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Sounds like the Commish is leaning toward a 4 game suspension based on his positive comments about Ben.
4 games would be a lot for someone that was never officially charged with anything. In Baseball that's 40 games, Basketball would be 20...it is a lot of time and cripples the Steelers for the first month of the season, probably ensures they miss the playoffs. The Eli/Big Ben combo is one I like for FF this year.
I have to agree. You need to put it in perspective and then consider the fact that he has never been charged with a crime much less convicted.
The amount of games suspended is irrelevant to me. If you're gonna suspend someone, suspend them. Don't make this adjustable scale with the expectations of conduct that are set so low that it would take Natural Born Killers type rampage to warrant the full suspension. Using your example, it's like a baseball player getting suspended 50 games for using steriods with a possible reduction to 15 games if you don't use steriods in the interim.Big Ben had to go a whole 6 months without trying to rape a young coed. How did he survive?
6:4=50:15
that's something MOP would do in the FFA, be careful there GB. Snots, I'm not condoning what Ben did, quite frankly it was immoral and a poor use of power but the fact is he will be a starting NFL QB and owners are gonna take him at some point so we gotta deal with the here and now. Wishing for him to go away won't cut it.
Frankly I thought 4 games was rather harsh considering he was never charged with anything. I understand the "behavior unbecoming a player" aspect but 1/4 of the season is coming down hard.That said, it does seem to have had the intended affect, at least in the short-term. Roethlisberger complied with all of the behavior analysis and counseling (might still be doing this, we don't know). He came into camp in the best shape of his career, has been saying all the right things, reportedly making more of an effort with teammates and has been the last one off the field, staying 45 minutes after the afternoon practices to sign autographs and pose for pictures with fans. Perhaps it is all a front just to get in the good graces with the commish & fans or maybe he has genuinely changed. As a Steelers fan I just hope he stays in line.hes not raping as much.
The NFL isn't a second judicial system. Punishments are based on harming the NFL through obviously poor decision making. Not based on whether they are criminals who deserve punishment from society.Frankly I thought 4 games was rather harsh considering he was never charged with anything. I understand the "behavior unbecoming a player" aspect but 1/4 of the season is coming down hard.
That said, it does seem to have had the intended affect, at least in the short-term. Roethlisberger complied with all of the behavior analysis and counseling (might still be doing this, we don't know). He came into camp in the best shape of his career, has been saying all the right things, reportedly making more of an effort with teammates and has been the last one off the field, staying 45 minutes after the afternoon practices to sign autographs and pose for pictures with fans.
Perhaps it is all a front just to get in the good graces with the commish & fans or maybe he has genuinely changed. As a Steelers fan I just hope he stays in line.
about your comments about Ben complying though. Hopefully he uses what happened to seriously examine his life and how he's lived it and make some positive changes. And not necessarily related to the football field.
The original suspension was 6 games with a possible reduction to 4. I guess Goodell can do whatever he wants but I would be VERY surprised to see him change his stance. Assuming Ben doesn't screw up he is going to sit 4 games.
Bruce Arians isn't going to institute a "Three Yards and a Cloud of Dust" offense but there is no question the Steelers emphasis is going to be on the running game the first 4 games of the season. Mendenhall will be getting a lot of carries this season.
I just think he is better with Ben in there. Ben will keep the defense respecting the passing game.
Agreed... but getting a lot of carries is good too.
to Goodell on his masterful politics in handling this. I never doubted for a second this was anything more than a 4 game pop. But he gives him 6 games to appease the people upset. It's great for PR. But it was all show. He gets 2 extra games worth of impact without ever having to actually do it. Very smart.
I'd disagree there fatness. I think he planned this exactly this way from the start. PR / Perception / protecting the shield is all about a case by case thing where you're digging into the details. With the number of "constituents" he rules over, he can do this. If he had to make rules for 50,000 people, you have to get into more standardized formats and such. When it's the volume of people he has now, you can be personally involved in each one and weigh out the details in each case. I think he's being masterful in how he's handling all of this. Mainly because of the bottom line - his goal is to defend the reputation of the league or protect the shield as he likes to say. With a group of people where it's pretty challenging to do that, he's done it exceptionally well in my opinion.Jfatness said:
I still don't think it's a great idea for one person to be the judge, jury, and executioner, especially when there's no set rules or guidelines in place and it basically comes down to how much Goodell thinks you've "stained the shield" or however you want to put it. Especially in the Roethlisberger case, where he was suspended over very questionable allegations and never saw as much as a pair of handcuffs, let alone a trial of any sort. I think that's setting a terrible precedent for the rest of the league, and frankly I'm surprised the players union has bent over and taken it like they have. My only guess is that the conduct policy is something they're looking to address in the new CBA, at least setting up some sort of committee system or something along those lines, and are not putting up much a fight for their players now hoping to take on that battle for the new contract.
Leaving room for more loosey-goosey haphazard determinations by Goodell.
I realize it sucks to see a key player not there for your team. I'm in a similar boat as a Texans fan having to watch Cushing sit out because he is an idiot.
I suspect that Goodell was just being cryptic. I don't think he has any intention of going less than 4 games.
What if they did their due diligence and Ben's apparent sense of entitlement vis-a-vis women didn't emerge until after he signed his big contract? There's no way to know what people are going to down their lives are suddenly changed by fame and fortune. Bottom line is that a suspension punsihes the player and everyone else who's involved with/cares about the team. Hell, you might even be putting the coach's job in jeopardy in many cases. A fine punsihes only the person who committed the transgression, that's why I favor monetary penalties.
Gotta agree with EG on this one. Fine him up the wazoo, require all the counseling you want, but don't suspend him for 6 games especially in a sitiation where a man has not been charged with a crime.I know as a season ticket holder I feel like I am getting ripped off to a certain extent because the NFL is purposely not putting the best product possible out there on the field. You may be punishing the player but you are also punishing the team, the coaching staff and most importantly, your customers and TV networks.
Its not so much the off-season / off the field fines and suspensions that get me... the players should have someway to appeal it or atleast defend themselves, but what gets me is the fines that the players receive during the season... sometimes they just come out of no where and amounts are off the top of his head. And I remember last yr there were some heavy fines for legal hits while there was nothing done on some cheaps shots. The NFLPA should of and hopefully will have some ability to fight those after 2011... have your fun now Rog
I still think he'll stand by the 4 games though.
