Tompa Bay: Tom Tom club

jezza1918

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Jul 19, 2005
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He’s old.

My grandmother still texts me with “Hi hunny it’s Nana.” even though we’ve been texting for years.
A 70 year old family friend who sometimes texts me for tennis lessons ends his texts with his full name like a signature. I've known him since I was 3.
I don't know who to fully believe...but I do believe that Arians is reaping what he sowed. And I'm here for the drama.
 

E5 Yaz

Transcends message boarding
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AB, this is BA, FYI TB wants you in TB for a game TBA. OK AB? — BA
 

boca

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Jul 31, 2006
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AB, BA here. WFT in TB at the W/E. U OK to play?

WTF you talking about BA?
 

joe dokes

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He’s old.

My grandmother still texts me with “Hi hunny it’s Nana.” even though we’ve been texting for years.
Fair enough. But we have a pretty old coach right here in NE. BB is not BA, but if that was an alleged text exchange between BB and a player, I'd be suspicious.
 

Mystic Merlin

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My dad still starts voicemails with "Hi, this is your dad calling"

(and actually leaves a message about 30-60 seconds long)
I got a ‘Hi Richard this is your dad’ (Stern fans will get it) flashback from this.

Anyways, I wouldn’t be surprised if the texts are bullshit, but not because a 70 year old man introduces himself in the text.
 

NickEsasky

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Fair enough. But we have a pretty old coach right here in NE. BB is not BA, but if that was an alleged text exchange between BB and a player, I'd be suspicious.
Brandon Spikes recently shared some texts with Belichick and Bill signs off his texts with BB so it's not totally outlandish.
 

mattrobot

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Jul 16, 2005
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Fair enough. But we have a pretty old coach right here in NE. BB is not BA, but if that was an alleged text exchange between BB and a player, I'd be suspicious.
Brandon Spikes on Twitter had a screenshot text exchange with BB and does have a bit of a "Sincerely, Raymond Holt" vibe to it.

For those who can't see the tweet, sample message from Bill: "thanks for the b-day wishes. Sorry to be so far behind on my texts. Best, BB"
 

soxhop411

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Dec 4, 2009
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I got a ‘Hi Richard this is your dad’ (Stern fans will get it) flashback from this.

Anyways, I wouldn’t be surprised if the texts are bullshit, but not because a 70 year old man introduces himself in the text.
thats my dad as well, he also frequently types in all caps and ends texts with !!!!!!!!!! and ?????????
 

SumnerH

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Jul 18, 2005
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Yea, not to pile on here but people finding it suspicious Arians would text like that clearly don't text much with older folks.
In my experience, older folks are the only ones who do use correct* spelling and grammar in texts most of the time. But the all-caps is unsurprising.

*Well, traditional. There's a good case to be made that text-speak is a new dialect with its own rules of correctness.
 

Bowhemian

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Nov 10, 2015
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Any SOSHers get a screen shot of AB's account and routing numbers before he took them down? Asking for a friend.

This morning is like extended Christmas.
NFL Memes facebook page has it from Daily Snark, whoever that is. Here is a screen grab. Have fun shopping.
48051
 

Smiling Joe Hesketh

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Admittedly Shefter is carrying the water for the team here but this hardly surprises me at all.

This is the way I think it went down:

AB had incentives to meet, after the team had refused to guarantee them. He's hurt but plays in order to meet those incentives. He's not getting the ball so he's getting upset. After the half he tells Arians he can't go in for a drive (either because his ankle is killing him or he figures he won't be getting the ball or both). Arians says ok you're out for the game. And AB does what AB does: blow up.
 

radsoxfan

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Aug 9, 2009
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Anything is possible but I’m in the camp that he never plays again in the NFL.

First and foremost, without Brady and Tampa, it’s quite possible he never got another shot before this all happened. I don’t recall much interest before he signed in Tampa or this offseason. Even Tampa only did it because of Brady.

When you start making accusations about the team, publishing personal texts etc, I just don’t see how any team would deal with him ever again.

He’s obviously still talented but he’s not THAT good. Plus, according to him, he has an arthritic ankle that’s been extremely painful. Surgery maybe temporarily limit the symptoms but that’s not going away.

Adios AB.
 

ColdSoxPack

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Jul 14, 2005
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How can the team inject his ankle with a painkiller and the team has no idea he is hurt at the same time? From The Athletic:

"Because of my commitment to the game, I relented to pressure directly from my coach to play injured. Despite the pain, I suited up, the staff injected me with what I now know was a powerful and sometimes dangerous painkiller that the NFLPA has warned against using, and I gave it my all for the team," Brown wrote in a statement. "I played until it was clear that I could not use my ankle to safely perform my playing responsibilities. On top of that, the pain was extreme."
 

Euclis20

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Anything is possible but I’m in the camp that he never plays again in the NFL.

