Why didn't Keim sign Aldon Smith?

Russ Smith

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Don't get me wrong. I love Larry. But this just proves, imo, that we all struggle to take a hard look into the mirror at times. Bottom line is, forgiveness. We did it with Larry.. could only imagine the response if he wasn't a Card and we had possibly pursued him after that incident.


Fitz has been with the team for ages and has had ONE incident that I'm aware of. He wasn't charged with a crime but she said he pushed her down by the neck during an argument and she got a restraining order. No incidents before or after. I think it's fairly obvious why the Cards didn't freak out in that situation it was not good but the player had a long history on and off the field of being a great guy so they were willing to assume the one incident was not going to be a pattern.

With Smith he was in trouble from jump street in the NFL and again that was just the stuff he got in trouble for he was doing all sorts of things that was being hidden by teammates or friends or in at least 2 cases the police because of who he was.

They're not comparable situations because one guy has a long track record of being a good guy on and off the field and one doesn't.

I didn't read the whole thread so maybe this has been posted but he was NOT clean since 2015 as has been suggested. Here's some of the stuff he did notice how many of these happened after 2015.

he was arrested for a DUI 15 months ago. Look at the one in March 2018 BAC of .4!

It wasn't a given he was going to be reinstated by the NFL when Dallas signed him. And if you google when they signed him you'll find story after story that said the same thing, the reason Dallas was willing to take a shot at him is the NFL has significantly changed their policy on marijuana use. That is nobody actually thought he was totally sober they just no longer think the NFL is going after pot smokers. Because of his prior history he'll get treated harsher than someone with no prior history but it was in part due to Dallas thinking hey if he tests positive for pot he might not get suspended so we'll take the risk.
 

BritCard

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The hills @BritCard decides to die on are hilarious.

I look at the timeline and there are like 10 incidents of breaking the law or non-compliance. That's not a dude I will rely on...at all.

I'm not dying on any hill. This is a discussion forum. It's not my job to conform to mass opinion. I come here to give my personal opinion. If you don't agree with it thats fine.

And I'm not just talking about Aldon Smith, I'm talking about players with a controversial history as a whole, the Cards FO's faux piousness and fan hypocrisy.

For example, they cut Philon for a he said / she said with no evidence. We went on to have a garbage D line and ending up playing scrubs we signed off the street. They should have stuck by him the same way the Jets stood by Quinnen and Herndon or the Bills stood by Oliver or the Pats stood by Chung. Philon still haven't been convicted of anything. I'm not even sure if the charges are still pending and he's lost 2 years of his career. Yet at the same time they have no trouble signing players like Adrian Peterson or Frostee Rucker.

Fans are even worse. Nobody had any issue with Frostee Rucker. Fans would go on about what a great leader he was, what a great pickup to bolster the interior.

Rucker was arrested and charged with rape and indecent exposure in separate incidents in college. He pleaded down to a lesser charge, I'm sure there was a lot of football pressure and local boosters pulling the strings and got away with a one year suspended sentence. He had to transfer college over it.

During that investigation the police discovered Rucker had been charged with attempted rape an 11 year old girl in his home town when he was 14.

He was then arrested in 2006 for two counts of domestic battery. He pleaded down again and got a 3 year suspended sentence, 750 hours community service and had to take a 1 year domestic violence treatment program.

I don't recall anybody having issues with Rucker signing. I only remember fans praising the signing and his subsequent performances.

The same way they would had we signed Aldon Smith, or anyone else.

The only hill I'm dying on is the one where I don't like fake morals that shift and move depending on who a player signs with. So I choose to focus on the football aspects of a player, and leave the off field stuff to their personal life until it effects their football.
 

Brian in Mesa

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The only hill I'm dying on is the one where I don't like fake morals that shift and move depending on who a player signs with. So I choose to focus on the football aspects of a player, and leave the off field stuff to their personal life until it affects their football.

Aldon last played in a game for the Raiders on 11/15/2015 and didn't suit up again until this past Sunday for the Cowboys on 9/13/2020. Why the gap of almost 5 years? Off the field issues which have clearly disrupted his entire playing career. He played in more games his first 2 seasons as a pro than he has the last 8 years combined and he's missed YEARS of football because of his own actions off the field. He's the definition of a guy whose personal life has affected his football.
 

BritCard

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Completely untrue. If my team was full of criminals, I would cease watching them or spending my money on them until they weren't.

Being a fan of a team that rarely makes headlines for the wrong reason is a good thing. People who run jump and catch well don't deserve my money if they're assbags.

Firstly, nobody has said anything about teams full of criminals.

Second, you are a hypocrite. You had no issue with Frostee Rucker who has done much worse. Or child beating Adrian Peterson. Or arrest evading Alex Okafor. Or DUI committing Bobbie Massie. Or John Abraham's DUI. Or Daryl Washingtons domestic violence.

How far do you want to go back? How about Michael Pittman's 2 domestic violence charges?

And thats not even counting players we signed with history or fans wanted to sign. Suggs have two arrests.People here wanted Everson Griffin, he has an assaulting a police officer conviction. I recall some fans wanted to bring in Breeland last year, he has two marijuana arrests. Some fans wanted to bring Aqib Talib in when Alford went down. He has 2 arrests. One for firing a gun at his sisters boyfriend and one for battery on a cab driver.

