You Can't Go Home Again

[MykePM]

Your theory is stupid. You're drawing some huge generalizations and haven't proven a thing.

"NFL execs should never draft players who grew up near the location of their team's headquarters." LOL. OK, buddy.

Actually, my theory is that teams should maybe avoid bringing players who already have off-field red flags back to the areas where their troublemaking associates live. I used D'Brickashaw Ferguson as one example (out of many, I'm sure) of a player for whom playing on the hometown team may actually have been a benefit.

It's just a thought, and maybe one you disagree with, but before ridiculing it as "stupid" why don't you come up with just one example to shoot it down before being an ass about it?

[ASG0531]

It's funny that people will believe that the Pats are so obsessed with details and gaining an edge that they'll set up an entire combat unit to film signals and decode them mid-game, but they'll haphazardly throw $40 million at Hernandez without doing proper background diligence.

[sg3]

It's funny that people will believe that the Pats are so obsessed with details and gaining an edge that they'll set up an entire combat unit to film signals and decode them mid-game, but they'll haphazardly throw $40 million at Hernandez without doing proper background diligence.

have to agree with you, The Pats are really pretty frigging stupid, for sure

[kdelgado]

It's funny that people will believe that the Pats are so obsessed with details and gaining an edge that they'll set up an entire combat unit to film signals and decode them mid-game, but they'll haphazardly throw $40 million at Hernandez without doing proper background diligence.

Wow, you're like a dick, for no reason. The op has nothing to do with the Patriots due diligence it is just a topic of discussion that lacks much evidence but still draws a reasonable conclusion from the little evidence provided.

[ARodFLKeysJetsFan]

I'd be interested in seeing what the graduation rate is in the NFL. My guess is that it's somewhere around 20%.

I wouldn't be surprised if its higher then that crash.

We all know that college athletes get the easy pass more often then not.

[Hitman Harris]

It's funny that people will believe that the Pats are so obsessed with details and gaining an edge that they'll set up an entire combat unit to film signals and decode them mid-game, but they'll haphazardly throw $40 million at Hernandez without doing proper background diligence.

Um yeah, that's SO hard to believe, I know.

Especially when Krafty's little puppet was forced to PUNISH THEM over it and burned the evidence because it was so bad.

Keep telling yourself everything is just peachy in Fuxboro, Chowd.

Awesome Blackhawks game last night, eh???

[ASG0531]

Wow, you're like a dick, for no reason. The op has nothing to do with the Patriots due diligence it is just a topic of discussion that lacks much evidence but still draws a reasonable conclusion from the little evidence provided.

"just a topic of discussion"


more like, "here's my way of slamming the Pats and amateurishly presenting it in an academic way"

[NY's stepchild]

Are you serious? There's no way...NO WAY...you become the fourth leading rusher in NFL history without passion. No way you have 10 consecutive 1,000 seasons without passion. No way you miss five games in 11 years because of passion. RB is one of the hardest positions to play in terms of punishment, so for someone to go back out there time and time again and not only play but also EXCEL, takes more passion than most people will ever know. Just because he was a quiet dude doesn't mean he didn't have passion.

Fine he had a passion for working hard to get the most out of the ability God gave him. If he was a carpenter, he would have been the hardest working carpenter, that cut no corners, and put everything he had into every job, even if he hated it. That said. He himself will tell you that he doesn't like football. Only took pleasure in knowing he did the best he could.

[rbstern]

It seems painfully obvious in looking at the Hernandez and Goodson situations this offseason that some players should not ever play for their hometown teams.

It's an interesting idea, but easily disproven with just a few examples off the top of my head:

Michael Vick
Ben Roethlisberger
Pacman Jones
Odell Thurman
Plaxico Burress
Chris Henry

None of these gents was playing for a hometown team when their legal troubles started.

Typically, when one of these guys with a troubled past signs a contract with a big signing bonus, they run out and buy a McMansion and a dozen cars. No matter where the player signs, the homies come to visit "for the weekend" and never leave.

Before he got busted for the dog fighting, Michael Vick's posse traveled with him. They were doing dirt while they travelled. One time, they boosted a guy's Rolex at the Atlanta airport during the security screening.

[MykePM]

"just a topic of discussion"


more like, "here's my way of slamming the Pats and amateurishly presenting it in an academic way"

Thanks for explaining my intentions to me. I feel no need to present my slamming of the Pats in an "academic" or any other special or covert way. I've been quite open in my bashing of "the Patriot Way" in the main Hernandez thread. If I'd meant to do that here, I might have called this thread "Patsies screwed up by drafting hometown thug" and I wouldn't have pointed out that the Jets did something similar by bringing Goodson back to his hometown.

[MykePM]

It's an interesting idea, but easily disproven with just a few examples off the top of my head:

Michael Vick
Ben Roethlisberger
Pacman Jones
Odell Thurman
Plaxico Burress
Chris Henry

None of these gents was playing for a hometown team when their legal troubles started.

Typically, when one of these guys with a troubled past signs a contract with a big signing bonus, they run out and buy a McMansion and a dozen cars. No matter where the player signs, the homies come to visit "for the weekend" and never leave.

Before he got busted for the dog fighting, Michael Vick's posse traveled with him. They were doing dirt while they travelled. One time, they boosted a guy's Rolex at the Atlanta airport during the security screening.

