The Weird, Wacky and Awesome World of the NFL - General Banter thread

TO.

Personally I think Martin and Icognito are both clowns. It is clear as day both of them have issues. Icognito was a mutton head with a bad attitude long before this Martin episode and it seems Martin has his own issues. One thing about the "N" word is that it should never be used. There are coaches around the country who suspend players for using it at a high school or college level even if among friends. NFL players are professionals and should know better.

I have a few buddies in the US who are black, Who hate even black guys using it with other black guys, Even if good friends. It is one of those words, that if you insist on using it make sure you don't get caught as no matter how you use it or the tone its used with or the context, it will always come off in bad light.

DDC1990

Jesus, reading the Texts I really do feel for Incognito.

Yeah, he said stupid things, but it was clear that he genuinely is mad about Martin, and does care for him more than just the ordinary team-mate.

He certainly doesn't come across as a bully or seem like he was pressuring Martin in any way.

They texts are 2 guys having the craic. Its clear that Martin was worrying about Money early on, and maybe things just piled up on him and he snapped.

Hazys

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHAy3liuojg

nerd69

incognitos been a........ controversial player for a while but what martin did (or at least the way it seems he acted at the moment) is inexcusable he backstabbed what seemed to be a buddy and got him thrown out of the league.

nerd69

also what is it with the nfl and twists last year we had teo and the real then not real girlfriend

nerd69

this is cool

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1948170-fox-sports-graphic-captures-the-2013-14-nfl-seasons-most-memorable-moments

Billy86

nerd69 wrote: »

this is cool

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1948170-fox-sports-graphic-captures-the-2013-14-nfl-seasons-most-memorable-moments

Love the Aaron Rodgers photo-bomb nod. That, and the top three letters in Eli's eye exam.

nerd69

Billy86 wrote: »

Love the Aaron Rodgers photo-bomb nod.

eli manning eye test and big red as the coolade mascot where my highlights

Son Of A Vidic

nerd69 wrote: »

this is cool

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1948170-fox-sports-graphic-captures-the-2013-14-nfl-seasons-most-memorable-moments

I think the guys who do those illustrations are gifted. The Buccs players wearing Biohazard suits was my favourite.

Hazys

On Sunday night, many fans will start experiencing withdrawal symptoms from not being able to watch any more football. A psychiatrist describes the effects this has on the brain, and offers tips on how fans can cope.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/01/130130184033.htm

While it can be unpleasant, football withdrawal is not serious enough to require antidepressants or other medications. And do not self medicate with drugs or alcohol.

[blatant lie]You got it doc[/blatant lie]

Molly

Read this the other day, found it really interesting. It's not just the NFL scouts that get it wrong.

http://www.boltsfromtheblue.com/2014/2/5/5384408/national-signing-day-san-diego-chargers-as-high-school-recruits

spiralism

Molly wrote: »

Read this the other day, found it really interesting. It's not just the NFL scouts that get it wrong.

http://www.boltsfromtheblue.com/2014/2/5/5384408/national-signing-day-san-diego-chargers-as-high-school-recruits

Rivers at 2 stars at that level is surprising, then again though, he had throwing motion questions that persisted until his play in the NFL silenced that. Royal at 4 is disappointing in a way, he looked electric his first season in the NFL and now is basically another Ted Ginn imo.

nerd69

same thing for the eagles not a lot of surprises there tbh

http://www.bleedinggreennation.com/2014/2/5/5382394/national-signing-day-where-eagles-played-ranked-coming-high-school

