The official off season NFL thread

[Slayer 0]

Apparently it's official now (heard it on radio, haven't seen it online yet)

 

TO goes to Philly, Ravens get two draft picks, dunno if SF gets anything

 

 

Add me to the list of people who really wanted to see Lewis burst TO's ego, but alas it looks like that isn't going to happen now

[the pinjockey 0]

Owens to the Eagles, Brandon Whiting to the 49ers, and a 5th round pick to the Ravens

[CanadianChris 0]

Well, I'm certainly going to be watching Ravens at Eagles next season...

[MarvinisaLunatic 0]

Owens to the Eagles, Brandon Whiting to the 49ers, and a 5th round pick to the Ravens

Do the Ravens get their 2nd round pick back?

 

If not, this sucks ass.

 

Nevermind, I see the Ravens got their 2nd round pick back.

[2GOLD 0]

So, is the NFL officially becoming the NBA?

 

Player cries and gets what he wants even though the team that had his contract should have been able to deal him for whatever they wanted.

 

I mean, Brandon Whiting for TO? Talk about getting screwed.

[Guest MD2020]

Or, the 49ers and Baltimore didn't like the way the special master hearing went, and tried to get something out of it before TO was ruled a free agent.

[Guest OctoberBlood]

Ha! Yay!

[sfaJack 0]

What a crock of shit. TO, the little whiny bitch, gets what he wants. How pathetic.

 

I hope he breaks his leg in his first game for Philly.

[snuffbox 0]

The Eagles will never get to the SuperBowl....theyve fucked themeslves again...hilarity ensues in the NFL

[The Ghost of bps21 0]

The Ravens did get their second round pick back as well.

 

Bascially...The paperwork error netted SF Whiting and Baltimore a 5th round pick for free.

[the pinjockey 0]

I don't get this. I don't see it as whiny TO gets what he wants. Paint me as a biased Eagles fan if you want, but the way SF came out of that meeting yesterday and scrambled to get the same piss poor package they turned down a couple weeks ago leads me to believe TO had a strong case.

[Ripper 0]

Okay, you know what? How is TO a bitch in this situation, really?

 

How is ANY of this his fault that he didn't enter free agency. Are we saying he should have known that his agents office would forget about the cut off date change that was present when he signed his contract. Its not like HE was suppose to file the papers to get to free agency.

 

I'm guessing the only reason TO is being called a whiney bitch in this situation is because he isn't really a popular player and thought of as a loud mouth. I don't see how I should feel sorry for the niners when they were just working a loophole and basically they and baltimore got shit for free because of that loophole. They should and their fans should be happy.

[Guest Flyboy]

I'm with Ripper. I'm just mad about the whole thing because I wanted to see TO in Baltimore.

[the pinjockey 0]

The Eagles will never get to the SuperBowl....theyve fucked themeslves again...hilarity ensues in the NFL

How have they fucked themselves?

 

They got Terrell Owens (at worst a top 5 WR) for:

- Brandon Whiting (he would be lucky to make the team this year)

- 5th round pick (oh no, don't break the bank like that)

- and for about 1/2 as much as he would have cost on the open market ($10 mil bonus is nothing)

 

By no stretch of the imagination am I a real fan of TO. But to say anything other than the Eagles made out like bandits is just silly.

 

I wish I would fuck myself as much as they have done this offseason, getting the premiere playmaker on each side of the ball that was available.

[snuffbox 0]

TO is not top 5....and hes a cancer to his team. Philly is shaky enough with their fans, this wont help. TO wont be able to coexist with McNabb or Reid. He will hurt the team alot more than help.

 

Kids gotta realize that guys like this arent beneficial to their teams no matter how famous they are or how good they think they play.

[the pinjockey 0]

"Philly is shaky enough with their fans?"

 

What does this mean? Trust me, the philly mentality right now is "Can he catch a football? If he can, I don't care if he eats babies and pushes old ladies."

