NFL Thread

[JTMacc99]

11 hours ago, Danielg342 said:

I'm with @JTMacc99 on this one- this "independent study" clause is an out.

As you point out, I'm not sure it's going to be "enforceable" from the perspective of actually voiding a multi-million dollar contract. So I'm not so sure that my guess for why it exists holds water.

I listen to NFL radio throughout the day (it's the least annoying talk radio I can find as background noise), and I tried to pay attention to what the former executives said about it. Most of them thought it was highly unusual and not a good look for either Murray or the Cardinals.

Bill Polian was the best. He started with "I heard about it, and thought: What in the name of Tom Brady and Peyton Manning is this?" To start, he had a hard time wrapping his head around an NFL QB who doesn't put in hours upon hours of prep time and watching tape.

He then talked about conversations he had with people he knows and trusts, and it turns out that, Yep, Murray doesn't watch tape or put in the work almost every other QB does. He didn't really come up with a definitive opinion for WHY the Cardinals put the clause in the contract, but he did say he wasn't sure how they would enforce it. 

His other interesting take goes back to what I first said here, he wasn't exactly sure why the Cardinals gave Murray this extension in the first place. He's locked up for the next two years and then they have the Tag at their disposal after that. 

And then he said, "Murray is a sometime [spectacular,] but unsuccessful QB." He noted that the Cardinals start out seasons strongly, but as it goes along and teams make adjustments to what they're doing, the Cardinals and Murray don't do as well. And then there was the 34-11 playoff loss where Murray went 19-34, 137 yds, 0 TD, 2 INT and ran 2 times for 6 yards.

Polian is unimpressed, and for sure not in favor of the contract at this moment.

[xaxat]

Back in Latrobe!

After a pandemic related absence, the Steelers are returning to their traditional training camp site at St. Vincent College in Latrobe PA. Not only do the players stay in the dorm rooms, they have room mates. 

[JTMacc99]

Buccaneers center Ryan Jensen was carted off the field today with a knee injury. 

The Bucs had AMAZING continuity along the OL last year. The top 6 guys in offensive snap counts (and percentage of potential snaps) were: 

• OT Tristan Wirfs 100%
• G Alex Cappa 100%
• C Ryan Jensen 97.4%
• OT Donovan Smith 97.0%
• QB Tom Brady 96.3%
• G Ali Marpet 87.7%

They had already lost Cappa to free agency and Marpet to retirement. If Jensen has a serious knee injury (seems likely), their entire interior offensive line will be new after essentially playing the entire 2021 season as a single unit of 5.

This is a BIG DEAL.

[Xeliou66]

36 minutes ago, JTMacc99 said:

Buccaneers center Ryan Jensen was carted off the field today with a knee injury. 

The Bucs had AMAZING continuity along the OL last year. The top 6 guys in offensive snap counts (and percentage of potential snaps) were: 

• OT Tristan Wirfs 100%
• G Alex Cappa 100%
• C Ryan Jensen 97.4%
• OT Donovan Smith 97.0%
• QB Tom Brady 96.3%
• G Ali Marpet 87.7%

They had already lost Cappa to free agency and Marpet to retirement. If Jensen has a serious knee injury (seems likely), their entire interior offensive line will be new after essentially playing the entire 2021 season as a single unit of 5.

This is a BIG DEAL.

Yeah that’s a big deal, not good for the Bucs to have a whole new interior O-Line. Could cause problems with the rushing attack, which was already probably their biggest question mark. 

[Danielg342]

6 hours ago, JTMacc99 said:

I'm not so sure that my guess for why it exists holds water.

Oh no, I think you're bang on. Whether or not it will be an effective out is questionable, but I truly believe it will be an out.

We all know how petty sports teams can be. There's no question the independent study clause is a calculated measure by the Cardinals, or else they would not do it. They certainly want to paint the picture that Kyler Murray does not prepare for games that well, or as well as they like.

Which will lead to one of two things. If the relationship goes further south, the Cardinals can blame his work ethic and use the clause as proof. If the relationship improves, then the Cardinals can say "we kicked his butt into gear and made him the quarterback he is."

