Pats fans cry conspiracy

[Lupz27]

http://www.patsfans.com/new-england-patriots/messageboard/10/778233-dead-cap-money-clause-jets-conspiracy-innocent-oversight.html

This has to be the worst bitching by a fan base Evah!

[Scott Dierking]

http://www.patsfans.com/new-england-patriots/messageboard/10/778233-dead-cap-money-clause-jets-conspiracy-innocent-oversight.html

This has to be the worst bitching by a fan base Evah!

You ought to hear some of the conspiracy theories by Yankee fans on this site.

Paranoia runs rampant

[Larz]

that made my day. they sound like us 2 years ago

rex is in their heads !!!!!!

[Maxman]

This is too damn funny....

Dead cap money clause: Jets conspiracy or innocent oversight?

• Written by John Morgan
• Posted July 26, 2011 at 4:09 pm

One very minor detail of the NFL’s new CBA – a single sentence, 59 pages deep into the document – could have major ramifications on the outcome of the 2011 season.

For the purpose of the salary cap players who were cut prior to the lockout will not count as dead money against this year’s cap.

So what is the big deal?

For the players union that means teams will be spending more real dollars, as opposed to cap numbers which are figures for accounting purposes only. But what this does is give an advantage to teams who cut players under contract during that three-week window between the end of the season and the start of the lockout. Players cut going forward will still have those numbers count against their old team’s salary cap.

This all seems quite arbitrary and inconsistent; it’s completely unprecedented in the NFL’s salary cap era. In addition the message coming out of the NFL’s office when the league opted out of the CBA and went to an uncapped year was that teams should make decisions based on the idea that a new CBA would be worked and that cap rules, regardless of what number the new cap would be, would remain intact. In other words, don’t sign a bunch of players to big signing bonuses and multi year contracts with the idea that you’ll be able to cut them before the end of the contract with no dead cap money ramifications.

Now it appears that was merely a suggestion, with no basis of fact.

However what makes this situation an even bigger deal is the possibility of impropriety. What if only one team knew about this ahead of time? Obviously they could take advantage of that knowledge by cutting several veterans very early in the year, rather than waiting. With no new CBA in place and no free agency on March 1, there was really no need to make the decision at that time.

Is Rex Ryan’s team had plenty of dead money prior to the lockout. (FILE:Icon/SMI) Now it’s not as if no cuts were made by 31 teams and several made by one team; that is not the case. However, the majority of the cuts were either marginal players with no impact to the salary cap (e.g., Pierre Woods), failed physicals (e.g., Chris Baker), or old housecleaning of players that had essentially retired that were on the reserve/failed to report list (e.g., Randall McDaniel).

One of the very few teams that did make early roster cuts was the New York Jets, cutting six players that reportedly had over $8 million in dead cap money between them – not an insignificant amount at all when you consider it’s not uncommon for anybody making over $1 million per year to be a potential cap casualty.

Now it is time for the tinfoil hat conspiracy theory.

While the lockout was on, there was only one fan base that seemed to be adamant that old dead cap money would not count against the new cap – even though that had never been the case since the salary cap began: the New York Jets. The reasoning behind this was allegedly some inside information on the wording of the new CBA. If this were true then where would a Jet fan most likely get that information; maybe from someone in the Jets organization? And if that were the case, where would the Jets have obtained that same information?

Perhaps from the offices of a former fan and former employee who now holds the title of league commissioner?

Now I realize this idea sounds rather fantastic; like I said before, tinfoil hat conspiracy time. But hasn’t Roger Goodell brought this upon himself? His past allegiances are well documented, yet he sees no need to remove himself from controversial decisions involving his former team. The punishment to Sal Alosi for his actions and Mike Westhoff for his comments last season were laughably weak when you compare how he reacts to players violating the Personal Conduct Policy; if anything I thought coaches were held to a higher standard – wasn’t that part of the rationale in the fine to Bill Belichick? In addition Goodell has shown himself to be wildly inconsistent with his decisions, which brings further scrutiny. The Patriots film and they lose a first round draft pick; the Broncos and Jets do the same thing and there are no repercussions. Player X does something he gets a small fine; Player Y does the same thing he gets suspended.

