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RB Ezekiel Elliott, NE (3 Viewers)

Bayhawks said:
The SDNY already has jurisdiction; the NFL already filed to have the courts uphold their ruling as soon as they made it.  That case is now the issue.  The NFLPA can file an appeal of the decision in SDNY (and they will), but as of right now, Zeke is suspended.  His TRO delaying the suspension has been voided & the NFL-imposed suspension should take effect immediately.  Until the case is resolved or he gets a stay/TRO, he is suspended.  If he gets a stay/TRO from SDNY, I don't see any way this case is resolved before the end of the season.  (But this case has twisted and turn in so many ways I didn't expect, that wouldn't surprise me, I guess)

Obviously, that doesn't impact week 6, b/c Dallas is on bye, but as of week 7, Zeke's 6 game suspension will begin for real, or he will be allowed to play under a TRO, likely for the remainder of the season.  Either DMC/Alf will have real value in week 7, or they will be all but worthless, save as handcuffs.
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>>But the 5th Circuit pulled the rug out from under Elliott on Thursday by vacating the injunction and ordering Mazzant to dismiss the entire case.<<

Just to be clear what I was saying is that there are boring procedural details that will take a little time. So here, all the 5th did was *vacate*. Procedurally the case still has to go to Mazzant who will actually dismiss it. 

Two courts don't generally act on the same issue. Usually one court defers to the other.

>>Judge Katherine Polk Failla has already been dealing with parts of the case in the Southern District of New York. The NFL filed a suit to affirm its arbitration award there in early September, despite the fact Elliott's suit was already filed in Texas. It's likely now to become the most relevant forum for the legal showdown.

The NFL already filed a letter Thursday with Failla to inform her of the 5th Circuit decision, which means "there is no longer any basis for the court to defer further action in this proceeding."

Assuming Elliott and his team continue fighting -- his representatives are considering their options, according a statement -- the likely next move is to file for a preliminary injunction in New York, a sort of replay of what already happened in Mazzant's court in Sherman, Texas. Elliott needs the injunction to remain on the field. It's possible that oral arguments will be heard on the matter before the Cowboysplay the 49ers.

...However, there's a reason Elliott and the NFLPA risked the jurisdiction issue by filing in Texas: They didn't like their chances in New York. The NFL has a favorable history at home, including ultimately winning on appeal against New England quarterback Tom Brady in "Deflategate."<<

Link.

- So there will likely be a hearing by next week and the whole thing could end quickly if EE loses there. He may just give up rather than risk missing a playoff run. Otoh the judge could rule for him, but he still has the circuit court to deal with, so again he would just be prolonging things and hurting his team. Again remember why he went to the TX D.C. in the first place.

 
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WiDDoW_MaKeR said:
You didn't read the article, did you?

The OC clearly stated that they were preparing Morris to be the starter week 1, if Elliot wasn't available. He went on to say that Morris impressed them, and earned the spot over McFadden.

Also, Zeke was only averaging around 3 receptions per game this year. So, I don't think the Cowboys are too worried about that. They don't run an offense that throws a lot of passes to the RBs.
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I did read it. It said they were prepared to start Morris but they liked both and picking one was a difficult decision.

I've just seen what McFadden can do in Linehan's offense. He ran for over 1000 yards at 4.6 ypc and caught 40 balls with the likes of Matt Cassell, Brandon Weeden and Kellen Moore under center for most of the season. He barely played last year so he didn't really add any mileage.

Morris couldn't hold off Matt Jones in Washington. Sure, maybe that was poor blocking but, in the end, the game scripts didn't suit Morris' game.

Zeke has been targeted 4.2 times per game this year. That's not a ton but its not nothing. It's more than Kareem Hunt. The bottom line is, Zeke is special, and they are still struggling to win games. Will they make any changes to their offense to compensate? Their defense is ranked 29th in DVOA.  They're probably going to need to score a bit to win games. SF might be a cupcake but there are some much better offenses on the schedule after that. Are those going to be Alfred Morris friendly game scripts?

 
FBG really dropped the ball today, luckily I picked up DMC in one league only because of league chatter in a different league that occurred several minutes after the fact, yet hours before the FBG email.  I'm guessing most FBG'ers had zero chance at picking up Morris or DMC unless they were watching this forum for Sleeperbot's update.  

