In the wake of Hernandez - Colt Lyerla, Y/N?

[letekro]

How many claim the massacre in Newtown never took place?

Look, he's a freaking idiot. Idiots are prone to believing all sorts of ridiculous things. I don't know if that automatically removes him from the draft board though. After all, a low round pick involves a very small economic outlay, and this kid has a big upside.

 

[Ivan]

Look, he's a freaking idiot. Idiots are prone to believing all sorts of ridiculous things. I don't know if that automatically removes him from the draft board though. After all, a low round pick involves a very small economic outlay, and this kid has a big upside.

I agree, he's an idiot, and in this instance what he said and what he apparently believes is so outrageous that I would remove him from the draft board, especially given the relationship between what happened and this region. And in my case I will admit to a bias because I was born in Newtown and both of my older brothers went to Sandy Hook, however it wouldn't make any difference to me anyways because what he said was so offensive that it went way over the line period. I don't care about the money and I don't care about how good a player he becomes, I don't want the Patriots to have anything to do with him and I wouldn't care if he became the greatest TE in history.

 

[PP2]

Hernandez was known to be a pot smoker in college, I never heard a word about him being a gun nutbag, let alone his propensity for violence.

Presuming that the Patriots gave him a throughout vetting as they do with potential draftees they see as key pieces, they most certainly would have come across his gang-related activities (Bristol), and his propensity for violence.

Point being- a majority of NFL players have ties to either gangs, drugs, incarceration, or violence. You just have to hope they distance themselves from these things once they go professional. The Patriots gambled on Hernandez and lost big time- but it wasn't as if they thought he was a choir boy to begin with.

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

Presuming that the Patriots gave him a throughout vetting as they do with potential draftees they see as key pieces, they most certainly would have come across his gang-related activities (Bristol), and his propensity for violence.

Point being- a majority of NFL players have ties to either gangs, drugs, incarceration, or violence. You just have to hope they distance themselves from these things once they go professional. The Patriots gambled on Hernandez and lost big time- but it wasn't as if they thought he was a choir boy to begin with.

I commend them for drafting him where they did. My concern is what were they thinking giving him that 'unconditional' big contract extension? No bad behavior clauses? Egregious if what you sat is true about their foreknowledge.

 

[Tunescribe]

After all, a low round pick involves a very small economic outlay, and this kid has a big upside.

I've posted this before but that perspective is fraught with potential danger. If they get him on the cheap and he performs like a star a la Hernandez, then you're stuck in a dilemma. You're practically OBLIGATED to play him regularly and that opens the door to becoming dependent on his performance. But, as we have learned, that ultimately can do more harm than good when the player screws up off the field. I think you need to steer clear of potential powder kegs like Lyerla regardless of "upside," unless you've got some sort of insurance against the guy self-destructing. What that might be I have no clue.

 

[PP2]

I commend them for drafting him where they did. My concern is what were they thinking giving him that 'unconditional' big contract extension? No bad behavior clauses? Egregious if what you sat is true about their foreknowledge.

Very egregious if you ask me. The continued spat over guaranteed money and dispute over the dead money suggests to me that there was no moral clause that stipulated the contract being revoked under such circumstances (as opposed to being disciplined or fined). If true, it is a colossal blunder.

But they are way beyond this point and hopefully it will not happen again.

 

[IllegalContact]

I'd probably pass on him.....with gronk still here, I'm not sure the risk/reward is needed for someone like leyerla, especially since he does not come across as a troubled person who cares about football...he just comes across as a troubled person. maybe if the pats had more picks, but I'd be more apt to go with cj fierdorowicsz in rounds 3 or 4 and gator hoskins late...maybe sefarian-jenkins instead of CJ if he slips enough

just need viable options as passing targets.....don't need to shoot for another all-pro as much as improved depth as well as a solid blocker in the running game and CJ does that very well

 

[Ivan]

Presuming that the Patriots gave him a throughout vetting as they do with potential draftees they see as key pieces, they most certainly would have come across his gang-related activities (Bristol), and his propensity for violence.

