Now that guys are being drafted 9th overall for possession of a skill set essentially identical to Mathis', I don't think he'll be unemployed for long.

Isn't this guy capable of a more valuable contribution than ripping apart Jerome Mathis? I mean, if you have nothing nice to write, well, why write anything at all? I guess thats what happens when you're an NFL beat writer for the Texans, and football season is over.

I like how they can't cut him cause he's not under contract.
Wasn't he a really good kick returner once? I'd think some team would find a place for him.

Re: 2

It's not every offseason that a talented, explosive player who is a restricted free agent fails to get a tender at all. There's a story there. According to John McClain, the story is that Mathis is on the path to become the next Pacman Jones.

I'm sure he'll find a job, the question is will he keep it or wash out of the league.

4: Considering the fact that he's accused of choking his pregnant girlfriend, sounds like he's trying for the position of the next Rae Carruth.

The Eagles desperately need a kick returner. I was thrilled when I saw the headline that he would be available. After reading the article, no thanks.

If Leonard Little has a job, Jerome Mathis can find a job. If he can't, it's more likely because he's missed 31 of 48 games and not because he likes choking pregnant women.

I think L.Little has a bit of an edge, especially considering that he was really good at what he does. I don't think it's fair to compare Little to Mathis.

However, I still think that if Chris Henry can get a job, so can Mathis.

I'm not going to criticize any team that says they aren't going to resign a player like Mathis. Just recently there was a link to an eye-opening article on Jeramy Stevens. The fact that is now on his 247th 2nd chance is a tragedy. He is extremely lucky that his physical talents have kept him out of jail for rape.

OK, so the list of "guys who are such schmucks that I will actively cheer against any team they're on" now includes: Mathis, Little, Stevens, Pacman, and Henry. What other criminal miscreants am I missing?

McClain is on the radio all the time here in Nashville. He tends to be an annoying moralist. He's been riding Pacman harder than Lindsay Lohan rides, nevermind...

Re: 11

So Lindsay Lohan's a Nirvana fan?

re 1:

the ted ginn pick was a debacle and last i checked neither randy meuller nor cam cameron is leading an nfl franchise these days. with the pacman/vick/koren robinson ridiculousness of the past few years, this might actually be the point when teams actually pay attention to character issues. that being said, he'll get signed somewhere but i'm guessing he cost himself over $1 M a year.

Haven't read all the comment, so apologies in advance if this sentiment has been put out there... but between the Jerramy Stevens article and this one, I'm really beginning to wonder if the players were the same 10, 20, 30 years ago, but the press simply didn't report it as much (or we simply didn't have this *instant, everywhere* press), if they've gotten substantially worse over the years, or (most likely) a combination of both. Still, I don't recall coaches putting up with this kind of crap for long. Sigh...

P.S. No, I'm not comparing Stevens to Mathis, but that article makes this one (to me, at least) worse than it would've been on it own. I don't know why...

Also, TMBGA (The McNabb Bowl Game Anomaly), it's been so long since that whole Brandt/Lewin ripoff that I can't remember your previous name.

Perhaps you can add an A.K.A. (or even better, a 'Formerly Known As' - FKA)?

14:

Keep in mind I wasn't watching football 30 years ago. With that said, I think it is mostly a product of the media. The reason I say this is because I look up things, or hear older fans tell me about things, and so much of what I hear isn't really all that different from what goes on today. Just that no one got in trouble for it back that because no one (fans that is) knew about it at the time, or cared. Even in the amount of time I have been watching football I can see this effect. Take for instance a guy like Ricky Williams being effectively kicked out of the league for smoking weed, and contrast that with a guy like LT who was a coke addict. I really think it just wasn't reported as much back then, so the only people who knew these things were the real fans, who tend not to care as much.

Let me add to the above. I know LT got in some trouble for what he did (with the league that is), but it just didn't seem like a big deal when I was watching at the time. This is just one example of course.

Also, let me add too that this is my perception of things; I do not mean them as an assertion of fact.

This has been coming for a while, but it does make the Andre Davis situation interesting. Johnson-Walter-Jones-Anderson is a perfectly decent set of receivers with which to go into a season, particularly in the not unlikely event of substantial second year improvement from Jones, who played his college ball in division three. However, none of them come close to Davis or Mathis as a kick return man (Jones is a real threat on punts). Davis is also a pretty effective deep threat. I imagine the team will be keen to keep him, and given his failure to catch on in several other stops, he may think he's got it pretty good in Houston. I'd like to see him back, but not if the cost is exorbitant.

Re: 15

I used to be known as SJM (and I still am, rarely, on the FO boards).