It's a total PR move that does Murray no favours.

Interestingly, Murray held a press conference today to push back at the idea that he doesn't prepare for games. He never addressed the clause specifically despite ranting for 11 minutes about how absurd he thinks it is for people to believe "someone of (his) size" could succeed without adequate preparation.

Make that of what you will.

[Carey]

DK Metcalf is getting paid.  Which is smart since his value is likely taking a dive given the culture expected in 2022 for Seattle

Edited July 28, 2022 by Carey

[cambridgeguy]

No more (mandated) studying!

I'd still expect thousands of jokes every time something bad happens - looks like someone didn't watch enough film!

[merylinkid]

the Cards do not look good here.

Either the clause was needed and it needed to stay regardless of the attention surrounding it. 

OR

The clause was not needed and shouldn't have been in there in the first place.

Pulling it after the contract is signed just makes them look like they REALLY don't know what they are doing.   Murray ranting about it as an insult makes it look like it was really needed.   Dude you SIGNED THE CONTRACT with the clause in it.   So you were fine with it -- until it got out.   Which EVERYONE involved had to know it would.   Contracts are scrutinized like they lead to the lost Templar Treasure.   EVERY non-standard clause is overanalyzed.   If you were not prepared for that then you are incredibly incompetent.  By you I mean both the team and Murray.

[JTMacc99]

Good for DJ Metcalf! He's a good player on a team that, IMO, isn't in great shape at the QB position right now.  At least he's got a good deal in place while he does his best in 2022 and possibly with a new, rookie QB next year.

And I think the Cardinals kind of HAD to remove that study clause from the contract once it became front page news. It was never a good look for either the team or the player. By all accounts, it was extremely unusual if not unique. (Weight clauses are a normal thing. Study clauses, not so much.)

It is possible it was a genuine attempt by the team to force Murray to do a little independent tape study, because the words "I don't kill myself watching tape" came out of his mouth. It is possible it was dropped in as something they could use at a later date as an "out" of the guaranteed money, (again, because Murray said in his own words that he doesn't do it.)

Either way, now that everybody knows about it, they might as well take it out of the contract. No ongoing story for years and years of reporters asking the GM, "Is Murray doing his 4 hours of studying?"

[Danielg342]

The Cards and Kyler Murray could have had an easy out by saying "this isn't about Kyler's work ethic. We put the clause in because we've designed a special program suited just for Kyler so that he can become an elite quarterback."

Maybe no one would believe them, but at least that sounds better than implying Murray does not watch enough tape.

Of course, the team's hands were tied once Murray went on his rant and strongly implied he hated the clause. So removing it was likely all Arizona could do as a form of a peace offering in the hopes that they can repair whatever damage they've done with their relationship with Murray.

I'm not convinced they can at this stage but we'll see.

[DrSpaceman73]

If he didn't want the clause snd felt that strongly he shouldn't have signed the contract. Don't sign and then complain about it publicly.  

It was unenforceable and stupid but that should have been handled by he, the team and his agent before signing. 

Agree It makes both sides look bad. 

[Irlandesa]

Complaining about the clause after the contract has been signed is a little like telling on yourself, no?

Not that I'd expect him to read a whole contract he pays his lawyers/agents to read but I would expect him to listen if they come to him and say--just so you know, this weird thing is in there.

[xaxat]

Philadelphia Eagles' Gardner Minshew spent offseason in old prison bus, focused on 'Super Bowl or bust'

Dude, the only way the Eagles make the Super Bowl is if Jalen Hurts balls the hell out and you never step a foot on the field.

[morriss]

Word on the street is that Cyrus "the Virus" , Diamond Dog, Billy Bedlam, Johnny23, Garland Green and Vince Larkin will be arriving at Packers training camp this weekend...🤣

[cambridgeguy]

This should make every Eagles fan pray extra hard for Jalen Hurts's good health

[mojoween]

Scuttlebutt is that the NFLPA already announced they won’t appeal the decision that is going to come down about DeShaun Watson because the decision is more favorable than what they were expecting and less than the 12 games the NFL wanted.