FBG also did not do a good job this pre-season of going over the potential suspension scenarios for Elliot before most drafts occurred either.  They just wrote it off as guaranteed 6 game suspension to start the season, when once I started looking at other sources it was obvious he had a good chance of appealing it similar to Brady, and most of my other league members out-sharked me accordingly.  We will see if the current judgement holds up or not.  I'm guessing the best sharks would have drafted him knowing he had a good chance at winning initial appeal (this was obvious after reviewing sources that were available before my drafts occurred yet got zero mention here), then trading him when rumors of the NFL's appeal started swirling before his bye week (which to my own fault I did ignore but also feel FBG should have been warning people to pick up back-ups in advance, the latest upgrade/downgrade report does not even mention this possibility despite an expected ruling being known). 

Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the service I have gotten over the years and this subscription is still worth it, but I'm paying to get notified of things like this, and also for a little better analysis and digging deeper into scenarios like this.  I'm going to have to subscribe to some other services now because I cannot count on FBG to be ahead of the curve anymore, when my 3 year subscription is up I'll see how they are doing compared to the other providers I join. 

 
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andyk803 said:
I just made a shark move.  just picked up Felix Jones.
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I’ve been thinking about it; “saving” McFadden on the healthy inactive list for over a month wasn’t sneaky enough, re-signing Randle isn’t sneaky enough, even re-signing Felix Jones isn’t sneaky enough.  Those Cowboys are such “outside the box” thinkers, they plan on having Emmitt Smith fill in for Zeke!  It makes perfect sense: why else would they have released him, allowed him to play in Arizona, retire, try to be a broadcaster, and do a dancing reality show except to keep him fresh in case Zeke got suspended?  That’s the only explanation that makes sense, right?

 
ourmanflint said:
I did read it. It said they were prepared to start Morris but they liked both and picking one was a difficult decision.

I've just seen what McFadden can do in Linehan's offense. He ran for over 1000 yards at 4.6 ypc and caught 40 balls with the likes of Matt Cassell, Brandon Weeden and Kellen Moore under center for most of the season. He barely played last year so he didn't really add any mileage.

Morris couldn't hold off Matt Jones in Washington. Sure, maybe that was poor blocking but, in the end, the game scripts didn't suit Morris' game.

Zeke has been targeted 4.2 times per game this year. That's not a ton but its not nothing. It's more than Kareem Hunt. The bottom line is, Zeke is special, and they are still struggling to win games. Will they make any changes to their offense to compensate? Their defense is ranked 29th in DVOA.  They're probably going to need to score a bit to win games. SF might be a cupcake but there are some much better offenses on the schedule after that. Are those going to be Alfred Morris friendly game scripts?
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Well if DMC did that TWO YEARS AGO on a team with what appears to have had a much better O-line, we should expect AP to be great in Ari?  2 years ago, he had 1700 YFS on a team with a better O-line than what he has now & he barely played last year either.  

2 years is a long time, and AP’s coaches ( on 2 teams) have decided he isn’t the same guy as he was then.  It would appear DMC’s have to, since they elevated Morris ahead of him.

 
Bayhawks said:
Well if DMC did that TWO YEARS AGO on a team with what appears to have had a much better O-line, we should expect AP to be great in Ari?  2 years ago, he had 1700 YFS on a team with a better O-line than what he has now & he barely played last year either.  

2 years is a long time, and AP’s coaches ( on 2 teams) have decided he isn’t the same guy as he was then.  It would appear DMC’s have to, since they elevated Morris ahead of him.
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The line was better then, but they also had total crap at QB.

Regardless, noone is going to be a FF stud behind this line imo

 
So the court basically threw out the temporary injunction because it was asked for prematurely? Sounds like Zeke can re-file his injunction request in Dallas or New York. 

Are there reasons to believe he won't be granted another injunction? I get that in NY the league will cite the Brady outcome, but Elliott can still try to argue unfairness, improper arbitration protocols, etc. 

i think we see Zeke suiting up next week. 

 
This might surprise some (it does me) but checking FFToday which has a handy tool Dallas is no. 19 in total RB FF points scored on the season. That doesn't mean there can't be value, GB is 20th and they've put out great games by Montgomery & Jones, however they have also had a system lately where 1 RB has been getting the load. Similarly EE is "the man" in Dallas. Ty Montgomery was no. 1 in RB usage, EE is no. 3. If it's Morris first or McFadden 2nd or vice versa it may not help much if their usage is closer to what is seen on other teams with more divided backfields.

