What's up with PFW?.........GIBBS VIOLATING TAMPERING RULES?

1niksder · Post by **1niksder** » Wed Feb 16, 2005 7:58 pm

GIBBS VIOLATING TAMPERING RULES?

Among other things, those eleven years that Redskins coach Joe Gibbs spent away from the game of football apparently caused him to forget one of the cardinal rules of life in the NFL.

You never, ever talk publicly about a guy who's under contract with another team.

Still, on a Tuesday radio show, Gibbs fielded questions about at least two guys who are not yet free agents and, amazingly, Gibbs answered them.

Gibbs was asked about Panthers receiver Muhsin Muhammad. Muhammad is owed a $10 million roster bonus less than two weeks from now. The Panthers can pay it and keep him, or they can work out a new deal that (for example) converts the roster bonus into a signing bonus, or they can cut him.

Regardless of the team's ultimate decision, Muhammad currently remains property of the Panthers.

But in response to questions about Muhammad, Gibbs said, "The problem is he's 31, and basically what his agent said is: 'Show me the money.'"

Apart from the obvious fact that Gibbs commented on Muhammad when Gibbs clearly shouldn't have done so, Gibbs' reference to Muhammad's agent raises an obvious question.

Have the Redskins already been talking to him?

It wouldn't be the first time that the Redskins were accused of negotiating with a player who was still under contract with another team. In 2003, Sports Illustrated's Peter King reported that the Redskins had made safety Lawyer Milloy a contract offer before Milloy was cut by the Patriots. (To little surprise, Milloy later denied telling King that he'd gotten a prior offer from the Redskins.)

Gibbs also addressed on Tuesday Steelers receiver Plaxico Burress, when explaining that, with Muhammad and Burress, "what you're talking about is big bucks."

Again, how does Gibbs know that Burress wants big bucks, especially when (as we recently reported) the Steelers have yet to receive an opening demand from Burress's agent?

Bottom line -- Gibbs should get his knuckles rapped for even talking about Muhammad and Burress. Beyond that, the NFL needs to take a look at whether the 'Skins have been in communication with either Muhammad or Burress, or their agents.

With that said, we're hardly naive. At next week's scouting combine, agents won't be talking to teams only about the draft prospects they represent. There will be -- as there always are -- plenty of discussions about teams' interest in impending free agents, even though such conversations are against the rules.

Still, there's something to be said for the exercise of discretion. In Gibbs' case, his willingness to talk openly about guys who are still under contract elsewhere shows either that: (a) he's stupid; or (b) the Redskins have so little regard for the tampering rules that even basic, fundamental concepts such as never, ever talking about another team's player are ignored.

Either way, it's a problem that the NFL should not overlook.

http://www.profootballtalk.com/rumormill.htm

BringThePain! · Post by **BringThePain!** » Wed Feb 16, 2005 8:45 pm

The Burress thing is a reach in my book....

But it did sound like he had talked to Mushui's Agent....

or maybe his agent came up to Joe and said... "You want my guy... Show Me the Money!"..... either way... it's probably another story that will be blown out of proportion... I'm sure we'll here Pastabelly's take on it real soon....

SkinsHead56 · Post by **SkinsHead56** » Wed Feb 16, 2005 8:56 pm

This is just some crap scrambling by a guy who really has no story. Mushin & PLax are two of the top WR going into FA. It's common knowledge these guys want "Big Bucks" or they would have resigned with their respective teams already. I do think Gibbs has to be carful in choosing his word or he'll get a bunch of junk writers putting out baseless stories like this.

redskincity · Post by **redskincity** » Wed Feb 16, 2005 9:49 pm

He was just thinking out loud on this one.**Wink**

tcwest10 · Post by **tcwest10** » Wed Feb 16, 2005 9:58 pm

Everybody knows it goes on. The league calls it "tampering", but I can't see how it is in this instance. It isn't as though the Panthers have another game remaining.
To my mind, you'd really have to have a cold, hard look at how the league defines tampering. Who initiated the conversation ? If everybody can agree it was the agent, then there's no fine. Nothing wrong with responding to a feeler.
Gibbs is a lot of things, but "dummy" isn't one of them.

General Failure · Post by **General Failure** » Wed Feb 16, 2005 10:01 pm

Mushin is still under contract. His agent shouldn't be (caught) talking to anyone until he's officially released.

tcwest10 · Post by **tcwest10** » Wed Feb 16, 2005 10:05 pm

So, what's the deal here ? You can't go looking for work until FA starts ? Is this designed to avoid a player having a contract ready to sign at 12:01 when the period starts ?
And what about the agent ? Is HE disciplined for putting out feelers, trying to see what the market might possibly be for his guy ?

General Failure · Post by **General Failure** » Wed Feb 16, 2005 10:09 pm

He gets disciplined in his wallet when he loses players because he can't do his job properly. He's allowed to talk to anyone he wants, he just can't talk about contracts.

I don't think he talked to Gibbs at all. I think Gibbs' only faux pas here is saying "never" in public.

tcwest10 · Post by **tcwest10** » Wed Feb 16, 2005 10:16 pm

In some ways...he still treats the media with too much respect. His candor and truthfulness will wind up biting him in the ass one day.
Oh, wait. It already did. He made a funny about having a short second stay in the league if things kept going the way they are, and they nailed him to the cross for it. They're bloodthirsty these days, and very brazen about taking ambiguities and shaping them to make a quick headline.
Joe needs to treat these people for what they are. They are not his buddies. It's not an "informal chat" nor is it ever "off the record". Anything goes, now.

Redskin in Canada · Post by **Redskin in Canada** » Wed Feb 16, 2005 10:16 pm

Come on! It is EARLY in the offseason. People have run out of stories and they have deadlines to meet.

