Gästeforum » ie are prone to taking chances but can shift momentum

CLEVELAND -- Once Michael Sam is drafted in the NFL, the Missouri defensive end will be judged strictly on whether he can play and whether he can help his team win. Everything else -- even that hes gay -- will be trivial. As the first openly homosexual player to enter the draft, Sam could face scrutiny unlike any player before him. But many of the greatest players and coaches in football history dont believe hell be subjected to any hatred, harassment, discrimination or bullying by teammates. "I dont think hell have any problem in the locker room. I dont think hell have any problems on the field," said Hall of Fame offensive tackle Art Shell. "The one thing about football players, theyre inclusive. They will take you for who you are, not what people try to portray you as. "Its who you are: Youre a football player, then you can play with us. I dont see that as being a problem in the National Football League." Shells stance was shared by several other Hall of Famers, including Lions running back Barry Sanders, Buffalo coach Marv Levy, and Giants linebacker Harry Carson, who appeared along with nearly 100 other inductees at a two-day "Fan Fest," the largest gathering ever of football legends outside Canton, Ohio. Sanders, who retired at the peak of his career following the 1998 season with 15,269 career yards rushing, believes theres an unwritten code among football players to ignore anything other than a persons skills and talents. "From the time youre a kid and you start playing, youre almost programmed for Can a guy play or not?" he said. "By the time you get to the NFL, thats well ingrained. Im pretty sure every guy in this league has been around gay individuals before, and so I dont think it will be much different." Sams courageous decision to reveal his sexual orientation was an important personal milestone. It was also an historic moment for the NFL and all major sports as it provides a deeper reflection of societys openness and willingness to accept his individuality. Sams revelation may not have been met with such overwhelming approval just a few years ago. In the macho arena that is pro football, Sam may have been an outcast in previous generations. "Hes a very bold guy to come out," said cornerback Michael Haynes, a nine-time Pro Bowler elected to the Hall of Fame in 1997. "The timing is good. If hed done that in the 60s or 70s, maybe not so good because everybody was really struggling with how to understand differences like that in people. "Diversity has become a critical topic, people are talking about it all the time and I think the world is different. Remember Magic Johnson with AIDS? It starts with education. Hell be judged on football." Carson, who retired in 1988 after 13 seasons in New York, said he was "proud" of Sam for choosing to be open about his sexuality. Carson recalled that one of his Giants teammates, offensive lineman Roy Simmons, was suspected as being gay and was never ostracized. "It never really swayed anyones opinion of him," Carson said. "But its something he lived with and he didnt have to by himself because he had teammates, and the teammates he had were guys who supported him. Even though he never said anything, were a team and guys on the team who are unselfish are going to support their teammates regardless of how they choose to live their lives." Simmons, the first player to acknowledge he was HIV positive, died early this year. He was 57. Its possible there will be some awkwardness for Sam in the locker room, where he could be subjected to jokes and playful ribbing. Sanders believes those days are long gone. "Guys are more forward thinking than you think," he said. "It helps that hes a big guy. No one will mess with him." The 6-foot-2, 261-pound Sam has been projected to be drafted from the third round on. Sam didnt perform well on the field at the scouting combine, where he calmly handled tough questions about his decision to "come out." Levy, who led the Bills to four straight Super Bowls, said his criteria before deciding to draft Sam would be pretty simple. "Is he the best guy at his position when were on the board, and do we need a guy at that position?" the 89-year-old Levy said. "If so, Ill take him. Id like to know his character qualities and other things, but that would not factor into my decision." If he were coaching a team that selected Sam, Levy said he would not feel any need to address his players. That may not have been the case 10 or 20 years ago. "I wouldnt make an issue of it," Levy said. "I think society has adjusted to the point where its an acceptable thing and why make an issue of it? That would be my approach. Things change, plus Ive got to worry about how to pick up the blitz." 