NFL 2014

[Mutaman]

Bovada just released their over-unders.

I'll take the Packers over 10.5

http://sports.bovada.lv/sports-betting/football-team-props.jsp

[bucksfan2]

These guys are good. Too many numbers right where you think teams would be. Just a quick look and here is what I would bet.

Broncos Over 11.5
Pats over 10.5
Steelers under 8.5
Dolphins under 8.0

If I had to, Bengals Over 9. Still think they are the class of the AFC North. Taking emotions out of the equation I think they are at least a 10 win team. Two numbers I found very interesting Bills 6.5 and Texans 7.5. Vegas thinks a lot of those teams.

[Kingspoint]

These guys are good. Too many numbers right where you think teams would be. Just a quick look and here is what I would bet.

Broncos Over 11.5
Pats over 10.5
Steelers under 8.5
Dolphins under 8.0

If I had to, Bengals Over 9. Still think they are the class of the AFC North. Taking emotions out of the equation I think they are at least a 10 win team. Two numbers I found very interesting Bills 6.5 and Texans 7.5. Vegas thinks a lot of those teams.

Broncos play the NFC West plus a 1st Place schedule.

[Slyder]

Bovada just released their over-unders.

I'll take the Packers over 10.5

http://sports.bovada.lv/sports-betting/football-team-props.jsp

I'll do the ones I follow the Most AFC West:
Oakland I take the over, even with the ridiculous schedule I easily see this team winning 6-8
Denver I'd take the under. I still see them being the 2003 Raiders where they get old and QUICKLY.
Kansas City feasted on a soft schedule and got exposed later, also not a fan of their FA or draft. Under 8.
San Diego if there is a dark horse to bet in the AFC West its SD, I haven't looked at their full schedule but I expect them to be 2nd in the division this year.

[Kingspoint]

I'll do the ones I follow the Most AFC West:
Oakland I take the over, even with the ridiculous schedule I easily see this team winning 6-8
Denver I'd take the under. I still see them being the 2003 Raiders where they get old and QUICKLY.
Kansas City feasted on a soft schedule and got exposed later, also not a fan of their FA or draft. Under 8.
San Diego if there is a dark horse to bet in the AFC West its SD, I haven't looked at their full schedule but I expect them to be 2nd in the division this year.

Agree with all of this.

[Kingspoint]

The Giants are going to try to decrease the number of sacks and interceptions of Eli Manning by turning him into a 3-step drop passer under a new Offense...

From Rotoworld w/ Rotoworld comments:

The Giants' offense is utilizing three-receiver packages "on almost every play" during OTAs.

Beat writer Jordan Raanan described new OC Ben McAdoo's scheme as "a spread-'em-out offense that utilizes a "ton" of screen passes, quick-timing horizontal pass patterns, and three-step drops. It's much different from OC Kevin Gilbride's old vertical attack, and resembles the Packers' system. Rueben Randle and Odell Beckham will be the outside wideouts, with Victor Cruz in the slot.

Source: Newark Star-Ledger


...other Giants news (from Rotoworld)...

NFL suspended Giants S Will Hill six games for violating the league's substance abuse policy.

Hill tried appealing the ban, but came up short and he'll be sidelined until Week 7. Hill has now been suspended three times since being signed by the Giants as a UDFA out of Florida in 2012. A high-impact performer when available for games, 24-year-old Hill graded out as Pro Football Focus' No. 2 overall safety in 2013, behind only Devin McCourty. The Giants will enter Week 1 with Stevie Brown starting at free safety, and Antrel Rolle on the strong side.


Giants released QB Josh Freeman.

He lasted just six weeks with the team. Freeman was never a good fit for new Giants OC Ben McAdoo's quick-hitting West Coast offense in the first place. The G-Men will move forward with Ryan Nassib and Curtis Painter behind Eli Manning, who recovered ahead of schedule from ankle surgery and is taking part in OTAs. Still only 26 years old, Freeman is just two seasons removed from a 27:17 TD-to-INT ratio campaign with the Buccaneers. Off-field and work-ethic question marks threaten to torpedo Freeman's once-promising NFL career.

[redsfanmia]

Broncos play the NFC West plus a 1st Place schedule.

Plus Peyton looked really old in the Super Bowl, may be a sign of things to come.

[Kingspoint]

OTA's can be rough. You just hope you get through them unscathed. But, they are necessary, in order to implement the complicated playbooks of the never-ending revolving doors of Offensive and Defensive Coordinators, along with rosters changing 20-25% nearly every season.

From Rotoworld w/ Rotoworld comments:

The extent of Giants MLB Jon Beason's injury is a torn ligament and fractured sesamoid bone in his right foot.

The New York Daily News believes Beason could miss "Opening Day, and maybe more," after receiving a 12-week recovery timetable. A team source said the Giants expect Beason to "need surgery and at least three months to recover." In an ideal world, Beason would resume practicing just before Week 1, although that's optimistic. The Giants will look at Mark Herzlich, Jameel McClain, and rookie Devon Kennard as short-term replacements. As the injury occurred before training camp, Beason will be eligible for the PUP list. It's a blow to the Giants' defense, albeit not nearly as severe as the Cowboys' loss of Sean Lee (ACL), or Falcons ILB Sean Weatherspoon's torn Achilles' tendon.

Source: New York Daily News


If they'd get rid of half of the useless pre-season games (that gouge the season-ticket holders to death), there'd be more time in training camp to conduct practices, making OTA's less dangerous as they themselves could be scaled down on the physical end of things.

[Kingspoint]

From Rotoworld w/ Rotoworld comments:

Speaking Thursday, Packers coach Mike McCarthy said second-year RB Johnathan Franklin (neck) will "not be back with us."

McCarthy said the organization will have a lengthier statement on Friday. It appears Franklin will either be waived/injured or retire. The Pack notoriously have the league's most cautious medical staff, so it's unclear if it's simply the team throwing in the towel on Franklin's career, or Franklin himself. Either way, it's crushing news for a player who came out of UCLA with a considerable amount of upside last year. Franklin's status will be updated no later than Friday.

Source: Rob Demovsky on Twitter

[Kingspoint]

From Rotoworld w/ Rotoworld comments:

NFL suspended Eagles RT Lane Johnson four games for violating the league's policy against performance-enhancing drugs.

Perhaps not-so-ironically, our last update on Johnson was regarding his "bulked up" frame this offseason. The Eagles signed Allen Barbre to a three-year extension earlier this month, and he figures to get the first crack at replacing Johnson at right tackle. The No. 4 overall pick in the 2013 draft, Johnson had an outstanding rookie year as a run blocker, but coughed up ten sacks in pass protection. Johnson will miss games against Jacksonville, Indianapolis, Washington, and San Francisco. He'll be eligible to return in Week 5.

Source: Paul Domowitch on Twitter

[Kingspoint]

Buffalo just can't catch a break. I feel bad for them.

From Rotoworld w/ Rotoworld comments:

Bills WLB Kiko Alonso tore his ACL while working out and is expected to miss the season.

It's a massive loss for a Bills defense that quietly ranked 10th in the league last year and was trending up. The versatile and athletic Alonso played every single snap during his standout rookie campaign, dominating in coverage and coming second in Defensive Rookie of the Year voting. He's been slapped with a 7-9 month recovery timetable and will likely be placed on injured reserve shortly. Next up at weak-side linebacker as the Bills shift to a 4-3 would be Nigel Bradham or Preston Brown.

Source: Adam Schefter on Twitter

[Tony Cloninger]

Can someone tell me what Odell Thurman did?

The reason I ask about him is I am wondering why Ray Rice and Aldon Smith have not been suspended yet for at least half the season while Odell Thurman went the way of Amelia Earhart as fast as you could spit.

[Kingspoint]

I can't see Gordon playing another snap in the NFL.

Good-bye about $70M, and as you said, he'll be dead before he's 30 because he'll be chasing illegaly that $70M he threw away.


From Rotoworld w/ Rotoworld comments:

Following his Saturday morning DWI arrest, suspended Browns WR Josh Gordon was bailed out of jail by Haydn "Fats" Thomas, a convicted felon.

Thomas, 39, has four aliases and an "extensive criminal background," including five known arrests in five different North Carolina counties. "Many of his charges are drug and gun related," although Thomas has somehow never served prison time. Thomas' last reported arrest came in December 2012, when he was charged with three felony marijuana violations and possession of a firearm.

Source: Raleigh News-Observer (http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/07/05/3012727/felon-who-rented-car-in-hairston.html)

[WrongVerb]

Just because Johnny Manziel was allegedly rolling a dollar bill in the bathroom does not mean he was doing cocaine. (with picture)

Link (http://larrybrownsports.com/football/johnny-manziel-rolling-bill-money-bathroom-cocaine/235019)

And here we go (if we weren't going there already)

[Kingspoint]

Just because Johnny Manziel was allegedly rolling a dollar bill in the bathroom does not mean he was doing cocaine. (with picture)

Link (http://larrybrownsports.com/football/johnny-manziel-rolling-bill-money-bathroom-cocaine/235019)

And here we go (if we weren't going there already)

It was a $20.


Right....

Rolling $20 bills in a bathroom is a normal thing one does every day. There couldn't possibly be drugs involved. Not possible. Not with a person of his outstanding reputation.

Rolling the $20 doesn't mean he was doing the snorting, but somebody he handed the bill to after this photo was taken certainly was snorting something. Doubt if they were cleaning the bathroom by blowing through the bill.

[improbus]

Just because Johnny Manziel was allegedly rolling a dollar bill in the bathroom does not mean he was doing cocaine. (with picture)

Link (http://larrybrownsports.com/football/johnny-manziel-rolling-bill-money-bathroom-cocaine/235019)

And here we go (if we weren't going there already)

So, a child of Texas oil money might have done cocaine. Sounds about right.

[Redeyecat]

These guys are good. Too many numbers right where you think teams would be. Just a quick look and here is what I would bet.

...
Steelers under 8.5
...

If I had to, Bengals Over 9. Still think they are the class of the AFC North. Taking emotions out of the equation I think they are at least a 10 win team.

I agree about the Bengals over 9, but I'm not inclined to go with the Steelers under 8.5. The catch being this division should be quite good again and some team has to lose the intradivision games.

[Caveat Emperor]

2 games for Ray Rice beating a woman is a joke.

Period.

[Dom Heffner]

2 games for Ray Rice beating a woman is a joke.

Period.

We live in a strange world, don't we?

[RedTeamGo!]

We live in a strange world, don't we?

Josh Gordon gets suspended an entire season for smoking marijuana

Ray Rice gets suspended 2 games for beating a woman

That's just stupid.

[fearofpopvol1]

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/11257934/justin-blackmon-jacksonville-jaguars-arrested-marijuana-possession

Sounds like the guy needs help.

[Caveat Emperor]

We live in a strange world, don't we?

I love the fact that you can buy this right now on NFLShop.com: http://www.nflshop.com/Baltimore_Ravens_Women_Jerseys/Nike_Ray_Rice_Baltimore_Ravens_Womens_Game_Jersey_-_Purple

Seriously -- with each passing day, I get a little more fed up with the NFL.

[Todd Gack]

2 games for Ray Rice beating a woman is a joke.

Period.

I know. And Donnie Jones says some words and is suspended indefinitely.

[Dom Heffner]

I love the fact that you can buy this right now on NFLShop.com: http://www.nflshop.com/Baltimore_Ravens_Women_Jerseys/Nike_Ray_Rice_Baltimore_Ravens_Womens_Game_Jersey_-_Purple

Seriously -- with each passing day, I get a little more fed up with the NFL.


It's a bit icky, I agree.

[Yachtzee]

I love the fact that you can buy this right now on NFLShop.com: http://www.nflshop.com/Baltimore_Ravens_Women_Jerseys/Nike_Ray_Rice_Baltimore_Ravens_Womens_Game_Jersey_-_Purple

Seriously -- with each passing day, I get a little more fed up with the NFL.

What's sad is that people will still buy it. I still see parents dressing their young daughters in Ben Roethlisberger jerseys.

[Kingspoint]

Nice opening drive for the Packers in Preseason Game 1. No Rodgers or Cobb, so they just ran the ball down the throats of the Titans and their new Hybrid 3-4 Defense. The O-Line blocked extremely well, especially RT Bryan Bulaga, who tore his ACL last August.

James Starks was the steal of Free Agency in 2014.

I don't understand why Matt Flynn keeps getting a job in the NFL. Tolzien, on the other hand, took another step forward in his career. The game was just too fast for him last season, but he looks much more comfortable this year.

In my opinion, the Titans have the best Offensive Line in football (they weren't last season, but I think they will be this season). They'll need it with Locker at QB. The Packers had some tackling issues (they weren't very good last year), but they looked respectable against this unit. It gives the Packers' something to work with. They'll only be as good as their Defense's improvement from last season.

(Eddie George looks like he could still play in the NFL.)

From Rotoworld w/ Rotoworld comments:

Second-year pro J.C. Tretter appears to have won the Packers' starting center job.

Tretter got the first shot at replacing Evan Dietrich-Smith, and ran with it. "Every day he's gotten better at something and he continues to grow that way," were the words of OL coach James Campen. It's impressive, as the 2013 fourth-rounder missed most of his rookie year with a broken ankle. He came off the PUP list in December, but played zero snaps.

Source: ESPN.com (http://espn.go.com/blog/green-bay-packers/post/_/id/11972/packers-confident-in-jc-tretter-at-center)

Losing Dietrich-Smith was a big concern if you're a Packers' fan, so this is good to see.

[Kingspoint]

A lot of key players did not play in the pre-season Week 1. I wonder if that was a little protest on the part of Coaches to the Owners that there are too many pre-season games.

Seasons were 12 games long for a very long time. To have four pre-season games is simply ludicrous. A player can play up to 24 games in a season now. Human beings can't take that much pounding and expect to come back the next season without damaging repercussions.

[improbus]

In a league that legislates parity, has any team benefitted more from bumbling in division rivals like the Patriots have? The Dolphins and Bills have done nothing for over a decade and the Jets had a nice short run, but they have largely been the Jets. It seems that every other division has had turnover, runs by multiple teams, and worst to first turn arounds.

[redsfanmia]

In a league that legislates parity, has any team benefitted more from bumbling in division rivals like the Patriots have? The Dolphins and Bills have done nothing for over a decade and the Jets had a nice short run, but they have largely been the Jets. It seems that every other division has had turnover, runs by multiple teams, and worst to first turn arounds.
The Colts division is basically the same, the Texans were good for 2 years and the Titans had a few decent years but the Jags have been bad for a long time.

