3
Sep
2010
Shocker: Roethlisberger suspension reduced to 4 games
Ben Roelisberger will hopefully avoid the local nightlife during his suspension
Well, this isn’t really surprising, but today, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell reduced Ben Roethlisberger’s six-game suspension to four games.
As we all know by now, Roethlisberger was suspended earlier this year after being accused of sexual assaulting a college student in Milledgeville, Georgia on March 5th. Although no charges were filed, Goodell elected to suspend Big Ben for violating the league’s personal conduct policy. But the Pittsburgh QB met with Goodell early this morning, when he learned he would be able to return to the team on October 17th, when the Steelers face the Cleveland Browns. During his suspension, Roethlisberger will not be allowed to visit the team facility or have any contact with Steelers coaches or personnel.
But don’t think Roethlisberger is completely off the hook. From NFL.com:
The league said the “reinstatement is contingent on Roethlisberger continuing to adhere to the program established by our advisors and avoiding any further violations of the personal conduct policy.”
“You have told me and the Steelers that you are committed to making better decisions,” Goodell said in a letter to Roethlisberger. “Your actions over the past several months have been consistent with that promise and you must continue to honor that commitment.
So that basically means Ben needs to stay away from bars, and keep it in his pants for the next six weeks. Let’s see if the big guy can make it happen!
30
Aug
2010
VIDEO: Ndomukong Suh tries to decapitate Jake Delhomme
As the #2 overall pick in the draft, Detroit Lions rookie DT Ndomukong Suh is looking to make an impact early in the NFL … specifically, on opposing quarterbacks. And during Saturday’s pre-season tilt with the Cleveland Browns, QB Jake Delhomme was on the receiving end of this vicious facemask/decapitation attempt by Suh:
Yikes. Apparently Suh went to the Sayid Jarrah school of tackling, where the ol’ neck snap is a standard finishing move.
But that kind of stuff isn’t going to fly in the NFL, where Mr. Goodell protects quarterbacks like they’re virgin teenage girls at the Gathering of the Juggalos. So while the Lions can definitely use an injection of bad-assed-ness, they might need to take up a collection to pay Suh’ fines if he’s going to keep going after QB’s like that.
14
Jul
2010
Hit ‘em where it hurts
Brief thought: The NFL currently suspends players at the beginning of the NFL season. A suspended player typically is allowed to train with their teams, and participate in training camp and preseason games. With the real games start, the suspension hits and the player misses anywhere from one to four (or more) weeks. In most cases, even with a rocky start, the player and his team have the entire rest of the season to recover. I don’t find this severe enough.
Case in point: If Big Ben wants to head down to Georgia and cause utter chaos during the offseason, he’s still back in the saddle by (probably) Week 5 of the 2010 NFL season (although if he botches up again, it could be later). Realistically, if the Steelers can get out of their first four games at 2-2 — even 1-3 — they’ll be fine.
I’d like to see the league play with the idea of suspending players at the end of the season. Or, perhaps a combination of two games to start the year and two games to end it.
Naturally, if a suspended player is trapped on a terrible football team, there’s less to lose if the team is 1-11 when a four-game suspension would commence.
On the flip side, it would make the game’s stars think twice about their behavior if they’re forced to bail on their teams in the critical final weeks of the season.
I don’t propose hanging a mistake over a player forever. There is something natural about paying your fine and moving on. With that aside, a system of late-season suspensions might have more impact on the game. I guess it all depends if the guilty party is on my team — or yours.
One man's appeal to up the stakes by have suspended stars benched at the END of the season. (Source: static.nfl.com)
24
Apr
2010
POST-DRAFT WRAP-UP … WAIT, THAT’S IT?
Oregon's LaGarrette Blount went undrafted ... but well rested. He later signed with the Titans as an undrafted FA (Image: Deadspin.com)
Is anyone else uncomfortable that the draft is over and it’s only Saturday? What the hell am I supposed to do with the rest of my weekend? Go outside or something??? Oh well … since Thursday night was the highest-rated draft ever, we’d better get used to this new format.
Now that Mr. Irrelevant has been picked, it’s time for armchair GMs everywhere to start second-guessing NFL executives and handing out their annual draft grades. Nevermind the fact that we’ll have no idea how this draft is going to pan out for at least 2-3 years … these type of knee-jerk assessments are what the draft is all about! At first glance, we really like what the Raiders, Seahawks and 49ers did over the last 3 days. In case you’re interested Pete Prisco at CBS has graded every single pick of the draft, and Shutdown Corner has their Best & Worst of the 2010 draft.
And just because the draft is over doesn’t mean teams are done adding players. Keep track of all this Undrafted Free Agent Signings list to see what camp fodder each team is bringing in. For your reference, here’s NFL.com’s list of the best players available after the draft.
In case you missed them through the sweat dripping off of Berman’s huge cranium, here are a few more stories of note from the weekend:
- The Raiders got QB Jason Campbell from the Washington Redskins [ESPN.com]
- The Seahawks traded for RB’s Leon Washington of the Jets and Lendale White of the Titans [NFL.com]
- The Jets released all-pro G Alan Fanceca [NY Daily News]
- The Jaguars traded for Raiders LB Kirk Morrison [PFW]
- Lawrence Taylor’s memory of the day he was drafted in 1981 is a little bit fuzzy … probably because he had 41 Coors Lights [SI.com]
12
Nov
2009
Mike Smith fined $15k, DeAngelo Hall $0 for role in sideline brawl
(Photo: AP)
The AP is reporting that Atlanta Falcons head coach Mike Smith has been fined $15,000 for his part in Sunday’s sideline skirmish with Redksins CB DeAngelo Hall.
