QUOTE: “Apathy can be overcome by enthusiasm, and enthusiasm can only be aroused by two things: first, an ideal, with takes the imagination by storm, and second, a definite intelligible plan for carrying that ideal into practice.” – Arnold J. Toynbee
Jeff Fisher and Chris Johnson
Titans head coach Jeff Fisher wants to sit down with star running back Chris Johnson in an effort to bring Johnson into camp. Little known to many people, Johnson’s agent, Joel Segal, was in Nashville last week discussing multiple proposals with general manager Mike Reinfeldt in an effort to reward Johnson for out-playing his rookie contract. Segal knows he’s fighting an uphill battle, but he has Johnson’s two-year production on his side. Segal is attempting to be proactive in his effort to get the team to reward Johnson, and the Titans want players to honor their contracts — at least for the first three years. Both sides have strong positions, and working behind the scenes is best for both.
Since Johnson and his agent have met with the Titans, what will a meeting between Fisher and Johnson produce? It will open the lines of communication between them, and since Fisher has been involved with the organization since 1994, he knows how owner Bud Adams will behave in these kinds of situations. Fisher doesn’t do contracts in Tennessee, but he can be the voice of reason with Johnson. So the more the two sides talk, the better the chances of finding a resolution to their differences.
New York/New Jersey
The Sopranos and the New York family shared the Esplanade project based in Newark, N.J., and now in real life the NFL has a Super Bowl in the Meadowlands shared by New York and New Jersey. How come NY/NJ always shares, whether it’s on TV or in real life? Tuesday, NFL owners voted to give the New York/New Jersey area the Super Bowl in 2014 for our first very outdoor cold-weather Super Bowl.
February is not a warm month, and despite all these predictions about the average temperatures in February in the Garden State hovering around 40 degrees, the game will be cold for the players and cold for the fans. Will it be a good Super Bowl? Who can ever really say, but NY/NJ is a great setting for this event. It will be a fun week, but it will also be a security nightmare — especially for anyone who has to enter New York every day for work.
I know it will be cold, and both teams will have to be ready to handle the elements — wind being the primary concern. In the old Meadowlands, wind was a problem. Giants QB Eli Manning actually has a higher quarterback rating on the road than at home and a higher percentage of pass completions, albeit a very small difference, largely because of the wind. Before this game is played in 2014, we’ll know the wind factor in the new stadium, which will help the teams that get to play in the game handle the elements. Cold is not a big problem for the players — but wind does affect the game. So instead of discussing the average temp in February, we need to determine how the wind might alter the game.
My only other suggestion would be to make sure Bruce Springsteen, Jon Bon Jovi and all NY/NJ acts handle the pregame and halftime entertainment and that the crew from “The Sopranos” welcomes the fans to the Garden State.
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Yes, I'm sure Jeff Fisher looked out from his black cowl on the sidelines, pointed a baleful figure at poor steroid-using woman-hitting Shawne Merriman and said "STRIKE HIM DOWN." Merriman, a football player, hurt himself playing football and that has nothing to do with this. It's amazing how irrational fans always find a way to make every story about THEIR team.
I assume by voice of reason, he is referring to his abnormally long tenure with the Titans.
Unless he has a new conract in his hand, what can Fisher say to CJ?
Honor your contract?
Why?
Roddy White held out and got a new deal.
Pat Willis got a new deal.
CJ is the best running back in the NFL. He is the most dangerous threat to score on any touch. The Titans need him to be ready to play at the begining of the year a lot more than he needs to prove that he can. If he shows up before week 10, he still gets a year closer to free agency, and without him I doubt the Titans would win close to enough games to be in contention. They can fine him, but they should be more willing to pay him if he proves he is willing to take the fines and hold out until they do. He only has so many carries in him. If he does decide to show up and avoid the fines, he should not report as a running back. He should at least change to WR or CB so he is still healthy when a team is willing to pay him enough to play RB. II actually think he would last a lot longer and be at least as good as a WR or CB like Ronde Barber is still in the NFL while Tiki is now irrelevant. Ronde most likley made much more money as well.
Hey Rafael, least you forget Shawne Merriman put the cheap shot on VY and had to pay the proper price. You live by the sword, you die by the same. That's the NFL, now take off your panties and MAN UP Dude.
Yep, Merriman got what he deserved and CJ2K will eventually get what he deserves, a new deal. Probably won't happen this year, but in 2011. Ole Bud will squeeze one more year out of CJ2K's $12M deal. Not bad cash, but not enough to keep a 2k kinda guy around.
Yeah, let's have some fictional mobsters welcome everyone to NJ, that's just what we need.
I am fine with weather being a part of the game of football. However I think that when it comes to the Super Bowl we should avoi8d adverse wheather as much as possible. It's fine to have clod weather games in the playoffs were a team has earned home field advantage but the Super Bowl should be played in good weather. I'd be fine with it (the Super Bowl) being in a dome every year. Suppose you have two teams who are either warm weather or dome teams meet in the Super Bowl. The weather is bad and they play an uggo game. There is no need for that. This decision was politics pure and simple. Not a good idea! Leave the cold weather for the regular season and playoffs.
NY/NJ is one of the five worst NFL sites for a Super Bowl. If the wind blows there like it does at Giants home games, it could cost the NFL countless millions of Super Bowl dollars. Imagine the world tuning in to see Peyton Manning and Drew Brees air it out, only to find out they cannot complete a pass because of the wind and it comes down to a defensive battle and 35 carries for Pierre Thomas and Joseph Addai. An ugly, grind it out, 14-10 final score is not what the public or the NFL wants to happen, but because Goodell got his wish, he has made it all possible.
