OT Rams draft Michael Sam

[Dwayne's_World]

Good for Jeff Fisher, Les Snead, and the Rams. I doubt he will get much playing time since they are bringing in Aaron Donald, but you never know. Thoughts?

[billikenfan05]

Who gives a

[brianstl]

Who gives a ######

05 obviously gives a .

[Billiken Rich]

Hopefully this will signal the beginning of Missouri joining this century. I have clients in long term committed relationships that cannot be on the same insurance in Missouri. Illinois is a mess but I'd move to the east side if I was gay because they are right on that issue..........

[MB73]

Pure politics.

With all the noise, he HAD to be drafted.

It was getting late.

Rams got the call, did as they had to do, bit the bullet.

Rams are "honored" (Fisher quote) to draft him.

So the NFL is safe from boycotts, media attacks, all the frenzy that would have occurred if he hadn't been drafted.

Rams # 1 strength, by far, is their pass rush, best in the NFL, plus Thursday we added primo DT up the middle pass rusher Aaron Donald.

They didn't need Sam at all. He is a tweener, small, cannot deal with the run, no closing speed, not going to really contribute. But they hadda.

The Rams will keep him, no way they can cut him. He'll play some special teams. Get into to a few games.

[SLU_Nick]

Lol Mb on the money. Love the cynicism...and tend to agree, but not a terrible pick.

[brianstl]

Pure politics.

With all the noise, he HAD to be drafted.

It was getting late.

Rams got the call, did as they had to do, bit the bullet.

Rams are "honored" (Fisher quote) to draft him.

So the NFL is safe from boycotts, media attacks, all the frenzy that would have occurred if he hadn't been drafted.

Rams # 1 strength, by far, is their pass rush, best in the NFL, plus Thursday we added primo DT up the middle pass rusher Aaron Donald.

They didn't need Sam at all. He is a tweener, small, cannot deal with the run, no closing speed, not going to really contribute. But they hadda.

The Rams will keep him, no way they can cut him. He'll play some special teams. Get into to a few games.

You are an idiot. Seriously an f'ing idiot.

He shouldn't have been a first two day pick. I question how Sam's game will translate on the next level, but this wasn't the charity pick you are trying to make it out to be. The guy produced in the toughest conference in college football. Who was the last SEC defensive player of the year not drafted?

[NH]

I don't really think he makes much sense for the rams, but he is decent value.

Not sure whether he will make the team or not. We would need to keep 5 DEs.

Reception from the players seems to be positive.

[brianstl]

I don't really think he makes much sense for the rams, but he is decent value.

Not sure whether he will make the team or not. We would need to keep 5 DEs.

Reception from the players seems to be positive.

He makes sense if he is the highest rated player left on your board and it is the third time you are picking in the seventh round.

[MB73]

You are an idiot. Seriously an f'ing idiot.

He shouldn't have been a first two day pick. I question how Sam's game will translate on the next level, but this wasn't the charity pick you are trying to make it out to be. The guy produced in the toughest conference in college football. Who was the last SEC defensive player of the year not drafted?

Can' t we find something you can get right?

Hell, there were Heisman Trophy winners who were not drafted (Sooner QB Jason White, a few others I think).

He played well, but the SEC defensive Player of the Year was a fluke, he wasn't even in the top, I'd guess,40 defensive players in the SEC as far as NFL potential is concerned; including those who were not in the draft this year. Off the top of my head.

Missouri played a very lucky, weak, "cake" schedule. GA was decimated by injuries, worst at the moment on "O" when they played them, same with Florida. South Carolina sat their star QB for 3 quarters, then put him in and they tore MU up. Who else... off the top of my head, a very weak Kentucky squad and a banged up Mississippi team (that might have been their best win, @ Mississippi).

How did Sam do against Auburn?

Most all of the credible experts (Kiper, McShay, many more) listed him as borderline (though some didn't dare not put him in there somewhere and be attacked, labeled), some didn't think Sam would get drafted, some possibly in the 7th for teams that needed a 3rd down edge rusher (a luxury). Many NFL scouts delicately (fearfully) stated he didn't fit the NFL, cited his size, weight, speed, lack of strength as well out of range. They all said, he had long arms and was tough, though, it seemed like it was scripted. Hilarious.

