Colt Lyerla in Packer Rookie Orientation

[vince]

There was more.

Bob McGinn @BobMcGinn 1h
Here's what #Packers got in Colt Lyerla, based on pre-draft remarks by personnel people ... http://www.jsonline.com/sports/packe...259883161.html …

Bob McGinn @BobMcGinn 1h
Thompson, McCarthy, Murphy/board, welcoming fans show they can bottom-feed with the best signing off on TE Lyerla. What price glory?

Bob McGinn @BobMcGinn 1h
#Packers had four-year history with DE Johnny Jolly before bringing him back. They had TE Lyerla for four days before signing him.


The last one makes some internal sense. However, I am not sure they knew anything more about Jolly's chance for success than Lyerla's EXCEPT for how he had previously played as a pro

If that is the threshold for taking a risk, then you are just arguing for a flexible character standard based on how good the player is. You are not arguing against bottom feeding.

McGinn's a master at his craft - gaining reader interest and engagement.

Thompson took the first chance on Jolly when he drafted him with all the same flags that made him available in the 7th round before he played a down as a pro. They brought him back after his troubles as a pro on top of his concerns from college.

Obviously it's all meaningless in the absence of extreme football ability but I think that Thompson believes the opportunity to help a guy turn his life into a success far outweighs any possible hit to his reputation for taking an informed risk and showing people he believes in them if they fail. He's demonstrated time and again that his superficial public persona is meaningless to him. He neither tries to manage it or pay attention to it. He's where he wants to be (GM of the Packers) and now it's all about trusting in what he believes is the right thing to do for the Packers and the players/team as a whole. He should too because he's one of if not the best in the business.

[Zool]

McGinn is an ad-click selling douche. He's become the Skip Bayless of the JSO.

[Guiness]

McGinn is an ad-click selling douche. He's become the Skip Bayless of the JSO.

Kind of feel that way as well about those tweets - they read like titillating Huffington Post headlines. Bottom feeders, really?

[Brandon494]

McGinn is an ad-click selling douche. He's become the Skip Bayless of the JSO.

QFT

[run pMc]

Agree with Zool re: McGinn-as-Bayless. Calling the team bottom feeders, etc., was a pretty extreme comment to make, and trying to defend that statement will only get him on shakier ground. It will drive a lot of readers and comments to the JSO and McGinn's twit account.

Seriously, all this Lyerla hype is much ado about nothing in a slow point of the news cycle. It's not like Greg Jennings' sister or Finley's agent haven't popped off with stupidity on twitter, and McGinn is doing it too. Lyerla's Sandy Hook comments were unbelievably insensitive and dumb but not a crime. Him quitting on the team and coke use are more troubling IMO, but if he is serious about changing his life and surrounding himself with good people GB isn't a bad place to do that. He's a dumb impressionable kid, but it's not like he

- Runs a dogfighting ring,
- beats women,
- sexually assaults kids in hottubs
- drugs women with Ambien and sexually assaults them,
- deals drugs,
- kills people at SB parties,
- has a last name like Roethlisberger,
- shoots guns in the air outside stripclubs, or
- poops in closets.

The kid isn't the antichrist. He's also not the 1st person to make mistakes, or the 1st player to run afoul of the law and join the Packers.

He's one of 90, a longshot for the 53, and has no impact on the salary cap. Big deal. He's a character risk, but he's not the first. He's also talented, so it's a risk/reward thing and I think it's worth kicking the tires on him. If anybody has the speed to run down the seam, it's this kid.

Pretty clear signal that Finley isn't coming back.

[mraynrand]

He's a dumb impressionable kid, but it's not like he

- Runs a dogfighting ring,
- beats women,
- sexually assaults kids in hottubs
- drugs women with Ambien and sexually assaults them,
- deals drugs,
- kills people at SB parties,
- has a last name like Roethlisberger,
- shoots guns in the air outside stripclubs, or
- poops in closets.
.

It's still early in his career to expect all those accolades. Give the kid some time!

[wist43]

There's an old saying, "... take the alcohol away from a drunken horse thief, what do ya got??"

The moral of the story is, the kid has problems and they don't magically go away simply b/c he's in a "clean environment". That said, people can mature quickly thru lessons learned - others can't. It took Johnny Jolly a couple of bites at the apple to get it figured out. Others, it only takes one bloody nose. Still others like Steve Howe and Aaron Hernandez never learn.

We'll see, but it isn't as simple as putting the kid in a supportive environment and thinking all will be well. If he's got issues, they will eventually come to the surface, and he'll flame out. On the other hand, if he's matured, and is mature enough to ask for help when he needs it, he may endure and be able to make a go of it.

You just can never tell... these are young kids we're talking here.

[mission]

There's an old saying, "... take the alcohol away from a drunken horse thief, what do ya got??"

The moral of the story is, the kid has problems and they don't magically go away simply b/c he's in a "clean environment". That said, people can mature quickly thru lessons learned - others can't. It took Johnny Jolly a couple of bites at the apple to get it figured out. Others, it only takes one bloody nose. Still others like Steve Howe and Aaron Hernandez never learn.