 

And I believe Andy Reid would deal with any TO problems in a heartbeat. He isn't going to be allowed to pull the shit he did in SF.

[imajackoff? 0]

My Ravens have just been thoroughly reemed up the ass. I have no problem with TO not being a Raven, but they deserve proper compensation for the 2 weeks they were lead to believe by the NFL that they had their #1 WR. During that period of time, they let Marcus Robinson sign with Minny as Justin Mcarens, Darryl Jackson, and David Boston have all been taken off the market. Boston was had for a freakin' 5th round pick in 2005!!

 

The NFL better freakin step up and give Bmore a high compensatory pick (like the 33rd pick in the draft) for approving a trade for a player who by all acounts now should have been a FA after all.

[The Ghost of bps21 0]

My Ravens have just been thoroughly reemed up the ass. I have no problem with TO not being a Raven, but they deserve proper compensation for the 2 weeks they were lead to believe by the NFL that they had their #1 WR. During that period of time, they let Marcus Robinson sign with Minny as Justin Mcarens, Darryl Jackson, and David Boston have all been taken off the market. Boston was had for a freakin' 5th round pick in 2005!!

 

The NFL better freakin step up and give Bmore a high compensatory pick (like the 33rd pick in the draft) for approving a trade for a player who by all acounts now should have been a FA after all.

They aren't going to get the 33rd pick...nor do they deserve it.

 

That would screw every other team in the league...and never get approval.

[Ripper 0]

"Philly is shaky enough with their fans?"

 

What does this mean? Trust me, the philly mentality right now is "Can he catch a football? If he can, I don't care if he eats babies and pushes old ladies."

 

And I believe Andy Reid would deal with any TO problems in a heartbeat. He isn't going to be allowed to pull the shit he did in SF.

I don't remember WINNING Terrell Owens being a problem.

[LaParkaMarka 0]

I really really don't understand why Boston was traded yesterday. Baltimore would have definately given up a 3rd or 4th rounder this year for him, since he's infinately better than Dez White or Kevin Dyson. The Baltimore receiving corps is dead, the only legit threat is poor Todd Heap.

[sfaJack 0]

Okay, you know what? How is TO a bitch in this situation, really?

 

How is ANY of this his fault that he didn't enter free agency. Are we saying he should have known that his agents office would forget about the cut off date change that was present when he signed his contract. Its not like HE was suppose to file the papers to get to free agency.

 

I'm guessing the only reason TO is being called a whiney bitch in this situation is because he isn't really a popular player and thought of as a loud mouth. I don't see how I should feel sorry for the niners when they were just working a loophole and basically they and baltimore got shit for free because of that loophole. They should and their fans should be happy.

TO is a whiny bitch because as soon as things didn't go his way, he pouted and flat out said many times that he was not going to honor a contract he signed and play for Baltimore. San Francisco was well within their rights to trade him to whomever they wanted, and that's tough shit for TO. He should have been mad at Philly for not ponying up a more comparable trade offer.

 

As far as his paperwork not being filed on time: boo-fucking-hoo. There is a bit of controversy about when the exact deadline date is/was, but that's irrelevant.

 

The real point of the matter is that TO didn't pick up the damn phone, call his agent, and tell him to file the paperwork ASAP. There is no rule that says they HAD to wait until the deadline day to file it - why didn't it get turned in the day after the Niners' season ended (or whenever league rules allow that sort of stuff to begin)? Why did TO allow this to drag on and on and then have this happen? Sure, it's maybe not his responsibility to actually fill it out and file it himself, but there has to be some degree of responsibility on TO's part to make sure that it IS done. All that takes is a phone call - the agent works for TO, so TO could have demanded it be done ASAP. He didn't, and he missed the deadline. End of story.

 

TO belongs to Baltimore, and he should have to play for the Ravens. His "winning" the right to play for the Eagles is a black mark against the league and potentially sets a very dangerous precedent.

