NFL Lockout

[Wallace341]

Sho how do ya'll feel about the looming lockout?

[The Dre Era]

I want the NFL and NBA to lock out. It will be a reality check for both leagues. I have no sympathy for millionaires who can't get along

[Mojo]

I expected Dre to say that. I'm mad because if something isn't worked out by the draft Philly won't be able to trade Kolb for picks.

[The Dre Era]

Brandon Marshall stabbed by girlfriend
Thats the word on the street
media hasn't picked it up yet

[Mojo]

This lockout sucks for qb and draft trades. Philly's tryna unload Kolb, Was and McNabb, Ten and VY, Cin and Palmer.

I hope the news about Marshall isn't true.

[The Dre Era]

Theismann: 'I don't think Cam Newton's a first round pick'
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OxNEFLRTQoM

[The Dre Era]

Brandon Marshall stabbed by girlfriend
Thats the word on the street
media hasn't picked it up yet

Confirmed:
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=6414256
Brandon Marshall stabbed, sources sayEmail Print Comments41 ESPN.com news services

Miami Dolphins receiver Brandon Marshall has been stabbed with a knife by a woman and taken to a hospital, where he has been in intensive care, two league sources told ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter on Saturday morning.

[Mojo]

Theismann: 'I don't think Cam Newton's a first round pick'
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OxNEFLRTQoM

Of course you don't, Joe...

[Mercury]

This lockout sucks for qb and draft trades. Philly's tryna unload Kolb, Was and McNabb, Ten and VY, Cin and Palmer.

I hope the news about Marshall isn't true.

we'll take kolb in san fran!

[The Dre Era]

New Report: Brandon Marshall has defensive wounds on both hands
In addition to being stabbed in the abdominal region during a domestic dispute late Friday night, Dolphins receiver Brandon Marshall also suffered injuries to his hands.

Albert Breer of NFL Network reports that Marshall had defensive wounds on both his hands.

Obviously, hand injuries could be very serious to a receiver, but all indications are that Marshall will make a complete recovery long before NFL players are back to work.

That Marshall suffered defensive wounds might make things tougher for his wife, Michi, who has been arrested for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Michi Marshall reportedly admitted to the stabbing but claimed self defense.

For their part, the Dolphins aren’t saying much.
“We are aware of the report, and our thoughts are with Brandon at this time,” Dolphins spokeman Harvey Greene said in a statement. “We will look into the matter, but because we are not allowed to have any contact with any of our players, we will refrain from making any further comment.”
The NFL says the Dolphins’ team doctor can see Marshall and consult with his other doctors, and that “The team can send well wishes or other types of appropriate expressions of support.”
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/04/23/brandon-marshall-has-defensive-wounds-on-both-hands/

[The Dre Era]

Detroit police say Denver Broncos DE Jason Hunter stabbed
Broncos' Jason Hunter stabbedEmail Print Comments65 Associated Press

DETROIT -- Detroit police say Denver Broncos defensive end Jason Hunter has been stabbed and taken to a local hospital.



Hunter

Officer Dan Donakowski says Hunter was stabbed Wednesday, but didn't have any additional information, including where the incident took place, who was responsible and Hunter's condition. The hospital wasn't disclosed.

Hunter is a five-year pro who also has played for the Detroit Lions and Green Bay Packers.

The stabbing comes only days after police in Florida said Miami Dolphins wide receiver Brandon Marshall, a former Bronco, was stabbed with a kitchen knife by his wife.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=6437035&campaign=rss&source=ESPNHeadlines

WXYZ-TV in Detroit reported that Hunter told police his girlfriend stabbed him. Police have not released any such details of the incident,

[The Dre Era]

Jason Hunter, former defensive end for the Detroit Lions, is recovering from a stab wound to the left shoulder.

Sources tell Action News that Hunter, who was driven to Detroit Receiving Hospital by someone he knows, said it was his 23-year-old girlfriend who stabbed him this morning.

We’re told 27-year-old Hunter, who played for the Lions in 2009 and is currently under contract with the Denver Broncos, would not say where the stabbing took place.