I do not think any said he'd go in the first two days as you did.

Sam had documented unacceptable low grades in most all measureables like speed, size, weight, strength (bench presses). To name a few. Most of his sacks came in 3 games in ideal situations.

Again, Missouri played a weak SEC schedule and the better teams they played were severely damaged by injuries, especially on offense.

He is protected, he will hang around for a few seasons as a fringe player, he is getting help from the top, though.

The way ESPN set it up the 1/2 hour before he was taken was comical. Scripted. They even had a mini video that stated the NFL would be bad guys if they didn't draft him. WHOA, all hell was ready to break out.

Politics, to prevent the protected class from protesting, boycotting, and the media piling on. Yep.

brianstl, I do not think you are that naïve, I think you just take a ideological position and do not back off despite the obvious circumstances. You are good toll booth material, you could work in one and dominate. Keep it simple.

[NH]

He makes sense if he is the highest rated player left on your board and it is the third time you are picking in the seventh round.

Which is why I said he was good value. Which is why I'm sure the Rams drafted him.

We have very good starting DEs and we also have good DE depth.

[jzstldc]

Trust me - no way will he be on the final roster - there is a reason all other teams passed on him and no not for the reason most people associate him which I am sick of hearing about - he will not be a good (or any) NFL player for that matter

i also think it is a disservice everybody is talking about him more than all the higher drafted individuals who deserve more attention

The Rams will keep him, no way they can cut him. He'll play some special teams. Get into to a few games.

[slu72]

Touchy issue, no pun intended, but I tend to buy MB73's first narrative. The NFL knew they had a serious PR issue on it's hands. I'm a Giants fan and would like to believe that if the top player on the board was a sex change recepient, but a stone cold lock to be a future Lawrence Taylor w/o the drug thing, I'd want them to draft him. After all, the NFL is all about winning, and race, religion, creed, etc shouldn't serve to penalize one's talent. I'm guessing that Sam's NFL potential was the deciding factor here rather than his sexual preference, but also think the NFL was feeling pressure to have him be a draftee rather than a UDFA.

[slu72]

As an add on to my first post, I also think many teams may have passed on him because they knew he'd be a distraction in training camps. The Rams are going to be under a lot of unwanted scrutiny this pre season.

[JMM28]

Sam suffered from a little Tebow effect. He is probably good enough to stick on most rosters as a backup LB/DE and special teamer. But is the distraction worth that when he is basically a replacement level player?

Good for the Rams. I hope he turns out to be a good nfl player.

[cheeseman]

You are an idiot. Seriously an f'ing idiot.

He shouldn't have been a first two day pick. I question how Sam's game will translate on the next level, but this wasn't the charity pick you are trying to make it out to be. The guy produced in the toughest conference in college football. Who was the last SEC defensive player of the year not drafted?

My thoughts exctly - the NFL was showing just how small minded and afraid they are. You can not tell me thay all the defensive linemen taken before Sam were better - that is just silly. I am not sure why the Rams took him - they did not need him but the truth is they did the right thing and now it is up to Sam to prove himself at the next level. Had several NFL front office people not come out when Sam announced his status earlier by saying negative and honestly biased statements about how this was going to hurt him in the draft then maybe they would not have looked so cowardly.

[sludevil]

As an add on to my first post, I also think many teams may have passed on him because they knew he'd be a distraction in training camps. The Rams are going to be under a lot of unwanted scrutiny this pre season.

I imagine this is what probably sealed his fate with a lot of teams. Sam is good, but he's probably not good enough (in the eyes of most teams) to justify the media circus that is sure to follow him. The memory of Tim Tebow is still fresh, after all.

For context, though, in the last six years, no SEC Defensive Player of the Year has been selected later than 17th overall (according to Deadspin).

[moytoy12]

I imagine this is what probably sealed his fate with a lot of teams. Sam is good, but he's probably not good enough (in the eyes of most teams) to justify the media circus that is sure to follow him. The memory of Tim Tebow is still fresh, after all.