 
Bayhawks said:
Well if DMC did that TWO YEARS AGO on a team with what appears to have had a much better O-line, we should expect AP to be great in Ari?  2 years ago, he had 1700 YFS on a team with a better O-line than what he has now & he barely played last year either.  

2 years is a long time, and AP’s coaches ( on 2 teams) have decided he isn’t the same guy as he was then.  It would appear DMC’s have to, since they elevated Morris ahead of him.
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Your point is valid. But do you really have to approach it this way? Chill

 
GreenNGold said:
FBG really dropped the ball today, luckily I picked up DMC in one league only because of league chatter in a different league that occurred several minutes after the fact, yet hours before the FBG email.  I'm guessing most FBG'ers had zero chance at picking up Morris or DMC unless they were watching this forum for Sleeperbot's update.  

FBG also did not do a good job this pre-season of going over the potential suspension scenarios for Elliot before most drafts occurred either.  They just wrote it off as guaranteed 6 game suspension to start the season, when once I started looking at other sources it was obvious he had a good chance of appealing it similar to Brady, and most of my other league members out-sharked me accordingly.  We will see if the current judgement holds up or not.  I'm guessing the best sharks would have drafted him knowing he had a good chance at winning initial appeal (this was obvious after reviewing sources that were available before my drafts occurred yet got zero mention here), then trading him when rumors of the NFL's appeal started swirling before his bye week (which to my own fault I did ignore but also feel FBG should have been warning people to pick up back-ups in advance, the latest upgrade/downgrade report does not even mention this possibility despite an expected ruling being known). 

Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the service I have gotten over the years and this subscription is still worth it, but I'm paying to get notified of things like this, and also for a little better analysis and digging deeper into scenarios like this.  I'm going to have to subscribe to some other services now because I cannot count on FBG to be ahead of the curve anymore, when my 3 year subscription is up I'll see how they are doing compared to the other providers I join. 
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Not really clear what you're complaining about here in the second paragraph.  The Elliott suspension scenarios were pretty clear IMO:

Suspended to begin the season.

Suspended sometime during the season.

Suspended after the season (i.e., in 2018).

Suspension overturned.

Putting percentages on them is (was) anyone's guess.

 
SaintsInDome2006 said:
This might surprise some (it does me) but checking FFToday which has a handy tool Dallas is no. 19 in total RB FF points scored on the season. That doesn't mean there can't be value, GB is 20th and they've put out great games by Montgomery & Jones, however they have also had a system lately where 1 RB has been getting the load. Similarly EE is "the man" in Dallas. Ty Montgomery was no. 1 in RB usage, EE is no. 3. If it's Morris first or McFadden 2nd or vice versa it may not help much if their usage is closer to what is seen on other teams with more divided backfields.
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Where did you see that fftoday?

You're PM's are full by the way

 
Tommy Collins said:
Your point is valid. But do you really have to approach it this way? Chill
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Approach it what way?  With facts & logic, as opposed to make believe & wishful thinking?  I don't think I'm "fired up," so I'm not going to chill, but thanks for the advice.

 
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Biabreakable said:
I would say regular season trumps whatever happened in preseason, thus Morris over DMC.

(which is what I think you guys are getting at?)
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Yes - and that the narrative that emerged that McFadden is the true handcuff and Morris gets a jersey on gameday is patently false.  Morris isn't playing special teams.

I read some articles on Morris this preseason, about how his first year in Dallas combined with his last year in Washington were real wake up calls for him.  He slimmed down, tried to get quicker, more elusive, more explosive.  And through the preseason it was working.  Dallas was still giving workload to McFadden ahead of Morris, but Morris just looked better on his touches when he actually had some room to run (to my untrained eyes).

Then Week 1, Morris is the backup, and everyone tries to say it's just because of special teams or it's just because he's a different style than Zeke or something.  

I think maybe he's just better than McFadden and is the backup?

 
Anarchy99 said:
So the court basically threw out the temporary injunction because it was asked for prematurely? Sounds like Zeke can re-file his injunction request in Dallas or New York. 