There are a THOUSAND ways to deflect any criticism by the NFL if they even try. We are short on topics for news guys that's all...

hatsOFF2gibbs · Post by **hatsOFF2gibbs** » Wed Feb 16, 2005 11:15 pm

Whatever JGibbs said doesn't seem to be wrong to me because it seems that we are not the only team talking about other players.

One thing we have to make sure we don't do is:
Don't bash anybody until they themselves have something to say about it. We shouln't trust this no-name author on something he has written. If it REALLY does concern someone, they should ask JGibbs himself....maybe in the next radio show (if there is one...)

This is just stupid. Someone who wanted to "stir the pot".....like I once did. :lol:

1fan4ramsey · Post by **1fan4ramsey** » Wed Feb 16, 2005 11:31 pm

I think it's refereshing to have a coach answer questions in the upfront and open way Gibbs employs. We could be stuck with a coach like Reid in Philly who says nothing. This is not a knock on Reid because I do like him as a coach, but it is painful to listen to his press conferences and interviews.

General Failure · Post by **General Failure** » Wed Feb 16, 2005 11:39 pm

True, but Reid never gives the press something to work with. They hate him for that.

tcwest10 · Post by **tcwest10** » Wed Feb 16, 2005 11:44 pm

Somehow, it's the only way to go these days.
For Gibbs, he has nothing to lose. They can't pull his bust out of Canton if the media doesn't like him this time around.

Redskin in Canada · Post by **Redskin in Canada** » Wed Feb 16, 2005 11:50 pm

That's why I am not available to talk to the media. [-(

Brandon777 · Post by **Brandon777** » Wed Feb 16, 2005 11:51 pm

This is typical PFT garbage. I know Mushin and Plaxico are wanting top dollar contracts by reading the newspaper and watching NFL Network. That crap is just common sense and public knowledge.

1fan4ramsey · Post by **1fan4ramsey** » Thu Feb 17, 2005 12:13 am

Brandon777 wrote:This is typical PFT garbage. I know Mushin and Plaxico are wanting top dollar contracts by reading the newspaper and watching NFL Network. That crap is just common sense and public knowledge.

True, he really did'nt say anything we all don't already know. :roll:

Warmother · Post by **Warmother** » Thu Feb 17, 2005 11:00 am

To me Joe would be tampering if he had said something like. "I love that Mushin Muhammad and would give him big bucks to ccome here." If Muhammad had not signed with Carolina before hearing that he probably wouldn't. With Joe saying Burris and Mushin wanting big bucks only an idiot,(PFW writer), he is only stating what everybody already knows. Every player in the NFL wants big bucks.

Skins4ever · Post by **Skins4ever** » Thu Feb 17, 2005 12:07 pm

Whoever wrote this article must have either left their brain on the kitchen counter before going to the office or is a total jackass. How in the world is talking generally about a player wanting lots of money tampering. Gibbs stated that he was not interested in getting either Mushin or PLax so the dicussion of tampering should have ended right there. It really gets on my nerves when sport writers take one little statment and try to make a whole story out of if. Damn, don't they have anything else better to do. :explode:

Scooter · Post by **Scooter** » Thu Feb 17, 2005 2:43 pm

A friendly wager on "When the next - the Redskins should change their name - story."???

Every off season for the past 11 years, there has been a story by SI, ESPN, Bob Costas, or CBS regarding the totally BS story line above.

My bet is two weeks before training camp, one of these idiots will find a pack of half-baked injuns that plan on picketting the Skins to change the moniker. Being part Cherokee - I'll call anyone an injun I want to! :0)

JDC · Post by **JDC** » Thu Feb 17, 2005 6:29 pm

Regardless, delete this post and any evidence of it!

welch · Post by **welch** » Sun Feb 20, 2005 7:58 am

True, but Reid never gives the press something to work with. They hate him for that.

And Gibbs has always been the same. He never gives out information that either :

- fires up an opponent, or

- tells what he is thinking.

Remember the line in Godfather I, when Brando tells Jimmy Caan, "Never, ever, let them know what you really think". It's the same with Gibbs and Reid.

*

In this case, I think Gibbs is just repeating what everyone knows: the agents have made it clear that they expect BIG bucks. That does not mean that Gibbs and Snyder have been negotiating. They donlt have to when the agent practically takes out billboards and print-time TV adds to say, "We want money!"

*

Regarding Scooter: we know the team was originally named the Boston Braves, like the Boston NL baseball team currenly living in Atlanta. Wasn't the baseball team name taken from the crowd who dressed as Iriqois (sp?) when they dumped tea in Boston harbor in 1773? There was a team called the Boston Teamen (can't remember the sport), but that was the most inept team name in US history. The tea men were the commisioners who were supposed to collect the tea tax...the other side.

["Most inept:" hyperpole. Maybe I'll start a poll for several varieties of most inept team name. I'm afraid DC United is one of them...united what? I could see it if they had united two or three existing soccer teams, but for a built from scratch MLS team?]

Can't wait for this year's off-season flurry. Personally, UI'll demand that everyone read Larrabee's _The Boston Tea Party_ before jumping in to criticize the Skins. After Larrabee, there are about five other necessary readings...at least we'll all learn some American Revolutionary history...

BossHog · Post by **BossHog** » Sun Feb 20, 2005 11:42 am

How is it not known by ALL that MM and PB are going to want big contracts? How does alluding to that fact guarantee that you have actually talked to them?

Tough to prove unless MM's agent says yeah I broke the rules and talked to some teams including joe Gibbs and the Skins.

I'm gonna show that I've been breaking the rules too... and give you an example of what I'm talking about...

"I want Walter Jones, but he's gonna fetch a boatload'...

Does that mean that I have tampered and discussed it with Jones' agent?

:roll: