So Jerry Richardson...

[Cat'sGrowl]

Where are Cowher/Gruden coaching now? Surely some heavy spending owner has picked them up...

I'm glad Pie is back. Just in time. Because I'm giving it and all the rep I can to this post.

Thank you!

[pantherclaw]

"Jerry Richardson is an ass!"

"That's Mr. Asshole to you!"

[Floppin]

This.

The recent stories of JR being a prick just compounds my pissedoffedness at him because you just know he did this in preparation to carry out his personal vendetta against the NFLPA. He's got his money. He got out cheap in the coaches situation with just keeping Fox and showing no intention to putting good product on the field.

It's borderline class action suit from the PSL owners if I were an ambulance-chasing lawyer-loving type. ;)

You act like JR was the only owner to opt out of the CBA. Like he's the puppet master for the other owners and they just follow his lead like lost puppies. This is far from a personal vendetta, it is a fight carried on by every owner in the league, and they voted to put JR in the position he is in. He is forced to be the bullheaded leader for the group if they are to succeed in not getting screwed like they did in the last CBA.

[CatMan72]

Got his infrastructure built for him with our money, and did it in such a way that fans have to buy tickets in order to not lose their initial investment. Then he raised prices while purposely giving us a lesser product last year just so he could pocket the extra money and build a war chest to use as leverage while he locks out his workers until they agree to work longer hours for less money. All this while he's already profitable.

Gordon Gekko wears Jerry Richardson pajamas.

...and the alternative to this was no team at all, or he could have forced everyone to pay for it by using taxpayer funds like most owners do, so I'll still take what's behind door # 1.

I also disagree that he did what he did last year simply to build a surplus/gain leverage in preparation for a lockout. With Fox's era coming to an end, we decided to start rebuilding a year early. It may have been unwise to start a rebuilding project under a lame-duck coaching staff, but JR didn't want to pay two coaching staffs. You can call JR foolish and cheap for keeping a lame-duck coaching staff in place while starting a rebuild, but I don't think he did it simply to horde $ in preparation for a lockout.

[Happy Panther]

I also disagree that he did what he did last year simply to build a surplus/gain leverage in preparation for a lockout.

Jerry has plainly stated that his moves were in anticipation of the pending lockout

[rayzor]

$5million salary split 16 games or 18 games.

60% from 16 games 40% from 18 games.

owners have said they want to decrease the amount of money that goes into the pot they get paid from, but then they tell them they want them to play 2 more games.

essentially, "realize that you aren't going to get more money than you have now and might even have to take a hit on your salary to make your team better, but...we want you to go out there and expose your body and mind to getting hit a couple more games."

players go..."ok, so how about you make it a little easier to get our pension because, you know, a couple more games very well could shorten our career and we'd also like for you to take some of that savings and have it go to helping out the guys that gave up their bodies for your organization and who are suffering because of it." owners say, "shut up and do what we want or you aren't getting paid anything"

[Lumps]

I love how the fans try to act like they know JR and say why he did this and why he did that. You guys don't fuging know haha. Let us look instead of what is being produced, the results instead of trying to play this little JR mind game. Let's all focus on what we are suppose to be loyal fans of, the team. Let's look at results in terms of the team so far, and in the next 3 years. Then you will be able to have a valid opinion concerning JR and what is exactly he is doing right now, and any assumptions otherwise produces a comment worth dismissing. Even when your allowed this valid opinion, you still will not personally know JR so stop talking he is is some hero who does all these things for good reasons or is a jackass and just wants to fug everything up. Just shut up and watch how things play out, we have last year as one piece of the equation but there is more time to go before we can make a reasonable judgment.

[MHS831]

When the owner forces 2-14 down my throat I can gripe about whatever I want.

All while drinking $6.25 miller lites and gawking at mediocre cheerleaders.

If you want to blame the owner for that, then fine, but the $6.25 Millers are, in part, due to the deal given to the players in 2006. The cheerleaders are not related to the best of my knowledge.

Nobody guaranteed a winning season every year, but you should be guaranteed an owner who does what he can to win. This year was hard, but in three years we can judge his actions, IMO, not now.

[MHS831]

Common ground: We all want to win. Let's look at the position we are in now.

