The Dolphins Make Me Cry.com - Forums

I haven't seen him, but I haven't been watching all that closely.  He used to get the ball on 3rd and short every single time.  What's up with him?

He got the ball on 3rd and 1 in Saturday's game and came up short. He's around, but there's no guarantee he'll make the team. The true fullback position is a dieing breed. Polite is one of the few left. This year could be the year he gets the axe.

He sucked last year, and sucks this year too.  Hopefully he will get cut.  More Dallas trash.

I thought Polite was pretty good last year, and was surprised they drafted competition for him in April.

That being said, the little I've seen of Polite this summer has been poor, and all the scuttlebutt is Clay is going to beat him out.

Since 2008, Polite has converted 41 of 43 third-and-1 or fourth-and-1 attempts.  It's a stretch to say that he "sucked."

Now, it's a fair statement to say that he needs to bring more to the table than that.  But if we cut him and have Clay fill his shoes, Sparano had better hope we don't face any -and-1 attempts any time soon.  Say whatever you want about what Polite couldn't do... he's put together a legendary string of doing THAT.

He is worth his paycheck for that alone.

The 1-yard run Polite failed to gain this time around was a huge blown call by the OC. I'm sorry, but you don't call a run right at the opposing D-lines 1000lb guy. And the O-line didn't exactly help by getting pushed back about a yard.

(Another huge blown call on a 1-yard-to-gain play: Giving the ball to Reggie Bush... yeah, not smart.)

And to be fair, his paycheck isn't a whole lot.

Basically, his cost is a roster spot; cutting him opens up a spot for the Benny Sapps, Jonathan Amayas, and Pat McQuistans of the world.  I'd rather cut someone from the bottom and keep both Polite and Clay, but that's me.  IMO, Clay should be taking a roster spot from Joey Haynos or Mickey Shuler, not Polite.

^^/Agreed

Last year Polite couldn't block anyone. He still did well on picking up the 1 yard in those situations.

Dabolls offense has no role for a FB. And if Polite isn't going to be a decent blocker, he is toast. And if he can't pick up the 1 yard anymore like this past Saturday, he's really toast

You are correct, sir.  Bummer in a way.  He seems like a quality team mate, but he has lost his nack for lead blocking and his one yard stuff is as much a product of the O-line push as anything.  I don't think he makes the cutt.

The only thing that makes me pause on that prediction is the fact that HE HAS BEEN PLAYING a good bit and much of it has been with the first team offense.  He may have sentimental value to Sparano, but it would be a mistake to keep him.

agree with that, Polite has been "money" on the3rd & 4th and short for the last 2 years.  hate to see him go, if does, he plays hard and hits as well

Again, I don't see the value of a third tight end over Polite.

Polite does one thing (one pretty damned important thing, mind you) and does it extremely well.  As long as he is leading the leading in -and-1 conversions, why isn't he worth the 49th or 50th or 51st roster spot?

I doubt he leads the league in 3rd and 4th and 1 situations.  And he isn't really good at anything else.  i bet the league average for converting 3rd and 4th and 1s is pretty high.  Polite doesn't bring that much more to the table.

As quoted elsewhere, he's 41 of 43 for the past 4 years or so. No way that isn't a clear #1.

Honestly, I feel as a fan our team should be able to make every 3rd or 4th and 1 or shorter regardless of the running back. Is that realistic, no. But so is giving all the credit to whoever gets the ball. Those situations are completely about blocking and getting into a hole quickly. The line carries the responsibility on those as much as any back you put back there.

LOL, so he has converted 41 of 43 3rd or 4th and 1 (notice they aren't goalline carries where the defense sells out on run) in 4 years.  So that is like 10 per year.  I would say an average rb, who gets all the third or 4th and 1 (ignoring goalline carries since polite didn't get them) would probably be 85%.  So Polite gives you maybe 1 extra first down a year.  That doesn't make up for all his other terrible attributes.

http://insider.espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/6844816/nfl-scouts-inc-2011-top-fullback-rankings

If you're not an insider, let me recap:  Polite is listed as the 6th best FB in the league by Scouts, Inc.  His one poor attribute wasn't poor pre-2010.  He had a bad year last year.  So did the rest of the running game.  I'd definitely rather have him on the squad over a third tight end or fifth tackle.