Detroit police did take Hunter’s girlfriend into custody and told Action News that she was facing charges including felonious assault. Investigators later said the woman would not be arraigned on the charges because Hunter does not want to pursue the matter.

It’s unclear how Hunter’s stabbing injury might affect his career.

Action News contacted the Denver Broncos but a representative says they are still looking into the reports.

A spokesperson for DRH is not releasing any information on Hunter’s condition nor confirming that the NFL player is being treated there.
http://www.wxyz.com/dpp/news/region/detroit/former-detroit-lion-recovering-from-stabbing,-girlfriend-arrested-and-released

[Mojo]

It would be funny but cruel to call somebody that is only supposed to be a 7th rd or undrafted and act like you're a GM or Head Coach and tell him that you're going to take him in the first round.

[The Dre Era]

2011 NFL Draft Results: Reggie Bush Tweets Goodbye as Saints Draft Mark Ingram

http://www.chicagonow.com/blogs/daily-chicago-sports-tab/Reggie%20Bush%20tweet.jpg
You don't expect a Heisman Trophy winner to fall into your lap in the deep 20s of the first round of the 2011 NFL Draft.
That's just what happened with the New Orleans Saints and they pounced on 2009 trophy winner Mark Ingram.
This wasn't a freefall. Ingram was seen as the first running back worthy of being taken but was seen as a mid teens pick at best. He slipped if anything.
And as he did, another formerly celebrated collegiate star took the pick as a signal of his exit from New Orleans.
When my friends told me about Reggie Bush's tweet, I thought they were kidding. It felt more like a sarcasic comment from a pundit than something a pro athlete would put out into the Twittersphere.
But there it was:
It's been fun, New Orleans.
What, just because they took another running back?
It was a weak and pathetic thing for Bush to do. He hasn't been the star so many in New Orleans hoped, mostly because he couldn't stay healthy and couldn't find consistency.
Still, is that really how you want to leave town, Reggie?
He's lost Kim Kardashian. He's lost his buzz factor. And now, he's apparently lost his class.
You got your ring, Reggie. But you didn't earn it. Your ride there wasn't fun for the Saints fan. It was an exhausting wait for substance to finally outpace style.

[Mojo]

This draft was so unpredictable. I was surprised by nearly all the picks. I wish Philly would've picked Jimmy Smith or Gabe Carimi.

I also wanted Ingram to go to NE.

[The Dre Era]

Troy Polamalu GRADUATES from USC

5/16/2011 3:08 AM PDT by TMZ Staff


Troy Polamalu now has a college degree to go with his two Superbowl rings -- because the football star graduated from USC on Friday with a bachelor's degree in history.
http://ll-media.tmz.com/2011/05/16/0516-troy-polamalu-grduation-troy43-com-credit.jpg
The Pittsburgh Steelers' star safety posted his sentiment about the event on his personal website saying "I decided to finish what I started and walked that stage [Friday] not only because it was very important to me personally, but because I want to emphasize the importance of education, and that nothing should supersede it."

He continued with "I truly love football ... but it's certainly not a replacement for an education."

Polamalu was drafted after his senior year in 2003 -- but didn't have time to finish his degre

[The Dre Era]

Redskins CB Carlos Rogers Slams Teammate DeAngelo Hall

http://imageshack.us/m/835/4853/727redskinslionsfootbal.jpg
Redskins cornerback Carlos Rogers may be on his way out of town, but not before taking a swipe at fellow cornerback DeAngelo Hall. Rogers made an appearance with The Sports Junkies on 106.7 The Fan this morning and indicated the he probably won’t re-sign with Washington when he hits the free agency market when a new CBA is finalized.

