DriveFor1Outta5

Pass protection has been awful. Combine that with a QB that scans the field slowly and we have trouble. If pass protection doesn't greatly improve it's going to be a long season.

Nice run game. I'm not impressed with pass blocking or TT's ability to make quick reads.

Ducasse is an awful Rex find.

Nice defense. Bradford is still terrible.

First three plays were great. Then I had flashbacks to the Rex era.

They didn't think of it because they wanted to eliminate Kids Day without actually saying it.

If Pop Warner became flag football I wouldn't lose sleep over it. I wouldn't necessarily agree 100%, but I wouldn't be annoyed either. I was addressing statements like "I wouldn't let my kid play football". I didn't know that we were just talking about Pop Warner. I assumed that statement applied to any and all football. Obviously it's a personal choice that I don't want to criticize. It's just something that I find to be an intriguing discussion. After all that is the purpose of these forums.

You are correct, but lets not act like football players are the only ones who graduate with those degrees. Millions of people are wandering the streets with useless bachelors degree. Too many of us are making this a black and white issue. Many former college football players achieve professional success. It's the guys who were never cut out for college to begin with who don't.

There are millions of people with Bachelors degrees who can't find work that meets their educational level. Debating the definition of "real degree" is a matter of semantics.

The "poorer kid who doesn't live up to expectations" was given the chance to attend for free. He likely would have never stepped foot on campus without football. The "poorer kid" has many societal factors working against them. The NCAA is not solely responsible for their shortcomings.

Many of the posters on this forum have Western NY ties. I can see why Western NY was never a hotbed of football talent. Being Bills fans are deeply ingrained in our hearts. High school and college football culture is not. I don't see parents in Texas or Alabama stopping their sons from playing football anytime soon. Football will remain alive and well.

I understand, but one can make a point without using examples that throw others under the bus.

You do have to admit that calling out Alabama was in poor taste though. There was no need for it.

You do bring up a good point, but in reality how many people are complaining about career path requirements? It's just something that hasn't entered the national spotlight. I think people just accept what's required of them without asking questions. We expect football players to do the same. Whether or not it's how it should be is another question. Football is a lucrative career. To the average guy asking a player to attend college with reduced academic standards doesn't seem so terrible.

The only reason so many NFL players say this is because they are jealous of NBA players. You'd never hear Brady say something like that.

Exactly. The NFL does what every other employer does. They find a system that benefits them and use it to their advantage. The NFL gets a free farm system that develops players. Of course they are going to take advantage of it. How many employers ask for Bachelors degree just because they can? They understand that for everyone one person who isn't willing to attend college for the career, there are ten more who are. The NFL operates under the same premise.

Great point. Being a pro football player presents a young man with far more important decisions than most 9-5 young men face. Historically the purpose of college was to train doctors,lawyers,etc. Education eventually became a big business, and went off the rails. Now you need a degree for everything. This is why I can't understand Rosen's point of being "forced" to go to college. We "force" millions of kids to go to college ever year without any practical reason. I understood what he said, and I replied to it. You might want to re read the posts Mr.Editor.

I do. Rosen is simply a spoiled silver spoon kid. If football is stopping him from pursuing his degree of choice, why doesn't he pursue an easier one while he is playing or stop playing? He could easily pursue whatever degree he wants when he's done playing football.

You predict a grim future for people who don't go to college. Quite the elitist remark.

I think this quote from Rosen sums up his attitude best "I want to own the world. Every young person should be able to have that dream and the ability to access it. I don't think that's too much to ask".

Is the quality of education at Alabama even relevant to this conversation? Rosen is bashing Alabama for low standards. Outside of the Ivy League most universities lower their standards specifically for football players. This makes the standards of the universities as a whole somewhat irrelevant to football. I'm not sure that calling out Alabama was fair. Alabama may have lower general standards than Michigan. This doesn't mean that Michigan holds football players to the same standard as the general student body. Every big time college program lowers academic standards for football players.

This^ Watson is never going to be intimidated. It's likely that this will make him look quite good at times. He also has the ability to make plays outside of the pocket. These are things that will never be questioned. Ultimately Watson's career is going to be determined by how well he throws the ball from the pocket with accuracy.

Fair enough. There is certainly nothing "wrong" with your stance. Personally I thought that playing football ranked highly amongst the most enjoyable things do in life. I find that to be enough of a reward to outweigh the risks. I understand that my argument sounds like the one that smokers make in favor of smoking. It's obviously somewhat flawed, but I'd risk CTE and bad knees over COPD and lung cancer (My beliefs regarding CTE highly impact this). We all have different beliefs, and priorities. This is why I can't see football going away.

I'm not trying to call you out. I just read your belief that football causes more suffering than good. Personally I wouldn't want to watch something that I believe is causing people a great deal of suffering. You shouldn't try to play off my point as some preposterous internet post. I think it's a point that has some validity. It applies to all of the posters on this forum who talk about football like it's a great human tragedy. Congrats that you challenged your mind and aren't a dumb jock anymore. You do realize that tons of former high level college football players are immensely successful people?

There is absolutely nothing wrong with your beliefs. In fact I commend you for doing what you think is best for your children. However, I think it all comes down to differing parental philosophies. You mention it being a parents job to make decisions for 8 teenage years. I don't necessarily agree with that. I hope to give my children the information they need to make informed decisions. Decision making is a critical life skill. If that is taken away for eight years how do people ever learn the skill? As parents we are not often able to be around at the most critical times. Our children are constantly making choices, even when we are unaware they are doing so. In these instances I would trust a child who has been given the ability to make decisions more than one who hasn't. How can you trust your child going away to college who hasn't been given the opportunity to ever make their own choices? I think that over parenting has become one of the biggest problems with my generation. My peers weren't given the opportunity to make decisions. When they are presented with opportunities to do so they make poor decisions. It's difficult to do something that someone else has always done for you. I attribute a great deal of young people's immaturity to this. Our children hear everything that we say. We've been saying for years that teenagers are incapable of making decisions. This essentially gives them the belief that they have a free pass for anything they do. If they are incapable of decision making, how can they be held accountable for their actions? My ultimate point is that I wouldn't tell me child that they can't play football. I'd allow them to make whatever decision they feel feasible with the information we have. I'm not going to stop my child for living their life and pursuing their dreams, just as I wouldn't stop them from joining the Marine Corps. Please don't be mistaken. I don't believe in parents doing nothing. There are plenty of rules that need to be established for kids. There are many things that I will simply not allow. I just won't go as far as saying that a parents job is to make every decision for my children. Saying no to play a sport seems like helicopter parenting to me. I remember in my school district that around two or three kids seemed to die in car accidents every year. A 16 year old driving scares me far more than football.