Point being- a majority of NFL players have ties to either gangs, drugs, incarceration, or violence. You just have to hope they distance themselves from these things once they go professional. The Patriots gambled on Hernandez and lost big time- but it wasn't as if they thought he was a choir boy to begin with.

My belief from what i had read was that his gang ties were at home and I would guess you are right about that and they knew about those relationships but like other kids were hoping they were a thing of the past and wouldn't seriously effect his NFL career, and you are right, that's somewhat commonplace. What i really wonder about is how much they knew or heard about his activities at Florida, and in particular the gun related incidents and possible shooting, and i would hope they didn't know about those concerns and if they did they shouldn't have touched him if they believed those allegations had credibility, and as has been pointed out the real problem is the second contract, as it should have had conditions and they should have had a much better idea of who he really was and what he really was about at that point.

I always thought Hernandez was worth the risk given what we knew but i didn't know about the possible involvement in shootings while at Florida, that information came out after the Lloyd shooting.

 

[Ivan]

I've posted this before but that perspective is fraught with potential danger. If they get him on the cheap and he performs like a star a la Hernandez, then you're stuck in a dilemma. You're practically OBLIGATED to play him regularly and that opens the door to becoming dependent on his performance. But, as we have learned, that ultimately can do more harm than good when the player screws up off the field. I think you need to steer clear of potential powder kegs like Lyerla regardless of "upside," unless you've got some sort of insurance against the guy self-destructing. What that might be I have no clue.

I agree completely, you don't need to build your team with criminals there are many great prospects who don't have that character quality. Now weeding out where a kid stands on that spectrum is definitely a challenge because sometimes the ties can be there but the kid is actually a good kid from a tough background but you would hope that teams have the ability to sort most of that out. It will never be 100% but they should steer clear of player's like Lyerla who clearly has serious psychological problems.

 

[PP2]

My belief from what i had read was that his gang ties were at home and I would guess you are right about that and they knew about those relationships but like other kids were hoping they were a thing of the past and wouldn't seriously effect his NFL career, and you are right, that's somewhat commonplace. What i really wonder about is how much they knew or heard about his activities at Florida, and in particular the gun related incidents and possible shooting, and i would hope they didn't know about those concerns and if they did they shouldn't have touched him if they believed those allegations had credibility, and as has been pointed out the real problem is the second contract, as it should have had conditions and they should have had a much better idea of who he really was and what he really was about at that point.

I always thought Hernandez was worth the risk given what we knew but i didn't know about the possible involvement in shootings while at Florida, that information came out after the Lloyd shooting.

It is my belief that if Mendes had continued to be the security director, he would have most certainly found out about those because of his strong ties to the MSP and local police. He was so well connected he usually knew within a few minutes if a player was in a weed spot or at a shady strip club and would send someone to steer that player home.

The new director of security, Mark Briggs is a freaking Brit who has zero connections outside of the stadium (his experience was running security at Wembley), so you have to really wonder about that kind of move.

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

It is my belief that if Mendes had continued to be the security director, he would have most certainly found out about those because of his strong ties to the MSP and local police. He was so well connected he usually knew within a few minutes if a player was in a weed spot or at a shady strip club and would send someone to steer that player home.

The new director of security, Mark Briggs is a freaking Brit who has zero connections outside of the stadium (his experience was running security at Wembley), so you have to really wonder about that kind of move.

I think that's a valid point.
Looking at the video Brady6 posted in this thread you see The Prisoner saying all the right things about the Patriots way and how he's maturing to support his new child. Watching that reminded me of how much I was taken in by his statements. The very last thing he comes across as is a gang banger. Very articulate and seemingly intelligent. I remember wishing that Gronk was as mature and responsible. Sociopaths tend to be quite intelligent and adept at manipulating and fooling others. Too bad he fooled the entire Pats front office on his 2nd contract.