“I ain’t never discounting the Redskins, but my mindset right now is that it’s time for a change,” Rogers said via the station’s official blogger David Elfin. “I don’t think I’ve been as appreciated as I should be in that organization, not by everybody. I’ve always been the No. 2 corner, but I’m the one they put on a guy they want to shut down.” Rogers went even further when elaborating on his comments with ESPN 980?s Chris Russell, taking a veiled shot at Hall. “I wasn’t the corner that gave up the most TD’s or yards or first downs,” Rogers said, “but I’m the corner that is looked at [as] the 2nd corner, [that] I need to be replaced.” Rogers was given a chance to retract his comments, but declined. “I don’t care. I ain’t say nothing that ain’t true,” he said.
http://www.redskinsgab.com/2011/05/20/rogers-slams-deangelo-hall-on-his-way-out-of-town/?utm_source=feedburner

[Mojo]

He's not as good as he thinks he is. Said he wants to play for Philly, but he's probably our fourth choice for free agent cbs.

[B.G.]

Troy Polamalu GRADUATES from USC


http://ll-media.tmz.com/2011/05/16/0516-troy-polamalu-grduation-troy43-com-credit.jpg

That's good stuff right there!

[The Dre Era]

Father of NFL player who perished at sea accuse survivor of lying

The father of former NFL player Marquis Cooper — one of three men who died at sea in a 2009 boating accident — is going public with his doubts about the account of what happened from the incident's lone survivor.
Bruce Cooper, a Phoenix-area sportscaster, says Nick Schuyler's version of events doesn't make sense.

http://aol.sportingnews.com/nfl/story/2011-05-22/father-of-nfl-player-who-perished-at-sea-accuses-survivor-of-lying#ixzz1NBY5v0il

http://cache.daylife.com/imageserve/0aKSb0iaXb3gG/340x.jpg

[The Dre Era]

http://img850.imageshack.us/img850/8583/donovanmcnabbmichaelvic.jpg

[Mojo]

They're saying nmandi is gonna be asking for 19 milli. If so, I'm no longer interested. I'd rather make a play for Ike or Joseph and get a lb.

I wish this stupid lockout would end so I can see what we're gonna do with Kolb.

[Qwasian]

I wish the lockout would end too, I bought up so many football cards that people were dumping off, I can't wait for the season to start!!! go Patriots!!

[The Dre Era]

Ha Haaaaaaaaaaa!

Watch real football oops i mean soccer

[Qwasian]

Ndamukong Suh FOR THE WIN!!!!! :D

[The Dre Era]

Watch the crime in Richmond go up this fall lol

[The Dre Era]

Hines Ward Busted for DUI

[Mercury]

Watch the crime in Richmond go up this fall lol

I made a facebook status saying this LOL

We about to go back to 1993 level of killings this fall!

[Mojo]

Hines Ward Busted for DUI

Dang, that hurts because he's been NFl's golden child since winning Dancing With the Stars.

[Illy]

Honestly not surprising I saw him more drunk than sober... At the mike epps show he was ridic with it

[Mojo]

I know Cam Newton is loving Pryor right now. I'm watching that Gruden camp with Pryor and dude is pretty cocky.

[The Dre Era]

ESPN’s John Clayton on free agent Braylon Edwards: “Watch for Washington to make a big bid.”

Report: Redskins to bid big on WR Braylon Edwards
http://dcprosportsreport.com/2011/07/08/report-redskins-to-bid-big-on-wr-braylon-edwards/

[Mojo]

Who's gonna throw to him?

[Ice]

beck to edwards! i can see it now

[The Dre Era]

James Harrison calls Goodell "the devil and a crook"
Steelers all-pro OLB James Harrison is leveling more nasty hits ... only this time they're the figurative kind, and he's teeing off on opponents while mixing in some not-so-friendly fire on Pittsburgh QB Ben Roethlisberger.

CAPTIONBy Charles LeClaire, US Presswire

Harrison started by again ripping NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, his nemesis, in next month's issue of Men's Journal.

"My rep is James Harrison, mean son of a bitch who loves hitting the hell out of people," he says. "But up until last year, there was no word of me being dirty -- till Roger Goodell, who's a crook and a puppet, said I was the dirtiest player in the league. If that man was on fire and I had to piss to put him out, I wouldn't do it. I hate him and will never respect him."

Goodell -- whom Harrison also deemed "stupid," a "dictator" and a "devil," while also firing an anti-gay slur at him -- levied fines totaling six figures against Harrison last season while making him the poster boy for helmet-to-helmet hits the NFL wants to eliminate. Harrison felt singled out by the commissioner and threatened to retire after being told the brand of football he'd always played would no longer be tolerated.

