Rico Posted September 10, 2006 Posted September 10, 2006 "That fan" that Chris Brown is referring to in his blog today is me. I knew this would happen because Bam Childress blew everyone away at camp and picking up smith made no sense. Three cheers to my gut. (Genuflect!) 766064[/snapback] Good call! I was dead wrong on this one, I thought he'd help them out on PR... that BB is a big sneak! Bottom line though, he knows as much about the Bills now without Fast Freddy as with him, so no big deal, sucks for FF though.
ATBNG Posted September 10, 2006 Posted September 10, 2006 The premise that New England effed with Smith's career and season is laughable. If he's good enough to play in the league, another team will pick Smith up. End of story. Do you know how many journeymen there are in this league? There are dozens of guys out there that are sitting on the NFL roster bubble at any given time and end up playing for three or four teams in one season. There's also this possibility that maybe the Patriots actually wanted to see what Smith had, but he wasn't as good as they thought, or he didn't show them what he needed to in practice, or he turned out to be a misfit for their system. He's never been more than a fifth receiver/return man on Buffalo, he has two years experience with your squad and now this year he wasn't good enough to make Buffalo! Why is there an expectation that he would stick with anyone? The moral outrage being expressed here couldn't be more misplaced in the context of what people should have moral outrage about. If Levy/Jauron had picked up Childress after the Pats cut him last week, there would have been a two page thread on why this regime is already intellectually superior to the Donahoe/Mularkey one, and there would have been none of this ethical analysis.
MadBuffaloDisease Posted September 10, 2006 Posted September 10, 2006 Yeah, I still see Smith's name on the roster on the official Pats website, but Mike Reiss of the Boston Globe reported he was waived yesterday. They probably just haven't updated the site yet.
smokinandjokin Posted September 10, 2006 Posted September 10, 2006 Yeah, I still see Smith's name on the roster on the official Pats website, but Mike Reiss of the Boston Globe reported he was waived yesterday. They probably just haven't updated the site yet. 766578[/snapback] I really believe he is still on the team. Yesterday's Buffalo News had an article about how if activated, he will likely return punts for the Patriots. And this article is from yesterday's Boston Herald. He's listed on the roster on every print and electronic source I can find. I think Chris Brown of the Bills effed up when he said Freddie was released.
OGTEleven Posted September 10, 2006 Posted September 10, 2006 If Levy/Jauron had picked up Childress after the Pats cut him last week, there would have been a two page thread on why this regime is already intellectually superior to the Donahoe/Mularkey one, and there would have been none of this ethical analysis. 766576[/snapback] There can probably never be proof that Smith was abused. There can be evidence. If the Pats turn around and pick up Childress I would think that would cast some doubt as to their intentions. I think what most people on the other side of your argument have said is that Smith was possibly wronged. I haven't seen anyone argue that the Bills were wronged. KTFABD properly pointed out that it will be much harder for Smith to link up with a team now than it would have been last week. Will it be impossible? No. But it will be harder. As far as the Bills go it is ok. The management/coaches will demonstrate to the players in the league how they approach their relationship with the player. This may turn out to be good or bad. I think it is clear that BB treats players like chess pieces. It may be ok with some and not ok with the others. It may end up catching up with him or not. Dr. K and KTFABG point out, correctly I think, that if BB did abuse the Smith by using the rules, that it was Bush league. I doubt BB will wake up in a cold sweat from guilt, or that anything can be done about it, but a dirt bag is still a dirt bag. For Smith, he had no choice anyway due to the waiver wire. If the Pats had ill intent, it is unlikely he could prove it. I hope he lands on his feet. A little story from my personal experience... I once left a company and went to a competitor. After I joined, I had brief interviews with each member of management at my new company. Some just wanted to tell me how things were handled, some asked me general questions about the strenghs and weknesses of my previous company. All wanted to know my opinion on how we could improve our standing with a given customer set. One guy started asking specific questions about how we could undermine my previous company in specific projects. I was immediately uncomfortable and told him so. I quickly found out that this guy had a bad reputation in the new company and a habit of cutting corners. It gave me confidence in the new company and in my own ability to read people.
smokinandjokin Posted September 10, 2006 Posted September 10, 2006 People are writing seven paragraph posts trashing the Pats and defending Fast Freddie, and we haven't even confirmed that he's been released yet... Can someone please post the release of the wire report that Smith was released? I'm not trusting Chris Brown's "blog" as a source of information on this matter.
Pecori83 Posted September 10, 2006 Posted September 10, 2006 i have seen it on the boston herald as well as on yahoo, here;s the link to the herald article. http://patriots.bostonherald.com/otherNFL/...rticleid=156855 other than that i havent seen anything else.
The Senator Posted September 10, 2006 Posted September 10, 2006 Sounds to me like the Pats did indeed bring Smith in to pick his brain... Boston Globe - Bam in, Smith out Hopefully he recognized that and told 'em to pi$$ off.