Michael,
Exactly what would the voice of reason say in a situation like this? I'm not trying to be sarcastic, I'm honestly asking what you think he would say. I know you have experience on the organizational side, but I really don't see why CJ should end his hold out without getting some changes to his contract. Please understand, I'm not one of those guys that tends to side with the player looking for more money. It just seems to me that this player in this situation has more to lose than gain by giving in.
With the way CJ has played the past two years, his services would be worth a whole lot more than what the Titans are about to pay him this season (granted, he can't just offer his services to anyone). If he gives in and plays for his $550k salary this season, however, he runs the risk of suffering an injury that could significantly drop his value. He'd also find himself in exactly the same situation next offseason, only this time he'd have the additional concern about whether or not there would be a season. You know Adams isn't about to renegotiate his contract next offseason if there's a shred of doubt about whether there will be a new CBA. That's why all of this "play this year and then we can look at changing the contract" business seems shady to me.
If he sat out, CJ would be out $550k this season. The Titans might be able to go after some of his signing bonus, but the amount they could get back is unknown. What is certain is that doing so would permanently damage the organization's relationship with CJ. The franchise, on the other hand, would lose quite a bit in jersey sales I expect. They'd infuriate the fans (might be a plague on both their houses effect, but CJ could at least regain their favor by playing well in the future, and a number of fans are already on his side). Also, given the fact that CJ is a remarkably large part of their offense (both his own numbers, and the pressure that he takes off of VY), I can't help but think the Titans would not be highly competitive this season without CJ. What would that do to their ticket sales (and all of the other revenue they get from people who attend)? It just seems like in this case, the franchise has much more to lose. That's rare, but in this case it seems accurate. What could the voice of reason say that would override these issues?
One more thing. I know the 30% rule makes giving CJ a big extension difficult, if not impossible. Why couldn't they, however, do something like the Eagles did with McNabb? Give him an extension that doesn't add any time to his contract, but just gives him a bonus for this coming year. Not everything he's hoping for, of course, but a good faith bonus and a promise to take another look at his contract in the next off season. If there's a new CBA, they can negotiate a long term deal with him then. If there's a lock out, however, he'll still be under contract when the lock out ends and they won't be stuck with a contract that guarantees him a large payment during the down time. Seems like a great compromise to me. CJ gets a little more money and feels more secure, allowing him to focus on the upcoming season. The Titans keep their most important player and biggest draw happy, while still getting him at a discount considering his production Nor do they risk having a big contract to deal with in the case of a lock out. Everyone walks away somewhat happy, and everyone gets to save face.
Fisher and Johnson have a relationship. Fisher will tell CJ how valued he is and how he shouldn't take this personally if he doesn't get his upgrade. He'll emphasize how, no matter what happens this year, he'll get his reward next year. Really, what else can he say?
The Bears did the same thing with Thomas Jones when it was clear he was not going to be the featured back anymore but they wanted him on the roster that year. The GM, Angelo, promised he would get what he wanted next year, a trade, and he delivered on it.
For this to work, there has to be a relationship based on respect and trust.
And what does Fisher have to lose?
Pay to play, make his salary for the season equal the extra reward a player would get for performance based play, as added incentive. Basically, he will double up his performance based pay on this as a double incentive measure. Those usually pay more for a longer tenure, there has to be some comparative measure to provide with that.
Were he let go of now, he'd sign somewhere for big money. Probably a huge bonus and the standard base allotment counted by years of tenure,etc. Take the difference in that pay scale per year, in base salary, and accelerate it, attached to incentive landmarks.
Then he would have proven to be the long term value having met the same production. The new deal could be worked into the future, or a buyout offer done,etc.
Part of the incentive target would be the standard 1,200 season for a back of so many years to count as a full reward. Getting combined yards equal 2,000 could put him in the range of a double up on performance based pay. So he would essentially triple it since the base pay would be floored the same and these bonus amounts would be paid the quarter after they are earned, instead of annually. Then you have him on base pay, aiming for bonus reward based pay(likely to be earned), with bonus amounts made likely to be earned for the first example and that amount doubled if he retains high output. He would be adding incentive to base pay up to three times, and still have a low enough base salary to make two thirds of that amount highly likely to be earned.
Are perfromance based pay rewards allowed to not count vs. the cap, what is the agreement's position on this? There may be language already on the contract to assure a portion of that and it could be kept intact and serve as framework for the epxnasion of incentive and its matching amount. Especially so, in the first instance.
The turnpike Super Bowl? Maybe it would make SNL watchable for a few weeks.
Since the stadium doesn't have a sponsor name contract yet, and Wall St. got taxpayer help, we could call it the Bailout Bowl?
Jeff Fisher is a great coach, you do not become the longest lasting coach in the NFL by accident. He also never ordered anyone to take out Merriman. You play this game long enough you get hurt, I am so tired of hearing that BS. Fisher is not that kind of coach, even if he did come off the Buddy Ryan tree. I loved Buddy and I like his kids, defense's should attack. That is what makes Ron Rivera, the Ryan brothers, and Fisher good at what they do. He may not do contracts in Tenn. but he knows the owner and he knows his players. I understand CJ have out performed his contract, but he signed it. It is about the game, players hsould be paid well and they are. They need to respect the game more than they do, instead of the dollar, He will get his money, he is to good not too.
All these guys need to honor their contracts and realize that most of us will never see that kind of money. Be grateful for what you have.
Are performance based pay rewards allowed to not count vs. the cap, what is the agreement's position on this?
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May 26, 2010
12:15 PM
Voice of reason? coming from the man that order the play where two of his henchmen purposely hint and injured Shawne Merriman which caused him to lose the 2008 season and be only a shadow of his old self in the 2009 season, Jeff Fisher is a tug.