This is just the thing, Brian... what I am saying is that his fall in the draft 1) had nothing to do with his sexuality, and 2) wasn't really a fall, per se.
Whether or not you accept it, combine numbers, even though they are only one data point, are very important to a team's evaluation of a player. They matter, plain and simple. Combine numbers aren't the only the only thing teams evaluate a player on, they aren't even the most important thing, but they are significant.
Yes, people have success even if they don't fit the mold for their position. Look at James Harrison. He was not drafted by any team. He was too short for his position. He was a UFA for the Steelers, and actually got cut twice by Pittsburgh and once by Baltimore before he got picked back up and then became Defensive MVP of the league. These things happen, and I hope Michael Sam is one of those guys. But these guys are the exception, not the rule.
Sam got drafted late because he is a tweener. He's not big enough to be a DE, and he's not tall enough nor does he have the coverage skills to be an OLB. He got drafted late because his combine numbers weren't just low, they were BAD. 17 reps on the bench? I can do that. He's got a great motor, and his leadership skills will be an asset to any locker room he's in. He will have to fight to make a roster spot, but I am confident that if he doesn't make it, it won't be because he's gay.
Whether or not you accept it, combine numbers, even though they are only one data point, are very important to a team's evaluation of a player. They matter, plain and simple. Combine numbers aren't the only the only thing teams evaluate a player on, they aren't even the most important thing, but they are significant.
Yes, people have success even if they don't fit the mold for their position. Look at James Harrison. He was not drafted by any team. He was too short for his position. He was a UFA for the Steelers, and actually got cut twice by Pittsburgh and once by Baltimore before he got picked back up and then became Defensive MVP of the league. These things happen, and I hope Michael Sam is one of those guys. But these guys are the exception, not the rule.
Sam got drafted late because he is a tweener. He's not big enough to be a DE, and he's not tall enough nor does he have the coverage skills to be an OLB. He got drafted late because his combine numbers weren't just low, they were BAD. 17 reps on the bench? I can do that. He's got a great motor, and his leadership skills will be an asset to any locker room he's in. He will have to fight to make a roster spot, but I am confident that if he doesn't make it, it won't be because he's gay.
"There remain four irreducible objections to religious faith: that it wholly misrepresents the origins of man and the cosmos, that because of this original error it manages to combine the maximum servility with the maximum of solipsism, that it is both the result and the cause of dangerous sexual repression, and that it is ultimately grounded on wish-thinking." ~Christopher Hitchens, god is not Great
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