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It's criminal

It really is...and the NFL owners are bitching about the collective bargaining agreement because "costs to run a team are rising".

In Lurie's case, he about the team for less than $200 million 12 or so years ago and it's worth over a billion dollars now.

The fact that the taxpayers and ticket holders financed a penny of that stadium is absurd.

It would be interesting to see what the city has pulled in from the City Wage Tax on the players and coaching staff, as well as other revenue from the stadium and its surroundings.

While I'm sure that doesn't come close to matching the state funding, all of this money would have been lost had the team moved to the suburbs or (gasp!) Jersey.

Nice to see taxpayers continuing to finance these new stadiums, when their primary purpose to make billionaire owners even more money.

as soon as i read the quote in your post, that same sentiment hit me like a ton of bricks. i mean, we all know that's the primary purpose of the new stadiums but there was always a sense that the fans and the city where just as much beneficiaries so we should all shoulder the burden.

such a crock. we fans are straight up suckers.

I guess Packers fans are laughing.

From Da Hoff, and it's hard to disagree:

I have to admit, up front, that my heart is not in this one. But you know, after the Dallas game, that people are now going to be asking the question if Brian Dawkins is done. I don't think he is -- but I honestly can't decide if my judgment is being clouded by the fact that this is a conversation I just don't want to be having. But here we are. Again, I don't think he is done. But the conversation is a fair one at this point.

Dawkins had a poor individual game in pass-coverage against the Cowboys. The game was a track meet and nobody on that defense covered himself in glory -- and that means Dawkins did not, either. He was beaten downfield on a couple of passes to Dallas tight end Jason Witten, and he was abused in a goal-line situation by Terrell Owens for a touchdown. It all happened. There is no sense denying it.

On the Owens play, where he somehow was isolated on the wideout by himself in a goal line situation, TO ran a slant route in front of him and scored easily. Dawkins said later, "I was anticipating the fade route (to the back corner of the end zone) and he ran the slant. It was a good move by him."

As for the rest of it, Dawkins said, "I don't like the fact that I gave up a couple of big balls down the field. I took a couple of bad angles on the football today. I went for the interception on one and the other one, I wasn't quite in position. That wasn't good enough. I hold myself to high standards and it wasn't good enough."

He is a Hall of Fame caliber player, but he isn't not as fast as he once was. He still gives you a lot in the run game, and he's still a significant hitter. But the speed was an issue last year and it is an issue this year. It is becoming painfully obvious in some passing situations.

Again, I hate this conversation -- but we all have eyes. Dawkins can still be an effective player but it is almost more as an in-the-box player now, as a quasi-strong safety rather than as the human rocket/centerfielder of old. It looks as if they are trying to stick him down there in the box now when they can. Again, he can still play that game at a high level, I think.

But you get caught sometimes. Safeties have to be interchangeable in the NFL in 2008. Everybody has to be able to run and cover. Dawk talks about bad angles but they look like they are a product of getting there late. I don't know. I will say that it is complicated. One of the main complications on Monday night was Witten, a Pro Bowl caliber tight end who will abuse a lot of secondaries before the season is over.

This obviously bears watching now. We all sensed that this was going to be the final season for Dawkins anyway, and we were all preparing ourselves to mark the passing of an era. But now, this. If anybody deserves a smooth landing, it is this guy. At this point, we can only hope.

This guy really tries to rip DeSean Jackson a new one.

Frankly, I think he's going just a tad overboard. I mean, he acts as if he personally knows DeSean Jackson and has heard him say, "Fuck you, I won't do what you tell me." Maybe I'm wrong, but I think Jackson seemed to keep his mouth shut and laid low up until this game, so I don't see where he's able to make this piercing insight into his character, aside from the Sportscenter clip from high school.


I also don't get the whole racial/step-and-fetchit point he's trying to make. The NFL has black fans, too. The NFL also has white players who act like egocentric assholes. The only difference is that these guys grow up in different cultures, so Kyle Turley or Jeremy Shockey express their asinine behavior in different ways that Chad Ocho Loco or Terrell Owens.
Yo, click it

I think this guy is extremely emotional...all super-high highs and desperately low lows.

