Lynch Suspended for 3 Games (1 Viewer)

[RC94]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=4054396

Bills RB Lynch suspended first 3 games

By Michael Smith

Commissioner Roger Goodell has suspended Buffalo Bills running back Marshawn Lynch for the first three games of the 2009 season for violating the league's personal conduct policy, according to sources.

An official announcement could come as soon as Thursday. Lynch is expected to appeal the suspension.

Lynch will lose approximately $112,000 of his $635,000 base salary for 2009 during the suspension.

Lynch was arrested near Los Angeles Feb. 11 and later pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor gun charge. In searching a parked car carrying Lynch, Culver City police found a 9 mm semiautomatic handgun inside a backpack in the trunk.

Prosecutors said the backpack contained other items belonging to Lynch. Police said they also found four marijuana cigarettes in the car, but no drug charges were filed.

After pleading guilty to having a concealed firearm in a vehicle, Lynch was sentenced last month to 80 hours of community service and three years' probation. The Bills' 2007 first-round draft pick also issued an apology.

"I am embarrassed by my recent arrest and conviction," Lynch said. "I deeply regret that I placed myself in this situation."

Lynch met with Goodell at his office in New York on March 17.

It was Lynch's second brush with the law in less than a year. Last June, Lynch pleaded guilty to a traffic violation and admitted driving off after striking a female pedestrian with his car near Buffalo's downtown bar district May 31.

Goodell did not discipline Lynch for the traffic violation after meeting with him at training camp last summer.

Lynch had eight touchdowns and rushed for 1,036 yards last season. He went to his first Pro Bowl game last month, running for a game-high 48 yards during the AFC's 30-21 loss to the NFC.

Michael Smith is a senior writer for ESPN.com. Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.

 

[Kevrunner]

I wonder if he can appeal this and get it reduced, similar to what Brandon Marshall did last year.

 

[Gottabesweet]

Article says he plans on appealing. Hopefully gets reduced to 2.

 

[Kevrunner]

Article says he plans on appealing. Hopefully gets reduced to 2.

That's what I get for just glancing at the article

 

[OC Zed]

As a Bills fan, I'm ecstatic that it's only 3 games. That's at least one game less than I thought it would be.

 

[thecardiackid]

Amazingly stupid to carry a (un-registered?) concealed weapon, even in the trunk.

But, even dumber to allow the cops to search his trunk. Maybe I'm wrong, but they can ask, and you can just say "no". w/o probable cause - they can't do anything. A simple traffic ticket would have saved him over 100k.

 

[DA RAIDERS]

show freddy the money. sweet, i have a nice starter for 2 weeks!

 

[msommer]

So, what is Plax going to get - even if he gets a job? Eight games?

 

[DA RAIDERS]

So, what is Plax going to get - even if he gets a job? Eight games?

4. first offense right? & a lot will depend on what he eventually goes down for.

 

[Dave Larkin]

This was coming. I feel Fred Jackson will be able to fill in pretty well. This should be Lynch's last chance, though.

 

[msommer]

So, what is Plax going to get - even if he gets a job? Eight games?

4. first offense right? & a lot will depend on what he eventually goes down for.

Possible and maybe why Lynch only got 3 games (so Plax could get more).

 

[wildbill]

A gun, in a backpack, in the trunk of a car is considered a concealed weapon? Is that just in California, or is it that way across the nation?

 

[Crimson King]

How do people feel about Lynch long term? Is this incident (and last year's) something that he can put behind him and continue on with a productive career or do people see him as one more than likely to flame out and squander his talents due to stupidity?

 

[Dr. Octopus]

It seems like the Bills will likely have to bring in another RB through FA or the draft (Fred Taylor and DeShaun Foster visited in the past) for depth during those three weeks at least. Do they have anything on the roster after Fred Jackson, Xavier Omon and their FB? Does teh coaching staff trust Omon?

 

[Banger]

How do people feel about Lynch long term? Is this incident (and last year's) something that he can put behind him and continue on with a productive career or do people see him as one more than likely to flame out and squander his talents due to stupidity?

I think I'm in the minority but I'm not a big fan. He plays a bruising style and has missed time and has been banged up his 1st 2 years, he's had a few off the field incidents the most recent leading to a suspension and will be squarely on Godell's radar for any future slip-ups (guaranteed suspension), he plays on an average team at best, his replacement (Fred Jackson) has looked very good when filling in for him and even when Lynch plays he's been average to good never great IMO. He's a 1350 total yards and 7-8 TD RB. He'll never be great and will probably be a RB 10-15 but doesn't have a lot of upside beyond that but due to his style of play and off the field issues his downside is a lot worse.

 

[Wyld Stallyns]

Does this bump Lynch to a 2nd round pick? Good value IMO if it does... Looking forward to seeing where I can draft him this year.

 

[Banger]

Does this bump Lynch to a 2nd round pick? Good value IMO if it does... Looking forward to seeing where I can draft him this year.

no doubt about it. He should've been a 2nd rounder to begin with IMO. I liked at least 14 RB's better than him before this suspension.In no particular order, I didn't like him better than1. LT2. Peterson3. Westy4. SJax5. Barber6. Gore7. Portis8. Chris Johnson9. Forte10. Slaton11. Drew12. Jacobs13. Turner14. DWill....I think he's probably in the mix with R. Brown, T. Jones,

 

[Ditkaless Wonders]

Waiting for th eother shoe to drop with this kid.

 

[NattyDread]

Amazingly stupid to carry a (un-registered?) concealed weapon, even in the trunk. But, even dumber to allow the cops to search his trunk. Maybe I'm wrong, but they can ask, and you can just say "no". w/o probable cause - they can't do anything. A simple traffic ticket would have saved him over 100k.