[improbus]

The Colts division is basically the same, the Texans were good for 2 years and the Titans had a few decent years but the Jags have been bad for a long time.

It has been mostly Indy, but the Jags, Titans, and Texans have all won the division in the last decade and have all had a 12 win or better season.

[Chip R]

Now the NFL has a policy in place for domestic violence. 6 games 1st offense, lifetime ban second offence.

http://espn.go.com/espnw/news-commentary/article/11425377/nfl-implements-domestic-violence-penalties

[Slyder]

Now the NFL has a policy in place for domestic violence. 6 games 1st offense, lifetime ban second offence.

http://espn.go.com/espnw/news-commentary/article/11425377/nfl-implements-domestic-violence-penalties

And of course the first test case for the new policy comes from the same team that had its qb caught up in a situation during the offseason and the train wreck that is Aldon Smith!

Should be interesting to see what happens here.

[Chip R]

Wes Welker has been suspended 4 games for amphetamine use.

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/11455813/wes-welker-denver-broncos-suspended-four-games-use-amphetamines

[Dom Heffner]

Wes Welker has been suspended 4 games for amphetamine use.

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/11455813/wes-welker-denver-broncos-suspended-four-games-use-amphetamines

He was framed!

[kaldaniels]

He was framed!

Disappointed in myself for not seeing this coming!

http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--0oWQ9eoA--/c_fit,fl_progressive,q_80,w_636/elfcecggm2mmw8fqgc3c.jpg

[improbus]

It is funny that the "undersized" "scrappy" white receiver is a source of humor when something like this happens. If it were an Ochocinco or TO, ESPN would have gone into meltdown mode.

[RedTeamGo!]

It is funny that the "undersized" "scrappy" white receiver is a source of humor when something like this happens. If it were an Ochocinco or TO, ESPN would have gone into meltdown mode.

Meh, Ochocino and TO are crazy people.

[improbus]

Meh, Ochocino and TO are crazy people.

And handing out hundreds while dressed like a pimp and hopped up on Molly isn't crazy? Doesn't this put him in their class if not beyond?

[RedTeamGo!]

And handing out hundreds while dressed like a pimp and hopped up on Molly isn't crazy? Doesn't this put him in their class if not beyond?

First of all: he is not "dressed up like a pimp" at all. He is dressed up like a wealthy southerner going to a horse race.

Doing molly is not crazy, it's a recreational drug, and I know a lot of people personally that have tried it.

He may be crazy though, I have never really heard him talk much.

Ochocinco headbutted his wife, and after reaching a plea deal to get out of jail time for violating his probation preceded to slap his lawyer's butt in front of the judge, which then resulted in the judge rejecting the deal. Also, have you heard the man speak? He is looney tunes.

TO was broke before the day he retired after making 10's of millions of dollars and cried on his reality tv show because he had no idea why it happened. Have you heard him speak? He is not all there.

I generally do not think most NFL players are sane people though.

[kpresidente]

It is funny that the "undersized" "scrappy" white receiver is a source of humor when something like this happens. If it were an Ochocinco or TO, ESPN would have gone into meltdown mode.

Yeah, white receivers never get the over-the-top, wall-to-wall coverage when they do stupid things. Just ask Riley Cooper.

[improbus]

Yeah, white receivers never get the over-the-top, wall-to-wall coverage when they do stupid things. Just ask Riley Cooper.
What Riley Cooper did was much more than a "stupid" thing. He did the same thing that got an NBA owner banned for life and forced to sell his team. I think it is underrated just how forgiving Cooper's Eagles teammates were (or at least seemed to be). Ocho putting on a fake HOF jacket on the sideline is a "stupid" thing.

What I tend to object to is the difference in the way that stories are framed when they are discussed. Welker is a huge part of their offense and his suspension could be a big thing for a Super Bowl favorite. I'm not hearing the same kind of outrage that would occur if someone else did it. Instead, because of the ridiculousness of the situation and the image, Welker is just being laughed at.

[Roy Tucker]

Doing molly is not crazy, it's a recreational drug, and I know a lot of people personally that have tried it.



Let's not get carried away here.

I've done my share of "experimenting" back in the day, but at least I knew it was a crazy thing to do.

And I know a lot of people that tried various substances that are dead.

[improbus]

Collinsworth has a lot of Madden in him. In fact, he sounds more like Caliendo's Madden.

[Chip R]

Antonio Brown strikes again

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/11483081/antonio-brown-pittsburgh-steelers-jump-kicks-cleveland-browns-punter-failed-hurdle-attempt

[RedTeamGo!]

http://www.tmz.com/2014/09/08/ray-rice-elevator-knockout-fiancee-takes-crushing-punch-video/

Not sure if anyone has seen the Ray Rice elevator knockout video, but it has been released.

Josh Gordon is caught with miniscule trace of marijuana in his blood and is suspended a whole year. Ray Rice knocks his fiance out cold in an elevator and literally drags her lifeless body into the hall and is suspended 2 games.

Epic fail of insane proportions by Roger Goodell.

PS: Roger Goodell made $44 million last year.

[Stray]

http://www.tmz.com/2014/09/08/ray-rice-elevator-knockout-fiancee-takes-crushing-punch-video/

Not sure if anyone has seen the Ray Rice elevator knockout video, but it has been released.

Josh Gordon is caught with miniscule trace of marijuana in his blood and is suspended a whole year. Ray Rice knocks his fiance out cold in an elevator and literally drags her lifeless body into the hall and is suspended 2 games.

Epic fail of insane proportions by Roger Goodell.

PS: Roger Goodell made $44 million last year.

I don't really understand everyone's comparison to Josh Gordon. Gordon failed multiple drug tests and was well aware of the punishments involved. Silly rule, silly punishment, it doesn't matter, the rules were collectively bargained in the last CBA and every player understands them. If the players don't like the rules and punishments the NFLPA can address it in the next CBA. Messing up the Ray Rice situation doesn't have any connection to Josh Gordon being an idiot.

As for that video, it's disgusting. I know the NFL is saying they hadn't seen it till today, but I thought I read reports this summer where they had seen the video. Not sure what kinda power the NFL has to add on to a suspension, but if they can't, Ozzie Newsome needs to step in and make his suspension longer.

[RedTeamGo!]

I don't really understand everyone's comparison to Josh Gordon. Gordon failed multiple drug tests and was well aware of the punishments involved. Silly rule, silly punishment, it doesn't matter, the rules were collectively bargained in the last CBA and every player understands them. If the players don't like the rules and punishments the NFLPA can address it in the next CBA. Messing up the Ray Rice situation doesn't have any connection to Josh Gordon being an idiot.

As for that video, it's disgusting. I know the NFL is saying they hadn't seen it till today, but I thought I read reports this summer where they had seen the video. Not sure what kinda power the NFL has to add on to a suspension, but if they can't, Ozzie Newsome needs to step in and make his suspension longer.

The problem with Ozzie Newsome making the suspension longer is he will still get paid.

[alwaysawarrior]

I don't really understand everyone's comparison to Josh Gordon. Gordon failed multiple drug tests and was well aware of the punishments involved. Silly rule, silly punishment, it doesn't matter, the rules were collectively bargained in the last CBA and every player understands them. If the players don't like the rules and punishments the NFLPA can address it in the next CBA. Messing up the Ray Rice situation doesn't have any connection to Josh Gordon being an idiot.

As for that video, it's disgusting. I know the NFL is saying they hadn't seen it till today, but I thought I read reports this summer where they had seen the video. Not sure what kinda power the NFL has to add on to a suspension, but if they can't, Ozzie Newsome needs to step in and make his suspension longer.

Newsome can't suspend him he can only make him inactive, meaning he still gets paid. As for the video I don't believe for a second the NFL didn't see it before the suspension. They were just hoping it never came out. The video is disgusting. The man should be in jail, let alone suspended for only two games.

[Sea Ray]

PS: Roger Goodell made $44 million last year.

And his net worth is 3x Mitt Romney's...

[blumj]

Newsome can't suspend him he can only make him inactive, meaning he still gets paid. As for the video I don't believe for a second the NFL didn't see it before the suspension. They were just hoping it never came out. The video is disgusting. The man should be in jail, let alone suspended for only two games.
This, how is it still too difficult to prosecute a domestic violence case without the cooperation of the victim when the violence is recorded on video?

[Slyder]

Ravens terminate Rices contract according to espn radio.

[RedTeamGo!]

Aaron Wilson
@RavensInsider
NFL has indefinitely suspended Ray Rice, Roger Goodell announces based on new video evidence that became available

[Razor Shines]

I mean good for all them, I guess...but what did they think happened previous to seeing this video? We knew he struck her and knocked her out, it went down pretty much the way I would have guessed.

[alwaysawarrior]

I mean good for all them, I guess...but what did they think happened previous to seeing this video? We knew he struck her and knocked her out, it went down pretty much the way I would have guessed.

Exactly what I was thinking. And I find it very very hard to believe the NFL never saw this video. It's a reaction to the public's reaction.

[Stray]

It was a PR move, and the Ravens didn't have much of a choice. They had to release him and deal with the cap hit. It makes the Ravens and NFL look terrible for how this initially went down. Especially when Goodell got Janay's story with her attacker present. Oh and that press conference the Ravens held for both of them..wow.

Not that I'm one to defend Ray Rice, I'm glad his career is probably finished for this, but how did it go from a 2 game suspension, to a new policy making a first offense a 6 game suspension that wouldn't apply to Rice, to an indefinite suspension over the video being leaked? We knew he hit her and knocked her unconscious already. What did they think the video would look like?

[RedTeamGo!]

Exactly what I was thinking. And I find it very very hard to believe the NFL never saw this video. It's a reaction to the public's reaction.

Actually, it was also reported today that the police refused to release the video to the NFL and Peter King said he "assumed" the NFL had seen it when he made his report months ago.

[RedTeamGo!]

It was a PR move, and the Ravens didn't have much of a choice. They had to release him and deal with the cap hit. It makes the Ravens and NFL look terrible for how this initially went down. Especially when Goodell got Janay's story with her attacker present. Oh and that press conference the Ravens held for both of them..wow.

Not that I'm one to defend Ray Rice, I'm glad his career is probably finished for this, but how did it go from a 2 game suspension, to a new policy making a first offense a 6 game suspension that wouldn't apply to Rice, to an indefinite suspension over the video being leaked? We knew he hit her and knocked her unconscious already. What did they think the video would look like?

He had said repeatedly that he was defending himself, the video shows that he was was lying.

[Chip R]

Exactly what I was thinking. And I find it very very hard to believe the NFL never saw this video. It's a reaction to the public's reaction.

Goodell needs to resign immediately. He was either incompetent in the way he conducted the investigation and the discipline he handed down or he is lying that he never saw the 2nd video. Even if he never saw the 2nd video - the existence of which was public knowledge - what did he think happened to Rice's fiancee in the elevator? That she slipped, fell and knocked herself out? That she was ill or drunk? He dragged her out of the elevator and was arrested. No one has said that it wasn't anything other than assault so now all of a sudden it went from a slap on the wrist to an indefinite suspension because the 2nd video was released to the public.

[Rojo]

Goodell needs to resign immediately.

Yes. The only defense would be that he hadn't seen and it and it's "innocent until proven guilty". But if that were the case, why hand out any suspension.

So, yes, resign Roger.

[Redsfaithful]

Actually, it was also reported today that the police refused to release the video to the NFL and Peter King said he "assumed" the NFL had seen it when he made his report months ago.

TMZ is saying the NFL saw the video, will release evidence tomorrow.

[kaldaniels]

And his net worth is 3x Mitt Romney's...

That strikes me as odd...what data you you have?

[Dom Heffner]

TMZ is saying the NFL saw the video, will release evidence tomorrow.

Chris Carter said he saw it awhile ago.

[19braves77]

TMZ is saying the NFL saw the video, will release evidence tomorrow.

I think people forget that when you start dealing with TMZ, you headed for a dose of headaches. For one, TMZ would have asked the NFL to buy their copies of the videos. The hotel isn't just going to let the NFL have them. I highly doubt TMZ said come on over and watch the vids for free Roger.

[Dom Heffner]

I think people forget that when you start dealing with TMZ, you headed for a dose of headaches. For one, TMZ would have asked the NFL to buy their copies of the videos. The hotel isn't just going to let the NFL have them. I highly doubt TMZ said come on over and watch the vids for free Roger.

This is way off....

[RBA]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fh1x1-Z91sU

[BluegrassRedleg]

Holy smokes, don't ever get on Olbermann's bad side. Not a huge fan of his, but he really drives the point home in that video. No dancing around the issue. The NFL's handling of this was an abject failure and disgrace.

[Todd Gack]

This, how is it still too difficult to prosecute a domestic violence case without the cooperation of the victim when the violence is recorded on video?

Did the victim want to press charges?

[Sea Ray]

That strikes me as odd...what data you you have?

Of course it's odd. I don't like to post boring, obvious facts. His salary as NFL commissioner is between $40-50mill. His father was well connected in Washington; good friends with Nelson Rockefeller and was a US Congressman for awhile.


Talking about her personal life she, she got married to roger goodell known for his superiority and tagged as NFL Commissioner on 08/08/2006 whose net worth is about $750 million, one of the highest earning person.

http://myhowbook.com/biography/jane-skinner-biography.html#sthash.bpxhKVIK.dpuf


His considerable net worth, estimated in 2012 at $190–250 million, helped finance his political campaigns prior to 2012.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitt_Romney

[blumj]

Did the victim want to press charges?
It shouldn't matter when the police don't need the victim's cooperation to prove that a crime was committed.

[Sea Ray]

Holy smokes, don't ever get on Olbermann's bad side. Not a huge fan of his, but he really drives the point home in that video. No dancing around the issue. The NFL's handling of this was an abject failure and disgrace.

How 'bout the reaction of talking heads like Cris Carter on Mike and Mike this morning? He came up with BS like "well, we still don't know what happened up till that elevator video. I want to see video of what happened on the casino floor before I pass judgement.".

And with that, Mike/Mike and Jamelle Hill didn't challenge him or bat an eye...Say what? OK, what could possibly have happened prior to this to warrant such a beating? This issue brings out the stupid in a lot of people...

