snowman wrote:

HighPlainsDrifter wrote:
Those players have a constitutional guaranteed right to express their thoughts regardless of who agree or disagree with them. They did it, and now they’ll have to face the consequences of their actions. That’s the deal. I think it would have been a good idea for them to have let the team know what their intentions were so that the entire franchise wouldn’t be blindsided by it. I don’t know what the teams reaction would have been, but I think they deserved the opportunity to make their opinion known before the event. If their intention was truly to demonstrate their support for the community of Ferguson, then I think it was an ill-conceived one. It would seem to assume that the entire community is squarely on the side of Michael Brown. That’s a big assumption. What it more than likely demonstrates is that they have chosen a side and did not have the right to represent the Rams in declaring that allegiance, or even giving that appearance.

Yes, they should have thought about how their gesture affects the Rams organization because they selfishly used the Rams as a platform to express their personal feelings, because they get more exposure than just tweeting it.

Sure they ‘used’ the organizations platform, but the employer
‘uses’ the players all the time, in a gazillion ways.
For me, both the employer and employee just have to
live with that. Employer has to live with the players
constitutional right (and ethical obligation?) to speak out
against injustice, and the
employee gets to live with the fact the employer ‘uses’
the player in all the obvious ways.

I just dont think the players should feel obligated
to tell the front office or coaches they are gonna
make a little gesture that they have a right to make.

At any rate, what is the ‘point’ of telling Demoff
or Fisher they are gonna give a salute to the troops,
or pray, or give the hands up gesture ? What is
the point of informing the boss about that?

I mean, i know they can if they want to, but
why should they feel ‘obligated’ to ?

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Dak wrote:

RIP, Jeff. So sad to hear.

I also wonder often about Billy T. Anybody hear anything lately about Billy and his battle with cancer.

Dont know about his struggle with cancer,
but he’s still posting on the Herd regularly.

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“Retired NFL players talk about struggling to find what comes next. After his last coaching gig, Martz got an immediate answer: television. He worked as an analyst for Fox for a year, but found the work impersonal and the workplace fractured by politics…”

Imagine that — Martz not wanting
to deal with a workplace “fractured by politics”

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zn wrote:

Redskins secondary puts hands up in pregame introductions, referencing protests in Ferguson, Mo.

By Isabelle Khurshudyan <span class=”d4pbbc-font-color” style=”color: red”><span class=”d4pbbc-font-size” style=”font-size: 30px”>August 19</span></span>

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/football-insider/wp/2014/08/19/redskins-secondary-puts-hands-up-in-pregame-introductions-referencing-protests-in-ferguson-mo/

The starting lineup bounded onto the field for Monday’s preseason game against the Browns, each starter individually announced. The secondary was last, and it came out as one unit, starters and backups alike. They walked with arms folded up, palms open.

The sign of surrender, a gesture not to shoot, has become synonymous with protests in Ferguson, Mo., in the wake of the fatal shooting of black teenager Michael Brown by a police officer. Though the secondary’s stance wasn’t televised on ESPN’s Monday Night Football broadcast, several fans at FedEx Field took notice and tweeted about it.

“Anytime you get an opportunity to do something like that, it’s something that needs to be discussed, something that you truly need to believe,” veteran safety Ryan Clark said. “That could have been any one of us. That could have been any one of our brothers, our cousins, just anyone.

“We have voices, even though sometimes we don’t like to see it that way, we do have voices. We got the opportunity to do something.”

Second-year safety Phillip Thomas said he was “just going with the program.” Clark said strong safety Brandon Meriweather and cornerback DeAngelo Hall both made the decision to do it, and then asked Clark if he would be interested in participating.

“I was like, ‘Absolutely,’” Clark said. “Everybody was in it. Everybody was together. It was a really good opportunity to make a statement and be more than football players.”

Well there is something postmodernly-surreal about a team
called “the Redskins” making symbolic political gestures
about the issues in Ferguson.

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a

sdram wrote:

The difficult part for me about all of this is to listen to people that I care about and are reasonably intelligent deny the science – almost by rote it seems – because I don’t know why. And any argument – reasonable or not is shouted down as the sinister force of liberalism at work. Their truth is the whole truth and there’s no room to be further enlightened even when reality slaps them in the face.

Which for some strange reason reminds me of an adhoc statistical study I saw after Nixon resigned the presidency. His approval rating hovered around 40%.

http://www.cnn.com/2014/11/30/tech/innovation/record-temperatures/index.html?hpt=hp_t2

Well, ya know, the System
does not exactly promote
‘critical thinking’.

If it did, the System
would be working against
itself.

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For those like me who didnt know what
a ‘smoke pass’ was:
http://www.nationalfootballpost.com/What-is-the-smoke-route.html

The true definition of a “smoke” route is a basic one-step hitch. When the QB sees the CB playing with a soft-cushion (think off-man at a depth of 7-8 yards), take the snap and get the ball to the outside. Doesn’t matter what is called in the huddle—because this is on the QB and the WR. Usually a quick hand signal, grab of the facemask, etc. Something that tells the WR to get ready.

– Why do you run it? To force the CB to tighten down or align in a press-position. If the defense is going to give the WR room to work with, put the CB in a situation where he has to make an open field tackle in space. And when he does close down that cushion in his alignment, go up top with the fade if you see a matchup you like.

– Get it on tape. Going back to my own career, the “smoke” route was an alert in the game plan every week. Something you have to prep for throughout the week in practice in terms of your alignment as a CB. Play too soft and the ball is coming out quickly to the sidelines. QB Tony Romo threw this multiple times last night to give opposing DBs something to think about for the regular season.

