DMN: a gentle giant says goodbye

Edwards sure showed a lot of grit in the playoffs and certainly made himself a lot of money. Here in Minnesota after watching all the games, my evaluation is that Robison is a better pass rusher than Edwards...but Edwards plays the run better than Robison.

I wouldn't be opposed to letting Edwards go for a first round pick if we could get Kyle Wilson with the Eagle's pick and use our own choice on Pouncey, Tebow or McCoy. We could redirect some of our depth on the defensive line to improve the secondary.

"Yesterday, at the end of his segment on ESPN, John Clayton was asked what team he thought might have an interest in Terrell Owens. Clayton casually mentioned the Raiders, and before he was done speaking, a story was unfolding. Now, Clayton made it clear that this was speculation on his part since he didn’t know for certain that Owens was on the Raiders’ free agent radar."

Lombardi,

While you're hardly considered the Fountain of Credibility, it's commonly known that John Clayton, in particular, and just about everyone not named Lenny at George Bodenheimer's House of Sexual Harassment runs off at the mouth and tends to make it up as he/she goes along.

So Clayton's talking out his backside. Again. Sun rises in the east. Tax day is April 15. Al Davis just wasted another high draft pick. (shrug)

What's disturbing to the semi-conscious reader of this missive is the cursory mention of the passing of Merlin Olsen, probably the finest defensive tackle ever to play the game. Of course, at least you wrote something. Peter King, Beantown Division, is completely MIA. Had Brett Favre gotten a hangnail or belched yesterday and Precious Peter would have written a full five-page blowout on the experience. But someone with Olsen's record gets a bare mention from you and zero from the King and His Court of Sycophants now that Dr. Z is ailing.

Also upsetting is your decision to follow Clayton's Bar Stool Fiction Manual and float this ridiculous idea of yours about Ray Edwards. Hey, maybe the Vikes will trade Edwards to the Raiders for Heyward-Bey! There's another opinion-turned-breaking-story. Completely worthless, of course. Just like your own.

In the future, here's an idea: IF you can confirm it, write it. If you CANNOT confirm it, keep it to yourself. Bristol cranks out enough manure to match the largest agri-business in the Midwest. No reason for you to add to the crap.

Thanks Mike and National Football Post team for insightful and excellent posting. Viking fans should feel fortunate this is an uncapped year or they would be heading into the fall with a 13 million dollar albatross hanging over their heads and opposing teams attempting to decimate their team by pushing the salary cap. Edwards may get an offer to see if he can be his own star away from the large shadow of Jared Allen.

I think that is the first time i've heard Deacon Jones use the word "hurt" in reference to himself. He and the rest of The Fearsome Foursome were a different breed. They played the game in a way that is sometimes forgotten today. God Bless you Mr. Jones and Rest in Peace untill its your time to take the field in Heaven, Mr. Olsen.

Why to people get so anxious about rumors and opinion and ideas? Do you have no internal filter whatsoever?

Personally I'm an NFL personnel-move junkie. It's my entertainment. Not just actual/confirmed news, but rumors and ideas and analysis, from the perspective of people who have been or are still in the business, and that's why I read this site. Because if Lombardi is thinking this way, maybe somebody else in a front office is thinking the same way... or if not, why not? And if not, should they?

We're not saving babies or feeding the hungry here, it's just entertainment during the offseason. If it's just stressing you out, move on to something else.

One of the great things about professional football is how it can bring totally different people together. I don't know Deacon Jones and never met Merlin Olsen, but from all outward appearances I couldn't imagine two people who were more different. For Jones to feel this kind of loss says a lot of good things about both men.

TO to San Diego $9 million for two years ($3/$6) with $1 million incentive for playing 14 games and another $1 million if SD makes it to the AFC championship game.

That's the right conference for him to play in, where he can find success. And Norv Turner/Philip Rivers has been there long enough to put up with any TO-fueled dissent.

doc,

Some of us expect valid insight and actual news - not bar stool opinion and locker room banter.