Doubt no more.

http://www.miamidolphins.com/content/lousaka-polite

2010- [...] FIRST DOWNS: Carried the ball 15 times this season on third- and fourth-and-one and picked up the first down 14 times (including twice on one drive) ... Five of those 14 drives resulted in touchdowns ... Of those 15 carries, 13 came on third down, and his 92.3% conversion percentage in those carries led the NFL in third-and-one rushing conversions ...

http://espn.go.com/blog/afceast/post/_/id/19139/a-yard-to-go-chalk-it-up-for-polite

Polite has a reputation for being a sure thing in short-yardage situations. In Sunday night's loss to the New York Jets, he extended his streak of third- or fourth-and-1 conversions to 20.

ESPN.com researcher Vincent Masi harvested the databases and found nobody has come close to that kind of production since the start of the 2009 season, when Polite's streak began.

The question is, does he need to be?  Even if you're a one-trick pony, that's a pretty damned useful trick.

Through week 12 of last year, the league average was 65.8% (http://espn.go.com/blog/nflnation/post/_/id/32630/need-a-yard-call-rams-not-seahawks).

For the record, Miami's overall conversion percentage (on 3rd- and 4th-and-1) was a flat 70%.  Subtract Polite from that and the rest of the Dolphins are, um, not good.

tepop, before you continue, can you please clarify as to whether being able to convert short yardage is a valuable asset, or not?  First you doubted that he led the league, then after it was established that he did, you basically said it didn't matter anyway.

Spider, given those stats, I'm an even bigger Polite fan than ever!


And, I feel I need to reiterate a point on Polite's failed attempt this past weekend: Calling for a run right at the opposing team's heaviest player by far (Frank Okam) is a recipe for disaster and the blame for that is PROBABLY the offensive coordinator. Vernon Carey gets honorable mention for getting pushing a yard or two back by Okam before Polite even gets there.

He is a terrible lead blocker and his pass catching isn't very impressive.  To say that he is valuable at 15 plays a year (that most non terrible running backs would do the same thing) is enough to overcome everything else is laughable.

You continue to insist that any RB in the league can do what Polite has done, while ignoring that none of them actually did.  Again, I can bury this thread in statistics, but it seems like you're pretty much oblivious to them at this point:

http://stats.washingtonpost.com/fb/leaders.asp?year=2009&type=Rushing&range=NFL&rank=016
http://stats.washingtonpost.com/fb/leaders.asp?year=2010&type=Rushing&range=NFL&rank=016

This is the list of league leaders on 3rd and <3 yards for 2009 and 2010 (it's not strictly -and-1, which is why Polite has one failed attempt in '09).  There are two items of note here:

- the only players in the top 10 for both years are Polite and David Garrard
- David Garrard is not a RB

So then, among RBs, not only has Polite been better than everyone else, he's also been dramatically more consistent; the rest of the top 10 RBs fluctuates wildly, having a completely different top 10 (save Polite) from one year to the next.

Listen, you aren't going to win this argument claiming that he didn't lead the league, and you aren't going to win it claiming that anyone else can do it just as well.  The only real point of discussion is whether or not a high conversion rate on 3rd/4th and short is a valuable skillset.  If you want to say that it's not, fine... but the least you can do is own your position.

You are using stats for 3rd and 3or less when polite only gets the ball when they have 1 yard or less.  Also note, polite doesn't get goal line carries where the defense doesn't have to respect a pass. I bet he wold look even better compared to everybody else if the stat you were using was 3rd and 5 or less.

This is baffling to me. We've never had the success on getting that last yard until Polite took over duties. He's done it with whomever they put on the line. His success is not only better than what we have but everyone else. How can anyone not give him the credit but give it to our O-line? If that was the case why wouldn't we have given it to Ricky or Ronnie?