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Authentic Nate Hairston Jersey .com) - The Chicago Cubs reportedly signed recently-acquired outfielder Dexter Fowler to a one-year contract on Friday, avoiding arbitration.The Carolina Panthers didnt win a football game for over eight weeks at one point this season and now they are set to host a wild- card playoff game as the favorite. Such is life in the war of attrition that is the NFL. The NFC South champions will open up the NFL postseason on Saturday against an 11-win Arizona team that will likely be relying on its third-string quarterback Ryan Lindley. Despite ping-ponging from Carson Palmer to Drew Stanton back to Palmer and back to Stanton before Lindley due to injuries the Cardinals tied a franchise record with the 11 victories and have won 21 total games in their first two seasons under the likely NFL Coach of the Year, Bruce Arians. Arizona has also won four of its past six postseason games, including a 33-13 win at Carolina on Jan. 10, 2009 in the divisional round, the only prior matchup between these teams in the playoffs. Its a whole new season now, Arians said. Were all 0-0 and were in the tournament. Were going to get ready for this playoff game. Were not planning on being one-and-done. Few ever plan to be one-and-done but the Cardinals have an uphill battle in trying to avoid that fate. Arizona comes in having lost two in a row, including a 20-17 Week 17 loss at the 49ers in what turned out to be Jim Harbaughs final game as San Franciscos head coach. Lindley did throw his first two career touchdown passes to Michael Floyd in the setback and completed 23-of-39 passes for a career-high 316 yards but he also was picked off three times. Floyd, meanwhile, made eight catches for 153 yards and Kerwynn Williams ran it 17 times for 67 yards. Its a loss and no one wants to lose in the NFL, but I think we gained some confidence, said Lindley. We ran the ball a lot better this week. We did a great job of pass protection ... Floyd had a great day. Despite their less-than-stellar record, the Panthers enter the tournament red hot, having won four straight while outscoring opponents 111-43 over that span. Under head coach Ron Rivera, Carolina became the first team to win back-to- back NFC South division titles after a dominating 34-3 winner-take-all road win at Atlanta last weekend. In the month of December, the Panthers formula for turning things around was running the football coupled with stingy defense, ranking second in the NFL in both rushing offense (199.3 yards per game) and points allowed (10.8 points per game) during the month. We put ourselves in this position by playing the way we did in December, Rivera said. Weve won the NFC South two years in a row and thats something to build on as we move forward as a football team. Against the Falcons, Carolina returned two Matt Ryan interceptions for touchdowns and scored a total of 21 points off three turnovers. The Panthers defense harassed Ryan all day, piling up six sacks and hurrying the veteran QB into uncharacteristic mistakes, resulting in an overthrown pass that was returned 31 yards for a touchdown by Roman Harper in the second quarter. Later in the third quarter, an underthrown pass was picked by Tre Boston and returned 84 yards to put the game out of reach. They played the way you need to play in these types of situations, said Ryan. They executed at a high level and we did not, across the board. Cam Newton didnt have to do much against the Falcons, and finished with 114 yards passing and a touchdown while adding 51 yards on the ground, including a 4-yard touchdown scramble after an Atlanta fumble in the first half. This game meant so much to, not only myself, but my teammates, said Newton. We were playing for so much. We did a lot that a lot of people didnt expect us to do. Jonathan Stewart carried the ball 13 times for 49 yards while starting again in place of DeAngelo Williams, who sat for the fourth straight game with a broken hand. Carolina leads its all-time series with the Cards by an 8-5 margin, including the prior postseason loss. In the playoffs as a whole the Panthers are 6-5 all-time while the Cardinals are under water at 6-7. The winner this week will advance to face either top-seeded Seattle or No. 2 Green Bay in the divisional round. If Dallas beats Detroit on Sunday, the winner will play at the Seahawks. If Detroit wins, the winner travels to Green Bay. WHAT TO WATCH FOR If you are wondering why Arians is the odds on favorite to win his second Coach of the Year award, consider this: Injuries have been an issue for Arizona dating all the way back to training camp when star defensive tackle Darnell Dockett was lost for the season to a knee injury. When you add it all up, the Cards have been without 21 different players at some point this season and that group has missed a collective 109 games. Add in suspended star linebacker Daryl Washington and those numbers jump to 22 and 125. The health at the quarterback position has been particularly troubling. Palmer has missed 10 games, first with a nerve issue in his shoulder before a season-ending ACL tear. His backup, Stanton, then went down with a knee injury of his own, which has been complicated by an infection. Palmer won all six of his starts this season and 133 of 15 dating back to 2013 so this is