Author Topic: NFL Regular Season 2008  (Read 86177 times)

Offline Jesse James

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Re: NFL Regular Season 2008
« Reply #180 on: November 24, 2008, 05:09 PM »
Hmmm, pretty excuseless to me...  Even a death in the family means you call off work, alert your coach, whatever, even for normal people who have a regular 9 to 5 I'd think.  When you're a multi-million dollar contracted NFL wide receiver I think you owe your team and bosses a phone call in this day and age of technology like cell phones and stuff, where it's pretty much possible to get ahold of you regardless of where you are and what you're doing.  I guess that's just the standard I hold myself to so I figure he should do the same, I dunno.

At the time though, I do recall hearing that the organization did NOT agree that the emergency warranted not calling in, and that's why he was suspended.  Burress basically said he didn't care at the time...  I don't blame him, he's an adult and can do as he pleases, but I also don't blame the team for suspending him either.  We suspend kids who don't show up to practice, and ultimately that's their parent's fault, but we do it out of more of fairness to the other kids who do come to practice.
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Offline ruiner

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Re: NFL Regular Season 2008
« Reply #181 on: November 24, 2008, 05:19 PM »
IIRC, he had to take his kid to school.  That was the family emergency.

Edit: http://www.sportsline.com/nfl/story/11012572
« Last Edit: November 24, 2008, 05:22 PM by ruiner »

Offline Jesse James

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Re: NFL Regular Season 2008
« Reply #182 on: November 24, 2008, 05:37 PM »
Yeah I know it was (supposedly) something dumb that he said was unimportant but which the team was public in saying they did NOT say it was important enough to miss work over.  And again, pick up your cell phone and call, ya know?  I mean I could see missing work for any myriad of emergencies, and ya just need to use that amazing piece of technology that gives you basically no excuse not to get ahold of someone. ;D
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Offline JediJman

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Re: NFL Regular Season 2008
« Reply #183 on: November 24, 2008, 10:48 PM »
Yeah I know it was (supposedly) something dumb that he said was unimportant but which the team was public in saying they did NOT say it was important enough to miss work over.  And again, pick up your cell phone and call, ya know?  I mean I could see missing work for any myriad of emergencies, and ya just need to use that amazing piece of technology that gives you basically no excuse not to get ahold of someone. ;D

Well, it's easy to sit here and say that, but we still don't know the situation.  Maybe he was on his way to practice and found out his kid was running late and got into a fight with his wife, then drove in all upset about that and got stuck in traffic and just said to he11 with practice.  Maybe he forgot his cell when he stormed out or couldn't get reception.  Heck, maybe he had a phone, but didn't have the right number to call.  Or maybe he's just full of himself and couldn't be bothered to pick up the phone.

The point is, I think it's silly to keep him out of a game because he missed practice.  If he didn't make a game, then that's a big problem, but guys miss practice for soreness or injury all the time.  I work in an office, which is obviously very different, and most people would call in if something was up, even something serious.  However, I've seen people not show up because of traffic or weather or kids or whatever and not call in or change their out of office or their voicemail.  It would be ridiculous to see any of these people punished for something like this unless they missed some major deadline or presentation, which I would liken more to a game than a practice.

Besides, not having a good player play punishes the rest of the team as much, if not more than the player.  If you want to punish these guys, slap a big fat fine on them for missing practice - something like 5% of their annual pay or something substantial they will notice.  Just my two cents.
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Offline Rob

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Re: NFL Regular Season 2008
« Reply #184 on: November 24, 2008, 10:51 PM »
Besides, not having a good player play punishes the rest of the team as much, if not more than the player. 

It's much worse for the team to teach them the lesson that they can miss practice without consequence, or that a certain player can avoid consequences and others can't.

If you punished players through massive fines you'd have a lot of angry players and a lot of complaints from the NFLPA.
« Last Edit: November 24, 2008, 10:53 PM by Rob »

Offline Scott

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Re: NFL Regular Season 2008
« Reply #185 on: November 24, 2008, 10:55 PM »
Burress has been chronically fined for crap like that by the Giants for like 3 years, it was probably a case his "last chance" than anything

Peterson was late to meeting, probably his first time...big difference

Offline Rob

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Re: NFL Regular Season 2008
« Reply #186 on: November 24, 2008, 11:01 PM »
Indeed - this Peterson thing does not look like a double standard, it looks like a slap on the wrist for a guy who doesn't have any history of causing trouble.

Offline JediJman

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Re: NFL Regular Season 2008
« Reply #187 on: November 24, 2008, 11:51 PM »
Burress has been chronically fined for crap like that by the Giants for like 3 years, it was probably a case his "last chance" than anything

Peterson was late to meeting, probably his first time...big difference

Hey Scott, when are you coming up for another meeting?  I want my free beer.   ;D
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Offline Jesse James

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Re: NFL Regular Season 2008
« Reply #188 on: November 25, 2008, 10:24 AM »
Quote
The point is, I think it's silly to keep him out of a game because he missed practice.