Are there reasons to believe he won't be granted another injunction? I get that in NY the league will cite the Brady outcome, but Elliott can still try to argue unfairness, improper arbitration protocols, etc. 

i think we see Zeke suiting up next week. 
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I think that's probably a bit more likely than not (although he may miss one game while it sorts out) but at this point it's really up in the air. If the "likely to win" prong is looked at more that the "irrepairable harm" prong then he may not. If I was the judge (in a vacuum) I would grant the injunction, because the NFL really suffers no harm if we wait until the case sorts itself out before Zeke serves his suspension while Zeke may miss games for no reason. We'll see.  

 
Dr. Octopus said:
No one thinks that. Anyone picking up Morris or DMc is scrounging for startable RBs and hoping to get lucky.
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yep - In my case I don't even need another back but I figured McFadden is better off on my team than my competition.  They can keep scrounging

 
JFS171 said:
Yes - and that the narrative that emerged that McFadden is the true handcuff and Morris gets a jersey on gameday is patently false.  Morris isn't playing special teams.

I read some articles on Morris this preseason, about how his first year in Dallas combined with his last year in Washington were real wake up calls for him.  He slimmed down, tried to get quicker, more elusive, more explosive.  And through the preseason it was working.  Dallas was still giving workload to McFadden ahead of Morris, but Morris just looked better on his touches when he actually had some room to run (to my untrained eyes).

Then Week 1, Morris is the backup, and everyone tries to say it's just because of special teams or it's just because he's a different style than Zeke or something.  

I think maybe he's just better than McFadden and is the backup?
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I have been kind of staying away from this but I would concur that Morris looked better in preseason and he won a spot on the roster while DMC did not. Therefore Morris is the back up.

You bring up a good point about Morris not playing on special teams that refutes the idea that they kept Morris over DMC for that purpose.

How they used the RB in preseason (DMC before Morris?) would be irrelevant compared to them keeping Morris over DMC going into the regular season games. Morris ahead of DMC on the depth chart.

 
Biabreakable said:
I have been kind of staying away from this but I would concur that Morris looked better in preseason and he won a spot on the roster while DMC did not. Therefore Morris is the back up.

You bring up a good point about Morris not playing on special teams that refutes the idea that they kept Morris over DMC for that purpose.

How they used the RB in preseason (DMC before Morris?) would be irrelevant compared to them keeping Morris over DMC going into the regular season games. Morris ahead of DMC on the depth chart.
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The vibe I'm getting is that they're kind of even.  The coaches seem to like them both.  (Of course, what do you expect them to say.)

I'm holding DMC but IMO a pretty near 50/50 RBBC seems like the most likely outcome here.

 
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Dr. Octopus said:
I think that's probably a bit more likely than not (although he may miss one game while it sorts out) but at this point it's really up in the air. If the "likely to win" prong is looked at more that the "irrepairable harm" prong then he may not. If I was the judge (in a vacuum) I would grant the injunction, because the NFL really suffers no harm if we wait until the case sorts itself out before Zeke serves his suspension while Zeke may miss games for no reason. We'll see.  
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That's what I am thinking too.  I also don't see any reason to think he can't refile in Texas again.  This decision was really a punt by the appeals court - that the case was filed too early (by a few hours, since the arbitrator's decision came the same day).  Also, the dissenting judge seemed to think that Zeke's case had merit.  Which would be a reason to grant the TRO until a full review could be completed.

I also think best case for Zeke would be the judges throwing out the league's original suspension, but only telling the league they have to have a do-over and that they have to address one or more of Zeke's objections to the process.  

From page 19 of the decision, this was the dissenting judge:

"All of these actions “impugned the integrity of the arbitration process.”  See Ramirez-Lebron, 593 F.3d at 132. Thus, the NFL’s refusal to follow those agreed upon procedures in the CBA resulted in a repudiation of the grievance procedure sufficient to vest jurisdiction in the district court."

 
davearm said:
The vibe I'm getting is that they're kind of even.  The coaches seem to like them both.  (Of course, what do you expect them to say.)

I'm holding DMC but IMO a pretty near 50/50 RBBC seems like the most likely outcome here.
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That seems possible. I really haven't been following this closely at all. Dallas one of my least favorite teams.

Maybe 60/40 split or something with DMC getting more targets in the passing game than Morris.

 
Fellow Zeke owners, I feel your pain. 

Reading the tea leaves we are screwed, he's going to get the suspension. He's only going to make it worse by pushing it into the fantasy playoffs. Hope I'm wrong but that's what I'm planning for - that's what we should all be planning for.

This is a place for people to plan and scheme how to survive. 

