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ORIGINAL: thebigo

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ORIGINAL: marty

There was a time when people who thought the earth was round, or that it revolved around the sun, were thought of as crazy.

Let's just say there is quite a bit we currently do NOT understand about certain energies, and the mind, and the subconscious mind (assuming there IS such a thing).

Do we know anything about the unconscious mind?

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ORIGINAL: marty

Exhibit 9887: Clay Matthews.

Aaron Rodgers and Clay Matthews get HUGE contracts before the season. After a 1-2 start, during the bye, there was media speculation locally (in Wisconsin) that maybe the Packers shouldn't have poured so much money on Rodgers and Matthews leaving them unable to sign anyone else in FA, putting all their marbles in the draft. Maybe they were getting too draft reliant, and not doing enough to fill their holes.

Game 4, Matthews allows himself to get hurt, so instead of being a selfish, greedy, underperforming football player, he is once again a hero. 'Oh dear, how long will he be out ? How will the Packers ever be able to win without him ?'

It wouldn't surprise me if, like Peterson, Matthews comes back and plays stronger than ever. Matthews playing at his best, could REALLY be a beast. Either that, or he comes back and gets hurt again.

Also, maybe like Calvin Johnson knowing his Lions were going to lose at GB, Matthews was figuring GB was likely to lose at Baltimore next week.

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ORIGINAL: marty

Marty - why on earth would Hoyer want to get knocked out for the year? The Browns have been looking really good and might have a shot at some post season success? Why would he want to intentionally miss out on that?

GREAT question Lynn, and I think the BigO might have come up with a very good answer. If Weeden came back and didn't do well, Hoyer gets a good contract based on being near perfect the time he was in there. And maybe he didn't think he could keep it up. Right now, he's a hero.

Or maybe, Hoyer really thinks of himself as a backup, and really felt it was better for the team if Weeden was playing and got the credit for the team winning. Maybe he likes Weeden and didn't want Weeden slighted, or having the fan base against Weeden playing, so Hoyer allows himself to get hurt so Weeden can get back in there at a time when the team is playing well.

Or, there could be OTHER reasons. When you're dealing with such a fringe theory (I realize it as such), it's hard to back it up with solid evidence, or even solid speculation as you can't really get inside peoples' heads to see if there is something behind it.

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ORIGINAL: marty

Why would Matthews think they are going to lose at Baltimore? It's not like the Ravens are some kind of juggernaut

Maybe just going to Baltimore, he figured the Pack were likely to lose there to the SB champs. Or maybe that didn't play into at all. Maybe the timing just felt right for a little time off, time off where he becomes the missed hero, then after the injury he comes back and plays like a beast so nobody questions or complains about his huge contract.

Scott, there ARE some guys who really don't mind being a backup QB. They sit on the bench and make a good sum of money. They sometimes defer to another QB that is thought of as the team leader, and don't really want to make any waves. They just prefer being helpful in the backup role.

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ORIGINAL: Stacey King

A Shockingly Small Amount Of Money From Pink NFL Merchandise Sales Goes To Breast Cancer Research

It's October and the NFL is once again covered head-to-toe in pink accessories and equipment as part of the league's Breast Cancer Awareness initiative.

While fans can also purchase pink clothing and accessories to support the cause, a shockingly small amount of the fans' money is actually going towards cancer research.

According to data obtained from the NFL by Darren Rovell of ESPN, the NFL "takes a 25% royalty from the wholesale price (1/2 retail), donates 90% of royalty to American Cancer Society."

In other words, for every $100 in pink merchandise sold, $12.50 goes to the NFL. Of that, $11.25 goes to the American Cancer Society (ACS) and the NFL keeps the rest. The remaining money is then divided up by the company that makes the merchandise (37.5%) and the company that sells the merchandise (50.0%), which is often the NFL and the individual teams.

Then consider that only 71.2% of money the ACS receives goes towards research and cancer programs.

In the end, after everybody has taken their cut, only 8.01% of money spent on pink NFL merchandise is actually going towards cancer research.

According to the NFL, any money they take in, that is not donated to ACS, is used to cover the costs of their breast cancer awareness program, "A Crucial Catch." The NFL also told Business Insider they donated approximately $1 million per year to the ACS in the first three years of the program.

Still, there are unanswered questions about where the money is going and who is profiting.

The most popular place to purchase pink merchandise is at the NFL's online shop, official team stores, and at the stadiums. In these cases, the NFL and the individual teams are acting as the retailer.

It is unclear how much of the 50% markup for items being sold directly by the NFL and the teams is going to the ACS, if any at all.