phatkev

A guide to the offseason via Reddit

Date Event Location
February 8-9 NFL Regional Combine Houston, Texas
February 15-16 NFL Regional Combine Florham Park, New Jersey
February 17 Clubs able to designate Franchise or Transition Players
February 19-25 NFL Scouting Combine Indianapolis, Indiana
February 22 NFL Regional Combine Costa Mesa, California
March 1 NFL Regional Combine Tampa, Florida
March 3 4 p.m. EST deadline to designate Franchise or Transitional Players
March 8-9 NFL Regional Combine Flowery Branch, Georgia
March 8 Clubs permitted to contact players who will become UFAs after 4 p.m. EST
March 11 Start of 2014 League Year at 4 p.m. EST
March 11 Before 4 p.m. EST, clubs must submit Qualifying Offers to Restricted Free Agents to retain Right of First Refusal/Compensation
March 11 Before 4 p.m. EST, clubs must exercise options for 2014 on all players who have option clauses in their 2013 contracts
March 11 Before 4 p.m. EST, clubs must submit a Minimum Salary tender to keep exclusive negotiating rights to their players with expiring contracts who have fewer than three accrued seasons
March 11 Before 4 p.m. EST, all clubs must but under the 2014 salary cap for the combined salary cap hits of their top 51 players
March 11 At 4 p.m. EST, all expiring contracts expire
March 11 Free Agency Period Begins at 4 p.m. EST
March 15 NFL Regional Combine Lake Forest, Illinois
March 22 NFL Regional Combine Davie, Florida
March 22-23 NFL Regional Combine Renton, Washington
March 23-26 Annual Owners Meeting Orlando, FL
March 29 NFL Regional Combine Indianapolis, Indiana
March 29-30 NFL Regional Combine Owings Mills, Maryland
April 7 Offseason Workouts begin for teams with new head coaches
April 12-13 Super Regional Combine Detroit, Michigan
April 21 Offseason Workouts begin for teams with returning head coaches
May 2 Deadline for Restricted Free Agents to sign Offer Sheets
May 7 Deadline for prior club to excercise Right of First Refusal to Restricted Free Agents
May 8-10 NFL Draft New York City, New York
May 19-21 NFL Spring League Meeting Atlanta, Georgia
June 2 Deadline for Prior Club to send "June 1 Tender" to its unsigned Unrestricted Free Agents. If the player has not signed a Player Contract with a Club by July 22 or the first scheduled day of the first NFL training camp, whichever is later, he may negotiate or sign a Player Contract from that date until the Tuesday following the 10th weekend of the regular season, at 4:00 p.m. EST only with his Prior Club.
June 2 Deadline for Prior Club to send "June 1 Tender" to its unsigned Restricted Free Agents who received a Qualifying Offer for a Right of First Refusal Only in order for such player to be subject to the CBA's "June 15 Tender" provision.
June 16 Deadline for club to withdraw Qualifying Offer to Restricted Free Agents and still retain exclusive negotiating rights by substituting "June 15 Tender" of one-year contract at 110 percent of the player's prior-year Paragraph 5 Salary (with all other terms of his prior-year contract carried forward unchanged).
June 22-28 Rookie Symposium Aurora, Ohio
Mid-July Training Camps open (explained further below)
July 22 Signing Period ends for Unrestricted Free Agents to whom a "June 1 Tender" was made by Prior Club. After this date and until 4:00 p.m., New York time, on the Tuesday following the 10th weekend of the regular season, Prior Club has exclusive negotiating rights.
July 22 Signing Period ends for Transition Players with outstanding tenders. After this date and until 4:00 p.m., New York time, on the Tuesday following the 10th weekend of the regular season, Prior Club has exclusive negotiating rights.
August 3 Hall of Fame Game Canton, OH

Sur August 3 is just around the corner

Kylo Ren

Only the NFC North remains the same.

Onecoolcookie

"21 of the 53 players on the Seahawks Super Bowl winning roster were undrafted free agents"

That's quite amazing, really shows how great a job Pete Carroll is doing in Seattle

HigginsJ

Can someone with more knowledge of American geography (& NFL history) than me explain 2 things.

1. Why are Seattle the only city from the North west with a franchise, I mean surely there are some fairly large cities up there

2. How did Dallas get lumped in with Philly, Washington & ourselves

TO.

HigginsJ wrote: »

1. Why are Seattle the only city from the North west with a franchise, I mean surely there are some fairly large cities up there

Money most likely.

