NFL News

[Futureshock]

Brandon Beane: Wide receiver is deep in every draft because of changes in youth football

Posted by Michael David Smith on April 21, 2022, 4:39 PM EDT

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The influx of young talent at the wide receiver position has been noteworthy in recent years, and Bills General Manager Brandon Beane says it’s only going to increase.

Beane says that there’s a huge pipeline of talented wide receivers coming into the NFL because college football, high school football and youth football are all developing receivers in a way they didn’t in the past.

“I think you’re going to see receivers every year, from now on, being one of the deeper classes because of all the 7-on-7 and all the passing that’s starting at youth level,” Beane said. “You go watch Pop Warner football, they’re chucking the ball. None of us got to do that when we were little. If you threw it twice a game you were lucky. So I think that’s going to be a position that will generally be one of the deep ones in every draft.”

There was a time when football at the lower levels was a run-first game, and that meant the best athletes wanted to play running back, and the first round of the draft always had talented running backs. That time is in the past. This year, there probably won’t be a single running back drafted in the first round, but there are a lot of excellent prospects at wide receiver. And that’s the direction the sport of football will continue to head in, from Pop Warner to the NFL.

[Futureshock]

No surprise here...

NFL intends to try to force entire Brian Flores case into secret arbitration

Posted by Mike Florio on April 21, 2022, 3:34 PM EDT

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The NFL currently faces a landmark piece of litigation aimed at forcing meaningful and needed change in the head-coaching hiring and firing practices of the league’s 32 teams. The NFL intends to try to divert the entire case from an independent, public tribunal into a secret, rigged kangaroo court.

In a civil case management plan and scheduling order submitted by the parties on Thursday, the league and the various teams that have been named in the case express an intention to file a motion to compel arbitration or, in the alternative, a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim.

“We have said from the start that if the NFL wants to create change, the first step is to allow for transparency,” attorney Douglas H. Wigdor and John Elefterakis said in a statement. “The NFL’s attempt to force these claims into arbitration demonstrates an unmistakable desire to avoid any public accountability and ensure that these claims are litigated behind closed doors in a forum stacked against our clients. We will fight this request in court, but Mr. Goodell should have done the right thing, disclaimed arbitration altogether and allowed this case to be tried before a jury representing a cross-section of the community, just like those who watch football.”

In cases filed against the league or its teams, the NFL routinely attempts to invoke an arbitration process that typically calls for the claims to be resolved in a private arbitration resolved by Commissioner Roger Goodell or his designee. It’s impossible for anyone to get a truly fair outcome in a case brought against the NFL or against one or more of the teams that employ and compensate the Commissioner.

The NFL persists with this practice because, like many American employers, the league loathes the idea of public accountability for potential misconduct. Also, like many American employers, the NFL realizes that a private arbitration process is far less likely to result in the kind of verdict a jury of average citizens would impose against the league and/or its teams.

Any company that does the right thing by its workers and has nothing to hide should have no qualms about defending itself in open, public court against any and all claims. The NFL wants to have every single claim ever made against it to be resolved in a process that it both inherently secret and necessarily rigged. What does that say about whether the NFL believes the league and its teams does the right thing by its current or former employees?

It’s a decision to be rendered by the court of public opinion, and there’s nothing the NFL can do to control that outcome.

[Nick Pappageorgio]

You mean the NFL is going to try to enforce a provision in the employment contract that Flores agreed to and signed (and presumably had his lawyers/agents look over before he did)?

That is shocking.

[Futureshock]

Oh wow!



Von Miller is a defendant in a revenge-porn lawsuit

Posted by Mike Florio on April 21, 2022, 11:22 AM EDT

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Bills linebacker Von Miller has been sued by a women who claims he sent a private photo of her to others as an act of revenge.

According to TMZ.com, a woman proceeding under the Jane Doe pseudonym claims that Miller sent a sexually-explicit photo of her to two unnamed celebrities “in a fit of jealousy, anger, and rage.”

She contends that photos were taken during “sexual acts” with the understanding that they wouldn’t be shared. He allegedly texted the photos to two other persons on May 7, 2020. One included the message, “This the bitch you want? You can have her dawg.” The other one, send to a different person, include the same question: “This the bitch you want?

The lawsuit seeks financial damages along with an order preventing Miller from sharing the photo with anyone else.

EDIT: She's not just an ex. He has at least one kid with her. Dam that's bad business. That kid(s) are going to grow up at some point and wonder why Mom is a skank (because why would Dad put her on blast like that) or why does Dad hate Mom like that?

Her Instagram doesn't help...

The Sun
Who is Von Miller’s ex-girlfriend Megan Denise?...
DENVER Broncos linebacker Von Miller has made headlines again for his arrest, which came days after he allegedly told his ex-fiancée Megan...
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Jan 5, 2021

[chemiclord]

You mean the NFL is going to try to enforce a provision in the employment contract that Flores agreed to and signed (and presumably had his lawyers/agents look over before he did)?

That is shocking.

Ya know what's also shocking? Not wanting to trust the company you're accusing of discrimination to be their own judge and jury.

Turns out that's a right he has no matter what contract you think he signed.

[Futureshock]

He sent her a text saying in the end, "I'm honestly hoping for a miscarriage."

Dam dude. But you had no problem with her when you, uh slept with her without protection. WTF is wrong with people?

You can skip the first 5 minutes and then... Oh boy

[Futureshock]

Earl Thomas wants to play again

Posted by Josh Alper on April 22, 2022, 9:11 AM EDT

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It’s been a while since safety Earl Thomas has been on a football field, but he’d like to change that soon.

Thomas signed a four-year deal with the Ravens before the 2019 season, but only played one season for Baltimore before being released after a practice altercation with fellow safety Chuck Clark. Thomas punched Clark during that incident and Ravens players did not want Thomas to continue on as a member of the team.

