Packers Make a Valued Risk on Colt Lyerla

Green Bay Packers have taken risks on a few players throughout their years as a franchise. They are not the Cincinnati Bengals nor the New England Patriots where they give give out chances to a multitude of troubled young players. There are examples of Green Bay attempting reclamation projects, but nowhere near some of the other teams in the National Football League. The latest risk is Colt Lyerla, the rookie tight end from Oregon, a player drawing a lot of 'oohs and ahhs' from Green Bay fanbase. He could be an impact rookie for Green Bay, but he could also flame out. Basically, everyone needs to take it day by day even though it is very hard given the athletic nature of Lyerla.

Lyerla would have been likely drafted in the late first to early second round if he kept his head on straight. There would have been things that would have scared teams, but in the end, the overall appeal of Lyerla on a football team would put him over the top. He is 6'4 or 6'5 pending on where you look, he runs a 4.5 40 and can jump out of a gym. He played a little bit with Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota in the backfield during his time with the Ducks meaning Lyerla could be a supersized Randall Cobb. Packers adding Lyerla was like getting another second round draft pick almost like Ted Thompson got his tight end after all as all four went before Green Bay drafted in the second round.

There are some critics of the excitement of the move which is understandable if you don't watch college football. No disrespect to those people, but if college football isn't watched, no one really saw the potential of Lyerla. He looks like just another guy Green Bay signed that could be cut before the season begins with a great deal of baggage. But the people whom cover the draft for a living are salivating over the decision Green Bay made on Monday because they could see the chance for Lyerla to be great in the league. There was a reason New England had heavy interest in him as well. There is no coincidence there. Look at his highlight tape, does this really look like an undrafted, signed off the street free agent to you?  

Lyerla has some obvious issues that no one can really overlooked. He made comments about Sandy Hook Massacre being a conspiracy theory. Lyerla also got popped for cocaine possession leading to him getting kicked off the team. He was not one of the easiest players to coach, but Green Bay has definitely been a place to welcome players battling demons with open arms. What I find interesting is no Packers beat reporter expected him to be there for tryouts. Thompson snuck this one under their noses which means Thompson sees the potential along with Green Bay being a good spot for him.  Andrew Quarless wasn't an angel coming out of Penn State either. Lyerla will be put in an environment where everyone wants him to get better and help them win another championship. 

One thing that worries me a little bit out of Lyerla besides the idea that it could take him two or three teams to really figure it out, is he still hangs out Twitter. I am on Twitter all the damn time, probably too much, but I didn't have an issue with social media like Lyerla did with the Sandy Hook incident. Additionally, Green Bay has a batshit crazy side of the fanbase where they assault the players they love on Twitter if said player directly affects how the team did that Sunday. Hell, one fan told Tramon Williams, 'I hope your house burns down with you and your family in it' after a loss to Minnesota. Lyerla could catch some of that shit if he has a couple drops in the game which could lead to an explosive Twitter rant or two. He might want to use Aaron Rodgers plan and avoid it during the season. 

It is too early to pencil Lyerla in the long-term plans of the Packers, but it seems like he could add a completely different element to this team. Imagine if this team had a new-aged H-Back throw into the bevy of things they already have right now. How do you like a pistol wishbone with Lacy, Cobb and Lyerla in the backfield? (Bad idea, I don't know what I was thinking here).  Trust me, Mike McCarthy will find a ton of ways to use the Oregon tight end, and he will keep his head on straight. He had to try out in order to be on the team, not signed after not being drafted, tried out for his spot, he will not fail again.

Charlie. 

The Troubling & Disturbing Rape Case Against Three Oregon Basketball Players

Sexual assaults at college universities, big and small, are a big problem in the United States. Recently, the Department of Education released information showing 55 open cases of sexual assault around the United States. University of Oregon did not make the list, but they have a similar issue on their hands. Three Oregon basketball players are under investigation for an alleged  forcible rape leading to their suspension.

The players were Damyean Dotson, Dominic Artis and Brandon Austin. These are names who should never be heard in a good light again.  These are terrible people. Read the police report before you read this blog post because you will see the horrifying things that took place here multiple times within a night. No one ended up being charged, but all players were suspended indefinitely until further notice. But the question is why weren't charges filed against these three individuals and why hasn't Oregon asked them to leave the program yet plus why isn't this a bigger story?

I am not an investigative reporter nor do I pretend to be, but reading the police report seems like the evidence is there to charge these individuals with some of sort of crime. We can go with the whole 'Innocent until proven guilty' but seems like it is laid out pretty clear as to what happened on that fateful night into the following day.  It is incredible the findings in the police report didn't lead to charges. I don't know how that's humanly possible given all the details featured in said report. To play devil's advocate, the police might have believe her staying overnight plus her admission to having consensus oral sex the next day led to the police's decision. Although it is really isn't that simple.  

 If anything, the victim clearly scared out of her goddamn mind hung around and succumbed to the heinous acts that night because she didn't or couldn't fight it anymore which might be the most troubling part of the whole thing. Further, the morning after activities with Artis more has to do with her being terrified of what happened versus her willingly performing these acts on Artis.  These men used their power and strength to overpower a helpless victim. All sexual assault and rape cases are troubling no matter the individual but when it is a situation where three or four men to one, it becomes even more disgustingly obvious what went on here.

"She's crying because we fucked her too hard."

That's a comment from the police report from Dotson, one of the best players on Oregon's basketball team. Let that comment sink in for a second.  Even in the midst of raping a female with two of his teammates, Dotson still finds an opportunity to thump his chest like he just hit a game-tying 3-pointer with no time remaining on the clock. The oblivious nature of this individual is stunning and shows you just how little they care and respect women. Honestly, it sounds like a man whom would do it again without any sort of remorse. Every time something like this comes across the wire, you want things to change and be different yet there are still cases like this all over the country.

The real question is why Oregon basketball has decided to keep these players on the team. Even if they are never charged,  how can they expect students to cheer on three probable rapists? Artis is apparently transferring to which I hope no school takes him on. But if Dotson and Austin return, people will cheer for them because they are sheep and want to keep their head in the sand. Yet the horrifying thought of seeing them get away with a crime like this and the attitude of nothing happening is alarming. According to Eugene Police Department, they asked the program not to suspend the players for the NCAA Tournament since the investigation was ongoing. I fail to see the connection truthfully. We see all the time players are suspended for 'violation of team rules' without knowing what actually went on. Why did Dana Altman not use his power to sit down these players?  Blaming the police feels like a scapegoat.

You also have to wonder if this were the Oregon football team if the national media attention would be greater right now. It could be due to the week of the NFL Draft, but the lack of attention it has received across the country is amazing. We live in a culture where there is a fear to talk about sexual assault and especially terrible ones like what we saw at Oregon. These aren't notable players in the spotlight therefore the attention will not be there. Also it doesn't hurt Nike funnels so much money through this school meaning they can make sure things get buried into the ground before they ever really become a national news story.

Best case scenario is we will see what's happening at University of Michigan, happen at Oregon in the near future. Currently, the Wolverine football team is under a Federal Government investigation for Brendan Gibbons rape case in 2009.  The story is pretty troubling as well including the things done by Taylor Lewan whom will be a first round NFL Draft pick on Thursday evening. With the increased focus on sexual assaults being an issue on college campuses in the Federal Government, maybe it will not take five years to look further into what happened in March at Eugene.

This story broke two days ago, but it really stuck with me more so than other cases. I don't know why maybe because I want to believe we as men are better than this and when I see something like this, it depresses me because I realize we are ions away from progress. Hopefully, this isn't the end of the story for these Oregon basketball players.

Charlie.