Getting rid of Polite is crazy. That guy converts just about every short yardage situation we need.

I mentioned the line so I want to defend that position. I said they carry the responsibility as much as the back. I don't think that position can be argued against. We saw how well Polite did with bad blocking the other night.

Wrong again.

Polite was perfect with 1 yard to go in 2009, but (as per that link) 12/13 with <3 yards to go (which means he necessarily had at least one multi-yard carry).  His numbers are even better if you include strictly -and-1 situations.

Tell me, who did get all of our carries on the many instances of opponent's-1-yard-line opportunities that the Dolphins had over the last three years?  Polite can't get the ball in situations that don't exist.

tepop, I'm still waiting for you to clearly state whether the ability to convert short-yardage situations is a valuable asset or not.  I can sit here and shoot down your factually incorrect assumptions all day, but I'm not going to bother if, at the end of it all, you just say "well who cares about short yardage anyway?"

his numbers are better, but you are still comparing his numbers to the numbers of rb who carried more with 3 yards than 1 yard (and who also would have gotten goal line carries).  What he has done isn't that impressive. I would rather have a running back who averages 5 yards a carry who gets 75% of the 1st downs, vs. somebody who gets 90% and only gains 2 yards.

^^^ It's not necessarily a one or the other situation.  You need both types of players on your team.

5 yards a carry? So you're saying you'd rather have 2010 leading rusher Arian Foster? Oh wait, he doesn't get 5 yards a pop. Well, CJ2K then? Nope. Adrian Peterson then? Nope. None of those guys averaged 5 yards a carry last year.

Suffice to say, 5 yards a pop (while actually having some attempts) is VERY high for a running back.

So, yeah, no kidding, I'd rather have that as well.

The question here is whether you'd rather have Polite and his short-yardage-magic or a 4th string running back.

Actually last year Arian Foster average 5.4 yards per carry on 3rd (or 4th) down with 1-2 to go over 23 attempts according to http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/splits/_/id/12497/arian-foster . Polite averaged 2.3 yards over 15 attempts (35 yards). Ricky had 5 attempts for 22 yards (4.4 ave).

If you're going to restrict it to 1-2 yards to go (perfectly valid), then I'm *personally* not much interested in averages. The only thing that matters is getting that first down / touchdown. Who cares about a few extra yards here and there compared to getting a first down?

Thats part of the problem, now its so predictable that teams load up for it and it doesn't work anymore. Teams are waiting for him

So let's talk about these statistics.  (We will define "and short" as 1-2 yards to go.)

In 2010, Arian Foster, one of the best RBs in the league, had 4 rushes for 4 yards on 4th and short... with a long of 6.  That means that when his number was called on 4th and short, he got one first down (a 6-yard run), and three more rushes for a total of -2 yards.  That's a 25% conversion clip.  In comparison, Polite had 2 carries for 4 yards with a long of 2.  That's 2 yards per carry and a 100% conversion rate... vs. 25%.  When Polite's number was called, he was unquestionably better than Foster on 4th down.

Now, on third and short, Foster had 19 carries for 121 yards, with a long of 77 (and 2 TDs).  That's pretty impressive; in fact, Foster led the league in conversions when specifically considering -and-2 situations, which is yet another reason why he's an elite back.

But we aren't discussing whether we should keep Arian Foster or Lou Polite, because that's the dumbest argument in the world.  We are discussing whether we should keep Lou Polite or [Nic Grigsby or Mickey Shuler or Larry Johnson or Dedrick Epps or Marlon Moore].  And I'm pretty sure that none of them are leading the league in anything.

Let's look at the other player you cited: Ricky.  Ricky had zero 4th down carries, so it's only 3rd down that we need to look at.  On 3rd and short, Ricky had 5 carries for 22 yards... with a long of 15.  So on the other 4 carries he had, he averaged 1.75 yds per.  In comparison, Polite had 13 carries for 31 yards with a long of 4; with 1-2 yards to go, he averaged 2.4, and his average wasn't fluffed by a big (non-TD!) run.