Removing the tinfoil conspiracy hat, at the very least if the two sides wanted clubs to spend more money in 2011 then there should have been a more equitable way to make that happen than giving amnesty to the handful of teams that had already cut players with big cap numbers. If not an error of commission then it’s an error of omission; Goodell should have realized that setting that arbitrary date of March 11 was not the correct decision. A better way to satisfy both sides would have been to add up the total dead cap money of all players cut from February 17 to March 11, divide by 32, and add that amount to each of the 32 NFL team’s 2011 cap. Now it’s fair for everybody involved.

And people like me don’t have an excuse to reach for our tinfoil hats.

In all seriousness, do I think the Jets had some secret information about this clause passed on to them by Goodell? Probably not; besides its being impossible to prove people like Goodell and Woody Johnson are far more interested in money than in wins and losses of their favorite team. But I find it ironic that the commissioner of the league, the man whose rallying cry is the integrity of the game, keeps making decisions that cause fans of the NFL to question that very same subject based on decisions that he makes, and how it seemingly favors his former employer and team he grew up rooting for. A person in his position should not be making such gaffes; if he’s not intelligent enough to avoid doing so he should step aside and let somebody else take over for the good of the game.

Here is a team-by-team look at cuts made between February 18 and March 11 of this year. I would have included what the cap savings would be for everyone involved, but I was unable to locate a reliable source for that information.

Arizona: none

Atlanta: S Eric Coleman, TE Jason Rader

Baltimore: none

Buffalo: LB Pierre Woods, LB Mike Balogun, DE Marcus Stroud

Carolina: none

Chicago: T Kevin Shaffer, DT Tommie Harris, LB Hunter Hillenmeyer

Cincinnati: none

Cleveland: LB Eric Barton, LB David Bowens, T John St. Clair, DT Shaun Rogers, TE Robert Royal, DE Kenyon Coleman

Dallas: none

Denver: TE Daniel Graham, DT Jamal Williams, DT Justin Bannan

Detroit: G Trevor Canfield; CB Eric King, LB Julian Peterson

Green Bay: S Derrick Martin, LB AJ Hawk (re-signed), TE Donald Lee, FB Chuck Webb, G Doug Karczewski

Houston: WR Andre Davis, LB Darnell Bing, LB Isaiah Greenhouse, DT DeMario Pressley, S Eugene Wilson

Indianapolis: S Bob Sanders

Jacksonville: WR Mike Sims-Walker; WR Chris McGaha

Kansas City: none

Miami: RB Deon Anderson, TE Jared Bronson

Minnesota: none

New England: none

New Orleans: RB Marcus Mailei, RB PJ Hill, TE Jeremy Shockey

New York Giants: none

New York Jets: CB Isaiah Trufant, LB Jason Taylor, DT Kris Jenkins, T Damien Woody, DE Vernon Gholston, TE Ben Hartsock

Oakland: none

Philadelphia: none

Pittsburgh: none

San Diego: none

San Francisco: none

Seattle: TE Chris Baker, QB Nate Davis, DE Patrick Kerney, WR Sean Morey

St. Louis: RB Mike Karney, S Oshiomogho Atogwe

Tampa Bay: LB Jon Alston, G Randall McDaniel, G Jason Nerys

Tennessee: none

Washington: RB Clinton Portis, LB Andre Carter, G Derrick Dockery

You can follow me on Twitter and Facebook as well. Believe it or not it’s Twitter@AllThingsPats and Facebook/AllThingsPats

[Mattyandthejets]

So how about when Goodell burned the spygate tapes, or when he made up the "dont breathe on the QB" rules due to Brady's injury? These too, were NYJ conspiracies in order to create an image of the patriots being favored so then the jets could look like the good guys... its all becoming clear now. And how about the fact that the Jets have been the most fined team in the league the past two seasons...yes Goodell's favoritism at work here.

[KSJets]

Two of the people the Jets cut have retired, with a third on the way probably (Taylor) and one monumental bust. So basically, Trufant and Hartsock were cut. Pats' fans are the biggest crybabies in all of sports. Absolutely pathetic. I can't wait til BB and Brady both retire and the team goes back to the slapdick team they used to be.

[RutgersJetFan]

While the lockout was on, there was only one fan base that seemed to be adamant that old dead cap money would not count against the new cap – even though that had never been the case since the salary cap began: the New York Jets. The reasoning behind this was allegedly some inside information on the wording of the new CBA. If this were true then where would a Jet fan most likely get that information; maybe from someone in the Jets organization? And if that were the case, where would the Jets have obtained that same information?

