Bills’ Eric Wood blames ESPN for lack of interest in Michael Sam

[Ramhusker]

I still think the kid will make it somewhere in the NFL but I know the uproar of him not instantly making it will certainly hurt his chances in the long run. It's easy to say that there has got to be a team that needs him but aren't taking him for whatever reason (besides the elephant in the room) but I haven't heard which teams. Can anybody give me a list? Who here is intimate enough with the other 31 NFL rosters to assume their needs when we Rams fans can't figure out why we have some of the players we do on our own practice squad? Just saying............

 

[V3]

But, even if one agreed, couldn't the same be said about quite a few unemployed players?

Probably depends on the position. I'm not sure I've heard of many rookie DEs that performed like that and didn't end up on a team. Rushing the passer is one of the more sought after skills in the NFL. Sam can do that and I thought he showed promise for stopping the run too. He's only going to get better too.

 

[bluecoconuts]

I feel bad for Sam because I think he can play in this league.

However I don't think he'll be signing to our practice squad, and therefore I don't really care about him anymore. If he does sign onto the Rams PS, great, I'd love to have him. If not then goodluck and goodbye.

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

Sam has not proven himself against the first stringers. If he had and still was cut because of the Rams depth then he would have been picked up by someone, just based on need alone. Couple the distraction of his being gay with marginal talent and you get a guy nobody wants.....or at least a guy teams will think long and hard about adding before they decide.

I bet teams also worry about disrupting team chemistry. I am sure that all of the NFL players are not on board with homosexuality, or having a gay guy on the team, despite what they say.

 

[badnews]

I wish nothing but the best for Sam. Great hustle, pretty decent football player and he seems like a sharp, good guy.
I hope he gets a fair shake, that is all.
I'm not convinced he has... but he wouldn't be the first nor will he be the last.
This is the NFL. The business is as brutal as the game. Lots of qualified people get nowhere and many good football players never even get drafted in the first place.

 

[Thordaddy]

A team only had to put him on the 53 if they claimed him off of waivers. That ended Sunday at noon. After that, any team could sign him to their 53 OR their practice squads.

And there is just simply no way that with the number of completely crappy 4-3 teams out there that anyone is going to convince me that Michael Sam isn't substantially better than the people on the bottom of some of those rosters.

Lastly... about the weight... enough. The Rams asked Sam to drop 13 lbs so that he could attempt to play Special Teams. However, that was a long shot and it may have actually hurt his chances to make the team as much as helped him because while he was faster, he was lighter. So, the very notion that Michael Sam can't be back to the 270 he showed up to OTAs at or go up to 275 is patently ridiculous.

Btw, it's NEVER been about height and weight. For the Rams, this was all about football. For the rest of the league? I call bullfeathers...

My thinking on Sam has run the full gamete, I heard and believed in the beginning that he was only a great college player and was too much of a tweener to be either a good LB or DE. He proved that to be bullshit ,whether people are afraid to sign him for either reason that they fear it's effects on the locker room just because of his orientation or because they don't want the Oprah Winfreys of the world making their living distracting the concentration of the team ................the kid still doesn't have a job and no-one here would want that for himself nor a loved one.
I think he eventually gets a job,but soon and very soon his story is going to be all there is and the whole league is gonna take it in the shorts for it,and I say why the hell not I also think the press should as well they play a huge part in it all. I have held the media in this country in general low esteem for a long time for the way they beat stories to death and don't care much about the truth of matters ,they certainly have done all they could to reinforce my low opinion of them on this

 

[rams56]

Sam has not proven himself against the first stringers.

Either did Westbrook and he is on the active roster....and I believe it was reported recently that DE Sims has a knee injury that might keep him out a couple of weeks and with Hayes' s status up the air it is possible that our only depth at DE at the beginning of the season will be Westbrook.

Please correct me if I'm wrong on any of this.........Go Rams......

 

[blue4]

A team only had to put him on the 53 if they claimed him off of waivers. That ended Sunday at noon. After that, any team could sign him to their 53 OR their practice squads.

And there is just simply no way that with the number of completely crappy 4-3 teams out there that anyone is going to convince me that Michael Sam isn't substantially better than the people on the bottom of some of those rosters.