First and foremost, without Brady and Tampa, it’s quite possible he never got another shot before this all happened. I don’t recall much interest before he signed in Tampa or this offseason. Even Tampa only did it because of Brady.

When you start making accusations about the team, publishing personal texts etc, I just don’t see how any team would deal with him ever again.

He’s obviously still talented but he’s not THAT good. Plus, according to him, he has an arthritic ankle that’s been extremely painful. Surgery maybe temporarily limit the symptoms but that’s not going away.

Adios AB.
Yeah I think he's done. When on the field his numbers are still very, very good (over his last 16 regular season games dating back to the start of 2019, he's had 91 catches for 1,084 yards and 9 TDs). There isn't a team in the league that couldn't use that production, but he's now shot his way off of 4 teams in 4 years. He'd need prime Randy Moss numbers for a team to bother taking a chance at this point.
 

sonofgodcf

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Jul 17, 2005
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The toilet.
Yeah I think he's done. When on the field his numbers are still very, very good (over his last 16 regular season games dating back to the start of 2019, he's had 91 catches for 1,084 yards and 9 TDs). There isn't a team in the league that couldn't use that production, but he's now shot his way off of 4 teams in 4 years. He'd need prime Randy Moss numbers for a team to bother taking a chance at this point.
Obviously a much different reason for his multiple suspensions, but Gordon has gotten tons of chances while being a far inferior talent to AB. I'll be shocked if he doesn't do some sort of phantom suspension/commissioner's list for half a season before returning (if not sooner).

Quitting on a team is a terrible look, but this is a league that employs Tyreek Hill and will likely see someone trade real capital for Watson. Unless his ankle is beyond repair, AB is a lock to play again.
 

Preacher

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Smiling Joe Hesketh

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If Shefty's reports of AB asking the team to guarantee his incentives are true, then Arians' comments do make sense to me.

AB stood to earn about $2 million in incentives if he got the ball a lot over the last couple of games. AB's hurt and isn't getting the ball/isn't getting open to get the ball. AB gets agitated and demands more targets. 2nd half begins, the targets don't materialize, AB does his usual thing and acts up, and BA blows up at him. AB leaves the field.

None of this is remotely a surprise.
 

Mystic Merlin

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Yeah I think he's done. When on the field his numbers are still very, very good (over his last 16 regular season games dating back to the start of 2019, he's had 91 catches for 1,084 yards and 9 TDs). There isn't a team in the league that couldn't use that production, but he's now shot his way off of 4 teams in 4 years. He'd need prime Randy Moss numbers for a team to bother taking a chance at this point.
He’s also increasingly unreliable from a physical standpoint, as are almost all positive players entering their mid 30s. Teams signing him have to be prepared for him to drop off the face of the earth at any time, whether due to injury or AB doing AB things. And if you can’t count on him, it means you better not premise your offensive roster construction strategy on him being there for you. Which in turn raises the risk he sees, when healthy, fewer targets because you have a very talented WR room that leads to him having a shitfit.

Fuck that noise.
 

Justthetippett

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Aug 9, 2015
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Obviously a much different reason for his multiple suspensions, but Gordon has gotten tons of chances while being a far inferior talent to AB. I'll be shocked if he doesn't do some sort of phantom suspension/commissioner's list for half a season before returning (if not sooner).

Quitting on a team is a terrible look, but this is a league that employs Tyreek Hill and will likely see someone trade real capital for Watson. Unless his ankle is beyond repair, AB is a lock to play again.
This is probably true. I also wouldn't be shocked if he plays in this postseason for someone like the LAR. It's also probably true that his next stint with a team will be short and end badly. So...round and round we go.
 

DJnVa

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Dec 16, 2010
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This is probably true. I also wouldn't be shocked if he plays in this postseason for someone like the LAR. It's also probably true that his next stint with a team will be short and end badly. So...round and round we go.
Rams have Kupp and OBJ. No way they bring in AB.

That said...

He's at Logan!

48052
 

sonofgodcf

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Jul 17, 2005
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The toilet.
I'd be surprised if he made it back this year, but if so, Dallas and KC seem the likeliest spots.

If Shefty's reports of AB asking the team to guarantee his incentives are true, then Arians' comments do make sense to me.

AB stood to earn about $2 million in incentives if he got the ball a lot over the last couple of games. AB's hurt and isn't getting the ball/isn't getting open to get the ball. AB gets agitated and demands more targets. 2nd half begins, the targets don't materialize, AB does his usual thing and acts up, and BA blows up at him. AB leaves the field.

None of this is remotely a surprise.
What's crazy is he only need 8 catches ($333,333), 55yds ($333,333) and a TD ($333,333) to make a million in incentives. Before his meltdown, he had 5 targets in the Jets game. Unless his ankle really is done, he would have been a lock to hit at least receptions and yards. I'm starting to think he may not be great at math.
 

joe dokes

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If Shefty's reports of AB asking the team to guarantee his incentives are true, then Arians' comments do make sense to me.

