Simmons nails the NFL and free agency, cap, etc

[Way 'nuff]

Bill Simmons is a writer for espn.com's page 2. A lot of people don't give him credit as being a good, knowledgable writer because he intersperses humor and pop culture references in his writing. IMO, that shouldn't make it less valid.

He brings up the fact that his beloved Pats had to cut Willie McGinest, one of his favorite players, a career Patriot and one of the faces of the franchise.

Basically, I agree with Simmons' take on the NFL, I think there should be a way for them to keep star players with their teams for the duration of their careers, like the Bird rule in the NBA.

All hatred for other teams and fanbases aside, look at what the NFC east has brewing. Finally, this conference is back in the spotlight of the NFL scene, largely in part to the talent in the division. Rivalries are being restored to the way they were back in the 80's and early 90's.

Anyway, here's the article:

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/060315

 

[FolsomCowboy]

That is my biggest gripe about the CBA, I used to know everything about every Cowboys player before TC, now its a crapshoot

 

[Mavs Man]

Bill Simmons has been one of my favorite writers for the past several years. Rarely a dull read.

 

[billyrags]

Thats great and all, but there is more going on than just money. It is as much about winning and pride as it is about salary cap and money.

Should a player be forced to retire when he is no longer in a teams plans so the fans can fell warm and cozy? Should a team be forced to start a player that can no longer get the job done so the fans can fell warm and cozy?

If you put a player ahead of winning, then keep him. If you put winning ahead a legendary player, then something has to be done with that player.

I know at the end Emmitt was not our "winning" answer at RB. We kept him around to break the record (I'm glad we did!). No big deal our whole team sucked anyway. Now when you bring in a legendary coach expecting to win. Something had to be done with Emmitt. The right choice was made. We needed to upgrade the RB position. Too bad for us that Emmitt didn't agree and decided to put on another uniform. That move would have happened even if there was some sort of salary exemption that would have allowed us to pay him as much as we wanted. He has too much pride to take a backseat to anyone and rightfully so.

 

[jay cee]

It's a good article, but he acts like this only happens because of the salary cap.

Guys like Unitas, Namath, O.J. Simpson all ended their careers on different teams than the ones they had their best years with.

I can't remember, was the salary cap in place when did the 49'ers let Montana go?

I know the salary cap exacerbated the situation, but this is not new. Even without a salary cap, does anyone really believe Emmitt Smith would have been able to spend those last two seasons in Dallas? That wasn't just a salary dump, IMO.

 

[Way 'nuff]

It's a good article, but he acts like this only happens because of the salary cap.

Guys like Unitas, Namath, O.J. Simpson all ended their careers on different teams than the ones they had their best years with.

I can't remember, was the salary cap in place when did the 49'ers let Montana go?

I know the salary cap exacerbated the situation, but this is not new. Even without a salary cap, does anyone really believe Emmitt Smith would have been able to spend those last two seasons in Dallas? That wasn't just a salary dump, IMO.

I see where you're coming from, and I agree.

But what I got from the article was moreso about players leaving teams in their primes. What if you guys couldn't afford to resign DeMarcus Ware after his contract is up due to the cap? For us, (barring jail time) what if we weren't able to re-sign Sean Taylor? Its not like both of our teams couldn't afford them.

Edgerrin James in a cardinals uniform? Shouldn't happen. He should be with the Colts when they finally figure out how to win a superbowl.

I'm sure it'd create a bunch of problems that we are not aware of, but I think it'd be great if the NFL were to somehow have a Larry Bird rule in place to keep star players with their teams.

 

[littlewebs]

I check his page every day for new columns. I also read his book since I am a big baseball fan. It was a great read even though I had no loyalty to the Red Sox. He's easily my favorite writer.