Mason Foster Speaks
May 23rd, 2011
Joe can confirm that Bucs’ third-round pick Mason Foster is not a skirt-wearing ninny.
Speaking on the Ron and Ian Show today, on WDAE-AM 620, Foster said he watches NFL Network and referenced old school Bucs highlights he viewed recently. It’s safe to say Foster will not be an Outhouse Networks customer when he eventually settles in the Tampa Bay area.
Here are some highlights of Foster’s interview:
Regarding his 6 1/2 sacks last year, Foster said he had “half and half as a weakside D-end and other times making plays at linebacker running through gaps,” etc. He said he had a lot of fun putting his hand down and playing in the trenches.
Foster said he went to Herman Edwards’ football camps near his hometown from the time he was 8 years old into his high school years. Foster said he became a Bucs fan through his connection with Edwards and Edwards distributed Bucs gear to the kids.
Right now, Foster said he’s working on using his hands and dropping into coverage, and doing as many football-oriented things as possible trying to stay in “real football shape.”
Foster said he spent a lot of time with Da’Quan Bowers in the winter and talked about what a hard worker the Bucs’ second-round pick is.
On helping stop the often hemorrhaging Bucs run defense, Foster said he can help through film preparation, being physical and playing downhill.
Joe can’t wait to see this guy, if/when NFL hatchetman Roger Goodell ends this senseless lockout.
May 23rd, 2011 at 12:22 pm
“Foster said he spent a lot of time with Da’Quan Bowers in the winter…”
Sa’weeet!
May 23rd, 2011 at 12:44 pm
I LOVE this draft class … im so excited…. damn lockout.
May 23rd, 2011 at 1:19 pm
I hear you Dan… I keep thinking about scheduling vacation time to go to training camp… then I remember that we don’t even know if/when we’ll have a camp to go watch. This blows.
May 23rd, 2011 at 1:34 pm
@Joe
Joe, I completely understand that the group of “Joes” own and operate this site and it is within your right to state any opinion that you mahy have. My only question is: Why are you so anti-Goodell to the point of continuous shots fired with each of your post. I know “Joe” is a group of very intelligent men that completely understand that Goodell has absolutely NO say in this ongoing pile of refuse. I don’t know the guy to like him or dislike him but if anybody thinks that he can tell the owners it’s time to lift the lockout and the owners actually allow it, your sadly mistaken.
Additionally, I think it’s time the players man up and make a counter-offer to the owners. Then owners have presented 3 offers to the players with not one counter coming in return. Who’s really keeping football away?
If anybody here owns a business, and your employees of your business demands to see your profit margin to determine what raise you must give them, I’m quite sure that employee would be looking for work elsewhere. The players need to get back to the negotiations. Be happy your squabbling over your millions while the rest of us are scraping for singles!!!
May 23rd, 2011 at 1:41 pm
@Joe
The above post was not meant as a shot as much as me looking for education in reference Goodell. I figure you may have info that we have not heard or read.
May 23rd, 2011 at 1:58 pm
gruss222:
Not to go into too deep of detail or to veere off, just Joe had high hopes for Goodell at first, but he has done his best to change the very fabric of the game of football, even going so far as to suggest defensive lineman can’t put a hand in the ground. Now, he is nothing more than a stooge in this asinine lockout.
Say what you will about Tagliabue but he fought to ensure there were no labor stoppages under his watch and even Rozelle tried his best to avoid a work stoppage.
There is zero evidence that, unlike Tagliabue or Rozelle, Goodell has tried to get owners to end this nonsense.
We are now in the midst of the longest labor stoppage in NFL history, all under Goodell’s watch.
May 23rd, 2011 at 2:21 pm
It’s good to see a young LB willing and inviting the downhill aspect of his job description. 🙂 I don’t think Kirwan is reading this interview and commenting on that.
May 23rd, 2011 at 3:30 pm
I grew up watching a lot of Jim Henson. Calling Goodell a muppet would do a disservice to Ms. Piggy.
I would love to be a fly on the wall in all of the NFL owners and Goodell meetings. I’d bet Goodell knew that owners were angling for a lockout as soon as the TV deals were made 2 years ago.
May 23rd, 2011 at 4:02 pm
I can’t wait for football!!!
May 23rd, 2011 at 4:42 pm
JOE:
Why is it you keep bashing Goodell so much in all of this? I understand he has a hand in it, but mostly, he is a messenger of the owners.
May 23rd, 2011 at 4:58 pm
Who?…
May 23rd, 2011 at 5:53 pm
if i remember right, wasnt it goodell that said he would cut his salary to (was it 1 dollar?) in the event of the lockout? and im pretty sure i read that that change (or one close enough to it) actually did take place, from everything i’ve seen hes been doing his hardest to be a Force for football, but the players demands and tantrums are becoming rediculous, at some point you have to meet the players at their game, he tried very hard to settle via mediation, even agreeing to give up 5 years of books in contingent with the last offer made before the lockout, not one offer was met in good faith.
