Does the NFL care if Ed Oliver quit on his team
I understand if you are hurt and can't play, but Ed Oliver obviously isn't hurt, and he looked like an idiot last night.
November 16th, 2018 at 6:05 PM ^
We started with $6 million above, and ak47 already brought it down to $3M based on taxes and such. I reduced it further to $2.5M so that we wouldn’t need to be dealing with “an extremely frugal person.” And we’re talking about earning all this money within a three-year career, so this is an athlete about 23-26 years old.
Yes, I understand you don’t get all the money up front. But if you’re not blowing your cash on frivolities (as too many of these guys sadly do), you absolutely should have that much left when you’re done with your three-year career.
November 16th, 2018 at 12:06 PM ^
Oh shit, it’s almost like making the most out of the college playing experience is to get your degree so you have something to “fall back” on after your NFL days are over.
November 16th, 2018 at 12:54 PM ^
Even an extremely frugal person who saved every dollar of their contract would be unable to live the rest of their life from age 25-26 on 3 million in savings.
With the expenses I have - assuming I didn't make any cutbacks and also just plunked the whole stack of money under the mattress and didn't make a single investment and also never got any source of income ever again - I could live another 60 years on $3 million. Yes, you could live the rest of your life on that much savings. Take a shitty $10 an hour job greeting people at Walmart and that money stretches even further.
And because you can't work another job and play football in college most don't have any other kind of work experience.
So, like, that degree that you didn't have to pay a cent for is actually really valuable, then.
November 16th, 2018 at 12:20 PM ^
Since the NFL career is so short maybe they should care about the school they attend and make sure to get their degree when they are there which they get for free
November 16th, 2018 at 12:25 PM ^
"You'll find money elsewhere." Wow! It looks like Reggie Dunlop has solved all of the world's social problems with this simple statement! Amazing!!
November 16th, 2018 at 10:52 AM ^
This has been the trendy opinion of late, and it has some merit. Nonetheless, one doesn't need to act like a childish dipshit in order to execute this strategic prerogative. And it definitely does speak to his character and coachability. If I were a GM who desperately needed talent on the Dline I might take this guy. But this isn't a minor infraction like smoking a joint. He is telling anybody with eyes that he will be flagrantly disrespectful to his coaching staff, and the odds are good that he'll quit on his next team too.
November 16th, 2018 at 10:57 AM ^
It may be the right decision to sit out, but not to show off leaping catches in warmups, check tweets during the game, and generally act like an entitled jackass on the sideline while his teammates are out there playing hard.
If he's done, be done.
November 16th, 2018 at 12:46 PM ^
If you decide you've done enough, why shouldn't the school make the same decision? You can't "decide you've done enough" and continue to take advantage of what the school is offering you. Or shouldn't, at any rate.
And if the purpose of college football is to showcase yourself to the NFL, what monetary value should we attach to that? I don't know the answer but as long as the individuals are considered to add value to the school, then the answer is somewhere north of zero. The school undeniably adds value to the individual; not only that, but some schools are better at it than others. Take a guy like Kenny Golladay, who transferred to Northern Illinois knowing they could help his draft stock better than North Dakota. If he'd been able to play at a B1G school he probably would've gone even higher than 3rd round.
November 16th, 2018 at 9:58 AM ^
I’ll take him in a heartbeat on the Browns if teams are searching for reasons to not draft him.
November 16th, 2018 at 9:59 AM ^
I don't really understand people getting so mad at the coach.
Every team has rules. The jackets are for people playing or for the starters - Ed Oliver was neither. He shouldn't have been wearing the jacket, plain and simple. It's not serious at all, but you need to enforce the rules fairly.
November 16th, 2018 at 10:10 AM ^
Exactly. Applewhite's an asshole but Oliver was in the wrong here. They both took it too far in the end but if there's a rule that says the jackets are for active players, then Oliver needs to follow that rule. I don't care how high in the draft he goes, follow team rules. You're not above your team.
November 16th, 2018 at 10:37 AM ^
Oh definitely. I think he was a little frustrated with the Oliver situation too and he shouldn't have touched the jacket - I can see issue with that. But the rule itself is fine.
I used to be an NCAA athlete, and we had guys on the team that were Olympic level athletes (one will be competing in Tokyo) on full rides and we also had walkon guys that were above average in high school, but not studs by any means. It's imperative that coaches hold everybody to the same conduct standards and enforce the rules equally to avoid animosity amongst the players towards other players or coaches.
