I was listening to SNY Jets Podcast last night driving home. Right after Bowles presser regarding PunchGate, they had an excerpt from interview with Westhoff a few days ago. The interviewer asked Westy who his breakout performer for the season would be. He said IK. Oof.
I'm actually 7. I'm now of the opinion that TB's cutting of IK is in the same class of emotionalism as IK's behavior. Alternatives could have included suspending him for a year while retaining rights to him. In this year period, he could have gone to anger management classes etc. What was gained by merely cutting him immediately except losing a promising OLB for nothing? Ultimately he could have cut IK at any time. I don't see the benefit to the team of doing it immediately.
Not in the NFL he doesn't. I would bet if it was Revis the team would had them talk it out. Or better yet not even tell us what really happen.
IMO following an incident like that you don't wait and think about it for a while. Everyone is looking for you and waiting for you to do something to handle the problem. If he waited, Bowles would have looked weak and indecisive imo, and it wouldn't have sent a strong signal to the team. Suspending him for a year might have been an appropriate punishment, but would that send a strong enough signal to the rest of the team? Would it say that players can do stuff that's totally wrong, and still keep their jobs? IMO Bowles was right. That is a behavior that cannot and will not be tolerated. It's a deal breaker. You don't punch a teammate in the face, especially over something like that. Let's say for a moment that you're right, however, that perhaps Bowles had other options at his disposal if he had thought about it a little bit. It happened in the morning evidently right before practice. Bowles had other things on his mind. He thought that it needed to be handled immediately and not following practice. He didn't want to be distracted during practice any more than he probably was already going to be. I can't fault him for handling things the way he did. Ik seemingly had been a good citizen on the team previously. He had potential. I'm sorry that he doesn't have any more self control than that. While he may not be a thug or punk, he sure acted like one. I also have to worry about someone who would assault a police officer. I don't care how drunk he was. That's just flat out stupid, and shows a level of stupidity, of too much anger, of a dangerous person. It cannot be blamed on just immaturity. In the yeras since, he seemed to have changed, now this. Did he really change or learn anything previously? Should someone with that mentality be allowed to play a game where violence is seemingly increased in players? That's as much for his sake as any other victims he might attack. With his size and strength, he could easily kill someone. IMO that kind of thing cannot be tolerated. In the same circumstances, I don't think I would have come up with suspending him for a year with mandatory anger management counseling, either. Bowles thought he needed to send a strong signal to the team that that kind of crap would not be tolerated. If it was a mistake, it was an understandable one, and one I'd rather he make on the side of caution than the opposite. I hope the NFL will suspend Ik indefinitely and demand he get anger management counseling and have to undergo major psychological testing. I hope that Geno will file charges. I hope that Buffalo will be excoriated in the press and by the NFL for signing Ik. This isn't to just punish Ik. I think these players need to have a strong message sent to them that they aren't above the law. That there can be severe consequences to their actions. That they have to think and have better self control than perhaps the average citizen. They have to know that playing in the NFL is a privilege, NOT a right.
You make good points. As evidence comes in, it appears that there was significant provocation by GS. TB apparently didn't really want to understand the dynamic that led to the event--a punch thrown told him all he needed to know. I respect that sticking to one's principles approach but it's not necessarily the best outcome.
Sadly losing IK may be a bigger deal than losing Geno...which is reason enough not to be doing handstands over what he did
IK is expendable IMO. Our starting QB is not. Westhoff also said this is the best Geno has ever looked, and that he was making big strides in camp. Fricken' perfect.
Yeah and Geno was great in camp last year too...I take those reports with a grain of salt. Especially when the starting QB job is ceded before camp, you're gonna build the guy up you ceded the job to. But that incident proves he's still an arrogant **** who couldn't lead his way out of a paper bag.
Knowing the Jets luck, IK becoming the next Cam Wake wouldn't surprise me one bit. This all started cause Geno wouldn't pay back the $600, which for him, is a drop in the bucket. It's the equivalent of me having a few thousand in my bank account, and owing somebody like $10-$20 dollars.
Thanks. He may have wanted to know the dynamics, but didn't have time to focus on them. Then again, the dynamics may not have mattered to him. There may have been no dynamic in his mind that would justify punching any teammate, let alone your team's starting QB. I agree that it may not be the best outcome. Ik could make the Bills and become a terrific pass rusher and thorn in our side for the next 7 years. That said, I'm not sure there was any way to send the right message and get the best outcome in this situation. I think it was pretty much a lose-lose situation for Bowles. He lost his starting QB, and saw even more what an immature, smug ass Geno had been, and lost what appeared to be a terrific young pass rusher on the rise.
George Orwell quotes and stated IQ scores don't make you smarter than most everyone. In fact, being a JETS fan makes both of us more foolish than most.
Failure to acknowledge the quantifier, however... takes away from the wisdom of your assertion, Grasshopper