Hall, on the other hand, was not fined at all. This may seem a bit odd considering that Hall launched himself into the Falcons sideline seemingly intent on starting trouble (mission accomplished!). But apparently Mr. Goodell saw something different than the rest of us, and decided to punish everyone involved except Hall.
Other fines handed out following the brawl include Redskins safety LaRon Landry ($7,500), Washington defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth ($5,000) and Falcons director of athletic performance Jeff Fish ($2,500).
And again, Hall = $0. Makes perfect sense.
Smith had this to say after Thursday’s practice:
“I received a letter from the NFL office this morning,” he said. “I want to reiterate that I’m always going to have my players’ backs and I’m going to take care of them.”
Good for Smith. DeAngelo Hall is a punk with a history of starting trouble, and it’s ridiculous that Goodell would let him off the hook like that.
3
Sep
2009
VICK HITS THE SCENE WEEK THREE
Without getting into all the sticky details, Roger Godell and the NFL stated today that Michael Vick will be eligible to return to regular season play WEEK THREE.
The Eagles will host the Kansas City Chiefs–who seem extremely ripe for the picking.
Vick's last regular season game was on New Year's Eve 2006. His team at the time, the Falcons, lost 24-17 to the Eagles--his team of today.
15
Aug
2009
Chris Cooley reminds us that the NFL frowns on individuality
Roger Goodell will not tolerate sock violations ... or pledge pins on your uniform
Redskins TE Chris Cooley – the NFL’s best blogger – recently posted an account of a team meeting regarding uniform violations, reminding us just how seriously the NFL takes their policies (in case there was any doubt). Cooley goes on to list some of the fines that can be levied against players for straying from the league dress code.
Camp is well underway so let the multitude of meetings continue – all kinds varying from local gang activity to how to handle your baby’s mama. One of my favorite annual meetings was held as the the team gathered restlessly yesterday afternoon. The NFL dress code and fine schedule.
Just for fun I figured I would list some of the fines mentioned in our meeting and different amounts.
$5000 fines
- High/Low whites on socks
- Pants not covering knees (no skin should show below the waist)
- Bandana
- Wrong nasal strip
- Hand towel alterations – towel must be 7 to 8 inches and have no tape on it
- Tape not the same color of the shoe.
- Jersey untucked (usually there is a warning for this one)
- Jersey cut too short
- Sleeves coming out of jersey – only QB can have this and only a certain amount can come out
- Chinstrap undone ($7500)$10,000 fines
- Personal messages
- Any second offense fine
- Wrong attire 90 minutes previous and after a game – clothes must be Reebok apparel
- Tinted visor – must have a doctors note for a tinted visor
Some of these fines might seem nick-picky, sure. But the fines go to charity, and it’s not like these are huge hits on players’ bank accounts either. And I can totally see why a bandana and incorrect nasal strip could be a threat to the integrity of the game. That’s just common sense.
27
Jul
2009
Clinton Portis Will Haunt Your Dreams
There’s a lot of big stuff going on in NFL news today … namely that Michael Vick was reinstated by Roger Goodell and Plaxico Burress still looks like he’s heading to jail.
But when we saw this picture of Redskins RB Clinton Portis (above), it shook us to the core. Suddenly, all other news seemed trivial compared to the paralyzing, horriffic fear of having our brains eaten in our sleep by this blonde devil-creature. It’s all we could do to get out of the fetal position and crawl to the keyboard to make this post.
Clearly, there is only one way to handle this: don’t go to sleep. And if you see Portis on the street … KILL IT!!!
23
Jul
2009
Vick Freedom Tour includes strippers, Goodell, possible reinstatment?
It’s been an eventful week for our old friend, and recently released convict Michael Vick. The Big Lead reports Vick spent Monday night – his first night of freedom – hanging out with Allen Iverson in Virginia Beach. At a strip club. Of course, Vick flatly denies this rumor.
Meanwhile, ESPN tells us that Vick met with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell on Wednesday to discuss his possible reinstatement. League sources say that Goodell is expected to grant a conditional reinstatement of Vick as early as next week! If this is true, it would mean Vick would be allowed to sign with an NFL team this season, attend training camp, and then would be suspended for the first 4 games of the regular season.
Well that didn’t take very long, did it? The guy has been out of prison for less than a week, and he’s already rolling out to the strip clubs, and on the verge of reinstatement. It’s like it’s 2005 all over again!
For their part, the league office says no decisions have been made, and Goodell is quoted as having said, “this is not about me”.
30
Jun
2009
Listen to Donte Stallworth’s 911 call
Cleveland Browns WR Donte Stallworth is serving a 30-day jail sentence after pleading guilty to DUI and manslaughter in the March death of Mario Reyes … a slap on the wrist that many people felt was too lenient. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell apparently agreed, and responded by suspending Stallworth indefinitely.
Here is the recording of the 911 call Stallworth made after the accident, in which he tells the operator that Reyes “just ran in front of my car”. WARNING: This is mildly disturbing, and contains some profanity:
