Super Bowl LII

[Skinypupy]

Goodell sent a letter to all 32 teams saying the NFL is ready to move past the protests. Interesting to see if the players are.

Oh yeah, I'm sure the NFL is more than ready to move on. This seems like a risky move though. First you alienate the "Real 'Muricans" by allowing the players to protest, then you alienate everyone else by telling them they can't.

We'll just skip right on past how absurd this whole idea of forced patriotism truly is.

[stessier]

With what Jerry Jones said, it would be really interesting to see Dak or Elliot take a knee. It wouldn't be advancing the cause of the protests much, but it would be a huge power play against the league.

[Rip]

Dolphins o-line coach resigns after video of him doing lines of come before a meeting is released. The video is truly worse than it sounds.

I don't see how that is possible. (quoted before the edit.)

It's possible, you just got to have some serious snorting power.

That and a girlfriend with a really dry vagina......

[Rip]

That letter is a clever gambit, I don't know that it'll work but it's interesting. The league is saying "Your protest has hijacked attention away from your cause, so you're not helping your cause" then they offer to work with the players in a league wide effort to do something constructive. All the players have to do is end the protest.

That would be good for both sides. I do think their protest is extremely counterproductive though it is way more productive when Trump activated the Streisand effect.

It really depends what the goal of the protest is. Is it to end racist treatment of blacks by police? Well, it was never likely to succeed there anyway. Is it to raise awareness of the issue and keep it in the forefront? Then it's been successful and would likely continue to be so. I don't want to bring too much R&P into this thread, but the fact that it's pissing a lot of people off isn't necessarily evidence that the protest is not working. A protest on this type of issue works when people get pissed off.

I thought it was to drive people away from the NFL. Seems to be working great to me.

[ImLawBoy]

That letter is a clever gambit, I don't know that it'll work but it's interesting. The league is saying "Your protest has hijacked attention away from your cause, so you're not helping your cause" then they offer to work with the players in a league wide effort to do something constructive. All the players have to do is end the protest.

That would be good for both sides. I do think their protest is extremely counterproductive though it is way more productive when Trump activated the Streisand effect.

It really depends what the goal of the protest is. Is it to end racist treatment of blacks by police? Well, it was never likely to succeed there anyway. Is it to raise awareness of the issue and keep it in the forefront? Then it's been successful and would likely continue to be so. I don't want to bring too much R&P into this thread, but the fact that it's pissing a lot of people off isn't necessarily evidence that the protest is not working. A protest on this type of issue works when people get pissed off.

I thought it was to drive people away from the NFL. Seems to be working great to me.

I was going to respond, but then I remembered you don't really want to add anything to these types of discussions.

[Rip]

That letter is a clever gambit, I don't know that it'll work but it's interesting. The league is saying "Your protest has hijacked attention away from your cause, so you're not helping your cause" then they offer to work with the players in a league wide effort to do something constructive. All the players have to do is end the protest.

That would be good for both sides. I do think their protest is extremely counterproductive though it is way more productive when Trump activated the Streisand effect.

It really depends what the goal of the protest is. Is it to end racist treatment of blacks by police? Well, it was never likely to succeed there anyway. Is it to raise awareness of the issue and keep it in the forefront? Then it's been successful and would likely continue to be so. I don't want to bring too much R&P into this thread, but the fact that it's pissing a lot of people off isn't necessarily evidence that the protest is not working. A protest on this type of issue works when people get pissed off.

I thought it was to drive people away from the NFL. Seems to be working great to me.

I was going to respond, but then I remembered you don't really want to add anything to these types of discussions.

Then you respond. Thanks for carrying my water. I hope it wasn't too heavy.

[Pyperkub]

Goodell sent a letter to all 32 teams saying the NFL is ready to move past the protests. Interesting to see if the players are.

Oh yeah, I'm sure the NFL is more than ready to move on. This seems like a risky move though. First you alienate the "Real 'Muricans" by allowing the players to protest, then you alienate everyone else by telling them they can't.

We'll just skip right on past how absurd this whole idea of forced patriotism truly is.

Given Goodell's relationship with the players recently (all of the suspension lawsuits, and arbitrary suspensions from god), this could actually be the end for him, if the players want to make it so.

Think not just Zeke or Dak kneeling for the anthem, but the entire team, and the other teams. Goodell telling the players they better do something or else (something), is just the type of ultimatum which could unify ALL of the players.