That Bongo is just diabolical.

[Larz]

This is too damn funny....

Cleveland: LB Eric Barton, LB David Bowens, T John St. Clair, DT Shaun Rogers, TE Robert Royal, DE Kenyon Coleman

how did they miss fredo ?

[Klecko73isGod]

So the Jets knew about a wrinkle in a CBA that had not yet been negotiated when they cut Vernon Gholston?

[serphnx]

Two of the people the Jets cut have retired, with a third on the way probably (Taylor) and one monumental bust. So basically, Trufant and Hartsock were cut. Pats' fans are the biggest crybabies in all of sports. Absolutely pathetic. I can't wait til BB and Brady both retire and the team goes back to the slapdick team they used to be.

It will be a great day in sports when Boston sports are back to where they belong, in the basement.

I was thrilled when the Heat blew out the Celtics. The Celtics tried to buy a championship and their dynasty got them one ring before somebody did it better.

[Lupz27]

Trust me if the Jets knew about this Calvin Pace would have been cut also. This is the biggest piece of sh*t I have ever read, and the worst part is that it's not a post from a crazy Pats fan, they are running the article as an actual front page news article. Absolute joke that site should be ashamed of themselves.

[Bleedin Green]

Now I realize this idea sounds rather fantastic; like I said before, tinfoil hat conspiracy time. But hasn’t Roger Goodell brought this upon himself? His past allegiances are well documented, yet he sees no need to remove himself from controversial decisions involving his former team. The punishment to Sal Alosi for his actions and Mike Westhoff for his comments last season were laughably weak when you compare how he reacts to players violating the Personal Conduct Policy; if anything I thought coaches were held to a higher standard – wasn’t that part of the rationale in the fine to Bill Belichick? In addition Goodell has shown himself to be wildly inconsistent with his decisions, which brings further scrutiny. The Patriots film and they lose a first round draft pick; the Broncos and Jets do the same thing and there are no repercussions. Player X does something he gets a small fine; Player Y does the same thing he gets suspended.

This whole theory is obviously dog crap, but this paragraph really made me laugh hysterically, as it talks about the preferential treatment Goodell gives to the Jets, which is beyond a joke. They should ask Eric Smith his opinion on that one. Alosi was suspended for the remainder of season and then subsequently fired by the Jets, what the hell did they expect Goodell to do beyond that exactly? And Westhoff's comments, are you kidding me? Oh, yeah mean the comments that were subsequently proven to be TRUE? Yeah, I can't believe Westhoff wasn't fined for that, because he dare say an unkind, yet completely factual, word about the almighty Patriots. And can someone please point to a single piece of evidence anywhere of the Jets filming that allegedly took place and went unpunished? I swear, whoever wrote this isn't just a conspiracy theorist, he's borderline (at best) retarded.

[Bleedin Green]

Oh, and I'm curious. Did Houston, Green Bay and Cleveland, just to name a few, get the same preferential treatment and heads up from Goodell? Funny that apparently none of the other owners in the league had an issue with this being in the CBA when it was clearly written to favor only the Jets.

******* idiots.

[Bleedin Green]

So the Jets knew about a wrinkle in a CBA that had not yet been negotiated when they cut Vernon Gholston?

Don't you know, after the CBA was signed off on yesterday Goodell hopped into his Delorean, went back in time and gave Tanny a copy of the CBA. Diabolical.

[slats]

The only worthwhile quote from the "article":

In all seriousness, do I think the Jets had some secret information about this clause passed on to them by Goodell? Probably not

The whole thing is sour grapes. Whether Tannenbaum guessed right about dead money this year, or just wanted to cut those guys anyway, the Jets came out ahead in the deal and this poor Pats fan needs to whine about it - even though he knows his whining is complete bullsh*t.

Too funny.

[jgb]

usually when a child gets beat in chess he accuses his opponent of cheating.

we iz just smarter thin u

[Barcs]

Ummm, teams CUT players for the very reason of saving money, and it's only fair that since those rules were in affect then, they apply then. It would be utterly retarded if they still counted this year. Jets are going to resign everyone except smith and Pats will be 2nd pony next year. I can't wait for their implosion after last years fluke of a season.

