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NFL 2017 Discussion Thread
- Thread starter PUSH
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Dead2009
Horror Movie Guru
DeMaurice Smith: Work stoppage in 2021 'almost a virtual certainty'
http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/20371989/2021-strike-lockout-very-likely
http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/20371989/2021-strike-lockout-very-likely
Dad 2 M & M
Well-Known Member
Falcons at Pittsburgh today! A few things going on for today's game:
1) Devonta Freeman is out with what they are now saying is concussion protocol (earlier in the week his ailment was attributed to heat stoke). Anywho, there is rumblings his contract has REALLY irritated the players union, and has negative result LeVeon Bell's contact struggle. Freeman signed for just over 8 million per year, and Bell had reportedly turned down 12 million. Don't know if that was really offered, but he surely will not get it now....and Freeman is being held out today, again for concussion protocol....
,
Other notes:
1) CB - After missing the 1st 4 games of last year due to suspension, Jalen Collins has been suspended for the 1st 10 games of this season. This has the potential to hurt the secondary, as Jalen stepped in after Desmond Trufant's season ending injury last year, and the defense really improved. Part of the reason for the improvement was Dan Quinn took over defensive responsibilities around the same time as Trufant's injury. Many look at Jalen as no big loss, but he really looked good down the stretch. Of note, keeping Jalen on the roster would actually be cheaper than cutting him and the dead money result.
2) DT Dontari Poe - great things are expected...he is in great shape as his contract had weight clauses.
3) DT Johnathan Babineax - he retired, and was quietly one of the most productive Falcons in team history. Not getting a mention down here.....and yes, productive Falcons are few and far between over the span of the team's existence
4) RG - with Chester retiring, who knows what will happen as Alex Mack was already having to partially cover the our weak left guard....
1) Devonta Freeman is out with what they are now saying is concussion protocol (earlier in the week his ailment was attributed to heat stoke). Anywho, there is rumblings his contract has REALLY irritated the players union, and has negative result LeVeon Bell's contact struggle. Freeman signed for just over 8 million per year, and Bell had reportedly turned down 12 million. Don't know if that was really offered, but he surely will not get it now....and Freeman is being held out today, again for concussion protocol....
,
Other notes:
1) CB - After missing the 1st 4 games of last year due to suspension, Jalen Collins has been suspended for the 1st 10 games of this season. This has the potential to hurt the secondary, as Jalen stepped in after Desmond Trufant's season ending injury last year, and the defense really improved. Part of the reason for the improvement was Dan Quinn took over defensive responsibilities around the same time as Trufant's injury. Many look at Jalen as no big loss, but he really looked good down the stretch. Of note, keeping Jalen on the roster would actually be cheaper than cutting him and the dead money result.
2) DT Dontari Poe - great things are expected...he is in great shape as his contract had weight clauses.
3) DT Johnathan Babineax - he retired, and was quietly one of the most productive Falcons in team history. Not getting a mention down here.....and yes, productive Falcons are few and far between over the span of the team's existence
4) RG - with Chester retiring, who knows what will happen as Alex Mack was already having to partially cover the our weak left guard....
Dead2009
Horror Movie Guru
2 weeks after signing a contract with the Bills, Anquan Boldin retires
http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap30...ran-wr-anquan-boldin-retires-after-14-seasons
http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap30...ran-wr-anquan-boldin-retires-after-14-seasons
21stamps
Well-Known Member
This is the most uncalled for suspension that I've seen. I've been checking regularly for updates. I'm not a Cowboys fan, but I'm a huge Zeke fan.
Lucky
Well-Known Member
Me made the mistake of being available when they were picking.
Why, what did he ever do to them?
Lucky
Well-Known Member
He should have changed his name to DeShone Watson so another team would have gotten confused and picked him earlier.
I think Burfict is a dirty player, and him being a repeat offender played heavily into his suspension. 5 games is heavy for what the hit was, but the fact that he's a repeat offender is why it's so steep. That's the system the NFL has, and they've had for a little while now. I definitely think it was unnecessary roughness, because Anthony Sherman was clearly not the target, and was a defenseless receiver at the time of the hit. And because he was defenseless, the hit is deemed illegal. And even if Sherman was the intended target, that would have obviously been a pass interference penalty. So while the hit might not have seemed overly vicious, there are multiple rule infractions he committed.
I can see the NFL taking off a game or two max, but I don't think he's walking away free from any consequence. You have to play smarter than that, especially with the emphasis on player safety and avoiding unnecessary injuries.
21stamps
Well-Known Member
I disagree. A flag wasn't even thrown, and it appears to be legal even under the NFL's "new rules". To be honest, I don't even fully understand the new rules..and I don't think the Players, Coaches, or Refs, do either.
He's made dirty plays in the past, I just do not see this as one of them. If the NFL wants to make an example out of Burfict, they'll keep the suspension, and everyone will still be confused on the rules.
If they waive it- everyone will still be confused.
I don't see how they could reduce it though, it was either legal or illegal...they need to be clear on exactly why.
Not all penalties are flagged because not all penalties are seen. There is no way to justify the hit. And it really doesn't matter is the hit is legal or not, because it's a clear indication of unnecessary roughness because the pass was never going to Sherman and never had any indication of going to him. And that right there makes it illegal and up for possible suspension, especially for a repeat offender.