It was really, really dumb on his part (and the Owners who pushed him into it).

[gameoverman]

It really depends what the goal of the protest is. Is it to end racist treatment of blacks by police? Well, it was never likely to succeed there anyway. Is it to raise awareness of the issue and keep it in the forefront? Then it's been successful and would likely continue to be so. I don't want to bring too much R&P into this thread, but the fact that it's pissing a lot of people off isn't necessarily evidence that the protest is not working. A protest on this type of issue works when people get pissed off.

I think the clever part of it is that it encourages the players to consider their goals. 'Raise awareness' isn't that great a purpose, since pretty much everyone in the country has heard about these issues. It would be one hell of an ego trip if the players thought they were telling people something the people don't already know. People either know there's a problem and it needs to be addressed, or people know that there is no problem to be addressed. There aren't any people out there who haven't heard about this at all. If I'm wrong and you can find sizable portions of the population who truly haven't heard of all this, then I would suggest that those people don't matter since they have isolated themselves from the rest of us.

What's the best case outcome the players are working towards? I don't think the players have thought about this. Is it that every player in the league join the protest? Imagine for a moment that happens, now what?

I think if the league can draw up a plan that has everyone(players and owners) doing XYZ and that leads to Outcome A, that might be more attractive to more players. Then at least they can see what they are working towards. The key part will be making sure that outcome is something the players consider worthy, something that genuinely helps them accomplish whatever it is they feel is helpful. At the same time it has to be something the owners can live with, and something that won't alienate the fans more than they are already alienated.

Hmm...the more I think about it, the more doomed this approach seems to be lol.

[Unagi]

uh, I just don't follow you there.

[Rip]

Goodell sent a letter to all 32 teams saying the NFL is ready to move past the protests. Interesting to see if the players are.

Oh yeah, I'm sure the NFL is more than ready to move on. This seems like a risky move though. First you alienate the "Real 'Muricans" by allowing the players to protest, then you alienate everyone else by telling them they can't.

We'll just skip right on past how absurd this whole idea of forced patriotism truly is.

Given Goodell's relationship with the players recently (all of the suspension lawsuits, and arbitrary suspensions from god), this could actually be the end for him, if the players want to make it so.

Think not just Zeke or Dak kneeling for the anthem, but the entire team, and the other teams. Goodell telling the players they better do something or else (something), is just the type of ultimatum which could unify ALL of the players.

It was really, really dumb on his part (and the Owners who pushed him into it).

Lot's of dumb on all their parts. They are all going to lose a crapload of money no matter which way things go at this point. Ratings are collapsing and pocketbooks will suffer.

[Unagi]

Goodell sent a letter to all 32 teams saying the NFL is ready to move past the protests. Interesting to see if the players are.

Oh yeah, I'm sure the NFL is more than ready to move on. This seems like a risky move though. First you alienate the "Real 'Muricans" by allowing the players to protest, then you alienate everyone else by telling them they can't.

We'll just skip right on past how absurd this whole idea of forced patriotism truly is.

Given Goodell's relationship with the players recently (all of the suspension lawsuits, and arbitrary suspensions from god), this could actually be the end for him, if the players want to make it so.

Think not just Zeke or Dak kneeling for the anthem, but the entire team, and the other teams. Goodell telling the players they better do something or else (something), is just the type of ultimatum which could unify ALL of the players.

It was really, really dumb on his part (and the Owners who pushed him into it).

Lot's of dumb on all their parts. They are all going to lose a crapload of money no matter which way things go at this point. Ratings are collapsing and pocketbooks will suffer.

That and a girlfriend with a really dry vagina......

[gilraen]

Well, this thread is going places...

[noxiousdog]

Lot's of dumb on all their parts. They are all going to lose a crapload of money no matter which way things go at this point. Ratings are collapsing and pocketbooks will suffer.

Mostly False.

Trump spokesman Steven Cheung pointed to a Seton Hall Sports Poll that found that 56 percent of 841 respondents cited players not standing for the national anthem as a reason for last year’s ratings drop.

But as CNBC pointed out, the poll asked why other people — rather than respondents — aren't watching football. About half the people polled said they either follow sports "not closely" or "not at all,"

...

A similar J.D. Power survey Cheung cited also reported national anthem protests as the main reason NFL fans watched less games last season.