If you prefer this sort of bathroom wall journalism, why not just switch to Entertainment Tonight and make your myopia complete.

Instead of a valid story on an NFL Hall of Famer, readers here get the fictional missives of someone with far, far too much column at his disposal. Maybe you consider that news. Others consider it a travesty.

An idea worth repeating: In the future, here's an idea: IF you can confirm it, write it. If you CANNOT confirm it, keep it to yourself.

Meant to add, "cut TO after the first year"

Mark's righteous indignation is pretty funny, in a foot-stampy-dude-without-ability-to-read-for-comprehension kinda way.

The chemistry that Deacon and Merlin displayed by using their many skills and pass rush moves is part of something special. True greats that play as a team have a magic in their movements. It is a concert and a street fight at the same time. Brutal and beautiful, football at its best has all those elements in it. They had the warrior's mentality and excercised battlefield movements with their trade skillcraft.

Great indivuduals surpass their own settings and circumstance and make others the same way. Some do it a play at a time, over the span of their career, and that same warmth and emotion embodies a commitment to being great and their persona commands conversation even well after playing.

Merlen also was so well stated as an announcer in that he really let the action talk for him first and last. He never talked over an achievement, he let the story of football be the game and action in the moment he was there.

He was the thinking man's player, commentator, and fan. That is why Merlen Olsen had so many fans, and such a great life in sport. Rosie was also blessed to have been a blessing to those viewing epic play. Lundy in this era would be worth millions a season and talked about on a level with anyone playing who works and strives to being part of a great team.

Lombardi,

It's sad to see Merlin gone. My mom loved watching him play and loved the Rams for years. Ray Edwards should remain with the Vikings unless the Eagles give him a really sweet deal. As for the Faiders, when was the last time they did anything smart? Have a good weekend and watch some college basketball!

Mark, If you don't like it, LEAVE. We like it.

Apparently Mark does not understand the difference between a columnist and a reporter

Dating myself a little bit, I saw Merlin Olsen play, and followed him through his later careers. He was a class act and a joy to watch on the football field. He was one of those things that so many NFL players today try to avoid being, a true role model.

Mark = Pompous asshole

Hey Mark, like Michael Feldman on "What d'ya Know" says, if you don't like the show, get your own. A fine intellect like you should NOT be wasting his time on worthless barroom banter. I would think a spot on the Supreme Court would be better suited to your unique discretion. In the meantime, get a life and get the hell off this board.

Deacon Jones and that head slap was probably responsible for more concussions in the NFL than anything else. What amazes me is that the Rams didn't win a single championship with that D. But it was still fun to watch.

As a Bears fan, I am hoping Ray Edwards leaves the Vikes. I know he kills us.

Michael, or anyone else out there that would care to field this one:

Can you please explain why trading away Adrian Peterson for picks and signing LT to replace him would be a bad idea for the Vikings?

I seem to not be very convincing to the person that brought it up.

Thanks, all.

Dumbfounded I am. I'm even starting to talk like Yoda.

Let's see...AP AVERAGES over 100 yds. rushing and 20 yds. receiving per game. LT hasn't seen that in several years. He's 24 years old and has a long career ahead of him, LT is 31 and in the last 2 or 3 years of his career. Chester Taylor is gone. I don't care how many draft picks you get for AP, you're not going to find another RB like him in a decade. Even his fumbleitis is overblown; he fumbles about once every other game on average, and loses it about once in 3 games. Brett Favre is...Brett Favre. Pick any or all of those reasons.

Is your friend perhaps a Bears fan?

He's not my friend, well he is if he's a Packers fan, I guess, and he's a...I just said it.

AP has to learn to hold on to the ball. LT has to lose about five years of age. The smart money would be on AP learning to hold on. LT is shot. He's a part timer. That's it.