Confusing or not, rules are rules, and they should be followed. I do think there is a lot of room for interpretation of the rules, but there's no room in the NFL for what Burfict did. 100% unnecessary.
21stamps
Well-Known Member
How can rules be followed if there is confusion on what the rules are? That's why I think the NFL needs to be very clear. We've watched that play over and over frame by frame.. it looked like he was just playing football.
I understand the whole player safety thing, and I think it's very important.. but to change rules, without a clear understanding of what those changed rules are, is going to set up a very strange football season. I think this year will be different than anything we've ever seen.
21stamps
Well-Known Member
Here's a comment by Marvin Lewis. If the suspension stands then I most players in the NFL will be even more confused about what they can and can not do.
CINCINNATI - Bengals coach Marvin Lewis defended Vontaze Burfict's style of play in the wake of a pending five-game suspension. Lewis said that Burfict has changed his style of play after getting a three-game suspension last year for violations of player safety.
"In my opinion Vontaze has changed,' Lewis said. "He's learned, he's changed, but in my opinion he's a 250-pound man that hits like a dynamite. It's like getting hit by a cement truck. That's just the way he plays. He's got great hip explosion; that's why he's the player he is. ... The dynamics of his body are such that it's like getting hit by a 300-pound person."
Chiefs, was within the rules.
"Sometimes in interpretation things got lost, and hopefully Vontaze will prevail," Lewis said.
Burfict is on the NFL's repeat offender list, which is likely why he got an unprecedented five-game suspension after the Chiefs game. He has been fined numerous times by the league for plays it has considered questionable.
The play in question was a hit to Chiefs fullback Anthony Sherman, who was not the intended receiver on the play.
The league recently added a new rule emphasizing hits on defenseless receivers, but Lewis said this particular play was not one of the examples listed when the NFL explained the new rules to players in the preseason.
"It's within the rules," Burfict said. "You can hit the receiver in 5 yards; you just can't hit him in the helmet or neck area. I hit him in the chest area. I guess they just have it out for me, I guess. It's whatever."
Lewis said the league's issue with the hit was that it came from the side, where the receiver could not see him. Lewis said that wasn't possible
"The interpretation is that it's away from the play, does Vontaze hit him from the back, or from the side, or does he put his shoulder into the number of the Kansas City Chiefs player?" Lewis said. "Obviously I would have to be facing you to put my number there. That seems pretty obvious."
Lewis said he was surprised when the suspension came down, because Burfict did not lead with his helmet to try to make the tackle. The NFL is also emphasizing helmet-to-helmet hits.
"His head was out to the left, as you can see in every single angle," Lewis said. "Behind, front, television, All-22, it's always out to the side and in front of the player. There's no contact whatsoever. And if you have to slow down things in high definition and go frame by frame, and you're still not sure, we don't officiate the game that way. ... I don't see how the players can be held to that standard as well."
CINCINNATI - Bengals coach Marvin Lewis defended Vontaze Burfict's style of play in the wake of a pending five-game suspension. Lewis said that Burfict has changed his style of play after getting a three-game suspension last year for violations of player safety.
"In my opinion Vontaze has changed,' Lewis said. "He's learned, he's changed, but in my opinion he's a 250-pound man that hits like a dynamite. It's like getting hit by a cement truck. That's just the way he plays. He's got great hip explosion; that's why he's the player he is. ... The dynamics of his body are such that it's like getting hit by a 300-pound person."
Chiefs, was within the rules.
"Sometimes in interpretation things got lost, and hopefully Vontaze will prevail," Lewis said.
Burfict is on the NFL's repeat offender list, which is likely why he got an unprecedented five-game suspension after the Chiefs game. He has been fined numerous times by the league for plays it has considered questionable.
The play in question was a hit to Chiefs fullback Anthony Sherman, who was not the intended receiver on the play.
The league recently added a new rule emphasizing hits on defenseless receivers, but Lewis said this particular play was not one of the examples listed when the NFL explained the new rules to players in the preseason.
"It's within the rules," Burfict said. "You can hit the receiver in 5 yards; you just can't hit him in the helmet or neck area. I hit him in the chest area. I guess they just have it out for me, I guess. It's whatever."
Lewis said the league's issue with the hit was that it came from the side, where the receiver could not see him. Lewis said that wasn't possible
"The interpretation is that it's away from the play, does Vontaze hit him from the back, or from the side, or does he put his shoulder into the number of the Kansas City Chiefs player?" Lewis said. "Obviously I would have to be facing you to put my number there. That seems pretty obvious."
Lewis said he was surprised when the suspension came down, because Burfict did not lead with his helmet to try to make the tackle. The NFL is also emphasizing helmet-to-helmet hits.
"His head was out to the left, as you can see in every single angle," Lewis said. "Behind, front, television, All-22, it's always out to the side and in front of the player. There's no contact whatsoever. And if you have to slow down things in high definition and go frame by frame, and you're still not sure, we don't officiate the game that way. ... I don't see how the players can be held to that standard as well."
I think any player, coach, ref, fan, GM, owner, etc. knows that launching yourself at a player who is not even in the play at all is illegal. If he was making a tackle it may have been a legal hit, but he wasn't making a tackle. He was just hitting a player for no reason.
But I guess that's okay in some people's minds, so we can just agree to disagree. No sense continuing a senseless internet debate.
