Jerome Mathis signed

[tryfuhl]

Originally Posted by PSUSkinsFan21

People, before you go singing the guy's praises and giving him the benefit of the doubt because Mathis has only been involved with "one" incidient that should concern us, PLEASE do you homework. If you had read the earlier posts in this very thread you would have seen that there was also an incident in which Mathis got into a fight with one of his own teammates. And, a quick visit to NFL.com reveals the following:

"Mathis has had two recent run-ins with the law. In December, he received a misdemeanor citation after his pit bull chewed through a fence and was behaving aggressively. In February, he was charged with assaulting his pregnant common-law wife, a charge that was later dropped at the woman's request."

So we've got 1. fight with teammate; 2. choking his pregnant wife (and leaving red marks according to reports); and 3. letting his mean pit bull chew through a fence (what kind of a dog even does that?......perhaps we can ask Michael Vick). Face it, this guy is a complete poop stain. I don't really care if he returns the ball 10 times for TDs this year, I don't want him on any team I cheer for. Get enough of guys like this and you become the Cowturds or Raiders.....sorry, not willing to pay that kind of price for success. This day in age in the NFL when character means more to most teams that ever before.......well, let's just say I'm just shaking my head over this one and leave it at that.

Have you never owned a dog? I've had dogs never give anyone issues that chewed through fences, jumped them, dug under them, etc... They're animals, they don't like confinement. He could've gotten the whiff of a female and been looking for some, who knows.

And have you also never played sports? Teammates fight, it happens, you man up and move on. You think none of the old school guys ever fought?

[PSUSkinsFan21]

Originally Posted by tryfuhl

Have you never owned a dog? I've had dogs never give anyone issues that chewed through fences, jumped them, dug under them, etc... They're animals, they don't like confinement. He could've gotten the whiff of a female and been looking for some, who knows.

And have you also never played sports? Teammates fight, it happens, you man up and move on. You think none of the old school guys ever fought?

In answer to your questions: Not one that could chew through a fence. And if I did own a pit bull, given their propensities to escape and attack other dogs and children in the neighborhood, I'd make damn sure it was kept in a cage that it could not chew through. The statement was made to me that it wasn't entirely Mathis's fault that his dog escaped. I couldn't disagree more. A pet owner's primary responsiblity is to keep that animal contained. It's certainly not anyone else's job to make sure his pit bull doesn't escape. And you certainly can't blame the dog. So YES, his dog escaping IS Mathis's fault.....and NO, I'm not stupid enough to keep a dog with viscious propensities in an enclosure that it can escape from. It's called being responsible.

In answer to your second question: Yes, of course I've played sports. And no, I've never punched a teammate. Have I gotten into arguments with teammates? Of course, who hasn't? But a fistfight?......umm, kinda runs counter to everything that being a teammate is supposed to mean. Again, it's called being a responsible adult.

Now I know what the second, third, and fourth-chance crowd around here is going to say: that's all in his past. And I hope they're right. But call me a cynic (or actually, from my perspective, a realist), I view a person's past behavior as a pretty good indicator of their character and what to expect in the future.

[jsarno]

Originally Posted by PSUSkinsFan21

In answer to your questions: Not one that could chew through a fence. And if I did own a pit bull, given their propensities to escape and attack other dogs and children in the neighborhood, I'd make damn sure it was kept in a cage that it could not chew through. The statement was made to me that it wasn't entirely Mathis's fault that his dog escaped. I couldn't disagree more. A pet owner's primary responsiblity is to keep that animal contained. It's certainly not anyone else's job to make sure his pit bull doesn't escape. And you certainly can't blame the dog. So YES, his dog escaping IS Mathis's fault.....and NO, I'm not stupid enough to keep a dog with viscious propensities in an enclosure that it can escape from. It's called being responsible.

In answer to your second question: Yes, of course I've played sports. And no, I've never punched a teammate. Have I gotten into arguments with teammates? Of course, who hasn't? But a fistfight?......umm, kinda runs counter to everything that being a teammate is supposed to mean. Again, it's called being a responsible adult.