 

And how were the Niners "working a loophole?" By trading TO to the highest bidder when he belonged to them? By demanding compensation from the Eagles after the trade they made was (apparently) unjustly overturned? I don't get what you mean there.

[LaParkaMarka 0]

Okay, you know what?  How is TO a bitch in  this situation, really?

 

How is ANY of this his fault that he didn't enter free agency.  Are we saying he should have known that his agents office would forget about the cut off date change that was present when he signed his contract.  Its not like HE was suppose to file the papers to get to free agency. 

 

I'm guessing the only reason TO is being called a whiney bitch in this situation is because he isn't really a popular player and thought of as a loud mouth.  I don't see how I should feel sorry for the niners when they were just working a loophole and basically they and baltimore got shit for free because of that loophole.  They should and their fans should be happy.

TO is a whiny bitch because as soon as things didn't go his way, he pouted and flat out said many times that he was not going to honor a contract he signed and play for Baltimore. San Francisco was well within their rights to trade him to whomever they wanted, and that's tough shit for TO. He should have been mad at Philly for not ponying up a more comparable trade offer.

 

As far as his paperwork not being filed on time: boo-fucking-hoo. There is a bit of controversy about when the exact deadline date is/was, but that's irrelevant.

 

The real point of the matter is that TO didn't pick up the damn phone, call his agent, and tell him to file the paperwork ASAP. There is no rule that says they HAD to wait until the deadline day to file it - why didn't it get turned in the day after the Niners' season ended (or whenever league rules allow that sort of stuff to begin)? Why did TO allow this to drag on and on and then have this happen? Sure, it's maybe not his responsibility to actually fill it out and file it himself, but there has to be some degree of responsibility on TO's part to make sure that it IS done. All that takes is a phone call - the agent works for TO, so TO could have demanded it be done ASAP. He didn't, and he missed the deadline. End of story.

 

TO belongs to Baltimore, and he should have to play for the Ravens. His "winning" the right to play for the Eagles is a black mark against the league and potentially sets a very dangerous precedent.

 

And how were the Niners "working a loophole?" By trading TO to the highest bidder when he belonged to them? By demanding compensation from the Eagles after the trade they made was (apparently) unjustly overturned? I don't get what you mean there.

You want to talk about honoring his contract? Fine. The contract said that it could be voided by March 2.

 

Owens' contract states that the player needed to void the contract by March 2, but the NFL and the 49ers have argued that the player needed to do so before the Feb. 21 date listed in the collective-bargaining agreement, a document that they argue supersedes Owens' contract.

 

Kessler disagreed, saying after the hearing: ``The bottom line is that he was within the time period provided. Very simply, the language that changed certain players' dates did not apply to his contract. That's what the dispute is about.''

 

Source

[sfaJack 0]

You want to talk about honoring his contract? Fine. The contract said that it could be voided by March 2.

 

Owens' contract states that the player needed to void the contract by March 2, but the NFL and the 49ers have argued that the player needed to do so before the Feb. 21 date listed in the collective-bargaining agreement, a document that they argue supersedes Owens' contract.

 

Kessler disagreed, saying after the hearing: ``The bottom line is that he was within the time period provided. Very simply, the language that changed certain players' dates did not apply to his contract. That's what the dispute is about.''

 

Source

Yes, I know about that. I know that Owens' camp said March 2, and that the NFL said February 21. I mentioned in my post that there was some controversy about the exact deadline date.

 

But my point was that why does the specific deadline date matter so much? If TO was so desperate to get out of San Fran and play for Philly, why did he wait until the very last minute to file this paperwork? Why didn't he do it on Feb. 2, the day after the Super Bowl? Wouldn't that make sense? You avoid any chance of any of this mess happening that way. Why wasn't it done immediately?

 

I just have no sympathy for the guy. We don't know what the arbitrator did/was going to rule (or at least I haven't found any articles revealing that information), but wouldn't you agree that it makes sense that if free agency was so important to TO that he would have taken care of all of this way before either of the disputed deadline dates approached?