1. We need to re-sign Kalil, Williams, Johnson, and Davis.

a. we have a lot of cap room.

2. We (probably) need to sign a veteran QB, TE, and DT.a. we have a lot of cap room.

3. We have several players who missed a lot or all of last season returning (this # is higher than most other NFL teams): Connor, Davis, Wharton, Otah, Williams, Stewart, Williams (LB). 5 Starters (Connor to SLB, Williams/Stewart missed about a full season, so I count them as 1)--like free agency II.

4. Rookies who got a lot of playing time last year will/could be much improved in the new system: Hardy, Norwood, Gettis, LaFell, Clausen, Pugh, and even McClain. Pike and Edwards will have had time to learn , so it is possible the improvement of the 2010 draft class will have a huge impact on the team. They really came in at a horrible time and were not properly developed.

5. We have a chance to get a stud in the draft.

We will return to prominance with a young, experienced team. Frankly, JR had no idea that Moore was going to struggle like he did and/or that JC would be thrown in that soon.

JR did not want a team that relies on veterans while young talent is benched. For example, would Diggs have outplayed Anderson this year? I doubt it, but Diggs cost much more.

If you want to complain about last season, blame Hurney. How can you expect to build an offense through the draft and suck so badly at drafting QBs and WRs? And when was the last time he drafted a DT worth a crap? (Ellison, Hayden, Haye, Moorehead, and Irvin). 9 years and your best DT is Kendall Moorehead? In a 4-3?

[rayzor]

I love how the fans try to act like they know JR and say why he did this and why he did that. You guys don't fuging know haha. Let us look instead of what is being produced, the results instead of trying to play this little JR mind game. Let's all focus on what we are suppose to be loyal fans of, the team. Let's look at results in terms of the team so far, and in the next 3 years. Then you will be able to have a valid opinion concerning JR and what is exactly he is doing right now, and any assumptions otherwise produces a comment worth dismissing. Even when your allowed this valid opinion, you still will not personally know JR so stop talking he is is some hero who does all these things for good reasons or is a jackass and just wants to fug everything up. Just shut up and watch how things play out, we have last year as one piece of the equation but there is more time to go before we can make a reasonable judgment.

message: keep your opinions to yourself. you're better off not having one.

[MHS831]

Jerry has plainly stated that his moves were in anticipation of the pending lockout

He sure did--good point. Are we worse off going into 2011 now than if he had not made the changes? I have no idea--just asking.

I can say that the future is pretty damn bright. Personnel-wise, we are young, experienced, and we have a lotta cap room.

We are a good QB, a few DTs, and a CB away from being scary good.

We were good last year. QBs are hard to find. JR thought Moore and the second best QB in the draft could hold down the fort. He was wrong. Three starting linemen, a stud WLB, and the starting QB go down early in the season. No NFL team survives that.

[Lumps]

message: keep your opinions to yourself. you're better off not having one.

That isn't what I was saying. We have one part which sucks, but what if someone really good comes out of this, like Luck? I am not saying it was worth no season for luck, but it will help with the results we have already, which was being the worst team in ages for a year.

Jr has to know to some extent wtf he is doing...right?

[Paintballr]

He sure did--good point. Are we worse off going into 2011 now than if he had not made the changes? I have no idea--just asking.

I can say that the future is pretty damn bright. Personnel-wise, we are young, experienced, and we have a lotta cap room.

We are a good QB, a few DTs, and a CB away from being scary good.

We were good last year. QBs are hard to find. JR thought Moore and the second best QB in the draft could hold down the fort. He was wrong. Three starting linemen, a stud WLB, and the starting QB go down early in the season. No NFL team survives that.

I agree with you that the future is bright, but you can't tell me that TD would have helped us win some games especially with Anderson stepping up. I love TD and I love how he plays but the way the season went last year on Offense TD couldn't score us enough points. Our O-line was healthy for most of the year with our "projected starters" except for Otah. They just couldn't figure out who to start at RG. They kept throwing people in there until something sticked, and then Wharton got hurt etc.

[Peppers90 NC]

skimming... not sure where some of these cockroaches come from, but some of you guys act like there would be a deal in place already if it weren't for JR. He is the spokesperson for the nfl owners for a reason. You guys are spokesmen for nothing, for even more reason.