The Texans settled with THIRTY women.  Anything less than one year is a bad ruling.

[BlueSkies]

I’ve always liked the Bills. Per their message boards this is the year a lot of their fans expect to win it all.

Any thoughts? 

[merylinkid]

ATTENTION, ATTENTION:   THERE IS FOOTBALL ON THURSDAY NIGHT.   Thursday, Thursday, Thursday.   It's gonna be a rumble in Canton.   Yes, its preseason.  No I don't care.   It's a game between actual teams.

[mojoween]

Six games and no fines is fucking bullshit. 

And I’m not going to do a damned thing about it, because I’m still going to watch the dumb NFL even though they don’t give a shit about me.

[Carey]

40 minutes ago, merylinkid said:

ATTENTION, ATTENTION:   THERE IS FOOTBALL ON THURSDAY NIGHT.   Thursday, Thursday, Thursday.   It's gonna be a rumble in Canton.   Yes, its preseason.  No I don't care.   It's a game between actual teams.

FWIW, I didn't check in on Social Media on Sunday, so I missed the annual preaching of the NFL talking heads and media personalities saying how it's the last free Sunday or final week without football for over half a year (or Valentine's Day week).

Six games is not enough, but 12 probably would not have been either

[merylinkid]

SIX GAMES is a freaking joke.   Oh and he also can only get massages from Browns' staff.   What did the massage staff ever do to be punished?  THEY didn't trade for him.

But like @mojoween  I'll still be watching because ain't nothing better football wise than the NFL.

The NFL can appeal the ruling to ... Goodell.    Which does not fill me with warm fuzzies either.   His discipline is all over the place.   He might even REDUCE IT.    Or he will indefinitely suspend him.   

At least the Browns are happy.   They don't look COMPLETELY stupid for trading for him.   Only mostly.

[bluegirl147]

12 minutes ago, merylinkid said:

SIX GAMES is a freaking joke. 

I agree but I'm glad he has to miss some games.  I have a friend who is a Browns fan and we had discussed Watson a few weeks ago and he wanted to just brush aside the allegations.  I just sent him a text and said seems like someone believed the women.  And setting aside the fact he is a football player and his team won't have him for six games this is about over 20 women who say Watson sexually assaulted/harassed them.   I hope this suspension gives them some vindication even though it is not nearly enough.

[Magog]

1 hour ago, Carey said:

ATTENTION, ATTENTION:   THERE IS FOOTBALL ON THURSDAY NIGHT.   Thursday, Thursday, Thursday.   It's gonna be a rumble in Canton.   Yes, its preseason.  No I don't care.   It's a game between actual teams.

Quote

FWIW, I didn't check in on Social Media on Sunday, so I missed the annual preaching of the NFL talking heads and media personalities saying how it's the last free Sunday or final week without football for over half a year (or Valentine's Day week).

Its not Labor Day yet. I'm still on NFL Summer Vacation & it doesn't end till Labor Day. The Hall of Fame Game is a 3 hour nap to me. 

1 hour ago, mojoween said:

Six games and no fines is fucking bullshit. 

And I’m not going to do a damned thing about it, because I’m still going to watch the dumb NFL even though they don’t give a shit about me.

Since when has the NFL & Roger Goodell ever gives a damn about us? I can't remember the last time the NFL gives a damn about us. Except for the Cowboys not being & winning a Super Bowl since 1995.

32 minutes ago, merylinkid said:

At least the Browns are happy.   They don't look COMPLETELY stupid for trading for him.   Only mostly.

Its early. If he doesn't lead the Browns to a Super Bowl at a minimum, then him & the Browns will really look stupid. 

Edited August 1, 2022 by Magog

[Carey]

TBH, this news will end up not making or breaking my day.  As mentioned, the NFL is too worth it to say no thank you in terms of watching.  While I'll respect the collegiate level of the game and how people may favor it over the professional level, the NFL is the best version of football, period.  I didn't even need to watch the USFL (and probably won't watch the XFL) to be satisfied in terms of my football fix.