2. How did Dallas get lumped in with Philly, Washington & ourselves

Its a clusterfook and wiki actually has a decent answer about it. Notable none of the NFC teams actually wanted to be in the same division as the Cowboys

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AFL%E2%80%93NFL_merger

As 1970 approached, three NFL teams (the Baltimore Colts, Cleveland Browns, and Pittsburgh Steelers), agreed to join the ten AFL teams (the Cincinnati Bengals and Miami Dolphins had joined the original Boston Patriots, Buffalo Bills, Denver Broncos, Houston Oilers, Kansas City Chiefs, New York Jets, Oakland Raiders, and San Diego Chargers) to form the American Football Conference (AFC). The other thirteen NFL teams (Atlanta Falcons, Chicago Bears, Dallas Cowboys, Detroit Lions, Green Bay Packers, Los Angeles Rams, Minnesota Vikings, New Orleans Saints, New York Giants, Philadelphia Eagles, St. Louis Cardinals, San Francisco 49ers and Washington Redskins) became part of the National Football Conference (NFC). Since then, the Super Bowl has featured the champions of the AFC and NFC. Both are determined each season by the league's playoff tournament.


Although the AFC teams quickly decided on a divisional alignment, the 13 NFC owners had trouble deciding which teams would play in which divisions. The NFL had recently gone to four divisions of four teams each in 1967. Many NFC teams were attempting to avoid placement in a division with the Cowboys and/or the Vikings, and were trying to angle their way into the same division as the Saints, the weakest team in professional football at the time. The 49ers and Rams, both in California, were guaranteed to be in the same division as the only NFC teams west of the Rocky Mountains. It was settled after various combinations were drawn up on slips of paper, put into a hat, and the official NFC alignment was pulled out by Rozelle's secretary. Of the five plans considered, the one that was put into effect had Minnesota remaining in the Central Division and Dallas playing in the NFC Eastern Division, preserving the Vikings' place with geographical rivals Chicago, Detroit, and Green Bay, and the Cowboys' rivalry with the Redskins. It also put the two newest NFC franchises, the Saints and Falcons from the Deep South, with the 49ers and Rams. The Falcons had already been playing the California teams in the NFL Coastal Division, but the Saints were in the NFL Capitol Division (with Dallas, Washington, Philadelphia) of the Eastern Conference and now faced two trips to the West Coast per season.


Meanwhile, all three of the major television networks signed contracts to televise games, thus ensuring the combined league's stability. CBS agreed to broadcast all games where an NFC team was on the road, NBC agreed to broadcast all games where an AFC team was on the road, and ABC agreed to broadcast Monday Night Football, making the NFL the first league to have a regular series of national telecasts in prime time. The NFL would likely not have been able to retain both CBS and NBC had it not done the AFC-NFC setup.I][URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Words_to_watch#Unsupported_attributions"]by whom?[/URL][/I

padraig_f

HigginsJ wrote: »

Can someone with more knowledge of American geography (& NFL history) than me explain 2 things.

1. Why are Seattle the only city from the North west with a franchise, I mean surely there are some fairly large cities up there

2. How did Dallas get lumped in with Philly, Washington & ourselves

I'd say partly population...some of the least densely populated states over there, Idaho, Montana, North/South Dakota etc. ...and partly history. The NFL was formed in Canton, Ohio in the North East (look at where Cleveland is on the map), and the original teams came from industry, were company teams essentially (e.g. the Bears were originally the Decatur Staleys, a starch company from Decatur, Illinois, until George Halas took them over). As much of US industry at the time was based in the North East, I think this is why this region the highest density of professional football teams, also I think the reason the South, while it has some NFL teams, is more college football oriented.

I'm no expert on it, it's just if you read about Bears history, you read about NFL history because George Halas was one of the people involved in founding the league.

Paully D

Great stuff:

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap2000000324584/article/seahawks-fans-unite-in-support-of-homeless-49ers-fan-at-parade

During the Seahawks' victory parade Wednesday, a blip of red and gold waltzed its way among a sea of bright green and blue.

The 12th Man booed. The 12th Man jeered.

It was a San Francisco 49ers fan dressed in full team regalia attempting to put a damper on the moods of the estimated 700,000 Seattle denizens that had gathered to bask in triumph.