So save me the fake outrage. The fact is, fans give zero ***** when a player with a record or history is making plays for their team but spout their faux morals when that same player is on another team.
 

BritCard

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I'm not concerned from a moral outrage perspective. The guy is unreliable. It's nice that someone gave him a fifth or tenth chance whatever it is that he's at now, but for the Cardinals to give up a roster spot for someone with a lengthy history of misconduct.

There is a LOOOOOOOONG pattern of misconduct. To say the Cardinals should have signed him now is completely ridiculous.

What nonsense. We can't give up a roster spot for a high upside player in a year with a 16 man PS and protected players?

We have trash like Kylie Fitts taking a roster spot. You put Aldon on the 53 and Fitts on the PS and you are absolutely no worse off then you are now with the added benefit of a player who might give you 10+ sacks for $2m and no G's.
 

BritCard

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Aldon last played in a game for the Raiders on 11/15/2015 and didn't suit up again until this past Sunday for the Cowboys on 9/13/2020. Why the gap of almost 5 years? Off the field issues which have clearly disrupted his entire playing career. He played in more games his first 2 seasons as a pro than he has the last 8 years combined and he's missed YEARS of football because of his own actions off the field. He's the definition of a guy whose personal life has affected his football.

All fair points.

If Smith might be taking a roster spot from an Alex Okafor or Markus Golden. Hell, even a Cassius Marsh. But he wouldn't would he?

He would be taking a roster spot from garbage like Kylie Fitts or even Haason Reddick. Who would be right there on your PS to bring in if Smith messed up again.

And it's not like the Cowboys just parachuted Smith in last minute. He went through their offseason remote OTA stuff. Then 7-8 weeks of camp where he proved himself to be reliable and get on well with his teammates. He earned that spot.

Both arguments are complete nonsense.

The "I don't want no crims on my team" argument is complete nonsense. We have had and will continue to have people that have committed crimes (convicted or not) on the team. Our own GM has an extreme DUI.

The other argument is "I want players that are reliable" which is also nonsense because no player is reliable. Injury can hit players at any time. P2 never had a blip, until he did and missed 6 games. That's what roster depth is for and having Smith on the roster would only had potential upside and zero downside.

With all that said, this isn't an argument about Smith. It's just the topic at hand. My position is on any player that makes the team better and isn't a locker room problem (nut jobs, racists, etc)
 

CardsSunsDbacks

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All fair points.

If Smith might be taking a roster spot from an Alex Okafor or Markus Golden. Hell, even a Cassius Marsh. But he wouldn't would he?

He would be taking a roster spot from garbage like Kylie Fitts or even Haason Reddick. Who would be right there on your PS to bring in if Smith messed up again.

And it's not like the Cowboys just parachuted Smith in last minute. He went through their offseason remote OTA stuff. Then 7-8 weeks of camp where he proved himself to be reliable and get on well with his teammates. He earned that spot.

Both arguments are complete nonsense.

The "I don't want no crims on my team" argument is complete nonsense. We have had and will continue to have people that have committed crimes (convicted or not) on the team. Our own GM has an extreme DUI.

The other argument is "I want players that are reliable" which is also nonsense because no player is reliable. Injury can hit players at any time. P2 never had a blip, until he did and missed 6 games. That's what roster depth is for and having Smith on the roster would only had potential upside and zero downside.

With all that said, this isn't an argument about Smith. It's just the topic at hand. My position is on any player that makes the team better and isn't a locker room problem (nut jobs, racists, etc)
It would be a guy with a history of off field problems keeping him off the field and would also be a complete unknown as to how good he could be after 5 years of being inactive.

If one or the other wasn't true than I can see an argument that the Cards should have gone after him, but with both things considered I see no reason they should have even considered it.
 

BritCard

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It would be a guy with a history of off field problems keeping him off the field and would also be a complete unknown as to how good he could be after 5 years of being inactive.

If one or the other wasn't true than I can see an argument that the Cards should have gone after him, but with both things considered I see no reason they should have even considered it.

Two problems with that.

Fitts and Reddick have on field problems and Smith didn't just parachute in. The "complete unknown as to how good he could be" holds no water when you just spent 7-8 weeks in camp with him. They knew exactly how good he could be which is why he was on the 53 and there were many leaks out of camp about how great he looked.
 

Solar7

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Firstly, nobody has said anything about teams full of criminals.

Second, you are a hypocrite. You had no issue with Frostee Rucker who has done much worse. Or child beating Adrian Peterson. Or arrest evading Alex Okafor. Or DUI committing Bobbie Massie. Or John Abraham's DUI. Or Daryl Washingtons domestic violence.

How far do you want to go back? How about Michael Pittman's 2 domestic violence charges?

And thats not even counting players we signed with history or fans wanted to sign. Suggs have two arrests.People here wanted Everson Griffin, he has an assaulting a police officer conviction. I recall some fans wanted to bring in Breeland last year, he has two marijuana arrests. Some fans wanted to bring Aqib Talib in when Alford went down. He has 2 arrests. One for firing a gun at his sisters boyfriend and one for battery on a cab driver.

