Mickey

I think with an imagination fertile enough, we could all come up with a scenario that makes somebody look bad in this but I am just going with what we do know though I acknowledge that we don't know everything. I think that we know, barring some sort of serious mental defect, that Crowell wouldn't endanger the most important year of his professional life unless, after hearing from the docs the other day, he felt he had no choice. That is at the core of it, an injury that didn't get better that requires surgery. None of those things is Crowell's fault. I can't imagine that Crowell "knew" he had to have surgery before playing and just decided to delay it until the worst possible time for him as well as the team. On the other side of the coin, I don't think there is enough information to condemn the team for the decision they made in response to this unfortunate development. It does look vindictive but these guys are pros, they want to win first and foremost so I gotta beleive they put him on IR for sound reasons.

I might be okay with this if the team sends me back a share of their profits every year.

There, fixed.

He clearly doesn't care about the fines at all which, if and when he gets a new deal will be miniscule by comparison. Frankly, I haven't heard a good justification for the teams actions on his issue and I have heard them all. I also however don't really see a valid strategy for Peters to keep holding out in the regular season. Missing a game check is a big deal and it certainly isn't clear to me how that is a good strategy for him. I thought that since the hold out wasn't costing him anything and the team wasn't going to deal with him for this year even if he had come to camp, he didn't really lost anything by taking a shot at changing their minds with a holdout. It didn't work. I thought he would come in on whatever the last day is to get a check for Sunday and just file this all away for the next round of his fight for a better contract. The only next step I can see on the horizon is him reporting in week 10 if he still doesn't have a contract by then. He would be of no use until he has some practices in so he wouldn't play probably unitl week 12 or 13 if at all. They would have to pay him 6 game checks for nothing. What is that, about 1.2 million?? How much are the fines? I think they stop once he starts losing checks. That is a lot of money to pay for nothing, no matter how much comes back in fines.

If he reports in week 10, they can't "let him rot." Jason Peters is an asset to the team, like the team bus. "Letting it rot" even if they could do it, would hurt the team as well as Peters. I want him signed but if that isn't going to happen, I want to maximize his trade value so that the team gets something out of this. For all we know, the picks/players we get for him could be worth more than a pro bowl LT. Why let spite wash that down the tubes?

Wrong. Q: What constitutes an "accrued season?" A: Six or more regular-season games on a club's active/inactive, reserved-injured or "physically unable to perform" lists. Free Agency FAQ

Call me crazy but I think he decided on the surgery after meeting with the team docs, which he did, because it was necessary. Either that or just for the heckuvit, he decided to endanger the most important year of his professional career.

I was responding to a poster who called Crowel "dumb" and accused him of letting down his team. He did so based on the same lack of information you lament. Can I be critical of posters who leap to conclusions on insufficient evidence too or do only you have that right? As for the facts, we do know it was a contract year for Crowel so I have no problem believing that he wouldn't endanger arguably the most important year in his career needlessly. We also know he met with team doctors first so however it went down, he made sure to get advice from the team's docs first. Based on that, I don't see any problem mocking a post that goes after Crowel as being stupid or not a team player.

So Jauron is lying about who did the surgery?

"opting"??? You think he "opted" to get hurt???? He met with team doctors before deciding on surgery, what do you think they told him? This is a contract year for Crowel, no way he willingly walks off that field unless he felt he had no choice. Seriously, if you really think he just up and decided, for no reason whatsoever, to up and have surgery, please explain why he would do that, what would be in it for him? Has anything this guy has ever done in his long history with team even remotely suggest that he would do what you suggest he is doing?

He is a fan, of the team, not the front office suits.

I think you only need 6 games per year for it to count as an "accrued" year. So if he comes back in week 10, the year still counts. It would be too late for his presence to help the team at all but he wouldn't lose any time towards free agency.

No worries. With Chambers on the job Trent won't get a scratch all season. I hope.

I'll bet he is a lot more disappointed than we are. How quick the rabble turns against the heros of yesterday.

To much playing Madden in GM mode.

I'm sorry, do you mean that getting hurt constitutes $@#$@#$ with an NFL organization? Wow, you must really hate Everett. Getting hurt like that first game. What a jerk.

Isn't "we want a new contract this year" talking? If not, what is it? Verbal silence? Non-negotiating negotiating? The team has made it very clear, no new deal this year, period. Peters clearly wants a deal this year and if not, is willing to hold out for a long time.

Okay Doctor, where did you go to medical school? He met with the team doctors first, what do you think they recommended? Do you think he decided to have surgery at this point, in a contract year, just to tick you off? Could it possibly be that he "chose" surgery because the team's own docs told him it was necessary? Naaw, couldn't be. Far more plausible that he decided to endanger his last and best shot at a big contract for no reason at all.

Brandon himself confirmed that Peters was checked out after the surgery by team doctors. In fact, that is the last time he saw Peters. Brandon has also confirmed that he has had brief discussions with Peters' agent. That means that they have in fact talked and on more than one occasion. We have also had several recent confirmations that the team is not willing to renegotiate his contract for this year. Why is it odd that Peters and his agent haven't had public hissy fits like Brandon did? Warring press conferences is the kind of thing we usually condemn but Peters is being taken to task for not pulling a T.Owens of C.Johnson and creating a public spectacle.

He sure did which is all the more reason to believe that medically, he didn't have a choice. Yet reading the posts hereabouts, you would think he planned to get hurt.

We have no way of knowing what was said. We only know he met with team doctors and then decided to have the surgery even though he is in a contract year and therefore has every incentive to be on the field. I gotta believe that whatever news they gave him, it wasn't good. This is what DJ said, he sounds pretty sour about it, especially where he says that Crowell "elected" to have surgery. Sounds like Dick thinks he didn't really need to have the surgery.

How dare he get injured? What a rotten bastard.

Sounds almost punitive. He made the decision to have the knee scoped after a meeting with team doctors, boy would I like to know what they said. I can't believe he would have opted for surgery against their advice.

wow, he made the pro bowl even though he was "hampered all season". Maybe we should inflict sports hernias on all of our players. Doesn't that mean that this selfish, peckerheaded bastard who cares only about himself and not the team played through an injury all season for the good of the team and, despite what you consider to be a terrible, terrible injury, still managed to be one of the best LT's in the NFL? So that is what he did for the team and the fans. I can see why you are in such hurry to get rid of him. Oh, and thanks for helping demonstrate just how special a player he is, I couldn't have written anything better myself.

I guess making the pro bowl or having the NFL Defensive MVP say you are the best he has faced doesn't count?