MONDAY MORNING QUARTERBACK

I agree with this and read a while back that the Browns higher-ups did their own investigation, but unfortunately, they missed a few things or overlooked/underestimated a few things. Im being Captain Obvious, but it really hurts big time that they didnt read the tea leaves very well.

I also agree on the comment about Peter Harvey. From what ive read, the consensus is that Harvey will give Goodell close to exactly what he wants. That raises the question in my mind - why bother with all this other seamingly preliminary stuff that took so much time if it all boils down to Roger Goodell having the total say. Seams like a lot of things were just posturing or going through the motions and then just placing it all on Goodell... a lot of stuff and time could have been saved, imo.

This whole system needs over-hauled to be honest. I think it could be smoother/quicker and most important... fair.

 

Dennis Allen: Jameis Winston left practice early after he “tweaked his foot a little bit”



There may be an injury concern developing in New Orleans.

Quarterback Jameis Winston left practice early on Monday with a foot injury.


“Jameis went in today, he kind of tweaked his foot a little bit. He went in for some evaluation,” Allen said in his press conference. “I don’t have any update on that. But it was kind of [when he was] rolling out, I think it was in the 7-on-7 period, he kind of felt it tweak a little bit. So we wanted to go in and get him evaluated.”

There was some question as to whether it was a foot injury or ankle injury, but, via Luke Johnson of the New Orleans Advocate, the Saints clarified that it was indeed a foot injury.

Winston is already returning from tearing his ACL midway through the 2021 season. By most accounts, Winston has had a strong camp, avoiding costly turnovers. Last season, Winston completed 59 percent of his passes for 1,170 yards with 14 touchdowns and three interceptions. The Saints were 5-2 in games Winston started.

New Orleans also has Andy Dalton and Ian Book at quarterback on its roster. But if Winston’s foot injury keeps him out for a while, the Saints could perhaps become a potential landing spot for San Francisco’s Jimmy Garoppolo.

PFT

 

I think he will impose a 12 game suspension and 10 million dollar fine.

 

Saints quarterback Jameis Winston left Monday’s practice early with a foot injury, but everything appears to be fine.

Winston feels good and the injury is “nothing to really worry about,” a source told Adam Schefter of ESPN.


Last season Winston started the first seven games of the season before suffering a torn ACL. The Saints were 5-2 at the time Winston went down, and the Saints believe that if Winston can stay healthy, he can lead them to the playoffs.

PFT

 

You're about to give a guy a 230M fully guaranteed contract and you don't want to speak to the party making the accusation? That's just nuts to me. If I'm the one writing the check I want to be front and center in the room with a couple of these accusers and their attorney and form my own opinion before I write that check.

 

Would that put them in legal jeopardy or possibly in the middle of the civil suits to get involved with that side of the equation?

 

Makes me wonder just what they investigated or how in depth it actually was. Like you said; With a fully guaranteed contract like that, you'd damn well not want to make a mistake and at least know what the damage could possibly be if they did. Obviously, their (Browns) investigation was very inept and short-sighted.

 

The NFL talked to them, HBO talked to them. All they had to do was call Buzbee and schedule a sit down. Get the information first hand and then form an opinion.

 

Purely a guess but my feeling is Watson's agent had the upper hand in these negotiations. Browns didn't want to risk the chance they'd lose Watson by reaching out directly to the accusers.

 

What it did was give them plausible deniability.

 

I'm speculating on how there could be a difference between the league researching (HBO would be different entirely) and what might become from a team that still puts ink to paper after having a sit down with Watson's accusers.

Bear in mind - I obviously have no legal background and it's more of an open ended question on why they might have approached it in the manner they did.

 

That's an interesting take, and it may be the exact reason.

 

I’m so glad that the Steelers didn’t try to get seriously involved with Watson. They were inquiring about him a little before the Browns got him. I couldn’t imagine going through what Browns fans are going through with this bologna.

 

If there ever came a time when they were forced to give a better answer than "We did our due diligence", I am sure they were provided with the NFL report and are most likely using that as their research on the facts concerning the accusers. I'm sure they don't want to play the blame card on the NFL if they don't have to, but if they had actually talked to the accusers, then it is all on them.

 

Mac Jones: I’m going to figure it out



The Patriots’ decision to avoid naming an offensive coordinator while putting Joe Judge and Matt Patricia in prominent offensive coaching roles despite a lack of experience on that side of the ball has been the subject of much discussion this offseason.

That discussion hasn’t died down in training camp. Dispatches from Patriots practices have painted a picture of a confused and disjointed unit being led by second-year quarterback Mac Jones.


Monday’s session was reportedly one of the low points of the summer, but Jones told reporters on Tuesday that he’s confident that everything will come together for him and the rest of the unit as they learn the new system.

