Sit, stand, kneel, or do whatever you like for the National Anthem

[Michchamp]

if Ray Lewis told you it was an autographed football, you'd buy a polished turd from him.

 

[Spartanmack]

if Ray Lewis told you it was an autographed football, you'd buy a polished turd from him.

You can't polish a turd. And I don't buy or collect sports memorabilia. Also, I can't stand Ray Lewis and I think he should be in prison for murder. That said, there's a lot more evidence to support what Ray Lewis and the Ravens say about this than what you and Phil Simms are saying.

Look, not everything is about race - sometimes shitty quarterbacks just don't get jobs, especially ones who accuse potential employers of being vile racists just before they're about to get an offer from them. Sometimes that's all there is to it.

 

[Michchamp]

Tom Brady said Kaepernick should be playing in the NFL right now.

Hmm... who to listen to?

spartanmack... or TOM BRADY?

Guy with horrible opinions on things... or GREATEST QUARTERBACK OF ALL TIME?

you decide?

 

[sggatecl]

http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/page/Barnwellx170918/nfl-quality-play-worse-2017-colin-kaepernick-make-better

.. it's close to impossible to make an argument against Colin Kaepernick starting for a handful of NFL teams right now, let alone being on an NFL roster. For whatever flaws Kaepernick has as a quarterback, a look at history suggests that there hasn't been a single quarterback in the post-merger modern NFL to play like Kaepernick did in 2016 without getting another shot at a job afterward.

Let's leave aside Kaepernick's abilities as a runner -- which are still significant, given that he led all quarterbacks in rushing DYAR and was fourth in rushing DVOA last season -- and ignore his two-plus excellent seasons as a quarterback under Jim Harbaugh, both of which would be treated as reasons to shell out millions on any other quarterback's r?sum?. Instead, let's simply look at what Kaepernick did last season under Chip Kelly on a frustratingly bad 49ers team while throwing to Jeremy Kerley, Quinton Patton and Garrett Celek as his most-targeted receivers. (They've combined for four catches through two weeks in 2017.)

The best simple metric for quarterbacks using raw stats is adjusted net yards per attempt (ANY/A), which is essentially a supercharged passer rating with better coefficients and sacks incorporated. Pro-Football-Reference.com provides index statistics that allow you to compare a quarterback's numbers to players from his era and scales them to a 100-point system through standard deviations above and below the mean. Kaepernick's 2016 ANY/A+, the index statistic for ANY/A, was a 97. He was one-fifth of one standard deviation below the mean as compared to every other 2016 quarterback, finishing 23rd among 31 qualifying quarterbacks in the category.

It's rare for a young quarterback who gets regular reps in the NFL in any given season to finish his career without getting at least another shot or two. How rare? I went looking for quarterbacks who had not yet hit their 30s and threw 200 passes or more in a season without ever playing again. Kaepernick will turn 30 in November, so 2016 was his age-29 season.

There are only 14 other quarterbacks besides Kaepernick to do that in NFL history, not including other passers from 2016 who were hired elsewhere (such as Osweiler or Matt Barkley) or Teddy Bridgewater, whose future is uncertain after a catastrophic knee injury. Kaepernick's 97 ANY/A+ was third-best among the group, but even if he'd played worse in 2016, it shouldn't have mattered. Every one of them had an excuse for ending their career without getting another shot at an NFL job that wouldn't apply for Kaepernick.

Six of the quarterbacks suffered career-ending or career-shortening injuries, including Neil Lomax (arthritic hip), Steve Ramsey (double ankle surgery), Tim Couch (rotator cuff), Heath Shuler (repeated foot injuries), and Gary Marangi (shoulder). Pat Haden suffered a knee injury and retired while rehabbing the injury to take a broadcasting job. Johnny Manziel and JaMarcus Russell left the league amid substance-abuse issues. Kaepernick would not fit into either of these categories.

The other six quarterbacks -- each with a fraction of Kaepernick's r?sum? and a less-impressive final season as a regular quarterback -- were given one or more opportunities to sign with an NFL team but never made it back onto the field for a regular-season pass. Joey Harrington, Mike McMahon, Cade McNown, John Skelton, Craig Whelihan and Randy Wright each went to training camp with one or more teams without making it onto the field. This was also true of some of the injured players. Consider that Marangi went 0-7 as a starter and set a still-standing league record for lowest career completion percentage. The Packers still tried to trade for him, only to be rebuffed when Marangi failed a physical. The Browns signed Marangi anyway.

 

[dubbsco]

It was laughable for someone on this board to try and say he wasn't getting a job because he's not good enough. He's not getting a job because owners can't handle he has an opinion and they don't want the limelight.

Here are some of the guys that started this sunday:
Case Keenum
Jacoby Brissett
Mike Glennon
the corpse of Jay Cutler
Josh McCown
Brian Hoyer
Deshawn flippin Kizer

I'd take Kapernick before any and all of those guys.