There were visits and discussions with other teams, but Thomas never signed on with anyone and has missed the last two seasons. The soon-to-be 33-year-old would like to resume his career this season.

“I’m ready,” Thomas told Adam Schefter of ESPN. “I’m in shape. My timing is on point — I’m proud of that.”

Thomas was a three-time All-Pro and one of the best defensive backs in the league during most of his time with the Seahawks, which will likely be enough to earn him a few looks around the league. We’re well removed from those seasons, however, and Thomas has accumulated a good deal of rust since being dispatched by the Ravens, so there may not be much more than those looks in his future.

[Nick Pappageorgio]

Ya know what's also shocking? Not wanting to trust the company you're accusing of discrimination to be their own judge and jury.

Turns out that's a right he has no matter what contract you think he signed.

But if you agree to resolve issues such as this one in arbitration.... in your contract......in writing...in exchange for $$(or other compensation)...the rights you think he has were already resolved in the terms of the contract.

Chemi...I know the emotional part of your brain wants to be offended and scream "injustice!". But isn't there some small part of you rational brain that thinks that when a parties sign a contract that both sides should have to adhere to it?

I know you believe that if someone's feelings get hurt that contracts should void.....but this isn't how the system works

[jaadam4]

When he faced 11 on 11 and in the actual game? He reverted back to what he could do. Run.

That's a valid point for sure. Granted he didn't have the reps with his teammates in those games either but I thought the same thing when I looked at those stats. It was all foot work.

[jaadam4]

He sent her a text saying in the end, "I'm honestly hoping for a miscarriage."

Dam dude. But you had no problem with her when you, uh slept with her without protection. WTF is wrong with people?

You can skip the first 5 minutes and then... Oh boy

The messages between Miller and the lady are not great but that's their business. The pics he sent of her to those other people is a really shitty move. That's really terrible and he'll regret that one.

[chemiclord]

But if you agree to resolve issues such as this one in arbitration.... in your contract......in writing...in exchange for $$(or other compensation)...the rights you think he has were already resolved in the terms of the contract.

Chemi...I know the emotional part of your brain wants to be offended and scream "injustice!". But isn't there some small part of you rational brain that thinks that when a parties sign a contract that both sides should have to adhere to it?

I know you believe that if someone's feelings get hurt that contracts should void.....but this isn't how the system works

Here's the problem, I can GUARANTEE you there's no "arbitration clause" for civil rights suits. That would have been found and reported by now, nor would it stand even if it did. There was literally an AMENDMENT TO THE CONSITUTION that doesn't allow race, creed, etc, to be used in that way.

The league WANTS to be their own judge and jury. That DOESN'T mean they are contractually allowed to be. Illegal clauses in contracts are thrown out all the time. Contracts do NOT trump law.

[froot loops]

I admire Nick Pappageorgio's to doggedly defend the NFL owners in every aspect.

[chemiclord]

Okay, let me throw out a caveat for Nick here.

If this dispute is actually about lost money from an improper termination of contract, then yes, that would be something handled in contractually agreed upon arbitration. Which, hey it might actually be about at the end of the day despite all of Flores's bluster.

But if this actually is about racial discrimination in the workplace, it doesn't matter what clauses for arbitration are in the contract. That is a legal matter, one of Constitutional Law in fact, and any court worth it's salt will throw out such a contractual clause as illegal in a heartbeat. It's why any discrimination case that isn't settled ahead of time winds up before a court and not an arbitration panel, no matter how much companies would love to be able to handle that stuff internally.

The NFL is no doubt trying to argue that this is strictly about money, and that Flores is bringing up the specter of race as a way to bully them into giving him what amounts to hush money. Which... hey... might actually be true! I sincerely doubt it, but it's possible. I can't say I've read any legal brief on the case. But I truly and sincerely doubt it; that would have to be one hell of a gamble on Flores's part... for example, what if a bunch of people had jumped onto the class action filing?

[froot loops]

The league is always going to try to put all this behind close doors so they can continue to make a mockery of the hiring process. The only way these sham interviews stop is if they get dragged into court. That's the reason why they came up with the Rooney Rule, it was to stage.off lawsuits.

I'm not sure how the arbitration for the Giants and Texans part.of the suit. He's arguing racial discrimination in the hiring process.

[Nick Pappageorgio]

Froot….I’m defending the basic law and rules that run our society. And IMO…you can’t discard a contract because one of the parties has hurt feelings (and you sure as hell wouldn’t argue that that should go both ways).

As far as civil rights and racial discrimination…again, I know you guys are very emotional on this subject. The truth here…is that even if teams did violate the Rooney rule, this is a self imposed standard. That will not be the standard to establish racism in an actual court. And Flores is a bad case IMO….there are going to be lots of players and FO types who will testify that Flores was a dick (Tag has pretty much said so on several occasions). And I don’t think he has a case against the Giants, at all, they are going to be able give 100 reasons they wanted Daboll (he was the belle of the ball this year). And the assertion that Bill Belichek actually calls the shots for the Giants FO…is ludicrous.

Flores was fired because he was insubordinate…not because Ross was racist. Ross is a spoiled brat billionaire and firing Flores (considering the late season performance) was a shitty shitty thing, and Ross is an asshat for doing it….but Ross didn’t want the late seaosn performance, he wanted to tank for draft picks. Maybe I’m too old and domesticated at this point…but when my bosses ask for something I give it to them, I don’t do my own thing and try to explain that they didn’t really want what they wanted…that they wanted what I wanted. When I was (appropriately) fired, I probably wouldn’t look to anti-semitism as the only possible reason for my dismissal.

But I know racism is the boogie man that you blame everything on….so I’m not going to argue with you about this anymore Chemi