The 2008 defensive player of the year pays little regard to the concussions his heat-seeking hits can cause, even when he's the victim.

"I get dinged about three times a year and don't know where I am for a little minute. But unless I'm asleep, you're not getting me out of the game, and most guys feel the same way," says Harrison. "If a guy has a choice of hitting me high or low, hit me in the head and I'll pay your fine. Just don't hit me in the knee, 'cause that's life-threatening. How'm I going to feed my family if I can't run?"

He says shorter offseasons and perhaps the return to a 14-game regular season are the best ways to preserve players' brains, saying if "we're not bangin' heads so much in August; that's where the brain trauma comes from."
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/thehuddle/post/2011/07/steelers-olb-james-harrison-calls-goodell-crook-and-puppet-blasts-patriots-and-ben-roethlisberger/1

[Mojo]

He was wrong for talking about his teammates. With that said, I hope they release him and Philly picks him up. Lol

[Smoka]

speaking of Philly

Kolb headed to Arizona?


The Arizona Cardinals are still in search of a quarterback and Kevin Kolb has been a name linked to the situation throughout the entire offseason. It turns out, the rumors that started months ago might just be true.

The Cardinals passed on a quarterback in the draft, leading to the conclusion that the team would trade for a new signal caller whenever the lockout came to a halt.

The latest rumblings have Kolb coming to the desert in exchange for cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie. Arizona selected Patrick Peterson with the fifth overall pick in the draft, and while Rodgers-Cromartie is a former Pro Bowler, Kolb would have a much bigger impact in 2011 and beyond.

Other trade scenarios could included running backs Beanie Wells or Tim Hightower, but for now, Rodgers-Cromartie appears to be who Philadelphia has zeroed in on.

Analysis: The trade would make a lot of sense for both teams. Obviously, the Cardinals need a quarterback and the Eagles don’t need Kolb, other than as an insurance policy for Michael Vick. Arizona would prefer to move one of its running

[Mojo]

I would want Derek Anderson in addition to DRC. We're gonna need a decent back up qb. The good thing about DRC is that he won't cost a lot, so that leaves us room to get a defensive end and a veteran linebacker.

[Mojo]

I have a feeling Dallas is gonna get Nmandi(sp?).

[Plain Ole Me]

Dear Chris Kluwe: When We Want The Punter’s Opinion, We’ll Ask For It (We Won’t)

Earlier this week, Kluwe, the Minnesota Vikings punter, called Peyton Manning and Drew Brees greedy douchebags on his Twitter feed — validating, from a source who wears an NFL uniform, the media's assertion that the lockout is all about greedy players. But by relying on gossipy football media outlets for facts about CBA negotiations, then taking to Twitter to blast some of the league's most respected names, Chris Kluwe made a mistake that ensures he'll be respected even less than he already is, if that's possible.
Punters are at the absolute bottom of the totem pole on an NFL roster, the very last man. If the team plane crashed on a deserted island, he'd be dinner as soon as the food ran out. Most of them know this and understand that it's in their best interest to keep quiet.

Punters don't get to call other players douchebags. Again, every other kicker in the league knows this, and keeps it all in perspective. Kluwe's job, juxtaposed with the duties of his teammates, screams douchebaggery. And now Kluwe has compounded his lack of status by exposing himself as a turncoat.

If it is his goal to slide into a post-punter career as a presumptuous and accusatory football analyst, then he has set himself up quite nicely, making fast friends with the likes of Mike Florio and Jim Rome. But if his intent was to offer something resembling leadership, he has failed miserably.

In an NFL locker room, there are a handful of players who do the talking. When something needs to be said, it is one of these men who will speak up. The rest of the players sit back and let things take shape, knowing that it is far better to stay silent than to speak prematurely or out of turn.

The right to speak is earned, and the vetting process, although unspoken, is crystal clear. You speak up when your teammates start looking to you for guidance, not because you talk a lot, or because you draw cartoons on a locker room white board, but because you have been tested on the field and proven your worth.