a completely different club with him under center, one that was on its way to earning the top seed in the conference.dddddddddddd Without Palmer or Stanton, Arizonas big-play defense will have to carry the day if the team hopes to leave the Tar Heel State with a win. Defensive coordinator Todd Bowles is getting a lot of bites as a head-coaching candidate because he has cobbled together a solid unit despite the absence of stalwarts like Washington, Dockett and John Abraham (concussion issues.) The group isnt that great on paper, ranked 24th in the NFL by allowing 368.2 yards per game, but it does force the issue as evidenced by the teams plus-8 turnover ratio, which is third in the NFC. Talented cornerbacks Patrick Peterson and Antonio Cromartie are prone to taking chances but can shift momentum at any time with their impressive man- to-man coverage skills. The Cardinals defense had 18 total interceptions in the regular season with four players snaring three-or-more, safety Rashad Johnson (four) and Cromartie, Peterson and fellow corner Jerraus Powers with three apiece. The Panthers offense is the definition of mediocre, 16th in a 32-team league at 346.7 ypg but they have some real threats in rookie receiver Kelvin Benjamin as well as star tight end Greg Olsen, who both finished with over 1,000 receiving yards. Carolina could also get a boost in the backfield with the potential return of Williams from the broken hand. The veteran was actually probable last week but was deactivated because he was deemed a liability in pass protection. Stewart, meanwhile, has been solid in his absence, rushing for 486 yards since Williams was forced to the sideline. (Williams is a) part of why we are where we are today, Rivera said. When hes healthy and ready to go hell get his opportunities to get on the field. Arians, meanwhile, is very concerned with the dual threat Newton brings to the table, calling him tougher to defend than other QBs who have a similar skill set like Seattles Russell Wilson and the Niners Colin Kaepernick. He presents different problems than Colin and Russell, Arians said. Hes more of a combination of both those guys. He can really throw the football extremely well from the pocket. It presents a multitude of problems for us. The Panthers wont be having those same problems. There is no other way to say it than other than Arizona is behind the 8-ball on offense with Lindley, who simply isnt a competent starter at this level. Conversely the Panthers defense has been hitting its stride lately and finished the season 10th overall (339.8 ypg) after the strong December. Without the exiled Greg Hardy, linebackers Luke Kuechly and Thomas Davis are the unquestioned difference makers. The All-Pro Kuechly led NFL with 153 tackles and also leads with 473 stops since entering the league in 2012. His running mate, Davis, is almost as productive, finishing second on the club in tackles with 100. In Hardys absence. Charles Johnson has taken over as the units best pass rusher with 8 1/2 sacks, his fifth consecutive season with eight-or-more QB takedowns. The consistent Johnson is the only NFC player with 50-or-more sacks (52 1/2) and 13-or-more forced fumbled (13) since 2010. The defensive backfield is headlined by Harper, who led the team with a career-high four interceptions, but really took off when rookies Boston, Harpers running mate at safety, and cornerback Bene Benwikere entered the lineup. We were trying to find answers as a coaching staff, the right combination of guys -- and we found it, Rivera said when discussing his rookies. With all three levels hitting on all cylinders in December the group has limited opposing quarterbacks to a 64.6 passer rating -- second only to the Seahawks dominant defense. Lindley, meanwhile, is 1-5 as a starter as a professional and had thrown an NFL-record 229 pass attempts without a touchdown before finding Floyd on a gimmick flea-flicker play last week. It was good to get the monkey off my back a little bit, Lindley said. The real hope, though, is that Stanton could make the miracle recovery and be under center by Saturday. Hes progressing and nothings really changed, Arians admitted when asked about Stanton. Weve got our fingers crossed that possibly he could go later in the week. OVERALL ANALYSIS Since 1936, no team has scored fewer points than Arizona over the final six games and still made the playoffs. The Cardinals have continually called Stantons knee injury a sprain. In reality, though, it was a partially torn ACL and a Grade 2 MCL sprain further exacerbated by an infection which had to be drained. Hes not walking through that door at Bank of America Stadium on Saturday to save Arizona. Carolina, though, is bringing what has been the second best defense in football over the past month. It tells you that no matter what you do during the regular season, it just doesnt matter, Stewart said of his teams renewed optimism. Things amp up to a whole different notch in the playoffs. Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Panthers 21, Cardinals 17 ' ' '