I don't like how Ruggs is portrayed as a victim here. I do like the message that Jacobs is trying to share at the end, but the beginning makes me feel no remorse for him. Ruggs did this to himself. To treat him like a victim when there is a dead woman is wrong. But, just look at the Texas track meet situation and it's easy to see that there's a whole lot of people who want the guilty party to be the victim.

21 minutes ago, bpac55 said:

But, but Shedeur.

The issue with the Shedeur prank was that his number was leaked because an NFL team employee was being careless and left the number out in the open with his iPad. Hence why the league came down on Ulbrich. This Graham one and DeJean from last year are probably college kids who had and shared the number.

This will be an issue moving forward and the more publicity it gets the more kids will do the prank.

Not sure how you fix it other than providing players with a league-issued phone with a number only NFL teams have. Not sure how you can logistically do that with hundreds of players every year though.

7 minutes ago, bpac55 said:

I don't like how Ruggs is portrayed as a victim here. I do like the message that Jacobs is trying to share at the end, but the beginning makes me feel no remorse for him. Ruggs did this to himself. To treat him like a victim when there is a dead woman is wrong. But, just look at the Texas track meet situation and it's easy to see that there's a whole lot of people who want the guilty party to be the victim.

I didn't get that impression from Jacobs' comments. I think he was just explaining how he felt about it. Nothing he said, though, sold me on Ruggs moving forward. Basically he just said the guy is remaining positive and working out.

2 minutes ago, brkmsn said:

I didn't get that impression from Jacobs' comments. I think he was just explaining how he felt about it. Nothing he said, though, sold me on Ruggs moving forward. Basically he just said the guy is remaining positive and working out.

I think Ryan Clark was pushing it and Jacobs did a good job of answering it with his genuine feelings.

Eagles fan and comedian Shane Gillis got an Eagles gun. It's painted Eagles colors and has an Eagles logo on it.

He lives in Texas right now and was joking about how if someone broke into his home and he had to shoot them, odds are he'd be shooting a Cowboys fan and all hell would break loose when they showed the gun on the news that it was an Eagles gun that killed a Cowboys fan.

Subject change. I think we are severely underrating Smael Mondon Jr. He's got tools to be a stud LB.

2 hours ago, ToastJenkins said:

Not sure how Ruggs bad decision is any worse than Vicks. If anything Vick was far more malicious

Agreed.

Intent matters. Driving intoxicated and killing someone is negligent, irresponsible and incredible stupid, to say nothing of tragic.

But intent matters. I don’t think you can say Ruggs intended to hurt anyone.

13 minutes ago, bpac55 said:

Subject change. I think we are severely underrating Smael Mondon Jr. He's got tools to be a stud LB.

Yeah I definitely think the Eagles took him because he was much higher in their board than where he was picked.

4 hours ago, mattwill said:

You are treating this as if every game in each season provides the same opportunities as every other game. That clearly is not the case. Just compare SB LIX to SB LVII. Same two teams but totally different games. Context matters.

Sure. But this was three 17 game samples, not single games. The long and the short... everyone got more snaps in 2024 compared to 2023... except Davis. You want some context? New DC. And it sure seemed like he was saying, "Davis isn't getting it done, the other guys are."

Mondon will surpass Trotter Jr. very quickly on the depth chart if he stays healthy.

Get him out there in sub packages early in the season and watch him shine.

He dominated in those UGA National Championship games. Clutch gene.

3 hours ago, BigEFly said:

Why? Because he committed a crime and served his punishment? Huge issue for our country if we can’t forgive.

Huh…he got 1/10th of what the sentence should have been.

1 hour ago, BDawk_ASamuel said:

The issue with the Shedeur prank was that his number was leaked because an NFL team employee was being careless and left the number out in the open with his iPad. Hence why the league came down on Ulbrich. This Graham one and DeJean from last year are probably college kids who had and shared the number.

This will be an issue moving forward and the more publicity it gets the more kids will do the prank.

Not sure how you fix it other than providing players with a league-issued phone with a number only NFL teams have. Not sure how you can logistically do that with hundreds of players every year though.

Best way to prevent pranks is to have 32 preset numbers from the teams contacting the players so they know anything else is BS. Then there is less concern over securing the players’ numbers.