Mark doesn't understand that this is a forum open to all opinions and ideas - not just his own.
He is a frustrated wanabee who pumps himself up by knocking down all opinions he doesn't think are relevant. Mark, next time consider others when you write and don't just be the receptacle end of a feminine hygene product

mike
let it go, that was 4 years ago stop being fox in the hen house

Mack,

And your degree in psychology (human, not bovine, son) comes from what accredited institution of higher learning?

Sorry, Regent doesn't count.

Phoenix isn't worth a damn, either.

Oh, you've gained your courage and insight from a certain beverage in a can. Ahh, that explains your belief that you actually provide something of value or factual accuracy to this conversation.

Let me save you some time:

You offer nothing.

Yes, I know what mommy told you.

Mommy was, and is, wrong.

Mark you're just another arrogant ass . If you're so talented why aren't we reading your articles instead . Get a clue , if you can figure out how .

Mark -

I have a PhD in Psychology from OSU, you're still a douche.

Mark -

I have a PhD in Psychology from OSU, you're still a douche.

Mark -

I have a PhD in Psychology from OSU, you're still a douche.

Merlin Olsen did the color for the Patriots 3 road wins on the way to the Super Bowl in the 85/86 season.

I was just a kid then but I really liked the understated and dignified way he called games. I know people took shots at his work, but I always looked forward to the games he called, and when I remember that improbable Patriot run, I remember Merlin Olsen.

A fantastic childhood memory brought to you by the NFL.

RIP Friend!

Just remember watching all those afc 4 o'clock games with Merlin and enberg! Always great games during those days!! High scoring and fun!!

Eagles could have him if they want to give up the 1... poison pill would lock it up. They should do it.

"I have a PhD in Psychology from OSU, you're still a douche."

Chris,

Was the definition of "douche" the topic of your Ph.D. thesis at Ohio State University? If so, I'm sure the OSU Psych Department would be intrigued to gain information in this area.

Do you often represent your Buckeye alma mater in such a fine, professional manner?

Does the American Psychological Association support your use of the term "douche" as a means of defining issues of a medical nature?

C'mon, Doc, provide the accredited professional background for your statement. You can do it. Really, you can.

"I have a PhD in Psychology from OSU, you're still a douche."

Chris,

Was the definition of "douche" the topic of your Ph.D. thesis at Ohio State University? If so, I'm sure the OSU Psych Department would be intrigued to gain information in this area.

Do you often represent your Buckeye alma mater in such a fine, professional manner?

Does the American Psychological Association support your use of the term "douche" as a means of defining issues of a medical nature?

C'mon, Doc, provide the accredited professional background for your statement. You can do it. Really, you can.

I'd suggest everyone look at that picture of Merlin Olsen again. I mean look at how he's dominating the guy in front of him--I could do that to guys in High School, to do that in the pros with the guy crunched over, not a hand on you, and what appears to be him still coming out of his stance is amazing.

I'll be honest, as a kid I used to really get tired of Merlin and Dick on NBC (seems they were always doing Bronco games-bleh), but over time I've come to really miss the guy--just a class act and informative.

What stinks is Merlin Olsen is probably one of the greatest Americans to live, someone I think any of us would want living next door-yet not much of a peep out of the press since he didn't do drugs or self destruct. Truly not enough recognition in the press for a guy that was an incredible human being, and I mean incredible. I hope i can live half a good a life as him. The NFL really needs to name something after the guy.

Sounds like Mark likes to satisfy himself with animals.

Sounds like Mark likes to satisfy himself with animals.

Questions?

Mikal,

You, like Chris, are incorrect, as expected.

But I did post twice on purpose to satisfy three-posting Chris and any of his minions.

You would be a minion.

Perhaps, but unlike you, I don't pleasure myself with animals.

mark - what a remarkable idea. get confirmation BEFORE you publish. they really ought to add that to the curriculum of J-Schools nationwide. i got another one - don't use unattributed quotes.

i'll give lombardi a benefit of the doubt on the clayton thing if only because of the headline - "how rumors become stories". it's unfortunate really - nfp usually has better stories than pft (which is truly entertainment tonight). florio will write anything anybody tells him. it's as though he's a.d.d. in a room full of shiny things...

ok guys, let mark up now. He's had enough. He's entitled to his opinion, however misguided. Personally, I come here for the unsubstantiated rumours.