AB stood to earn about $2 million in incentives if he got the ball a lot over the last couple of games. AB's hurt and isn't getting the ball/isn't getting open to get the ball. AB gets agitated and demands more targets. 2nd half begins, the targets don't materialize, AB does his usual thing and acts up, and BA blows up at him. AB leaves the field.

None of this is remotely a surprise.
He went to Arians because if he went to the QB and demanded the ball, the QB would have kicked his ass. So he went to the old man instead.
 

johnmd20

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As noted, AB had 5 targets in a half and change. That is not a bad amount of usage. AB is just out of his mind, obviously.
 

Deathofthebambino

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Apr 12, 2005
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Obviously a much different reason for his multiple suspensions, but Gordon has gotten tons of chances while being a far inferior talent to AB. I'll be shocked if he doesn't do some sort of phantom suspension/commissioner's list for half a season before returning (if not sooner).

Quitting on a team is a terrible look, but this is a league that employs Tyreek Hill and will likely see someone trade real capital for Watson. Unless his ankle is beyond repair, AB is a lock to play again.
Completely disagree with any comparison to Gordon and even Tyreek (who I fucking hate). Those guys have never, ever come out and publicly ripped their coaches, their teammates, their organizations. Josh Gordon is a guy who just can't get himself right vis a vis drug use, and we all know Tyreek's problem, but AB has shot his way out of Pittsburgh, Oakland, New England and Tampa. He had the GOAT literally openly helping him in two of those locations, and couldn't finish a season in either place. He's a locker room cancer, he's not healthy (according to him) and he has no problem airing dirty laundry. This is the fucking guy that was videotaping Tomlin in real time in the locker room. He got caught using a fake vaccination card because he didn't pay his chef 10k...The list is endless with him.

I think the next time we hear about AB will be in some pretty fucking tragic fashion, and I hope the only person he hurts when it does happen is himself.
 

Sox and Rocks

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I mean, how this situation went down is surprising. But why it went down isn't (SJH nails it above). And that AB went AB and then blamed others is the least surprising thing ever.

I hope I never see him on an NFL field again. He's the ultimate cancer. BA and AB deserved each other, and they both deserve this.
 

MyDaughterLovesTomGordon

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Jun 26, 2006
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It’s fine. I’ve provided extremely infrequent HIPAA legal advice to covered entities during the course of my career and I generally have to look everything up each time and double check my memos/emails for correct acronym usage throughout.
I prefer "a baby hippo dies every time someone types hippa" to remember.
 

snowmanny

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Dec 8, 2005
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[/QUOTE]
Skip Bayless had the thing about the targets days ago, he said he got the info from a friend of AB’s. Supposedly AB went to TB12 and said something like “you’re going back to your boy now (referencing Gronk)”
TB said something along the lines of “you’ve got to be kidding”

edit to be clear this was during the game
 

sonofgodcf

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Jul 17, 2005
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The toilet.
Completely disagree with any comparison to Gordon and even Tyreek (who I fucking hate). Those guys have never, ever come out and publicly ripped their coaches, their teammates, their organizations. Josh Gordon is a guy who just can't get himself right vis a vis drug use, and we all know Tyreek's problem, but AB has shot his way out of Pittsburgh, Oakland, New England and Tampa. He had the GOAT literally openly helping him in two of those locations, and couldn't finish a season in either place. He's a locker room cancer, he's not healthy (according to him) and he has no problem airing dirty laundry. This is the fucking guy that was videotaping Tomlin in real time in the locker room. He got caught using a fake vaccination card because he didn't pay his chef 10k...The list is endless with him.

I think the next time we hear about AB will be in some pretty fucking tragic fashion, and I hope the only person he hurts when it does happen is himself.
Pretty much all of this was true about AB going into last year though, and yet he still signed with TB (after Arians had flatly stated he'd never be a Buc) and was a meaningful contributor to a SB winning team. I find it hard to believe that he was much of a locker room cancer when they decided to bring him back this year; especially the second time post vax-BS.

I imagine that there are at least a few teams that look at him like the Pats did with Legarrette Blount - just because it didn't work with one team doesn't mean another won't think they can fix/work with him. If you can help a team win, that's all that matters and he is still an undeniable talent.

That said, I'm right with you on AB. Fuck him and more importantly, fuck Tyreek Hill.
 

DJnVa

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Dec 16, 2010
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Skip Bayless had the thing about the targets days ago, he said he got the info from a friend of AB’s. Supposedly AB went to TB12 and said something like “you’re going back to your boy now (referencing Gronk)”
TB said something along the lines of “you’ve got to be kidding”

edit to be clear this was during the game
Mind you, in the last game, AB had 15 targets and Gronk had 2 and that AB averages more targets per game than Gronk does.

Targets/game:

Godwin: 9.1
AB: 8.9
Gronk: 7.2
Evans: 7.1