Please, stop trying to suggest he's not getting a job because he's not good enough. You look foolish.

 

[Spartanmack]

Tom Brady said Kaepernick should be playing in the NFL right now.

Hmm... who to listen to?

spartanmack... or TOM BRADY?

Guy with horrible opinions on things... or GREATEST QUARTERBACK OF ALL TIME?

you decide?

Tom Brady didn't say he thinks Kaepernick should be playing in the NFL right now. He said he thinks he's good enough and hopes he gets a shot. So when did I say Colin Kaepernik shouldn't get a shot? I said racism has nothing to do with him not playing and pointed out stats that indicate he's not that good and been in decline for 3 years to support that argument. Oh, I keep forgetting, you like to put words in my mouth and then argue against them. It's not up to me whether he should get a shot or not, and I don't care if he does or if he doesn't. I'm just not foolish enough to believe a guy who could make money for a team isn't getting a shot because a league that's 80% black is racist.

Also, I'm not the only person who thinks the fact he's not playing has nothing to do with racism. So, if we actually disagreed on what you think we do, it would be me, 30 NFL owners and GMs, coaches, several NFL players and a bunch of sports writers vs. possibly the best system QB of all time.

 

[TheVictors]

Kaepernick isn't playing in the NFL ...at all (he's vastly better than most back-ups, has been to the SuperBowl and has experience on par with many, many other QBs who are pretty much all white) because he's a distraction.

You can tell that the 80% of players support him, mostly. You have had NFL Execs basically insinuate that his ...being a distraction is the number one factor. And ..the NFL is a well guarded BRAND. It's not a public company nor a utility - it's an authoritarian regime with a high council of billionaire owners (old white guys, again).

No franchise wants the blowback or distraction of a backup QB like him. Similar, but different circumstance with Tim Tebow. Minor league baseball dying to have him, but NFL teams viewed he and his "fans" as annoying and taking away from the brand. Kap's name came up repeatedly here in Denver as Siemian and Lynch battled it out and after Romo retired. Former players basically said "not a chance in hell Denver signs him" because he'd bring too much non-football attention and be a controversy.

Were Kaepernick a true baller ...a Brady or Rodgers, he may very well be on a roster. But he's not THAT good and is controversial and is (sort of) Black.

 

[dubbsco]

Vic, he's good enough to be on a roster, period. He's better than a handful of current starters, and would be the backup on basically every team.

 

[TheVictors]

Vic, he's good enough to be on a roster, period. He's better than a handful of current starters, and would be the backup on basically every team.

Agree.

Racism and his cause are precisely why he's not on a roster.

 

[Spartanmack]

Agree.

Racism and his cause are precisely why he's not on a roster.

racism has nothing to do with it. his "cause" isn't helping him, but it's mostly his play. He's been bad for the last 3 years and plays a game that doesn't fit most systems.

that stuff about Tebow is just nonsense - nobody cut Tebow because his fans were a distraction.

 

[byco42]

Agree.

Racism and his cause are precisely why he's not on a roster.

So the NFL, as an entity, is, at its very core, racist in the purest sense of the term. Got it.The NFL also bans post-game prayer on the field after games, too. So it is also atheist. No women are on NFL rosters, making it gender-biased. And, of course, half the nicknames of the teams are offensive to someone, making it insensitive.

One wonders how the NFL is even allowed to exist in its present state.

 

[dubbsco]

Byco, it is completely false to blame the entire body of the NFL and throw these words to describe it, when it is a tiny group of owners who are afraid to take Kapernick.

If you went across the league and interviewed coaches and players on these teams that are trotting out the Case Keenum's of the world, those guys would beg for him to be their QB. He's just a better QB than a lot of those guys.

He's not getting a job because owners can't stand him, period, end of discussion. Has nothing to do with his ability.

 

[TheVictors]

So the NFL, as an entity, is, at its very core, racist in the purest sense of the term. Got it.The NFL also bans post-game prayer on the field after games, too. So it is also atheist. No women are on NFL rosters, making it gender-biased. And, of course, half the nicknames of the teams are offensive to someone, making it insensitive.

One wonders how the NFL is even allowed to exist in its present state.

Ugh. I was incredibly specific in my first post but yes, in summary, there is covert racism at work. And, in its present state, the NFL is in a bit of trouble. All this concern over the brand and the "shield" is causing problems. It's not that Kap is "Black," it's that he would be a huge distraction - as I said - for him to be on a roster. The NFL is a private business controlled by a few old men. It's not a democracy so if nobody wants Kap on their roster - for whatever reason - he won't play.

Thankfully the league is full of non-offensive and equally, on the margins at least, talentless doofs.

I don't think Kap is all that great, but he's better than some currently playing and the reason he isn't playing isn't because he's a woman.

