chop
02-05-2019, 10:14 PM
https://www.freep.com/story/sports/nfl/lions/2019/02/05/detroit-lions-kareem-hunt-morality/2780147002/
Jamie Samuelsen, co-host of the "Jamie and Stoney" show at 6 a.m. weekdays on WXYT-FM (97.1), blogs for freep.com. His opinions do not necessarily reflect those of the Detroit Free Press nor its writers. You can reach him at jamsam22@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @jamiesamuelsen.
The Detroit Lions seemingly have a need for a second running back to pair with Kerryon Johnson. How should they go about the Kareem Hunt situation?
We all think that we can be a general manager or a head coach or an offensive coordinator. It’s easy to sit on our couches and wonder why Michigan isn’t more aggressive on offense or why MSU doesn’t hire a new play caller or why the Lions drafted that guy when they could have drafted that other guy.
It’s the issues of up or down, yes or no, in or out that are easy to judge from afar. But when the issues get a but more gray, it’s a lot harder to know what to do.
It’s easy to stay on the moral high ground when you’re watching from the side. It’s decidedly harder when you’re competing against 31 other teams that might be more willing to swim in the deeper end of the pool. Nobody condones Kareem Hunt's physical assault against a woman in the video that surfaced in December. The images were so raw that the Chiefs terminated his contract within hours of the video’s release.
If Hunt were five years older and his effectiveness was dwindling, he’d be out of the league for good. But Hunt, 23, was just finishing his second season, so a future clearly remains in the NFL.
NFL: Kansas City Chiefs at Denver Broncos
Dec 31, 2017; Denver, CO, USA; Kansas City Chiefs running back Kareem Hunt (27) before the game against the Denver Broncos at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports (Photo: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports)
Bears head coach Matt Nagy pushed this agenda forward last month when he said that he believed in second chances and wouldn’t rule out the Bears pursuing Hunt in the off-season. Nagy was the offensive coordinator in Kansas City prior to getting the Bears head coaching job, so this news isn’t shocking. But Nagy just finished his first year, so it’s a pretty bold stroke to put that out there, unless of course he has the blessing of management or ownership.
Nagy is 100 percent right about one thing: Nothing should be ruled out. This holds true for the Bears, the Lions and any other team in the NFL. If you start making determinations about players before you even investigate their cases further, you’re shortchanging yourself.
It’s like major college recruiting. If Princeton is going up against Alabama for a 5-star player, Alabama has the edge in every way. Not only are they a better program, but they also have lower standards for admission and they can offer full athletic scholarships. Princeton isn’t on equal footing with Alabama therefore will never compete with them.
The Lions are on equal footing with the Patriots, the Rams, the Bears and every other team in the NFL, even if their history doesn’t show it. They abide by the same rules, the same salary cap and the same standards. If the Lions choose to sign only a certain type of player and steer clear of any possible character issues, they won’t stand a chance to move into the upper echelon of the league.
I have no idea what Bob Quinn thinks of Kareem Hunt. I do know that Quinn said the day he was hired in 2016 that he’d have a zero-tolerance policy against players involved in domestic violence cases or a dangerous weapons offense. Later that summer, he signed tight end Andrew Quarless, who was arrested in 2015 after he reportedly fired a gun into the air outside a nightclub after an altercation with a woman. Quinn later admitted that he never should have used the term “zero-tolerance,” and I respect him for his retraction. This is the NFL, not Harvard Law School. You are looking for the best players, not the best of the best. And yes, there is a difference.
I’d have a hard time with the Lions making a move for Hunt for all the obvious moral. But I also know that when you’re filling a 53-man roster with professional football players, you’re not going to do so entirely with choir boys. There will be some bad seeds. Some of their warts will be public. Some will be hidden. Some might become public at an inopportune time for the team.
Some of you will dismiss this as a clear double standard. You wouldn’t allow Hunt to date your daughter, so why would you want him on your football team? If that’s your take, I can’t say that you’re wrong. But I’d also say good luck totally embracing the NFL because you’re going to be rooting for a lot of different players that you might not want dating your daughters.
Quinn gets paid a lot of money for his job and feels a lot of pressure to get things done, especially coming off of two seasons that ended without a playoff berth. I don’t feel sorry for him because he knew what this job was all about when he took it. Just understand that as he looks to push this team up, he may have to take some chances that don’t make him or you very comfortable. That’s the price of doing business in the NFL these days.
