Mr. Scot

You have to remember how NFL egos work. Pretty much every player that signs with a lousy team is thinking to himself "oh sure they suck now, but once they have me on the roster, things are gonna start changing for the better around here.

They didn't have a choice. The NFL was going to do whatever they had to in order to keep Hardy out of the public eye. Once Greg agreed to this option, that was it. And to be clear, the Exempt list is a really crappy deal on the team end. You don't get the benefit of having the player, but you still have to pay him and he still counts against the cap (in our case, for a significant chunk of change). If you think our front office just went merrily along with that deal, you either didn't watch or have forgotten the presser from the day it happened. Gettleman was severely agitated and made it quite clear the team didn't agree with his being suspended in any form (said the option was never on the table for them). And Rivera was about a half step shy of going nuclear. He had to be reminded o go back to the podium and address other questions after he'd initially walked away with a 'goodbye' that sounded much more in tone like 'screw you'. You have to remember that up to that point, SOP was to let the legal system play out before any punishment occurred. That's what the Panthers expected to happen with Hardy. They were blindsided (and pissed) when it didn't.

They'll certainly try. Will they succeed? Unknown. The League will likely fight pretty hard to sustain whatever they impose, especially after losing on Rice and Peterson.

The NFL doesn't need "proof". They just have to decide the charges are credible. Suspensions are not kept to the same standard as a court of law.

And, as usual, you get it wrong. Never said the NFL had a right to suspend him because of their image problems. I said their image problems are their motivation to try any way they possibly can to keep him off the field and out of the public eye. And try they will, and have, and are. The people being emotional are the ones who think Hardy will just get reinstated without a fight, and even more so the ones who believe he'll just come back and play for whatever we deign to pay him out of the kindness of our hearts. Quick Tip: If you wanna debate someone, it helps to actually comprehend what they're arguing (though I'll grant you've never really let that get in your way).

What i said in the other thread... Knew the NFL wouldn't just say "ahhhh, okay".

See what I mean.

Keeping him on the 'exempt list' is kinda silly at this point. But again...image is everything.

Matsko might be lobbying for us to give him a decent shot.

Goodell will. Unknown if he'll be able to do much about it but I'd be shocked if they didn't try.

After watching how he performed in Tampa, I was happy he chose them over us. Good take.

Here's the thing you have to keep in mind here... Bill Cosby once joked that when it came to arbitration between two kids, parents aren't interested in justice. They want quiet. That applies to the NFL right now too. They're a lot less interested in what's fair and just punishment for guys like Rice, Hardy and Peterson than they are what will most keep their image problems out of the headlines. Another two game suspension will bring to people's memories the previous two game suspension, and the uproar surrounding it. Hence, I won't be surprised if we see them fight for their right to suspend Hardy longer (maybe four games). They may ultimately lose, but to paraphrase the old saying, there's nothing more dangerous than a wounded animal, except maybe a lawyer who's trying to cover his ass.

If I recall correctly, this particular judge has sided against Goodell before. I think in general judges have been finding that the NFL's accounts of how things went down "less than credible". Could be good for Hardy. Still not likely to make any difference to the Panthers though.

This from Voth... Black & Blue Review @BlackBlueReview · 2h 2 hours ago To be clear on Ted Ginn: #Panthers are very much in the mix. His initial desire as he looks for next landing spot is home, but we'll see.

Yeah, I've actually been thinking about that

Said it elsewhere: Would love to have him, but Cleveland offers family (they live in Ohio) familiarity (he's from Ohio) and finances (they'd likely pay more). Couldn't necessarily blame him for choosing that. I'll be happy either way

Perhaps, but he declined to reign as Lord Marshal.

You realize we're talking about guys who have been (or might be) cut, right? Teams generally cut guys for a reason. In a little over two weeks there's going to be a load of free agents hitting the market. And then a couple of months later there's going to be this thing we like to call the NFL Draft. We get to participate in that. So you'll have to pardon me if the fact that we're not going to every guy who just hit the unemployment line and begging them to sign with us doesn't exactly bother me that much.

Don't you hate when you knock out your mom and she has to go make a big deal of it? When did Jeff Ireland join the message board? (thought he was busy in New Orleans)

Nobody gives an airborne rodent's rectum.

If it's prolonged and more vicious, it could be. All of this is pure speculation.

Most of them actually have. We lose / dump several players a year. Most of them don't turn it into a theatrical production. Smith and Williams are the exception, not the rule.

Based on where it happened, you've gotta figure it's some kind of assault, probably on a woman.

It's not true.