The brave demonstration did not go unnoticed by Catherine Tate, a member of Niners Nation, who discovered that the teen is a 15-year-old ward of Washington state who lives in homeless shelters.

Tate, who caught wind of the act through a viral photo, has since brought light to the story through Seattle's KING-TV and by an online fundraiser she launched following the parade.

"He lives in shelters," Tate said of the boy. "So this evolved from, let's reward this kid for his bravery on one day, to let's reward him for his bravery every day."

At first, Tate wanted to offer the fellow fan tickets to a game in the to-be unveiled Levi's Stadium next season in San Francisco. After launching a GoFundMe campaign to cover the costs of the trip, Tate quickly learned of the teen's more dire circumstances and subsequently is now doing everything in her power to improve the teen's life.

Niners safety Craig Dahl has even used his platform on social media to promote the benevolent cause on Twitter.

"This is another one of those things of, yes, he belongs to us, but he also belongs to you. This is a Seattle, or Kirkland, native child that is your brother," Tate said. "People from Seattle have donated, saying, 'I bleed blue and green, but this kid needs help and he needs these resources, so I want to partake.'"

As of this writing, 518 people of all walks of life -- including many Seahawks fans -- already have pledged $15,683 via GoFundMe, surpassing the original goal of $5,500. Tate currently is working on legalities to arrange the promise.

Tate wrapped up her gratuitous act as best as one could: "We're humans; we're all people," she said. "And this is bigger than football."

Itssoeasy

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/10/us/politics/2-lawmakers-urge-nfl-to-change-washington-redskins-name.html?partner=rss&emc=rss&smid=tw-nytimes

What do people think about the redskins name ?

nerd69

Itssoeasy wrote: »

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/10/us/politics/2-lawmakers-urge-nfl-to-change-washington-redskins-name.html?partner=rss&emc=rss&smid=tw-nytimes

What do people think about the redskins name ?

i understand the argument but from what iv heard its only a small group of native americans taking issue with it and a far larger group has said it gives them an nfl team that they can identify with.

similarly in college ball a lot of irish people would support the fighting irish and in basketball would support the celtics.

Son Of A Vidic

nerd69 wrote: »

i understand the argument but from what iv heard its only a small group of native americans taking issue with it and a far larger group has said it gives them an nfl team that they can identify with.

similarly in college ball a lot of irish people would support the fighting irish and in basketball would support the celtics.

Personally I take the term 'Fighting Irish' as a great compliment to me, my fellow Irishmen & women, our spirit and our history of rebellion and standing up to the bigger foe.

But how any native American could have make a positive association with the expression 'Redskin' is beyond me.

A Missiouri Defensive End that will be drafted this year has come out as gay.
He won SEC Defensive Player of the year and is looking at a 3rd round pick.
Let's see how the NFL reacts.
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1954005-nfl-prospect-michael-sam-comes-out-as-gay-big-tests-loom-for-him-league
Quote for people on phones.

One of the last barriers of bigotry in all of professional sports will soon fall: Former Missouri star defensive end Michael Sam, an All-American and the SEC Defensive Player of the Year, has come out as gay.

Sam is expected to be a high-round draft pick in May, which would set a series of historic firsts in motion. He would be the first openly gay player drafted. Since most high-round picks make NFL rosters, he'd also likely be the first openly gay player in NFL history.

"I came to tell the world that I'm an openly, proud gay man," he told Chris Connelly of ESPN's Outside The Lines Sunday night.

“Michael has shown great courage in taking this step and not only do we support him, we are incredibly grateful. His decision to welcome us all into his world as he embarks upon a professional NFL career is an honorable one. This moment will resonate in a unique and important way for countless people, particularly LGBT youth,” said human rights activist Brendon Ayanbadejo, the former Baltimore Ravens player who has been advising Sam. Ayanbadejo is a member of the Athlete Ally Board of Directors, a group that fights homophobia in sports.

Sam's announcement sets up a number of difficult tests for the league, for Sam and for his fellow players.

For one, there will be a dizzying scouting combine, starting Feb. 19 in Indianapolis. Sam is expected to attend, and no draft prospect in the history of the combine has been dissected or discussed like he will be.