Now I know what the second, third, and fourth-chance crowd around here is going to say: that's all in his past. And I hope they're right. But call me a cynic (or actually, from my perspective, a realist), I view a person's past behavior as a pretty good indicator of their character and what to expect in the future.

Well, the way I look at it is you can do one of two things:
1- You can give this kid the benefit of the doubt and get on board and hope he keeps his nose clean as well performs well.
2- You can complain with all your might even though your opinion will not change the Skins minds.
(there doesn't seem to be a point the latter, but to each his own.)

[PSUSkinsFan21]

Originally Posted by jsarno

Well, the way I look at it is you can do one of two things:
1- You can give this kid the benefit of the doubt and get on board and hope he keeps his nose clean as well performs well.
2- You can complain with all your might even though your opinion will not change the Skins minds.
(there doesn't seem to be a point the latter, but to each his own.)

Actually those aren't mutually exclusive. I'm pretty much doing both. I don't support the move because I don't want players with this kind of baggage, period. That said, I'm well aware that my opinion won't change anything and so I'm hoping that he proves me wrong, keeps his nose clean, and contributes on the field. Doesn't mean I have to approve of the move to be able to hope for the best.

[jsarno]

Originally Posted by PSUSkinsFan21

Actually those aren't mutually exclusive. I'm pretty much doing both. I don't support the move because I don't want players with this kind of baggage, period. That said, I'm well aware that my opinion won't change anything and so I'm hoping that he proves me wrong, keeps his nose clean, and contributes on the field. Doesn't mean I have to approve of the move to be able to hope for the best.

They are mutually exclusive when one is "give this kid the benefit of the doubt". That is something you are not doing right now.
I completely understand not wanting a person of questionable character on the team, but since there is nothing I can do about it, I will give him the benefit of the doubt and hope for the best. If he fails to keep his nose clean, then I will be the first in line to want the Skins to give him the axe.

We gave Taylor the benefit of the doubt and he turned out to be quite a player for us. People can change. I hope just like you do that we didn't sign someone like pacman. Time will tell I guess.

[firstdown]

Originally Posted by jsarno

They are mutually exclusive when one is "give this kid the benefit of the doubt". That is something you are not doing right now.
I completely understand not wanting a person of questionable character on the team, but since there is nothing I can do about it, I will give him the benefit of the doubt and hope for the best. If he fails to keep his nose clean, then I will be the first in line to want the Skins to give him the axe.

We gave Taylor the benefit of the doubt and he turned out to be quite a player for us. People can change. I hope just like you do that we didn't sign someone like pacman. Time will tell I guess.

We did not sign a man like pacman because we did not give him a big contract. I just don't see what the big deal is with this signing. If he presents a problem than we can dump him with very little lost. If he turns aout to be good add then we got a very good deal. Now if we had signed him to a multi year deal worth millions then I would say people have a right to be ticked but that is not the case.

[jsarno]

Originally Posted by firstdown

We did not sign a man like pacman because we did not give him a big contract. I just don't see what the big deal is with this signing. If he presents a problem than we can dump him with very little lost. If he turns aout to be good add then we got a very good deal. Now if we had signed him to a multi year deal worth millions then I would say people have a right to be ticked but that is not the case.

I agree with you.

Someone on here said there was little risk and little reward. I disagree with that. I think it's little risk high reward.
I am not a big fan of Rock as our KR. I know he puts up decent numbers, but he has difficulty finding the hole to break one, and his speed isn't there to break away if he did. This is an upgrade for our special teams. The first time this kid breaks one, we will forget all about Rock.

[jsarno]

Originally Posted by firstdown

We did not sign a man like pacman because we did not give him a big contract. I just don't see what the big deal is with this signing. If he presents a problem than we can dump him with very little lost. If he turns aout to be good add then we got a very good deal. Now if we had signed him to a multi year deal worth millions then I would say people have a right to be ticked but that is not the case.

Apparently no one has cause he's still a titan. The cowboys said today that negotiations are fading. He might not even find a home.