That's why it's been easy for everyone else in the league to keep quiet about the negotiations during this critical time: This locker room culture extends across the entire league. In the NFL, there is an undeniable feeling that it's Us vs. Them. Us is the players. Them is everyone else: coaches, owners, media, etc. To be oblivious to this theme is nearly unforgivable.

Although Kluwe might have thought he was speaking for his peers, he most surely wasn't. His peers would hope that Peyton Manning and Drew Brees and anyone else who finds himself in the rare position of having leverage against the league would use that leverage wisely and get every possible cent out of an NFL power structure that they have come to see as oppressive and exploitative.

It's not surprising that Kluwe could be so out of touch. Punters live in a small, insulated bubble that no one else cares to enter. They are not included in the inside jokes and they're not invited to parties. Their lockers are tucked in a dark corner of the locker room, where they sit and read crime novels while the rest of the team watches film and learns a playbook that will be dead in a week, replaced by a new one.

The plays never change for a punter. During practice, while the rest of the team does football things, the punter stands off in space with his only two friends, the kicker and the snapper, reciting movie quotes and practicing his golf swing. When his moment finally arrives, and the coach yells, "Punt team!" he takes his place 15 yards behind the snapper and, in the span of 10 minutes, executes five or 10 punts.

Covering punt after punt in practice is grueling work for 10 of the 11 members of the punt team. The punter, however, stands completely still. Half of his kicks sputter off the side of his foot, sending his punt team scrambling to stay in their lanes trying to cover the wayward ball. If they are unable to maintain their lane integrity and the returner splits them, it's the players on the coverage unit, not the punter, who get verbally abused by the coach. Coaches — well, coaches who aren't Tom Coughlin — have long since discovered the futility of berating a kicker. Other players can handle it, but not kickers. They tend to shrink, retreating further into the shell of their insecurities.

After punt team is done, the punter mope-jogs to the sideline where he disappears once more into the protoplasm of his irrelevance. No one knows he's there. No one would know if he left. And no one would care.

For three hours on game day, by stepping on the field, the punter runs the risk of having to, just maybe, if shit goes really wrong, touch someone on a football field. But just in case, the NFL has made special rules to protect him from that menacing possibility. You can't hit him. You can't block him. You can't touch him, presumably because he might shatter. He is protected even more than the superstar quarterbacks he Twitter-fucked, as if the act of kicking a football were the most sacred motion on a football field.

He can be seen in a state near total ecstasy if he drops a punt inside the 5-yard line and has it downed by a hustling teammate, pumping his fist heroically. Likewise, he can be seen utterly disgusted if that teammate allows the oblong ball to bounce into the end zone for a touchback. Both reactions would look stupid to an actual member of the team if he were paying any attention, which he isn't. No one is.

But perhaps the moment most indicative of the separation between punter and football player is when one of his punts is returned for a touchdown. The punter, the nominal last line of defense, appears to be an invertebrate on a sheet of ice as he squirms into a position to make the tackle. His eyes widen and he splays his arms out to the side as if to embrace a giant teddy bear. The returner, with a quick head nod, sends the punter blindly lurching to the wrong side, into a Jell-O-like pile of his own shortcomings. That taken care of, he scoots off down the sideline for a touchdown.

When the team watches the film together the next day, it will not surprise them at all to see how feeble the punter looks. This will only sink him deeper into his locker and into his crime novels, searching harder for a way to convince himself that he is one of the guys, that when he speaks up, he is speaking for his peers. But he isn't. And he shouldn't.

Echoing the media's trite narrative — those selfish players! — is a fool's errand, and couldn't be any stupider for someone who must keep the company of real NFL players, who know what it means to sacrifice. Kluwe's satirical white board drawings and CBA negotiation parodies were harmless enough, I suppose, but even those echoed the sentiment of conventional media wisdom. Player wisdom is beyond him. It is true that greed is the operative byword, but it is not the greed of Manning or Brees or Mankins. It's Kluwe's greedy use of his roster spot as a platform from which to shit into cyberspace, knowing that people will pay attention. Well, now they are.

