for after all of that and has turned his life around and participates in national speaking engagements on behalf of the ASPCA.

What more do you want someone to do?

 

The vast majority of the people I encounter in my own life who still despise Michael Vick are privileged white people, nearly exclusively. It drives me up a wall.

 

Fair enough! True point.