For context, though, in the last six years, no SEC Defensive Player of the Year has been selected later than 17th overall (according to Deadspin).

The tebow circus was also partially a result of mcdumbass taking him in the first round.

MB has the same narrative regardless of the facts. The SEC player of the year was taken as the 249th pick for goodness sake. Yep, he was only drafted (in the 7th round) as a result of some massive conspiracy spearheaded by the NFL execs. Give me an f'ing break.

[Dwayne's_World]

I think regardless of all this talk/hype about Sam, he will work really hard and make the team. It's not like he was SEC player of the year for nothing. Many players have succeeded in the NFL despite the "experts" like Kiper and McShay saying they didn't have a lot of "upside." Upside my a**, no one can perfectly predict how any of these players drafted are going to do in the league. Obviously some have better chances than others, which is why those players were drafted in the first round. But overall there will always be many first round busts, and many later round surprises. Sam sounds like he wants to make the most out of his opportunity, and he will be mentored by the best defensive line in the NFL. He may not get much playing time, but you never know. He might surprise us.

[Duff Man]

Who was the last SEC defensive player of the year not drafted?

Can' t we find something you can get right?

Hell, there were Heisman Trophy winners who were not drafted (Sooner QB Jason White, a few others I think).

When the facts do not help MB73, he chooses to change the subject. The Heisman Trophy is irrelevant to this discussion. Heisman winners are disproportionately awarded to QBs of National Title contenders. Often times the QBs of the best teams do not project as NFL QBs.

Fact: No SEC defensive player of the year has ever gone undrafted.

They started giving separate offensive and defensive awards in 2003. Here are the players to have won the award.

2003: Chad Lavalais, Drafted 2004, 5th round, 142 overall

2004: David Pollack, Drafted 2005, 1st round, 17 overall

2005: DeMeco Ryans, Drafted 2006, 2nd round, 33 overall

2006: Patrick Willis, Drafted 2007, 1st round, 11 overall

2007: Glenn Dorsey, Drafted 2008, 1st round, 5 overall

2008: Eric Berry, Drafted 2010, 1st round, 5 overall

2009: Rolando McClain, Drafted 2010, 1st round, 8 overall

2010: Nick Fairley, Drafted 2011, 1st round, 13 overall

2011: Morris Claiborne, Drafted 2012, 1st round, 6 overall

2012 (Coaches): Jadeveon Clowney, Drafted 2014, 1st round, 1 overall

2012 (AP): Jarvis Jones, Drafted 2013, 1st round, 17 overall

2013 (Coaches): C. J. Mosley, Drafted 2014, 1st round, 17 overall

2013 (AP): Michael Sam, Drafted 2014, 7th round, 249 overall

Prior to 2003, there was only 1 SEC player of the year award, and it almost always went to an offensive player. Here are the defensive players to win SEC player of the year, with their NFL draft position.

2002: David Pollack, Drafted 2005, 1st round, 17 overall

1988: Tracy Rocker, Drafted 1989, 3rd round, 66 overall

1983: Reggie White, Drafted 1984 supplemental draft (for USFL players), 1st round, 4 overall

1968: Jake Scott, Drafted 1970, 7th round, 159 overall

1957: Lou Michaels, Drafted 1958, 1st round, 4 overall

[For-DaLove]

I actually agree with most of what MB has said in this thread. He had to get drafted. The NFL knew it, every team knew it, and so it happened. But, people like MB fail to acknowledge the other side of the coin. His draft stock dropped rapidly as soon as he came out. He performed poorly in the combine which gave teams and pundits an excuse to drop him on their boards. It started leaking out that team executives thought he was too slow, wasn't big enough, etc, etc. They knew they didn't want to deal with the attention that having him on their team would bring and so they started building excuses for why they weren't going to draft him. The combine was a perfect (and somewhat legitimate) excuse, that is until his pro day when he performed much better and basically put up the numbers that were originally expected from him. So yes, he was drafted yesterday because the league knew he literally had to be. But he would have gone between the 2nd and 4th rounds if the public didn't know he was gay. To say he benefited from this would be extremely ignorant.