November 16th, 2018 at 10:45 AM ^
How did Applewhite take it too far? He seemed to handle it well according the the video even as Oliver was yelling and being aggressive in trying to confront Applewhite.
November 16th, 2018 at 10:49 AM ^
Putting his hand on the jacket to help take it off could be seen as taking it too far.
November 16th, 2018 at 11:02 AM ^
coffee's for closers only
November 16th, 2018 at 10:44 AM ^
It's really a pointless rule that serves no real purpose other than the coach getting to demonstrate "I'm in charge." It's ultimately why NFL teams won't care about this at all.
November 16th, 2018 at 10:47 AM ^
Maybe the don't have 100 jackets so there aren't enough for everyone?
Plenty of coaches and teams have benefits for starters, that's nothing new.
November 16th, 2018 at 10:53 AM ^
This isn't some D2 school that's just barely scraping by. If Houston doesn't 100 jackets would surely be by choice. I never said it was new, I said it serves no true purpose, which is why this is nothingness.
November 16th, 2018 at 11:08 AM ^
It's by choice and probably used as an incentive to work towards becoming a starter. Nothing wrong with that
November 16th, 2018 at 11:11 AM ^
So actual playing time isn't incentive enough?
November 16th, 2018 at 10:46 AM ^
What's the point on staying on the team if you are not going to play? Maybe he should have stayed home and done homework instead of chewing the fat on the sideline.
But I don't think the NFL will care.
November 16th, 2018 at 10:51 AM ^
Oh, I agree completely with that. Ed and Applewhite need to just be honest and realistic about this situation and let Ed do what Bosa did.
November 16th, 2018 at 9:59 AM ^
It’s the current generation and parents helped create it. There’s a high school in my area that intentionally lost a football game so as to avoid playing a better team early in the playoffs.
November 16th, 2018 at 10:22 AM ^
Teams have been doing that sort of thing forever. If there's a disincentive to win, you should lose. Have you never heard of teams tanking?
November 16th, 2018 at 10:26 AM ^
WTF does this have to do with anything?
Losing games to improve your position is something that pro teams do all the time and has nothing to do with "the current generation."
Even if you don't like that a team laid down to improve their position, you can be damn sure the coaches had a major hand in it, and pinning it on "the current generation" is a lazy take from an old man.
November 16th, 2018 at 12:03 PM ^
The NFL is a billion dollar industry. Telling a bunch of high school kids to lose on purpose is building a bunch of pussies. And don’t compare the US to Spain.
This is great. I posted these replies to the local forum. Everybody from the media, parents, and fans completely destroyed the coach for intentionally losing that game. But not the snowflakes on MGoBlog. You clowns see losing and character building. This is awesome.
And Alabama should intentionally lose to Georgia to keep UM out of the playoffs.
November 16th, 2018 at 3:04 PM ^
I posted these replies to the local forum. Everybody from the media, parents, and fans completely destroyed the coach for intentionally losing that game.
If true, these "media, parents and fans" are idiots.
But I doubt it's true. Your pride is irrationally causing you to die on this hill instead of just accepting that it was a poorly-reasoned post.
November 16th, 2018 at 10:30 AM ^
There’s a high school in my area that intentionally lost a football game so as to avoid playing a better team early in the playoffs.
Good move on their part. They're looking at the big picture.
November 16th, 2018 at 10:39 AM ^
It would be like the Bengals having the choice to
1. Win and play the Patriots in the first round of the playoffs
2. Lose and play the Texans
Why on earth would you try to win?
November 16th, 2018 at 11:21 AM ^
The Spanish basketball team seems to do this every Olympics. They drop a couple of group stage games to get themselves in the opposite bracket of the U.S., which increases their chances of getting a medal.
November 16th, 2018 at 10:38 AM ^
This is such a lazy take.
November 16th, 2018 at 10:03 AM ^
How does a jacket keep you cool?
November 16th, 2018 at 10:21 AM ^
I'll give you another topic: the Holy Roman Empire was neither holy, Roman, nor an empire. Discuss.
November 16th, 2018 at 10:03 AM ^
No, they don't care about players deactivating themselves from employers that won't pay them to be healthy for the eventual employers who will.
November 16th, 2018 at 10:05 AM ^
Maybe more than in the past. Just ask the Steelers if they value loyalty or if they might shy away from people who seem to pursue their individual interests at the expense of the team's.
November 16th, 2018 at 10:17 AM ^
I'm not sure the Steelers are much of an example these days. Antonio Brown is a giant diva, but that didn't stop them from giving him a big contract. They didn't move away from LeVeon Bell due to his selfishness or his drug use; it was a business decision based entirely on Bell wanting the level of guaranteed money that receivers get and the Steelers offering him running back money instead.