[Lupz27]

The only worthwhile quote from the "article":

The whole thing is sour grapes. Whether Tannenbaum guessed right about dead money this year, or just wanted to cut those guys anyway, the Jets came out ahead in the deal and this poor Pats fan needs to whine about it - even though he knows his whining is complete bullsh*t.

Too funny.

The worst part is the guy who wrote the article is equivalent to Max for that site and put it on the front page, and tweeted it like it's real news

[SoFlaJets]

Let's face it Tannenbaum is a genius when it comes to the salary cap. The best deal that never happened for the Jets was when Parcells was going to take the Tampa Bay job and steal Mike T along with him. I always respected him for his loyalty to the Jets and Woody Johnson.

[Bleedin Green]

The only worthwhile quote from the "article":

The whole thing is sour grapes. Whether Tannenbaum guessed right about dead money this year, or just wanted to cut those guys anyway, the Jets came out ahead in the deal and this poor Pats fan needs to whine about it - even though he knows his whining is complete bullsh*t.

Too funny.

If you really look at it, every one of those guys was going to be a cut anyway if you think about it, so the Jets just did the smart thing and did it early, just in case they could get away with it. Jenkins and Woody were older, considering retirement (which they have since done) and coming off of injury. The also had completely bloated contract numbers. There was NO WAY either player was going to play under their current deal this year. From day one Taylor's deal was said to be a one-year deal, and that there would be no way he'd ever play under the second year of it. So who the hell does that leave? The massive bust Gholston who the Jets purposefully reworked his contract to make him easier to cut, a blocking TE and a 8th string CB. I mean... seriously?

I just can't believe some schmuck took the time to write THIS MUCH for it to be nothing but pure diarrhea. And this is coming from me of all people.

[Sperm Edwards]

Mike Tannenbaum in March:

We're cutting Jenkins and Woody and Taylor and Gholston no matter what.

We may re-sign one or more but we'll cross that bridge when the time comes.

In the meantime there's a new CBA being negotiated and there might be a chance that dead money might be canceled out.

We gain nothing by keeping these players who were not going to be retained at their (then-current) contract figures. We potentially gain a lot of cap space by cutting them now instead of cutting or renegotiating later.

This is different than cutting other bloated contracts like Pace or Scott with the wink-wink that we'll re-sign them again when the CBA dust settles. If one or both of them was scooped away by someone else then we have holes where starters were. Not so with the players the Jets cut (with the marginal case of Woody, since the Jets had already drafted his replacement a year earlier).

[nycdan]

Mike Tannenbaum in March:

We're cutting Jenkins and Woody and Taylor and Gholston no matter what.

We may re-sign one or more but we'll cross that bridge when the time comes.

In the meantime there's a new CBA being negotiated and there might be a chance that dead money might be canceled out.

We gain nothing by keeping these players who were not going to be retained at their (then-current) contract figures. We potentially gain a lot of cap space by cutting them now instead of cutting or renegotiating later.

This is different than cutting other bloated contracts like Pace or Scott with the wink-wink that we'll re-sign them again when the CBA dust settles. If one or both of them was scooped away by someone else then we have holes where starters were. Not so with the players the Jets cut (with the marginal case of Woody, since the Jets had already drafted his replacement a year earlier).

If they want to cry about a conspiracy, watch what happens if we resign Braylon and Santonio and bring in Nnamdi. Their little chowder-filled heads will explode. Someone bring the oyster crackers...

[Aten]

Do you know what would actually happen if only one team had advance knowledge of a dead money amnesty clause?

And besides that, it's been obvious for a while that the cap was going to go down, and it ought to be equally obvious that if you drop the cap over a three-year span that has an uncapped year in the middle of it, there has got to be some dead money relief at some point.

[nycdan]

Do you know what would actually happen if only one team had advance knowledge of a dead money amnesty clause?

And besides that, it's been obvious for a while that the cap was going to go down, and it ought to be equally obvious that if you drop the cap over a three-year span that has an uncapped year in the middle of it, there has got to be some dead money relief at some point.

This reminds me of

[JetsFanInDenver]

Good journalism. It was nice knowing you!

[Gainzo]

No conspiracy in my book. Well done by Tanny.

You guys were better last year than the Pats when it counted so it should be a fun season.