“I’m going to figure it out,” Jones said, via Mike Reiss of ESPN.com. “I always have. I always will. At the end of the day, you’re going to have your ups and downs with anything new, but I’ve learned a lot of different systems and the guys around me have too. We know what football looks like, we know what a good play looks like. . . . It just needs to be more consistent. We all trust in each other at the end of the day. When there’s 10 people that look into my eyes, I know they’re going to trust me to do the right thing on game day.”

Jones’ progress came up often among coaches and teammates leading into training camp, but the story on offense in New England is now trending in another direction. Thursday night’s game against the Giants will offer a chance to see at least some of the pieces of that offense in action for the first time.

PFT

 

Ben McAdoo on QBs: We can get out of this pretty good if we don’t resort to cannibalism



Panthers offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo had to backtrack when he referred to Sam Darnold as the team’s starting quarterback in April, so he’s not making any proclamations about who will win this summer’s competition between Darnold and Baker Mayfield.

McAdoo said on Tuesday that he left his “crystal ball” in his other pants and stressed that the team is going to take its time before making any call about who will be on the field against the Browns in Week 1. McAdoo also said that he’s pleased that the quarterbacks “have conversations and help each other out” because a competition could lead to a “a cold, dark room.”


McAdoo then went the colorful route to share his confidence that things will turn out for the best as long as the Panthers are able to keep operating the same way.

“As long as we don’t resort to cannibalism, I think we have a chance to get out of this pretty good,” McAdoo said, via Darin Gantt of the team’s website. “They’re both going to be better players after we come out of camp and playing really good football. We’re just going to let it play itself out. I think the worst thing you can do is rush to a decision. Just have some patience.”

The Panthers have worked to keep things on an even footing between the two quarterbacks through the first couple of weeks of training camp. That will have to change at some point and the reaction of the No. 2 quarterback will help determine how smooth the sailing remains in Carolina.

PFT

 

Roger Goodell: Deshaun Watson committed “multiple violations” with “egregious” and “predatory behavior”



Yep, the NFL will be throwing the book at Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson.

On Tuesday, Commissioner Roger Goodell met with reporters in connection with the meeting held specifically for approving the sale of the Broncos. Goodell, who appointed Peter Harvey to handle the appeal of the six-game suspension imposed on Watson by Judge Sue L. Robinson, made his feelings clear about Watson’s misconduct.

Asked why the league is seeking a one-year suspension of Watson, Goodell provided a blunt and strong assessment.

“Because we’ve seen the evidence,” Goodell said, via James Palmer of NFL Network. “[Judge Robinson] was very clear about the evidence. . . that there were multiple violations here, and they were egregious an it was predatory behavior. Those are things that we always felt were important for us to address in a way that’s responsible.”

By rule, Judge Robinson’s factual findings are binding on the appeal process.

Goodell confirmed that the league believes Watson committed four different violations of the Personal Conduct Policy, since the facts pointed to four different massage therapists against whom Watson committed (as Judge Robinson put it) “non-violent sexual assault.”

And Goodell provided a frank assessment of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, which allowed the league and/or the union to appeal Judge Robinson’s ruling.

“As you know, it’s part of the CBA that two parties had the right,” Goodell said. “Either party could certainly challenge and appeal that and that was something we thought was our right to do. . . . So we decided it was the right thing to do.”

The CBA allows Goodell to handle the appeal personally, or to designate someone else. Harvey, a lawyer who helped develop the current version of the Personal Conduct Policy and who has worked with the NFL on multiple cases as either an advisor or arbitrator, will surely do whatever Goodell wants Harvey to do, if (as it appears) Harvey values a relationship that, among other things, he uses in the marketing of his legal services to others.

PFT

 

Short version . . . Watson gets an indefinite suspension.

 

I have a hard time seeing this fly. NFLPA / Watson are gonna drag that to any court that'll listen. I know the NFL has set themselves up pretty well to be insulated, but this feels like it'd be a step too far, if they want it to die down. It feels to me like Goodell is doing the public press tour to put on a good show, but that they're going to try and craft a new punishment that just puts an end to this.

The NFL wants this to be over, not indefinite. So that's my guess.

 

So, again, I don't know everything here and it's not the field of law I work in, but if I had to guess - they were just hoping that the punishment wouldn't be severe. And in the end, I think they might still be happy with the decision vs the suspension given. We've seen lots of these kinds of cases go the way of the defendant - Johnny Depp recently is a good example. Obviously this situation is different, but I'm willing to bet that they DID do their dir diligence (to a degree - remember that time is a factor and there was always going to be a limit on what they could know. It was going to be a gamble), and in the end just decided that there wasn't enough to pin Watson on criminal basis, and that the civil stuff could be settled.

Remember there was a time when Watson's team was offered a settlement of all cases at a low cost. I'm betting the Browns just gambled that it'd all get sorted out in their favor, even if it was messy in the meantime. I don't think it's more complicated than that.