NoSaint

Ill steer you to my recent LT post and ask you to make your case

I don’t, but I also don’t default to any bills mishap being the pats fault with absolutely no proof or even vague reason to suggest it

I didn’t know I could convict guys from my couch or bar stool.

Another question: i dont know this as fact but i vaguely recall that you can’t renegotiate a contract signed in that same season. So there might not be a way for the bills to renegotiate short of cutting him and re-signing? (think it was an RFA situation where I heard that- noting a team couldn’t give ridiculous terms to a guy to help get him off his original team with a handshake agreement to restructure immediately after... imagine giving a huge year 1 salary to a guy on a cap strapped team, they can’t match then you can’t restructure that to signing bonus to be more friendly to both team and player once he’s in house)

I’d even be fine if when they asked for the pay cut he said no and perhaps an off color comment. I get hurt feelings cause some bad blood and he’s a high strung guy. But the games he’s currently playing just aren’t defensible after cashing a million dollar check and signing the contract

Honestly, it wasn’t a bad word but I think a lot of folks subconsciously discount him for being reliable when it’s a big plus. not only did he play GREAT but he did it long term and without too many dips. A few here acted like he was just reliably getting 3.8 ypc walking to the sideline untouched behind a great line and able to do it a gazillion times because of everything but his own ability. Dude ran hard, made big plays, has the rings and records and across his peak had HUGE numbers (averaged 1600 yards and 17 tds a season over 5 years— without including receiving stats) its hard to put him outside the top top ten but Thurman in it

Fine- let’s ignore Martin issues and stick to him getting booted from two colleges, the rams meltdowns, the multiple arrests that video of him in the bar throwing around slurs, the incident with the golf course attendant, the slurs towards trainers, the drug issues he’s copped to, that weird incident beating up his car, maybe another racial slur incident in Jax.... but if you discount all that, we really don’t know much to question his character

No ones coming after him because he’s a bama guy. we are all questioning whether you can credibly discuss any issue that’s even remotely bama related.

What if he’s demanding a raise?

Cant fire an agent on twitter. Much like you can’t retire. I’m curious what, if any, paperwork he’s filed through all this.

Yup - I left both he and smith off my spitball list. Might have been blocking out a certain team.

Its 110% fair- nutrition, training, schemes advancing.... its hard to say what a great from another era could do today. The flip side is they also would likely benefit from all that too.

Would you go to such lengths in this if it were an LSU player? We arent sentencing him to jail, we are discussing what we think happened on a message board. Do you believe Foster is a high character individual? If so, is all the controversy around him just bad luck, or?

I’ll agree with two points McBride made — our line was also one of the better ones ones out there in a 5 year run smith had over 8000 rushing yards and 85 rushing tds. Plus some catches not in those numbers. I think by calling him the steady one a lot of fans forget that he was steadily really killing it on the field and not just grinding out numbers just by longevity and volume

Make a list!

He was cut mid season by the rams, left the dolphins in controversy and this may be his bills departure. He was booted from Nebraska and never accepted at Oregon. if we cut him, how do you suppose he departs his next team? Or are you confident that this is out of character for him?

Unfortunately, being completely erratic and unpredictable brings his value down

For a month

They could cut him, but suspend him without pay and not allow him to play elsewhere would take more in my opinion

Whats the conduct? Retiring in a manner not graceful?

When you put that much effort into the argument.... LT had more rushing yards, more receiving, and like double the TDs in fewer seasons. His efficiency/per game stats beat thurman. Better ypcarry, though Thomas won ypcatch. LT had 20 fewer fumbles despite more touches. he weighed more, put up more reps on the bench but still had a better 40, better in all the explosives (vertical and broad), better in the shuttles. Make your case for Thomas over LT... I didn’t even say smith in there. Just rattled off some names. I think we can all agree that it’s not a slam dunk to put him top ten - he’s right in that next group that can be debated. If you start that group at 9, or 10 or 11 through 20ish is fine. Ill buy thomas paved the way for a guy like LT, and did a GREAT job, but there aren’t many spots he was just as good (measurables or stats).

I think that’s an overrated myth. Everyone thinks of it. But unless he has a hell of an explanation for the last month he’s edging towards “just stay away” territory

All valid- for n addition to style, you’ve got to define whether your looking at careers (longevity) or one game in their prime. What i find in most of these lists - whether best all time or best of today- there tend to be plateaus and ledges. Small small number at the top(say 2-3), but stretch to about 10 in the first group of elite that can be shuffled around, then about 10 more in a next tier. That’s where Thurman lands for me. There’s a group he’s just not going to be put ahead of, but with just a small dip you find him and some really great other backs that will trade spots in the rankings based on your priorities.

That’s about right for me... I wouldn’t cry foul for anything at about 10 down to about 20 which is huuuuge praise when you start thinking about how many backs are out there. It’s not a particularly rare body type or skill set - so to really distinguish yourself from the masses takes a lot. the only spot I might push back is that 1500 more touches isn’t just simply an “oh he has more opportunity” but is a real credit to his ability to stay healthy long term with a heavy workload.

I don’t remember who but one of the reporters said they were told this was a joke? the problem is- if we want to spend to replace him he can unretire and blow up our cap at any drug fueled whim.