May 23rd, 2011 at 6:13 pm
@Joe
Now that I’ve asked to be enlightened with any info you may have about Goodell that we dont; I completely understand the asinine comments. You have nothing further than (it occurred on his watch)!
When an owner is having to pay an unproven, never played a down in a professional game rookie MORE than Drew Brees (superbowl winning QB), something needs to change.
When the work force (players) demand more than 50% of all profits, bvut only the owner of the business (NFL owners) have to pay the overhead (stadium security, stadium work force, insurance …etc.) something has to change!
I support the owners 100% and if I was in their shoes would shut the entire operation down before I conceded to the very people that only because of the very oppurtunity of which I have provided them, now try to strong arm me!! Go play in the UFL or any place else you think you can make multi-millions of dollars per year all-the-while claiming it is modern day slavery. What a disgrace to the very ancestors that came before you and truly suffered through the horrors of slavery for that statement to ever come out of a multi-millionare’s mouth!! I don’t think anyone has been tied to a goal post and whipped for the purpose of playing this game.
May 23rd, 2011 at 7:07 pm
This whole process is very unnecessary as the foundation of the problem, which is revenue sharing could have been undergoing negotiation years before this. Just as the competition commitee meets annually, I believe a labor liaison team or something should be formed to constantly monitor the status of the process. That includes all vendor contract agreements, proposed changes to the game (revenue affecting), and merchandise profit sharing. I would say leave the stadium and ticket sales simple as is but the point is to avoid an emergency. Much like the govenment and its functions overseeing business adherence to laws (i.e. SEC) the NFL should seriously become more proactive on financial and competitive issues.
Also the labor agreement hit a snag with the rookie cap and the proposed expansion of the season, which are equally important because the NFLPA wants that money, as well as the agents, who quietly are a powerful element in this deal. My point in this rant is for the owner and Judge Goodell “The Reaper” to be such “businessmen and accomplished, the reality is they are no more prepared than our country was before Sep 11th. The true resolve will be seen after this mess and if they will take the steps to avoid this again. If they don’t then you definitely know that Goodell interest was not protecting the game.
I personally do not think he cares past his public image as he is more of a politician than his predecessors. “~Stone-Him~”
May 23rd, 2011 at 7:18 pm
Gruss:
Well, gee, who is supposed to get the blame for this, Bert Bell? So Roger Goodell is a saint in all of this?
This will be Joe’s last comment about this subject because it bores the hell out of him.
The is the only labor issue Joe has ever been on the player’s side. They have not asked for one dime more. The NFL has rising revenues. No more needs to be said.
May 23rd, 2011 at 7:21 pm
dan:
1) You and Joe both know there’s no way to confirm that claim; it’s all rhetoric.
2) Notice Goodell never mentioned any bonuses he’s due?
May 23rd, 2011 at 7:22 pm
Dave:
Joe’s been very clear why.
May 23rd, 2011 at 7:39 pm
if/when the owners and players end this senseless lockout.
I really do not get this…you constantly blame Goodell, but he is only taking orders from the owners.
And more than that, there is more than one side in this affair…how about you start holding BOTH sides accountable instant of whining over the guy taking orders?
May 23rd, 2011 at 7:44 pm
@Joe
No offense, but this is the only labor issue that has reared it’s ugly head since you began this forum.
Again, Goodell is no more than a pawn in this game of chess. If you want to slay the pawn, by all means, go ahead. It’s demise is trivial in the over-all game.
If the workers (players) want to negotiate a higher percentage of the intake then make them accept an equal portion of the export. When the worker has to match me dollar for dollar on operating expenses I would be glad to match them on earnings. Until then, fall in line and do what you are OVERPAID to do. PLAY A GAME!!!
May 23rd, 2011 at 7:44 pm
Here is what u guys r missing re goodell; he was groomed by the owners for this job and situation. The owners grew sick of Tags and his reasonable / soft stance with the nflpa and upshaw. The owners hated the prior cba and blamed tags.
Owners made it clear that next commish would not be a cba pushover, and goodell knows that and isnt. Goodell is a trained ownership mouthpiece, he is not a fan-first commish despite what he or anyone says.
With that said, I view de smith as a bigger obstacle to a deal. He isnt respected meaningful and negotiates in a way that elevates emotions counter-productively, but de is also not a pushover.
For this to resolve, someone must cave – it will always be the players in time.
I think the owners are much more greedy than the players in this thing; but, the players cant win in the long run without serious help from the courts.