Lastly... about the weight... enough. The Rams asked Sam to drop 13 lbs so that he could attempt to play Special Teams. However, that was a long shot and it may have actually hurt his chances to make the team as much as helped him because while he was faster, he was lighter. So, the very notion that Michael Sam can't be back to the 270 he showed up to OTAs at or go up to 275 is patently ridiculous.

Btw, it's NEVER been about height and weight. For the Rams, this was all about football. For the rest of the league? I call bullfeathers...

The Rams did ask him to lose weight. But that isn't another teams problem. They have no NFL film on him at that weight. And teams needing immediate pass rusher aren't going to get it with Sam. He's a project, a pretty good one with a ton of heart, but teams already have their projects that they have seen everyday in practice. They would be better off trying to get Sims or Westbrook in a trade if they need immediate help.
I realize that you said you wouldn't be convinced, but I really do think this has at least as much to do with Sam as a football player as it does anything else.

 

[Memphis Ram]

I honestly have no idea what more he could have done to earn a spot on SOME roster. There are teams with such pathetic defense and pass rush, that it's ridiculous how this guy can't make even their practice squads. It's completely baffling.

It has absolutely nothing to do with his football skills and pretending like it does is intellectually dishonest... he might not be a world beater, he might never be a pro-bowler, but he surely showed enough to deserve a roster spot SOMEWHERE!

To you perhaps. I don't know your coaching pedigree, but for goodness sakes, is it also possible that others (including teams) might have a different opinion. Contrary to what has somehow become popular belief, Sam isn't the only potential pass rusher without a job right now.

I'm a Missouri Tiger fan. And like Jeff Fisher, I was rooting for Sam, too. However, if this team had the need to add a DE to the roster or practice squad, if all things were equal (no media distractions, etc..) I'd sign Gerald Rivers before Michael Sam. Why? I believe that he's potentially the better player/fit as he has shown the ability to rush the QB from RDE which is usually harder to do than LDE. And last I heard he hasn't been added to anyone's practice squad yet either. But, no one is crying foul for him.

And I say yet, because as CoachO has stated, these practice squad and roster moves are fluid. Everyone doesn't get added in the first day. And some who have been added will be unemployed after week one and so on. Happens every freaking year.

 

[Thordaddy]

To you perhaps. I don't know your coaching pedigree, but for goodness sakes, is it also possible that others (including teams) might have a different opinion. Contrary to what has somehow become popular belief, Sam isn't the only potential pass rusher without a job right now.

I'm a Missouri Tiger fan. And like Jeff Fisher, I was rooting for Sam, too. However, if this team had the need to add a DE to the roster or practice squad, if all things were equal (no media distractions, etc..) I'd sign Gerald Rivers before Michael Sam. Why? I believe that he's potentially the better player/fit as he has shown the ability to rush the QB from RDE which is usually harder to do than LDE. And last I heard he hasn't been added to anyone practice squad yet either. But, no one is crying foul for him.

And I say yet, because as CoachO has stated these practice squad and roster moves are fluid. Everyone doesn't get added in the first day. And some who have been added will be unemployed after week one and so on. Happens every freaking year.

Well as much as I liked Gerald Rivers unless he's gained some weight he's a liability in the run game and has had the time to gain it in a pro lifting program and if available has been cut two times ( I think) so I don't think my original opinion of him has gained much concensus:eek:

 

[Memphis Ram]

A team only had to put him on the 53 if they claimed him off of waivers. That ended Sunday at noon. After that, any team could sign him to their 53 OR their practice squads.

And there is just simply no way that with the number of completely crappy 4-3 teams out there that anyone is going to convince me that Michael Sam isn't substantially better than the people on the bottom of some of those rosters.

Lastly... about the weight... enough. The Rams asked Sam to drop 13 lbs so that he could attempt to play Special Teams. However, that was a long shot and it may have actually hurt his chances to make the team as much as helped him because while he was faster, he was lighter. So, the very notion that Michael Sam can't be back to the 270 he showed up to OTAs at or go up to 275 is patently ridiculous.