He's the most physically gifted WR to enter the league in the last 20 years? REALLY?

He's going to be a cautionary tale for players everywhere because he'll be out of football for his jackassery? After one play? REALLY?

The main point is Jackson is a jackass and has always been a jackass, so he will learn nothing from this. Fine. I hope that's not true, but it's possible it is. I can't imagine him changing a whole lot, though.

Here's the thing...I'll take the jackass who does this kind of things every once in a while over the alternative.

Hank Baskett seems like one of the nicest guys in the world. Honestly. His work ethic is amazing, he always says the right things, he's a great teamate by all accounts, he takes nothing for granted, and he seems honestly happy to be where he is.

Hank Baskett can't split a seam and Hank Baskett fumbles on the 1 by accident anyway.

James Thrash is hard working, a nice guy, and leads prayer groups with the other players. James Thrash also sucks at football.

On this team, in this offense, I'll put up with a little bit of an asshole to get the job done. I'd prefer he was a humble kid with a tremendous maturity, but I'll settle for the gifted playmaker who doesn't give a shit what I think.

"I'd prefer he was a humble kid with a tremendous maturity, but I'll settle for the gifted playmaker who doesn't give a shit what I think."

This is a candidate for post of the year.

Is there a successful wide receiver who is humble but doesn't shoot people near his carwash?

Is there a successful wide receiver who is humble but doesn't shoot people near his carwash?

NYFF! When Harrison starting choking and shooting people the whole "Well, there's Marvin..." argument went out the Window.

The best guys you could point to now would probably be Hines Ward and Larry Fitzgerald, though I'm sure there are a couple others. By and large, you're right...it's a diva position in the NFL.

Brandon Stokely?

The best guys you could point to now would probably be Hines Ward and Larry Fitzgerald

...that we know of. We all thought Marvin Harrison was cool, the counter-argument to everyone's TO. And the weirdness about him is finally starting to rear its ugly head.

All I'm saying is that I wouldn't be surprised if Fitz has a thing for transsexual eskimos.

I have heard that Hines Ward wants to use your tax dollars to teach kindergartners to have sex.

"You can put lipstick on a Korean half-breed..."

Is there a successful wide receiver who is humble but doesn't shoot people near his carwash?

i haven't heard anything bad about colston.

What about Tory Holt?

Or does he eat babies?

No, Holt just plays for the Rams. That's bad enough.

Was Marvin Harrison ever really considered a 'character guy'?

I could be completely off base, but it seems like he was given that label by default because he didn't pull the crap that TO, Moss, Keyshawn, Chad Johnson, and the like pulled.

If anything, no one really knows anything about him because he's so quiet.

Was Marvin Harrison ever really considered a 'character guy'?

i think it started when he referred to his love of "mickey d's" as opposed to "mac-donalds" and everyone thus assumed he was kind of a nerdy white guy at worst.

Braylon Edwards is a great guy. Went to a great school too.

Braylon Edwards had an attitude knock on him coming out and has really only put together 1 season, so I'd probably hold off on him.

Holt would probably fit the category, though he's on the downside.

I think WRs got a bit of a diva label because of:

- Moss
- Owens
- Chad Johnson
- Steve Smith

Those are 4 of the best WRs in the game over the last 10 years or so and they are all assholes in their own way. There were other guys who fed into it with squabbles/headlines here and there like Santana Moss, Coles, Antonio Bryant, Joe Horn, Chris Henry, Roy Williams, Michael Westbrook, and a couple others, but it seems like the a star at WR is more likely to be a diva than a star at some other positions.

I couldn't name nearly as many assholes at other positions so quickly.

Hines Ward is only an asshole to the women he impregnated and left high and dry....but seems like a great character guy otherwise.

Dated this one girl, who knew this girl (you know how it goes) who basically shat on his "character".

I think it all kinda started with Irvin, and later Keyshawn.

No doubt, but we've really been experiencing a boon in the last few years.

It truly is a great time to be an NFL columnist.

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