MadBuffaloDisease Posted September 10, 2006 Posted September 10, 2006 Sounds to me like the Pats did indeed bring Smith in to pick his brain... Boston Globe - Bam in, Smith out Hopefully he recognized that and told 'em to pi$$ off. Looks like he basically did that. "I told them to go out an prepare like before I got here."
ATBNG Posted September 10, 2006 Posted September 10, 2006 I think what most people on the other side of your argument have said is that Smith was possibly wronged. I haven't seen anyone argue that the Bills were wronged. KTFABD properly pointed out that it will be much harder for Smith to link up with a team now than it would have been last week. Will it be impossible? No. But it will be harder. He wasn't possibly wronged in any way, shape or form. Smith was an unsigned NFL player that was claimed on waivers. He reported to his new team. He was then cut from his new team. This is a perfectly standard transaction in the collecting bargaining agreement that management and players have. This happens all the time. I think it is clear that BB treats players like chess pieces. It may be ok with some and not ok with the others. It may end up catching up with him or not. Dr. K and KTFABG point out, correctly I think, that if BB did abuse the Smith by using the rules, that it was Bush league. I doubt BB will wake up in a cold sweat from guilt, or that anything can be done about it, but a dirt bag is still a dirt bag. Tom Jackson tried this argument in 2003 ("They hate their coach") and the team won 34 of its next 37 games and two rings. If he's such a "dirt bag," why do his players give such an effort for him? Why has the organization been so successful? Why are his players, coaches and managers so loyal? Do you do your best work for someone that is professional or for someone that is a scumbag? On the other hand, don't you want Levy to also play proverbial chess? As a Buffalo fan, when it comes down to cuts do you want him making his evaluation on the basis of a player's ability or how nice a guy he is?
Kelly the Dog Posted September 10, 2006 Posted September 10, 2006 He wasn't possibly wronged in any way, shape or form. Smith was an unsigned NFL player that was claimed on waivers. He reported to his new team. He was then cut from his new team. This is a perfectly standard transaction in the collecting bargaining agreement that management and players have. This happens all the time. Tom Jackson tried this argument in 2003 ("They hate their coach") and the team won 34 of its next 37 games and two rings. If he's such a "dirt bag," why do his players give such an effort for him? Why has the organization been so successful? Why are his players, coaches and managers so loyal? Do you do your best work for someone that is professional or for someone that is a scumbag? On the other hand, don't you want Levy to also play proverbial chess? As a Buffalo fan, when it comes down to cuts do you want him making his evaluation on the basis of a player's ability or how nice a guy he is? 766674[/snapback] Fukking your best friends wife is not illegal in any way. It's just two people that like each other making love. It happens all the time. It's also totally wrong. I am not saying that Belidick did this. He very probably didn't. Grilling a new player on your team for info on your opponent is also perfectly fine and happens all the time. It's not even deceitful. IF BB did it just to grill him and had no intention of keeping him, it's totally and utterly wrong.
generaLee83 Posted September 10, 2006 Posted September 10, 2006 Fukking your best friends wife is not illegal in any way. It's just two people that like each other making love. It happens all the time. It's also totally wrong. I am not saying that Belidick did this. He very probably didn't. Grilling a new player on your team for info on your opponent is also perfectly fine and happens all the time. It's not even deceitful. IF BB did it just to grill him and had no intention of keeping him, it's totally and utterly wrong. 766691[/snapback] Thank you as usual buddhist canine
ATBNG Posted September 10, 2006 Posted September 10, 2006 Fukking your best friends wife is not illegal in any way. It's just two people that like each other making love. It happens all the time. It's also totally wrong. I am not saying that Belidick did this. He very probably didn't. Grilling a new player on your team for info on your opponent is also perfectly fine and happens all the time. It's not even deceitful. IF BB did it just to grill him and had no intention of keeping him, it's totally and utterly wrong. 766691[/snapback] That's not an apt analogy Kelly. A husband and wife have taken public vows that promise not to do such a thing. Though not illegal, it is pretty clear that there has been an ethical violation by the cheating party. The same would go for a couple that wasn't married if they have an explicit agreement to be faithful to one another and one broke the agreement. The collective bargaining agreement does not say it is wrong for a team to pick up a cut player from its upcoming opponent to soak him for information. Even if that's all they did, there is nothing unethical about it. It's part of the game. Teams devote a ton of resources to figuring out what their opponents are going to do on game day. This is only being judged here because it was the Patriots that grabbed an ex-Bill. The truth though is that Smith's getting waived assuredly has everything to do with his (lesser) abilities as a receiver and the current state of the Patriots roster. Between Brown, Faulk, Andrews and Hobbs they have a lot of depth among returners. With Gabriel and Jackson out, the team needs Childress more than Smith to be on the field in their three receiver sets or if Brown or Caldwell gets hurt. It's about football, and not who's going to heaven.
Recommended Posts