"We Not Me" is really just coachspeak for "The Team, Not You".
In that sense, this regime have remained consistent with their roster decisions.
Reading through this thread really makes me wonder if everyone knows the difference between the game of "football" and "Pro Football".
Football is a game played in the backyard on Thanksgiving. (My Dad throws with the weirdest looking underhand sidearm motion I've ever seen but he can really zip it for an old dude). Football is played for fun. You can play it in highschool and it's all about your teammates and camaraderie and having fun. It's "All For One and One For All", school pride, etc... but after high-school, "playing football" starts transitioning to "working football". Coaches careers and livelihoods are on the line, programs need profits and for the best of the best players, future fame and fortune are on the line.
Professional football is BIG business. The key word isn't football, it's the first one. Oxford defines it like this:
Professional
/prəˈfeSH(ə)n(ə)l/
adjective
2. engaged in a specified activity as one's main paid occupation rather than as a pastime.
"a professional boxer" |
It's a business and every team should make the best decisions they can for the business. The player is in essence a private contractor. The player is his own business. Playing for a team is just subcontracting. Usually the team and player are in a mutually beneficial business relationship with shared goals but when that isn't the case, you move on.
Early on in my career, a performer fired our stage manager, someone everyone really liked. When I asked what happened, he told me "Never forget: This is Showbiz, not Showfriends". I thought it was an ice cold sentiment but I understand it better now. I'm a freelance Lighting Director and I subcontract for various theaters, venues and production companies. Some of whom I really like working for and others I personally can't stand - but regardless of my personal feelings towards these people/businesses, I still always take the best job offer for myself. I'm obligated to make a living for my wife and daughter, not the company. It's no different for the players in the NFL, except the stakes are much higher.
As an idyllic Rams fan, I want the team to all be best friends, like the 53 Musketeers or something... but ultimately I want a good team and that requires putting the future of the team above any personal relationships.
I don't fault McVay for not using DJax more, I don't fault the FO for offering an incentive based contract that he would be unlikely to reach (although DJax's agent probably should have given him better advice) and I can't blame Jackson for doing what I would want the team to do if the shoe was on the other foot.