To me, your examples actually show that some guys are so rotten they'll get in trouble no matter where they end up playing - which is true, for sure. I think for guys who are maybe making some effort to be good, having easier access to their posses (or more accurately in some cases, allowing their posses easier access to them) raises the likelihood of trouble.

I think the actual disproving of my theory would be finding some players who had troubled pasts, played for their hometown teams, and still avoided run-ins with the law. None come to mind, but admittedly I haven't tried too hard to research this.

[NYJets 4 Life]

"just a topic of discussion"


more like, "here's my way of slamming the Pats and amateurishly presenting it in an academic way"

You have enough salt to put on the french fries of everyone in the thread.

Christ.

[WestCoastOffensive]

Your theory is stupid. You're drawing some huge generalizations and haven't proven a thing.

"NFL execs should never draft players who grew up near the location of their team's headquarters." LOL. OK, buddy.

The next time you call someone "stupid" will be your last.

[The Boston Patriot]

It's a reasonable premise for a reasonable discussion; why not back up ad not be so shrill.

Implicit in your post is your personal belief that urban Meyer's approval trumps gang ties...which is incorrect as rat bastard Hernandez is likely at least an accessory to murder.

If he's not charged with either murder or accessory to murder, can JI Jets fans forgive themselves for all the bitter hyperbole spoken about him?

[sg3]

If he's not charged with either murder or accessory to murder, can JI Jets fans forgive themselves for all the bitter hyperbole spoken about him?

IF

The favorite word of chowd trolls

[GetaLife]

It seems painfully obvious in looking at the Hernandez and Goodson situations this offseason that some players should not ever play for their hometown teams. If a player comes from a stable family background (like say, D'Brickashaw and hopefully Aboushi), it may actually be a plus for them to have a strong support structure around them. However, when a player has a history of off-field issues, particularly related to having ties to "the wrong crowd", the best possible thing for them (and in some cases, perhaps their only hope) would seem to be to get them away from the area they grew up in and provide support in breaking all ties with "friends" who would lead them down the wrong path.

While some teams reportedly downgraded Hernandez's draft ranking severely based on his history, in retrospect the Pats maybe should have taken him off their board entirely because of the close proximity he would have to the people he grew up with - people who could potentially draw him into situations that could lead to this type of criminal activity.

By that same token, other than some paternity and payment delinquency issues that Rich Cimini was all too happy to reveal to the world, Mike Goodson hadn't gotten into any serious issues with the law until he moved back to New Jersey, where he was originally from. Should the Jets have seen that coming?

I wonder if Curtis Martin's life would have turned out very different if he had been drafted by his hometown Steelers instead of New England -- where his main influence was a strong father figure in Parcells instead of the people he knew from the rough environment he grew up in.

It is interesting input..

I would say at least NOW there might be a pattern of that and might be taken into consideration...

[The Boston Patriot]

It seems painfully obvious in looking at the Hernandez and Goodson situations this offseason that some players should not ever play for their hometown teams. If a player comes from a stable family background (like say, D'Brickashaw and hopefully Aboushi), it may actually be a plus for them to have a strong support structure around them. However, when a player has a history of off-field issues, particularly related to having ties to "the wrong crowd", the best possible thing for them (and in some cases, perhaps their only hope) would seem to be to get them away from the area they grew up in and provide support in breaking all ties with "friends" who would lead them down the wrong path.

While some teams reportedly downgraded Hernandez's draft ranking severely based on his history, in retrospect the Pats maybe should have taken him off their board entirely because of the close proximity he would have to the people he grew up with - people who could potentially draw him into situations that could lead to this type of criminal activity.

By that same token, other than some paternity and payment delinquency issues that Rich Cimini was all too happy to reveal to the world, Mike Goodson hadn't gotten into any serious issues with the law until he moved back to New Jersey, where he was originally from. Should the Jets have seen that coming?

I wonder if Curtis Martin's life would have turned out very different if he had been drafted by his hometown Steelers instead of New England -- where his main influence was a strong father figure in Parcells instead of the people he knew from the rough environment he grew up in.

I guess the only thing I would say to this interesting post is that with the ability to travel (lots of money) and available time, a player who goes home is probably as likely to get into as many bad situations as a 'local' player. Lewis was born in Florida and the murder happened in Atlanta (SB)

[WestCoastOffensive]

If he's not charged with either murder or accessory to murder, can JI Jets fans forgive themselves for all the bitter hyperbole spoken about him?

ASG? I hope he fries.


That won't happen; so I won't go there. Funny though as usual

[ASG0531]

ASG? I hope he fries.


That won't happen; so I won't go there. Funny though as usual

My lawyers have advised me to stop posting here because of digital evidence concerns, but I can't help myself.

[FijiJet]

Curtis Martin never got in any real trouble. He was from a bad neighborhood, but never involved with those people. I'm not huge CMart fan. I don't like the fact that he had no passion for the game, but he also had no passion for anything else either. He would have been steady wherever he went.

Get real man. No passion for the game? So he sleepwalked his way to his rushing title?

Humble and understated, yes. But having no passion is reaching.

Back to the thread topic, Hernandez brought this on himself - now he has to grow up the harsh way.