Beerball Posted April 13, 2009 Share Posted April 13, 2009 What can a front office and/or coaching staff do to improve off field behavior? Is it all homework done up front and then you cross your fingers and hope for the best? Is there anything that an organization can do to shape what a player does on his own time? We know it is not a matter of mutual respect, so what is it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lofton80 Posted April 13, 2009 Share Posted April 13, 2009 Tough question. Seems to be a widespread problem. I guess you stay away from guys with trouble in their background. I love the way Lynch plays but he had been in the middle of a few incidents even though his name was cleared. Same for Hardy. Not sure on Whitner. Football is a tough violent game and you are not going to have a perfect locker room but it seems Buffalo is adding up the numbers in the after midnight troublemaker category. What can a front office and/or coaching staff do to improve off field behavior? Is it all homework done up front and then you cross your fingers and hope for the best? Is there anything that an organization can do to shape what a player does on his own time? We know it is not a matter of mutual respect, so what is it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joe w bags Posted April 13, 2009 Share Posted April 13, 2009 One or two game suspensions are not going to resolve issue. Must adopt a zero tolerance policy on off field behavior , with players understanding they in being a NFL player hold a position of great privilege, first time offenses result in minimum 8 game suspensions , second offenses in full season suspensions, any subsequent in banishment. All suspensions subject to review after term, with player having to show he has done something in terms of restitution and personal improvement. I cringe when I see Whitners name in headlines this past weekend and Lynch's previously, my heart as Bills follower hopes they are not and will not get into legal trouble that will effect team adversely ,my head says if NFL wishes to be viewed as a elite entertainment source, those who are involved in it be held to the highest of standards while in its employ, no hand wringing, no excuses made, suspensions must be servere and consistant for all. Amazes me the talk of many of these people as being just kids, 10 year olds rightly can be called children and kids, at 24 its time to be a man and be accountable for ones actions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuckincincy Posted April 13, 2009 Share Posted April 13, 2009 What can a front office and/or coaching staff do to improve off field behavior? Paying fans in the parking lots and stands, or players? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cody Posted April 13, 2009 Share Posted April 13, 2009 What can a front office and/or coaching staff do to improve off field behavior? I herd that Kelly owned a club where Bills could go and not get into any 'trouble'. Pretty much there was a section where it was 'anything goes'. It was a private area so nobody found out what happened. Unfortunatly, it is harder to keep these private areas private. Ask the Vikings what happens when you charter a boat in attempt to let players have a good time away from prying eyes. Famous people just cannot trust anyone anymore. If someone sees a n NFL player doing anything wrong, it gets posted on a site like this and explodes. A guy sends an IM to a friend and 4 hours later channel 2 is doing a news article about how Ralph Wilson is not dead. Modrak has some drinks in the airport and 50 people are disecting every word. There is an incident in a club in Cleveland and, 24 hours before he is even charged, hundreds of people have already decided, in thier own mind, what happened. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsFan Trapped in Pats Land Posted April 13, 2009 Share Posted April 13, 2009 Funny you mention Kelly, he would be a nightmare in this era of nosy bastards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
offde-fence Posted April 13, 2009 Share Posted April 13, 2009 There are certainly a lot of young pro football players who are thugs and who will always be getting into trouble. Those guys should be easy to spot. Some of the time, guys like Lynch, who seem like genuinely good people, just do stupid things. Other times, and I believe the Whitner case is a good example, a guy is presumed to be a thug or a trouble maker when in fact he might have been acting as any of us might act. I can't speak for everyone, but I've met some police officers who seem arrogant, and intent on making everyone look like a criminal. It could be that some of the time these athletes are treated harshly by the law because a certain officer might want to make himself look like he's above the athlete. I think my point is clear: sometimes it isn't the athlete that is bad, just in the wrong place at the wrong time. The bad ones should be obvious. And so I don't think a no tolerance approach is best, because sometimes the law isn't very fair, or honest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvermike Posted April 13, 2009 Share Posted April 13, 2009 One or two game suspensions are not going to resolve issue. Must adopt a zero tolerance policy on off field behavior , with players understanding they in being a NFL player hold a position of great privilege, first time offenses result in minimum 8 game suspensions , second offenses in full season suspensions, any subsequent in banishment. All suspensions subject to review after term, with player having to show he has done something in terms of restitution and personal improvement. I cringe when I see Whitners name in headlines this past weekend and Lynch's previously, my heart as Bills follower hopes they are not and will not get into legal trouble that will effect team adversely ,my head says if NFL wishes to be viewed as a elite entertainment source, those who are involved in it be held to the highest of standards while in its employ, no hand wringing, no excuses made, suspensions must be servere and consistant for all. Amazes me the talk of many of these people as being just kids, 10 year olds rightly can be called children and kids, at 24 its time to be a man and be accountable for ones actions. Ultimately, it just comes down to whether the League thinks it loses more fans by having criminals on the field than it would by giving up the talent those players represent. And to this point, I think there's been very little evidence of fans abandoning the game due to a rise in reporting about player arrests - in fact, it's honestly probably a net plus: an arrest gets your team and your product an extra half-hour on ESPN for free advertising. And ESPN's only talking about it because it's getting them ratings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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