"Among the 12 percent who watch less (sports), 26 percent of them say national anthem protests are to blame, however those respondents reflect only 3 percent of the full, nationwide sample," the researchers wrote.

[The Meal]

Dolphins o-line coach resigns after video of him doing lines of come before a meeting is released. The video is truly worse than it sounds. And he recorded and sent it to his side piece.

Lorini scooped you by like 36 hours - although her link was fairly cryptic if you didn't know what was going on (or use mouse-over).

Figures. I was sans internet for a few days, did a search for Foerster and nothing turned up so I went ahead.

If you'd have been around, I would've responded to Lorini's post by asking if the coach at least had pants on.

[Lorini]

I'll try not to make them so cryptic next time .

[Rip]

Lot's of dumb on all their parts. They are all going to lose a crapload of money no matter which way things go at this point. Ratings are collapsing and pocketbooks will suffer.

Mostly False.

Trump spokesman Steven Cheung pointed to a Seton Hall Sports Poll that found that 56 percent of 841 respondents cited players not standing for the national anthem as a reason for last year’s ratings drop.

But as CNBC pointed out, the poll asked why other people — rather than respondents — aren't watching football. About half the people polled said they either follow sports "not closely" or "not at all,"

...

A similar J.D. Power survey Cheung cited also reported national anthem protests as the main reason NFL fans watched less games last season.

"Among the 12 percent who watch less (sports), 26 percent of them say national anthem protests are to blame, however those respondents reflect only 3 percent of the full, nationwide sample," the researchers wrote.

Trying to parse exact causes of the collapse is folly, fact is and remains the NFL is losing customers in droves.

Not the best time to alienate any of them. Particularly if your salary is tied to NFL ratings.

[stessier]

Lot's of dumb on all their parts. They are all going to lose a crapload of money no matter which way things go at this point. Ratings are collapsing and pocketbooks will suffer.

Mostly False.

Trump spokesman Steven Cheung pointed to a Seton Hall Sports Poll that found that 56 percent of 841 respondents cited players not standing for the national anthem as a reason for last year’s ratings drop.

But as CNBC pointed out, the poll asked why other people — rather than respondents — aren't watching football. About half the people polled said they either follow sports "not closely" or "not at all,"

...

A similar J.D. Power survey Cheung cited also reported national anthem protests as the main reason NFL fans watched less games last season.

"Among the 12 percent who watch less (sports), 26 percent of them say national anthem protests are to blame, however those respondents reflect only 3 percent of the full, nationwide sample," the researchers wrote.

Trying to parse exact causes of the collapse is folly, fact is and remains the NFL is losing customers in droves.

Not the best time to alienate any of them. Particularly if your salary is tied to NFL ratings.

You're so cute when you're so clearly wrong. A deeper dive into the 2016 numbers showed that similar numbers of people watched the NFL last year but they were watching it for less time. This has been attributed to the variety of viewing choices people have today as well as the games being non-competitive. This also matches well with ratings drop across the board - every major network program saw ratings drop last year. This was not an NFL specific issue nor a political one. The number of people not watching for political reasons was statistically insignificant.

[Rip]

Lot's of dumb on all their parts. They are all going to lose a crapload of money no matter which way things go at this point. Ratings are collapsing and pocketbooks will suffer.

Mostly False.

Trump spokesman Steven Cheung pointed to a Seton Hall Sports Poll that found that 56 percent of 841 respondents cited players not standing for the national anthem as a reason for last year’s ratings drop.

But as CNBC pointed out, the poll asked why other people — rather than respondents — aren't watching football. About half the people polled said they either follow sports "not closely" or "not at all,"

...

A similar J.D. Power survey Cheung cited also reported national anthem protests as the main reason NFL fans watched less games last season.

"Among the 12 percent who watch less (sports), 26 percent of them say national anthem protests are to blame, however those respondents reflect only 3 percent of the full, nationwide sample," the researchers wrote.

Trying to parse exact causes of the collapse is folly, fact is and remains the NFL is losing customers in droves.

Not the best time to alienate any of them. Particularly if your salary is tied to NFL ratings.

You're so cute when you're so clearly wrong. A deeper dive into the 2016 numbers showed that similar numbers of people watched the NFL last year but they were watching it for less time. This has been attributed to the variety of viewing choices people have today as well as the games being non-competitive. This also matches well with ratings drop across the board - every major network program saw ratings drop last year. This was not an NFL specific issue nor a political one. The number of people not watching for political reasons was statistically insignificant.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/nfl-adve ... 54056.html

[noxiousdog]

I think this is the important one.

