How Does Character Count in the NFL?

With the Marshawn Lynch situation dominating the headlines the last two weeks, there's been plenty of talk about the Bills players and their "character." It got me thinking that character is wide-ranging word, and it needs some definition.

Lynch's alleged crime on Chippewa has him now lumped together with James Hardy, Anthony Hargrove and Roscoe Parrish, all Bills who have had legal or league issues the past year. In most cases, they're being called players with bad character and there's a cry that the Bills are not longer concerned with the character of their players.

But what do we mean by character? If he was driving, did Lynch do a stupid thing? Of course. Is he a bad guy? Having covered him the past year, I don't think so. He's not a problem in the locker room. His teammates seem to like him. His coaches like him, and respect that he plays hard. Does one careless act make him a bad "character" guy?

Anthony Hargrove had problems with the law, and also failed two NFL drug tests. He was also one of the better-liked players in the room. He was always singing and joking with his teamates.

I don't know Hardy that well, but he has faced the media regarding some of his past issues. Word from his hometown of Ft. Wayne, IN is that he's a good guy who was raised in an enviroment of gangs, ghettos and a broken home. His coaches at Indiana had high praise for him. So is he a bad guy? Because he carries a gun, is he a character-risk? I would think that guns are prevalent in the enviroment where Hardy comes from.

I'm not sticking up for these guys. NFL players are held to a higher standard, and they should know how to live up to those standards. But these are also young men with lots of fame and money. Sometimes that can lead to bad decisions.

The Bills have no players like Chris Henry or Pacman Jones. Those are the current bad characters of the NFL. Every team has had some players in some form of trouble. That doesn't make it right, but it makes it part of the game.

I once had a coach tell me you can't win with a team full of scholar-athletes and Boy Scouts. Its an agressive game that demands agressive, on-the-edge people.

Teams want talented players they can count on. Sometimes that means taking risks. If those risks can't be counted on, they won't be on the team for very long. I don't believe the Bills have opened the door to every bad guy in the NFL. They do extensive homework, but they also sometimes fall in love with talent, and overlook the shortcomings.

How do you define character? Is it mean everything about a player? Does a mistake make a player a bad character? I welcome your comments.

More Scary Quotes from Toronto

The entry below on the Bills in Toronto contains some quotes from Phil Lind, the Vice Chairman of Rogers Communications. There were more from the media event in Toronto. This time, Mr. Lind is even more definitive on the possibility (eventuality?) of the Bills splitting their home games between Buffalo and Toronto.

He told the National Post "I think over time there will be more, yes." The article was titled "Toronto may see more Bills games."

There are also quotes from Eric County Executive Chris Collins and former County Executive Joel Giambra. Collins seems willing to share the Bills with Toronto. Giambra speaks as if its a good idea.

"Its an hour-and-a-half away. Its not like you have to get in a plane to go there," says Giambra. Way to go Joel, way to up that popularity ranking.

If you can remove the emotion. does this make sense to you? Would you remain a Bills fan if it happened? Is it better and more tolerable than the Bills moving to say, Los Angeles?

I look forward to hearing your comments.

More NFL Reality

A pair of news stories the past two days struck me as more examples of the NFL's new reality: Money rules all. Its a reality we're all dealing with in Buffalo, as we worry about the city's ability to keep the team.

Tuesday, the team had a media event in the Rogers Centre. Donte Whitner was there to unveil the new logo, interact with some young Canadien football players, and promote the upcoming games. The announcement came that 90% of the standard tickets for the next three Bills games up North are already sold. That leaves only VIP packages that range in price from $350 to $575 per ticket per game. Wow. Choke on those prices for second. The moving of 8 games to Toronto is a good thing for the current Bills, based on the influx of cash. But there's now no question that Toronto is interested and ready for the NFL. They can certainly afford even standard prices that are more than double those in Buffalo.

Plus, in a series of articles about the Bills and NFL in Canada, published in the National Post, Rogers Communications Vice-Chairman Phil Lind was asked about the possibiliyt of Buffalo & Toronto one day splitting the home schedule. His answer, said with a smile, "That's a very good suggestion."

Monday, I saw this item about the new Giants-Jets Meadowlands Stadium under construction. MetLife has signed on to be one of five sponsors for the stadium, at a reported $10-15 million a year. That's for just one of five stadium sponsors. So that means, at least, the teams will split $50-75 million a year for sponsor rights. That's in addition to another $20 million from one of those companies for the actual stadium naming rights. The Bills likely couldn't get a stadium naming rights deal for as much as MetLife will play for one of the entrances. Just another example of the growing disparity in NFL revenues, and another reason why it will be difficult for Buffalo to compete.