[Plain Ole Me]

Chris Kluwe — Dear Nate Jackson,

It was with some dismay that I read your piece in Deadspin and immediately tried to wrap my head around why a player with a reasonable grasp of the English language who made no measurable impact upon the game (i.e. you) would stoop so low as to berate a National Football League player who has actually completed a full 16-game season (multiple times!), has broken every team record at his position, and above all has contributed to his team winning games (and occasionally losing them [i.e. myself (I love parenthetical asides)]).

Raise your hand if you got lost at the end of that last sentence.

Let's be honest here. Yes, I am a punter. Yes, I don't run routes, or zone block, or cover receivers. Apparently, though, neither did you, which is the only explanation for your total lack of statistics. You, more than anyone else, should know what goes on during special teams, and yet your description of a special teams practice, while venomously hilarious, is quite inaccurate (or maybe you guys had a really crappy punter and you're spot on, in which case, my condolences).
You talk about me like I'm some kind of disease, like punters are some kind of infection that should be excised for the good of the game and how dare we raise our voices when our betters are talking. According to you, punters should be happy to sit in the corner and be treated like shit because we do something different, something that the other 54 members of the team can't do.

Wait, let's parse that last clause for just a second — "something that the other 54 members of the team can't do." Huh. Would you look at that. Tell me, Nate, how well can you punt a football? What's that you say? You CAN'T punt a football?

Then why in fuck would you think that, just because I can punt, my opinion is somehow less valid?

I freely admit I'm not a receiver, or a lineman, or a DB, or a quarterback, but why should it matter what position I play? Have I not spent 16 years of my life honing my craft (just like you)? Have I not spent countless hours running sprints, lifting weights, trying to stay awake during boring-ass special teams meetings (just like you)? Have I not suited up for a game, gotten my clock cleaned by a blindside block on a punt return, tried and failed to tackle Devin Hester (just like a lot of people)? Tell me, when it comes to breaking down who gets to talk, what's the order? Should linebackers not be able to talk before safeties, or are they allowed to talk after the centers? When does the longsnapper get to chime in? Does the X go before the Z or after?

Please, enlighten me with your wisdom, because the next time I have something to say I'd like to make sure it's OK with you that I say it and that I say it at the proper time.

Oh, wait a minute.

I don't really care what you or anyone else thinks about what I say or when I say it. If I see something greedy, hypocritical, or just plain stupid, I'm going to call out whoever the offending party happens to be. I've done it to the owners; I've done it to the NFL front office; and I'll certainly do it if I see it happen with the players. And make no mistake: trying to hold up the settlement of a CBA affecting almost 1,900 players just so four can get special treatment is pretty much the definition of greed. Whether it was instigated by their attorneys, agents, or whoever, it's still a douchebag move to make.

And you know why it's a douchebag move to make? Because it makes ALL OF US look bad. It makes ALL OF US look like grasping, blackmailing, money-grubbing jerks whose only care is how much blood we can squeeze from the rock that is the fans — you know, the people who ultimately pay all of our wages. And I'm not a fan of that. (Owners, make sure you pay attention, too. Charging outrageous sums for drinks, seats, and seat licenses, while a great moneymaker now, is definitely counterproductive in the long run, especially with the advent of high-def TVs). You know how you grow the football pie? It's definitely not by shitting on the people who spend money on you. Maybe this is a small thing, but small things add up over time.

I'll grant you that Mankins and Jackson got screwed by the CBA situation last year. They're entering the prime of their career and were counting on entering free agency. But at the same time, the franchise tag and restricted free agent tag aren't exactly the kiss of death. One year under the RFA offer would be as much money as a doctor earns in his/her ENTIRE LIFE. What. The. Fuck. You're telling me that having to go one year making "only" as much money as most people will earn their entire lives is such a hardship that you need an extra $10 million payout for putting your name on a lawsuit? I honestly don't know how to respond to that.

Oh wait, yes I do. It's a douchebag move.

