Jermaine Cunningham suspended(mega merge)

[JackBauer]

We'll have to disagree there.

You can certainly disagree, but calling it craptastic is a pretty wild exaggeration IMO.

 

[manxman2601]

This is frustrating.

Regards,
Chris

P.S. I definitely think there's an "everyone does it, but the dummies get caught" aspect to this. At this point I would not be surprised at any other name that comes down the suspension pipe.

Tom Brady?

 

[BPF]

They were popular in baseball and known as "greenies" but they do not have the direct effects that you mention. Adderall, as others have noted, is a mixture of the isomers of amphetamine and is a powerful stimulant. If you have ADD, ADHD, or narcolepsy you have a legit reason to take it.

Take a low dose and it is like a more prolonged shot of caffeine:
-if you were sleepy, you become not so sleepy
-if you were tired, you become able to do your workouts (added motivation)
-if you were having trouble focusing, you can pay attention

Thus it works wonders for lots of people, at a dose far below what causes any type of euphoric reaction.

But if you take a dose not right for you (too much), you might experience
-prolonged sleeplessness
-accelerated heartbeat
-anxiety and panic attacks
-heart damage (after prolonged use).

Thus it is not among the drugs to pick to make you run faster or jump higher.
It does make a dog-tired person get through a hectic day, however, which is likely the appeal for NFL players. Or it lets a tired guy go out late-night partying, which is another perceived plus in that age group.

It's works like other stimulant drugs, methamphetamines and cocaine.

 

[Deus Irae]

The hits continue....

More than a month after reports first surfaced that Wright was facing a four-game suspension for violating the league’s performance-enhancing drug policy, Bucs coach Greg Schiano has confirmed that Wright’s suspension is starting today and will last the next four weeks.

Bucs’ Eric Wright suspended for next four games | ProFootballTalk

 

[chris_in_sunnyvale]

Tom Brady?

Okay...mild surprise at that one

Regards,
Chris

 

[BPF]

In fairness, I thought his rookie year to be promising.

He did have a successful rookie year but wasn't able to carry the momentum over to year 2 due to injuries and change in position. His rookie season he was mostly a 1st & 2nd down OLB in 3-4 and played 51% of the snaps. Pretty good rookie season my my eyes.

 

[lamafist]

The funny thing is that Adderall, like a lot of the substances banned on the PED list, doesn't actually enhance performance, and the NFL knows it. The PED ban is about liability, not fairness. All the substances on the PED list share two common traits: potential danger to the player's health, and the perception of performance benefit, whether real or not.

The NFL would love a substance that enhanced players' performance without posing any added health risk. They wouldn't test for it, everyone would use it, and everyone lives happily ever after. The problem comes about when a substance can cause long-term damage, like with anabolic steroids, or increase the chances of an acute health crisis, like when players were suffering cardiac incidents from taking ephedra, because then the player or their family can sue the NFL for creating the perception of financial incentive for unsafe behavior. The NFL tests for PEDs so they can say they provide adequate counter-incentive.

In the case of Adderall, there's no actual evidence that it enhances an athlete's performance on the field. Part of the problem is the language we use to describe its effects -- it's prescribed for an attention "deficit" so it's said to "boost" concentration and focus. ADD is actually a misnomer -- the preferred terminology is now an "attentional disorder," because it's not a matter of of a diminished capacity for attention but rather what is and isn't being paid attention to.

CNS stimulants like adderall alter how we focus, not "enhance" it. For someone with an attentional disorder, focus is often an all-or-nothing endeavor -- either you're not filtering enough, or you're filtering everything. Adderall helps you filter more, without having to filter to exclusion. For people with typically functioning attention, it tends to promote hyperfocus, which while useful for certain highly isolated tasks, is probably detrimental for something like football, where you need to use a full range of stimuli-filtering from one second to the next.

 

[WinstonSmith]

Tom Brady?

No worries, I checked and Rogain is not on the banned list.

 

[BadMoFo]

And we were so happy to see the Seahawks defensive backs get in trouble.

 

[Kontradiction]

You can certainly disagree, but calling it craptastic is a pretty wild exaggeration IMO.

He was drafted for and hoped to be the answer to the pass rush issues. He started in 11 games that year. He registered 27 tackles and 1 sack. For comparison, he's started 3 games this season and has generally been more sparingly used than in 2010. His totals: 15 tackles and 2.5 sacks. His lasting memory of his rookie year was a pressure in which he forced an awkward throw from Manning. You're certainly welcome to your opinion that it was promising. But, expectations prior to the season included, I'm more inclined to think that it was a poor season out of Cunningham.