To put this another way: if you want to gain 10 yards on 3rd-and-1, Polite is not the man to go to... but neither is Ricky Williams.  If you want to gain ONE yard on 3rd-and-1, you give it to Polite and he gets it.  If you want to get TEN yards on 3rd-and-1, you put Polite in the game, run play action to him, and throw the ball to Bess or Marshall.  You do not hand it off to Ricky Williams, Reggie Bush, or any other Dolphin running back.

So again, why would we want to get rid of a player who is literally the best at the league in one specific, useful area?

So after three years of 90%+ conversion rate, now it's predictable?  If a 90%+ success rate is what you call "not working anymore," how can we get Henne or Marshall to "stop working?"

Furthermore, I don't think I should have to explain why an opponent loading up for a "predictable" play in obvious situations isn't exactly a bad thing.  You want to send your entire defense to the center of the line to stop Polite at all costs?  By all means, put 11 men in the box.  That would instantly make Polite one of the most valuable players on the entire offense, and he wouldn't even have to carry the ball at all.

You are aware that Miami also has one of the league-leading receivers in third-down conversion %, right?

They haven't been able to do it before when everyone knew it was going to him anyway. What's your point?

I find it hard to believe that someone could argue that a player that gets the job done 90% of the time is a bad thing.  When a player is having a good preseason you argue that it's not good enough until the guy performs for a year, now you are arguing that a guy that has performed for three years is not good enough either?

This whole discussion is ridiculous.  Polite is getting way too much credit here.  The only reason he has those stats is because we are the only team that would have given him the ball.  Most teams take a shot or two and don't just waste the down.  3rd and short, even 4th and short, is your chance to catch a team off guard and hit a big play.  Last years Dolphins were conservative to a fault and this was one of the few stats that got inflated because of it.

Polite had a few plays last year that he made a nice effort to get the 1st down.  But like the rest of you, I watched all the games and it was fairly obvious that the line did most of the work on nearly all of those pick ups.

Polite was a byproduct of a shitty offensive philosophy.  That shitty philosophy is going bye bye.  Polite will be lucky to keep his job because of it and the fact that his lead blocking has dropped off since his first year with us.  Simple as that.

And he still converted on almost all of his plays when we needed it and when everyone in the world knew he was getting the ball. I don't think he's getting too much credit.

Did anything he did look at all unique to you?  My eyes told me that the o-line made a little room and ran into that spot.  I didn't see any special moves or power or bouncing around to find a gap to run through.  He didn't make a guy miss.  He gets the benefit of the stat, but it was primarily the o-line that did the job.

So Polite's skill set is:  don't be skinny, stay low, get the ball right behind the QB, run straight into the designed hole.  This is big time stuff!  I don't know where we can find another player like that.   ::)

Keep in mind, I like the guy just fine.  But I am telling you he isn't worth the roster spot this time.  We have bigger fish to fry than 3rd and 1 at the 50.  We need big play potential on every snap and we have guys who are plenty big that can do what he did and offer big play potential at the same time.

You could argue the same thing about a guy like Jerome Betis.

Your comparing a Top 5 ALL TIME NFL Rusher to Polite?

Holy crap, now I have read everything. Give me a break! That is taking being a "homer" to a whole new level.

You do understand what conversion percentage means, right?  If other teams were throwing hail mary passes on 3rd-and-1, that does not impact their backs' conversion percentage at all.  Other backs have a lower conversion percentage because, when their team DID decide to give the ball to them and pound their way to a first, those backs failed much more often.  Polite has failed exactly twice in over 40 tries.

I would love to know which league you are watching.  I would really enjoy watching a football league where teams play aggressively on 4th-and-short.  However, that league is DEFINITELY not the NFL; any coach who went down the field on 4th-and-short with anything appproaching regularity would be incinerated in the press.

