Michael Sam Says He Is Gay; May Become First Publicly Gay Player in N.F.L.

I look forward to certain media members carrying the water of these NFL execs and their smear campaign. I imagine Pete Prisco will be at the top of that list.

 

The 49ers have no need to do anything in the ticket-selling area. They're sold out for years in the new stadium.

I do think they would look at it as a football move, though. I mean, teams win Super Bowls because of superior pass-rushing depth, and the chance to get someone who helps in that area at a low price is one you have to take.

As far as PR goes, yeah, the 49ers have been very active in that area -- the cable station here put an ad together called "You can play" with players from every pro team saying it's OK if you're gay, and Vernon Davis has a large speaking role in it.

 

Another reason he might have dropped quickly:

Yesterday afternoon, a lot of the projections were pretty damned inexact at places like CBS Sports, going off of his season at Mizzou and a general sense that he was "undersized."

By 10 p.m. last night, you knew more about the guy than Clay Matthews, with dozens of scouts talking about how lukewarm they were on him.

 

Trust me. That is not a hypothetical.

You think Mike Priefer is unusual in the league?

 

Maybe it just proves that Brady has never been very good and is being propped up by his coach? *ducks*

 

There's no shortage of writers who are willing to do that. We're going to see a combination of stories where anonymous scouts and execs are going to make him seem like a borderline prospect crossed with those who are going to think there is an agenda going every time a team passes on the guy after the second round.

 

Funny how The 49ers are almost always the default team when this has come up.

 

With the combine now fans can see for themselves and decide what kind of prospect
he is. Metrics are all out there for everyone. If he runs a 4.7 40 he'll fall like a
rock like any player at a position they want a 4.5. Now listed at 6'2" 260. If he
turns out to be 6'1" 245 will also fall.

 

The notion that Richard Sherman was anything resembling a distraction is a joke. That was a media creation from the second he was done barking at Erin Andrews.

Even if you were offended by everything he said, he still was not a distraction.

The distraction Sam will bring is the media. Every player in that locker room will be asked how they feel about playing with a gay player. More than likely, even if they are completely coached up and told exactly how to respond, someone will say something that will cause an uproar. Religious players will be baited. If he's involved in a pushing match at training camp, people will be assuming there is more to it than just a bunch of spirited players going at it at practice.

 

Through no fault of his own, he will be a distraction. Tim Tebow was a distraction. The distraction factor comes in when 1. medial types from outside football all of a sudden want to cover your team and 2. media/fans want you to play/not play regardless of ability. Tebow (who was a crappy NFL quarterback) fit both of these. Sam fits both of these. That's not fair, but it is real.

 

From ESPN Insider the draft rankings of top 32 along with Sam. Rated as 119 th prospect with a grade of 61 which means "good prospect" 70 + gets solid prospect,
80 + considered "outstanding" , 90 + considered "elite.

Jadeveon Clowney* DE 6'5" 258 South Carolina 96 1
Greg Robinson* OT 6'5" 320 Auburn 96 2
Jake Matthews OT 6'5¼" 309 Texas A&M 95 3
Sammy Watkins* WR 6'0½" 205 Clemson 94 4
Timmy Jernigan* DT 6'2" 298 Florida State 94 5
Anthony Barr OLB 6'4⅝" 244 UCLA 94 6
C.J. Mosley ILB 6'2⅜" 228 Alabama 93 7
Khalil Mack OLB 6'2⅝" 245 Buffalo 93 8
Teddy Bridgewater* QB 6'2½" 220 Louisville 93 9
Marqise Lee* WR 6'0" 195 USC 93 10
Justin Gilbert CB 6'0¼" 199 Oklahoma State 92 11
Blake Bortles* QB 6'4" 228 UCF 92 12
Mike Evans* WR 6'4" 220 Texas A&M 92 13
Taylor Lewan OT 6'7¼" 314 Michigan 92 14
Stephon Tuitt* DE 6'6" 303 Notre Dame 92 15
Ha Ha Clinton-Dix* S 6'1" 208 Alabama 91 16
Louis Nix III DT 6'3" 340 Notre Dame 91 17
Darqueze Dennard CB 5'11¾" 189 Michigan State 91 18
Zack Martin OT 6'4⅛" 305 Notre Dame 91 19
Ra'Shede Hageman DT 6'6" 318 Minnesota 90 20
Johnny Manziel* QB 6'0" 200 Texas A&M 90 21
Eric Ebron* TE 6'4⅛" 231 North Carolina 90 22
Loucheiz Purifoy* CB 6'0" 185 Florida 90 23
Cyrus Kouandjio* OT 6'5" 310 Alabama 90 24
Aaron Donald DT 6'0⅞" 288 Pittsburgh 89 25
Kony Ealy* DE 6'4⅝" 275 Missouri 89 26
Lamarcus Joyner CB 5'8¼" 187 Florida State 89 27
Jason Verrett CB 5'9⅜" 174 TCU 88 28
Morgan Moses OT 6'6⅛" 325 Virginia 88 29
Davante Adams* WR 6'2" 212 Fresno State 88 30
Calvin Pryor* S 6'2" 208 Louisville 88 31
Carlos Hyde RB 5'11¾" 238 Ohio State 88 32
Michael Sam DE 6'1⅝" 260 Missouri 61 119

 

Question for YF:

If this guy was really the second coming of Lawrence Taylor, and a proven commodity whose draft value had already been factoring in his sexual orientation, why didn't a veritable national army of NFL Draft hobbyists notice this obvious anomaly before last night?