Btw, it's NEVER been about height and weight. For the Rams, this was all about football. For the rest of the league? I call bullfeathers...

There is a way, because there are other potential pass rushers that are not on these so called crappy teams practice squads too. But, they are all being ignored here because they are not Michael Sam.

And no one has said anything about the kid not being able to add weight back. That's patently ridiculous. Anyway, he was 261 at the combine and 263 at his pro day. Perhaps he needed to stay at that weight upon arrival or something.

I started to look for all the 6-2, 260-270 LDEs in the NFL now, but I figured that it would be a waste of time as they have to be few and far between even over the years. Although I do recall a kid that I was high on from Michigan named Brandon Graham. He was a 1st rounder who was a bit shorter, but a better athlete. To date he has been somewhat of a bust and is now a backup OLB, in the Eagles new 3-4 defense after being on a trade block. Apparently they got no takers. But, I can't think of any others.

 

[WarRam]

Same thing I've said all along. He's a 6'2" 260 lbs, one dimensional LDE who has to line up wide to have success and doesn't or didn't show enough athleticism to play OLB when almost half the teams in the league play a 3-4 defense. And he apparently didn't show enough athleticism to be much of a factor on special teams. And I know what Fisher said about DLinemen on special teams, but the athletic Eugene Sims plays special teams.

Contrary to what may be popular belief, there aren't many, IF ANY, LDEs that size in the NFL.
And not all 4-3 teams like to line their LDEs out in the Wide 9 look. RDEs? Sure. LDEs? No.

So while there may be a place for him somewhere, his opportunities were ALREADY limited despite his sexual preferences and the media circus whom many here told me was supposedly proven not to exist. It's unfair to blame all these NFL teams if he doesn't fit what they want to do on the field.

Finally, Is it not also possible that we've overrated this kid like some of the other players waived, none of whom have been claimed or added to any other teams practice squads, thus far? No one has bothered to complain about them.

Yes and even jeff fisher said that they will have players being picked up by other teams cause that talent is so good but it hasn't happened.

 

[Memphis Ram]

Hey. Our first one.

Howard Balzer @HBalzer721 · 26m
Bills add player to PS that was cut by Rams ... OL D.J. Morrell.

 

[gawain]

With all that transpired around pre-season and after it, one has to wonder - if the Rams had not drafted him, would he have even received any training camp invites from anybody? I mean, he vastly outperformed his 7th round draft stock and he still can't make even practice squads around the league.

To you perhaps. I don't know your coaching pedigree, but for goodness sakes, is it also possible that others (including teams) might have a different opinion. Contrary to what has somehow become popular belief, Sam isn't the only potential pass rusher without a job right now.

I'm a Missouri Tiger fan. And like Jeff Fisher, I was rooting for Sam, too. However, if this team had the need to add a DE to the roster or practice squad, if all things were equal (no media distractions, etc..) I'd sign Gerald Rivers before Michael Sam. Why? I believe that he's potentially the better player/fit as he has shown the ability to rush the QB from RDE which is usually harder to do than LDE. And last I heard he hasn't been added to anyone's practice squad yet either. But, no one is crying foul for him.

And I say yet, because as CoachO has stated, these practice squad and roster moves are fluid. Everyone doesn't get added in the first day. And some who have been added will be unemployed after week one and so on. Happens every freaking year.

Well of course that's my opinion. I didn't think I need to clarify that. All we are doing here is sharing opinions, since evaluating players is subjective endeavor. But lets not act like my opinion on his skills(that he's good enough to play in the league) is not prevalent one from people who have followed his pre-season and lets not pretend like even people from the Rams organization starting from Fisher, who are probably the ones best equipped to make this assessment, have not shared the exact same opinion.

 

[Memphis Ram]

With all that transpired around pre-season and after it, one has to wonder - if the Rams had not drafted him, would he have even received any training camp invites from anybody? I mean, he vastly outperformed his 7th round draft stock and he still can't make even practice squads around the league.

As I recall, the Giants, Cowboys, and another team were said to have interest in Sam as an UDFA after the draft. NFL fit still plays a role in this thing and it's still only been one freaking day. He may very well get a practice squad invite in time. These practice squads aren't set in stone.

