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I think that we, in fact, ARE building a team of character. Yes, we have a few 'characters' but we've now got quite a few guys OF character on our roster. Gone are the days of Ross Verba, Big Money and the two faced coach. Pick a guy that brings character to the team....young or old (or very old  ). There's a thread going about a guy. I'm gonna start with the guy that was a dream come true for me. I (and many others) had been begging, screaming, praying, etc., for a LT for our team since the 2000 season. (In '99 I was just too giddy about having a team to care that our OL sucked). Joe Thomas - When I heard that he was not going to attend the draft in NY because he was going fishing with his family and friends like he always did I was beside myself with want. I'd seen highlights of him blocking 2 different guys which gave his QB the extra second to throw a TD...but when he said that he always went fishing with his Dad that day and that that's where his priorities were...well, I just felt that he embodied everything that our staff was stating that they wanted in a player...Talent, Smarts and Character. So far he's delivered on all three.
![[Linked Image from members.cox.net]](http://members.cox.net/flyinc5/smallsigpics/frcburnout.gif) AL 29 76 14 R_K
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Legend
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Oh hell yeah. I don' think anyone would disagree with JT being a monumental pick. If they did, well then they just don't know anything about the Browns.
Blue ostriches on crack float on milkshakes between the sidewalk titans of gurglefitz. --YTown
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You happen to read Peter Kings MMQB this week? Joe Thomas somehow finds another way to go up yet another notch. This guy is awesome: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/peter_king/07/28/mmqb/4.html2. I think the greatest thing I heard in my early spin around camps was from Pro Bowl Cleveland tackle Joe Thomas. I know Thomas pretty well -- I've been in his version of "Animal House'' in Madison, Wisc., where he went to college, with the padded red bra on the antlers of the eight-point buck in the living room -- and when I saw him in Berea the other day, he said to me: "Hey, I read your stuff online from Afghanistan, from the USO trip. I'd love to go. How do I do it?'' Music to my ears. More players need to go, regardless of their feelings about either war, and I hope Thomas and the USO get together on a trip early next offseason.
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Legend
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I may not only be in the minority here - I may be the only one - but I think Thomas should have gone to a place where he was invited to be honored instead of going fishing. Don't get me wrong, I love the guy, love his attitude, and I am as happy as everyone that he is ours, but I'm not quite seeing how the going fishing thing equates to good character.
People are going to come back on me and say all kinds of things. I don't really care what anyone else has to say about it. It is being billed as this really cool thing ... yet I think it was somewhat disrespectful. Does it mean I don't like Joe or think any less of him? Absolutely not. I am tickled to death that he wanted to go fishing with his father. I get that. I really do. But it's one day out of the year, and the man was being invited to be honored, and he basically said 'to hell with it'. I just think there is something a little twisted about how giddy people are about that.
And please don't misconstrue what I'm saying. I think we got the best player in the draft, and I think Joe is a high character guy. I just would have played it a little different on that particular day than he did. And I don't agree that it was the right thing to do.
LOL - The Rish will be upset with this news as well. KS just doesn't prioritize winning...
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He was invited to be one of the puppetmasters (Goodell) minions. Ask Brady how it felt and if he would've rather been fishing.
Remember, Goodell was the force behind banning all NFL vids off youtube. He is the anti-Christ.
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Legend
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Quote:
He was invited to be one of the puppetmasters (Goodell) minions.
I guess I don't see it that way. There is a certain risk involved with it, but the odds that they will slip are pretty low, and they would have been especially low for Thomas. He could have brought his family with him and shared that day.
I just don't get the love affair with that decision.
LOL - The Rish will be upset with this news as well. KS just doesn't prioritize winning...
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I understand what you're saying but yes I do think you're offbase. The invites to the draft are the players construed as the top 5 prospects coming into the NFL. It's a dog and pony show that is designed solely for television. Most players want to participate to increase their exposure to the fans. It is a win-win from a marketing point of view.
