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Michael Sam

Discussion in 'Steelers Talk' started by steelgirl84, Mar 5, 2015.

  1. steelgirl84

    steelgirl84 Well-Known Member

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    If there's been a discussion about this before, I apologize.
    But I read a story about him in SI not too long ago. He's training and waiting for a phone call. The Steelers want young & he probably won't cost too much. In 4 preseason games with the Rams, he had 11 tackles & 3 sacks. Why not give him a shot? What do yinz think?
     
  2. steeler guru

    steeler guru Well-Known Member

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    "Steeler" and "Gay" is only used in the same sentence when we be talking about Willie.
     
  3. lloyddestroy

    lloyddestroy Well-Known Member

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    If they signed him, does it mean they would bring Kordell back in some fashion?
     
  4. HugeSnack

    HugeSnack Well-Known Member

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    For his sake, I hope he never has to live in Pittsburgh. I love the Steelers, and there's a lot to like about that city, but the level with which they respect harmless differences in others is not one of them.

    He's getting the Tebow treatment. He's no All-Pro (not that he had the chance), but he's too good to be out of the league. It's ridiculous how fast he exited, given his credentials and preseason performance. No one wants to deal with the attention Tebow and Sam bring in exchange for a backup caliber player.

    As for his fit with us, I have genuine concerns about his ability to drop in coverage. On the other hand, we've got about 400 open spots at the position, and we need a pass rush. I'm sure we could find a spot. Sadly, the reaction of the fan base probably would outweigh the couple of sacks he might bring as a situational pass rusher.
     
  5. blountforcetrauma

    blountforcetrauma Well-Known Member

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    IF teams are not giving him a shot because of his sexuality I wonder if he wishes he had just kept his mouth shut. Seems to me the wise thing for him to do would have been to try and make a team and be a playmaker and THEN say "oh...by the way..." If he had proven himself first I think he might have had a better shot. Personally I think he "came out" as sort of gamble that maybe some GM would be afraid of being labeled a bigot and he thought maybe his gayness would be his ticket. He should have let his ability do the talking and I think that would have upped his chances. I really don't think he's NFL worthy because I believe a team would take him if he were.
     
  6. Rush2seven

    Rush2seven Well-Known Member

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    Is the goal in this signing to improve the team or to have a social experiment? Seems to me, he wasn't good enough for the Rams or the Cowboys. What makes you think he is good enough for the Steelers? I think the Steelers would be better served adding depth by looking for players who were good enough to start elsewhere or at least one who earned a hat on game day.
     
  7. santeesteel

    santeesteel

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    No thanks. Sexuality aside, he couldn't make the Rams or Cowboys teams. What I can't understand is, why is he now a "veteran?"
     
  8. blountforcetrauma

    blountforcetrauma Well-Known Member

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    Maybe you get veteran status by how much time you occupy on ESPN???:shrug:
     
  9. santeesteel

    santeesteel

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    Let him stay on Dancing with the.............Stars(?) Maybe he'll have a legitimate career in Hollywood.
     
  10. strummerfan

    strummerfan Well-Known Member

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    I'll agree that he's getting the TEbow treatment in that he isn't good enough to warrant all of the media attention. However, I think the only reason he has a job is quite simple. He's not good enough. He made a few plays in preseason, big deal. There have been 1,000's of players that make a few plays in preseason only to be cut later.
     
  11. blountforcetrauma

    blountforcetrauma Well-Known Member

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    One must always say Dancing with the "stars". LOL.
     
  12. santeesteel

    santeesteel

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    Too true!
     
  13. blountforcetrauma

    blountforcetrauma Well-Known Member

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    One must also say "reality" tv.
     
  14. lloyddestroy

    lloyddestroy Well-Known Member

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    I have to agree. Western, PA, in general, is not very open to harmless differences of others. When I lived in WPA, I didn't realize it at all. I was a product of that environment, and it is fairly sheltered so you don't know any better. It wasn't until after I moved to FL that I discovered there is a nicer way to live life and treat others. You can tell a distinct difference from people who moved down here from Pgh, vs. those visiting the area from Pgh. Those visiting from Pgh are very rude, and embarrass us now-more-mellow x Western PA-ers. I think Sam would be in for some rudeness if he came to Pgh. And, on a technical note, they say he is a tweener: He can rush the passer, but not big enough to play 4-3 DE. And, in a 3-4 OLB spot, they say he can't cover anyone, making him not a fit there. If those things are true then might not be a fit regardless.
     
  15. lloyddestroy

    lloyddestroy Well-Known Member

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    The Rams are stacked with pass rushers. No indictment to not make that roster. And Jerry only signed him for PR to begin with.
     
  16. HugeSnack

    HugeSnack Well-Known Member

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    That's easy to say, but probably a lot harder to do. Can you imagine pretending to be gay for ages 13-25, to help your career prospects? What kind of effect might that have on you? Maybe he had too much faith in the public. Also, he already was "out" on his team. It wasn't a big deal because college football players are more mature about the subject than NFL fans. In a way, he was never really "in". With all the vetting NFL teams do, there's no way in hell it would have been kept a secret, if you could even call it a secret in the first place. If you want to say he should have planned ahead and just stayed in the closet from the start for the sake of his career, well, that advice goes for every career except probably gay porn, and it's still a horrible thing to say.