Would people make this trade: Give Deshaun Watson and Emmanuel Sanders Get Alex Smith, TY Hilton, and Mark Ingram.

 
This much is certain, the opposite has happened ever single step of this case from what the majority thought and said would happen.

It appears at this moment, the majority seems to think the Zeke owners are in trouble and he will not play at SF.

Lets see if this is the first time the majority or popular opinion is right.

 
On DMC and Morris. I am of the mindset that the Cowboys expected that Zeke would miss time this season, and they Kept DMC inactive because of his injury history and that he will be the guy to replace Zeke when he misses. Morris will retain the same roll while getting a few more carries once Zeke misses. Why Keep DMC active and play him and risk injury if he was not going to get many touches with Zeke out there. No one is really getting touches when Zeke plays, so the need isnt there. Thats not what everyone believes, but it is what I believe.

 
Anarchy99 said:
So the court basically threw out the temporary injunction because it was asked for prematurely? Sounds like Zeke can re-file his injunction request in Dallas or New York. 

Are there reasons to believe he won't be granted another injunction? I get that in NY the league will cite the Brady outcome, but Elliott can still try to argue unfairness, improper arbitration protocols, etc. 

i think we see Zeke suiting up next week. 
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The SDNY's federal circuit IS the 2nd circuit, which ruled against Brady last year.  I posted in one of these threads (maybe this one, not sure), but in their ruling on Brady, the 2nd circuit said that Goodell's power was given to him by the CBA that the NFLPA agreed to, and that it was very broad.  They went on to say it didn't matter if Goodell made mistakes in matters of fact (choosing to ignore facts/reports that flew in the face of his decision) or law (not allowing Zeke to face his accuser/question the investigator who suggested he not be suspended), if he followed the process laid out in the CBA and exercised the powers given to him by the CBA, the courts could not overturn his decision.  Zeke is arguing that Goodell made mistakes by not following the advice of his lead investigator, not allowing Zeke to question his ex-girlfriend or the lead investigator.  The 2nd has already said those mistakes don't matter, if Goodell followed the procedures laid out in the CBA. 

That will make it hard for Zeke's lawyers to demonstrate that he has a reasonable chance of winning his case, which is one of the requirements for a TRO.

 
WheelsUp said:
This much is certain, the opposite has happened ever single step of this case from what the majority thought and said would happen.

It appears at this moment, the majority seems to think the Zeke owners are in trouble and he will not play at SF.

Lets see if this is the first time the majority or popular opinion is right.
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Listening to "experts" this morn it sounded like he had a chance of playing in SF but that was delaying a suspension that would eventually happen this season.

 
From page 22 of the decision, this is the dissenting judge

"No. 17-40936 22 
For the reasons stated herein, I conclude that the district court properly exercised subject matter jurisdiction. Also, as the NFL is unable to show a likelihood of success on the merits or any irreparable injury for purposes of a stay, I would deny the motion for stay. Moreover, “the maintenance of the status quo is an important consideration in granting a stay.” Dayton Bd. of Educ. v. Brinkman, 439 U.S. 1358, 1359 (1978). The status quo is Elliott continuing to play pending resolution of the claim filed below."

 
themeistersinger said:
That's what I am thinking too.  (1) I also don't see any reason to think he can't refile in Texas again.  This decision was really a punt by the appeals court - that the case was filed too early (by a few hours, since the arbitrator's decision came the same day).  (2)Also, the dissenting judge seemed to think that Zeke's case had merit.  Which would be a reason to grant the TRO until a full review could be completed.

I also think best case for Zeke would be the judges throwing out the league's original suspension, but only telling the league they have to have a do-over and that they have to address one or more of Zeke's objections to the process.  

From page 19 of the decision, this was the dissenting judge:

"All of these actions “impugned the integrity of the arbitration process.”  See Ramirez-Lebron, 593 F.3d at 132. Thus, the NFL’s refusal to follow those agreed upon procedures in the CBA resulted in a repudiation of the grievance procedure sufficient to vest jurisdiction in the district court."
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1-Since the NFL filed a suit in SDNY properly (AFTER the decision), that court now has jurisdiction.  The NFLPA could make a motion in SDNY to have it moved to TX (as the NFL made a motion in TX to have it moved to SDNY), but the SDNY court is unlikely to grant that motion.