As an anti-Sanders guy, that prank was still something that can’t happen and needs to have some fallout. Pick any industry. If there were a data leak that led to a prank call of a client/patient/customer resulting in their embarrassment, it would be a pretty big deal.

The NFL really needs to adjust their lax number policy. Josh Sweat can't keep getting away with this.

1 hour ago, ToastJenkins said:

So why not give ruggs the same benefit of the doubt and opportunity to reform? Stallworth effed up too.

Seems too much like making ezcuses for Vick. A toddler Can tell Dog fighting is evil

Vick made his situation worse lying and a couple other things (parole violation IIRC) before going away. I’m not against giving Ruggs another chance…but the difference with Vick and Ruggs is Vick got the book thrown at him. Ruggs via plea deal went from min 36 years to min 3 IIRC.

I’d be curious to see Ruggs attitude & behavior when he gets out. Vick, I truly believed used his sentence to better himself. He turned a lot around, even enough to get a judge to overturn his lifetime ban from owning pets. I hope Ruggs does the same…all of me says hell no, unless we sign him and then I’ll hold my breathe and see.

1 hour ago, BDawk_ASamuel said:

The issue with the Shedeur prank was that his number was leaked because an NFL team employee was being careless and left the number out in the open with his iPad. Hence why the league came down on Ulbrich. This Graham one and DeJean from last year are probably college kids who had and shared the number.

This will be an issue moving forward and the more publicity it gets the more kids will do the prank.

Not sure how you fix it other than providing players with a league-issued phone with a number only NFL teams have. Not sure how you can logistically do that with hundreds of players every year though.

Simple…each team has a single line for that phone call. Each player in the draft receives a list of those numbers…no team names attached and saves the numbers. Easy peazy. Or, that phone goes through a switchboard that funnels through 5 or 6 numbers to shorten the list. Then the # can be anonymous and leave the ‘mystery’ of who’s taking you.

40 minutes ago, Iggles_Phan said:

Sure. But this was three 17 game samples, not single games. The long and the short... everyone got more snaps in 2024 compared to 2023... except Davis. You want some context? New DC. And it sure seemed like he was saying, "Davis isn't getting it done, the other guys are."

I’m willing to give Davis the "Hurtscuse” for a bit longer…another year under Fangio & team and let’s see. It’s not promising though.

3 hours ago, BigEFly said:

Why? Because he committed a crime and served his punishment? Huge issue for our country if we can’t forgive.

It's complicated, but part of it is for his own good. He couldn't handle the lifestyle of the NFL, the glitz, glamour and money. He couldn't handle access to alcohol and wheels. On parole, he's likely going to be restricted from any alcohol use during the duration of his parole period. There is a lot of alcohol and other drug use around the NFL. We saw quite a bit during the championship parade. He needs to be protected from that world for a while as he re-acclimates to society to learn how to live without those things on the outside. Clearly it was a major part of his life before the incident. He needs time to retrain his brain for living on the outside WITHOUT it. You don't throw an alcoholic a birthday party right after they get sober and invite all their drinking buddies over to celebrate with them. That's setting them up for failure.

He needs time to acclimate and learn how to exist in society apart from THAT world. Once he's got himself into a stable situation, he can petition the league to reenter and get right again. But, just as Vick had a list of requirements in order to prove that he belonged back in the NFL, so does Ruggs. Its not an open and shut case. In Vick's case, football wasn't a part of the culture that included the dog fighting ring. It was completely separate. But, the difference is alcohol and drugs are very prevalent around the NFL environment. AND, he would need to do a number of similar things to Vick in terms of young people and DUIs.

I'll add that Vick also had a mentor that he worked with in Tony Dungy to help him grow. Has Ruggs been in any kind of relationship like that while in prison to help him grow? If not, he needs to get into one as soon as he gets out. There are a lot of Alabama alums that could/should be able to step up and help him get back on his feet, separate from the NFL. But, he needs some time to get himself right on the outside before the door to the NFL should swing open. We're still a year away from a potential parole situation... so maybe that relationship can start now and in a year I'll feel differently.

But, there was a lot of things going on in that situation that need to be addressed for Ruggs. The rate of speed ALONE was criminal. The fact that his girlfriend was pleading with him to slow down and he ignored her. Add in the DUI, and there's a HUGE amount of immaturity that needs to be addressed and he needs mentoring on how to be an adult and a functional human in society before he gets back into the NFL.