Not necessarily true. Fifteen years ago I went to college in Houston, where cops pulling you over for "driving while black" isn't an uncommon occurrence. I've had this exact circumstance where the cop pulled me over and asked to search the car. I said no and he did it anyway, with a K-9 to boot. In the end I got no ticket and the cop used an out of state license plate (often the case for college students) as the reason for pulling me over. But your larger point is correct: don't carry unregistered weapons or weed in your car. Lynch should know better.

 

[Crimson King]

I both agree and disagree with some of the things you said about Lynch. First, I agree that due to his off-field issues (which shouldn't be minimized) there is some major downside, especially in the dynasty format. However, I don't think it is accurate to say that he is a 1350 yd. 7-8 TD runningback at best. There have been numerous backs throughout the last 10 or 15 years who have gone on to better (some significantly so) the numbers from their first two years.

I can see numerous factors leading to better stats for Lynch (barring further knucklehead incidents) like the arrival of TO to take pressure off of the run game, even a slight improvement from the QB position, more cohesion among the OL. I understand that these are not guarantees, but I'm of the opinion that we know what Lynch's floor is when he plays (1350 7-8 td's) and that there is reason to believe that with slight changes, he could improve significantly. Maybe I'm in the minority, but I see Lynch's talents being underrated due to his propensity for stupidity and his surrounding cast, but not because of his talent.

 

[Banger]

I both agree and disagree with some of the things you said about Lynch. First, I agree that due to his off-field issues (which shouldn't be minimized) there is some major downside, especially in the dynasty format. However, I don't think it is accurate to say that he is a 1350 yd. 7-8 TD runningback at best. There have been numerous backs throughout the last 10 or 15 years who have gone on to better (some significantly so) the numbers from their first two years. I can see numerous factors leading to better stats for Lynch (barring further knucklehead incidents) like the arrival of TO to take pressure off of the run game, even a slight improvement from the QB position, more cohesion among the OL. I understand that these are not guarantees, but I'm of the opinion that we know what Lynch's floor is when he plays (1350 7-8 td's) and that there is reason to believe that with slight changes, he could improve significantly. Maybe I'm in the minority, but I see Lynch's talents being underrated due to his propensity for stupidity and his surrounding cast, but not because of his talent.

I don't think you are in the minority, I think I am. He was ranked 10th last year so there's a good bit of love for him. Yes there are backs that blow up after their 1st couple years but that's often due to some major changes (new role, improved line, new coaching staff, additional talent, etc.). TO is a nice addition that will help the offense and especially Evans and Edwards but I don't know how that will end up translating to Lynch. Generally, guys that have that top notch talent show it right out of the box and to me Lynch has always been average to good but hasn't shown that he has the ability to be great. The vast majority of his stat lines are 22-88-0 and 2-18-0. Not great, not horrible but he's rarely gonna blow up and win a week for you (he's had 3 20+ pt weeks in 2 years). Guys like Slaton (3), Chris Johnson (4) and Forte (3) have had as many or more in one season. He's a poor man's Jamal with better hands IMO (not the Jamal now but when he was good). Now he could go on and have a great season or couple seasons and I wouldn't be absolutely shocked but I happen to feel that he'll end up in the range he's been in (RB 10-15) for one reason or another. I'll let someone else take that risk and go for a "safer" guy that I perceive to have more upside. Just my opinion and I've been wrong before.

 

[gianmarco]

How do people feel about Lynch long term? Is this incident (and last year's) something that he can put behind him and continue on with a productive career or do people see him as one more than likely to flame out and squander his talents due to stupidity?

I think I'm in the minority but I'm not a big fan. He plays a bruising style and has missed time and has been banged up his 1st 2 years, he's had a few off the field incidents the most recent leading to a suspension and will be squarely on Godell's radar for any future slip-ups (guaranteed suspension), he plays on an average team at best, his replacement (Fred Jackson) has looked very good when filling in for him and even when Lynch plays he's been average to good never great IMO. He's a 1350 total yards and 7-8 TD RB. He'll never be great and will probably be a RB 10-15 but doesn't have a lot of upside beyond that but due to his style of play and off the field issues his downside is a lot worse.

Exactly how I feel about him. Yeah, I think we're in the minority for sure. For now.

 

[Banger]

How do people feel about Lynch long term? Is this incident (and last year's) something that he can put behind him and continue on with a productive career or do people see him as one more than likely to flame out and squander his talents due to stupidity?

I think I'm in the minority but I'm not a big fan. He plays a bruising style and has missed time and has been banged up his 1st 2 years, he's had a few off the field incidents the most recent leading to a suspension and will be squarely on Godell's radar for any future slip-ups (guaranteed suspension), he plays on an average team at best, his replacement (Fred Jackson) has looked very good when filling in for him and even when Lynch plays he's been average to good never great IMO. He's a 1350 total yards and 7-8 TD RB. He'll never be great and will probably be a RB 10-15 but doesn't have a lot of upside beyond that but due to his style of play and off the field issues his downside is a lot worse.

Exactly how I feel about him. Yeah, I think we're in the minority for sure. For now.

actually due to his off the field issues, I think people will be down more on him than last year. It's hard to pin down but there are certain guys, usually 2nd year guys, that each year are ranked too high based on perceived improvement on their rookie years. It happened with Lynch and Maroney, it also happened with R. Brown a couple years back and I tend to avoid them and let someone else grab them and will go with a boring Portis type guy. To me, if a RB is a stud they show it right out of the gate 9 times out of 10.