J.M. SMITH
ST. CHARLES, MD
Why did Zeke decide to drop his appeal? Is this decision somehow beneficial to the team? I remembered hearing that he was going to continue to fight the suspension to clear his name and fight for his honor. What has changed?
Bryan: I honestly have no clue why he dropped his appeal. I have been very consistent with my approach in regards to this case -- he was never going to win, and what reason did he have for clearing his name? He was charged by the NFL, not a court in Ohio. If I were Elliott, I would have taken the punishment then, when done, challenge anyone to prove what he was charged with. The situation as sits is no different than where we sat Aug. 11th and that's a shame.
David:Zeke spent the last three months trying to clear his name, and he lost. Regardless of the rights and wrongs of the case, he and his legal team couldn't overcome the precedent in the NFL's CBA that allows the commissioner to make these types of decisions. I'm guessing he saw the writing on the wall. He's incredibly unlikely to win, and at this point all he'll likely do is draw the suspension out into 2018 – whether that's the playoffs or the start of next season. Like his statement said, I don't view this as an admission of guilt. I think Zeke probably just realized he was in a bad spot and wanted to try to put this behind him as quickly as possible.
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JEFF WILLIAMS
BREVARD, NC
What's the deal with Darren McFadden? He is the best hope, in my book, of getting a good running game going. He just needs the ball more. Am I missing something?
Bryan: I don't agree with you here. McFadden is not nearly physical enough for how they want to run the ball. Rod Smith would be my guy, but I am not sure that he's going to get enough carries.
David:It's strange to me how quickly McFadden just dropped off the radar. He went from being the No. 2 back in 2016 and during training camp to being unable to get on the field. That said, I like the physicality that Alfred Morris and Rod Smith bring just fine. I don't know why exactly McFadden hasn't gotten more of a look – but I don't ultimately think it's that important.