Speaking of which, my favorite part of your entire rant is the following: "If it is his goal to slide into a post-punter career as a presumptuous and accusatory football analyst, then he has set himself up quite nicely. ..." Let's replace "punter" with "tight end" and see how that reads. Ooooh, it reads quite nicely. I like it. At least I had the grace to do it in 140 characters or less, not this meandering shitstorm that you felt compelled to vomit out at someone you've never met, don't know the first thing about, and likely might enjoy talking to if we ever met at a bar (someone who has written a meandering shitstorm of his own in rebuttal).

So, Nate Jackson, while I respect your right to free speech (as apparently you don't respect mine), I also respect my right to tell you to go jam a tackling dummy up your ass sideways for being a snake-tongued, shit-talking Internet tough guy asshole who is so far out of touch with reality that you have no idea just how privileged we are to play this game for ridiculous amounts of money.

You're not the only one who can craft a sentence, my friend.

Sincerely,
Chris Kluwe
Punter

P.S. I respect all four of the people I called douchebags (Manning, Brees, Mankins, and Jackson). That's why I used the word "douchebag" instead of "asshole" or "fuckwit." Someone acting like a douchebag can still be redeemed; generally it's a momentary lapse of judgment. There's no hope for asshole fuckwits.

P.P.S. tl;dr — U mad bro?

[B.G.]

Dear Chris Kluwe: When We Want The Punter’s Opinion, We’ll Ask For It (We Won’t)

Earlier this week, Kluwe, the Minnesota Vikings punter, called Peyton Manning and Drew Brees greedy douchebags on his Twitter feed — validating, from a source who wears an NFL uniform, the media's assertion that the lockout is all about greedy players. But by relying on gossipy football media outlets for facts about CBA negotiations, then taking to Twitter to blast some of the league's most respected names, Chris Kluwe made a mistake that ensures he'll be respected even less than he already is, if that's possible.
Punters are at the absolute bottom of the totem pole on an NFL roster, the very last man. If the team plane crashed on a deserted island, he'd be dinner as soon as the food ran out. Most of them know this and understand that it's in their best interest to keep quiet.

Punters don't get to call other players douchebags. Again, every other kicker in the league knows this, and keeps it all in perspective. Kluwe's job, juxtaposed with the duties of his teammates, screams douchebaggery. And now Kluwe has compounded his lack of status by exposing himself as a turncoat.

If it is his goal to slide into a post-punter career as a presumptuous and accusatory football analyst, then he has set himself up quite nicely, making fast friends with the likes of Mike Florio and Jim Rome. But if his intent was to offer something resembling leadership, he has failed miserably.

In an NFL locker room, there are a handful of players who do the talking. When something needs to be said, it is one of these men who will speak up. The rest of the players sit back and let things take shape, knowing that it is far better to stay silent than to speak prematurely or out of turn.

The right to speak is earned, and the vetting process, although unspoken, is crystal clear. You speak up when your teammates start looking to you for guidance, not because you talk a lot, or because you draw cartoons on a locker room white board, but because you have been tested on the field and proven your worth.

That's why it's been easy for everyone else in the league to keep quiet about the negotiations during this critical time: This locker room culture extends across the entire league. In the NFL, there is an undeniable feeling that it's Us vs. Them. Us is the players. Them is everyone else: coaches, owners, media, etc. To be oblivious to this theme is nearly unforgivable.

Although Kluwe might have thought he was speaking for his peers, he most surely wasn't. His peers would hope that Peyton Manning and Drew Brees and anyone else who finds himself in the rare position of having leverage against the league would use that leverage wisely and get every possible cent out of an NFL power structure that they have come to see as oppressive and exploitative.

It's not surprising that Kluwe could be so out of touch. Punters live in a small, insulated bubble that no one else cares to enter. They are not included in the inside jokes and they're not invited to parties. Their lockers are tucked in a dark corner of the locker room, where they sit and read crime novels while the rest of the team watches film and learns a playbook that will be dead in a week, replaced by a new one.

The plays never change for a punter. During practice, while the rest of the team does football things, the punter stands off in space with his only two friends, the kicker and the snapper, reciting movie quotes and practicing his golf swing. When his moment finally arrives, and the coach yells, "Punt team!" he takes his place 15 yards behind the snapper and, in the span of 10 minutes, executes five or 10 punts.

