It's not Harbs, It's not Cam, It's not Mattison...It's Gaither.

[Jeremiah W]

This way:

I don't know what happened. I blame Gaither.

Why? Because in my workplace, the people who have a string of mystery ailments are the people who don't want to be there. I haven't seen or heard anything about Gaither that makes me think his situation is different.

This isn't a court of law, he's not entitled to the benefit of any doubt. I know in my life experience the people who have a history of loafing & develop a string of mystery ailments don't want to work and won't get better.

Your mileage may vary.

I do not know where you work, but I bet thee is not anyone out there physically trying to stop you from doing your job the entire time you are trying to do it.

It really does not make any sense to fake an injury, and with all the medical examinations they do it is almost impossible.

We all saw Gaither go out there and play with one arm, and play without the ability to turn his head.

His lazy rep from UMD that dropped him in the draft stuck, but there is no way he would have been able to take over the LT positon and play at a high level if he was still lazy.

Maybe he was upset about his contract situation, but it was never in his best interest to fake injury. He would have been better off just holding out, which he has a right to do.

I stopped playing football because a kid broke his neck in my final game and had to get taken away in a helicopter. As much fun as it is to play, the risk vs reward ratio as to be right to be worth it.

That said, I seriously doubt there was any faking of injury with Gaither or any lazy stuff happening. Your work place really does not compare at all, even if you are a pro athlete in another sport.

[Kyle Cactus]

The answer is right there in front of us. Of the top 10 rushing teams, here is where they stand.
1. KC - Leads their division at 8-4
2. Jacksonville - Leads their division at 7-5
3. Oakland - 2nd at 6-6
4. New York Jets - 9-3 in 2nd but should easily win a wild card spot
5. Philadelphia - 8-4 and tied for a division lead
6. NY Giants - 8-4 and tied for a division lead
7. Houston 5-7 - Being 29th in defense is hurting their cause
8. Minnesota - 5-7 - Injuries and Farve killed them early on. Playing better now.
9. Atlanta - 10 - Leading their division
10. Pittsburgh - 9-3 Leading their division.

Of these 10 teams, 6 are either leading or tied for the division and another (Jets) are currently 9-3 and have a lock on the WC.

The same cannot be said for the top 10 passing teams. Only the Eagles (tied for the lead), Saints and Packers have a winning record. As now do the Colts after lasts night game. The others are .500 or below including the 3-9 Broncos, 4-8 Cowboys, 2-10 Lions, 5-7 Skins and Texans.

Watch out here for correlation vs. causation. Teams that lose frequently, tend to throw a lot at the end of games to come from behind, and teams that win frequently tend to run a lot at the end of games to protect a lead. There may actually be a "causation" effect in the opposite direction. Losing causes you to have to throw more, and winning makes it preferable to run more.

It may very well be the case that running teams are more succesfull, but I think you'd need a different stat to show that. Yards per run play and yards per pass play vs W-L record. Or rushing yards and passing yards in the first 2 or 3 quarters to control for the pass-when-losing/rush-when-winning effect at the end of games.

[festivus]

You read the tea leaves your way, I'll read them mine. There are lots of unkonwns & it appears my life experience has led me to have a greater willingness to doubt Mr. Gaither's work ethic.

What you went through sounds horrifying, but not relevant.

Here is Jared Gaither of the University of Maryland. Mr. Gaither has a reputation for being lazy and having an attitude problem but also appears to have lots of talent. Are the rumors true? Maybe.

Mr. Gaither has some success as a LT in the NFL. Rumors circulate that Mr. Gaither may be in "the Program." There comes a time when it appears Mr. Gaither may not make big time LT money. Mr. Gaither, under contract, suddenly develops a string of injuries which are mysterious to the universe of sports medicine.

Lazy & with an attitude problem? Or just unlucky?

You look at that and you aren't suspicious. God bless you, I wish the world were full of people who want to think so well of their fellow man. Me, I'm suspicious.

[Jeremiah W]

You read the tea leaves your way, I'll read them mine. There are lots of unkonwns & it appears my life experience has led me to have a greater willingness to doubt Mr. Gaither's work ethic.

What you went through sounds horrifying, but not relevant.

Here is Jared Gaither of the University of Maryland. Mr. Gaither has a reputation for being lazy and having an attitude problem but also appears to have lots of talent. Are the rumors true? Maybe.

Mr. Gaither has some success as a LT in the NFL. Rumors circulate that Mr. Gaither may be in "the Program." There comes a time when it appears Mr. Gaither may not make big time LT money. Mr. Gaither, under contract, suddenly develops a string of injuries which are mysterious to the universe of sports medicine.

Lazy & with an attitude problem? Or just unlucky?

You look at that and you aren't suspicious. God bless you, I wish the world were full of people who want to think so well of their fellow man. Me, I'm suspicious.

I was suspicious at first, but I do not think a doctor would put his rep on the line and document the injury if it was fake. There really is not much mystery about the injury. He has a thorasic disk injury. Whatever that is, it is a disk in his back that caused him a lot of pain.

[festivus]

Pain? Hmm. Wonder how much it hurts on a scale of 1 - 10.

