Rams Pick #249 DE Michael Sam

  • To unlock all of features of Rams On Demand please take a brief moment to register. Registering is not only quick and easy, it also allows you access to additional features such as live chat, private messaging, and a host of other apps exclusive to Rams On Demand.

EastRam

Pro Bowler
Joined
Apr 4, 2013
Messages
1,994
I seriously doubt that nor that Fisher would care, my worry is THIS MEANS Goodell decides the PR of putting us on Hard Knocks is too good to pass on

Thats exactly the first thing I thought. Someone should post a betting line for that and I will put up all my ROD dollars
 

Boffo97

Still legal in 17 states!
Joined
Feb 10, 2014
Messages
5,278
Name
Dave
I didn't quote them or say who they were. I didn't bring anything in here. I just pointed out some of the reactions I was seeing from people.
I think all blackbart is trying to say (not that I can speak for him of course) is that some people's reactions are going to be disgusting because they're disgusting people... but it's probably just best to leave their professed (alleged) religious beliefs out of it.

A lot of folks in here have strong religious beliefs one way or another, and sometimes even the mere mention of religion is enough to start a Great Big Noisy Fuss™. Same with politics.

Of course, I'm not the boss, so take my free attempt at interpretation as something you drastically overpaid for. And I do agree with the main point, that said people, regardless of what religion they are or claim to be are being dumb. If I can support and love a Ram who has 6 kids with 4 women, I can love a guy who likes dudes. Platonic love. ;)
 
Last edited:

RamsFan14

Starter
Joined
Dec 31, 2013
Messages
563
Congrats to Michael Sam and the Rams! Couldn't have been an easy decision by the team, but it's definitely something I support big time! I'm only 21 years old so I'm not really familiar with past racial issues (broadly know stuff, have no experience what so ever), but this situation really makes me think about Jackie Robinson and when he was a Dodger. Couldn't have been easy for him at the time to face being the first African American player in sports, a lot of fans probably dumped the Dodgers AND criticized Robinson... But Robinson helped pave the way for African American players in sports (and now no one has a problem with different races playing sports...). Idk what it's like to live back in those days, but I hope some people think hard about THAT and apply it to today... Race was a problem back then with the population, but it's not anymore... Being gay does technically have some differences then race, I get it, but why is this issue so much different then race? I want to say a lot of that logic about race should apply to Michael Sam and being gay. Feel like a lot of people are missing that and they'll probably feel foolish later.

I'm proud the Rams have some guts to make a move like this, they are really opening up the mind set that "you are who you are" we'll judge you who you are as a person rather then who you like. Michael Sam sounds like a great guy who works hard and wants to win, that fits a description of a football player. He's got talent, and he deserves to play in this league. Glad the Rams had some guts to say yes, even with our STACKED DL. I'm pretty happy with this pick and what it means!
 

RamEERS

Pastor
Joined
Aug 9, 2013
Messages
310
I think all blackbart is trying to say (not that I can speak for him of course) is that some people's reactions are going to be disgusting because they're disgusting people... but it's probably just best to leave their professed (alleged) religious beliefs out of it.

A lot of folks in here have strong religious beliefs one way or another, and sometimes even the mere mention of religion is enough to start a Great Big Noisy Fuss™. Same with politics.

Of course, I'm not the boss, so take my free attempt at interpretation as something you drastically overpaid for. And I do agree with the main point, that said people, regardless of what religion they are or claim to be are being dumb. If I can support and love a Ram who has 6 kids with 4 women, I can love a guy who likes dudes. Platonic love. ;)

Agreed.. I'm a pastor, and there are a lot of comments I could say to those that bash Christianity.. but prefer to take the high road to ignore it to save the board from being blown up
just be mindful and more sensitive to those on the boards that have different views than us (political, religion, or if we need a WR or not)... if you can't accept people because of their different views, you're no better than those you're pointing your finger at

on regards of Sam... i dont care about his sexual preference, i care about how he plays this game.. if we drafted him to get PR just because he's gay its an insult to him and his lifestyle.. i take the same standard with any players on our team... if he can play the game well enough, welcome to the team... if he can't.. hit the road
 

jrry32

Rams On Demand Sponsor
Rams On Demand Sponsor
Joined
Jan 14, 2013
Messages
29,786
Good. This is the type of player I was talking about.
 

duckhunter

Starter
Joined
Feb 17, 2013
Messages
908
Just some odd thoughts.

This is a rough old world and the football business is as tough, insensitive and hyper-competitive as it gets. For it to work correctly, that's part of the reason why professional sports have exemptions from fair labor practices.