The fact is this length means he'll miss time (and he didn't play last year at all).  Unless the league appeals it, this means this pathetic situation will go away, be done with, and we can focus on other stuff related to the NFL

[Xeliou66]

A 6 game suspension for Watson is definitely light. And I don’t trust Watson to stay out of trouble in Cleveland, if he gets in more trouble the Browns are going to look epically stupid for having traded for him. 

[merylinkid]

59 minutes ago, Carey said:

(and he didn't play last year at all).

He didn't play last year at all by his own choice.   He was NOT suspended.   he and the Texans reached an agreement that he could sit out and STILL BE PAID.    So last year does not count.

[bluegirl147]

2 minutes ago, merylinkid said:

He didn't play last year at all by his own choice.   He was NOT suspended.   he and the Texans reached an agreement that he could sit out and STILL BE PAID.    So last year does not count.

Does he get paid for the six games he is suspended for?

3 minutes ago, Xeliou66 said:

A 6 game suspension for Watson is definitely light. And I don’t trust Watson to stay out of trouble in Cleveland, if he gets in more trouble the Browns are going to look epically stupid for having traded for him. 

Too late.  If they hadn't already had a decent QB (and compared to a lot of starting QBs Mayfield was decent) and if Watson was the only option available I might be able to understand that ridiculous contract they gave him but they are putting a lot of money on someone who might turn out to be so much more trouble than he is worth.

The Browns first six opponents this season are Carolina, NY Jets, Pittsburgh, Atlanta, LA Chargers and NE.  The rest of their season is much harder.  

[mojoween]

He does not get paid during his suspension.  He’ll lose like $333,000.

[Moose135]

27 minutes ago, bluegirl147 said:

Does he get paid for the six games he is suspended for?

2 minutes ago, mojoween said:

He does not get paid during his suspension.  He’ll lose like $333,000.

They deliberately structured his contract to pay him a minimum amount this season so any suspension would have a limited effect on his salary.

[Irlandesa]

26 minutes ago, bluegirl147 said:

Does he get paid for the six games he is suspended for?

No but they crafted his contract so he wouldn't have missed out on much money even if he had been suspended the whole season.

I don't know.  I'm fed up.  I shouldn't even be surprised that a powerful man is getting away with this crap again given how little protection I feel women are getting almost everywhere.

[Carey]

6 minutes ago, Irlandesa said:

I don't know.  I'm fed up.  I shouldn't even be surprised that a powerful man is getting away with this crap again given how little protection I feel women are getting almost everywhere.

The baffling thing is that he isn't even that damn powerful.  What have the Texans done since he arrived to Houston?  Not much more, if at all, than what they were like for several years prior to his arrival

[bluegirl147]

19 minutes ago, Moose135 said:

They deliberately structured his contract to pay him a minimum amount this season so any suspension would have a limited effect on his salary.

That makes things even grosser for me.

10 minutes ago, Carey said:

The baffling thing is that he isn't even that damn powerful.  What have the Texans done since he arrived to Houston?  Not much more, if at all, than what they were like for several years prior to his arrival

Aside from all the allegations I never heard all that much about him.  I knew he was the QB for Houston but he didn't seem to have a high profile.  I wonder now if that was deliberate.  I doubt he started doing bad stuff to women only after he became an NFL QB. 

Never been a Cleveland fan because I bleed black and gold but I didn't hate them the way I do Baltimore but this whole thing makes me despise the organization.   The Steelers looked into trading Ben after two allegations. But the Browns sought out and awarded a contract with a ridiculous amount of money to a man with over twenty allegations.  Sorry to all the Browns fans but I hope Watson is an epic failure as your QB. 

[Carey]

1 hour ago, merylinkid said:

He didn't play last year at all by his own choice.   He was NOT suspended.   he and the Texans reached an agreement that he could sit out and STILL BE PAID.    So last year does not count.

It's still time missed.  Sure it was his call, after his failure to get out of Houston, he still didn't play.  The point here is that while his wallet was not affected, the longer someone's been out of the game prior to their return the worse off they may be.

