DrDawkinstein

What has Cook held out from? Did OTAs start?

It's not the "pushing of the tush" that causes the injury or more chance for an injury. This injury issue and opportunity exists among QB sneaks. If no one were behind them, the same exact thing would happen.

I'll never forget the moment in the first Miami game where he burst through the line, hit the second level, and only #21 on Miami was left to stop him. #21 being Poyer I jumped up knowing Cook was taking that to the house. He toasted Poyer and cruised in. We were up 24-7 by halftime, and all 3 of our TDs were scored by Cook. A 20yd pass reception TD, a short yardage 1st and Goal 1yd power run, and a 49yd take it to the house run on the first play of the possession. Who needs him to pass block when he's so busy scoring TDs?

He just started and Vrabel already has me agreeing more with him than McDermott... https://www.si.com/nfl/mike-vrabel-honest-opinion-potentially-banning-tush-push-patriots ..."There's a lot of plays that you have to defend, whether that's quarterback sneaks, whether that's zone read—there's a lot of plays that are hard to defend, and I don't think that you can get rid of them every time that you have a tough time stopping it," Vrabel said in an interview with Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio. "I mean, Lamar Jackson shouldn't be able to run with the football anymore, how about making that rule? Like that's tough to defend." It seems so far that the league's coaches have differing views on the proposal. Buffalo Bills coach Sean McDermott expressed his concern for player safety with the tush push, meaning he's for the ban....

Oh for sure youre right in the case of the Jets. I was speaking more generally about how they are used in a larger corporate setting. But the motivation is still the same with the Jets. Save face, protect against lawsuits. Two things that are the top of the priority list for NFL teams already, let alone in the middle of laying off most of your staff.

Neither can the Jets. It's absolutely futile for the rest of us. But, I'll happily watch them keep on Jettin' it up while they're in our division!

In the Ja'marr Chase/CeeDee Lamb class? Absolutely. He's our 2nd best player on Offense, behind only the league MVP. He has the ability to take it to the house on any play and had MULTIPLE 45+ yd TD runs last year.

Ja'marr Chase and CeeDee Lamb also scrubbed their socials and made public comments. They signed huge deals. I'm sure there are others I'm not remembering off the top of my head. As long as it doesnt get to hold-out-status, we're good. Look at all the public statements Myles Garrett just made. Landed him a huge deal.

Right, so you got the point that all the same stuff said about Cook for doing largely the same thing, is all off-base.

To that end, we have no idea what Beane's initial offer looked like. If it's in the same vein of team-friendly deals, it could have been $8M-10M/yr. Cook says "$15M". All this drama happens and he "caves" for $11M-12M. All the old man social media fans will blast Cook and say he looks like a fool for settling for less than $15M. But he may have just as easily earned himself an extra $2M-4M/yr for all we know.

You arent wrong. However, with this program, all the high-performers who applied got denied. We can still leave on our own terms, but without the package. I originally applied for the buyout, but was then pulled aside and shown the new plan where both my boss and I ended up with promotions, so I pulled my application and stayed. And frankly, with how horrible the job market is in the tech sector, and only getting worse, I need the stability as a dad to a young kid. That said, back when all this started, it inspired me to start some new Cyber Security certs. Likely looking to leave at the end of this year, but at least on my own timing.

Saving face and protecting against lawsuits. Most of the folks actually targeted in these programs are long-time, high-ranking executives. VPs, SVPs, etc. It's a bad look for both sides if a company fires 25% of their VPs. Leads to questioning what is wrong with those execs and how bad of shape the company is in. By applying for the package, part of the deal you sign waives any and all ability to sue for wrongful termination, and it also prevents you from getting unemployment. It essentially turns into a resignation and is better for the company than firing. These programs do not typically apply to entry-level, front line workers. Folks in the call centers weren't eligible. I'm not sure they were ever even told about the program. Those folks are easily fireable.

My favorite time of year! A big thanks to Virgil and all the volunteer owners who do this. Makes this boring part of the year a bit more interesting. I cant wait to hate who we pick in the poll.

ChatGPT (all AI LLMs for that matter) is not a search engine and should not be used as such.

It sounds like the same McKinsey program my company and a bunch of others have recently employed. The way it works is they let the employee know they are "eligible" to take part in the Enhanced Separation Program and what their severance would be. Then it's up to the employee to decide whether to apply for the package or not by a certain date. Just because you are eligible and apply does NOT mean you will get it/be let go. I had a number of team mates who applied for our enhanced package and ended up being denied. If I had applied for it, I would have been denied the package and retained. Its a bit of a mind-f#$% because employees come to grips with leaving the job, start planning for all this cash, and then are told "just kidding! you get to stay and work here!" At the same time all the folks they really want to push out get "whispered" and "hinted" that they should really apply for the package. And to no one's surprise, they get it. Some folks get "hinted" but still dont apply (because they are in denial, or just dumb). They miss out on the Enhanced package, and then get let go without the big payout. In my experience, the employees who were always safe and never eligible to even apply are not usually upset for missing out. They're just glad they didnt have to deal with all that stress and uncertainty.