Of course, in addition to money, the NFL is also raising awareness for breast cancer and it is hard to put a value on that.

If fans want to show support for their team and for breast cancer awareness, that is great. But if the point is to actually help fight cancer, fans would have a much bigger impact if they skipped the NFL and donated directly to the ACS or other organizations working to fight cancer.

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ORIGINAL: Trekgeekscott

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ORIGINAL: marty

Why would Matthews think they are going to lose at Baltimore? It's not like the Ravens are some kind of juggernaut

Maybe just going to Baltimore, he figured the Pack were likely to lose there to the SB champs. Or maybe that didn't play into at all. Maybe the timing just felt right for a little time off, time off where he becomes the missed hero, then after the injury he comes back and plays like a beast so nobody questions or complains about his huge contract.

Scott, there ARE some guys who really don't mind being a backup QB. They sit on the bench and make a good sum of money. They sometimes defer to another QB that is thought of as the team leader, and don't really want to make any waves. They just prefer being helpful in the backup role.

Most of those guys that don't mind being backups have had their chance to start and most likely failed.  or are veterans that were ok, but didn't shine and are happy to mentor a younger guy or some veterans just hanging on to the dream for one more year etc.  They are not the Hoyers of the world that worked their butts off to get to the point of starting and are showing success leading a team.  It makes no sense that Hoyer would want to abandon his lifelong dream after just a couple games.

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ORIGINAL: Stacey King

A Shockingly Small Amount Of Money From Pink NFL Merchandise Sales Goes To Breast Cancer Research

It's October and the NFL is once again covered head-to-toe in pink accessories and equipment as part of the league's Breast Cancer Awareness initiative.

While fans can also purchase pink clothing and accessories to support the cause, a shockingly small amount of the fans' money is actually going towards cancer research.

According to data obtained from the NFL by Darren Rovell of ESPN, the NFL "takes a 25% royalty from the wholesale price (1/2 retail), donates 90% of royalty to American Cancer Society."

In other words, for every $100 in pink merchandise sold, $12.50 goes to the NFL. Of that, $11.25 goes to the American Cancer Society (ACS) and the NFL keeps the rest. The remaining money is then divided up by the company that makes the merchandise (37.5%) and the company that sells the merchandise (50.0%), which is often the NFL and the individual teams.

Then consider that only 71.2% of money the ACS receives goes towards research and cancer programs.

In the end, after everybody has taken their cut, only 8.01% of money spent on pink NFL merchandise is actually going towards cancer research.

According to the NFL, any money they take in, that is not donated to ACS, is used to cover the costs of their breast cancer awareness program, "A Crucial Catch." The NFL also told Business Insider they donated approximately $1 million per year to the ACS in the first three years of the program.

Still, there are unanswered questions about where the money is going and who is profiting.

The most popular place to purchase pink merchandise is at the NFL's online shop, official team stores, and at the stadiums. In these cases, the NFL and the individual teams are acting as the retailer.

It is unclear how much of the 50% markup for items being sold directly by the NFL and the teams is going to the ACS, if any at all.

Of course, in addition to money, the NFL is also raising awareness for breast cancer and it is hard to put a value on that.

If fans want to show support for their team and for breast cancer awareness, that is great. But if the point is to actually help fight cancer, fans would have a much bigger impact if they skipped the NFL and donated directly to the ACS or other organizations working to fight cancer.

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ORIGINAL: marty

Exhibit 9880: Percy Harvin.

Harvin (just like Steven Jackson) was projected as a final piece for his teams' offense, allowed himself to be injured to take the pressure off, and allowed himself a chance to assess his new team and decide about when he'd like to join them. I think Harvin would like to be back when his team plays the Vikes to get his revenge, but he might like to come back a few weeks early, to sort of get used to the offense. Probably an easy home game, like November 3rd against the Bucs would be the right place to do that. I'm guessing that is when Harvin makes his Seahawk debut.

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ORIGINAL: marty

I don't believe in it, like one might believe in God. But I believe in the POSSIBILITY of it, like one might believe in the possibility of bigfoot, UFOs, ghosts, energies that we don't seem to understand, etc ....

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ORIGINAL: marty

I think there was a lot of pressure on Harvin to be an immediate difference maker, now they are not so reliant on him. They've gotten used to being without him, so he's just seen as a bonus, not THEE difference. Much less pressure on him, now that he allowed himself to get hurt and miss half of the season.

Every little play he now makes will be seen as huge, instead of something that's just expected. He's in a can't lose situation, and if it doesn't go well for him, he can allow himself to get hurt once again. But I think it WILL go well for him, and he'll add to their arsenal.