Furthermore, as I already said, having Polite on the team makes it easier to go down the field on 3rd-and-short, because the opponent needs to heavily prioritize stopping him.  So I'm not sure what point you're even trying to make.

90% conversion rate over the last three years looks pretty unique to me, given that he's the only one in the league doing it.

 
Again, if it's so easy, why is he the only back in the league that's doing it?  Does Miami have a line that's drastically superior to the rest of the league for the last 3 years??

Does Mickey Shuler have big play ability?  How about Dedrick Epps?  Because these are the guys that you are talking about keeping over Polite.

Oh, and in case you were thinking it's Lex Hilliard:  in 2009, Hilliard's stat line on 3rd-and-short was 3 attempts for 2 yards.  That's, um, not the same thing as what Polite does.

No, I was comparing your argument to the virtually identical one that critics of Bettis have put forth over the years.

Bettis was a GREAT player, one of my all-time favorites. In no way am I implying that Polite is even remotely close to his level.

I'm glad Spider's here. 

That is all.

http://espn.go.com/blog/nflnation/post/_/id/32630/need-a-yard-call-rams-not-seahawks  3rd and 1 is not a situation where teams should just be happy to gain 2 yards.  his percentage is not that good (especially since he doesn't get goalline carries)

Yeah, I already posted that link two pages ago.  I am interested in hearing why you would cite that link to support the conclusion that a 2-yard-gain on 3rd-and-1 is not an acceptable goal, given that said link rates teams SOLELY on a pass/fail basis of gaining the first down, and does not factor how many excess yards they gained AT ALL.

Additionally, you seem to cite that link above as "proof" that Polite's percentage is "not that good."  I can only see two reasons why you could infer that:

1) one team in the league (HOU) posted a 94.7% conversion rate with 1 yard to go, which is better than Polite's 93.3% conversion rate with 1 yard to go (meanwhile, thirty-one teams posted a worse rate, and over half the league was worse than 70%)
2) Miami's overall conversion rate was only 70%, which means Polite couldn't have been that good

1) is too absurd to be worth discussing.  So let's talk about 2).

In 2010, on 3rd-and-1 and 4th-and-1, here are the first-down statistics for the Miami Dolphins:

Lou Polite- 14/15, 93.3% conversion rate (link (http://www.miamidolphins.com/content/lousaka-polite))
all other Dolphins combined- 0/5, ZERO PERCENT CONVERSION RATE (Miami was 14/20, according to the link you just posted)

What else needs to be said?

You compared Polite to Bettis....no spinning out of that. No Spin

I compared Polite to Foster.  Who cares?  What does it matter?

If you can compare Mark Sanchez (4-2 playoff record in the last two years) to Tom Brady (0-2 playoff record in the last two years), you can compare Polite to Bettis.  I'm certain that Polite's conversion rate with 1 yard to go is better than Bettis' was at any point.

I don't get some people.  Whenever I see Polite in on short yardage situations I feel it's guaranteed we're converting for the first.  What the hell is not to love about that?  He doesn't run for 80 yards after converting everytime?  He sucks because he only gains 2 yards at a time when teams are expecting run 99.9% of the time?! 

Go be a 2001 Rams fan, please. 

the link i posted was in november, so the whole season wasn't done yet, but great use of polites whole yea numbers to make the rest of the team look bad.  Polite is not a very good blocker, he isn't a pass catching threat and can't carry the football. His 90% conversion rate is not worth starting him over a different fullback when it barely adds 2 extra first downs a year over the league average.

When he's converting those short yardage carries with insane consistency, what is he carrying? A pineapple?

But is it enough to keep him on the roster so he can be placed on the field on thrid and fourth and one?  Is that skill worth a roster spot?  Of coursde it is!