Like I said, we suspend 11 year olds for not getting to practice...  Why should a 20 something year old, who's been in the football program of a major college, an NFL team, and I'm wagering a pretty strict high school, be allowed to "not call in".  And again, I reiterate that anyone with any sense these days can GET ahold of anybody, anytime they want.  I'm sure Burress isn't "handling life" all on his lonesome...  I imagine his family has a nanny or at the least a babysitter of some kind.  I'm sure he has all the latest technology....

I gotta be honest, I don't care what the situation is, I think it's juvenile and irresponsible of someone NOT to contact their work to let them know they're not coming in today.  I'm not saying you have to call them the second you find out you have a problem even, but you do need to call, and anything short of that should be punishable.  I think that applies 10 fold to a professional athlete though who is paid multi-millions a year.  When you're paid like that you're less your own person really.

And from a coaching standpoint, I 100% believe practice is every bit as important as gameday.  That's just how football is from the youngest levels to the professional levels.  Roethlisberger got chewed out about that recently and was basically told you either practice or you aren't playing Sunday, end of story.  Practice sets up game day in football, and missing it means you're not on the same page as all the other guys who made the sacrifice(s) to be there.

To me, Burress was being a prick, and he deserved fined AND suspended in my view.  If it's a habitual thing though, it's even worse.
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Offline Scott

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Re: NFL Regular Season 2008
« Reply #189 on: November 25, 2008, 10:40 AM »
If it's a habitual thing though, it's even worse.

That is totally what it is...

Giants' Burressm fined 40-50 times before suspension

Offline Matt_Fury

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Re: NFL Regular Season 2008
« Reply #190 on: November 27, 2008, 04:17 PM »
I'm a fan of Burress but he deserved the one game suspension for not calling in and the 1st quarter benching for not going to treatment when he was supposed to.  He has to follow the same rules as the rest of the team, and the rest of the team doesn't seem to have a problem with it.

Besides, the game he was completely out of I think was the game against the Seahawks where they won 44-6.
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Offline JediJman

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Re: NFL Regular Season 2008
« Reply #191 on: November 28, 2008, 01:34 PM »
I'm a fan of Burress but he deserved the one game suspension for not calling in and the 1st quarter benching for not going to treatment when he was supposed to.  He has to follow the same rules as the rest of the team, and the rest of the team doesn't seem to have a problem with it.

I'm not a big fan of Burress after reading all of the crap he's given the team and total lack of respect for his teammates and coaches.  I don't think this one event is deserving of a benching (and think most coaching staffs would agree) - it's the continued disrespect and lack of any other options that led to this.  I didn't see any vote from his teammates whether they care or not, so not sure where your comment comes from?   ???

Besides, the game he was completely out of I think was the game against the Seahawks where they won 44-6.
[/quote] 

Well, that was the point of this whole discussion.  Do players who mean more to their team (i.e. Adrian Peterson) get softer treatment than players who the team can get by without.  If the Giants knew their chances of winning with Burress off the field were signfiicantly reduced, would they have held him out of the whole game?  If so, and they lost the game, would that be fair to his teammates?
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Offline Matt_Fury

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Re: NFL Regular Season 2008
« Reply #192 on: November 28, 2008, 03:02 PM »
I would say yes...just because someone is a big playmaker does not mean they get to skirt the rules.
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Offline Jesse James

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Re: NFL Regular Season 2008
« Reply #193 on: November 28, 2008, 05:13 PM »
It depends on the coaching staff's view since it's their call...  As I said, you missed you didn't play on the teams I've coached but I know other teams felt differently about their "stars" and would've played them.  We sat our running back because he didn't show up till Thursday for practice and expected to start...  Life's a bitch.  He told us he was on vacation, so did his dad, but they let us know the THursday he got back...  He sat, we lost...  He probably would've made a difference, but the kid that started appreciated the start for coming in all week.

At the pro's there's obviosly money involved, etc., but ultimately a lot of it has to do with the way the coach feels a team should be treated, and individuals.  Cowher would've probably benched him...  I like to think Tomlin would've as well since witnessing the Holmes incident.  I dunno though...  One could argue they're adults and "understand" the situation, but when you're a lineman or linebacker coming in day-in-day-out working, and a guy like Burress just blows **** off and gets a start, you're probably gonna be annoyed.
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Offline Matt_Fury

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Re: NFL Regular Season 2008
« Reply #194 on: November 29, 2008, 12:08 AM »
Good points Jesse, and I think Burress has been brought down a peg or two.  Proof that the offense can score without him is humbling to say the least.

If I were the coach of a team, I would expect my star players to be leaders and that would mean following all the rules.
« Last Edit: November 29, 2008, 06:44 PM by Matt_Fury »
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