21 minutes ago, bpac55 said:

The NFL really needs to adjust their lax number policy. Josh Sweat can't keep getting away with this.

Golden picking #22 with GB is disgusting. Should just go back to the old numbering system.

2 hours ago, bpac55 said:

In no way supporting Henry Ruggs or feeling bad for him, but I'm pretty sure Leonard Little did the same thing and had a long NFL career, same with Donte Stallworth, who the Eagles gave a chance. 99% of the time, if you can help and NFL team win, they are going to overlook issues or try to help a player overcome them.

Stallworth's situation happened in 2009. He played for the Eagles in 2006. Stallworth served his time and was suspended for the season following his release.

20 minutes ago, Wentz_Era said:

Vick made his situation worse lying and a couple other things (parole violation IIRC) before going away. I’m not against giving Ruggs another chance…but the difference with Vick and Ruggs is Vick got the book thrown at him. Ruggs via plea deal went from min 36 years to min 3 IIRC.

I’d be curious to see Ruggs attitude & behavior when he gets out. Vick, I truly believed used his sentence to better himself. He turned a lot around, even enough to get a judge to overturn his lifetime ban from owning pets. I hope Ruggs does the same…all of me says hell no, unless we sign him and then I’ll hold my breathe and see.

100% this. Let's see what Ruggs has learned. But, I think he needs some time on the outside before stepping back into the NFL. A 1 year suspension following his release would not be an inappropriate measure, IMO.

13 minutes ago, Wentz_Era said:

I’m willing to give Davis the "Hurtscuse” for a bit longer…another year under Fangio & team and let’s see. It’s not promising though.

Well, he would have gotten another year and would have had to 'prove it' on the field that he's worth big money for 2026. As it is, they gave him the $13M for 2026, and he's got 2 years to prove that he deserves more. I really hope he does. I just don't see it happening though. I think he is pretty much what he is at this point.

Donte Stallworths off field incident happened a good 3 or 4 years after he was an Eagle. He had nothing to do with giving a second chance.

But he was also a standup guy that deserved a second chance anyway. Especially after it came out he chose to plead guilty against his attorneys advice.

2 hours ago, Iggles_Phan said:

Sure. But this was three 17 game samples, not single games. The long and the short... everyone got more snaps in 2024 compared to 2023... except Davis. You want some context? New DC. And it sure seemed like he was saying, "Davis isn't getting it done, the other guys are."

You conveniently ignore the results. In 2024 the Defense gave up 4,784 Total Yards and 303 points. In 2023 the Defense gave up 6,054 Total Yards and 428 points. Meanwhile, the Offense produced 463 points in 2024 and 433 point in 2023. The Defensive game plan when your point differential is +160 is very very different than when your point differential is +5.

In financial terms you are focusing on microeconomics and ignoring the impact of macroeconomics.

I think we have beaten this to death. No point in discussing it further. I respect, and understand, your perspective. I just don’t agree with it.

7 hours ago, LeanMeanGM said:

Donte Stallworths off field incident happened a good 3 or 4 years after he was an Eagle. He had nothing to do with giving a second chance.

But he was also a standup guy that deserved a second chance anyway. Especially after it came out he chose to plead guilty against his attorneys advice.

My timeline was messed up. I thought it was after. Thanks for clarifying.

10 hours ago, bpac55 said:

Subject change. I think we are severely underrating Smael Mondon Jr. He's got tools to be a stud LB.

Hope so...but this quote from a scout (as per this article) is a little concerning...

Now the character’s not great on him but, assuming he gets healthier and gets coached up, I think he’s a starter. Second round.” Finished with 212 tackles (18 for loss), eight sacks and just one turnover play. "The body has come a long way,” said a third scout. "It took him time. Holding above 220 has always been a challenge. That was a big key for him this year — to get the weight and hold it. He tests out well, at least in a straight line. More early Day 3 guy but could creep up a little higher if people get excited about the testing numbers. I would say he isn’t (a green dot). I think he did make the calls somewhat this year but I don’t think that’s him in the NFL. They say he’s super intelligent, a guy who makes 3.0 (grade-point average) without cracking a book. That’s the problem. He’s not going to put in a lot of effort. It’s the same way he’s been on the field. The guy’s a great athlete but never spent the time he needed in the weight room and the nutritional aspect, things like that.