ESPN reports the first openly gay player will come to the NFL

I saw him at the Cotton Bowl and he is a good player but there may be a lot of players that go before him. The statement as to when he should be drafted is subjective even without the gay factor.

dallen said:

Hopefully this is a non-story. I think for most of the players it will be. The good old boy front office\coaches network might not be so comfortable with it though

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I think for the 30 and under crowd this will largely be a non-story. These GMs and front office guys claiming that this will greatly impact his draft status are the problem. They are probably old white men who are probably out of touch with the youth of today.

I understand that Sam won't be supported by every individual in the league. Because rarely are you going to get 100% buy in on anything. But I don't think this will be as huge of a deal as they're making it out to be in their minds.

You'll have the initial buzz and extra media attention and his story will be told ad nauseam but I guarantee it will die down and be an afterthought by mid-season. It won't be a season long or career long circus that they'd have you to believe. The attention span in our society is incredibly short. Huge news today is an afterthought 48 hours later.

boozeman said:

This is waaay bigger of a story than it needs to be.

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I watched the interview and I was actually really impressed with Sam. He wasn't trying to make this a big deal at all. The man has gone through some really rough stuff with his family in his life and telling people he is gay is so tiny in comparison.

1bigfan13 said:

I think for the 30 and under crowd this will largely be a non-story. These GMs and front office guys claiming that this will greatly impact his draft status are the problem. They are probably old white men who are probably out of touch with the youth of today.

I understand that Sam won't be supported by every individual in the league. Because rarely are you going to get 100% buy in on anything. But I don't think this will be as huge of a deal as they're making it out to be in their minds.

You'll have the initial buzz and extra media attention and his story will be told ad nauseam but I guarantee it will die down and be an afterthought by mid-season. It won't be a season long or career long circus that they'd have you to believe. The attention span in our society is incredibly short. Huge news today is an afterthought 48 hours later.

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You don't think old black men could be out of touch as well?

L.T. Fan said:

You don't think old black men could be out of touch as well?

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I'm strictly talking about the NFL. And it's a fact that the NFL is ran by old white men.

Don't take that, LT. Stand up for the white man!











white power?

Breaking news: Jerry Jones is actually Rev Fred Phelps of the Westboro Baptist Church in disguise

I think it's clear that Jerry needs to be kicked out of the NFL over this.

1bigfan13 said:

I'm strictly talking about the NFL. And it's a fact that the NFL is ran by old white men.

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But because they are old and white they are out of touch?

Would Michael Sam fit Cowboys' D?

February, 10, 2014

By Todd Archer | ESPNDallas.com


IRVING, Texas -- From a football perspective, the Dallas Cowboys have to figure out if Michael Sam is a fit for their defense.

If the Cowboys still ran a 3-4 defense, the answer might be more definitive. At 6-foot-2, 260 pounds, Sam, who revealed on Sunday that he is gay, is built more like an outside linebacker in a 3-4.

Now that the Cowboys run a 4-3, Sam might not fit as well as he might be too small to play defensive end.

Of the six defensive ends on the Cowboys’ roster at the end of the 2013 season, only DeMarcus Ware (258) and Martez Wilson (252) were lighter than Sam. At 6-1, Everette Brown was the shortest defensive end on the roster and he was a role player after signing with the Cowboys during the season.

Sam was named the SEC Defensive Player of the Year out of Missouri after leading the conference in sacks (10.5) and tackles for loss (18).

When he played outside linebacker at the Senior Bowl, teams were not blown away by his athleticism. Just as a comparison, Ware was able to answer the question during the 2005 Senior Bowl that he could make the move from 4-3 defensive end to 3-4 outside linebacker.

The Cowboys generated only 34 sacks in 2013, so finding pressure players is a must if they are to improve in 2014. Sam showed he can get after the quarterback at Missouri and he will get the chance to show if he can do it at the NFL level.

For the Cowboys, he might be more of a situational pass-rusher than an every-down player. If he’s not an every-down player, then he would figure to be a middle- to late-round pick.

It'll be funny if he goes undrafted and it gets blamed on his gayness.

It still baffles me that many of these GMs and scouts put more stock in a player's physical measurables (HT/WT) than their actual production on the field. I think that's a big reason why many of them are failures at what they do.

I bring this up because Sam falls into that category and it's always been a football pet peeve of mine.

