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

Has anyone actually said that, or are they pointing it out as a counterbalance for just looking at season stats? He's not the first draft prospect to have his numbers dissected in such a way. I don't think too many people in their right minds are going to point to the DPOY of a major conference and say "feh, he sucked in college"

 

Vince Young must be gay, too, because Cleveland would never cut him otherwise.

I mean, the guy was the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year.

 

I wouldn't think so either, but it appears that's what is happening here. "In four of five games he wasn't too great, even though against the best team they played he was great ..." yada yada yada. Someone also noted on the previous page that Sam's game-by-game breakdown looks a lot like Clowney's.

Kony Ealy had six sacks last season and four of them came in two games, against Vandy and Kentucky. Kony Ealy got bupkus against South Carolina. So was Ealy overrated?

 

Also -- against A&M, one of the games that Steak says Sam didn't do anything, stats show him sharing a sack and credited for a TFL. I recall him playing pretty well in that game containing the Aggies, it was definitely a game that they as a team really bottled up Manziel and he was a big part of that.

Parsing out what a player did and didn't do each week is a time-honored tradition, I guess, but in this case it seems there's some willingness to ignore some of the things Sam actually did do.

 

It's not dismissing his efforts to point out that a large percentage of his damage came in those three early contests. It is worth nothing that Sam was an unknown going into his senior season and playing opposite a much better player (Kony Early). Seems like teams adjusted once he had a few good games.

Regarding the highlight you showed, what I saw was Sam getting blocked, then scooping up the ball after his teammate made a play.

That said, he was certainly a damn good college player. He is also small and slow and he did nothing but hurt his value in the offseason. The comparisons of his statistics to player with far superior physical skills are just silly.

 

I believe this is where someone on the board would note that a person is talking out of the wrong end of his anatomy. Sam is #52. He made the sack and strip. The player who recovered and ran for the touchdown is Shane Ray.

Go find a place on the board where you might know what the fuck you're talking about. There has to be one, somewhere.

 

OK, here's a guy who's supposedly too small and slow for top-level who was able to excel in his final season in what is the NFL's top major league, the SEC. This indicates to me he's worth taking a flyer on. Sam has maximized his abilities in competition. That counts for something.

 

Greg Bedard does a great job of breaking down all 12 of his games last year.

http://mmqb.si.com/2014/02/13/michael-sam-film-study-nfl-draft/

It addresses all questions regarding where his sacks came.

One interesting point was that with Missouri's rotation Sams was in on only 58%
of possible plays.

 

Not putting a lot of weight into the "he played in the SEC" and should
have been drafted higher argument. Some pretty good SEC players
did not even get drafted including Trey Burton Fla, Connor Shaw SC,
and Chris Davis Auburn. If I were a GM I would have taken both
Burton and Davis over Sams for their possible special teams ability.

No doubt 'Bama fans will forever remember Chris Davis

 

College performance is hardly the only predictive metric for NFL success. It's a pretty big one though and it's as least as accurate as workout/combine numbers. I don't think anyone seriously denies Sam's only a marginal NFL prospect. Hell, everybody drafted past the fourth round is that. Most marginal prospects fail, but a reasonable number have indeed become NFL players and some players of note.
Why argue about it until camp? It's Jeff Fisher's problem or happy surprise now.

 

Deion Branch must be gay, too, because there's no way the Patriots would cut him otherwise.

I mean, he was the Super Bowl MVP.

 

This guy has gotten more attention than any seventh-round pick in history.... for all the wrong reasons.