There will be more media time devoted to Sam than there should be but that is to be expected. Because he is a 7th round pick it will seem like a circus. I hope he is good enough to make the team. If he isn't then it will be a circus.

Others have said that Sam will sink or swim based on his special teams skills. Sounds right. It would certainly be fun to see Sam inserted at left end on third and 8 situations, with Chris Long sliding inside next to Aaron Donald, and all-pro Robert Quinn at the other end.

Dungy's stance is donkey doo. He backed Michael Vick coming back into the league, and he was going to cause major distractions.

 

I don't think it should be overlooked in all this that Dungy is a hyper-devout evangelical. I can't imagine that doesn't come into play in his thinking, at least in terms of the contradiction you mention.

 

That said, I don't necessarily disagree with him, from an operational standpoint and what a coach is trying to accomplish in building a team for the grind of an NFL season. Seems like it would be a monumental obstacle of a distraction. By the same token, I hope it can help the NFL locker room culture advance beyond the 1950s to where such stories cease to become newsworthy.

I don't think it should be overlooked in all this that Dungy is a hyper-devout evangelical. I can't imagine that doesn't come into play in his thinking, at least in terms of the contradiction you mention.

 

That said, I don't necessarily disagree with him, from an operational standpoint and what a coach is trying to accomplish in building a team for the grind of an NFL season. Seems like it would be a monumental obstacle of a distraction. By the same token, I hope it can help the NFL locker room culture advance beyond the 1950s to where such stories cease to become newsworthy.

 

This.

 

And I have to admit that I've lost a little respect for Dungy. For someone who has always been held in high regard for "doing the right thing" - standing by Vick being a prime example - his stance is disappointing. He's not saying that the guy can't play. He's saying that the distractions aren't worth the trouble.

This.

 

And I have to admit that I've lost a little respect for Dungy. For someone who has always been held in high regard for "doing the right thing" - standing by Vick being a prime example - his stance is disappointing. He's not saying that the guy can't play. He's saying that the distractions aren't worth the trouble.

 

 

I'm glad someone drafted Michael Sam and I am pulling for him to make it in the NFL. At the same time we can't ignore the fact that he had a very poor combine for the SEC Defensive Player of the Year. Now after every practice someone from the media is going to be questioning Jeff Fisher and the Rams players on how Sam is doing in practice, is he fitting in, is he being bullied, etc, etc. Whether we want to admit it or not that will be a distraction. When has a 7th round pick ever been such a distraction? If Sam proves to be worth the circus then all will be fine. What if he isn't good enough? What happens then? To the Rams credit, they took that leap of faith but I certainly understand why some other coaches/teams may have passed on them. Same could be said for Johnny Manziel.

 

Considering the sensitivity of this subject it took boulders for Dungy to say what he did. I'll also say that this is how much of a circus things could become. Sam is a polarizing topic and anything said about him that could be perceived as a negative will be blown up.

What I have a problem with is - and this is just my opinion - Dungy saying that if he's a marginal talent AND gay, he wouldn't give him a shot.

I wouldn't have taken Sam either.

 

How about you?

 

Count me in the same. Way too many other things will occur outside the Sam situation with running a NFL team and I wouldn't want another distraction(s). Why not avoid the situation knowing it would be one less issue, because there are going to be issues....You can bet on it!!! I'm sure I feel very slight differently if he was a "Stud" but in the Same skill set situation, Michael Sam is a Dime a Dozen type of player.

What I have a problem with is - and this is just my opinion - Dungy saying that if he's a marginal talent AND gay, he wouldn't give him a shot.

 

Gotcha. I don't agree with that statement. I do understand the distraction part about it.

Oh come on. Dude was defensive player of the year in the top league in the country. Dude deserves a shot.

 

Sams was voted top player due to a single stat, sacks. He was a liability against the run and played like 55% of his team's downs. Diving even more into the thing that he was good at, the majority of his sacks came in 2 games. He's marginal in the same way that Jimmer Ferdette was. Good to great college player, whose size and skills do not translate well into the NFL. He has to learn a brand new position to even, really, see the field enough to make an impact.

Why do you guys feel that Tim Tebow isn't on a roster anymore? Certainly he can back up one of the 32 teams.

Why do you guys feel that Tim Tebow isn't on a roster anymore? Certainly he can back up one of the 32 teams.

 

Not sure about that. He struggles.

Sams was voted top player due to a single stat, sacks. He was a liability against the run and played like 55% of his team's downs. Diving even more into the thing that he was good at, the majority of his sacks came in 2 games. He's marginal in the same way that Jimmer Ferdette was. Good to great college player, whose size and skills do not translate well into the NFL. He has to learn a brand new position to even, really, see the field enough to make an impact.

This 1000%

Not sure about that. He struggles.

 

Right, but if he is a 7th round pick, and coaches say (they did) that they don't want him due to the distraction, nothing happens. Somebody in Tampa asks an out-spoken evangelical Christian about whether he would take a gay player. He says no b/c it would cause a distraction and things would happen in the locker room that he wouldn't want to deal with as a coach. The only thing that makes this different is that one player is gay, and that is what everyone is focusing on, that this Bible thumper doesn't want a gay player to play for him. I don't believe that Sams actual ability is being evaluated in the argument. Fans of Sams argued that he should be treated like any other player, and then when he is by Dungy, they bash him because of his business decision. I don't get it.

Tony probably should have addressed it differently, but I will give him a pass on his track record alone. He is not controversial and has done loads of good for many people and dealt with a family tragedy that was public extremely well. I don't believe his Evangelical Christian views would be carried to the workplace by him.

 

Bottom line, he should have just said in my evaluation of him he is not an NFL caliber player.

I hate today's media. I had to just turn it off today. They will take any morsel they can angle into a controversy and then just beat it to death. Let's get some facts straight:

 

1. Every team in the NFL except five proved they absolutely agree with Dungy. There are 27 teams that used every draft pick they had and chose not to draft Sam. Dungy says he wouldn't have drafted Sam and 27 NFL teams agreed when they chose not to draft Sam. Heck, even the Rams passed on Sam with their first 2 7th round picks.

 

2. What has happened today proves Dungy is right. What coach wants this type of media hype and circus antics associated with his team?

 

3. Michael Sam himself agrees that the media hype is an obstacle. He cancelled his Oprah stuff to try and keep the media at bay. Unfortunately, the media is going to run this story through the ringer until it is shredded to pieces.

Edited July 22, 201412 yr by Voice of Reason

Sams was voted top player due to a single stat, sacks. He was a liability against the run and played like 55% of his team's downs. Diving even more into the thing that he was good at, the majority of his sacks came in 2 games. He's marginal in the same way that Jimmer Ferdette was. Good to great college player, whose size and skills do not translate well into the NFL. He has to learn a brand new position to even, really, see the field enough to make an impact.

Sam won the MVP award for a productive season, not just two games: 31 solo tackles, 17 assists on tackles, 19 tackles for loss, 11.5 sacks and two forced fumbles, one of which came with 1 minute to go in the Cotton Bowl and OSU driving inside the Missouri 25. He also scored a defensive TD vs. Georgia. His sacks came in bunches of three vs. Florida, Vandy and Arkansas State (all bowl teams, I believe).

In the Tennessee game, in which he recorded no sacks, he was double-teamed quite often, going against tackle and tight end. Vols were held to 3 points that game.

 

His skills may not be transferable to the NFL, but he certainly isn't a two-game wonder. Also, I've read nothing about Sam being tried at LB, so he has no new position to learn, unless you were talking about special teams contributor.