We'll see, but it isn't as simple as putting the kid in a supportive environment and thinking all will be well. If he's got issues, they will eventually come to the surface, and he'll flame out. On the other hand, if he's matured, and is mature enough to ask for help when he needs it, he may endure and be able to make a go of it.

You just can never tell... these are young kids we're talking here.

You're right. Some people can blame these "experiments" on trying to have sex with strippers because that's what their buddies did and coke is what strippers do. That doesn't sound like such a bad thing when you're 20 and strippers can be pretty hot (even if they're dirty). Others are tortured souls with deep emotional issues and sit in their room and self medicate. If that's the kind of guy he is then there might not be a lot of hope. If he was just partying and hung out with the wrong crowd who didn't have NFL aspirations then I think he'll be OK.

[gbgary]

Considering your scout's history of drafting receivers, we should give up all hope for Lyerla and start wishing the Packers would cut him before he does any damage.

lol...took me a second.

[Guiness]

You're right. Some people can blame these "experiments" on trying to have sex with strippers because that's what their buddies did and coke is what strippers do. That doesn't sound like such a bad thing when you're 20 and strippers can be pretty hot (even if they're dirty). Others are tortured souls with deep emotional issues and sit in their room and self medicate. If that's the kind of guy he is then there might not be a lot of hope. If he was just partying and hung out with the wrong crowd who didn't have NFL aspirations then I think he'll be OK.

Bryant McKinne knows a thing about strippers.

http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/2014/5/20/5734270/bryant-mckinnie-strip-club-mathematics

Maybe he has an opinion on this?

[Noodle]

There's an old saying, "... take the alcohol away from a drunken horse thief, what do ya got??"

The moral of the story is, the kid has problems and they don't magically go away simply b/c he's in a "clean environment". That said, people can mature quickly thru lessons learned - others can't. It took Johnny Jolly a couple of bites at the apple to get it figured out. Others, it only takes one bloody nose. Still others like Steve Howe and Aaron Hernandez never learn.

We'll see, but it isn't as simple as putting the kid in a supportive environment and thinking all will be well. If he's got issues, they will eventually come to the surface, and he'll flame out. On the other hand, if he's matured, and is mature enough to ask for help when he needs it, he may endure and be able to make a go of it.

You just can never tell... these are young kids we're talking here.

I agree with this. Maybe because I've seen this kind of stuff up close and personal, I tend to think this kid has some personality disorder issues. He's going to need some help, and hoping that he matures and gets over it isn't really a winning strategy. If anything, I'm reminded a little bit of Raiders Center Barrett Robbins, who went AWOL before the Super Bowl. It's not that these guys are a-holes, man, they've got hardcore psychological issues. And those problems will need to be tended to for a long time.

So I'm find with the experiment as long as the Pack insists that the dude consistently engage in therapy and whatever other infrastructure that is necessary for success.

[mission]

Bryant McKinne knows a thing about strippers.

http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/2014/5/20/5734270/bryant-mckinnie-strip-club-mathematics

Maybe he has an opinion on this?

I'd like to think he was getting more than lap dances for $150k! $300-400 seems to be the rate in Atlanta. Can get a few girls for a $1000 or so.

My old buddy told me. He did drugs too.

[falco]

McGinn is an ad-click selling douche. He's become the Skip Bayless of the JSO.

I think you are right. I've tried to defend McGinn as being that independent minded reporter, but it seems to me that he's just perpetually looking for an angle to claim someone else is wrong.

[Carolina_Packer]

If he has bipolar disorder like Barrett Robbins, there is a connection between bipolar and addiction: http://www.dualdiagnosis.org/bipolar...ion/#addiction Interesting read. I know it's kind of FYI'esque, but since the Pack signed him, it's interesting to know the root cause of his behavior. I wonder if he has sought help, or is getting on-going help. Like others have hinted, this is not a quick fix for an in-descretion or three. He may have been self-medicating to mask what was really going on inside. Barrett Robbins obviously went missing before their Super Bowl; probably a lot of pressure, or he was just having a manic episode. Some people with mania do not reason out the consequences of their actions before they do them, so they may have an episode that has "flight".

If the kid needs help, and it sounds like he does, I hope he gets it, because he's going to need it for his life, whether that has football in it, who knows?

[woodbuck27]

I agree with this. Maybe because I've seen this kind of stuff up close and personal, I tend to think this kid has some personality disorder issues. He's going to need some help, and hoping that he matures and gets over it isn't really a winning strategy. If anything, I'm reminded a little bit of Raiders Center Barrett Robbins, who went AWOL before the Super Bowl. It's not that these guys are a-holes, man, they've got hardcore psychological issues. And those problems will need to be tended to for a long time.

So I'm find with the experiment as long as the Pack insists that the dude consistently engage in therapy and whatever other infrastructure that is necessary for success.

Good post.

Repped.