How do you stop it? If you are in an off-man position, plant and drive on the ball. Make a hard tackle for no gain and tell the WR that you are going to hit him all night. That should take care of it.

Follow me on Twitter: MattBowen41
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nittany ram wrote:

Christine Byers ‏@ChristineDByers 18m18 minutes ago
See Belmar’s comments regarding apology from Rams’ Demoff here http://www.stltoday.com/sports/football/professional/rams-demoff-apologizes-to-county-police-chief/article_aac1b733-ad65-5b54-a60b-7c616baef983.html …

Details
Christine Byers ‏@ChristineDByers 52m52 minutes ago
STL County police chief Jon Belmar says Rams Chief Operating Officer Kevin Demhoff apologized for Hands Up gesture. Story to come

Details

Doesn’t surprise me. When has a corporate-PR-spinmaster
ever supported protesters?

Ah well.

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“…According to court documents, in 1997 Roorda was reprimanded for attempting “…to try to ‘cover’ for another police officer by filing a report that contained false statements as to what happened during a suspect’s apprehension and arrest. As a result of this false report, all charges against the defendant involved were dropped.” The court notes that Roorda was informed, “If it is ever determined again that you have lied in a police report, you will receive a more severe punishment, up to and including termination.”
Roorda was later terminated for lying about interactions with other police officers after accusing them of threatening and abusing him. Roorda’s charges were disproved by audio tapes of the conversations provided to investigators by Roorda himself.
Following a stint as a police chief of Kimmswick, Roorda was elected to the Missouri Ho…”

How did this guy ever become the
St. Louis Police Officers Association Business Manager?
And how did he ever get elected to public office?….

Nevermind. Its chinatown.

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InvaderRam wrote:

st louis police really should work on repairing their relationship with the community of ferguson. forget about who was right or wrong cuz there is most definitely a distrust of the police in the entire city of st louis that goes far beyond this incident.

or maybe they just don’t give a shit which is unfortunate.

Exactly. The police PR-machine is awful.
They should stop being so completely defensive
about criticism, and just reach out to the community
and DO positive work, and let their actions speak
loudly instead of their defensiveness.
That police PR statement was appalling.

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As i was watching replay, i noticed what a big difference
it makes in a game if the opposing team does not have
a Larry Fitzgerald or Dez Bryant type threat on the outside.

It just looked like the Raiders WRs were easy to smother.

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Aeneas Williams audio – Ferguson talk, and football talk

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• This reply was modified 9 years, 12 months ago by wv.

snowman wrote:

Here’s my two cents.

Unless you own your own business or are retired, you work for someone, for an employer. That employer has rules of conduct when the employee is representing the organization. These players could have expressed their feelings on the subject privately, as Steadman Bailey, as Tavon Austin, etc… but they chose to do it publicly, while at work, as Saint Louis Rams. They should have run this past their boss, Coach Fisher, before doing it because this reflects on their employer and on the league. IMO, they were selfish and perhaps grandstanding by doing it during game introductions. If I were Fisher, I would chew their asses for not consulting him before doing it and privately apologize to the Saint Louis Police Association. This probably involves Stan Kroenke too as the owner of the business.

My own view is different. I dont think being an ’employee’
means you have to agree with your employer’s politix
or act like you do. I think the players have a right
to do what they did. And I’d say that even if they
had worn police badges in support of the police.

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Dak wrote:

FYI, I know police officers, and their Facebook walls are full of “no more support” pledges concerning the Rams.

I want to say, it’s just five players who have a belief. But, it’s really personal to police.

Its interesting — do some folks really think Ram players
have sympathies with the protesters and other teams players dont ? Do they think there
arent just as many Raider players who feel the same way, etc?

…at any rate i’ve supported the rams for a gazillion years even
though 99 percent of the players, coaches and front office folks
have completely different politix than me.
blah blah blah

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• This reply was modified 9 years, 12 months ago by wv.
• This reply was modified 9 years, 11 months ago by zn.

Bernie on the political gesture:
—————
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/columns/bernie-miklasz/bernie-rams-fans-should-savor-this-one/article_6550205f-2abc-5f9b-98bb-28c38ccd6f2e.html

…The Rams are also trying to figure out what to do in response to the roiling events in Ferguson. The Rams organization hosted Ferguson business owners for Sunday’s game. During pregame introductions the Rams’ five wide receivers emerged from the tunnel with the “Hands Up” gesture to convey solidarity with those protesting the police shooting death of Ferguson teenager Michael Brown on Aug. 9.

The Rams’ symbolic show of support will probably create more controversy in a racially polarized community. But players have a right to express their views — just as fans have the right to agree or disapprove of the Rams’ opinions.

But please don’t tell me that players should keep their mouths shut on a volatile issue that’s confronting St. Louis in a profound way. And it’s about time that people speak up so we can have open dialogue on a matter of critical importance. This isn’t North Korea.

“I don’t know what winning a football game does for that,” Laurinaitis said, referring to the Ferguson unrest. “Only God knows the truth. It’s important for the whole city to move forward and really love one another. I know it sounds cliché. But I’m a firm believer that love cures all things.”

The Rams may have gained some fans with their trouncing of the Raiders. They may have lost some fans with their “Hands Up” gesture. But on both counts, the team stood up Sunday.

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• This reply was modified 9 years, 12 months ago by wv.