2-This is a valid point, but the decision by the 2nd circuit in the Brady case likely carries more weight than the dissenting 5th circuit judge, or Mazzant's original, voided, ruling.  They've already ruled that even if Goodell makes factual/legal mistakes, as long as he follows the CBA procedures, the courts can't overturn him.  If SDNY were to rule otherwise, they'd know that the 2nd is likely to overturn this decision, as well.

 
The General said:
Fellow Zeke owners, I feel your pain. 

Reading the tea leaves we are screwed, he's going to get the suspension. He's only going to make it worse by pushing it into the fantasy playoffs. Hope I'm wrong but that's what I'm planning for - that's what we should all be planning for.

This is a place for people to plan and scheme how to survive. 

Would people make this trade: Give Deshaun Watson and Emmanuel Sanders Get Alex Smith, TY Hilton, and Mark Ingram.
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Without know the rest of your roster...probly

 
Bayhawks said:
The SDNY's federal circuit IS the 2nd circuit, which ruled against Brady last year.  I posted in one of these threads (maybe this one, not sure), but in their ruling on Brady, the 2nd circuit said that Goodell's power was given to him by the CBA that the NFLPA agreed to, and that it was very broad.  They went on to say it didn't matter if Goodell made mistakes in matters of fact (choosing to ignore facts/reports that flew in the face of his decision) or law (not allowing Zeke to face his accuser/question the investigator who suggested he not be suspended), if he followed the process laid out in the CBA and exercised the powers given to him by the CBA, the courts could not overturn his decision.  Zeke is arguing that Goodell made mistakes by not following the advice of his lead investigator, not allowing Zeke to question his ex-girlfriend or the lead investigator.  The 2nd has already said those mistakes don't matter, if Goodell followed the procedures laid out in the CBA. 

That will make it hard for Zeke's lawyers to demonstrate that he has a reasonable chance of winning his case, which is one of the requirements for a TRO.
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Just like in Brady's case (and in the determination in Texas for Elliott), the argument being presented is that 1) the league did not conform to the terms of the CBA with regard to arbitration processes, 2) the process was blatantly unfair, and 3) ultimately Zeke did not get his due process. The court sided with Brady initially (as did the court in Texas did for Elliott). Those are good enough reasons to think that his case has some merit.

Unfortunately for Elliott, I believe the best outcome is that a court rules that the NFL did not adhere to the collectively bargained arbitration process and kicks this back to the NFL to have another appeal hearing. At that point, the league will do what the court instructs in terms of having to follow that collectively bargained process. They will conform to that, but will then make the same determination they found initially, they will confirm the suspension, and Elliott will be forced to sit for 6 games.

If Elliott then tries to keep raising the bar and appeal to a higher court, like Brady, an appellate court will side with the NFL. Maybe the lower court will intervene and quash this now, but IMO Elliott has a decent chance to at least get another temporary injunction to let this play out in the court system.

 
Gottabesweet said:
Exactly, I have a hard time believing he has a chance in NY.
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I agree. I was honestly surprised that an injunction was granted in the first place considering the NFL has consistently won their argument concerning their powers granted by the CBA. The judge issuing the injunction seemed to be making mostly arguments to trash the NFL and express his disgust rather than make a lot of legal arguments explaining why he was to disagree with legal precedent in other jurisdictions.

I seriously doubt Zeke wins.

 
ourmanflint said:
I did read it. It said they were prepared to start Morris but they liked both and picking one was a difficult decision.

I've just seen what McFadden can do in Linehan's offense. He ran for over 1000 yards at 4.6 ypc and caught 40 balls with the likes of Matt Cassell, Brandon Weeden and Kellen Moore under center for most of the season. He barely played last year so he didn't really add any mileage.

Morris couldn't hold off Matt Jones in Washington. Sure, maybe that was poor blocking but, in the end, the game scripts didn't suit Morris' game.