I doubt Roger will factor that in; BTW there's no indication that the league will accept the ruling.  I think more games will be tacked on (maybe 11 more games).  It probably isn't great since we'll see deflategate 2.0 with this dragging on forever.  Nonetheless, money or no money, it's not popular to miss games, the game one loves.

1 hour ago, bluegirl147 said:

The Browns first six opponents this season are Carolina, NY Jets, Pittsburgh, Atlanta, LA Chargers and NE.  The rest of their season is much harder.  

That's not a tough slate to start the season.  That looks like 4-2.  If & when Watson returns, it should offset things.  I'm not going to crown them AFC winners, or even put them ahead of Pittsburgh (as neither have happened since 1999, or even a decade before that), but the last two teams that lost their QB due to suspension ended up completing the season & the Super Bowl.

24 minutes ago, bluegirl147 said:

Never been a Cleveland fan because I bleed black and gold but I didn't hate them the way I do Baltimore but this whole thing makes me despise the organization.   The Steelers looked into trading Ben after two allegations. But the Browns sought out and awarded a contract with a ridiculous amount of money to a man with over twenty allegations.  Sorry to all the Browns fans but I hope Watson is an epic failure as your QB. 

The Ben trade stuff is not accurate.  The Steelers were never planning on trading him; I'm assuming you might be thinking of the Niners trying to get him in 2010, which was completely false.  They wanted him suspended, that's a little more accurate, but I doubt they're saying goodbye to the guy that within that half decade, helped with 2 Superbowls, the first in a quarter century at that time

[bluegirl147]

8 minutes ago, Carey said:

They wanted him suspended

The difference between the Steeler organization and the Browns organization could not be more different.  

[Fukui San]

3 hours ago, bluegirl147 said:

The difference between the Steeler organization and the Browns organization could not be more different.  

Yeah, the Steelers were surely morally conflicted in employing the alleged rapist for another 11 seasons.

[JTMacc99]

As nobody was able to present enough facts to be used in a criminal case against Watson, and that NFL rules** are not really punishing him financially, I hope that each and every one of the women who sued him gets a shit-ton of money from him.

Let's pick a number to get the scale of it what kind of payments he's making.  If he ends up paying an average of $250,000 to each of the 24 women, that's $6,000,000.  My gut is that $250,000 is probably light, given what he did and how important it is to him to keep anybody else from going on the news and talking about what he did. I'd hope it's at least $500K per person, or $12,000,000. That would be after taxes, which would be equivalent of around a $20,000,000 salary fine from the NFL.

So there's that.

** And by the way, the arbiter who handed down the 6 game suspension made it very clear that she believed that Watson likely did exactly what he was accused of doing. This wasn't a "I think he probably did it, so I'm only going with 6 games." This was a "He totally did it, and per the collectively bargained rules, precedent, and other factors, the appropriate NFL suspension for this obvious violation of the Personal Conduct Policy is SIX GAMES."

Now if he had been caught gambling on games, that would be serious.

[bluegirl147]

5 minutes ago, Fukui San said:

Yeah, the Steelers were surely morally conflicted in employing the alleged rapist for another 11 seasons.

They were faced with that issue after he was already on the team. They didn't seek out someone that had numerous allegations against him.  

[JTMacc99]

8 minutes ago, bluegirl147 said:

They were faced with that issue after he was already on the team. They didn't seek out someone that had numerous allegations against him.  

That's very true. The Browns are in their own class of "I can't believe they did that" organizational and/or football decision makers.

Ben's rape allegations came in 2009 and 2010 which was after he had already been their QB for two championships. Their decision was more along the lines of what to do with the guy who had recently led the team to a championship, the fans loved and would probably forgive, and would be very hard to replace on a team that was in good shape to contend for more championships.

It would have been very difficult for them, football wise, to move on from him in 2010.

[roamyn]

You guys are making me defend Deshawn, and I hate that.

These were only ALLEGATIONS.  There was no Criminal charges.  I believe that the majority of these women were band wagoners.  But I do believe there was something there.