When I think of Raider fans and their get ups, I don't think of safety nets, entitlement programs or political correctness.

It's an escape from reality.
 

Robert

Rookie
Joined
May 4, 2014
Messages
399
I don't know too much about Sam but do you think he could play olb in a 4-3 defense? Or is he just gonna be a DE. I don't know if it was already asked I didn't read the whole thread. Thanks
 

brokeu91

The super shrink
Joined
Jul 10, 2010
Messages
5,546
Name
Michael
I don't know too much about Sam but do you think he could play olb in a 4-3 defense? Or is he just gonna be a DE. I don't know if it was already asked I didn't read the whole thread. Thanks
I don't think he's fast enough to be an OLB. He is fast enough to be a DE, but he's pretty short and small. He does have a very explosive first and second step, which was how he was able to get into the backfield. But, because he's short I don't know how much more he could bulk up. I am afraid he won't make this team, because let's face it, we're pretty set at the D-Line. We might have the best D-line in football, and have as much good, quality, depth as any team in the NFL
 

iced

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jan 12, 2013
Messages
6,620
Glad he was just drafted - but i am so sick of the media overkill.

5 straight articles on PFT about him.

Welcome to the team - now go to work, and kick the media out!
 

BadCompany

Rookie
Joined
Feb 6, 2013
Messages
332
Michael Sam will have to beat out Sammy Brown & probably Eugene Sims to make the #Rams 53.

I'm not going to claim that I understand the implications of the cap, or how to breakdown a 53 man roster, so I'll just ask this; is this true? Is the only way Sam can make the team going to be if he beats out both Brown and Sims? I mean, Brown I can see... but Sims?? I find that extremely unlikely. Don't get me wrong, I knew Sam was going to be in tough to make the team to begin with, as are all 5th-7th rounders on any team really, but is THIS the path he has to take? Just curious.

Some people just need things to hate. It's like fuel.
I'm just glad we're above the fray here. It should have a positive impact on our numbers.

You know, I've been thinking about this, and I'm not sure it will have any impact whatsoever. It's not like St. Louis is a huge national market team, and if Sam isn't on the field for most games how interesting is it going to be? As others have said it's going to be pretty hard to justify giving significant Sam field-time when you're looking at our front seven, and the depth behind it. So maybe he gets in on a couple of plays a game. Is that going to be enough to keep everybody's attention?

I'm trying really hard to think of a way to write this without coming across as anti-American, or ignorant, or worse, both. So take the following in the spirit in which it is intended, which is to say outright curiosity. I am from Montreal, born and raised, I speak both French and English, I have Scottish, Irish, and French blood in me. I am not bragging, but it's a known fact that Montreal is considered to be one of the most diverse, multi-cultural cities in the world. And very liberal, left-wing. So while I "understand" the importance of this story from a historical standpoint, I just don't "get" it, if you know what I mean. I felt literally nothing over the announcement of this. Now I am not trying to be holier-than-thou, and I understand that this is still a touchy subject for many, not just in the United States, but in parts of Canada too. I get that. But I can't help but think of a line I heard from Patrick Burke when Sam first came out. Burke is the son of NHL General Manager Brian Burke, and leader of the "If you can play, you can play" organization whose goal it is to support gay athletes. Anyways, Burke said something like "this battle is already won, some people just don't know it." His point being that by and large society has accepted this, and perhaps more importantly, just doesn't care. Sure, you have a vocal segment who will make this an issue (from both sides), but for the most part people just don't care. So I ask my American friends here, who come from all walks of American society and from all across your great nation, is that really true? Do most people really think this is going to be an on-going issue or story? Or is just the novelty of it all today, and that tomorrow, once people see that there is really nothing different about the whole thing, it will go away?
 

rhinobean

Hall of Fame
Joined
Jul 19, 2013
Messages
2,152
Name
Bob
Glad he was just drafted - but i am so sick of the media overkill.

5 straight articles on PFT about him.

Welcome to the team - now go to work, and kick the media out!
Regarding the media, if they can't keep the discussion to strictly football at this point, they should be banned from Rams Park! Nothing but sports/football writers, please!
 

-X-

Medium-sized Lebowski
Joined
Jun 20, 2010
Messages
35,576
Name
The Dude
I'm not going to claim that I understand the implications of the cap, or how to breakdown a 53 man roster, so I'll just ask this; is this true? Is the only way Sam can make the team going to be if he beats out both Brown and Sims? I mean, Brown I can see... but Sims?? I find that extremely unlikely. Don't get me wrong, I knew Sam was going to be in tough to make the team to begin with, as are all 5th-7th rounders on any team really, but is THIS the path he has to take? Just curious.