Thomas declined because he wanted to spend his time with family fishing. This is a highly stressful day that the player has zero control over. After the pick is announced he's off to a new city immediately for interviews and rookie camp. High picks know that their world is going to be turned upside down. Thomas wanted to relax with family. I have no problem with that nor should anyone else IMO.
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Legend
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Quote:
Thomas wanted to relax with family. I have no problem with that nor should anyone else IMO.
I don't necessarily have a problem with it. I just don't think it should be used as an argument to build up his 'high' character. And I do think he is a high character guy.
I guess I'm from the school that if you are invited to something, you go - particularly if it is designed to honor you. Granted, there is a difference between knowing and guessing whether or not that honor will come to fruition, but ...
... he did allow the cameras to follow him fishing. That was cool.
LOL - The Rish will be upset with this news as well. KS just doesn't prioritize winning...
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I hear what you're saying. Going to the NFL draft as invited could be seen as doing his duty for the NFL. But it certainly wasn't a responsibility to his team he was passing up. I look at it as giving up having his name in lights and face all over the TV to be at an anual family activity. Anyway, I'm gonna go again. Andra Davis - He gave up a huge portion of his salary in a restructure...and has nothing negative to say about it. Instead he points out how lucky he's been to make the money that he HAS made and that he and his wife Monique have hardly touched his signing bonus. Another guy of character. Not going around blowing his money up his nose and buying a bunch of Corvettes (hmmm...). As I said in the thread, I have a new found respect for him and he'll be a sentimental favorite of mine for as long as he's around. I hope he plays well and earns more fortune.
AL 29 76 14 R_K
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Legend
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Quote:
Quote:
Thomas wanted to relax with family. I have no problem with that nor should anyone else IMO.
I don't necessarily have a problem with it. I just don't think it should be used as an argument to build up his 'high' character. And I do think he is a high character guy.
I guess I'm from the school that if you are invited to something, you go - particularly if it is designed to honor you. Granted, there is a difference between knowing and guessing whether or not that honor will come to fruition, but ...
... he did allow the cameras to follow him fishing. That was cool.
The thing is, that being at the draft is not to 'honor' the player, but to 'show' them off to the TV masses. If the draft wasn't broadcast, it would be held in a gymnasium with no stage, no podium, trades picks would be made by walking over to another teams area and talking to them, etc.
And that's the thing about invites, you have the right o decline them, and he did. He made it known well in advance what his intentions were. Not like he just decided not to show up.
We don't have to agree with each other, to respect each others opinion.
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People are going to come back on me and say all kinds of things. I don't really care what anyone else has to say about it.
Well geez Rish, if you don't care what we think, why the hell even bring it up 
Not that you care, but I don't agree with you at all.. If my dad were still alive and I had a chance to be selected in ANY round of the NFL draft, I'd want him by my side.. if that happens to be on a boat on a lake with a fishing pole and a brewski,, then so be it.. 
#GMSTRONG
“Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not to his own facts.”
Daniel Patrick Moynahan
"Alternative facts hurt us all. Think before you blindly believe."
Damanshot
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I agree. And I think it is there, and some of the lockerroom poison is gone from Berea's waterhole (a little goe a long way, donchaknow?). But all the character we point to, all the folks we single out, is going to be seen as a "well, that's nice. Do they play football as well?" until we take all that character, pile up a slew of wins, playoffs, contenders, and maybe a wee bit more. If not it is just mouthfuls of talk, swell notions, best wishes, such. All talk and too many losses = no legitimacy. As player, coach, coach's son, I absolutely believe that character is vital. Zen kinda thang. What you bring to the game is smaller than what you take away; the higher stuff matters, and did for me. Character in place, a lot of things take care of themselves, because a good bit of the egocentric crap never happens in the first place. Wins WITH character are the Holy Grail of feetsball, kind of pigskin Hoosiers. I want the notches, but with the right people, much like the 1954 squads. If we are tough enuff.  
"Every responsibility implies opportunity, and every opportunity implies responsibility." Otis Allen Glazebrook, 1880
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All Pro
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Since we are talking about character players, what about Eric Wright?
He problably came here with the biggest Red Flag of them all, hell, that seems to be one of the main reasons he fell to the 2nd where we were able to grab him.