[Rip]

Thing is it isn't just watching that is in steep decline. Attendance is falling as well, though at not such a dramatic rate.

[ImLawBoy]

That letter is a clever gambit, I don't know that it'll work but it's interesting. The league is saying "Your protest has hijacked attention away from your cause, so you're not helping your cause" then they offer to work with the players in a league wide effort to do something constructive. All the players have to do is end the protest.

That would be good for both sides. I do think their protest is extremely counterproductive though it is way more productive when Trump activated the Streisand effect.

It really depends what the goal of the protest is. Is it to end racist treatment of blacks by police? Well, it was never likely to succeed there anyway. Is it to raise awareness of the issue and keep it in the forefront? Then it's been successful and would likely continue to be so. I don't want to bring too much R&P into this thread, but the fact that it's pissing a lot of people off isn't necessarily evidence that the protest is not working. A protest on this type of issue works when people get pissed off.

I thought it was to drive people away from the NFL. Seems to be working great to me.

I was going to respond, but then I remembered you don't really want to add anything to these types of discussions.

Then you respond. Thanks for carrying my water. I hope it wasn't too heavy.

I'm guessing 99% of the folks reading this exchange understood that I meant I was going to provide a substantive response, but then decided against it. I guess I need to be more explicit for the 1%.

Oh, and "carrying one's water" means doing someone's bidding or serving someone's interests. If your bidding is to quote you in a mocking way, then consider the water carried. Otherwise, I'm not sure what water I carried. Either way, sick burn dude.

I think the clever part of it is that it encourages the players to consider their goals. 'Raise awareness' isn't that great a purpose, since pretty much everyone in the country has heard about these issues. It would be one hell of an ego trip if the players thought they were telling people something the people don't already know. People either know there's a problem and it needs to be addressed, or people know that there is no problem to be addressed. There aren't any people out there who haven't heard about this at all. If I'm wrong and you can find sizable portions of the population who truly haven't heard of all this, then I would suggest that those people don't matter since they have isolated themselves from the rest of us.

But raising awareness is a great purpose. It's the same thing with wearing the red AIDS ribbon in the '90s. Everyone was aware of AIDS at the time, but many people would have been content to ignore it. Wearing the ribbon (or taking a knee today) forces the public to at least acknowledge it every time it's seen. No action is ever going to get taken if we all say, "I acknowledge racial injustice", and then everyone stops activities around it.

What's the best case outcome the players are working towards? I don't think the players have thought about this. Is it that every player in the league join the protest? Imagine for a moment that happens, now what?

I don't think when Kaepernick started this he was doing anything other than following his conscience. Once the media caught on and he started taking heat for it, other players started doing it - probably out of a combination of agreeing with his initial impetus for the kneel and a sense of solidarity for a fellow player who was getting what they perceived as a raw deal. This isn't some big organized thing where everyone has a single specific goal in mind - few protests of this nature are.

I think if the league can draw up a plan that has everyone(players and owners) doing XYZ and that leads to Outcome A, that might be more attractive to more players. Then at least they can see what they are working towards. The key part will be making sure that outcome is something the players consider worthy, something that genuinely helps them accomplish whatever it is they feel is helpful. At the same time it has to be something the owners can live with, and something that won't alienate the fans more than they are already alienated.

In an ideal world, we could see action from the presidency (forming some kind of commission that includes athletes, for example). That's obviously not going to happen with this administration. Probably the best we can hope for is that the NFL does come forward with a substantive plan, although I don't know what that would look for. Everyone just needs a way to save face at this point, but ownership giving ultimatums isn't going to help that.

[Rip]

Well maybe the Bears have found a new QB....Tarik Cohen.

[Ralph-Wiggum]

Rodgers with a likely broken collarbone. The NFC North is wide open again!

[msteelers]

The Jets got robbed by the refs.

[Pyperkub]

Thing is it isn't just watching that is in steep decline. Attendance is falling as well, though at not such a dramatic rate.

Overpriced tickets and food/beer/parking (the chargers parking was $100) and a pain in the ass to go to games what with security and traffic.

[mori]

Rodgers with a likely broken collarbone. The NFC North is wide open again!