IMO going to the Rams was the worst possible situation he could be put into. If he gets cut before the regular season, which I don't really think will happen, other teams will be able to easily ignore him and he'll struggle to get another chance. They'll be able to say he got a chance and couldn't make it. And the Rams are loaded with DE's, so he obviously is going to struggle to do anything. I wish him luck, but make no mistake about it, he is facing an uphill battle here.

[moytoy12]

I actually agree with most of what MB has said in this thread. He had to get drafted. The NFL knew it, every team knew it, and so it happened. But, people like MB fail to acknowledge the other side of the coin. His draft stock dropped rapidly as soon as he came out. He performed poorly in the combine which gave teams and pundits an excuse to drop him on their boards. It started leaking out that team executives thought he was too slow, wasn't big enough, etc, etc. They knew they didn't want to deal with the attention that having him on their team would bring and so they started building excuses for why they weren't going to draft him. The combine was a perfect (and somewhat legitimate) excuse, that is until his pro day when he performed much better and basically put up the numbers that were originally expected from him. So yes, he was drafted yesterday because the league knew he literally had to be. But he would have gone between the 2nd and 4th rounds if the public didn't know he was gay. To say he benefited from this would be extremely ignorant.

IMO going to the Rams was the worst possible situation he could be put into. If he gets cut before the regular season, which I don't really think will happen, other teams will be able to easily ignore him and he'll struggle to get another chance. They'll be able to say he got a chance and couldn't make it. And the Rams are loaded with DE's, so he obviously is going to struggle to do anything. I wish him luck, but make no mistake about it, he is facing an uphill battle here.

I think he had to get drafted by virtue of being the SEC co-defensive player of the year. And I completely agree with most of your post, he was punished big time for coming out. Take a look at the DEs, LBs, punters and kickers that were taken before the SEC co-DPOY.

If this wasn't M. Sam, I bet an overwhelming majority of Rams' fans would be applauding the fact that they picked the SEC co-DPOY with the 8th to last pick of the draft. And if anything, I suspect that going to the Rams will be a positive even if he gets cut. A lot of the initial media blitz will be gone. M. Sam will have had a chance to be compared to some of the best in the game at his position. If he is cut but performs reasonably in camp, I suspect teams will be more inclined to pick him up because the initial media circus has since left town.

[RiseAndGrind]

I think he had to get drafted by virtue of being the SEC co-defensive player of the year. And I completely agree with most of your post, he was punished big time for coming out. Take a look at the DEs, LBs, punters and kickers that were taken before the SEC co-DPOY.

If this wasn't M. Sam, I bet an overwhelming majority of Rams' fans would be applauding the fact that they picked the SEC co-DPOY with the 8th to last pick of the draft. And if anything, I suspect that going to the Rams will be a positive even if he gets cut. A lot of the initial media blitz will be gone. M. Sam will have had a chance to be compared to some of the best in the game at his position. If he is cut but performs reasonably in camp, I suspect teams will be more inclined to pick him up because the initial media circus has since left town.

Rams fans were ecstatic when they drafted George Selvie in the late rounds because he was a former All American. He was a Steal!

Now, Sam was "slow, short, one dimensional, and only drafted because SOMEONE had to do it."

Oh ok. I get it now.

[slu72]

All anyone deserves in our country is a fair and honest opportunity to prove they can do the job, and nowhere is that more applicable than professional sports. Unfortunately, for Mr Sam, he won't be given the benefit of doubt. If he doesn't show something special in the pre season yet still makes the team, you're going to have people saying "the team had no choice" for PR purposes. The normal metrics used to determine who stays and who goes may not be applicable in this case.

[slufan13]

What award you won in college means nothing for the pros. Yes he deserved it but that doesn't transfer to professional ability. See Tim Couch, Tim Tebow, etc.

I'm glad he got drafted. Wish the Rams hadn't done it. 7th round picks can turn into something. The Super Bowl MVP was a 7th rounder. So I think Sam has the ability. He just doesn't fill a need whatsoever for the Rams.

To me it's only a good pick if he makes the team and contributes. Just like the other 7th round picks. Just like every draft pick.