Aldon Smith makes Greg Hardy look like a choir boy

Stash

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The more I read....the more I'm wondering why they went this route? I like the move but man......I Was sort of hoping we got these type of guys out of our locker room but who am I to say he hasn't changed? Hope he has for his sake. If he had a alcohol problem a year and some change ago.....he's still battling that demon. Hopefully he's battling better than he did then.

I think that the obvious connection is defensive line coach Jim Tomsula. He was on staff when the 49'ers drafted him and coached him during the best and worst times of his career. But I also feel that there is some sort of a connection now between McCarthy, Jay Glazer, and now this football team. Glazer clearly also has connections to Smith, through his gym and his outside programs. And if you notice, Glazer has been breaking some of the biggest Cowboys stories lately, starting with the McCarthy hire.

I think there's a circle that's been built here.
 

TheMarathonContinues

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If the Cowboys think that this signing, as well as a potential return of Randy Gregory, crosses DE off the list of positions to be upgraded, then they haven't learned a thing.

If it's a no risk signing to see if you catch lightning in a bottle, but buttress it with investment in a guy like K'Lavin Chaisson or an edge guy like Zack Baun, then I kind of get it.

Smith is a train wreck as a human being. His issues do seem to be substance abuse/alcohol based, but domestic violence for me is an in-the-box offense. I wouldn't touch him with a ten foot pole, but it's too late at this point.
It doesn't cross anything off the list but what it does do it allows them to not reach for a player like they did with Taco. They can feel more comfortable in the 1st round about drafting a guy who can contribute right now and start for them rather than a project that's not ready to contribute. And I'm down with drafting Chaisson but that's what he represents as of right now.
 

Future

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Has Hardy been in trouble since then, also that chick was a known coke head. Also I thought Hardy weapons was legal, I read he grew up in that environment because his parents or one of his parents was a bounty hunter/detective. I already that he was an avid hunter and described as a "redneck". None of that make him a bad person and his ONE run in with the law doesn't either. No one can convince me other wise unless you can dig up some more......
Some of them were illegal, so he was forced to turn them over. He didn't have 1 run-in, he was convicted of assault and then arrested a little more than a year later for cocaine.

But beating up a woman, or really anyone given his stature, makes you a bad person. Don't care about the environment. I don't know or care what he is now. He's no better/worse than Smith in that regard.
 

CalPolyTechnique

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I can totally hear Jerry rationalizing at the post-draft press conference:

“Well...well...I tell you with no uncertainty (uhn’surrr’taint-teeee) that we believe we got an extra 1st rounder in Aldon Smith and an extra 2nd rounder in Randy Gregory comin’ back so that made it a whole’lot easier when we bypassed those positions in this here draft.”
 

zrinkill

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I will cheer for the defense as a whole but not for him .......just like Greg Hardy.
 

Skillit

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You cannot save everyone. We're trying to do that at present, and failing miserably.

We've forgotten the entire idea of punishment for crimes: Deterrent.


I think deterrence serves very little in terms of meaningful purpose. Crime occurs in places with the harshest if penalties.

Is the reason you don’t kill people you dislike is that you’ll get in trouble? Is the reason you don’t snort coke is that it’s illegal? Don’t get me wrong- I’m all about accountability.....I just think there’s a missing piece here somewhere.

What compulses people to lose control? We all have ‘heat of the moment’ type situations, but 99% of us spend only a moment there vs what ‘crazy people’ do who seem trapped there.
 

TheMarathonContinues

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I think that the obvious connection is defensive line coach Jim Tomsula. He was on staff when the 49'ers drafted him and coached him during the best and worst times of his career. But I also feel that there is some sort of a connection now between McCarthy, Jay Glazer, and now this football team. Glazer clearly also has connections to Smith, through his gym and his outside programs. And if you notice, Glazer has been breaking some of the biggest Cowboys stories lately, starting with the McCarthy hire.

I think there's a circle that's been built here.

Oh the Tomsula connection for sure. Being Tomsula is a McCarthy guy I think its safe to assume there's some connection there. And yeah I have seen Glazer break some stories from the Cowboys lately. Seems like more than normal.
 

Stash

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Oh its definitely low risk. No doubt. Not mad at it personnel wise. I'm more disappointed what this move could represent. Hopefully its a McCarthy move.....

