Joe Thomas says "No" to NFL Commissioner and won't attend draft

And No. 1A would be any college's spring football game.

They're just good excuses to tailgate/drink in the middle of the spring.

 

My thoughts exactly. No problem with him upholding family tradition. Just as no NFL team owes it to Thomas to draft him, he doesn't owe the NFL an appearance when you know he would be thinking about that fishing trip all day.

And yes, this story is overblown.

 

It is overhyped, but it is by far the most important draft in all of professional sports.

You cannot have an "empty" draft and expect to compete in the playoffs 2-3 years down the road. You must get 2-3 starters out of every draft at the minimum.

Look at the Colts: Harrison, Wayne, Petyon, Addai and the list goes on. They were all drafted by the Colts. I know it is overhyped, but it is still a very, very important day for NFL teams and their fans.

That said, I love that he is going fishing. It's a lot better that seeing his entourage (I'm guessing he does not even have one) all dressed up in new, tacky clothes.

Can anyone name the last NFL team to win a Super Bowl with a team consisting totally of self-drafted players? Not one player who wore the team's uniform at the Super Bowl had ever worn another team's jersey.

 

Agreed, Thomas can take a page from the NFL's playbook however and ask for an appearance fee.

 

ESPN can't broadcast baseball games but we can get 24/7 coverage of Mel Kiper on the couch. I wanna chuck my TV out the window every time I see his hairness.

National signing day is almost as bad, BTW. Almost.

Good for Thomas. As has been noted, he's not been paid a dime yet by the NFL. Why should he be beholden to Goodell?

 

I would go fishing every time.

But I wonder how coaches feel about having such an "independent thinker"/potential clubhouse lawyer on the team with that fifth pick.

 

What Hendry said.

 

Considering the NFL's current image problems and its dealings with Pacman Jones and Chris Henry, you'd think the league would find it refreshing that one of its top-five picks is going fishing with his father on draft day and keeping some family tradition alive.

 

93 Devil -- I think I saw a trivia question about the last team completely built through the draft and if I'm not mistaken it was one of those 1970's Steelers teams, maybe like 1976 ot 78.

That's a great question though.

 

This is the correct answer.

 

Well said, grampy...

The NFL will have enough time to dominate and consume his life... it's one of the last chances to be a person.
And being on site has developed into a draft day tradition of the wrong kind... watch some kid sit and sweat as he drops from 1st to second to third round....

 

Saves everyone from looking at another guy in a bad suit, and saves us from the ridiculous photos of the draftee holding up a uniform wearing a cap. Until he signs, he doesn't owe the NFL anything.

Good for him. Sounds like a nice tradition with his pops. But they better not tell anyone where their fishing hole is or they'll be 15-20 reporters and people with minicams hounding them all day.