Being down here, I haven't seen or heard alot about him off the field, but that in and of itself says something. Plus the few things I have heard have been all good.
I know a few posters on here have given him hell in the past and said that they could NEVER forgive what he was "accused" of, but.........So far, so good.
Knock on wood.
Born and breed with OSU, App. State alumni, but bleed orange and brown.
Go ARMY......Beat Navy!!!!!!
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Legend
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Quote:
Since we are talking about character players, what about Eric Wright?
He problably came here with the biggest Red Flag of them all, hell, that seems to be one of the main reasons he fell to the 2nd where we were able to grab him.
Being down here, I haven't seen or heard alot about him off the field, but that in and of itself says something. Plus the few things I have heard have been all good.
I know a few posters on here have given him hell in the past and said that they could NEVER forgive what he was "accused" of, but.........So far, so good.
Knock on wood.
I gotta say that I was very uneasy when we picked him. If he was guilty of what he was accused of, then I would never want him. The thing is he wasn't found guilty of anything and I have given him the benefit of the doubt on the serious accusation, but not the smaller one. I think he was guilty of having those drugs, but that is a forgiveable offense in my book. I listened to an interview he gave and I was very impressed with how he presents himself. Savage has proven that he is willing to give kids he deems worthy of second chances. So far it has paid off with Wright and Cribbs.
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Quote:
but I'm not quite seeing how the going fishing thing equates to good character.
Hey.....what you saying......
It's not the actual fishing........what makes him good charator is that he would rather do something with his father / and do something on one of the most or some call the most exciting day of thier lives, it is to some, but to JT yes it was important but it wasn't more importnat to spending the day with dad & family.
It's not always what ya do with your kids, it's that your doing something with them. Funny thing is my kids are going up and when we talk about them being little and the things we use to do, they very rarely talk about the things that cost money ceder point, ect. they talk about missing sitting on the shore all day fishing or our late night laying on the side of the resivor in the summer watching the stars, or the late summer nights cat fishing all night, they bring up things we did, not thngs we bought them.
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IMO it started in the draft with Wimbley and in FA with McG. Joe T was a wonderful, fortunate, timely, necessary, almost miraculous pick. But as we all know, it starts at the top, Phil to RAC to coaches to players, besides picking character guys, RAC & Co. help create quality guys, ala K2 & BE. I shudder to think how that could have turned out under another regime. And fortunately they realized we needed an O-line. Joe J, Orpheus and Big Ted get props for helping start a tradition of character. A lot of people questioned drafting BE because of character issues, but that has turned out well, fortunately for us. The man could truly end up being called "great", and has literally grown up, turned his attitude around, and become a boon to the community. I think that shows character. Winslow too. He's become humble, appreciative and he shows up every week and performs to an extremely high level, that shows character. I think character is why there's no QB problems other than in the press and fandom, both guys are quality guys. Jamal, turns out, quality guy. Tucker. I think of him, I think of character. Dawson, same thing... (guys held over from the old regime because they're character guys.) Hank, awesome dude, quality... coach Hank  Steiny, quality, character guys... AD, DQ, Wright, Jones, Cribbs, all character guys. These are just the ones that come to mind, I'm sure there are others. Now, I think players have no choice, come here, be a productive, quality, character guy, or move on. Gotta love that.
![[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]](https://i.imgur.com/hfMNC7T.jpg) "I am undeterred and I am undaunted." --Kevin Stefanski "Big hairy American winning machines." --Baker Mayfield #gmstrong
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Quote:
Since we are talking about character players, what about Eric Wright?
I was hoping someone would bring him up.
All I know about him is what I see on the field. He doesn't make a spectacle of himself. He's out there doing his job and appears to act as part of the team. No showboating if he does something good. I like what I see.
I haven't heard anything negative regarding him...but my ears are way out here in New England...
On the field he seems to act like a guy with good character.
- as has been said, all the character in the world won't get noticed if we don't add up wins....but good character people (that are tallented) should mesh very well.
AL 29 76 14 R_K
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