[Cartman 0]

I just wanna see Ray Lewis break TO now.

[Guest Flyboy]

Saints have released Dale Carter and signed Sam Gash.

[2GOLD 0]

I just wanna see Ray Lewis break TO now.

 

If he goes across the middle on a short pattern then he'll be having a Vick moment.

 

I always liked TO. I felt he did at one point have issues with San Fran. that was the fault of the Niners organization.

 

But the NFL rules should be above "his rules" or "his contract". If the NFL has a set date then guess what? He should have to go by the NFL date and not his.

 

This deal is a joke and TO won't like being a second fiddle to McNabb.

[Ripper 0]

You want to talk about honoring his contract? Fine. The contract said that it could be voided by March 2.

 

Owens' contract states that the player needed to void the contract by March 2, but the NFL and the 49ers have argued that the player needed to do so before the Feb. 21 date listed in the collective-bargaining agreement, a document that they argue supersedes Owens' contract.

 

Kessler disagreed, saying after the hearing: ``The bottom line is that he was within the time period provided. Very simply, the language that changed certain players' dates did not apply to his contract. That's what the dispute is about.''

 

Source

Yes, I know about that. I know that Owens' camp said March 2, and that the NFL said February 21. I mentioned in my post that there was some controversy about the exact deadline date.

 

But my point was that why does the specific deadline date matter so much? If TO was so desperate to get out of San Fran and play for Philly, why did he wait until the very last minute to file this paperwork? Why didn't he do it on Feb. 2, the day after the Super Bowl? Wouldn't that make sense? You avoid any chance of any of this mess happening that way. Why wasn't it done immediately?

 

I just have no sympathy for the guy. We don't know what the arbitrator did/was going to rule (or at least I haven't found any articles revealing that information), but wouldn't you agree that it makes sense that if free agency was so important to TO that he would have taken care of all of this way before either of the disputed deadline dates approached?

So wait...TO was suppose to do more than any athelete does? He pays his agent to handle these things. Its like trying to blame a client for not researching a law that would help them in a case. THEY PAY THEIR LAWYER FOR THAT.

 

In no way was it his fault that the papers didn't get filed, so he has every right to want to be able to get to free agency which he has earned by playing hard and being in the league for enough years to reach this point.

 

And they are right, if TO signed a contract, and a few years later the NFL decides to change some league wide rule, he SHOULDN"T have to go with it. If the NFL put on a salary cap, should the players over it be required to take a immediate pay cut, but still play out the years on the contract? According to his contract, TO did everything the right way.

 

The Niners deserved NOTHING from this. They lost a player to free agency then saw "Wait, we got a chance to get something from this" I don't blame them, but to call TO a bitch because he didn't do what they wanted him to do, when realistically they shouldn't have (and arguably didn't) any rights to him anymore...thats just ridiculous.

 

I guarentee if this was a NFL "goodguy" everyone would be okay with it.

[nl5xsk1 0]

So wait...TO was suppose to do more than any athelete does? He pays his agent to handle these things. Its like trying to blame a client for not researching a law that would help them in a case. THEY PAY THEIR LAWYER FOR THAT.

 

In no way was it his fault that the papers didn't get filed, so he has every right to want to be able to get to free agency which he has earned by playing hard and being in the league for enough years to reach this point.

No, the agent is the one that's most to blame, but one would think that TO would have asked him every day "why the fuck haven't you submitted the request?". There's absolutely no reason to wait until the last minute, and if I was TO I'd have been on his ass 2 weeks BEFORE the first date that I could opt out and tell him to file immediately. Then, the first day that I could have been freed, I'd have asked him if he did it. And again the next day, and the next day, etc.

 

The agent fucked up, but TO was an enabler that allowed him the breathing room to fuck up.