You know, I've been thinking about this, and I'm not sure it will have any impact whatsoever. It's not like St. Louis is a huge national market team, and if Sam isn't on the field for most games how interesting is it going to be? As others have said it's going to be pretty hard to justify giving significant Sam field-time when you're looking at our front seven, and the depth behind it. So maybe he gets in on a couple of plays a game. Is that going to be enough to keep everybody's attention?

I'm trying really hard to think of a way to write this without coming across as anti-American, or ignorant, or worse, both. So take the following in the spirit in which it is intended, which is to say outright curiosity. I am from Montreal, born and raised, I speak both French and English, I have Scottish, Irish, and French blood in me. I am not bragging, but it's a known fact that Montreal is considered to be one of the most diverse, multi-cultural cities in the world. And very liberal, left-wing. So while I "understand" the importance of this story from a historical standpoint, I just don't "get" it, if you know what I mean. I felt literally nothing over the announcement of this. Now I am not trying to be holier-than-thou, and I understand that this is still a touchy subject for many, not just in the United States, but in parts of Canada too. I get that. But I can't help but think of a line I heard from Patrick Burke when Sam first came out. Burke is the son of NHL General Manager Brian Burke, and leader of the "If you can play, you can play" organization whose goal it is to support gay athletes. Anyways, Burke said something like "this battle is already won, some people just don't know it." His point being that by and large society has accepted this, and perhaps more importantly, just doesn't care. Sure, you have a vocal segment who will make this an issue (from both sides), but for the most part people just don't care. So I ask my American friends here, who come from all walks of American society and from all across your great nation, is that really true? Do most people really think this is going to be an on-going issue or story? Or is just the novelty of it all today, and that tomorrow, once people see that there is really nothing different about the whole thing, it will go away?
I hate to do this to you ... since you went to all that work, but ...

When I said it should have a positive impact on our numbers, I meant IT (the lack of homophobic remarks) should have a positive effect on our ROD membership numbers. Call me an eternal optimist, but I think most people prefer civil discussion over name-calling and in-fighting.
 

Prime Time

PT
Moderator
Joined
Feb 9, 2014
Messages
20,922
Name
Peter
Michael Sam: A Small Step, and a Giant Leap
When the Rams finally took Michael Sam seven picks from the end of the draft, anger turned to joy among the out former players supporting him. It’s history, yes, but whose?
By Robert Klemko

Brace yourself; It’s Michael Sam Week… again.

Maybe it didn’t matter to you the first time around, when the Missouri defensive end came out to a national audience and announced his intention to be pro football’s first openly gay active player. If that’s the case, it probably matters even less now that he’s done it, having been drafted in the seventh round by the Rams. That’s fine. You have the right to stop reading.

But know that it really mattered to a handful of men, beginning with St. Louis coach Jeff Fisher, who said he wanted to be a part of historic moment and get a good football player. When out former NFL player Wade Davis delivered his inclusivity talk to a room full of coaches at the NFL owners meetings in March, Fisher jumped from his seat and was first in line waiting beside the stage when Davis finished, ready to bear-hug the former cornerback. A decade earlier, Fisher had cut Wade not once, but twice from the Titans. They hadn’t spoken since.

“Maybe I did make a mistake by cutting you,” Fisher told him, “because you’re still here!”

There will be a lot written this week about Sam. We’ll discuss why he fell to the seventh round. We’ll wonder what’s next; how will Rams players and their fans and the local media respond to being a proving ground for the unprecedented? Will Sam even make the Rams roster?

We’ll talk about pick 249 as a historic moment. And it is, but whose history is it?

It’s not Sam’s history. Surely, he’s beginning to grasp the significance, but how could he ever thrive in this sport if he wasn’t at least somewhat naive about the larger context? Who in his right mind could bear all that weight? He didn’t kiss his boyfriend on ESPN to be the first dude to kiss his boyfriend on ESPN. He did it because he wanted to kiss his boyfriend.

Can the NFL puff its chest out and claim this moment? Nope. Not in light of Sam’s breathless fall down the boards. There are reasons for that. Some are well-documented. Some aren’t. On some level, we can understand it as evidence of the league’s collective reluctance to take the leap into a new era, despite commissioner Roger Goodell’s insistence of the opposite. It’s true that Sam is not a first-round talent. It’s also true he’s not a seventh-round talent. They call the NFL a copycat league, and this time it manifested in an ugly way.