[dabvu2498]

It shouldn't matter when the police don't need the victim's cooperation to prove that a crime was committed.

Least we forget, she was arrested that night also.

[Dom Heffner]

Did the victim want to press charges?

Exhibit #1.

[RedTeamGo!]

Sounds like Josh Gordon is going to be reinstated

[RedTeamGo!]

Statement by Janay Rice:



"I woke up this morning feeling like I had a horrible nightmare, feeling like I'm mourning the death of my closest friend. But to have to accept the fact that it's reality is a nightmare in itself. No one knows the pain that the media & unwanted options from the public has caused my family. To make us relive a moment in our lives that we regret every day is a horrible thing. To take something away from the man I love that he has worked his *** of for all his life just to gain ratings is horrific. THIS IS OUR LIFE! What don't you all get. If your intentions were to hurt us, embarrass us, make us feel alone, take all happiness away, you've succeeded on so many levels. Just know we will continue to grow & show the world what real love is! Ravensnation we love you!"

[Roy Tucker]

So, I know that the Ray Rice video is a really awful thing.

But, in a way, I don't understand the reaction. What do people think had been going on in the past? This is what abuse is. This is what has been going on in partner abuse cases before when they've been reported. It brutal and ugly and vicious. Just because we see the punch it's different. What blinders have people been wearing?

[blumj]

So, I know that the Ray Rice video is a really awful thing.

But, in a way, I don't understand the reaction. What do people think had been going on in the past? This is what abuse is. This is what has been going on in partner abuse cases before when they've been reported. It brutal and ugly and vicious. Just because we see the punch it's different. What blinders have people been wearing?
I think it's what most of us expected when it first happened, but everything that's happened since had been setting us up to expect something less clear cut, something that would make a 2 game suspension and everything else we'd been hearing since seem not completely crazy.

[Chip R]

So, I know that the Ray Rice video is a really awful thing.

But, in a way, I don't understand the reaction. What do people think had been going on in the past? This is what abuse is. This is what has been going on in partner abuse cases before when they've been reported. It brutal and ugly and vicious. Just because we see the punch it's different. What blinders have people been wearing?

It's because we actually saw what happened. We react more to visual things than written things. There have been much, much worse incidents of domestic violence by famous and not so famous people but since we didn't see it actually happen, it doesn't resonate with us as much as when we actually see it happen.

[Sea Ray]

The problem with Ozzie Newsome making the suspension longer is he will still get paid.

Isn't he guaranteed his salary once the season starts?

[Sea Ray]

TMZ is saying the NFL saw the video, will release evidence tomorrow.

It's tomorrow. Where's the evidence?

[RedTeamGo!]

Isn't he guaranteed his salary once the season starts?

When you are suspended by the NFL you do not get paid for the games played during suspension IIRC

A team can not play you, which is not technically a suspension, but you still get paid.

[Razor Shines]

Everyone is up in arms about this Ray Rice video and Ben Roethlisberger is just sitting there like "I sure hope there's no security footage the next time I accost a women in a restroom."

[Stray]

He had said repeatedly that he was defending himself, the video shows that he was was lying.

Either way, we knew he hit her, and that the hit knocked her out because we saw him dragging her lifeless body out of the elevator.

Based on that he was suspended for two games. I thought he deserved more, but okay. So there was backlash and the NFL bumped it up to 6 games for first time offenders and banned for life on your 2nd offense. Good deal.

Now we get back to Ray Rice. A video leaks of him knocking his fiance unconscious, which we already knew happened, and his suspension goes from 2 games to indefinite on a first offense? I get that the media and fans are reactionary, and I totally understand why people would want him out of the league forever, but the collectively bargained system that is in place to punish players should not be reactionary. It shouldn't be about trying to get good PR in a crapstorm or making examples out of people.

I'm all for Ray Rice never playing another down in the NFL, but the next dude that beats on a woman should get the same punishment, video or not. That people got to see the video shouldn't increase a punishment, to do so implies that domestic violence that's not recorded is less reprehensible.

[Roy Tucker]

It's because we actually saw what happened. We react more to visual things than written things. There have been much, much worse incidents of domestic violence by famous and not so famous people but since we didn't see it actually happen, it doesn't resonate with us as much as when we actually see it happen.

So if there is video evidence of the abuse, it's worse?

I'm not getting on your case about it, Chip. But what did people think happened before? A little boo-boo or a skinned knee? No. Eyes get blackened, bones get broken, souls get crushed, and people die from abuse. Escalating the punishment because we see the video just doesn't seem right.

[Chip R]

So if there is video evidence of the abuse, it's worse?

I'm not getting on your case about it, Chip. But what did people think happened before? A little boo-boo or a skinned knee? No. Eyes get blackened, bones get broken, souls get crushed, and people die from abuse. Escalating the punishment because we see the video just doesn't seem right.

Of course it's not worse but generally speaking we as humans react more strongly to things we see happen than we do when we hear it second hand. If you see a car accident, you will have a stronger reaction to it than if you read about the accident in the paper. If you see Joey Votto hit a HR in person or on TV, you react stronger than you would if you heard about it reading the game thread on RedsZone. Where is the outrage about Greg Hardy being convicted of assaulting his former girlfriend but still continuing to play while he appeals the verdict? Because there was no video.

[redsfanmia]

Everyone is up in arms about this Ray Rice video and Ben Roethlisberger is just sitting there like "I sure hope there's no security footage the next time I accost a women in a restroom."

I thought the same thing. If Ray Rice was coming off a 2000 yard season instead of a 600 yard one would the a Ravens have cut him?

[Slyder]

I wonder how many of these people screaming from the mountain tops to ban Ray Rice on the internets and while listening to Chris Brown...

[Joseph]

I'm all for innocent until proven guilty, so I don't want a culture of accusers being able to wreck anyone's life, however if there's any proof at all [like this case] I think the NFL should institute a zero tolerance policy in cases of abuse.

Ray Rice is scum and I'm not sure my opinion of his wife is very high for standing beside him.

[Chip R]

I wonder how many of these people screaming from the mountain tops to ban Ray Rice on the internets and while listening to Chris Brown...

Outrage has become somewhat of a cottage industry in this country.

[RedTeamGo!]

I wonder how many of these people screaming from the mountain tops to ban Ray Rice on the internets and while listening to Chris Brown...

Reddit!

[bucksfan2]

Either way, we knew he hit her, and that the hit knocked her out because we saw him dragging her lifeless body out of the elevator.

Based on that he was suspended for two games. I thought he deserved more, but okay. So there was backlash and the NFL bumped it up to 6 games for first time offenders and banned for life on your 2nd offense. Good deal.

Now we get back to Ray Rice. A video leaks of him knocking his fiance unconscious, which we already knew happened, and his suspension goes from 2 games to indefinite on a first offense? I get that the media and fans are reactionary, and I totally understand why people would want him out of the league forever, but the collectively bargained system that is in place to punish players should not be reactionary. It shouldn't be about trying to get good PR in a crapstorm or making examples out of people.

I'm all for Ray Rice never playing another down in the NFL, but the next dude that beats on a woman should get the same punishment, video or not. That people got to see the video shouldn't increase a punishment, to do so implies that domestic violence that's not recorded is less reprehensible.

For me personally I look at it this way. We knew something happened in the elevator, but we didn't know exactly what happened. We saw her enter the elevator and we saw her being drug out of the elevator. Now we can ask a number of questions about what went on, we could speculate on anything that went on because there was no one in the elevator at the time. I am not going to go through the whole "She slipped and fell into my fist" domestic violence excuse, but we didn't know exactly what happened in that elevator.

When the video surfaced that Rice gave her an uppercut. He swung with absolutely no regard for her. We saw a punch that we see in boxing matches or MMA matches. We saw a NFL player knocking out his girlfriend cold with a boxing punch. That is what struck me more than anything else. It absolved all doubt about what happened, it showed there shear violence that happened in that elevator. Is there a difference in between a close quarters punch and a complete uppercut? Maybe, maybe not, but it sure looks a whole lot worse on video.

[RedTeamGo!]

For me personally I look at it this way. We knew something happened in the elevator, but we didn't know exactly what happened. We saw her enter the elevator and we saw her being drug out of the elevator. Now we can ask a number of questions about what went on, we could speculate on anything that went on because there was no one in the elevator at the time. I am not going to go through the whole "She slipped and fell into my fist" domestic violence excuse, but we didn't know exactly what happened in that elevator.

When the video surfaced that Rice gave her an uppercut. He swung with absolutely no regard for her. We saw a punch that we see in boxing matches or MMA matches. We saw a NFL player knocking out his girlfriend cold with a boxing punch. That is what struck me more than anything else. It absolved all doubt about what happened, it showed there shear violence that happened in that elevator. Is there a difference in between a close quarters punch and a complete uppercut? Maybe, maybe not, but it sure looks a whole lot worse on video.

I had heard that he was telling his teammates that he was defending himself. That is clearly not what was happening.

[RedFanAlways1966]

I had heard that he was telling his teammates that he was defending himself. That is clearly not what was happening.

And the punchee is defending Ray. I am not a psychologist or anything of the sort, but it has drawn a big WTH from me. I$ there more to thi$ than love?!? She married this beast after he knocked her unconscious, which is unbelievable to me. What is wrong with her? I guess The Stockholm Syndrome thing. And no, this is not meant to be funny or belittling. I know people are sometimes scared to ask these things about "a victim". Well, not me. He is now facing never playing in the NFL again. Good. She married this monster after that punch (and God only knows how many others) and then spouts off after his release and new suspension. WTH?

[Boston Red]

She married him, so it makes sense that she's spouting off after the new suspension. Other than Rice, she is the one most affected by the suspension. Half that money lost was supposed to be hers.

[RedTeamGo!]

And the punchee is defending Ray. I am not a psychologist or anything of the sort, but it has drawn a big WTH from me. I$ there more to thi$ than love?!? She married this beast after he knocked her unconscious, which is unbelievable to me. What is wrong with her? I guess The Stockholm Syndrome thing. And no, this is not meant to be funny or belittling. I know people are sometimes scared to ask these things about "a victim". Well, not me. He is now facing never playing in the NFL again. Good. She married this monster after that punch (and God only knows how many others) and then spouts off after his release and new suspension. WTH?

Oh, he will play in the NFL again.

They allowed Michael Vick back into the league after mutilating dogs.

I am sure Rice will be suspended for a year, Tony Dungy will take him under his wing, he will be "rehabilitated" and will sign with the New York Jets.

[bucksfan2]

Oh, he will play in the NFL again.

They allowed Michael Vick back into the league after mutilating dogs.

I am sure Rice will be suspended for a year, Tony Dungy will take him under his wing, he will be "rehabilitated" and will sign with the New York Jets.

After he pays his due he deserves a chance to play in the NFL again. It isn't the popular thing to say right now, but we live in society where second chances are given.

However I don't know how automatic that will be. Rice is on the wrong side of his career right now, had his worst season ever last year, and now a team would really have to stick its neck out to bring him in for a tryout 2 years removed from his last successful season.

[nmculbreth]

Oh, he will play in the NFL again.

They allowed Michael Vick back into the league after mutilating dogs.

I am sure Rice will be suspended for a year, Tony Dungy will take him under his wing, he will be "rehabilitated" and will sign with the New York Jets.

I have no doubt that the NFL will eventually allow Rice back into the league, I'm just not sure that anyone will have any interest in signing him. Michael Vick was an elite, franchise QB in what would have typically been the prime of his career, so there were teams willing to take the PR hit in order to land a potential top-tier QB on the cheap. Rice is a RB in his late 20s who was coming off of a bad season in 2013 and will almost assuredly miss all of the 2014 season; I'd imagine his options will be far more limited.

If you were running a team would you bring in Rice (and all of the associated baggage) if you could get comparable production from a mid to late round draft pick?

[Chip R]

And the punchee is defending Ray. I am not a psychologist or anything of the sort, but it has drawn a big WTH from me. I$ there more to thi$ than love?!? She married this beast after he knocked her unconscious, which is unbelievable to me. What is wrong with her? I guess The Stockholm Syndrome thing. And no, this is not meant to be funny or belittling. I know people are sometimes scared to ask these things about "a victim". Well, not me. He is now facing never playing in the NFL again. Good. She married this monster after that punch (and God only knows how many others) and then spouts off after his release and new suspension. WTH?

From what I understand, it's common for the abused to feel like that. I would defer to someone who is more knowledgable in these matters as to the whys and wherefores. But it's not just about the money. Many victims of domestic abuse not only return to their abusers and don't press charges but they defend them regardless of their economic status.

[Chip R]

An AP report says a law enforcement official sent a copy of the tape to the NFL.

http://news.yahoo.com/ap-newsbreak-source-says-rice-video-sent-nfl-205848314--spt.html

[KronoRed]

The NFL has "no knowledge of this".

Remember, it's not a lie if you believe it.

[Dom Heffner]

Ruh roh Shaggy.

[Sea Ray]

The NFL has "no knowledge of this".

Remember, it's not a lie if you believe it.

Something that important, wouldn't you send it in a way that requires a signature? And when you called to confirm that it was indeed received, wouldn't you get a name of who you're talking to? This just doesn't add up right now.

[Dom Heffner]

They have the name.

[Razor Shines]

Something that important, wouldn't you send it in a way that requires a signature? And when you called to confirm that it was indeed received, wouldn't you get a name of who you're talking to? This just doesn't add up right now.

Maybe not if you're doing it off the record.

[RedlegJake]

I don't want him playing another down in the NFL ever. Screw that second chance stuff. Sometimes we as a society give second chances to people who should never receive them. Severe spousal abuse is one of those things.

[bucksfan2]

I am having trouble understanding all of this.

From the NFL perspective, they have seen the initial video that leaked to the press outside of the elevator. If they did see the elevator video they would have seen the violent nature but also have realized that at some point the video would have been leaked the the public. This wasn't some NFL controlled video, rather a video from an outside entity. Would they really have suspended Rice two games and face a potential (now real) backlash when the video went public.

From the Baltimore perspective, wow. There handling of this case has been bad but the pressure has been on Goddell more than the Ravens so they are skating by. Now they are saying that Rice didn't lie, they just released him when the video went public. That is just awful if you ask me.