[the pinjockey 0]

Wasn't there a remote possibilty that if the Niners came to agreements with Plummer and Peterson, they would franchise TO? The 49ers ended up franchising Julian Peterson on 2/23. Maybe the agent wanted to make sure that Owens was not going to get franchised before worrying about filing the paperwork.

[sfaJack 0]

So wait...TO was suppose to do more than any athelete does?  He pays his agent to handle these things.  Its like trying to blame a client for not researching a law that would help them in a case.  THEY PAY THEIR LAWYER FOR THAT.

 

In no way was it his fault that the papers didn't get filed, so he has every right to want to be able to get to free agency which he has earned by playing hard and being in the league for enough years to reach this point. 

Did you even read my other post? Or did you just not understand what I said? I'm not saying TO should have to do any more than any other athlete would (i.e. actually fill out the paperwork and file it with the league himself). But is it unreasonable for TO to pick up his damn cell phone, call his agent, and say "Did you file that paperwork yet?" I don't think it is.

 

All TO had to do was make a call. He doesn't have to do any of his own paperwork (except for maybe signing something he's required to...I don't know what all is involved). As you say, the agent works for TO. If TO called him and says "Did you file that paperwork? No? DO IT!," then he's done all that can be reasonably asked of him. If the agent fails to do it then, well, then that's the agent's fuck-up. (EDIT: nl5xsk1 gets what I was saying.)

 

But that still leaves my point of wondering why TO didn't have all this filed ASAP. If free agency was really that big of a deal to him, wouldn't he (i.e. his agent) take care of all the formal stuff and be done with it? I'm just wondering why it took him all the way to March 2 to do this when it could have been done on Feb. 2 and had the same effect. Why wait until the deadline day?

 

And they are right, if TO signed a contract, and a few years later the NFL decides to change some league wide rule, he SHOULDN"T have to go with it.  If the NFL put on a salary cap, should the players over it be required to take a immediate pay cut, but still play out the years on the contract?  According to his contract, TO did everything the right way. 

I'm not a lawyer so I can't even begin to speak on how players' individual contracts hold up when they contradict the collective bargaining agreement, but this is what the dispute is about, from what I gather. Was the date in TO's contract valid, or does the league date specified by the CBA supercede it? I have no idea. But your point here doesn't make any sense, for two reasons. One, the salary cap doesn't force anybody to take a pay cut. Any player can make as much as he can negotiate out of a team; there just isn't as much left over for the other 52 guys on the roster. Second, the CBA (and salary cap) was in effect before TO even came in the league. Unless the Feb. 21 date was recently changed from another date (and if it was, feel free to inform me of that because I don't know), I'm not sure how valid that date in TO's contract is. That goes back to the legal question at the center of this debate.

 

The Niners deserved NOTHING from this.  They lost a player to free agency then saw "Wait, we got a chance to get something from this"  I don't blame them, but to call TO a bitch because he didn't do what they wanted him to do, when realistically they shouldn't have (and arguably didn't) any rights to him anymore...thats just ridiculous.

You can't say that the Niners weren't within their rights to trade him. We don't know who he belonged to exactly, because the arbitrator never ruled. But IF he was the Niners' property, fuck TO, they have (had) the right to trade him to Baltimore and deserve some compensation from the Eagles for this mess. If he didn't in fact belong to the Niners and was a free agent, then they don't have any right to compensation. It's simple. All indications at the time were that he WAS the Niners' property. I would have traded him to Baltimore, too, since the Eagles' offer was weak in comparison. We'll never know now.

 

I guarentee if this was a NFL "goodguy" everyone would be okay with it.

I don't hate TO. I LOVED the Sharpie thing; thought it was hilarious. But his whining and crying because he missed his chance to lose in the NFC Championship game with the Eagles just turned me off. If Peyton Manning were doing this, I promise you I'd be saying the same thing. Listening to a bunch of overpaid athletes whine and cry about what a raw deal they got just doesn't appeal to me at all, no matter who it is.