Zeke has been targeted 4.2 times per game this year. That's not a ton but its not nothing. It's more than Kareem Hunt. The bottom line is, Zeke is special, and they are still struggling to win games. Will they make any changes offense to compensate? Their defense is ranked 29th in DVOA.  They're probably going to need to score a bit to win games. SF might be a cupcake but there are some much better offenses on the schedule after that. Are those going to be Alfred Morris friendly game scripts?
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McFadden did that two years ago. He has barely seen the football field since that point. He was completely out of football for most of last year, and has been a healthy scratch this entire year. McFadden's success (which wasn't all that impressive to begin with) from 2 seasons ago really means nothing at this point. I'm not saying that McFadden doesn't have a chance to get some work... or that Morris couldn't easily lose his spot if he is struggles. However, it's Morris' job to start. 

 
themeistersinger said:
From page 22 of the decision, this is the dissenting judge

"No. 17-40936 22 
For the reasons stated herein, I conclude that the district court properly exercised subject matter jurisdiction. Also, as the NFL is unable to show a likelihood of success on the merits or any irreparable injury for purposes of a stay, I would deny the motion for stay. Moreover, “the maintenance of the status quo is an important consideration in granting a stay.” Dayton Bd. of Educ. v. Brinkman, 439 U.S. 1358, 1359 (1978). The status quo is Elliott continuing to play pending resolution of the claim filed below."
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From page 4 of the 2nd circuit's decision in Brady:

We must simply ensure that the arbitrator was "even arguably construing or applying the contract and acting within the scope of his authority" and did not "ignore the plain language of the contract."  United Paperworks Int'l Union v Misco, Inc., 484 U.S. 29, 38 (1987).  These standards do not require perfection in arbitration awards, Rather, they dictate that even if an arbitrator makes mistakes of fact or law, we may not disturb an award so long as he acted within the bounds of his bargained-for authority. 

Here, that authority was especially broad. 
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Bolded/underline emphasis is mine.  It's an important point.  The 2nd has already ruled that even if Goodell made mistakes (like not allowing his lead investigator to testify, ignoring her suggestion, etc), as long as he followed the CBA, the court's can't overturn his decision.  Zeke's team isn't arguing that Goodell violated the CBA, rather that he made mistakes. 

 
Anarchy99 said:
Just like in Brady's case (and in the determination in Texas for Elliott), the argument being presented is that 1) the league did not conform to the terms of the CBA with regard to arbitration processes, 2) the process was blatantly unfair, and 3) ultimately Zeke did not get his due process. The court sided with Brady initially (as did the court in Texas did for Elliott). Those are good enough reasons to think that his case has some merit.

Unfortunately for Elliott, I believe the best outcome is that a court rules that the NFL did not adhere to the collectively bargained arbitration process and kicks this back to the NFL to have another appeal hearing. At that point, the league will do what the court instructs in terms of having to follow that collectively bargained process. They will conform to that, but will then make the same determination they found initially, they will confirm the suspension, and Elliott will be forced to sit for 6 games.

If Elliott then tries to keep raising the bar and appeal to a higher court, like Brady, an appellate court will side with the NFL. Maybe the lower court will intervene and quash this now, but IMO Elliott has a decent chance to at least get another temporary injunction to let this play out in the court system.
Click to expand...
I'm not saying the case doesn't have merit, I'm saying I don't believe the NFLPA has a strong enough case for the SDNY to ignore the ruling of the 2nd in Brady.  If they didn't find that the NFL had screwed that situation up enough to overturn his suspension, I doubt they'll believe the mishandled Zeke's situation bad enough to overturn his.

 
WheelsUp said:
On DMC and Morris. I am of the mindset that the Cowboys expected that Zeke would miss time this season, and they Kept DMC inactive because of his injury history and that he will be the guy to replace Zeke when he misses. Morris will retain the same roll while getting a few more carries once Zeke misses. Why Keep DMC active and play him and risk injury if he was not going to get many touches with Zeke out there. No one is really getting touches when Zeke plays, so the need isnt there. Thats not what everyone believes, but it is what I believe.
Click to expand...
The fact that the owner and one of Dallas' coaches have said that this isn't the case, that Morris played better than DMC and earned the backup job doesn't cause you to question that belief?

 
Bayhawks said:
From page 4 of the 2nd circuit's decision in Brady:

Bolded/underline emphasis is mine.  It's an important point.  The 2nd has already ruled that even if Goodell made mistakes (like not allowing his lead investigator to testify, ignoring her suggestion, etc), as long as he followed the CBA, the court's can't overturn his decision.  Zeke's team isn't arguing that Goodell violated the CBA, rather that he made mistakes. 
Click to expand...
I think the fact they excluded the notes from the interviews from being given to Zeke and the investigator's recommendation from being submitted to Goodell, and the lead investigator not even testifying to Goodell, are all process related arguments.  The CBA specifically states that the documentation needs to be presented 3 days before the hearing.  The league clearly did not do that.  It seems to me like a slam dunk violation of the agreed upon process.