Well of course that's my opinion. I didn't think I need to clarify that. All we are doing here is sharing opinions, since evaluating players is subjective endeavor. But lets not act like my opinion on his skills(that he's good enough to play in the league) is not prevalent one from people who have followed his pre-season and lets not pretend like even people from the Rams organization starting from Fisher, who are probably the ones best equipped to make this assessment, have not shared the exact same opinion.

And my point remains that opinion (whether it may be deemed prevalent or not), doesn't mean that said opinion has to be shared by the 4-3 defensive teams who might have a need for a one dimensional LDE (contrary to what may be popular belief, all of them may not, btw) AND see one his size as being a fit for their team.

Remember when Lovie Smith was here and he wanted his DTs on the shorter side? Would he have been wrong to pass on a taller DT that didn't fit what he wanted for his scheme because of the prevalent opinion of others outside of the Rams organization? NO.

Besides, when was the last time an NFL coach publicly stated that a recently released player didn't have an NFL future???

 

[blue4]

I believe Fisher did say Sam needed to have the right fit, but could play in the league. While that's a good endorsement from a man who knows defensive players, it's also a recognition of a limited amount of likely spots. I suspect that if he isn't on a roster by opening day, he will be by wk3, when coaches have a better feel for what they have vs what they need.

 

[snackdaddy]

I wasn't too keen on drafting Sam in the beginning. I thought the Rams were just trying to do something nice with the extra picks and it really wasn't so much about football. But as time went on Sam grew on me. I found myself rooting for him. He seems to be a good kid with good character.

Believe me, there are some people in this league who are flat out not good people. Sam isn't one of them. He's easy to root for. Question is, are people upset because they really wanted this kid to make it? Because it seems to me, in the end it was all about football. Sam was a tweener. That label is almost a death knell for a pass rusher. He's too small for end and not quick enough for linebacker. All he has is his motor and desire. Sometimes thats not good enough.

 

[Mackeyser]

@Memphis Ram Why do you insist on pigeonholing Michael Sam as a purely an LDE? That's just belligerently wrong. It's not even remotely close to a matter of opinion. Michael Sam's a DE just like Ethan Westbrooks is a Defensive Lineman who plays all 4 spots. It'd be just as wrong to call Westbrooks or Sims or Hayes just LDEs or RDEs. Factually wrong. He played from BOTH sides during the preseason and produced from both sides. Had the Rams kept him, he would have filled on both sides because that's the scheme.

Continuing to call him an LDE and then quote his weight is if the two amount to a prima facie case for why teams should be able to dismiss him amounts to nothing more than finding an excuse.

Now, why have I posted so much about Michael Sam? Emphatically at times? Well, I passionately believe in meritocracy and that the best should make it by the fruits of their labor. I do NOT believe that has been the case with Michael Sam. There have been PLENTY of players whom I have rooted for who I have to acknowledge simply have no place in the NFL. Michael Sam is not one of those.

If Michael Sam's orientation never mattered, his draft stock never would have changed after his announcement (it plummeted even though he hadn't played a down or done a single Combine drill) and he would have remained a 3rd to 5th round draft pick with a mediocre Combine and a really solid Pro day and likely would have been a Day Two pick who solidly ended up on some team's roster. Michael Sam is AT LEAST as talented as Cassius Marsh who was drafted by the Seahawks in the 4th round and Michael Sam was MORE productive in the preseason. Cassius Marsh is a DE who is 6'4" 254 for the Seahawks from their site, so the weight is current. Cassius Marsh not only made the 53, but will be part of the regular rotation for the World Champion Seattle Seahawks!!! And as a "born Bruin", I rooted for this kid and know his rep as a head case.

Now, unless you mean to tell me that Cassius Marsh is all of a sudden worlds better than Michael Sam in a few weeks, then all this "tweener" stuff just doesn't pass the smell test. Seattle is looking at having a top 5 defense...again... and Someone NOT AS GOOD as Michael Sam was made part of that rotation. Granted, they want him around 270 or so and want to use him inside a bit, but they've used him at 254. The point is that teams have had choices all along and walked away time and again, even if it meant less production.