"mark - what a remarkable idea. get confirmation BEFORE you publish. they really ought to add that to the curriculum of J-Schools nationwide. i got another one - don't use unattributed quotes."

Kevin,

Thank you.

Journalism. That's all I seek. Not the unsubstantiated imaginations of some guttersnipe's mind.

You know, kids, actual, ummm, FACTS - not speculation, not innuendo, not worthless meandering. We can get all of those forms of lazy, meaningless blabbering from Bodenheimer's House of Workplace Sexual Harassment. Start with Tirico and Phillips and then branch outward.

Mikal, what's next? Gonna call me a Communist Fascist? A Fascist Socialist? Or just wait for Glenn Beck to send you instructions?

What do political arguments have to do with beastiality? I invisioned you as a republican seeing how dimwitted you are. Even I can admit to a mistake.

Mark, I read again your comment and reviewed Lombardi's story. You, sir, are way off base. Lombardi's emphasis on the John Clayton information was how Clayton's suggestion almost immediately became a story, much like the recent rumor of John Roberts' illness leading to his stepping down was actually a rumor started by a law professor to show how quickly these stories start. Lombardi commented on how the story grew, and provided his insight as to why the Raiders wouldn't make this move.

The paragraphs dedicated to Merlin Olsen were quite appropriate. Lombardi led with this story and gave several paragraphs to the man. I don't need to know the names of survivors or what Olsen was doing in his private life. What more did you want?

In the Ray Edwards story, Lombardi attributes his information to a local sports writer for the Delaware Times. Those local guys often have the best information. That's the stuff we fans come to sites like this to read. In the offseason, you can't confirm anything until after the player signs the contract. The pleasure of the offseason is the discussion of possibilities--this player to that team, who should draft whom, and so on. Most of this is rumor until the player signs.

This site is entertainment, something for the eyes while I choke down the eggs and toast. The rest of us recognize this and enjoy the balance of our day without our panties in a bunch.

If the Eagles were willing to put a poison pill in the offer, Minny couldn't match. And since Minny did obtain Hutchinson that way, it would only seem fair.

sorry will didn't see you had already posted the same thing

Packer Pete,

Lombardi was merely repeating Clayton's baseless rumor because he didn't want to lose his place at the bar. You condone laziness. I castigate laziness.

On Merlin Olsen, you are quite correct. Lombardi offered insight into Olsen's impact on the game. Instead, my quarrel remains with Peter King of Boston, Starbucks, and Narcissus. Fact is, King and His Court of Sycophants (Banks, Pearlman, and Tucker) wrote NOTHING about Olsen, the finest defensive tackle in NFL history. The King and His Court of Sycophants have yet to write anything. You can damn best believe Dr. Z, were he not ailing, would have written a fine piece. But Peter King, the master of employing Nepotism to get his drunken daughters jobs, wrote nothing.

As to Ray Edwards, again Lombardi earns my wrath for his laziness and mindless repeat of a story in The Delaware Times that lacks any sort of on-the-record confirmation or source identification. Now, according to my sources, Lombardi wears women's underwear and sucks his thumbs. That's a baseless statement, of course. Today, however, people like yourself allow it to be accepted as journalism.

You can choke on all the eggs and toast you prefer. BUT I will NOT choke on bad journalism. It's that simple, son. Or would a two-by-four upside the brain box be more effective?

MIKAL,

Be sure to start admitting to your mistakes. You've made enough to keep you fessing up until 2014.

The NFL no longer allows the "poison pill' as it goes against the spirit of the rule. Seattle was allowed to get screwed that one time but clubs are barred from the type of clause the Vikes used. This has been substantiated several times.

I was only wrong about your political affiliation. The rest is spot on.

Rob
Good Job.