Ballard fails drug test at NFL scouting combine

[MelroseHawkins]

Another thought (I have to credit my wife for this comment):

We treat them like gods, and then are shocked when they start to act like gods.

Wow, that's good.

 

[Imlivingthedream]

a lot of college students smoke pot. Not saying it is good or bad but it is reality. Theres probably more than a shred of truth to the rumors of multiple people testing positive after the entire team was tested following Koulianos arrest.

Im guessing the Rhabdo inspired workouts might have been in part at least inspired by the results of the tests.

They should have also drug tested the special teams coaches and whoever was in charge of clock management.

 

[doughuddl]

So how did he get through four years at Iowa and never test positive?

You can't tell me this was his first time.

 

[tm3308]

Really? Then why do they even test if nobody cares? I would say the NFL cares or they wouldn't waste their time doing the tests would they?

Until the day it is legal to use MJ, people are going to care when others test positive. The red flag shouldn't be trying to beat the system either.

They don't make a huge issue of it. I would bet that the number of guys who smoke pot in the NFL is pretty high. That's not unusual. What IS unusual is a guy dumb enough to do it when they know exactly when their test is.

 

[ColoradoHAWKEYE]

Exactly...THAT is where it is going to come back and haunt us somehow.

 

[HawkAttack]

This. For those of you who turned your heads because the University (Ferentz) didn't release more names at the time of the whole drug deal this is just a reminder that there was a problem on this years team.

EDIT: This is also a response to homer, who you quoted, it just didn't show up for some reason. Not trying to single you out but I've seen people on other forums indicate 2010 was a failure because of some pot smoking and it bothers me for the reason stated below.

You guys really think these players didn't start smoking pot until THIS year? Come on. We won a BCS Bowl in 2009 with these same players playing huge roles. Don't make pot the scapegoat for a disappointing 2010.


Back to the topic: Ballard is an idiot for not being more careful with his body when millions of dollars are on the line, but I'm still a fan and I hope he has a long NFL career.

 

[homerHAWKeye777]

EDIT: This is also a response to homer, who you quoted, it just didn't show up for some reason. Not trying to single you out but I've seen people on other forums indicate 2010 was a failure because of some pot smoking and it bothers me for the reason stated below.

You guys really think these players didn't start smoking pot until THIS year? Come on. We won a BCS Bowl in 2009 with these same players playing huge roles. Don't make pot the scapegoat for a disappointing 2010.

Back to the topic: Ballard is an idiot for not being more careful with his body when millions of dollars are on the line, but I'm still a fan and I hope he has a long NFL career.

Nah, the assertion ISN'T that Ballard hadn't smoked earlier. However, what I would assert is that I really DON'T believe that Ballard is a dummy. Thus, if a guy were to be foolish enough to do what he did ... that suggests that maybe he now smokes too much. In other words, maybe his recreation usage has become more of a problem for him. When folks transition from infrequent casual use to more frequent use ... then what usually goes along with that transition is a more systemic chain of poor decision making. I'd suggest that Ballard's actions suggest that he may not have had an adequate focus on his development ... and, quite obviously, that could have hindered his development.

Quite frankly this scenario is much less damning than other "rumors" I've heard about our D ... rumors related to guys caring more about their draft status than giving it their all in games. I'd rather not believe such rumors, but the more I hear, the more those rumors seem to have "legs."

 

[cmhawks99]

Nah, the assertion ISN'T that Ballard hadn't smoked earlier. However, what I would assert is that I really DON'T believe that Ballard is a dummy. Thus, if a guy were to be foolish enough to do what he did ... that suggests that maybe he now smokes too much. In other words, maybe his recreation usage has become more of a problem for him. When folks transition from infrequent casual use to more frequent use ... then what usually goes along with that transition is a more systemic chain of poor decision making. I'd suggest that Ballard's actions suggest that he may not have had an adequate focus on his development ... and, quite obviously, that could have hindered his development.

Quite frankly this scenario is much less damning than other "rumors" I've heard about our D ... rumors related to guys caring more about their draft status than giving it their all in games. I'd rather not believe such rumors, but the more I hear, the more those rumors seem to have "legs."

Well as I have said in another thread………….bad for last year, good for next….!! We are going to have a whole new culture and a very good team in my opinion.

Chad

 

[HawkAttack]

Nah, the assertion ISN'T that Ballard hadn't smoked earlier. However, what I would assert is that I really DON'T believe that Ballard is a dummy. Thus, if a guy were to be foolish enough to do what he did ... that suggests that maybe he now smokes too much. In other words, maybe his recreation usage has become more of a problem for him. When folks transition from infrequent casual use to more frequent use ... then what usually goes along with that transition is a more systemic chain of poor decision making. I'd suggest that Ballard's actions suggest that he may not have had an adequate focus on his development ... and, quite obviously, that could have hindered his development.
Seems like an awful lot of assumptions here, but everyone is entitled to opinion and I know you have more inside sources than I do.
Quite frankly this scenario is much less damning than other "rumors" I've heard about our D ... rumors related to guys caring more about their draft status than giving it their all in games. I'd rather not believe such rumors, but the more I hear, the more those rumors seem to have "legs."
I'm curious about this... do these rumors include players other than defensive linemen?

 

[homerHAWKeye777]

Seems like an awful lot of assumptions here, but everyone is entitled to opinion and I know you have more inside sources than I do.

I'm curious about this... do these rumors include players other than defensive linemen?

HawkAttack -

The only thing that I'm asserting as fact concerning Ballard is that it was obviously a poor decision and reflects very poorly on him.

Whether or not he had any more systemic issues concerning decision-making ... I don't know. I was simply drawing inferences based on what information is available. Often my inferences are right on ... on other occasions they are off.

All I know is that I simply don't believe that Ballard is a "dumb guy" ... thus, I find what he did VERY puzzling.

Also, at this juncture, I'd still rather not believe any rumors concerning players caring more about their draft status. What I had heard did not explicitly refer to the DL ... however, it DID refer to the D. Thus, since it referred to the D, then I don't see how it couldn't have been meant as an indirect jab at the DL. A big part of why I don't exactly believe the rumor is because Daniels is a guy who isn't up for the draft ... and yet his production dropped as much as everybody elses at the end of the season. There's no way that I'd believe Daniels would let up ... no way. Thus, a more logical explanation is to point at how the DL was forced to emphasize contain more (due to our problems at LB) ... and, in addition to that, the whole TEAM was deflated when our BCS bowl dreams were shattered.

All the same ... our performance on D against Minnesota was still appalling ... particularly in the trenches. Was that possibly a red flag? I don't know ... maybe.