I guess we're lucky he's the only guy on our team with a hurting back.

Honestly, JW, this is not something I'm likely to be persuaded on, so feel free to keep making points & I'll read them with interest but I'm not likely going to change my mind. Perhaps some of our readers will, of course.

[Jeremiah W]

Pain? Hmm. Wonder how much it hurts on a scale of 1 - 10.

I guess we're lucky he's the only guy on our team with a hurting back.

Honestly, JW, this is not something I'm likely to be persuaded on, so feel free to keep making points & I'll read them with interest but I'm not likely going to change my mind. Perhaps some of our readers will, of course.

Fair enough. It is mostly speculation on both sides of this debate, but like I said Gaither did have a back specialist verify the injury.

[jonboy79]

You read the tea leaves your way, I'll read them mine. There are lots of unkonwns & it appears my life experience has led me to have a greater willingness to doubt Mr. Gaither's work ethic.

What you went through sounds horrifying, but not relevant.

Here is Jared Gaither of the University of Maryland. Mr. Gaither has a reputation for being lazy and having an attitude problem but also appears to have lots of talent. Are the rumors true? Maybe.

Mr. Gaither has some success as a LT in the NFL. Rumors circulate that Mr. Gaither may be in "the Program." There comes a time when it appears Mr. Gaither may not make big time LT money. Mr. Gaither, under contract, suddenly develops a string of injuries which are mysterious to the universe of sports medicine.

Lazy & with an attitude problem? Or just unlucky?

You look at that and you aren't suspicious. God bless you, I wish the world were full of people who want to think so well of their fellow man. Me, I'm suspicious.

I don't find the team innocent in this matter.

How would you like it if your boss demoted you and gave your job to somone that was not as capable as you, for apparenty no reason.
Worse then that, simply by doing so he reduced your lifetime annual earnings by a reasonably large quantity.
Again, this is someone that only got your job because the coaches like him better.

Whether you see it that way or not, It is very reasonable to think this is how Gaither views the situation. Why would he put his career on the line for a team that has no interest in his future beyond this year. Players are a commodity to teams, and Gaither was treated as such.

[festivus]

Yeah, I get that he has a legitimate beef with the Ravens after the way it all played out.

What can I say, I side with management, at least in this case. He has a contract & had an opportunity to man up & make the best of it, instead he chose to sit on the sideline nursing his bruised ego.

I hear you, though.

[Ravenjohn2000]

Watch out here for correlation vs. causation. Teams that lose frequently, tend to throw a lot at the end of games to come from behind, and teams that win frequently tend to run a lot at the end of games to protect a lead. There may actually be a "causation" effect in the opposite direction. Losing causes you to have to throw more, and winning makes it preferable to run more.

It may very well be the case that running teams are more succesfull, but I think you'd need a different stat to show that. Yards per run play and yards per pass play vs W-L record. Or rushing yards and passing yards in the first 2 or 3 quarters to control for the pass-when-losing/rush-when-winning effect at the end of games.

Agreed..obviously stats never tell the whole story. However I do believe that being through 12 games into a 16 game schedule, that this is a pretty good indication. Also with the way the league is (parody), most games are close. Therefore I don't buy into that teams throw more because that are behind in the 4th qrt or run because that are up. What % of games are actually blow-outs? or decided by more than 2 scores?

I am pretty sure that history will show that good running teams tend to not only get into the playoffs more often than throwing teams but advance farther as well.

One of the best ever in Manning has made the playoffs 8 or 9 times and in 4 or 5 of those, was 1 and done. Where as Pittsburgh with a good defense and run game has rarely gone the 1 and route.

I understand that its just not about running and that it has to be efficent but history shows that its tough to win when your at the bottom in rushing yards.

[Kyle Cactus]

Agreed..obviously stats never tell the whole story. However I do believe that being through 12 games into a 16 game schedule, that this is a pretty good indication. Also with the way the league is (parody), most games are close. Therefore I don't buy into that teams throw more because that are behind in the 4th qrt or run because that are up. What % of games are actually blow-outs? or decided by more than 2 scores?

The best teams in the league will still generally have some lopsided games, especailly against bad teams. I also think this effect can still come into play in closer games, it just won't be pronounced. It's difficult to evaluate the magnitude of this effect without really digging into the stats.

I am pretty sure that history will show that good running teams tend to not only get into the playoffs more often than throwing teams but advance farther as well.

One of the best ever in Manning has made the playoffs 8 or 9 times and in 4 or 5 of those, was 1 and done. Where as Pittsburgh with a good defense and run game has rarely gone the 1 and route.

I understand that its just not about running and that it has to be efficent but history shows that its tough to win when your at the bottom in rushing yards.

Definitely agree. I don't know if this has to do with a seasonal effect (colder weather) or the fact that you're just playing better teams in the playoffs, but teams that have trouble rushing tend to struggle in the playoffs. Obviously there are exceptions, but I think it generally holds true.

So the Ravens may have to rely on stout defense once again to win games in the playoffs. I don't see the running game turning aroung. I hope I'm wrong about that.