    What team wants a circus? When you look at what he did in college, it's ridiculous where he was drafted. When you look at what he did in preseason, it's ridiculous he's not somewhere still in the league, even if just on a practice squad. Half this board was shouting for Howard Jones to make our 53. We may never have concrete information that his sexuality (and the attention it brings) is what kept him from getting a fair chance, so it will remain debated. But it seems absolutely clear as day to me. With the importance of a pass rush and the premium we place on today's pass rushers, how did one of the best guys in the country in the best division in the country get fewer opportunities than Terrence Frederick and Toney Clemons and Keith Williams, and have an NFL exit as fast as Mike Humpal? Who, by the way, would have had a longer career than Sam if not for a neck injury. Seriously, look at our draft history, and see how many of our guys (many of whom were terrible clunkers that were not big prospects in college and never showed a thing in the NFL) were booted from the NFL as fast as Sam. Guys get passed around, and plenty of chances before they finally run out. That's how it almost always goes. And I'm talking about scrubs. Sam was the an All-American and the SEC's co-DPOY, then racked up 3 sacks in limited preseason playing time, and was out of the league by October of his rookie season. Do you really feel like he's out because he hasn't shown enough? Not even enough to warrant getting picked up on waivers for a spot on the PS? Does anyone who's really looked at this objectively really think that?

    http://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/pit/draft.htm
     
  17. SGSteeler

    SGSteeler Well-Known Member

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    I wouldn't hate giving the kid a shot. We are very OLB poor at the moment at both the starting positions and the back up positions. If he could provide solid depth and situational pass rush then why not? I feel like Pittsburgh would be a decent spot for him too. Smaller market. Our organization does a pretty good job of preventing media circuses IMO.
     
  18. Coastal Steeler

    Coastal Steeler

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    He isn't signed because he isn't good enough. Period. I do not want us to sign him and say see? we like queers. Let him get in shape for dancing with the stars
     
  19. SGSteeler

    SGSteeler Well-Known Member

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    Nice post Snack. Hard to argue against.
     
  20. HugeSnack

    HugeSnack Well-Known Member

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    Sometimes, especially on a team with a lot of good players at that position already. But then they get picked up by someone else. Do a little research on our late round nobodies that amounted to nothing.

    http://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/pit/draft.htm

    They all landed a few PS gigs, and some of them played in games. And these are guys without a resumé even approaching that of Sam's, and without the plays in preseason. It's not just that he somehow didn't get picked until the end of the 7th. It's not just that he was cut. It's what happened after. One pickup by Jerry Jones, which was probably because he wants the circus that other teams avoid, and then nothing. Take Sam's sexuality out of it, and his NFL path isn't just odd, it's completely nonsensical.
     
  21. CK 13

    CK 13 Well-Known Member

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    If he could help bring him in. Unfortunately I feel he not an NFL caliper player. And two teams thought so to. Good College player though.
     
  22. thorn058

    thorn058 Well-Known Member

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    As snack pointed out the first team was stacked at his position with injuries at others that made keeping him on the PS impossible the second is the team that continues to belive Tony Romo is a great QB and gave a reality show winner a shot at making the team. Neither one says to me that they are definitively the end all and be all of the NFL. I put more stock in Jeff Fisher saying he would have kept him.
     
  23. strummerfan

    strummerfan Well-Known Member

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    What some of our former players have or haven't done means absolutely nothing. You can say that Jones signed Sam purely for the media circus, but there's absolutely zero evidence. It's pure speculation by you. Who cares about his resume? There's a reason he fell to the 7th round. He's not that good. Look at Shane Skov. He had a pretty solid resume as well and he's without a job. If Sam hadn't come out of the closet he wouldn't even be a blip on anyone's radar. Just another college football player that wasn't good enough to make it the NFL.
     
  24. HugeSnack

    HugeSnack Well-Known Member

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    Haha, which is it? My examples mean nothing and I'm pure speculation? Or Shayne Skov and Sam just isn't good enough? :smiley1:

    The point I was making is that even crappy players with low ceilings and lower floors bounce around the league's PS before finally running out of chances. Sam, who has the resumé of an early round pick (you asked who cares? Performance in college against top competition is something TEAMS care about), and made a splash in preseason, was fast-tracked to retirement.
     
  25. 86WardsWay

    86WardsWay Well-Known Member

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    It seems that every single life style has to be accepted by society in the world these days by the LBGTQ community that why wouldn't the Steelers give him the equal opportunity to those that are among that group. I guess if I have to have it shoved down my throat (no pun intended) and he can play then by all means sign him. That doesn't mean that he should gain any advantage over a player with better skills.

    It's only a matter of time til women DEMAND their role on a roster. And society will cave to that too.
     

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