If Sam does attend, the combine will become one of the most heavily covered sports events in recent years because it would no longer be a sports-centric week of 40-yard dashes. It will be talked about across the media spectrum.

One general manager told Bleacher Report that Sam will be a true test of whether the NFL is actually open to all kinds of players. He believes that if Sam falls past the third round, then "something stinks. Because this guy is easily a high-rounder."

Bleacher Report NFL Draft Lead Writer Matt Miller agrees that Sam's talents should result in his getting picked in an early round.

"As a player, Michael Sam was one of the most impactful defenders in college football last season," Miller said. "Playing left defensive end, he was able to produce All-American numbers by using his quickness off the ball and high-level instincts. The tape shows a smaller pass-rusher with good agility, but (at 6'2", 255 pounds) he might struggle to find a true position in the NFL...The production and burst are easy to fall in love with, though. Teams needing an outside pass-rusher will like the tools he brings and his developmental potential as a player."

Sam will have to withstand being the center of attention outside and inside the locker room. And many believe his teammates may have a hard time playing alongside him.

"Half of the NFL's locker rooms will accept him and half won't. It's a roll of the dice whether he would be accepted or not," said one NFL player, speaking to Bleacher Report on the condition of anonymity.

The NFL will be watching. It released a statement saying: "We admire Michael Sam's honesty and courage. Michael is a football player. Any player with ability and determination can succeed in the NFL. We look forward to welcoming and supporting Michael Sam in 2014."


The NFL also reiterated it has a workplace conduct policy that prohibits discrimination of any kind. And a portion of the collective bargaining agreement states: "There will be no discrimination in any form against any player by the NFL, the Management Council, any Club or by the NFLPA because of race, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, or activity or lack of activity on behalf of the NFLPA."

However, with Sam in the NFL, the league and its players would be facing an unprecedented situation. The historic nature of this cannot be overstated.

An openly gay player in America's most popular sport has the potential to change a great deal all across the sports world. Gay NFL players—as well as players in other sports—have come out after they retired but never during their career, or, as Sam is doing, as their NFL career is beginning.

Sam's declaration has the potential to open other fronts on this issue as well. It can make current closeted NFL athletes less fearful. It could provide support to younger athletes, in high school or younger, that they don't have to deny their sexuality.

Sam told ESPN that he knew from a young age that he was gay.

"It shouldn't be a big problem" to people, Sam said.

"I want to be a football player in the NFL," he added.

When asked how he thought his future NFL teammates would feel, Sam said, "It shouldn't matter."

"I'm not afraid of who I am."

Sam told his college team in August he was gay. The team in turn not only had no problem with Sam's sexuality, they protected him. One Missouri player told Miller: "98 percent of the NFL could care less about someone being gay. It's the two percent that make us look bad."

The player added, "I got his back."

The reaction from NFL players, team executives and league officials queried by Bleacher Report in light of Sam's news was mostly positive but also cautious. Some of the players did not want to be identified out of fear of repercussions from the league.

What all agreed on was that Sam would face immense pressure. While he won't be the first openly gay player to try to make an NFL team, he will undoubtedly be the first to earn a roster spot, and most assuredly be the highest-profile player to do so.

If and when he is playing in the NFL, it will present a huge test of the NFL's belief that an openly gay player would suffer no discrimination in the sport. This is a belief that has been privately stated by some NFL officials for years. Yet other officials believed the league is still some three to five years away from being able to handle an openly gay player.

One player called Sam the "gay Jackie Robinson." Yes, that is pressure. (Though the better comparison might not be Robinson, but instead, Charles Follis, one of the NFL's first black players.)

The disagreement begins with the question of how Sam will be treated. While the one player believed "half of the NFL's locker rooms will accept him and half won't," another veteran player said Sam will be welcome in most locker rooms and will have few problems.

A third player explicitly said that he felt the player would face bigotry no matter what team he played for, because homophobia still is common in the NFL despite the league's best attempts to eliminate it. The player said Sam "would be targeted by players on the field and fans off of it."