From a legal process I have a few questions. The prosecution obviously had the video but unless the case went to trial, there was no need for discovery, and no need for the defense to obtain a copy of the video. Now here is where the situation gets a little dicey for me. Without a search warrant or discovery in a criminal case, the video would legally not have to change hands. Atlantic City is closely located to three NFL teams, and I would imagine that it is frequented by many NFL players both during the season and in the off season. Would they really readily give up a video of a customer when the "crime" had already been decided through the courts. Would you want you employer to have access to videos of you in public/private places? I guess what I am getting at, if the NFL went to the casino and asked for the video, would the casino have handed the tape over? Would they have put potential clients at risk by releasing video to their employers? The video existed, but I don't know how easy it would have been for the NFL to access it legally. Then to have a detective hand over evidence to the NFL I wonder if that somehow breaks the law. I also wonder if the video was obtained by the NFL but the higher ups couldn't watch it because of a potential lawsuit or liability issues.

I could be completely wrong in this manner, but I do have questions.

[WVRed]

I am having trouble understanding all of this.

From the NFL perspective, they have seen the initial video that leaked to the press outside of the elevator. If they did see the elevator video they would have seen the violent nature but also have realized that at some point the video would have been leaked the the public. This wasn't some NFL controlled video, rather a video from an outside entity. Would they really have suspended Rice two games and face a potential (now real) backlash when the video went public.

From the Baltimore perspective, wow. There handling of this case has been bad but the pressure has been on Goddell more than the Ravens so they are skating by. Now they are saying that Rice didn't lie, they just released him when the video went public. That is just awful if you ask me.

From a legal process I have a few questions. The prosecution obviously had the video but unless the case went to trial, there was no need for discovery, and no need for the defense to obtain a copy of the video. Now here is where the situation gets a little dicey for me. Without a search warrant or discovery in a criminal case, the video would legally not have to change hands. Atlantic City is closely located to three NFL teams, and I would imagine that it is frequented by many NFL players both during the season and in the off season. Would they really readily give up a video of a customer when the "crime" had already been decided through the courts. Would you want you employer to have access to videos of you in public/private places? I guess what I am getting at, if the NFL went to the casino and asked for the video, would the casino have handed the tape over? Would they have put potential clients at risk by releasing video to their employers? The video existed, but I don't know how easy it would have been for the NFL to access it legally. Then to have a detective hand over evidence to the NFL I wonder if that somehow breaks the law. I also wonder if the video was obtained by the NFL but the higher ups couldn't watch it because of a potential lawsuit or liability issues.

I could be completely wrong in this manner, but I do have questions.

My question is that while I understand Goodell's role in all of this, why hasn't there been more outcry towards the Ravens? It seems like everybody wants to make Goodell the scapegoat but nobody wants to go after Harbaugh, Ozzie Newsome, Dick Cass, or Steve Bisciotti

[dubc47834]

I don't want him playing another down in the NFL ever. Screw that second chance stuff. Sometimes we as a society give second chances to people who should never receive them. Severe spousal abuse is one of those things.

I don't have a problem with once he pays his dues him getting a second chance. From everything I have heard he seamed like a good dude, I haven't a clue tho. All I know is she may have pushed him to the edge and he snapped, doesn't make it right, not even close. I heard yesterday that he has been to every single counseling that has been required. A lot of these guys bail on that stuff. All I'm saying is if he does everything he is suppose to, then why not give him a second chance?

[Slyder]

An AP report says a law enforcement official sent a copy of the tape to the NFL.

http://news.yahoo.com/ap-newsbreak-source-says-rice-video-sent-nfl-205848314--spt.html

Everyone say buh bye to Roger.

[Chip R]

I don't have a problem with once he pays his dues him getting a second chance. From everything I have heard he seamed like a good dude, I haven't a clue tho. All I know is she may have pushed him to the edge and he snapped, doesn't make it right, not even close. I heard yesterday that he has been to every single counseling that has been required. A lot of these guys bail on that stuff. All I'm saying is if he does everything he is suppose to, then why not give him a second chance?

He may well get a second chance. But bucksfan2 said it best:


However I don't know how automatic that will be. Rice is on the wrong side of his career right now, had his worst season ever last year, and now a team would really have to stick its neck out to bring him in for a tryout 2 years removed from his last successful season.

[Ohayou]

Honestly, I think this whole "outrage" is laughable. He seems to be getting worse coverage than Aaron Hernandez. Apparently punching a woman in the face once is worse, or at the very least as bad, as shooting multiple people in the face.

Also, the word "beating" is getting tossed around mighty liberally. It wasn't a "beating", it was one punch.

[Slyder]

After he pays his due he deserves a chance to play in the NFL again. It isn't the popular thing to say right now, but we live in society where second chances are given.

However I don't know how automatic that will be. Rice is on the wrong side of his career right now, had his worst season ever last year, and now a team would really have to stick its neck out to bring him in for a tryout 2 years removed from his last successful season.

The tred is gone right now I agree. He goes and gets anger management, counseling, etc and sits quietly in the corner (read makes no more headlines between now and spring/summer of 2015) why wouldn't someone be willing to give him a second chance? A year away from almost all football related activities might be like putting newer tires on a car and give someone an opportunity at lightning in a bottle with a running back who has been successful at the NFL level and only 28 years old.

A gm wouldn't have to stick their neck out that far, I personally say Vick was a bigger risk (assuming Rice does the ground work to get back in the "better graces" of society.

[Raisor]

Honestly, I think this whole "outrage" is laughable. He seems to be getting worse coverage than Aaron Hernandez. Apparently punching a woman in the face once is worse, or at the very least as bad, as shooting multiple people in the face.

Also, the word "beating" is getting tossed around mighty liberally. It wasn't a "beating", it was one punch.


In not even sure how to respond to this that won't get me suspended.

[nmculbreth]

Honestly, I think this whole "outrage" is laughable. He seems to be getting worse coverage than Aaron Hernandez. Apparently punching a woman in the face once is worse, or at the very least as bad, as shooting multiple people in the face.

Also, the word "beating" is getting tossed around mighty liberally. It wasn't a "beating", it was one punch.

Thanks for providing us with one of the dumbest, morally bankrupt posts that I've seen on this topic on any platform, you should be brimming with pride.

[improbus]

There are so many things here.

The man who love to punish may get punished for not punishing someone enough.

The light shining upon the sad treatment of women in sports (and everywhere really).

The lack of questioning of the justice system and instead criticizing a sports league for its pathetic action.

The weird effect that video evidence has on what were already facts. Shouldn't the knowledge that he slugged her have been enough?

[Ohayou]

In not even sure how to respond to this that won't get me suspended.


Thanks for providing us with one of the dumbest, morally bankrupt posts that I've seen on this topic on any platform, you should be brimming with pride.

Hyper-sensitivity at it's finest right here.

This is why you can't have super emotional people as the judge, jury, and executioner. My god.

[The DARK]

Honestly, I think this whole "outrage" is laughable. He seems to be getting worse coverage than Aaron Hernandez. Apparently punching a woman in the face once is worse, or at the very least as bad, as shooting multiple people in the face.

Also, the word "beating" is getting tossed around mighty liberally. It wasn't a "beating", it was one punch.

"One punch" was all it took to knock her cold, friend-o. This ranks amongst the most senile posts I've seen on any internet forum, and I've been to 4chan.

He's not getting worse coverage than Aaron Hernandez. He's getting more coverage because Aaron Hernandez is a murderer, and even an organization as doltish as the NFL understands that murderers ought to have their names purged from history. That story is over now, and the only guy that needed to be held responsible is the guy that murdered people. This story is not about Ray Rice (who has gotten his due, kind of), this story is about a much larger problem and incompetence/negligence/whitewashing on the part of the Roger Goodell and the NFL.

I sincerely hope you can see that.

[RedTeamGo!]

Also, the word "beating" is getting tossed around mighty liberally. It wasn't a "beating", it was one punch.

All it took was "one punch." He knocked her out cold for over a minute. Honestly dude, you need to think a little harder about what he did.

[Sea Ray]

Hyper-sensitivity at it's finest right here.

This is why you can't have super emotional people as the judge, jury, and executioner. My god.

I applaud your honesty and willingness to share it here. Why folks can't just say "I don't see it that way and this is why..." I have no idea but don't let that keep you from chiming in on other subjects in the future. If everyone posts the same viewpoints, this becomes a boring place.

[Dom Heffner]

Well good, now they have each other.

[Stray]

What would be the point of Roger Goodell trying to cover up the Ray Rice video? I don't understand all the anger aimed at him. He made a mistake on his original punishment and admitted it. He's since changed the rule regarding domestic violence and punished Ray Rice beyond what that rule says. I doubt there will be any evidence that he personally was involved in a cover up. If there is I'll change my mind, but I don't get why he ever would.

Ultimately I think it's a good thing that everyone is mad about domestic violence, although I do find it odd that this particular story is the one that set it off. Seems like a waste of energy to try and crucify Ray Rice and Roger Goodell though. What happened is bad, but there are rules/laws and punishments in place to handle stuff like this. Instead of freaking out about how his employer is gonna punish him, I'm more concerned that he was given pre-trial intervention with the evidence they had. I get that the program is a good option in a lot of cases, but for this one I don't understand it. Clean background and the victim vouching for him and all.

Just feels like a lot of misplaced anger.

[Dom Heffner]

What would be the point of Roger Goodell trying to cover up the Ray Rice video? I don't understand all the anger aimed at him. He made a mistake on his original punishment and admitted it. He's since changed the rule regarding domestic violence and punished Ray Rice beyond what that rule says. I doubt there will be any evidence that he personally was involved in a cover up. If there is I'll change my mind, but I don't get why he ever would.

Ultimately I think it's a good thing that everyone is mad about domestic violence, although I do find it odd that this particular story is the one that set it off. Seems like a waste of energy to try and crucify Ray Rice and Roger Goodell though. What happened is bad, but there are rules/laws and punishments in place to handle stuff like this. Instead of freaking out about how his employer is gonna punish him, I'm more concerned that he was given pre-trial intervention with the evidence they had. I get that the program is a good option in a lot of cases, but for this one I don't understand it. Clean background and the victim vouching for him and all.

Just feels like a lot of misplaced anger.

Look above the 4 on your keyboard.

[Dom Heffner]

Hyper-sensitivity at it's finest right here.

This is why you can't have super emotional people as the judge, jury, and executioner. My god.

Let's not confuse empathy with "hyper-sensitivity."

The day people need to pipe it down over a female getting cold cocked by an NFL football player is the day we're in trouble.

Your preceding post is about as bad a post as I've seen on here...

[Stray]

Look above the 4 on your keyboard.

An average NFL team is worth over a billion dollars. Players pop up and disappear from the league regularly. Guys retire, guys get injured, guys just fade away.

Ray Rice, or any other player for that matter, are not that important to the NFL. There's always the next guy to replace em.

[Dom Heffner]

An average NFL team is worth over a billion dollars. Players pop up and disappear from the league regularly. Guys retire, guys get injured, guys just fade away.

Ray Rice, or any other player for that matter, are not that important to the NFL. There's always the next guy to replace em.

Exactly, the average team is worth over a billion dollars. Precisely.

Why draw attention to a part of your fanbase you are trying to keep if you can just sort of pretend it isn't as bad as it is?

We didn't have the video. Lie.

Ray Rice was ambiguous. Lie.

If the league is bigger than one player, why lie?

[Stray]

Let's not confuse empathy with "hyper-sensitivity."

The day people need to pipe it down over a female getting cold cocked by an NFL football player is the day we're in trouble.

Your preceding post is about as bad a post as I've seen on here...

The coverage this story has gotten has been a bit absurd, especially when there are at least two other domestic violence cases floating around in the NFL at the moment. When the elevator video is being replayed multiple times per day anywhere you look, it's hard to not think about the place this puts the victim in. She's the one reliving that night while everyone else is mad about a video they have no personal attachment to. Domestic violence is a very very large problem, selective outrage and singling out cases to fix a problem this massive is counterproductive. It's just loud noise at the expense of others.

[Stray]

Exactly, the average team is worth over a billion dollars. Precisely.

Why draw attention to a part of your fanbase you are trying to keep if you can just sort of pretend it isn't as bad as it is?

We didn't have the video. Lie.

Ray Rice was ambiguous. Lie.

If the league is bigger than one player, why lie?

We saw him dragging her lifeless body out of the elevator. What happened inside that elevator was no mystery, and I didn't need the video to figure it out.

Who saw the video when and where is so far down the list of things that bother me about this story.

But in the case of an apparent cover up, why would Roger Goodell lie? That's a good question, I have no idea.

[Dom Heffner]

The coverage this story has gotten has been a bit absurd, especially when there are at least two other domestic violence cases floating around in the NFL at the moment. When the elevator video is being replayed multiple times per day anywhere you look, it's hard to not think about the place this puts the victim in. She's the one reliving that night while everyone else is mad about a video they have no personal attachment to. Domestic violence is a very very large problem, selective outrage and singling out cases to fix a problem this massive is counterproductive. It's just loud noise at the expense of others.

I would argue the coverage was not enough in the beginning, which is why you are seeing it more now. And the reason for that is the NFL downplayed it.

The rest of your post is rubbish- the whole argument just doesn't make sense....stop watching the video for the victim's sake. I really don't know where people come up with this stuff.

[Dom Heffner]

We saw him dragging her lifeless body out of the elevator. What happened inside that elevator was no mystery, and I didn't need the video to figure it out.

Who saw the video when and where is so far down the list of things that bother me about this story.

But in the case of an apparent cover up, why would Roger Goodell lie? That's a good question, I have no idea.

Well according to the NFL, they saw her body being dragged from the elevator and Ray Rice was "ambiguous" as to what happened before that.

That was a lie, you're the one telling us to pipe it down, you come up with an explanation that makes sense....

[Stray]

I would argue the coverage was not enough in the beginning, which is why you are seeing it more now. And the reason for that is the NFL downplayed it.

The rest of your post is rubbish- the whole argument just doesn't make sense....stop watching the video for the victim's sake. I really don't know where people come up with this stuff.

Since when are assaults front page news? Especially assaults where the suspect entered a pre-trial intervention and will have no charges filed against him? Go down to the county courthouse on a Tuesday morning and you'll find a bunch of front page stories.

I never said stop watching the video, what you watch is your business. I said the coverage this story has gotten has been absurd.

[Dom Heffner]

Since when are assaults front page news? Especially assaults where the suspect entered a pre-trial intervention and will have no charges filed against him? Go down to the county courthouse on a Tuesday morning and you'll find a bunch of front page stories.