All I know is if an undersized DE performed well against "protypical" OTs in the SEC then maybe they shouldn't be so quick to dismiss him.

Can the guy play? That should be the thing that influences your decision most. Not his HT/WT.

1bigfan13 said:

It still baffles me that many of these GMs and scouts put more stock in a player's physical measurables (HT/WT) than their actual production on the field. I think that's a big reason why many of them are failures at what they do.

I bring this up because Sam falls into that category and it's always been a football pet peeve of mine.

All I know is if an undersized DE performed well against "protypical" OTs in the SEC then maybe they shouldn't be so quick to dismiss him.

Can the guy play? That should be the thing that influences your decision most. Not his HT/WT.

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From what I read at the Senior Bowl he isn't ready to be a 3-4 OLBer but teams are trying to force him into that role because of his size. In my opinion Sam is a 4-3 DE and is plenty big enough for our style of defense.

I think Sam is hedging his bets by trying to establish that if he isn't drafted high he can blame it on his sexual preference status being the reason. In short it will be someone else's fault. He obviously has had a bad showing recently and may be apprehensive that his demand has fallen sharply.

L.T. Fan said:

I think Sam is hedging his bets by trying to establish that if he isn't drafted high he can blame it on his sexual preference status being the reason. In short it will be someone else's fault. He obviously has had a bad showing recently and may be apprehensive that his demand has fallen sharply.

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I can't imagine a player intentionally hurting his draft stock even further just to have an excuse for it.

L.T. Fan said:

I think Sam is hedging his bets by trying to establish that if he isn't drafted high he can blame it on his sexual preference status being the reason. In short it will be someone else's fault. He obviously has had a bad showing recently and may be apprehensive that his demand has fallen sharply.

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If people were paying attention during the Senior Bowl, his stock was already dropping because of his poor showing as a 3-4 OLB...to the third-fourth round area. In the event he goes around there, I am sure the sentiment will be that his disclosure was to blame. I have no doubt there will be some revisionist history at work.

I applaud him. He knew it was coming out and he got out in front of it.

Rev said:

That's probably Jerry

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Nah...Jerry would welcome him just for the added publicity.

1bigfan13 said:

It still baffles me that many of these GMs and scouts put more stock in a player's physical measurables (HT/WT) than their actual production on the field. I think that's a big reason why many of them are failures at what they do.

I bring this up because Sam falls into that category and it's always been a football pet peeve of mine.

All I know is if an undersized DE performed well against "protypical" OTs in the SEC then maybe they shouldn't be so quick to dismiss him.

Can the guy play? That should be the thing that influences your decision most. Not his HT/WT.

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Agreed 100%.

I made that same argument on this board last year when the Te'o thing happened.

It's amazing to me how an out and out playmaker can be dismissed because he was a step slow in some stupid shuttle drill. Likewise, a 4th round talent skyrockets because he throws a ball 80 yards in basketball shorts.

It's flawed thinking.

Former Cowboys WR Patrick Crayton: Michael Sam revealing he is gay will be a problem for the NFL




By Jon Machota
jmachota@dallasnews.com
2:30 pm on February 10, 2014 |

Former Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Patrick Crayton wasn’t a fan of Missouri defensive end Michael Sam publicly revealing on Sunday that he is gay.

Crayton suggested on Twitter Sunday night that Sam should’ve kept his sexual orientation to himself.

On Monday, Crayton joined 105.3 The Fan [KRLD-FM] to discuss his comments, which included a tweet saying: “Oh wow!!! There goes the NFL!”

Crayton said he sent that tweet because “it’s no longer an issue about whether he can play or not. Now it becomes a social issue about should more guys come out, versus him being the SEC Defensive Player of the Year, they’re saying that with a little subtitle. The next thing is: First openly gay player possibly in the NFL.

“Now he’s got to deal with all the questions about his sexual orientation versus his football play.”

Crayton, who played in Dallas from 2004 to 2009, said he was teammates with players he thought were gay. His opinion is that Sam’s decision will lead to a distraction for not only himself and his team but the entire league.

“It’s not even going to be about football anymore,” Crayton said. “That’s going to be a problem. That’s going to take away from whatever he does on that team and whatever that team’s doing. Every time he makes a play, the announcers are going to open with ‘Michael Sam on the play, he’s the first openly gay player…’ Who gives a care about him being the first openly gay player when it comes to playing football?”