Rodgers gets knocked out of the game early and the Vikings only managed to win by 13. NFC North is a turd pool without Rodgers.

[Baroquen]

Wow, the Ravens are bad. I'm still deciding if I can talk trash with one of my students who's a Redskins fan. Yeah, we lost to Chicago, but they -almost- lost to SF at home... both are pretty pathetic.

[Jaymann]

Chargers just signed Nick Novak and waived Younghoe Koo.
Football is a tough business.

That will save the season!

Nick Folk will probably be available soon too, if Novak doesn't work out.

Oh yeah, headed for 10-4 baby!

And Novak delivers the winning shot as time expires. Two down, eight to go!

[Kelric]

The Jets got robbed by the refs.

Yes, they did. I'll take it.

[Xmann]

that was about as bad a loss for the Broncos at home that I can remember for years.

0-5 Giants team with 7 starters out, Sunday night Primetime, coming off bye week, at Mile High, etc etc etc

I honestly can't remember a worse loss like tonight.

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

[gameoverman]

That was pretty bad, but then again it's not like anyone can be shocked a Trevor Siemian led team lost. I mean, Trevor Siemian, come on! Not exactly a guy who is going to strike fear into the hearts of even winless teams.

I feel bad for the Packers, that was an unnecessary drive into the ground. I can understand the defender having enough forward momentum to continue into Rodgers and even knocking him down. That's not what happened though, he grabbed him and deliberately planted him into the ground.

[gilraen]

that was about as bad a loss for the Broncos at home that I can remember for years.

0-5 Giants team with 7 starters out, Sunday night Primetime, coming off bye week, at Mile High, etc etc etc

I honestly can't remember a worse loss like tonight.

I wished they had kept Osweiler out in 2nd half. At that point he could have still turned the game around.

[Lorini]

All the Raiders have to do is win the game and they are still competitive. But nope, it's beginning to look like 2015 again.

[Xmann]

that was about as bad a loss for the Broncos at home that I can remember for years.

0-5 Giants team with 7 starters out, Sunday night Primetime, coming off bye week, at Mile High, etc etc etc

I honestly can't remember a worse loss like tonight.

I wished they had kept Osweiler out in 2nd half. At that point he could have still turned the game around.

I totally agree. I tend to think Osweiler can keep them in most games. I was probably only a handful of people in the stadium last night that cheered when he came in.

I've seen enough of the Trevor S experiment because we are getting the same garbage we saw the entire season last year.

Amongst other things, it pisses me off to not see any emotion from TS. Pretty much reminds me of Cutler and it infuriates me to no end.

I'm all in for Oz the rest of the season and then sell the farm and overpay for someone next year. Window on any chance for a Super Bowl run is rapidly closing.

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

[Jeff V]

I'm all in for Oz the rest of the season and then sell the farm and overpay for someone next year.

What's your farm worth? We have a hardly used Mike Glennon for sale at the low, low price of $15M per year.

[Xmann]

I'm all in for Oz the rest of the season and then sell the farm and overpay for someone next year.

What's your farm worth? We have a hardly used Mike Glennon for sale at the low, low price of $15M per year.

let me clarify, we have plenty of garbage in Denver.

I meant to say productive QB

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

[Kelric]

I'm all in for Oz the rest of the season and then sell the farm and overpay for someone next year.

What's your farm worth? We have a hardly used Mike Glennon for sale at the low, low price of $15M per year.

let me clarify, we have plenty of garbage in Denver.

I meant to say productive QB

Garappolo might be available....

[El Guapo]

I'm all in for Oz the rest of the season and then sell the farm and overpay for someone next year.

What's your farm worth? We have a hardly used Mike Glennon for sale at the low, low price of $15M per year.

let me clarify, we have plenty of garbage in Denver.

I meant to say productive QB

Garappolo might be available....

Is he? He seems to have been available this offseason, but I took the lack of trade as an indication that the Patriots decided to hold onto him on account of their quarterback being 40 years old.

[Kelric]

I meant after this season. If they bring Brady back I just can't see GM Belichick putting a $20M+ franchise tag on a backup quarterback.

[El Guapo]

I meant after this season. If they bring Brady back I just can't see GM Belichick putting a $20M+ franchise tag on a backup quarterback.

I kind of feel like regardless of how Brady does this season Belichick is likely to shank him and extend Garappalo.