I never said stop watching the video, what you watch is your business. I said the coverage this story has gotten has been absurd.

You said this:


When the elevator video is being replayed multiple times per day anywhere you look, it's hard to not think about the place this puts the victim in.

That seems to me, a plea to stop having the video played.

The amount of coverage it has received is subjective....mostly networks match the demand for information.

[Stray]

You said this:



That seems to me, a plea to stop having the video played.

The amount of coverage it has received is subjective....mostly networks match the demand for information.

Of course. Networks and websites will show the video for ratings and for clicks, and that it's being replayed on various networks and websites has I'm sure made it more difficult on the victim, Janay Rice.

What anyone watches personally is their own business, that it was leaked and shown so often is what bothered me.

This video would have been the kinda evidence that would be played when Ray Rice was in court. Not used to generate traffic.

[bucksfan2]

Since when are assaults front page news? Especially assaults where the suspect entered a pre-trial intervention and will have no charges filed against him? Go down to the county courthouse on a Tuesday morning and you'll find a bunch of front page stories.

I never said stop watching the video, what you watch is your business. I said the coverage this story has gotten has been absurd.

I am getting to that point as well.

When the first video tape was released and he was suspended for two games I thought that was laughable. I thought it should have been more along the lines of Big Ben and his "rape accusation" of a few years ago. Six games to start off and then potentially having it reduced to 4 depending on his actions off the field.

But I think everything is starting to get a little over killed. The NFL is a private business and they should see fit to discipline their employees however they want. The Prosecution did not feel the need to prosecute Rice and his finance/wife stuck by him. At any other private company in the world, they reserve the right to discipline their employees based upon the guidelines they have set, right? So all of a sudden now we have a huge backlash over what happened. We have the US Congress wanting to look into what Goddell said, like they have nothing better to do. A former FBI investigator has been hired by the NFL to see if Goddell is lying. The sports coverage this past week has been Rice this, Rice that, Rice everything, it is tiring and becoming overkill. While I do not condone what he did, think it is despicable, the reality is there are two current NFL players playing who have been charged with domestic abuse. There are people walking the streets who have been charged with domestic abuse. Bringing it the the forefront of society is a good thing, the way the media is covering it is tiresome. Instead of how do we prevent an act like this from happening all we are hearing is "did Roger see the tape."

[Chip R]

I am getting to that point as well.

When the first video tape was released and he was suspended for two games I thought that was laughable. I thought it should have been more along the lines of Big Ben and his "rape accusation" of a few years ago. Six games to start off and then potentially having it reduced to 4 depending on his actions off the field.

But I think everything is starting to get a little over killed. The NFL is a private business and they should see fit to discipline their employees however they want. The Prosecution did not feel the need to prosecute Rice and his finance/wife stuck by him. At any other private company in the world, they reserve the right to discipline their employees based upon the guidelines they have set, right? So all of a sudden now we have a huge backlash over what happened. We have the US Congress wanting to look into what Goddell said, like they have nothing better to do. A former FBI investigator has been hired by the NFL to see if Goddell is lying. The sports coverage this past week has been Rice this, Rice that, Rice everything, it is tiring and becoming overkill. While I do not condone what he did, think it is despicable, the reality is there are two current NFL players playing who have been charged with domestic abuse. There are people walking the streets who have been charged with domestic abuse. Bringing it the the forefront of society is a good thing, the way the media is covering it is tiresome. Instead of how do we prevent an act like this from happening all we are hearing is "did Roger see the tape."

Well said.

[Dom Heffner]

Roger Goodell appears to not have told the truth.

Unfortunately, because of this fact, the story drags on. Perhaps a truthful response would have nipped it in the bud.

He's stopped talking, so people are going to speculate, whether you two are tired of it or not.

Sounds like your problem is with him.

[Dom Heffner]

As well-the coverage continues as it is a developing story. Developing, of course, because the person who was trying to get to the bottom of things kept saying things that appear to be at odds with other accounts.

[bucksfan2]

Roger Goodell appears to not have told the truth.

Unfortunately, because of this fact, the story drags on. Perhaps a truthful response would have nipped it in the bud.

He's stopped talking, so people are going to speculate, whether you two are tired of it or not.

Sounds like your problem is with him.

You own a business don't you Dom?

If one of your employees does something, don't you reserve the right to discipline that employee the way you see fit?

As a company we have had instances were employees have been arrested, we dealt with them on and individual basis and made the decision we were comfortable with, not what an outsider wanted.

[Dom Heffner]

You own a business don't you Dom?

If one of your employees does something, don't you reserve the right to discipline that employee the way you see fit?

As a company we have had instances were employees have been arrested, we dealt with them on and individual basis and made the decision we were comfortable with, not what an outsider wanted.

The entire country doesn't gather around its televisions to watch us sell insurance....as we charge advertisers to put themselves on front of that audience.

But if they did- I would owe them the truth if I owed them a story.

That's what Goodell did. He talked and talked and talked.....and when we find out it doesn't seem to square with the truth...

We get to be told to shut up by the fans who are tired of hearing about the story and just want life to go on like nothing happened.

If my opinion doesn't matter, don't make any of this public. Just do it all in private. But Goodell has told us how serious he is taking this, and it really appears that isn't the case.

Look- comparing me as an employer to Roger Goodell as an employer is not an apt comparison.

[Redsfaithful]

The Panthers are at least discussing cutting Greg Hardy, although I don't think they will actually do it.

Goodell has been a terrible commissioner, the NFL/Goodell screwed over all of the journalists that cover the league, the video is compelling and easily digestable - I am not really sure how it's confusing that this has been such a huge story.

If it weren't a huge story it would be amazing.

[westofyou]

That's what Goodell did. He talked and talked and talked.....and when we find out it doesn't seem to square with the truth...



Nothing but an empty suit he is

[dubc47834]

In not even sure how to respond to this that won't get me suspended.

And somebody liked his comment to...lol

[Ohayou]

I articulate my position, people respond with "UR STOOPID!".

Thanks for the laugh. I'm off now.

[nmculbreth]

I articulate my position, people respond with "UR STOOPID!".

Thanks for the laugh. I'm off now.

Says the guy whose "articulation" is that knocking out your significant other with a left cross doesn't constitute beating.

[Dom Heffner]

I articulate my position, people respond with "UR STOOPID!".

Thanks for the laugh. I'm off now.

Listen, I'm not one of those people who applauds someone for having any kind of opinion.

The reason it takes courage to express an opinion that is screwy is that it is screwy, not because it's valid.

[Stray]

And now Adrian Peterson has been indicted on child abuse.

I remember when I was a kid and grandma would get the switch on me when I was bad. That sucked.

[Sea Ray]

This story has gotten so "nuts" that even broadcasters are getting suspended. The 49ers play by play guy is being suspended for 2 weeks and forced to undergo sensitivity training because his comments didn't go over well with the thought police:

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-shutdown-corner/49ers-suspend-broadcaster-ted-robinson-for-insensitive-ray-rice-comments-164958677.html

[dubc47834]

Argueably the most embarrassing week in NFL history. They better get their **** together or there won't be an NFL to play for!

[RedTeamGo!]

I articulate my position, people respond with "UR STOOPID!".

Thanks for the laugh. I'm off now.

Please quote the post where anyone said anything remotely like that.

[improbus]

Argueably the most embarrassing week in NFL history. They better get their **** together or there won't be an NFL to play for!
I was joking with some friends that we might see the following press release from the NFL. "In light of recent events, we have decided that we are too immoral, destructive, and criminal to be allowed to exist. We can't continue playing a sport that turns our players into vegetables with walkers and that fills police reports. Find something else to do on Sunday. Sincerely, the National Football League."

[redsfandan]

While for the moment this is a headache for the NFL, in the history of the sport it will only be a minor blip. Concussions will still be the biggest problem for the NFL and are much more likely to affect the league long term.

What's annoying to me is that the only obvious winner from this mess is TMZ.

[improbus]

While for the moment this is a headache for the NFL, in the history of the sport it will only be a minor blip. Concussions will still be the biggest problem for the NFL and are much more likely to affect the league long term.

What's annoying to me is that the only obvious winner from this mess is TMZ.

I've been posting this here for a few years, but I wonder when these stories might begin to damage the on field product and push people away. If the fans keep watching and attending games in huge numbers, will the NFL ever care to really institute change? They (and the other sports leagues) have demonstrated that change will come only when dollars are removed from their pocket.

[Stray]

I've been posting this here for a few years, but I wonder when these stories might begin to damage the on field product and push people away. If the fans keep watching and attending games in huge numbers, will the NFL ever care to really institute change? They (and the other sports leagues) have demonstrated that change will come only when dollars are removed from their pocket.
They've made a lot of changes regarding concussions. Pretty much any big hit is a penalty and fine, and the concussion tests on the sidelines and in the locker rooms are an improvement. Beyond that, it's a violent contact sport so there's always risks.

[redsfandan]

They've made a lot of changes regarding concussions. Pretty much any big hit is a penalty and fine, and the concussion tests on the sidelines and in the locker rooms are an improvement. Beyond that, it's a violent contact sport so there's always risks.

Those kind of changes have been mostly about $. The NFL wants to protect the stars as much as possible because a Denver-New England game won't have the same ratings if Manning and Brady are injured and can't play.

[paintmered]

It's also worth remembering that the commissioner's boss is the owners and not the fans or the players. Goodell's job is to protect their collective investments first and foremost or they'll happily find someone else who does.

And as for if he's protecting the owners, the Bills just sold for $1 billion. His job is safe unless the advertisers intervene. So if you want change, send your letters to Anhueser-Busch and not to the NFL.

[improbus]

So, what would have to happen for NFL fans to stop watching?

[redsfandan]

So, what would have to happen for NFL fans to stop watching?

A cold day in a very hot place.

[Stray]

Those kind of changes have been mostly about $. The NFL wants to protect the stars as much as possible because a Denver-New England game won't have the same ratings if Manning and Brady are injured and can't play.

I think there's some truth there, about wanting to protect stars and all, but I still think that limiting hits to the head is a priority. Along with more offense, since the NFL obviously likes that.

People will watch the NFL regardless of who is playing, the ratings speak for themselves, but like you said, a matchup between superstars does help.

[Roy Tucker]

This is one more step towards that tipping point for the NFL's decline. I don't know how many more steps or how many more years it will be, but every time stories like this surface, it chips away at the NFL's credibility. Everybody's businesa has ebbs and flows. No matter how impervious the NFL may seem, nobody can get away from that fact.

I would think the owners would be talking amongst themselves about Goodell's future.

[Yachtzee]

This is one more step towards that tipping point for the NFL's decline. I don't know how many more steps or how many more years it will be, but every time stories like this surface, it chips away at the NFL's credibility. Everybody's businesa has ebbs and flows. No matter how impervious the NFL may seem, nobody can get away from that fact.

I would think the owners would be talking amongst themselves about Goodell's future.

I'm sure there was a time when people would have scoffed at the idea that any sport could be more popular than baseball. The decline in the NFL is inevitable, as Calvinball is the sport of the future.

[Slyder]

I'm sure there was a time when people would have scoffed at the idea that any sport could be more popular than baseball. The decline in the NFL is inevitable, as Calvinball is the sport of the future.

Don't you mean Griffball?

200 who's line points to anyone who gets this reference

[redsfandan]

This is one more step towards that tipping point for the NFL's decline. I don't know how many more steps or how many more years it will be, but every time stories like this surface, it chips away at the NFL's credibility. Everybody's businesa has ebbs and flows. No matter how impervious the NFL may seem, nobody can get away from that fact.

I would think the owners would be talking amongst themselves about Goodell's future.

It's not that I think that the NFL can't decline. I just don't think it's going to happen overnight and when/if it does happen it will probably be replaced by a hybrid of 'sport' and reality tv. Oh boy, I can't wait for that!

[improbus]

A cold day in a very hot place.

I haven't heard anyone actually state what would make "them" stop watching. I've only heard generic statements. Now, if I asked the same questions about the NBA, I'm sure I would have gotten very specific things. The same goes for college sports (ie. paying players).

I really think that the NFL is impervious to almost anything. The NFL has done such a good job at making the individual players expendable, both on the field and off, that whenever players do something crazy/criminal, the NFL can simply send them away at almost no real overall impact.

The fans of the NFL have proven that they will watch, no matter the issue at hand.

[improbus]

The real football crisis is at the high school and younger levels where players are concussing their still developing brains. I see participation really dropping in the youth ranks.

I the end, I get the feeling that football will become more and more like boxing. It will traffic entirely on the underprivileged looking for a way to escape poverty. The more affluent parents simply won't let their kids play because there is too much to lose and not enough to gain.

[RedTeamGo!]

The real football crisis is at the high school and younger levels where players are concussing their still developing brains. I see participation really dropping in the youth ranks.

I the end, I get the feeling that football will become more and more like boxing. It will traffic entirely on the underprivileged looking for a way to escape poverty. The more affluent parents simply won't let their kids play because there is too much to lose and not enough to gain.

No doubt. My kids will not being playing football.

Soccer and baseball.

[redsfanmia]

No doubt. My kids will not being playing football.

Soccer and baseball.

The number of concussions in youth soccer and football are fairly close, it seems like women's soccer players get cuncussed at a higher rate than football players.

[jimbo]

I haven't heard anyone actually state what would make "them" stop watching. I've only heard generic statements. Now, if I asked the same questions about the NBA, I'm sure I would have gotten very specific things. The same goes for college sports (ie. paying players).

I really think that the NFL is impervious to almost anything. The NFL has done such a good job at making the individual players expendable, both on the field and off, that whenever players do something crazy/criminal, the NFL can simply send them away at almost no real overall impact.

The fans of the NFL have proven that they will watch, no matter the issue at hand.

I have found myself watching less and less of the NFL over the past 5 years or so. I often use the excuse that my Browns and their suckness has been the reason, but I don't think it's that at all.

The NFL has become, in my opinion, more and more WWE-ish within the past decade or so. I'm just tired of the antics on the field, the excessive celebrations and such, along with the extracurricular activities off the field. I realize I am in the minority and I'm too much "old school" for the times. It's the same reason why I despise the NBA. I always found the talent and the competition as being the entertainment, now it seems to be more about how much of an idiot you can be on or off the field. It's even permeated into the coaching ranks. Just look at how Harbaugh acts at times on the 49ers sidelines.

Baseball is still a gentlemen's sport, IMO, and it's part of the reason why I still love it.