 

[JackBauer]

And we were so happy to see the Seahawks defensive backs get in trouble.

I think most people weren't lamenting it in Sherman's case...maybe because he's a loud-mouth and comes off as a bit of a turd.

Not sure how that relates to Cunningham, though.

 

[Pujo]

The funny thing is that Adderall, like a lot of the substances banned on the PED list, doesn't actually enhance performance, and the NFL knows it.

It can definitely help you focus when you're studying the playbook, sitting in a team meeting, or not get bored when you're lifting weights. It doesn't give you bigger muscles or help you heal, but it can improve performance in specific areas.

 

[BPF]

Wow... shocked. What type of PED was it? What's going to happen to our pass rush? No Cunningham, and Jones out with injury.

Let's say just IF he's innocent. What if it's an over the counter drug that he's taking for a cold? He could appeal if he got a false positive right?

Cunningham’s appeal process is over, suspension begins immediately.

 

[JackBauer]

He was drafted for and hoped to be the answer to the pass rush issues. He started in 11 games that year. He registered 27 tackles and 1 sack. For comparison, he's started 3 games this season and has generally been more sparingly used than in 2010. His totals: 15 tackles and 2.5 sacks. His lasting memory of his rookie year was a pressure in which he forced an awkward throw from Manning. You're certainly welcome to your opinion that it was promising. But, expectations prior to the season included, I'm more inclined to think that it was a poor season out of Cunningham.

As you know, sacks are not a good indicator of pass-rushing ability. The knock on Cunningham from his rookie season was that he wasn't finishing plays; he'd get in on the quarterback but for whatever reason (lack of functional strength?) would be unable to finish the play.

Further, I never saw him as a panacea to the pass rushing woes; in fact, I never thought he'd be an elite pass rusher in the NFL. What I did see him as was a solid complementary fixture at OLB who would be above average (hopefully) in all three phases of the game. Add to that the fact that seldom do rookie LBs come into New England and blow the doors off (I distinctly remember people *****ing about Spikes before he really came on this season) and from my view it all adds up to a serviceable but unspectacular rookie campaign from Cunningham.

Then again, I would reserve the craptacular descriptor for players like, for example, AJ Jenkins, or as I like to call him Rashaun Woods v.2.0 (granted this may change, but I remain skeptical).

 

[lamafist]

Players keep getting busted for adderall because they're often using it for in-the-club and not on-field performance enhancement. Adderall helps you stay up later and get drunker without passing out. It also doesn't stay in your system all that long. So when it's 2AM and you're wasted and fading, but still want to hit up the after-party, and your friend's got a prescription bottle, well, it's pretty easy to make a bad decision.

Even the smartest people with the most to lose make these terrible "getting caught only happens to other people" decisions. Take General Petreus, who doesn't even have the excuse of it being one snap decision made while drunk.

 

[BPF]

He was drafted for and hoped to be the answer to the pass rush issues. He started in 11 games that year. He registered 27 tackles and 1 sack. For comparison, he's started 3 games this season and has generally been more sparingly used than in 2010. His totals: 15 tackles and 2.5 sacks. His lasting memory of his rookie year was a pressure in which he forced an awkward throw from Manning. You're certainly welcome to your opinion that it was promising. But, expectations prior to the season included, I'm more inclined to think that it was a poor season out of Cunningham.

He's been a solid contributor this yr. He's not a star but a very solid player. Has been one of the Pats top pass rushers, leads the team in holding penalties drawn.

 

[Tunescribe]

An open post to Jermaine:

YOU *&#@ IDIOT!!!

That is all.

 

[Brady_to_Moss]

what a moron...when will these players ever learn?

 

[BradyFTW!]

Re: Wow, Adderall

This news does not surprise me at all.

 

[lamafist]

It can definitely help you focus when you're studying the playbook, sitting in a team meeting, or not get bored when you're lifting weights. It doesn't give you bigger muscles or help you heal, but it can improve performance in specific areas.

It's debatable how much it would help someone without an attentional disorder in these situations. There's a reason why college kids tend to use it for marathon cramming sessions or making it through class hungover -- it's definitely effective at counteracting the effects of things like sleep deprivation, but has diminished returns when you're functioning normally. And if it really helps all that much when you're functioning normally, than you probably have an attentional disorder.