May 23rd, 2011 at 7:44 pm
Not true, Joe. Goodell and the owners made several offers to the players…whether they were good ones or not do not matter…at least they brought something to the table. The players have made zero offers and flat out refused to negotiate…and Goodell has asked them back to the table twice since the lockout began…refused both times.
It’s one thing to have an educated opinion. It is purely another to simply state an uninformed one.
May 23rd, 2011 at 8:28 pm
1) I really doubt you will resist taking shots in future posts, so this likely will not be your last comment…
2) Does it bore you to read up on it and support your opinion with facts?
I come here because on the times you post original articles, they are well-written, researched and supported with facts. That’s why these jabs at Goodell and not the players confuses me.
Here’s a quote for you:
– Roger Goodell
May 20th, 2011
Here’s a quote from Mike Florio, who considers himself unbiased (he has been reporting both sides of the story):
Nothing like children stomping their feet when they don’t get their way, right?
The players go on to call the NFL a “cartell”, trying to liken them to a criminal syndicate.
But the fact remains…the owners are not only wrong on this…they will lose the fight if the NFL decides to go all the way with it. There are just so many possible outcomes:
1) The 3 judges of the 8th Circuit Court decide in favor of the players. In this scenario, the owners have absolutely nothing to lose buy attempting to get the case reviewed by the United States Supreme Court…because they are currently in the conservative majority…who nearly always rule in favor of allowing businesses to handle their own afairs.
2) The 3 judges rule in favor of the owners. In this scenario, the players will have to make a decision…do they try for the Supreme Court knowing that it is unlikely to rule in their favor…and delay the season out of spite? Or do they finally step up to the table and start negotiating?
The 3 judges have already said they are currently leaning toward the owners. That’s the big news of last week. It will be official on June 3rd.
3) The best scenario possible…the players publically ask the owners to the bargaining table and sincerely start working out a deal. Keep in mind, since the lockout started, the players have refused to even speak to the owners in regard to negotiations.
By asking publically, it will sway public opinion back in favor of the players, who are rapidly being exposed as not being sincere in wanting negotiations.
4) And the final outcome would be…the owners disbanding the NFL, just like the players did the union. It’s extreme and unlikely, but recently several owners have voiced this as an option.
Why? Because they can form a new league then…and the players are completely up the creek. A new league would mean all tradition out te window…all history gone, and no teams with the same names they have now.
But it would also mean there are zero agreements with the players. No unions. Nothing. However, the owners would have to pay all contracts due…which would be expensive. They would likely drag these cases out in court though, hurting the players.
This is a very unlikely scenario. But anything is possible.
May 23rd, 2011 at 8:28 pm
sheesh…another novel….
May 23rd, 2011 at 8:43 pm
@Thomas
Let me pose a scenario to you Thomas. Let’s say you owned a Hooters franchise for this scenario.
Now, with Hooters, the draw is the servers, can we agree with that? They ARE the product, regardless of the food.
Let’s say you pay the girls well…really well. And then, they come to you and ask for 50% of the profits…no wait, not of the profits…of the gross income…before expenses. And then they say, “take the expenses out of your half.”
Now…one last thing. Let’s say for the moment that other cities want you to start up a franchise there so much that they’ll cover a large pportion of the costs to get you there.
The servers, they’ll point at this and say, “Sure, we’re making you pay expenses, but at least you are not paying the biggest one…”
And so, over a barrel and not wanting to lose the girls…you agree…but with a stipulation that in a few years you get the option to cancel the agreement to make a new one…just in case it doesn’t work out.
And then…during the period of the agreement…the economy takes a dump, sales plumet, and cities no longer pay part of your expenses to build new locations.
Suddenly your costs have skyrocketted. So you go to the servers and say, “I know we agreed to this, but I need to change the deal…things have taken a turn for the worse in the business. I’d like to get this done before we have to cancel our agreement completely.”
And the servers say, “Heck no…we got a sweet deal. We know you bent once…and we’re not going backward.”
What choice would you have?
I don’t know how to make this any clearer. We look at the profit margins of these teams and think, “wow…they make a lot of money.”
But the truth is, the players are the ones making MORE than the owners. So who is really being selfish?
May 23rd, 2011 at 8:44 pm
That’s right, I said it. This is not a fight between millionaires and billionaires, it’s between billionaires and billionaires. They players make more money than the owners with the most recent agreement.
May 23rd, 2011 at 8:56 pm
@Pete Well said piece about the possible outcomes of the lockout. The only discrepancy I have with your analysis is your connotation of the word “Cartel.” Its only being used to give sportswriters something to put in their headlines in this lack of football news.
As taken from Peter King’s MMQB:
[quote] “According to the Free Online Dictionary, “cartel” means “a combination of independent business organizations formed to regulate production, pricing, and marketing of goods by the members.” The NFL is a cartel, the NHL is a cartel, the NBA is a cartel, and Major League Baseball’s a cartel. Sports leagues are comprised of teams that collectively set a lot of parameters that wholly independent businesses do not.” [/quote]
May 23rd, 2011 at 8:58 pm
Psst how do you quote around here?