Even the Rams, groundbreakers that they are, don’t own this. They waited like everybody else, convinced Sam would fall further than his talents merited. They made history, but not before they got a bargain.


No, this moment belongs to gentlemen with a sort of perspective we can’t even imagine, who watched the draft at the edge of their seats. Davis streamed it live to his phone en route to a flag football game in New York. Out former NFL defensive lineman Esera Tuaolowatched it from his home in Minnesota, at one point shutting off the television because he couldn’t stand to watch anymore… then flipping it back on almost immediately. David Kopay, the first retired player to come out, watched the broadcast at home near Occidental College outside of Los Angeles. Three generations of NFL players, hoping and praying the man who had the courage and perspective to do what they couldn’t—come out while playing—would have his confidence validated.

Slowly, the confidence eroded.

“I was so angry as the rounds passed by,” said Tuaolo, 45.

“I could just feel the pressure that he was under,” said Kopay, 71, “and the anxiety, having stood up the way he has, just to be who you are.”

Pass rushers flew off the board in rapid succession in the seventh; Ben Gardner, a banged-up tweener out of Stanford, went 231st to the Cowboys. Trevor Reilly, a 26-year-old linebacker out of Utah, went 233rd to the Jets. Terrence Fede, FCS school Marist’s career leader in sacks, went 234th to the Dolphins. Shelby Harris, who was dismissed from the Illinois State football team and didn’t play in 2013, went 235th to the Raiders.

Davis, 36, has been speaking with owners, coaches and general managers for weeks, and while he hated to see Sam fall, he understood it.

“Teams aren’t afraid of having Michael; they’re afraid of the unknown,” Davis said. “How is the media going to handle it? How are the coaches going to handle it? I don’t think anybody needs to be vilified for it. When you go into a new space that’s never been breached before, there’s some hesitation there.”

Nearing the end of the draft, some of us in the television audience squirmed in anticipation. Others, certainly, didn’t want to hear Sam’s name. A great many Americans with good enough sense to not watch the backend of the freaking NFL draft were out enjoying their Saturdays.

The Rams chimed in at pick 249 out of 256, choosing Sam.

Tuaolo was still frustrated, but soon grew thrilled. He pledged to be at Sam’s first game, then set out to celebrate with a friend over drinks. Kopay sat in front of the television and thought of his friend and former teammate Jerry Smith, who died of AIDS on October 15, 1986, having never come out.

“Did I cry?” Kopay said. “I cried quite a bit.”

Davis, en route to the flag football game, watched the pick come across the screen of his smartphone, then saw Sam embrace his boyfriend and kiss him. He felt nothing, then everything. “It brought me back to when I was going through all of that,” Davis said, “but obviously under very different circumstances.”

The calls started coming in; newspapers, websites, friends, loved ones. The men who lived in the shadows for as long as they could bear felt the tide shift on Saturday, just weeks after learning of a young man who didn’t at first understand the gravity of it all and probably still doesn’t.

Dozens more men, still closeted, still in the NFL, watched too. One of them sent Davis a short text message on Saturday night: “:)
 

CGI_Ram

Hamburger Connoisseur
Moderator
Joined
Jun 28, 2010
Messages
48,046
Name
Burger man
I think he will bring a lot to the table. He will want to prove he belongs on the team and will give 110%.

I hope it works out. A situational rusher, perhaps. But he's got competition.
 

TheDYVKX

#TeamMcVay
Joined
Mar 17, 2014
Messages
4,703
Name
Sean McVay
Now we have a DE controversy. Some portion of the world is going to be calling for Quinn/Hayes/Long's head, demanding that Sam starts. This is going to be enjoyable.
 

Stranger

How big is infinity?
Joined
Aug 15, 2010
Messages
7,182
Name
Hugh
Sam will will most likely not make the the 53 man roster.
I think he will. But if he doesn't, he'll make the practice squad and make the team next year. But if I had to bet, and perhaps we should establish a ROD wager on this, i say he makes the 53 as a ST player and for exoctic rush packages on D.
 

duckhunter

Starter
Joined
Feb 17, 2013
Messages
908
I think he will. But if he doesn't, he'll make the practice squad and make the team next year. But if I had to bet, and perhaps we should establish a ROD wager on this, i say he makes the 53 as a ST player and for exoctic rush packages on D.

As the roster fills out with quality at other positions and our DLine has such top quality, I can see a big discussion within the Rams organization to have only 8 DLinemen on the 53 man roster and retain more developmental guys at other positions.

Come cut down time, it will get very interesting this year for Snisher than the past two.