I find that... on principle... inexcusable. I refuse to accept excuses for it, however intricately they are contrived or concocted. If Sam couldn't play, I could accept that. That he can play and he's denied the opportunity, that I can't accept.

 

[RamEERS]

soo... in the end... even after apologizing.. was Tony Dungy right?

 

[Debacled]

@Memphis Ram Why do you insist on pigeonholing Michael Sam as a purely an LDE? That's just belligerently wrong. It's not even remotely close to a matter of opinion. Michael Sam's a DE just like Ethan Westbrooks is a Defensive Lineman who plays all 4 spots. It'd be just as wrong to call Westbrooks or Sims or Hayes just LDEs or RDEs. Factually wrong. He played from BOTH sides during the preseason and produced from both sides. Had the Rams kept him, he would have filled on both sides because that's the scheme.

Continuing to call him an LDE and then quote his weight is if the two amount to a prima facie case for why teams should be able to dismiss him amounts to nothing more than finding an excuse.

Now, why have I posted so much about Michael Sam? Emphatically at times? Well, I passionately believe in meritocracy and that the best should make it by the fruits of their labor. I do NOT believe that has been the case with Michael Sam. There have been PLENTY of players whom I have rooted for who I have to acknowledge simply have no place in the NFL. Michael Sam is not one of those.

If Michael Sam's orientation never mattered, his draft stock never would have changed after his announcement (it plummeted even though he hadn't played a down or done a single Combine drill) and he would have remained a 3rd to 5th round draft pick with a mediocre Combine and a really solid Pro day and likely would have been a Day Two pick who solidly ended up on some team's roster. Michael Sam is AT LEAST as talented as Cassius Marsh who was drafted by the Seahawks in the 4th round and Michael Sam was MORE productive in the preseason. Cassius Marsh is a DE who is 6'4" 254 for the Seahawks from their site, so the weight is current. Cassius Marsh not only made the 53, but will be part of the regular rotation for the World Champion Seattle Seahawks!!! And as a "born Bruin", I rooted for this kid and know his rep as a head case.

Now, unless you mean to tell me that Cassius Marsh is all of a sudden worlds better than Michael Sam in a few weeks, then all this "tweener" stuff just doesn't pass the smell test. Seattle is looking at having a top 5 defense...again... and Someone NOT AS GOOD as Michael Sam was made part of that rotation. Granted, they want him around 270 or so and want to use him inside a bit, but they've used him at 254. The point is that teams have had choices all along and walked away time and again, even if it meant less production.

I find that... on principle... inexcusable. I refuse to accept excuses for it, however intricately they are contrived or concocted. If Sam couldn't play, I could accept that. That he can play and he's denied the opportunity, that I can't accept.

Sam has yet to play a single snap of non-preseason football. Nobody can really say if he is any good or not. And quit making assumptions about where he would have been drafted without his orientation. He was then what he is now, a DE that is not a fit in 3-4 schemes because he doesn't have the physical skill set for that who is raw and can be considered a tweener. I know you love that Seahawks example, but they are an exception not a rule. Look at Bruce Irvin. That defense is a bit unique in its personnel, outside of what the Jags are beginning to do.

Sam is what most players who have a shot at the NFL are, a bubble roster player. Some make it, a LOT do not. At THIS point in his career what he can do on the field is very limited. Can he play ST? Sure, so can a bunch of other players. Better than he can in fact. Can he play more than one position on the line? Probably, but at this point he only has a meaningful amount of reps at LDE which has been pointed out. Ask Hooey what its like to play on the opposite side of a line when you are only familiar with one side. Versatility is a HUGE plus when teams are adding guys to their PS, and as of right now that is one thing Sam lacks. He is not a fit for many teams.

He is a raw player who needs the right situation in order to land a roster spot. There are only 32 teams in this league, which means there aren't a ton of situations.

Is his football career over? Probably not. As I said above, as many others have, he needs that right situation. You can bet he is on a number of teams, including the Rams, short list when it comes to guys to bring in at DE for whatever reason.