I mean, I'm a "The Team, The Team, The Team" guy, but that doesn't mean that I think NFL players should be forced into signing contracts on terms they don't agree with. Bell thought he was worth more than the Steelers offered, so he refused to sign. Good luck and Godspeed.
November 16th, 2018 at 11:35 AM ^
Yeah, my comment has nothing to do with what's fair, who's to blame, or forcing players into contracts... Just that the Steelers probably aren't thrilled with how this played out and because of that, it's possible that they and some other teams may shy away from a guy if they believe he is holding out on his current team and may be more likely to do so in the future.
November 16th, 2018 at 10:17 AM ^
I don't really agree with the message you are implying. Pro teams show almost no loyalty to their players, so why do players need to show loyalty to them?
November 16th, 2018 at 11:38 AM ^
I did not mean to imply anything at all about who should do what, just that the Steelers might be less keen on a guy if they believe he might be holding out on his team given what's happened with Bell.
If the Steelers graded Oliver and another DT similarly, but they believed someone else was more of a "team player" based on their evals, you don't think they'd go with the other guy?
November 16th, 2018 at 12:18 PM ^
True. I think I was guilty of projecting an idea that is thrown around a lot (players should do everything in the best interest of the franchise,etc.) on you, even though you didn't say that.
Valid point.
November 16th, 2018 at 1:57 PM ^
Tip of the cap for the self-analysis and mea culpa.
November 16th, 2018 at 10:05 AM ^
Yes!
....wait, no. Definitely not.
November 16th, 2018 at 10:05 AM ^
Of course not. Sometimes they pretend they do but they don’t.
November 16th, 2018 at 10:15 AM ^
Deciding not to play to avoid the risk of injury is one thing. Doubt NFL will care about that.
Acting bigger than the team by breaking known rules bc you have a chill and then acting like a fool when called out on it is something different. And I doubt NFL will care about it.
Now getting blocked from your coach by a couple of guys smaller than you, that’s where he lost a couple of slots in the draft....
November 16th, 2018 at 10:31 AM ^
Applewhite might be a piece of shit, but I'm pretty sure that move would have gotten Oliver's ass thrown off some teams.
Imagine a player having to be restrained on our sideline. I'd have to assume he'd be cleaning out his locker right after.
November 16th, 2018 at 10:15 AM ^
He's a projected top 5 pick but he should risk ripping his knee in a meaningless game against Tulane so that Major Applewhite's record looks better and he can eventually take a higher paying job? I don't blame any of these kids for doing this.
November 16th, 2018 at 10:23 AM ^
Exactly. Look at all of the recent good Group of 5 teams that had some buzz - their coaches dart for a big pay day at a power 5 immediately.
Applewhite has no loyalty to Houston, so why should Oliver? That being said, Oliver just needs to leave the team and be transparent about this. He needs to do what Bosa did
November 16th, 2018 at 10:32 AM ^
Does anybody here play sports? Like, rec league or adult sports. Softball, Basketball, Hockey, etc.?
How much does your team pay you? Or do you voluntarily pay to play? And if you get injured, say a puck to the face or break an ankle on a rebound, would that affect your income? Even on a temporary basis? And if so, why would you risk it? Why wouldn't you quit sports and sit at home and prevent injury to ensure your money-making potential?
We play because we love competition and sports. That's why we start when we're 5 years old. That's why we play tee ball and coach pitch and Pee Wee football and play through Junior High, JV & Varsity High School sports. That's why we play as adults as long as we can until our bodies tell us to stop. Because competition is fun. Winning is fun. Sports are fun.
But for about 4 years between 18 & 21, I can't understand why we're supposed to bow to money over all else. And most of all, I don't know how blogs and message boards and fans in general have come to accept doing everything in your power to kill the joy of the game to get that dollar.
It's a fucking football game. He wants to be a football player. I would hope he would elect to (IF HEALTHY!) play football. Not for Major Applewhite, or Univ. of Houston, or his NFL paycheck, but because playing football is fun and that's what he wants to do.
I do blame kids for doing this. And though I have nothing against you personally, I blame fans like you for supporting it and allowing it to fester unabated. It's pure greed. They're missing the entire fucking point of playing the game in the first place.
Football player refuses to play football to ensure he gets paid to play football. Sure.
(steps off soapbox)
(farts)
November 16th, 2018 at 10:48 AM ^
....no.