 

[TheVictors]

racism has nothing to do with it. his "cause" isn't helping him, but it's mostly his play. He's been bad for the last 3 years and plays a game that doesn't fit most systems.

that stuff about Tebow is just nonsense - nobody cut Tebow because his fans were a distraction.

You completely miss the point. He couldn't hack it as an NFL QB despite being given the chance in Denver, NY and NE. He could certainly have been a back up or gone to Jacksonville instead of NYJ where he would have been adored and treated like the prodigal son coming home. Lucky for Elway that PFM was available at the time because it gave him a perfect out, but Tebow as back up on a team would have had all his "fans" crying for him to start and that's again, a distraction.

Never mind his brother Robbie.

 

[byco42]

Byco, it is completely false to blame the entire body of the NFL and throw these words to describe it, when it is a tiny group of owners who are afraid to take Kapernick.

If you went across the league and interviewed coaches and players on these teams that are trotting out the Case Keenum's of the world, those guys would beg for him to be their QB. He's just a better QB than a lot of those guys.

He's not getting a job because owners can't stand him, period, end of discussion. Has nothing to do with his ability.

Where is Goodell here then, exhorting an NFL owner to sign Kaepernick? Why are not the other owner who are set at QB not commenting? Where are Kaepernick's allies in the players union? Bottom line -- Kaepernick's ability is the entire issue. It is not strong enough as an antidote to the poison he's become. That he's better than many of the QBs in the league is not relevant. Were he as good as even a guy like Kirk Cousins, he'd be signed by now.

And I guess I forgot to add the #sarcasm tag to my previous post. I did not think it was needed.

 

[dubbsco]

Why exactly do you call him a poison?? That's a much bigger issue here. The guy is doing what hundreds of other NFL players are doing, he was just the one that was attached to the cause.

No, no it's not. The ENTIRE issue is owners being scared to take a chance. His ABILITY is higher than the garbage that multiple teams are trotting out. I'll get into the stats and data with you if you'd like, but you cannot even debate that he's not better than Case Keenum, Jacoby Brissett, Mike Glennon, Brian Hoyer, etc...

It's just very convinenent for the people who are scared of who he is that he's not a great QB. It's worked out very nicely. Stop using that as a smoke screen for the real reason he's not getting a job.

Again, he's not getting a job because there are a tiny group of owners who are scared to deal with it.

 

[byco42]

Why exactly do you call him a poison?? That's a much bigger issue here. The guy is doing what hundreds of other NFL players are doing, he was just the one that was attached to the cause.

The cop socks, the social media and the extreme messages stand in relief to other players sitting.

No, no it's not. The ENTIRE issue is owners being scared to take a chance. His ABILITY is higher than the garbage that multiple teams are trotting out. I'll get into the stats and data with you if you'd like, but you cannot even debate that he's not better than Case Keenum, Jacoby Brissett, Mike Glennon, Brian Hoyer, etc...

It's just very convinenent for the people who are scared of who he is that he's not a great QB. It's worked out very nicely. Stop using that as a smoke screen for the real reason he's not getting a job.

Again, he's not getting a job because there are a tiny group of owners who are scared to deal with it.

If Kaepernick was as good as Rodgers, Brady ... et al ... he'd be playing. The owners would "deal with it."

 

[dubbsco]

I won't argue with you about the cop socks. But the vast majority of it has been silent protest. The dude's been pretty damn quiet.

That's a horrible comparison. No one is better than those guys.

 

[tinselwolverine]

I won't argue with you about the cop socks. But the vast majority of it has been silent protest. The dude's been pretty damn quiet.

That's a horrible comparison. No one is better than those guys.

Matt Stafford is. Matt Stafford is better than those guys.

 

[Michchamp]

I forgot, the Conservative PC Police have a rule that something or someone can be considered racist ONLY IF they are in the act of killing or attempting to kill a member of a different race WHILE openly stating they are acting that way solely because of racial enmity.

and even then, before and after the action occurs, they are not racist, and it's not fair to say that. Quit whining about it!

Hitler? he's not currently killing Jews, is he? NOT RACIST!

Robert E Lee merely describing African Americans as lazy, justifying physical punishment of them, and hoping Virginia would expel any free blacks so they wouldn't receive the same political rights as whites? He didn't personally try to kill any blacks, did he??? NOT RACIST!

the pro-Klan protestors in Chancellorsville? Hey they aren't CURRENTLY trying to murder any African Americans... NOT RACIST!

Government policies that "just happen" to screw over mostly African Americans, Hispanic immigrants, Muslims... NOT RACIST! Hey if they didn't want to be screwed over, maybe they shouldn't all have been lazy, broken arbitrary immigration laws, or supported terrorism... and it's NOT RACIST to say that... because it's TRUE!!!