Good point; those stats are through week 12.  So I actually looked through the play-by-play of every Dolphins game last year.  Here are the stats for 3rd/4th-and-1:

wk1- 1/1 (Polite run)
wk2- 2/2 (Polite run)
wk3- 2/2 (Polite run, Henne pass [TD])
wk4- 2/2 (Ricky run, Henne pass)
wk5- bye
wk6- 0/2 (Polite run, Ronnie run)
wk7- 1/2 (Polite run yes, Ronnie run no)
wk8- 2/3 (Henne pass yes, Henne pass no, Polite run yes)
wk9- 1/2 (Ronnie run yes, Henne pass no)
wk10- 2/3 (Polite run yes, Ricky run "yes" [fumble recovered by MIA], Henne pass no [INT])
wk11- 0/0
wk12- 1/1 (Polite run)
wk13- 1/2 (Henne run yes, Henne pass no)
wk14- 1/1 (Polite run)
wk15- 1/2 (Polite run yes, Ronnie run no)
wk16- 3/3 (Polite run)
wk17- 1/1 (Polite run)

So then, let's update those numbers:

Lou Polite- 14/15, 93.3% conversion rate
all other Dolphins combined- 6/13, 46.2% conversion rate

In other words, if you remove Polite's contributions, Miami's conversion rate is among the worst in the league.  That doesn't sound like someone you should be cutting, until you have a proven replacement.

Who is talking about Polite starting?  He doesn't need to start to make the team; he needs to displace a 3rd TE, a 6th WR, a 5th DB, etc.

Oh, and tepop, for all of your talk of Polite's supposed ineffectiveness at the goal line, would you care to guess how many plays Miami ran from the opponent's 1-yard-line in 2010?

That's right, ZERO.

I guess it's his fault that he didn't successfully convert in situations that didn't exist?

I think you've thoroughly invalided their argument Spider-Dan. It's just embarrasing now.

^ But very entertaining.

Plus this -


 :D

We were 2nd behind Houston in 3rd DOWN Coversions????

WHO THE HELL CARES>>>>WE MISSED THE F&*&*^N PLAYOFFS!

WE NEED PLAYMAKERS< NOT 1 or 2 YARD gapmakers.

LJ stays and Polite goes, this staff needs to take some chances and create depth on our RB  squad. 

I swear, some of you are crazy.  Polite has way more value than any one player at the bottom of the roster.  No way we should cut him.

All of you Polite lovers can eat some crow now. He was just cut!

Told ya he had no value!

MikeO, I'm surprised that you take Polite's release as validation, given that (in virtually every OTHER instance) you claim that this front office is completely idiotic and has no clue what they are doing.  I guess the fact that they chose to keep Henne over trading for Orton also proves that Henne is good?

This was a horrible decision by the front office, and will be one more nail in their coffin if Clay turns out to be anything less than the next Lorenzo Neal.

Your comparing a decision on starting QB to a decision on one of the worst FB's in the entire league? Please. Stop spinning this.

Polite sucked. It was clear as day to everyone who could look at this objectively. Just like when everyone here last year though Jason Allen was a good CB and I said otherwise and he was cut a week later as I said he would be. I have been proven right again on Polite.

It's a stretch to say Polite sucked.  On 3rd or 4th and short, it would be a virtual lock that he would get the first down.  That was his specialty.  Unfortunately, his run blocking was sub par and with the direction this team is headed, his services are no longer needed.

He was the 2nd worst blocking FB according to the numbers last year. If our RB's can't pick up one stinkin yard on 3rd and 1.....then we have the WRONG running backs!!

It's dumb to waste a roster spot for the handful of times a year we need to pick up exactly 1 yard or less and those situations.

You all are missing the point here. 6 WR's, 3 RB's and no true FB were kept. Sparano didn't make this decision, Daboll did. Tony is sitting the bench on the offense this year, Daboll is running the show.

Yes, I'm comparing a decision on a player to a decision on a player.

Yep.  Especially you, when you were bashing Sparano for not using Polite in the PIT game. (http://www.thedolphinsmakemecry.com/forums/index.php/topic,17437.msg211723/topicseen.html#msg211723)

But to be fair, since then, he only converted every short-yardage attempt he was given.  You had nothing negative to say about him until he failed to convert ONE attempt in the PRESEASON without Jake Long on the field.