May 23rd, 2011 at 8:59 pm
@Pete
Very well stated on all accounts.
May 23rd, 2011 at 9:36 pm
I won’t even begin to talk about owners vs players in this labor dispute. Although it is only those two parties that can end this.
I will talk about Roger Goodell, front man and spokesperson for the owners and the “League”. And about De Smith, front man and spokesperson for the players.
Neither can end this situation, both are simply very powerful men that are figureheads. Both understand the legality of the situation and what best to do to turn it in the favor of the party they represent. I wouldn’t call them “pawns” so much as “knights” or “bishops”. Much more powerful than pawns, but still not the deciding power alone.
So, the best we can go on is public relations on both sides. This is where I see a HUGE difference between the two. Goodell has gone out of his way on multiple occasions to speak personally with fans that have sent him correspondence, to explain the best he could the situation and what they were doing to come to an agreement. He’s shown consideration for the fan base and a personal touch. De Smith, on the other hand, has avoided contacting the exact same fans that contacted both he and Goodell that the “hatchetman” has responded to. He hasn’t been personal with ANY fans that I’ve heard of. Rather than give any ideas of compromise, he has played the blame game and goes back to the same demands they’ve had “for the past two years”. Where’s the negotiation and compromise in that??? Two years and you can’t compromise on your demands one bit???
So, either the players need a better PR person on the front lines or they’re gonna lose public support in favor of the League. In the court of public opinion, the NFL is winning, hands down, over the NFLPA.
May 23rd, 2011 at 9:55 pm
@BamBam
Also well stated.
May 23rd, 2011 at 10:31 pm
I have yet to hear anything from the players side that sounds the least bit reasonable. As much as I love football, i wouldnt blame the owners if they shut down the show. I hate Goodell for all the safety rules, but I understand the reasoning, and appreciate his effort. As per D Smith….check your ego, you are about to wreck allot of young mens lives. Let’s see how much the players enjoy those arena league pay checks?????
May 24th, 2011 at 12:06 am
Pete:
You call Joe a liar one more time you are gone. Joe looked the other way this morning when you accused him of twisting facts for a post.
Simply put, this is the longest labor stoppage in NFL history and who is the commissioner? It sure as hell isn’t Bert Bell or Pete Rozelle.
It will be in your best interest Pete to not accuse Joe again of lying or twisting facts. Joe doesn’t play that game.
You can disagree with Joe all day long. You start calling Joe a liar or claim he’s twisting facts, that’s when the magic button gets clicked.
May 24th, 2011 at 1:27 am
A little testy tonight Joe??? Sometimes saying “Not true” is a way to disagree with someone, which you say is perfectly acceptable. I tend to agree with Pete that the NFL has made several attempts to change the offer to something the players would be more willing to accept (and by NFL, that would include all 32 owners and the “Hatchetman” himself, Roger Goodell). That, to me, is an attempt to end this lockout before it even started. So, whether it’s true or not that Goodell has made an attempt, I accept Pete’s argument. Not saying you’re a liar, just saying I (and probably Pete) have a differing point of view on what an “attempt to end this labor dispute” is.
I think this labor dispute is getting to you. I understand that news is limited and the possibility of losing out on football this year is frustrating (especially for someone like yourself who makes a living off of reporting about the sport). You might want to check out an article on PFT earlier this evening about some of the offers that were made (and how some high level team officials were actually glad the players turned it down because of how severely they were willing to cut offseason workouts) and how the only way this dispute will ever be resolved is if the players actually ever respond to the last offer on the table. It’s understandable they may not like everything in the offer, but without a response and counter-offer, there’s no chance of a resolution. The courts will not decide how a business operates and will not create a new deal between the two sides, they will only rule on what is legal or not. It’s up to the players and owners to actually work out the deal. Seems like the only side actually wanting to sit down and negotiate (and saying so repeatedly) is the owners and the Hatchetman.
May 24th, 2011 at 1:30 am
I would have posted the link to the article, but you seem to disapprove of people posting links, so I refrained. I’m sure you can find it. I also didn’t deem it necessary, except for your own personal knowledge, as you choose not to devote any article time to the lockout other than possible player workouts, etc. I understand that and find my information about it elsewhere as you’ve suggested. It is a good read though.
May 24th, 2011 at 7:22 am
Go Bolts!
I don’t think I can say anymore than Bam, Pete, and Gruss have already said. Shut it Down hachetman, shut it down.
May 24th, 2011 at 9:16 am
Not after he cited a quote from Joe that is quite correct and then claims Joe did no research.
Not after he earlier in the day accused Joe of twisting facts of a study.