Of course it is, via Jim Tomsula, his chosen defensive line coach.

Aldon Smith has a connection to Tomsula, and therefore McCarthy, not the Joneses. Haven't we been through this already?
 

AbeBeta

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First of all, I’m all for everyone in society getting second chances. People suffering from drug and alcohol addictions who make serious attempts to get sober deserve our support. But people with domestic violence problems are different, especially when it comes to putting them on a national stage like the NFL. Domestic Violence perpetrators need help, but they don’t need a roster spot.

Yahoo Sports ran an article last night on Aldon Smith’s incredibly long rap sheet. Below is an excerpt from that article:

Aldon Smith’s mountain of legal issues

Here’s a rundown of the long list of off-field issues Smith has encountered since entering the NFL:
This list makes Greg Hardy look like a choir boy.
As I said in the beginning of this post- second chances are good. But for domestic violence? I want the Cowboys to win as bad as anyone. But not without at least some level of respectability.

Here’s the link to the article I quoted:
https://sports.yahoo.com/aldon-smith-cowboys-sign-domestic-violence-arrests-nfl-012158571.html

Here's the big difference.

Smith has taken responsibility for his actions and is now in recovery.
 

Stash

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Oh the Tomsula connection for sure. Being Tomsula is a McCarthy guy I think its safe to assume there's some connection there. And yeah I have seen Glazer break some stories from the Cowboys lately. Seems like more than normal.

OK, now we're getting somewhere! I'm glad that you understand where I'm coming from.
:thumbup:
 

superonyx

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Problem is, in any society you must have a deterrent to crime. Rehab isn't deterring. So far, the only deterrent that has worked in human history is strict, immediate punishment.

And the bigger problem we are facing at present is a generation coming up that appears to be completely lacking in empathy, which will make the current problem worse.
The problem with your statement is it isnt based in actual facts.
The US has the highest prison population per 100k citizens in the world. The number 2 is El Salvador and #3 is Thailand.
https://www.statista.com/statistics...h-the-most-prisoners-per-100-000-inhabitants/


Countries with the lowest re incarceration rates:
The Scandinavian countries, Switzerland, New Zealand, and The Netherlands. There’s a correlation between the way prisoners are treated and their likelihood of reoffending. The US has a recidivism rate over 75%, Norway has a recidivism rate of 20%. Norwegian prisons are like country clubs compared to the prisons in the US. Inmates can wear their own clothes, cook their own food, they have their own rooms and showers, they have computers and TVs, and they can get conjugal visits. They can also study or learn a trade, which is available in some prisons in the US, but not many. The US could learn a lot from these countries. We keep wasting taxpayer money locking up the same people for the same crimes and have the highest incarceration rate per capita in the world.
 

Prossman

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Well he has been clean and sober for a few years. worst case senario we lose a couple mill on the deal. If he has rehabbed we just stole a pass rusher. Well worth the risk imo
 

TheMarathonContinues

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Of course it is, via Jim Tomsula, his chosen defensive line coach.

Aldon Smith has a connection to Tomsula, and therefore McCarthy, not the Joneses. Haven't we been through this already?
While the above may be true....this move reeks of the low cost/high reward type deals the Cowboys have made in the past with Hardy, McClain, Tank Johnson, Pac-Man, etc.
 

superonyx

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Totally agree that victims shouldn’t have a voice in punishment. They have a role in the process—but yes, they get no say there.

You bring up the core issue: who is salvageable? How do you know? I get it that we spend too much on incarceration....but there is also costs to failed rehab.

I don’t claim to have any answers there. If we knew “who was worth it”, well, I’d be pretty special. Lol
Like many issues us americans need to first put our elitism away and look around the world at how other countries do things for examples that work.
Look at the country with the highest number of prisoners per capita and its the US. Look at our 70% re incarceration rate vs some European and Scandinavian countries 20%.
The data is clear. Our system of punishment over rehabilitation is a national disgrace.
 

KDM256

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No problem with this signing at all. If Smith turned his life around and the front office did their homework and Smith comes in with something to prove like he belongs in the NFL, could be the signing of the offseason.

Smith comes in and give us nothing on the defensive line, cut his butt like we do everyone else who doesn't perform on the field.

Sometimes it takes removing something out of your life completely to realize the mistakes you've made in the past, hopefully this is one of those instances.
 
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