P.S. I do enjoy your bragging about how you were right about Polite being cut, especially since you predicted him to make the team (http://www.thedolphinsmakemecry.com/forums/index.php/topic,18929.msg237912/topicseen.html#msg237912) right after you predicted him not to make the team (http://www.thedolphinsmakemecry.com/forums/index.php/topic,18922.msg237738/topicseen.html#msg237738).  Well, as long as you predict both outcomes, you'll be right every time!

You are all over the map on this one. Seriously what you Polite's godfather or cousin or something? He sucks. Period. The Pitt game, what the F' are you talking about? Just because I wanted his number called once in one game last year doesn't make me a fan of his or give him a job for life. It just means in that one instance on that one play he should have been used.

And your comparison is still silly on every level. Comparing a starting QB to a fullback. It's like comparing the punter to the left tackle. One position is important, one not so much

So the coaches are wrong when they don't follow your personnel recommendations, but when they do, it proves that you're right.  Got it.

And for all the sucking that Polite supposedly does, it's funny that it took you a failed conversion in a PRESEASON GAME to mention anything about it.

once again you are all over the place. Polite sucked all of last year. I was on it then. The "preseason" had nothing to do with it.

The coaches and front office are wrong when they do stupid things. Like Patrick Turner, Pat White, start Jason Allen at CB, move Vernon Carey for Mark Colombo. THOSE ARE STUPID THINGS! Sorry if I call them on it. But when they do GOOD things like cut Polite I give them credit. Credit for the good, blame for the bad. Not a tough concept to understand.

No, you were not.  The only time you mentioned Polite's name all of last year was to complain that he wasn't being used enough.  Do you think I randomly pulled that quote of yours from memory?  I searched for posts by you mentioning Polite.  Prior to this preseason, that was the only time you even mentioned his name.

No, you aren't "giving them credit;" you're saying that their moves prove that you are right.  But when the shoe is on the other foot and they choose not to get Orton, well, of course that doesn't prove that you are wrong... no, that just means that they are being stupid.

You cannot claim the decisions of the front office as the ultimate arbiter of Who Was Right Or Wrong immediately after you bash their decisions as stupid.

GET A LIFE! Seriously.

Seems like you have too much time on your hands and really care a bit too much what my opinion is

CUT THE FUCKING DRAMA FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!!!!!!

 ::)

Landshark is Sparano...I'm convinced after that outburst!

The only difference is, I'd like to pump my fist into Mike O's chest, instead of into the air.  I'm sure a few others would as well.

It only takes a few seconds to use the search function, so I'm sure Spider has plenty of time to make you look stupid and have a life.

Sorry, I have plenty of time to hold you accountable for streams of inconsistent nonsense that you post to this board.

The fact of the matter is, you had nothing but praise for Polite until he failed to convert one PRESEASON run with our best offensive lineman on the sidelines.  You predicted him to both make the team AND get cut.  And when he got cut, not only did you claim credit for "calling it," but you also claimed that the front office's decision proved that you were right... in sharp contrast to all the times that their decisions went directly against what you wanted.

you dislike me so much but you search my posts from last year curious to what I said on players. Sorry if I find that odd

It would be more accurate to say that I know from experience that you have little regard for consistency in expressing your opinion; therefore, when you say something (e.g. "Polite sucked all of last year") that is at odds with my memory, I know what's going to be there before I even click the search button.

Landshark has gone on record of saying he dislikes you pretty much.  Spider has gone on record of searching your posts to validate his argument.  You need to get your facts straight on who posts what instead of generalizing everyone attacking you.

MikeO is always right...didn't you guys get the memo?

Polite did suck last year. Just because I didn't type it everyday doesn't mean it didn't happen. But as always believe what you want

Did anyone else find this statement extremely ironic?

I find it more to be projection. 

Since this thread is completely off topic anyway...