So save me the fake outrage. The fact is, fans give zero ***** when a player with a record or history is making plays for their team but spout their faux morals when that same player is on another team.
Were you even here when Frostee Rucker was on this team? Who are you to say how I did or did not feel about it? Or Adrian Peterson?

No, I'm not going to boycott the team when one or two players have some questionable stuff. However, I would boycott the team if they suddenly abandoned all morals and signed whatever piece of garbage was the most "talented" with disregard for chemistry.

Find me where I advocated for any of the players on your list. However, yeah, I don't give two ***** about a marijuana conviction unless it meant the guy couldn't get on the field and was constantly suspended over it, like DWash.

You're wrong about fake outrage. In high school, myself and a chunk of the team quit until a guy who raped a girl was kicked off the team, even though he was easily one of our top three players. I wouldn't play on the field with that kind of person, and I wouldn't pay money to teams that consistently employ trash people like that.
 

BritCard

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Were you even here when Frostee Rucker was on this team? Who are you to say how I did or did not feel about it? Or Adrian Peterson?

No, I'm not going to boycott the team when one or two players have some questionable stuff. However, I would boycott the team if they suddenly abandoned all morals and signed whatever piece of garbage was the most "talented" with disregard for chemistry.

Find me where I advocated for any of the players on your list. However, yeah, I don't give two ***** about a marijuana conviction unless it meant the guy couldn't get on the field and was constantly suspended over it, like DWash.

You're wrong about fake outrage. In high school, myself and a chunk of the team quit until a guy who raped a girl was kicked off the team, even though he was easily one of our top three players. I wouldn't play on the field with that kind of person, and I wouldn't pay money to teams that consistently employ trash people like that.

You know you can search these forums rights? Shall I look for all posts you made arguing against the Rucker signing?

And FYI nobody is saying we should sign players with rape convictions. I specifically said as long as they haven't hurt anyone else.
 

CardsSunsDbacks

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Two problems with that.

Fitts and Reddick have on field problems and Smith didn't just parachute in. The "complete unknown as to how good he could be" holds no water when you just spent 7-8 weeks in camp with him. They knew exactly how good he could be which is why he was on the 53 and there were many leaks out of camp about how great he looked.
Yeah in camp with the Cowboys, but they didn't know for sure what they had until they went through camp and that is my point. At the time of the signing we wouldn't know exactly what we would be getting or what to expect on the field.
 

BritCard

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Yeah in camp with the Cowboys, but they didn't know for sure what they had until they went through camp and that is my point. At the time of the signing we wouldn't know exactly what we would be getting or what to expect on the field.

Well sure. But that goes for about 60% of everybody in camp.
 

Chris_Sanders

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Since you can search the forums, please point out the posts you made before he signed with the Cowboys recommending we sign him.

I mean you should hold yourself to the same standards here correct?
 

BritCard

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Since you can search the forums, please point out the posts you made before he signed with the Cowboys recommending we sign him.

I mean you should hold yourself to the same standards here correct?

Really? So I have should post about every player every team signs and that would be equal to Solar not posting about his issues and double standards with signing a rapist to the CARDINALS roster but not a guy with substance abuse problems? This is a Cardinals forum right, not a Dallas forum?

And as Ive said, repeatedly, my argument is not for or against Aldon Smith. He's just the example in this thread and convenient to use.

My argument is general about double standards and fake outrage. It goes like this,

Player signs for Dallas:

Fan - I'm pleased we didn't sign him. Look at this history. The guys a scum bag. I don't want any crims on my team (ignoring all the crims already on the team). He hasn't played in years.

Player signs for fans team:

Fan - Good pickup. He was elite before. Cheap deal with no G's. All upside, no downside. All players deserve another chance, he never hurt anyone and has turned his life around. He's looked real good in camp.

Edit -------

Here's the 4 page thread on the Rucker signing. Two posters mention his history, although not accurately, one of them is negated by "he deserves a 2nd chance though" and nobody comments on them. Nothing to see here, lets keep talking about football.

https://www.arizonasportsfans.com/f...itter-cardinals-sign-de-frosty-rucker.192903/

The only difference between Ruckers much worse history and Smith is time and media attention.
 
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oaken1

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Really? So I have should post about every player every team signs and that would be equal to Solar not posting about his issues and double standards with signing a rapist to the CARDINALS roster but not a guy with substance abuse problems? This is a Cardinals forum right, not a Dallas forum?

And as Ive said, repeatedly, my argument is not for or against Aldon SMith. He's just the example in this thread and convenient to use.

My argument is general about double standards and fake outrage. It goes like this,

Player signs for Dallas:

Fan - I'm pleased we didn't sign him. Look at this history. The guys a scum bag. I don't want any crims on my team (ignoring all the crims already on the team). He hasn't played in years.

Player signs for fans team:

Fan - Good pickup. He was elite before. Cheap deal with no G's. All upside, no downside. All players deserve another chance, he never hurt anyone and has turned his life around. He's looked real good in camp.
ut then some of us ain’t like that at all
 

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