However, there was NO VIOLENCE as the NFL decrees it, involved.  I’m not saying that I believe these were not violent incidents (because any assault is violent IMO), but as the NFL describes as violence.  Therein lies the problem.

The six game suspension actually aligns with similar charges and allegations the NFL has dealt with since 2015, when the Personal Violation Code was rewritten.

ETA:  I hope Baker & the Panthers crush the Browns in Game 1.  I’m a die hard Brownie, who loves Baker.  It doesn’t hurt that I live in NC tho.

Edited August 1, 2022 by roamyn

[bluegirl147]

39 minutes ago, JTMacc99 said:

It would have been very difficult for them, football wise, to move on from him in 2010.

If they had moved on from him another team would have snatched him up and we would have been free to criticize that team.

[Notabug]

1 hour ago, JTMacc99 said:

As nobody was able to present enough facts to be used in a criminal case against Watson, and that NFL rules** are not really punishing him financially, I hope that each and every one of the women who sued him gets a shit-ton of money from him.

Let's pick a number to get the scale of it what kind of payments he's making.  If he ends up paying an average of $250,000 to each of the 24 women, that's $6,000,000.  My gut is that $250,000 is probably light, given what he did and how important it is to him to keep anybody else from going on the news and talking about what he did. I'd hope it's at least $500K per person, or $12,000,000. That would be after taxes, which would be equivalent of around a $20,000,000 salary fine from the NFL.

So there's that.

** And by the way, the arbiter who handed down the 6 game suspension made it very clear that she believed that Watson likely did exactly what he was accused of doing. This wasn't a "I think he probably did it, so I'm only going with 6 games." This was a "He totally did it, and per the collectively bargained rules, precedent, and other factors, the appropriate NFL suspension for this obvious violation of the Personal Conduct Policy is SIX GAMES."

Now if he had been caught gambling on games, that would be serious.

All but one of the women who filed civil suits against Watson have already settled, so that ship is nearly sailed.  I am less optimistic that the amounts of the settlements are anywhere near the range you are quoting.  Then again, he's getting $230 mil guaranteed from the Browns  and has probably already collected his $44 mil signing bonus.  12 mil is a drop in the bucket for him at this point.

Browns' owner Jimmy Haslam and his wife have already issued a statement praising the judge's decision on the suspension and claimed that he was 'remorseful' over the situation despite the fact that the judge specifically stated that Watson didn't show remorse at all.  This is why the Browns have the worst management in football, starting right there in the owner's suite.

[rcc]

10 hours ago, mojoween said:

Scuttlebutt is that the NFLPA already announced they won’t appeal the decision that is going to come down about DeShaun Watson because the decision is more favorable than what they were expecting and less than the 12 games the NFL wanted.

The Texans settled with THIRTY women.  Anything less than one year is a bad ruling.

Are the women getting paid by Watson or the Texans?

[Notabug]

7 minutes ago, roamyn said:

You guys are making me defend Deshawn, and I hate that.

These were only ALLEGATIONS.  There was no Criminal charges.  I believe that the majority of these women were band wagoners.  But I do believe there was something there.

However, there was NO VIOLENCE as the NFL decrees it, involved.  I’m not saying that I believe these were not violent incidents (because any assault is violent IMO), but as the NFL describes as violence.  Therein lies the problem.

The six game suspension actually aligns with similar charges and allegations the NFL has dealt with since 2015, when the Personal Violation Code was rewritten.

ETA:  I hope Baker & the Panthers crush the Browns in Game 1.  I’m a die hard Brownie, who loves Baker.  It doesn’t hurt that I live in NC tho.

I think the NFL clearly needs a more inclusive description of violence in the CBA and I expect that is going to happen at some point.