If you don’t like it, you need to find another sport. Because it’s not changing.
Jamie Samuelsen, co-host of the "Jamie and Stoney" show at 6 a.m. weekdays on WXYT-FM (97.1), blogs for freep.com. His opinions do not necessarily reflect those of the Detroit Free Press nor its writers. You can reach him at jamsam22@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @jamiesamuelsen.
The Detroit Lions seemingly have a need for a second running back to pair with Kerryon Johnson. How should they go about the Kareem Hunt situation?
We all think that we can be a general manager or a head coach or an offensive coordinator. It’s easy to sit on our couches and wonder why Michigan isn’t more aggressive on offense or why MSU doesn’t hire a new play caller or why the Lions drafted that guy when they could have drafted that other guy.
It’s the issues of up or down, yes or no, in or out that are easy to judge from afar. But when the issues get a but more gray, it’s a lot harder to know what to do.
It’s easy to stay on the moral high ground when you’re watching from the side. It’s decidedly harder when you’re competing against 31 other teams that might be more willing to swim in the deeper end of the pool. Nobody condones Kareem Hunt's physical assault against a woman in the video that surfaced in December. The images were so raw that the Chiefs terminated his contract within hours of the video’s release.
If Hunt were five years older and his effectiveness was dwindling, he’d be out of the league for good. But Hunt, 23, was just finishing his second season, so a future clearly remains in the NFL.
NFL: Kansas City Chiefs at Denver Broncos
Dec 31, 2017; Denver, CO, USA; Kansas City Chiefs running back Kareem Hunt (27) before the game against the Denver Broncos at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports (Photo: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports)
Bears head coach Matt Nagy pushed this agenda forward last month when he said that he believed in second chances and wouldn’t rule out the Bears pursuing Hunt in the off-season. Nagy was the offensive coordinator in Kansas City prior to getting the Bears head coaching job, so this news isn’t shocking. But Nagy just finished his first year, so it’s a pretty bold stroke to put that out there, unless of course he has the blessing of management or ownership.
Nagy is 100 percent right about one thing: Nothing should be ruled out. This holds true for the Bears, the Lions and any other team in the NFL. If you start making determinations about players before you even investigate their cases further, you’re shortchanging yourself.
It’s like major college recruiting. If Princeton is going up against Alabama for a 5-star player, Alabama has the edge in every way. Not only are they a better program, but they also have lower standards for admission and they can offer full athletic scholarships. Princeton isn’t on equal footing with Alabama therefore will never compete with them.
The Lions are on equal footing with the Patriots, the Rams, the Bears and every other team in the NFL, even if their history doesn’t show it. They abide by the same rules, the same salary cap and the same standards. If the Lions choose to sign only a certain type of player and steer clear of any possible character issues, they won’t stand a chance to move into the upper echelon of the league.
I have no idea what Bob Quinn thinks of Kareem Hunt. I do know that Quinn said the day he was hired in 2016 that he’d have a zero-tolerance policy against players involved in domestic violence cases or a dangerous weapons offense. Later that summer, he signed tight end Andrew Quarless, who was arrested in 2015 after he reportedly fired a gun into the air outside a nightclub after an altercation with a woman. Quinn later admitted that he never should have used the term “zero-tolerance,” and I respect him for his retraction. This is the NFL, not Harvard Law School. You are looking for the best players, not the best of the best. And yes, there is a difference.
I’d have a hard time with the Lions making a move for Hunt for all the obvious moral. But I also know that when you’re filling a 53-man roster with professional football players, you’re not going to do so entirely with choir boys. There will be some bad seeds. Some of their warts will be public. Some will be hidden. Some might become public at an inopportune time for the team.
Some of you will dismiss this as a clear double standard. You wouldn’t allow Hunt to date your daughter, so why would you want him on your football team? If that’s your take, I can’t say that you’re wrong. But I’d also say good luck totally embracing the NFL because you’re going to be rooting for a lot of different players that you might not want dating your daughters.
Quinn gets paid a lot of money for his job and feels a lot of pressure to get things done, especially coming off of two seasons that ended without a playoff berth. I don’t feel sorry for him because he knew what this job was all about when he took it. Just understand that as he looks to push this team up, he may have to take some chances that don’t make him or you very comfortable. That’s the price of doing business in the NFL these days.
If you don’t like it, you need to find another sport. Because it’s not changing.