[Chip R]

I haven't heard anyone actually state what would make "them" stop watching. I've only heard generic statements. Now, if I asked the same questions about the NBA, I'm sure I would have gotten very specific things. The same goes for college sports (ie. paying players).

I really think that the NFL is impervious to almost anything. The NFL has done such a good job at making the individual players expendable, both on the field and off, that whenever players do something crazy/criminal, the NFL can simply send them away at almost no real overall impact.

The fans of the NFL have proven that they will watch, no matter the issue at hand.

Maybe. What I could see happening is that the ratings and revenue will go down a tick or two and they will act like a big corporation does when they are still making tons of money but revenue goes down some. They will overreact and do something that messes them up big time.

[Razor Shines]

I have found myself watching less and less of the NFL over the past 5 years or so. I often use the excuse that my Browns and their suckness has been the reason, but I don't think it's that at all.

The NFL has become, in my opinion, more and more WWE-ish within the past decade or so. I'm just tired of the antics on the field, the excessive celebrations and such, along with the extracurricular activities off the field. I realize I am in the minority and I'm too much "old school" for the times. It's the same reason why I despise the NBA. I always found the talent and the competition as being the entertainment, now it seems to be more about how much of an idiot you can be on or off the field. It's even permeated into the coaching ranks. Just look at how Harbaugh acts at times on the 49ers sidelines.

Baseball is still a gentlemen's sport, IMO, and it's part of the reason why I still love it.

Oh, you've got it all wrong then. The NFL and NBA are all about the talent and competition, no one watches to see who can be a big idiot on or off the field. Whew, now that we got that cleared up, welcome back!

[klw]

I rarely watch football anymore. 2 reasons drove this. 1- not watching tv during the day and 2- not having cable and few over the air stations. Because I do not have cable, I can only see the NFL when it is on PBS or ABC. Shockingly PBS has not yet out bid ESPN for MNF. I therefore only see the Patriots during the preseason or when they are on MNF and the local ABC station has the local airing rights.

I don't really miss it as I am usually tied up with other things on Sunday afternoons in the fall- especially when the leaves need to be raked.

[Hypnotoad]

I rarely watch football anymore. 2 reasons drove this. 1- not watching tv during the day and 2- not having cable and few over the air stations. Because I do not have cable, I can only see the NFL when it is on PBS or ABC. Shockingly PBS has not yet out bid ESPN for MNF. I therefore only see the Patriots during the preseason or when they are on MNF and the local ABC station has the local airing rights.

I don't really miss it as I am usually tied up with other things on Sunday afternoons in the fall- especially when the leaves need to be raked.

Same here. Lifelong Bengals fan, years and years of Sunday afternoons watching them lose in amusing ways. Now my afternoons are free to waste my time in some other fashion, although I still root for and follow them.

[Caveat Emperor]

I haven't heard anyone actually state what would make "them" stop watching. I've only heard generic statements. Now, if I asked the same questions about the NBA, I'm sure I would have gotten very specific things. The same goes for college sports (ie. paying players).

I really think that the NFL is impervious to almost anything. The NFL has done such a good job at making the individual players expendable, both on the field and off, that whenever players do something crazy/criminal, the NFL can simply send them away at almost no real overall impact.

The fans of the NFL have proven that they will watch, no matter the issue at hand.

The NFL, as an organization, has spent the past 10 or so years really thumbing it's nose at the rest of the world because it thinks it has a product so valuable that no amount of nonsense or awfulness will turn the public away.

They're putting that theory to the test lately.

[nmculbreth]

The NFL must run a symposium for how to be tone deaf...

Ian Rapoport ‏@RapSheet 25m
First question: What message are you sending to abuse victims? Spielman: “We feel strongly as an organization this is disciplining a child”

7920

[Razor Shines]

The NFL must run a symposium for how to be tone deaf...

Ian Rapoport ‏@RapSheet 25m
First question: What message are you sending to abuse victims? Spielman: “We feel strongly as an organization this is disciplining a child”

7920
Well I hadn't seen the pictures and didn't want to. I have 3 boys. Ages 6, 3 and 1. Suffice to say they've driven me to want to put my head in the microwave a time or two but I can't imagine causing injuries anything like this to them. Obvious to anyone it's sickening.

[Sea Ray]

If you're going to hit someone with a stick then this is going to happen. Paddling someone with a board or even a bare hand can hurt just as much but not leave a mark. Point being, we can't get too hung up on the marks left in this case. You're either allowed to hit your kids or you're not. I don't think that's been settled yet as a society. Two personal notes:

1) I would NEVER hit my kid in any way. I am totally against that sort of punishment

2) I would not care to be hit with a hand, paddle or stick by Adrian Peterson. Any of the above would be terrifying coming from such a physical specimen.

All that said, I do not expect much to come of this. The boy's marks will heal and when the dust settles it'll be determined that AD is allowed to discipline his kid. He'll apologize, promise to use other methods in the future and the NFL will punish him lightly

[Stray]

I dunno about you guys, but I'm tired of hearing Ray Lewis' thoughts on child abuse and domestic violence. Why ESPN thinks that's a good idea is beyond me.

[dubc47834]

I dunno about you guys, but I'm tired of hearing Ray Lewis' thoughts on child abuse and domestic violence. Why ESPN thinks that's a good idea is beyond me.

Because the court system said he didn't kill anyone, just lied about what he knows!

[bucksfan2]

http://houston.cbslocal.com/2014/09/12/exclusive-details-on-adrian-peterson-indictment-charges/#.VBc4bwct4_0.twitter Your Minnesota Vikings starting RB.

[cumberlandreds]

I dunno about you guys, but I'm tired of hearing Ray Lewis' thoughts on child abuse and domestic violence. Why ESPN thinks that's a good idea is beyond me.

He's the ultimate kettle calling the pot black. I have no respect for any opinion of his on these matters.

[alwaysawarrior]

If you're going to hit someone with a stick then this is going to happen. Paddling someone with a board or even a bare hand can hurt just as much but not leave a mark. Point being, we can't get too hung up on the marks left in this case. You're either allowed to hit your kids or you're not. I don't think that's been settled yet as a society. Two personal notes:

1) I would NEVER hit my kid in any way. I am totally against that sort of punishment

2) I would not care to be hit with a hand, paddle or stick by Adrian Peterson. Any of the above would be terrifying coming from such a physical specimen.

All that said, I do not expect much to come of this. The boy's marks will heal and when the dust settles it'll be determined that AD is allowed to discipline his kid. He'll apologize, promise to use other methods in the future and the NFL will punish him lightly

A reasonable spanking with an open hand on clothed skin is far different than what has happened in this case. I don't want to tell anyone how to parent and don't want anyone to do the same for me. Please don't compare this to actual discipline. This was abuse pure and simple and was obviously done out of anger, not love. Interesting to see what the Vikings do with him going forward now that this other "incident" has come to light.

[GAC]

http://houston.cbslocal.com/2014/09/12/exclusive-details-on-adrian-peterson-indictment-charges/#.VBc4bwct4_0.twitter Your Minnesota Vikings starting RB.

Simply disgusting. IMO, the guy's a real piece of work.

I believe in spanking. I was spanked, my brothers were spanked, and I, on occasion (when I felt the situation was sever enough to warrant it) spanked my kids. But what Peterson did, IMO, isn't spanking. That, IMO, was physical abuse, basically beating the hell out of a 4 yr old child for simply pushing one of his siblings off a video game? You don't beat a 4 yr old child like that. There is no justification, no excuse.

Looking at the number of kids he's rumored to have, from different women, he knows how to father a child...... he just doesn't have a clue on how to be a father IMO.

[Razor Shines]

I dunno about you guys, but I'm tired of hearing Ray Lewis' thoughts on child abuse and domestic violence. Why ESPN thinks that's a good idea is beyond me.

Yes, unless his advice is just to the players and is "Always destroy the evidence. The NFL doesn't have much of a problem with Obstruction of Justice convictions."

[Dom Heffner]

If you're going to hit someone with a stick then this is going to happen. Paddling someone with a board or even a bare hand can hurt just as much but not leave a mark. Point being, we can't get too hung up on the marks left in this case. You're either allowed to hit your kids or you're not. I don't think that's been settled yet as a society. Two personal notes:

1) I would NEVER hit my kid in any way. I am totally against that sort of punishment

2) I would not care to be hit with a hand, paddle or stick by Adrian Peterson. Any of the above would be terrifying coming from such a physical specimen.

All that said, I do not expect much to come of this. The boy's marks will heal and when the dust settles it'll be determined that AD is allowed to discipline his kid. He'll apologize, promise to use other methods in the future and the NFL will punish him lightly

The marks absolutely mean everything, they are evidence of abuse.

The fact that it's legal to spank your child is not a blank check to whip them anyway you see fit.

[Razor Shines]

The marks absolutely mean everything, they are evidence of abuse.

The fact that it's legal to spank your child is not a blank check to whip them anyway you see fit.

Yeah, the marks matter. If my kid showed up at school with black eyes and said "Daddy spanked me." I couldn't be like "Oh, I spank in the face with a closed fist. Is that wrong? Should I not have done that? Because if anyone had told me this type of punishment was frowned upon...you know it's the way I was raised."

[GAC]

Again I want to emphasize.... this was a 4 yr old child. At that age, a 4 yr old, due to immaturity, doesn't even know right for wrong for the most part. A parent has to learn to differentiate immature behavior from willful disobedience (rebellion) and act in accordance, meaning, take that into account to help your determine what measure of discipline is needed. And even if you spank your child - at least we did - there should be positive reinforcement afterwards between that parent and child.

But I don't care how "bad" or unruly this 4 yr old may be... you just don't physically beat a child like that. And it's not just the physical scars, but the emotional ones you leave.

[RedTeamGo!]

One sponsor in particular, Anheuser Busch, seemed to decide that enough was enough and released a statement on Tuesday on the NFL not handling matters appropriately.

“We are disappointed and increasingly concerned by the recent incidents that have overshadowed this NFL season,” Anheuser-Busch stated. “We are not yet satisfied with the league’s handling of behaviors that so clearly go against our own company culture and moral code. We have shared our concerns and expectations with the league.”

One prominent running back is seeing right through that statement. Arian Foster took to Twitter and blasted Anheuser Busch, essentially calling the beer company hypocritical with these words.

“Selling poison on that high horse,” Foster wrote in one tweet. He followed it with, “Domestic violence and alcohol damn near synonymous.”

[bucksfan2]

The Wilf's are cowards. They put their GM and Head Coach on stand to talk about playing Peterson when they made the decision. They made Speilman and Zimmer answer the hard questions because they were too coward to face the media themselves. When sponsors started to bail on the Wilf's they decided it was time to act on Peterson. I wonder what the league said to the Wilf's to encourage their decision making.

That said they finally did the right thing. They are sitting a guy who is the best player on the team while paying him. While I think they are cowards they should at least get some credit for doing the right thing, regardless of what it took to get there.

[nmculbreth]

The Wilf's are cowards. They put their GM and Head Coach on stand to talk about playing Peterson when they made the decision. They made Speilman and Zimmer answer the hard questions because they were too coward to face the media themselves. When sponsors started to bail on the Wilf's they decided it was time to act on Peterson. I wonder what the league said to the Wilf's to encourage their decision making.

That said they finally did the right thing. They are sitting a guy who is the best player on the team while paying him. While I think they are cowards they should at least get some credit for doing the right thing, regardless of what it took to get there.

I have a tough time giving them any credit since this was very clearly a business decision rather than one based on any kind of moral compass... after all they were happy to wait and let the court system resolve the issue until their sponsors started making noise and their cash flow was threatened.

But you're totally right about the Wilfs being cowards. It was pretty clear from the press conference that the decision to re-instate Peterson was made by ownership but they sent out their underlings to try to defend their position, rather than answering the questions themselves. I felt bad for Mike Zimmer because he always came across as a good guy during his time with the Bengals and he was put in a position where he had to defend a decision he likely had very little say in making.

That said, as I read more about Peterson's back story I almost feel sorry for him. What he's done is inexcusable and I hope that the court system metes out appropriate justice, but it's also really clear that he is very much a product of his environment. He was a victim of this kind of treatment as a child and was conditioned to think that this is what loving parents do, so he did the same with his kids... which is all really sad.

[Stray]

Maybe I'm missing something, but isn't the easy solution to just implement a system where accused players are free to play, indicted players are deactivated with pay, and convicted players are punished according to NFL policy?

Why make each situation unique? Just opens yourself up to tons of criticism. If the options are overreacting and underreacting, go ahead and overreact.

[Roy Tucker]

Interesting... Beer companies are now the moral compass of the NFL.

[Chip R]

I have a tough time giving them any credit since this was very clearly a business decision rather than one based on any kind of moral compass... after all they were happy to wait and let the court system resolve the issue until their sponsors started making noise and their cash flow was threatened.

Yeah. They are only reacting because one of their big sponsors made some noise about it. And, while I'm sure the sponsor(s) are against domestic violence and what Peterson did, it's all about money with them too. If they are affiliated with someone that condones what Peterson did, people will not want to spend their money on that company.


That said, as I read more about Peterson's back story I almost feel sorry for him. What he's done is inexcusable and I hope that the court system metes out appropriate justice, but it's also really clear that he is very much a product of his environment. He was a victim of this kind of treatment as a child and was conditioned to think that this is what loving parents do, so he did the same with his kids... which is all really sad.

Agreed.


Maybe I'm missing something, but isn't the easy solution to just implement a system where accused players are free to play, indicted players are deactivated with pay, and convicted players are punished according to NFL policy?

Why make each situation unique? Just opens yourself up to tons of criticism. If the options are overreacting and underreacting, go ahead and overreact.

Good point. They are just doing this by the seat of their pants now.

[Chip R]

It will be interesting to see if NFL teams will take into account character more than they have been when drafting college players. Jameis Winston is a prime example. All the talent in the world but he seems to keep getting into trouble.

[improbus]

It is absolutely insane that the NFL has pushed the national conversation on Gay rights, Domestic Violence, and Child Discipline.

I bet the NFL is dying for a picture of Johnny Manziel taking his pet puma for a walk or something similar.

[Chip R]

If you look at the discipline handed down for past incidents of domestic violence you can see why the original penalty given to Rice was so lenient. It was twice the penalty any other player had received up until that point.

http://grantland.com/features/nfl-football-domestic-violence-ray-rice/

[Redsfaithful]

21 year old Texas QB is ending his football career because of concussions.

Football has a pretty clear expiration point. Maybe another 20 years. I'm going to enjoy it while it lasts, but it's ending.

[Chip R]

And Jonathan Dwyer is the latest NFL player to have allegedly assaulted his wife and 18 month old child.

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/11544985/jonathan-dwyer-arizona-cardinals-arrested-two-counts-suspicion-aggravated-assault

[kaldaniels]

21 year old Texas QB is ending his football career because of concussions.

Football has a pretty clear expiration point. Maybe another 20 years. I'm going to enjoy it while it lasts, but it's ending.

Respectfully disagree. The off-field behavior is correctable. The concussion rate though a concern will go down in the upcoming years due to improved helmets and rule changes. Football will be around in 2034.

[Redsfaithful]

Respectfully disagree. The off-field behavior is correctable. The concussion rate though a concern will go down in the upcoming years due to improved helmets and rule changes. Football will be around in 2034.

Football and the NFL will be around forever I imagine, but it's not going to be nearly as big of a deal. The talent pool is going to dry up, and once the athleticism drops it will enter a decline phase.

CTE isn't fixable with better helmets, it's ingrained in what the game is - frequent collisions. Not even talking about the concussion issue.

Middle class and above kids aren't going to continue playing football as more info on the resulting brain damage comes out.

I could be wrong, it's a long term horizon thing. I personally think we'll look back at the period from about Chris Henry's death (a skills guy, i.e. not a lineman who have collisions on every play, who had CTE but never had a diagnosed concussion: http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=5333971 - and we know CTE causes behavior changes, which particularly troubles me with regards to Henry) to now-ish as when football began to decline.

[RedTeamGo!]

The concussion rate though a concern will go down in the upcoming years due to improved helmets and rule changes.

I don't buy that these futuristic helmets are really going to help all that much with concussions. Eddie Lacy wore the most up-to-date helmet out there that is supposed to be "concussion proof" in the first game of the year...and got a concussion in the 1st half. He said he would never wear it again.

[Sea Ray]

The Wilf's are cowards. They put their GM and Head Coach on stand to talk about playing Peterson when they made the decision. They made Speilman and Zimmer answer the hard questions because they were too coward to face the media themselves. When sponsors started to bail on the Wilf's they decided it was time to act on Peterson. I wonder what the league said to the Wilf's to encourage their decision making.

That said they finally did the right thing. They are sitting a guy who is the best player on the team while paying him. While I think they are cowards they should at least get some credit for doing the right thing, regardless of what it took to get there.

I think the reason they didn't do this earlier is the option of an exempted list. Who's ever heard of this before? Where did the NFL come up with it? Who can go on it? Can we put Kevin Zeitler on it? This gives everyone an out; a way to kick this can down the road. Peterson gets paid; the team can replace him on the roster; unlike IR it's not season ending. They can bring him back any week they want

[Roy Tucker]

I think Roger Goodell is in over his head.

When things were good and the money was pouring in and the only thing he had to worry about was handing out the Lombardi Trophy, he sufficed as a figurehead. But now that he is challenged with a difficult situation that takes true leadership skills, he is falling flat on his face. The money is still pouring in, but storm clouds are gathering and the NFL shield isn't as impenetrable as it once was. I think they need a new and much better commish. Goodell just isn't very good.

[Sea Ray]

I think Roger Goodell is in over his head.

When things were good and the money was pouring in and the only thing he had to worry about was handing out the Lombardi Trophy, he sufficed as a figurehead. But now that he is challenged with a difficult situation that takes true leadership skills, he is falling flat on his face. The money is still pouring in, but storm clouds are gathering and the NFL shield isn't as impenetrable as it once was. I think they need a new and much better commish. Goodell just isn't very good.

I think we can expect more from a guy who's being paid $40+ million/yr

[Sea Ray]

Looks like even John Elway's 25 yr old son is getting into the act of abusing women. Supposedly he hit his girlfriend and dragged her out of the car by the hair:

http://www.tmz.com/2014/09/18/john-elways-son-guilty-domestic-violence-denver-counseling/

[Hoosier Red]

I think Roger Goodell is in over his head.

When things were good and the money was pouring in and the only thing he had to worry about was handing out the Lombardi Trophy, he sufficed as a figurehead. But now that he is challenged with a difficult situation that takes true leadership skills, he is falling flat on his face. The money is still pouring in, but storm clouds are gathering and the NFL shield isn't as impenetrable as it once was. I think they need a new and much better commish. Goodell just isn't very good.

I also think he set himself up for this when he brought the hammer down on players. He was the proverbial new sheriff in town, who was going to single handedly clean out the muckety mucks who threatened to besmirch the mighty NFL shield.

Basically he set the league out to an impossible standard. I'm having trouble finding stats, but my guess is the rate at which football players commits a crime like Domestic Violence is at or below the rate which it's committed in the overall population.

[Stray]

I prefer this kinda sponsor response instead of "take my logo off the press conference backdrop".

https://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20140918112528-368841495-the-nfl-and-domestic-violence-let-s-use-our-voices-for-real-change?_mSplash=1

[bucksfan2]

I think Roger Goodell is in over his head.

When things were good and the money was pouring in and the only thing he had to worry about was handing out the Lombardi Trophy, he sufficed as a figurehead. But now that he is challenged with a difficult situation that takes true leadership skills, he is falling flat on his face. The money is still pouring in, but storm clouds are gathering and the NFL shield isn't as impenetrable as it once was. I think they need a new and much better commish. Goodell just isn't very good.

Do you think for a second that Anheuser Busch or Pepsi are going to walk away from the NFL. The time to worry about the league is when the teams can't be sold for a BILLION dollars, the networks quit fighting for who gets to televising the sport, and when one of the big beer companies says they don't want anything to do with the NFL.

[Sea Ray]

I also think he set himself up for this when he brought the hammer down on players. He was the proverbial new sheriff in town, who was going to single handedly clean out the muckety mucks who threatened to besmirch the mighty NFL shield.

Basically he set the league out to an impossible standard. I'm having trouble finding stats, but my guess is the rate at which football players commits a crime like Domestic Violence is at or below the rate which it's committed in the overall population.

First of all it's irrelevant how the NFL stacks up with the general population. I agree with you that Goodell cracked down hard as the new Sheriff in town which makes it all the more puzzling why he'd only give Ray Rice 2 games for what he did and the DE from the Jags who'd had a conviction also was dealt with very lightly. Goodell was treating pot smokers worse. This is what trivializes domestic violence and it changes nothing if someone comes up with a stat that NFL players have a lesser % convicted than the general population

[bucksfan2]

First of all it's irrelevant how the NFL stacks up with the general population. I agree with you that Goodell cracked down hard as the new Sheriff in town which makes it all the more puzzling why he'd only give Ray Rice 2 games for what he did and the DE from the Jags who'd had a conviction also was dealt with very lightly. Goodell was treating pot smokers worse. This is what trivializes domestic violence and it changes nothing if someone comes up with a stat that NFL players have a lesser % convicted than the general population

I would say the events of the past month pale in to comparison to what has happened in the recent future. Guys like Aaron Hernandez, Pacman Jones, Big Ben, Leonard Little, Josh Brent, Donte Stallworth, Chris Henry, Ray Lewis, Michael Vick, Jamal Lewis, etc. I could go on and on with people who committed atrocities, were responsible for people being killed or paralyzed, felonies, drug trafficking, etc. It has been a rough go about it because of the Ray Rice video evidence and weak suspension and then the leak of additional video. The Peterson thing is disturbing to say the least, Hardy should be in jail let alone playing and the same can be said about McDonald and Dwyer.

The issue for Goddell and the league is that it is governed by a collective bargaining agreement. Suspensions are handed down based upon that agreement. While smoking weed may seem trivial to many, the league and union agreed upon suspension for people who were caught. It is cut and dry, an automatic suspension because that is what the agreement holds. When your drug test comes back positive there is little to no leeway. As for the troubled players of the past few weeks, they are given the protection of innocent until proven guilty, and I believe the collective bargaining agreement does not allow a team to suspend a player without pay while they are awaiting a trial. They only are allowed to suspend a player for a few weeks until a verdict or plea is entered. Thing is, while you have cases like Rice and Peterson where their is evidence as well as an admission of guilt, you also have cases like Kobe Bryant and the Duke Lacrosse where athletes are wrongly accused of a crime. I wish the NFL had a better way of handling cases like the past week, but then again I don't know exactly what that would be.

[Sea Ray]

They only are allowed to suspend a player for a few weeks until a verdict or plea is entered. Thing is, while you have cases like Rice and Peterson where their is evidence as well as an admission of guilt, you also have cases like Kobe Bryant and the Duke Lacrosse where athletes are wrongly accused of a crime. I wish the NFL had a better way of handling cases like the past week, but then again I don't know exactly what that would be.

I don't think you're correct. If that was the case then why did they suspend RR indefinitely? I understand he's appealing it but so far as I can tell not on the grounds that Goodell didn't have the authority. It was because it was double jeopardy. He was suspended twice for the same offense even though no new information came to the forefront. On that I think he's got a point

[dubc47834]

I don't think you're correct. If that was the case then why did they suspend RR indefinitely? I understand he's appealing it but so far as I can tell not on the grounds that Goodell didn't have the authority. It was because it was double jeopardy. He was suspended twice for the same offense even though no new information came to the forefront. On that I think he's got a point

According to ESPN legal the other day, Double Jeopardy is only a court/legal thing, not a NFL player agreement thing. They did say that there are things in the agreement that limit these types of things. Plus, the NFL is saying there was new info, the new video. I know, this sounds lame. Even if they didn't have the video, what do the honestly think happened in there.

[Hoosier Red]

First of all it's irrelevant how the NFL stacks up with the general population. I agree with you that Goodell cracked down hard as the new Sheriff in town which makes it all the more puzzling why he'd only give Ray Rice 2 games for what he did and the DE from the Jags who'd had a conviction also was dealt with very lightly. Goodell was treating pot smokers worse. This is what trivializes domestic violence and it changes nothing if someone comes up with a stat that NFL players have a lesser % convicted than the general population

Apologies as I believe I made my point poorly. My point was that Goodell created the impression that all players who violated the law would be dealt with in the harshest possible way. When players were not being suspended, the idea was that everyone was behaving and the "new sherriff" had restored order.
But that's obviously unrealistic. Whenever you're dealing with a population of 1,700 young men, you're likely to have a certain percentage who break the law, and a certain percentage involved in domestic violence incidents. In fact, it would be more surprising if there were no domestic violence issues.

So Goodell had already set a pattern of being harsh on criminal issues, but it left him little area to move when charges were dropped, and little trust from the players to be just in punishing someone like Rice who didn't have an actual charge pending.

[Hoosier Red]

I would say the events of the past month pale in to comparison to what has happened in the recent future. Guys like Aaron Hernandez, Pacman Jones, Big Ben, Leonard Little, Josh Brent, Donte Stallworth, Chris Henry, Ray Lewis, Michael Vick, Jamal Lewis, etc. I could go on and on with people who committed atrocities, were responsible for people being killed or paralyzed, felonies, drug trafficking, etc. It has been a rough go about it because of the Ray Rice video evidence and weak suspension and then the leak of additional video. The Peterson thing is disturbing to say the least, Hardy should be in jail let alone playing and the same can be said about McDonald and Dwyer.

The issue for Goddell and the league is that it is governed by a collective bargaining agreement. Suspensions are handed down based upon that agreement. While smoking weed may seem trivial to many, the league and union agreed upon suspension for people who were caught. It is cut and dry, an automatic suspension because that is what the agreement holds. When your drug test comes back positive there is little to no leeway. As for the troubled players of the past few weeks, they are given the protection of innocent until proven guilty, and I believe the collective bargaining agreement does not allow a team to suspend a player without pay while they are awaiting a trial. They only are allowed to suspend a player for a few weeks until a verdict or plea is entered. Thing is, while you have cases like Rice and Peterson where their is evidence as well as an admission of guilt, you also have cases like Kobe Bryant and the Duke Lacrosse where athletes are wrongly accused of a crime. I wish the NFL had a better way of handling cases like the past week, but then again I don't know exactly what that would be.

You're talking about events that spanned almost 15 years.
I don't buy that Goodell is handcuffed by the CBA. The league negotiated hard for specific penalties for drugs, and for Emperor Goodell to have the ultimate power with regards to many on-field and off-field incidents that could "damage the shield."
If domestic violence was an important enough issue for the owners and the league, they would have pushed for the penalties before the Ray Rice incident popped up.

[Sea Ray]

Apologies as I believe I made my point poorly. My point was that Goodell created the impression that all players who violated the law would be dealt with in the harshest possible way. When players were not being suspended, the idea was that everyone was behaving and the "new sherriff" had restored order.
But that's obviously unrealistic. Whenever you're dealing with a population of 1,700 young men, you're likely to have a certain percentage who break the law, and a certain percentage involved in domestic violence incidents. In fact, it would be more surprising if there were no domestic violence issues.

So Goodell had already set a pattern of being harsh on criminal issues, but it left him little area to move when charges were dropped, and little trust from the players to be just in punishing someone like Rice who didn't have an actual charge pending.

The fact that RR admitted hitting her so hard that she was knocked unconscious, Goodell need not concern himself with how the law handled this. His first unforced error was doing exactly that. He should have suspended him for at least 8 games from the get go

[Sea Ray]

If domestic violence was an important enough issue for the owners and the league, they would have pushed for the penalties before the Ray Rice incident popped up.

They need not put any such restrictions in the CBA. As you correctly noted, Goodell already has free reign to rule on these as harshly as he sees fit. That's why this is not about the CBA. This is all on Goodell

[Chip R]

The fact that RR admitted hitting her so hard that she was knocked unconscious, Goodell need not concern himself with how the law handled this. His first unforced error was doing exactly that. He should have suspended him for at least 8 games from the get go

You're right. He should have suspended him that long. But if you look at past incidents, players either got fined and/or suspended a game at most. I'd have a lot more respect for Goodell if he came out and said, "We are suspending Rice 2 games because no one has been suspended more than one in the past." He suspends him for 2 games and doesn't even say how he decided on two and not 4 or 6 or 8. Then he suspends him indefinitely and hasn't said a peep since then.

[Hoosier Red]

The fact that RR admitted hitting her so hard that she was knocked unconscious, Goodell need not concern himself with how the law handled this. His first unforced error was doing exactly that. He should have suspended him for at least 8 games from the get go

No I agree with you. And it's really all on him because whatever constraints (real or imagined) came about because he was perfectly happy to be "Roger the Punisher" when he was dealing with guys who got high. Because he specifically wanted to give himself such power on such a minor issue, he didn't have the trust of the players that if he gave Rice an unprecedented suspension that it was anything other than a power grab.

It's in the way he negotiated the power to punish so harshly over marijuana that he showed what he felt was the true threat to tarnish the shield.

[bucksfan2]

No I agree with you. And it's really all on him because whatever constraints (real or imagined) came about because he was perfectly happy to be "Roger the Punisher" when he was dealing with guys who got high. Because he specifically wanted to give himself such power on such a minor issue, he didn't have the trust of the players that if he gave Rice an unprecedented suspension that it was anything other than a power grab.

It's in the way he negotiated the power to punish so harshly over marijuana that he showed what he felt was the true threat to tarnish the shield.

I don't believe Goddell has the power to suspend harshly over marijuana. I believe it was in the collective bargaining agreement which outlines the suspensions. It is cut, dry, and automatic where Goddell has no leeway what so ever.

[Stray]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7QK6vRyJyLg

[Razor Shines]

http://espn.go.com/espn/otl/story/_/id/11551518/how-ray-rice-scandal-unfolded-baltimore-ravens-roger-goodell-nfl

No one comes out of this looking good.

[Dom Heffner]

http://espn.go.com/espn/otl/story/_/id/11551518/how-ray-rice-scandal-unfolded-baltimore-ravens-roger-goodell-nfl

No one comes out of this looking good.

No, they don't.

[Stray]

http://espn.go.com/espn/otl/story/_/id/11551518/how-ray-rice-scandal-unfolded-baltimore-ravens-roger-goodell-nfl

No one comes out of this looking good.

I like how Baltimore's reaction was to call the report untrue, but that they'd explain sometime next week. Um, yeah okay whatever haha.


"The ESPN.com 'Outside the Lines' article contains numerous errors, inaccuracies, false assumptions and, perhaps, misunderstandings. The Ravens will address all of these next week in Baltimore after our trip to Cleveland for Sunday's game against the Browns."

[Dom Heffner]

I like how Baltimore's reaction was to call the report untrue, but that they'd explain sometime next week. Um, yeah okay whatever haha.

That was my reaction, too. Next week, wow.

[Sea Ray]

I like how Baltimore's reaction was to call the report untrue, but that they'd explain sometime next week. Um, yeah okay whatever haha.

How does Ozzie Newsome keep his job?http://www.si.com/nfl/2014/09/19/baltimore-ravens-ray-rice-john-harbaugh-executives?xid=aol_home&icid=maing-grid7%7Chtmlws-main-bb%7Cdl1%7Csec1_lnk2%26pLid%3D532814

[Roy Tucker]

http://espn.go.com/espn/otl/story/_/id/11551518/how-ray-rice-scandal-unfolded-baltimore-ravens-roger-goodell-nfl

No one comes out of this looking good.

Maybe Harbaugh. At least he wanted to cut his star running back when the details came out last spring. But his bosses squashed that silly thought.

[Razor Shines]

Maybe Harbaugh. At least he wanted to cut his star running back when the details came out last spring. But his bosses squashed that silly thought.

I thought that too at first but now he's saying that he didn't know that Rice "violently punched his fiance until Sept 8th when the video was released." Which doesn't make since if he said that Rice told him the truth from the beginning. Seems like Harbaugh had a momentary flash wanting to act honorably but quickly got back in line when he realized he was all by himself.

[Razor Shines]

I like how Baltimore's reaction was to call the report untrue, but that they'd explain sometime next week. Um, yeah okay whatever haha.

Do you realize how hard it's gonna be to spin all of those details in just a few days? Covering their butts and spinning that entire article by Monday or Tuesday will take a round the clock effort. What else do you want from them? Admission of guilt? Haha, why would they do that?

[improbus]

Rog is really earning that money. His job is to do what the owners want (see: Ray Rice situation) and then be a piñata when it doesn't go well. If they fire him now, who will be the public punching bag? They need Rog.

[Sea Ray]

Rog is really earning that money. His job is to do what the owners want (see: Ray Rice situation) and then be a piñata when it doesn't go well. If they fire him now, who will be the public punching bag? They need Rog.

I agree with the Commissioner on one thing: He should not step down now. It's during crisises like this where he earns his $44 mill salary. Captain doesn't jump ship when his crew needs him most. He has to fight his way through this.

[improbus]

I agree with the Commissioner on one thing: He should not step down now. It's during crisises like this where he earns his $44 mill salary. Captain doesn't jump ship when his crew needs him most. He has to fight his way through this.

Not sure why anyone would ever step down from a $44 million dollar a year job. It would have to taken from my cold dead hands.

[Dom Heffner]

I agree with the Commissioner on one thing: He should not step down now. It's during crisises like this where he earns his $44 mill salary. Captain doesn't jump ship when his crew needs him most. He has to fight his way through this.

I see. So he causes a crises through his mind numbingly stupid leadership and he should stay aboard to fix it.

Nice.

- - - Updated - - -


Not sure why anyone would ever step down from a $44 million dollar a year job. It would have to taken from my cold dead hands.

Which is probably why he needs to go...

[Raisor]

Ray Lewis, just shut up man.

[improbus]

I see. So he causes a crises through his mind numbingly stupid leadership and he should stay aboard to fix it.
A change in commissioner would change little to nothing. The Rice suspension was 2 games at the behest of an owner (Goodell's boss). Might as well watch this one who has been neutered and must publicly squirm at all times.

[dabvu2498]

Ray Lewis, just shut up man.

"Where's the white suit, Ray?"

I'm refusing to watch ESPN NFL coverage if he's going to be a part of it.

[Dom Heffner]

A change in commissioner would change little to nothing. The Rice suspension was 2 games at the behest of an owner (Goodell's boss). Might as well watch this one who has been neutered and must publicly squirm at all times.

I think he's lost all credibility- I can't believe a word he says...

[Joseph]

I think he's lost all credibility- I can't believe a word he says...

I agree with you 100%, however how many commissioners of sports do you really believe? They all are trying to protect their financial interests and the interests of their bosses, the owners.

[Dom Heffner]

I agree with you 100%, however how many commissioners of sports do you really believe? They all are trying to protect their financial interests and the interests of their bosses, the owners.

This is as bad a thing as any commissioner has been caught doing- he should go.

[Joseph]

I'm all for zero tolerance in situations like these, especially when there's viable visible proof like the Rice case.

[Razor Shines]

Ray Lewis, just shut up man.


https://vine.co/v/O7m0IzlMqxD

[Yachtzee]

Not sure why anyone would ever step down from a $44 million dollar a year job. It would have to taken from my cold dead hands.

Well, when the brand you've been entrusted with is taking a serious hit because of you're own missteps, maybe it's time to take advantage of that golden parachute clause in your contract. The Ray Rice and Adrian Peterson issues could have been controlled of the league had a consistent policy for dealing with players facing with criminal charges. It's not like this is the first time players have been charged. The biggest problems under the Goodell era have been a lack of consistency in dealing with players' off the field issues, a lack of transparency in how the league handles it's business, and an apparent bias toward certain teams and owners. Goodell's mishandling of these crises damages the integrity of the league itself.

[RedTeamGo!]

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/11563542/adrian-peterson-denial-chances-play-season-future-minnesota-vikings


Sources: Peterson 'doesn't get it'

Peterson is either an idiot, or he was abused so badly when he was a child he has no idea what he did was wrong.

[Sea Ray]

Well, when the brand you've been entrusted with is taking a serious hit because of you're own missteps, maybe it's time to take advantage of that golden parachute clause in your contract. The Ray Rice and Adrian Peterson issues could have been controlled of the league had a consistent policy for dealing with players facing with criminal charges. It's not like this is the first time players have been charged. The biggest problems under the Goodell era have been a lack of consistency in dealing with players' off the field issues, a lack of transparency in how the league handles it's business, and an apparent bias toward certain teams and owners. Goodell's mishandling of these crises damages the integrity of the league itself.

The way I look at it is you broke it, you fix it. It's not easy getting all the owners to decide on a commissioner. It's a long, drawn out process. They don't need that headache right now. They need to get through this, let Goodell take the hits and then in the off season they can decide whether to replace him or not. It's too easy for Goodell to just walk away to the Swiss Alps and enjoy his net worth of $750 million while the NFL deals with his mess.

[klw]

Not sure why anyone would ever step down from a $44 million dollar a year job. It would have to taken from my cold dead hands.

Well I don't think I would stay in that job for too long- how much do you need after all. In 2014 the median family income in the US is just under $54,000. http://money.cnn.com/2014/08/20/news/economy/median-income/
So for a family earning the median US income it would take approximately 815 years to earn $44,000,000. Now lets assume that Goodell works an 80 hour work week. His $846,153 per week wage would break down as $10,576.92 per hour. So in 5 hours Goodell will make as much as the median family in America. You would not need to stay in that job long to be comfortabe.

[Razor Shines]

Well I don't think I would stay in that job for too long- how much do you need after all. In 2014 the median family income in the US is just under $54,000. http://money.cnn.com/2014/08/20/news/economy/median-income/
So for a family earning the median US income it would take approximately 815 years to earn $44,000,000. Now lets assume that Goodell works an 80 hour work week. His $846,153 per week wage would break down as $10,576.92 per hour. So in 5 hours Goodell will make as much as the median family in America. You would not need to stay in that job long to be comfortabe.
I don't think it really matters, Goodell's net worth was in the 100s of millions before he became commissioner.

[kaldaniels]

I don't think it really matters, Goodell's net worth was in the 100s of millions before he became commissioner.

I keep hearing that but all "junky" net worth sites say it is in the 60-80 MM range.

[Razor Shines]

I keep hearing that but all "junky" net worth sites say it is in the 60-80 MM range.

Oh. Well he's gonna have to keep it to one retirement house and significantly fewer bedrooms at that.

[Sea Ray]

I keep hearing that but all "junky" net worth sites say it is in the 60-80 MM range.

Who knows what it is but this is the "junky site" I got it from:


Talking about her personal life she, she got married to roger goodell known for his superiority and tagged as NFL Commissioner on 08/08/2006 whose net worth is about $750 million, one of the highest earning person -


http://myhowbook.com/biography/jane-skinner-biography.html#sthash.1UYrYGOm.dpuf

[Sea Ray]

Peyton does not like the NFL OT rules and he's sounding off about them:

http://www.si.com/nfl/2014/09/22/peyton-manning-denver-broncos-overtime-coin-toss?xid=aol_home&icid=maing-grid7%7Chtmlws-main-bb%7Cdl15%7Csec3_lnk4%26pLid%3D533883

I agree with him. I don't know why the NFL didn't go all the way and fix them when they made the last adjustment. The rule should be that OT cannot end until each team has had a possession. So in this game, Denver should have been able to receive the KO after the 'Hawks scored. If Denver scores a TD they have the option to go for a win with a 2 pt conversion or continue the OT with a point after. From that point on it's sudden death. That would be the best of all OTs including the college system

[RedTeamGo!]

It's Peyton, so he will probably get his way. He did single-handedly change the game as we know it with the "defensive holding" penalty from a few years back.

[Hoosier Red]

Peyton does not like the NFL OT rules and he's sounding off about them:

http://www.si.com/nfl/2014/09/22/peyton-manning-denver-broncos-overtime-coin-toss?xid=aol_home&icid=maing-grid7%7Chtmlws-main-bb%7Cdl15%7Csec3_lnk4%26pLid%3D533883

I agree with him. I don't know why the NFL didn't go all the way and fix them when they made the last adjustment. The rule should be that OT cannot end until each team has had a possession. So in this game, Denver should have been able to receive the KO after the 'Hawks scored. If Denver scores a TD they have the option to go for a win with a 2 pt conversion or continue the OT with a point after. From that point on it's sudden death. That would be the best of all OTs including the college system

Although I understand that it has a bit of a hokey feel to it, i actually prefer the current version.
I think any version which guarantees both sides the ball gives way too much of an advantage to the 2nd team. Any system that is automatically sudden death gives way too much of an advantage to the first team.

Of the out of the box ideas I've heard, i prefer the "cut and choose" method of overtime.
There are three decisions made;
1)Winner of coin flip chooses the yard line to start from
2) Loser of the coin flip decides whether they want the ball or "4 points".
3) Which ever team is given 4 points, gets to choose which goal line they're defending.

ie.. The Seahawks set the ball at the 10 yard line, the Broncos say they want the ball, Seahawks say they're defending the Goal 90 yards away.

[BuckeyeRed27]

It should just be college overtime starting from maybe the 40 or 50 instead, since the kickers are better. College OT is so much more exciting than NFL OT in either system.

[Sea Ray]

Although I understand that it has a bit of a hokey feel to it, i actually prefer the current version.
I think any version which guarantees both sides the ball gives way too much of an advantage to the 2nd team. Any system that is automatically sudden death gives way too much of an advantage to the first team.

Of the out of the box ideas I've heard, i prefer the "cut and choose" method of overtime.
There are three decisions made;
1)Winner of coin flip chooses the yard line to start from
2) Loser of the coin flip decides whether they want the ball or "4 points".
3) Which ever team is given 4 points, gets to choose which goal line they're defending.

ie.. The Seahawks set the ball at the 10 yard line, the Broncos say they want the ball, Seahawks say they're defending the Goal 90 yards away.

You think under my proposal that Denver's advantage would have been greater than Seattle's was? How can that be? Under the current system Seattle's advantage was so great that Denver didn't even get the ball. Under my proposal Denver is forced to get a TD. I agree with you that under my plan the coin flip winner would most often choose to kick rather than receive but it's nothing compared to the advantage Seattle had in receiving and having that huge home field advantage behind them

Where'd you come up with those three silly ideas? Why would any team choose any yard line other than the one? You think teams should be awarded points for losing a coin flip?

[Sea Ray]

It should just be college overtime starting from maybe the 40 or 50 instead, since the kickers are better. College OT is so much more exciting than NFL OT in either system.

College OT is not the answer either. As those kids wear out offenses take over. It also doesn't include all facets of the game such as punting and kicking off. And most of all sometimes those games can go on for another 1-2 hrs. That's nuts