"Just look at the Dolphins and (Richie) Incognito," said the player. Text messages between Incognito and Jonathan Martin featured repeated use of gay slurs. The player also pointed out what happened in Minnesota to former Vikings punter Chris Kluwe. Kluwe alleged he was released because of his outspokenness on gay issues and that his position coach repeatedly used gay slurs. The Vikings deny this.

Players also point to interviews done by the NFL Network's Andrea Kremer in which players state pessimism about how the first openly gay player would be treated.

Rogelio V. Solis/Associated Press
"There's such a stigma with gay and homosexuals within male sports," said Washington linebacker London Fletcher to Kremer. "It would be very difficult for that first person to come out."

New Orleans linebacker Jonathan Vilma told Kremer, "I think that he would not be accepted as much as we think he would be accepted, I don't want people to just naturally assume, like, 'Oh, we're all homophobic.' That's really not the case. Imagine if he's the guy next to me and, you know, I get dressed, naked, taking a shower, the whole nine, and it just so happens he looks at me. How am I supposed to respond?"

"That attitude is more prevalent in NFL locker rooms than you think," one of the players interviewed by Bleacher Report said.

The comments to the NFL Network follow the strong anti-gay remarks made by San Francisco 49er Chris Culliver at last year's Super Bowl. Also, at last year's combine, at least one team asked several players were asked if they liked women.

Team and league officials interviewed vehemently disagree that the NFL is homophobic. One team executive said Sam would be "the most protected player in NFL history" because neither the team he goes to nor the league itself would want anything to happen to Sam.

"Imagine how humiliated the league would be if the first openly gay player to be in the NFL suffered from extreme bigotry?," the team official said.

A league official said the NFL is ready for a gay player and that teams and players would treat Sam like any other player.

When Sam this past season was named the conference Defensive Player of the Year, he was the first player from the Missouri program to earn the honor since tackle Jeff Gaylord was Big Eight defensive player of the year in 1981. Sam doing the same about 35 years later was considered a great piece of history.

But that pales to what Sam has done now.

Knex*

Fair play to that guy. I know we are all going to say that this shouldn't even be an issue, and while that is true, unfortunately its not the case. This is a massive decision for him to make.

Credit to the man for having the courage to come out before he even enters the draft. Hopefully this can be a precedent for others from here on in.

BizzyC

Hate to admit it, but this will definitely hurt his draft stock.
Not because I think is sexuality will come into play, but the publicity will.
As that article points out, there will be extra scrutiny on how he's treated.

If a team drafts him and decides he's not good enough to get decent playing time, or that they need to release him for any of the number of legitimate reasons they may have, they now have to make extra justifications for treating him like any other player on the team.

Some "experts" have his talent rated as a mid round prospect, wont be surprised if he ends up in the 6th or 7th round now.

Son Of A Vidic

If character and leaderships were ranked amongst the highest qualities you looked for when drafting a player, then Michael Sam has them in abundance. What more could you ask for in a player, he has already demonstrated his footballing talent on the field. Now he has demonstrated his courage and mental toughness to step onto a lonely path, the lad's a hero imo.

Knex*

Could work the other way, you never know. Some organisations might want to be the first to show support for Gay players and be very happy drafting him.

As much as I hate politics coming into play in Sport, its hard to know for sure what way this will work. But also, as Corvus said, it does demonstrate great character.

I do hope for his sake he ends up with a stable Franchise with a solid Head Coach etc. If someone like the Patriots, or even The Giants, despite the NY media circus, draft him, it would probably help his career a fair bit.

Son Of A Vidic

Knex. wrote: »

If someone like the Patriots, or even The Giants, despite the NY media circus, draft him, it would probably help his career a fair bit.

Funny you should mention the Pats, because as I typed my last post RE:Character and leadership. I was just thinking about Belichick, he always put those as his top qualities to look for in draft talent. Now I think we have more pressing areas of concern than DE, but I wouldn't be surprised if this kid has now caught Bill's eye.

davyjose

I agree completelu with Corvus. The guts this kid has is exactly what you want in a player. Some team is going to get an absolute warrior with this kid.