Covering punt after punt in practice is grueling work for 10 of the 11 members of the punt team. The punter, however, stands completely still. Half of his kicks sputter off the side of his foot, sending his punt team scrambling to stay in their lanes trying to cover the wayward ball. If they are unable to maintain their lane integrity and the returner splits them, it's the players on the coverage unit, not the punter, who get verbally abused by the coach. Coaches — well, coaches who aren't Tom Coughlin — have long since discovered the futility of berating a kicker. Other players can handle it, but not kickers. They tend to shrink, retreating further into the shell of their insecurities.

After punt team is done, the punter mope-jogs to the sideline where he disappears once more into the protoplasm of his irrelevance. No one knows he's there. No one would know if he left. And no one would care.

For three hours on game day, by stepping on the field, the punter runs the risk of having to, just maybe, if shit goes really wrong, touch someone on a football field. But just in case, the NFL has made special rules to protect him from that menacing possibility. You can't hit him. You can't block him. You can't touch him, presumably because he might shatter. He is protected even more than the superstar quarterbacks he Twitter-fucked, as if the act of kicking a football were the most sacred motion on a football field.

He can be seen in a state near total ecstasy if he drops a punt inside the 5-yard line and has it downed by a hustling teammate, pumping his fist heroically. Likewise, he can be seen utterly disgusted if that teammate allows the oblong ball to bounce into the end zone for a touchback. Both reactions would look stupid to an actual member of the team if he were paying any attention, which he isn't. No one is.

But perhaps the moment most indicative of the separation between punter and football player is when one of his punts is returned for a touchdown. The punter, the nominal last line of defense, appears to be an invertebrate on a sheet of ice as he squirms into a position to make the tackle. His eyes widen and he splays his arms out to the side as if to embrace a giant teddy bear. The returner, with a quick head nod, sends the punter blindly lurching to the wrong side, into a Jell-O-like pile of his own shortcomings. That taken care of, he scoots off down the sideline for a touchdown.

When the team watches the film together the next day, it will not surprise them at all to see how feeble the punter looks. This will only sink him deeper into his locker and into his crime novels, searching harder for a way to convince himself that he is one of the guys, that when he speaks up, he is speaking for his peers. But he isn't. And he shouldn't.

Echoing the media's trite narrative — those selfish players! — is a fool's errand, and couldn't be any stupider for someone who must keep the company of real NFL players, who know what it means to sacrifice. Kluwe's satirical white board drawings and CBA negotiation parodies were harmless enough, I suppose, but even those echoed the sentiment of conventional media wisdom. Player wisdom is beyond him. It is true that greed is the operative byword, but it is not the greed of Manning or Brees or Mankins. It's Kluwe's greedy use of his roster spot as a platform from which to shit into cyberspace, knowing that people will pay attention. Well, now they are.

LMAO, damn, that piece made the punter look like the most irrelevant human being in sports history! LOL, No kid grows up wanting to be a punter. If a team was ready to pay me right now to perform punting duties, I'd be like, "So where do I sign?"

No other job in America is going to pay you $400K a year (the league minimum) for 15 minutes of work each week.

[Mojo]

They're more important than they're made out to be. Being able to put somebody back at their own 5yd line can make a huge difference in a game.

[korleon]

funny how people disrespect kickers and they are the ones who usually bail out the offense's failures... lol

[Mercury]

They take the worst hits too because they are so damn vulnerable alot of times

[Plain Ole Me]

LMAO, damn, that piece made the punter look like the most irrelevant human being in sports history! LOL, No kid grows up wanting to be a punter. If a team was ready to pay me right now to perform punting duties, I'd be like, "So where do I sign?"

No other job in America is going to pay you $400K a year (the league minimum) for 15 minutes of work each week.

you saw dudes response to that tho... :eek:

[B.G.]

you saw dudes response to that tho... :eek:

I read it just now. It had a few punctuation errors that distracted me (I only point that out because he opens by knocking the other guys "grasp on the English language"), but it made some pretty good points in response.