Saturday, August 30, 2014

ESPN ... Leave Michael Sam Alone (Other NFL Notes)

Michael Sam has become the new Tim Tebow.

I'm not comparing their play, their social importance or whatever to the sports landscape or even their fanbase.  I mean that ESPN just won't leave them alone.

During the Tim Tebow Era of ESPN, his name was all over the network.  It could be March and they were name dropping him.  First Take would spend pretty much every day bringing him up in their debates.  SportsCenter would talk about him for no reason.  I'm not getting into why all of that happened, but it happened.

They are doing the same with Sam even though no one really is asking for it.  Yes, Sam is attempting to be the first openly gay player.  I hope he makes it just because he's a good player and seems like a good guy.  I hope a lot of these young guys reach their dreams too but I know that the reality is that many dreams die on cut day.  Yet Sam is singled out which is exactly what you really don't want to do.  Go to ESPN.com and their main headlines has been "Rams making cuts but Sam is still on the roster".  Nice.  What about the 17 guys who were cut?  Only two of those players, Garrett Gilbert and Mitchell Van Dyk, were mentioned by name.

Sam's name was mentioned seven times in the article and included a quote.

Please, ESPN, don't make him into a caricature.  Don't make people hate him just because you won't stop talking about him.

LAW FIRM

BenJarvus Green-Ellis was cut by the Bengals which was no surprise to anyone ... least of all, Green-Ellis.  The only shame is how the Bengals used him this preseason.  They knew they didn't want to keep him, but kept him on the roster as basically a guy to work out their defense in practice and take on the injury risk during the preseason.

That's the way the roster game is played, but it still kinda sucks.  BJGE may have a shot elsewhere as a veteran back without a ton of mileage, but I'm sure he wishes he could've had a shot at earning a job during the preseason elsewhere than being the guy who is your sacrificial lamb during the preseason.

Other interesting names that could be cut:  Mario Manningham, Champ Bailey and Stevan Ridley.

SILAS REDD-SKIN

As a Redskins fan, I'm glad that Silas Redd made the team.  I've like his running style for a while and feel he could be a guy who could be a diamond in the rough if he can stay healthy.  That's a big if, but I don't think the Redskins were making a big gamble choosing him over the other backs they cut ... including their veteran Evan Royster.

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