Now if the league follows all that process, Goodell can come to whatever decision he wants and there is no judicial review.

 
Bayhawks said:
From page 4 of the 2nd circuit's decision in Brady:

Bolded/underline emphasis is mine.  It's an important point.  The 2nd has already ruled that even if Goodell made mistakes (like not allowing his lead investigator to testify, ignoring her suggestion, etc), as long as he followed the CBA, the court's can't overturn his decision.  Zeke's team isn't arguing that Goodell violated the CBA, rather that he made mistakes. 
Click to expand...
It was Henderson that they were arguing against in court. He denied the Zeke's lawyers' request to have the accuser or Roger to be available for questioning during the appeal. Of course, they had also pointed out Roger's faulty ruling, ignoring a lead NFL investigator etc... as well.

The problem is that the NFLPA gave the commissioner the power of god with their terrible contract. He can basically do whatever he wants... and he does.

 
Cowboysfan8 said:
Without know the rest of your roster...probly
Click to expand...
We only have to start 1 RB but I got nothing: Perine, Ellington, DMC, and Derrick Henry.

Have good WR's. If I do this trade I'd be rolliing out: Antonio Brown, Michael Thomas, and TY with Ingram or whatever else I could cobble together.

 
WheelsUp said:
On DMC and Morris. I am of the mindset that the Cowboys expected that Zeke would miss time this season, and they Kept DMC inactive because of his injury history and that he will be the guy to replace Zeke when he misses. Morris will retain the same roll while getting a few more carries once Zeke misses. Why Keep DMC active and play him and risk injury if he was not going to get many touches with Zeke out there. No one is really getting touches when Zeke plays, so the need isnt there. Thats not what everyone believes, but it is what I believe.
Click to expand...
... and I believe that you were only able to grab McFadden off of the wire. 

Really, they would want to keep a 30 year old RB inactive for nearly 2 seasons, just to keep him fresh and save him from injury so they could bring him in and feature him whenever Zeke is unavailable? When has anything like that ever happened in the history of the NFL? You don't think they would want to keep him in the mix, give him a handful of carries to knock the rust off and get him up to game speed? They don't pay guys to have them sit at home on game day if they feel that person is better than the person that is playing. You always want your top backup with you on game day. You want to maximize each touch that any player has, give your team the best chance to win.... also, it isn't as if injuries don't happen and the backup often steps in to carry the load during the game. The OC clearly stated that they were preparing Morris to start week 1 of this season.

 
The General said:
Would people make this trade: Give Deshaun Watson and Emmanuel Sanders Get Alex Smith, TY Hilton, and Mark Ingram.
Click to expand...
Under the circumstances, yes. 

I would probably make that trade even if I wasn't specifically looking for rb depth.  I like Hilton more than Sanders.  I am not sold on either Watson or Smith, either (or neither) could be a ROS QB1.  I see them as being close to even in value.  That is without mentioning Ingram.

 
I know this is an EE thread, but there is so much talk here about his backups. I have picked up Morris (McFadden previously taken) for a kicker (to give me a few days to think things over).  Y'all are pushing me towards re-dropping Morris.

  • Bye week - It is a two week hold before there is any potential payback.  And would an owner be comfortable rolling out either Morris or McFadden the first week?  I would not if I had any other choices.  So that makes it a 3 week hold to me.
  • New stay - There is a decent, even if not overwhelming,  chance that Elliot gets a new stay and plays in Week 7.
  • Committee - I believe that Morris is the play here, but my confidence level is not high.  If he stutters at all, we are in a committee.  While Elliot has not looked explosive to me thus far and the Dallas Offense has looked out of sync running the ball (surely, the O-line is still capable of winning in the trenches?), am I really prepared to bet that Morris will get more (or even equal) yardage as he?  With very possibly fewer touches?  And perhaps, perhaps, perhaps Rod Smith enters the discussion muddying things even more.
If I had pure trash on my bench, or two kickers or two defenses, I would absolutely hold.  For me personally the 3 players in my "drop conversation" are DHenry, Ajayi and Trubisky (sadly dire qb situation to the point that I am holding out hope that Trubisky will be startable for me within 3 to 4 weeks).  I am coming more and more to the decision that I don't want to drop any of the three for Morris. (Dynasty/Keeper). 

 
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