I will say that Mike has been getting better with his comments lately.  Yes, he still throws out the occasional ridiculous overstatement like "Polite sucks".  By no means does Polite suck.  He just wasn't worth the roster spot in many people's opinions.  His run blocking declined last year, but he doesn't "suck" because of it.

Hang in Mike.  And listen to the criticism with a constructive attitude.  I have noticed that you are making less blanket statements and have been more consistent lately.  It is probably good for you.  You got called out on this one and it appears Spider was right about your inconsistency on Polite from last year to this year.  If I were you I would just accept that you weren't consistant and try to be more so next time.  NO BIGGIE!

Sad to see Polite go, but I happen to think it is in the best interest of the team moving forward.  We are moving from an ultra conservative Dan Henning/Parcels regime to a less conservative and occasionally attacking Daboll/Sparano regime.  This was the right move at this point, IMO.

How about NO! I have an opinion. Feel free to disagree. I really don't lose sleep over this stuff guys, hate to break it to ya. If you don't agree with me I could care less.  I don't have to listen to any criticism and learn a damn thing. My attitude is fine. Spider didn't catch me in anything. I didn't talk about Polite much last year because he is a friggin FB and that was the least of our problems. But he was a bad player last year. Sorry if I didn't mention 10,000 times. But looking at our NEW offense, and how we won't use a FB much if at all anymore and especially one who has gotten worse each year and was downright poor last season....he needed to go. And yes he SUCKED last year. It has NOTHING to do with a preseason game either. Where he pulled that one from I have no idea.

And I love how changing ones mind from last year to this year is now called "inconsistency"....first off I didn't change my mind, but if I did, what your not allowed? Players don't get better or worse, so your first thought on them MUST be the thought you have for life about them? That's a damn joke!

No, you didn't mention him 10,000 times... you mentioned him once, and that one instance was to complain that he wasn't being used enough.

It has to do with you having nothing negative to say about him until one missed conversion in a preseason game.  Then suddenly, not only does he suck now, but he has also sucked for some undefined period of time stretching back into the distant past.

I'm not surprised to see that you are puzzled by the concept of consistency.  Let me explain it for you:

If I endorse a player (say, Reggie Bush) today, and after several games of poor play, I decide that I no longer support him, that's fine.  That's "changing your mind."  But what I cannot do is turn around and claim that Reggie Bush has always sucked and that I never wanted him on this team, because that conflicts with my previous statements in the past.  That's what "inconsistency" means.

So yes, it's not-at-all inconsistent for you to change your mind (after, say, one failed preseason conversion) and say that Polite is now useless and needs to be discarded.  I mean, I think it's dumb to completely re-evaluate a player based on one preseason play, but you can change your mind.  But don't try to rewrite history and claim that he's sucked for the last year to try to bolster your argument today.  You didn't say so then, and you aren't exactly shy about calling out the players you dislike.

didn't know I was a politician who had to be "on the record" with my thoughts on all 53 players on the roster at all times.

you dislike me a lot, its clear. Don't get so worked up by my opinions. It's not worth it. You clearly think I am an idiot and a fool, that's cool. I feel the same about you. So don't get worked up over what I say and let it go.

At least people have quit calling it flip flopping now.

You're just itchin' to give someone their walking papers, aren't ya, Professor? ;)

Alright Mike, don't be so touchy.

So, I disagree with your opinion that Polite "sucks".  And in my own "opinion" when I read words like this, I think the writer must either be a moron or immature and without a doubt in denial.

Good luck to you, Mike.  It seems to me that life will be particularly tough to go through with this kind of mentality (opinion).  But at least you sleep well.  ;)  And even though I regularly disagree with your opinions (or at least the extreme nature of them) and I am not particularly in favor of your attitude, I (and I only speak for myself) would still be fine with you sharing your thoughts and I will just ignore them.

Good bye, Mike.  Or rather... goodbye extremely overstated, ridiculous attacking comment making, not well thought out, irritable version of Mike.

Once again an olive branch offered to MikeO is treated as a personal attack.  It would be nice if MikeO would give just 1% of the courtesy that he expects from others.