As for Watson, he hired SIXTY SIX different people, all of them FEMALE at his request, to give him massages in less than a year an a half.  Most professional athletes find a masseuse they like, one with specific experience and training in that field, and use the same one every time.  And they don't specify to the provider that they only want women to perform the service.  I think it is extremely likely that there are far more than 24 women out there who have been sexually harassed by Watson, at the very least.  I cannot think of another reason that Watson would need specify he only wanted females to do his massages and ended up with 66 different women.  Several of the women involved have gone public and their training and experience was far less than the typical massage therapist for professional athletes.

4 minutes ago, rcc said:

Are the women getting paid by Watson or the Texans?

Both.  Some were hired by the Texans organization specifically at Watson's request which put the team on the hook, too.  The team has settled all of the pending cases against them, I think.

[roamyn]

36 minutes ago, Notabug said:

As for Watson, he hired SIXTY SIX different people, all of them FEMALE at his request, to give him massages in less than a year

It’s my understanding it was 44 women over his entire career, including college. Deshawn himself has admitted that in an interview when the Browns signed him.

That’s still excessive though.

[Notabug]

2 minutes ago, roamyn said:

It’s my understanding it was 44 women over his entire career, including college. Deshawn himself has admitted that in an interview when the Browns signed him.

That’s still excessive though.

I got the number from the NYT investigative report.  They say it was 66 in 17 months while he was on the Texans and that the number is higher than previous reports.

Let's face it; DeShawn Watson is a liar, even the judge called him out on his lies today and I think the NYT report is probably more accurate than DeShawn's account.

https://www.bing.com/ck/a?!&&p=1037de36e6bd3653JmltdHM9MTY1OTM5MTIyMyZpZ3VpZD02OWM3NDc0Mi1kMDczLTQ1MzMtOTQ5Yy0xMDJkMTZlOTg4ZjEmaW5zaWQ9NTE3NA&ptn=3&hsh=3&fclid=5781eacb-11e5-11ed-a23a-46ce5a83ad7a&u=a1aHR0cHM6Ly9uZXdzLnlhaG9vLmNvbS9ueXQtaW52ZXN0aWdhdGlvbi1yZXZlYWxzLWRlc2hhdW4td2F0c29uLTIwNTcwMjQwNi5odG1s&ntb=1

[Danielg342]

I could go on a huge rant about how out of whack our sexual misconduct policies are when someone like me gets treated like a monster for so much as saying a word to a woman whereas DeShaun Watson gets a metaphorical love tap on the wrist, but that would be wildly off topic.

All I'll say is that I am not surprised. We would all love our sports teams to be principled and get rid of people who are problematic, but the stakes are what they are in pro sports and people who win are always favoured over those who don't. Morals mean nothing when that's what matters.

Some day we will stop messing around. I just don't know what day that will be.

[BlueSkies]

I love the city of Cleveland and like the Browns.  But the Watson signing took some sail out of my winds there.

I become less and less interested in the NFL as I get older and it goes beyond Watson 

[Prairie Rose]

Equally sickening is the statement from Browns ownership. I've already made my feelings on this subject known here so I won't repeat all that. Read this and puke:

[mojoween]

No team has 52 Boy Scouts on it.  But this case is so high profile and there are SO many women that it’s harder to put this one aside.

I’ve never had any animosity towards the Browns, either iteration, and they obviously aren’t Pittsburgh or Baltimore, but between this and how shitty they treated Baker, there’s not a lot to root for here.

Edit - what the fuck, Cleveland.  DeShaun is NOT remorseful, the judge even said so.  What are you smoking?

Edited August 1, 2022 by mojoween

[Prairie Rose]

10 hours ago, merylinkid said:

SIX GAMES is a freaking joke.   Oh and he also can only get massages from Browns' staff.   What did the massage staff ever do to be punished?  THEY didn't trade for him.

But like @mojoween  I'll still be watching because ain't nothing better football wise than the NFL.

The NFL can appeal the ruling to ... Goodell.    Which does not fill me with warm fuzzies either.   His discipline is all over the place.   He might even REDUCE IT.    Or he will indefinitely suspend him.   

At least the Browns are happy.   They don't look COMPLETELY stupid for trading for him.   Only mostly.

With all due respect, my dear @merylinkid, my hometown team still looks completely stupid. JMHO, of course.