NFL offseason thread

[Syt]

Actually, they should probably just broadcast the NES Tecmo Bowl instead (yes, that's a thing).

[Neil]

Actually, they should probably just broadcast the NES Tecmo Bowl instead (yes, that's a thing).

They really couldn't.

[Valmy]

The Pro Bowl used to be sorta decent back when the players were still poor enough that the prize money for winning was still motivation.  But that has not been true since about 1989.

[Neil]

The Pro Bowl used to be sorta decent back when the players were still poor enough that the prize money for winning was still motivation.  But that has not been true since about 1989.

Yeah, back when winning ten grand was a big deal, you'd see some effort.  These days, you win fifty grand and meanwhile you get Michael Strahan paying $200,000 in fines for skipping training camp and calling it the best money he's ever spent.  I'm sure the longsnappers and some of the younger breakout guys are happy, but the real stars wipe their asses with fifty thousand.

[CountDeMoney]

Honestly, I wouldn't mind if the Pro Bowl teams were made up of nothing but rookies.  But it would be kind of tough to fill out the rosters, and very few franchises would want their 1st round rookie draft picks playing.

[Ed Anger]

I'd fill one team up with WE tards like timmay, and let Bernard Pollard hit 'em in the knees.

[Barrister]

Funny that Seedy's article doesn't mention how the NHL has been doing the 'fantasy draft' all-star game for the last couple years.

[CountDeMoney]

FUNNY HOW NOBODY GIVES A SHIT ABOUT CANADIAN CURLING IN PADS IN AN NFL THREAD

[Barrister]

FUNNY HOW NOBODY GIVES A SHIT ABOUT CANADIAN CURLING IN PADS IN AN NFL THREAD

Well then maybe you should - since it's a directly comparable. 

Honestly, the 'fantasy draft' show is more interesting that the all-star game itself.  Lots of dynamics about who wants to play with who, who their peers consider to be more worthy.  There's also the drama of 'who is going to be the last one picked' - which could be very awkward, but the NHL solved by giving the last man standing a brand new car.

[Kleves]

ESPN's hysterical this morning because someone used a no-no word:

A video of Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Riley Cooper uttering a racial slur at a Kenny Chesney concert surfaced Wednesday.

In the video, Cooper vowed to "fight every n-----" at the July concert in Philadelphia. Cooper issued an apology Wednesday afternoon.

Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie said Cooper has been fined by the team.

"We are shocked and appalled by Riley Cooper's words," Lurie said in a statement. "This sort of behavior or attitude from anyone has no role in a civil society. He has accepted responsibility for his words and his actions. He has been fined for this incident."

The NFL also issued a statement on Cooper: "The NFL stands for diversity and inclusion. Comments like this are wrong, offensive, and unacceptable."

Eagles quarterback Michael Vick accepted Cooper's apology.

Cooper, 25, has 46 catches for 679 yards and five touchdowns in 40 career games. He is expected to assume a larger role in the Eagles' offense this year after the season-ending injury to Jeremy Maclin.

"I am so ashamed and disgusted with myself," Cooper said in a statement. "I want to apologize. I have been offensive. I have apologized to my coach, to Jeffrey Lurie, to Howie Roseman and to my teammates. I owe an apology to the fans and to this community. I am so ashamed, but there are no excuses. What I did was wrong and I will accept the consequences."

Chesney reached out to ESPN senior writer LZ Granderson about the incident and said: "All I do is get off my bus and try to give the fans all the heart and passion I got. That's where it starts and stops; that's all I think about.

"I'm as shocked as anyone to see the video of Riley Cooper that's started circulating on the internet. I don't believe in discrimination in any form, and I think using language like that is not only unacceptable, it is hateful beyond words," Chesney told Granderson.

"I don't know everything about every player who comes to our shows. We invite the teams in the places where we play, and I've found the guys from the NFL are some of the most inspiring people I meet all year. They give back to their communities, work with children, hospitals and various charities, as well as raising awesome families.

"To judge an entire audience by one loud mouth isn't fair ... not to the NFL, not to the city of Philadelphia and that awesome crowd, not to my band and crew and certainly not to me, who believes music is about bringing people together for friendship and forgetting about the things in life that bring you down. The music I make is about living life, loving life and loving everybody -- no matter who they are. That's how I was raised, and what someone else does or says doesn't reflect who I am or what my fans stand for."

[Ed Anger]

Watching NFL live, Riley Cooper is apparently Hitler.

[Admiral Yi]

He may not be Hitler but he's got to be about the stupidest redneck ever born.

[Neil]

He may not be Hitler but he's got to be about the stupidest redneck ever born.

[Neil]

Jon Ogden is a class act.  Really well spoken.  Nice shout-out to Art Modell.

It feels nice to see that line of Ravens greats there to honour the first Raven.

[Admiral Yi]

Anyone want to make some book on Riley Cooper's chances of being with the Eagles on opening day?  In the NFL?