Gado lovefest

[jaxvid]

The ESPN guys are having a lovefest for GB RB Samkon Gado during the Pack/Lions game. They cannot stop talking about him, except to wonder when Brett Favre will retire. Gado was a third string running back at I-AA Liberty college. How the hell does he get a starting tailback position when no white guys can. I guess its because he is from Nigeria which means he is more recently out of the jungle then even American blacks.

Geez he just ran for a long TD, the hype is going to go even higher. I noticed on his run he started high-stepping a little to soon and almost got caught, no mention of that though. Do they learn that move in Nigeria?

 

[backrow]

i thought that's just a way he runs

i actually think that he does best he can in NFL but especially for a guy that came from small school, and never really had any decent experiance...
the point is how come guys like: Staley (proven, trophy winning back) Lumsden, Forsey etc can't even get a shot... i mean wth is wrong with this system? i have nothing against Gado i just wish we had 4 or 5 white guys with that sorta success story... sometimes for them the only way is to bulk up and work on their blocking, thus making NFL as more and more phased out position of FB (better phase it out or else some white guy might get to carry the rock...)

 

[white tornado]

Gado seems like a good guy and I'll root for him because he's from a smaller school.

 

[Guest]

As a Packer fan I have to agree with backrow on this one. While having nothing against Gado it strains credulity that they cannot find one white kid to put on the practice squad as they did Gado.

 

[Don Wassall]

The reality of the NFL is that Mike Sherman will sign a white running back about the same time as Bobby Bowden recruits and starts one for Florida State.

 

[Bart]

Gado has received effusive non-stop praise from the media since joining the Packers. Judging from the commentsby the ESPN crew you'd think he was a budding Jim Brown. You know what's funny? He's had a few more carries than Travis Jervey had in his career but their yards per carry is the same --3.9.

 

[nordic_miler]

As pathetic as the gushing of Gado was on ESPN, I will admit he is a pretty humble guy and he deserves some of the hype. I live in northern Wisconsin and I get the local Packers station on TV, which is actually on right now, the hour before Monday Night Football. It's usually the same crap(Donald Driver and Mike Sherman making exscuses, like, oh we had a bad day, oh the penalties, oh the mistackles), but a few weeks ago Gado came on the show and he is a pretty cool dude.

Bart-that's pretty sad about Jervey. I recall him running for the packers, although I was like 10 years old then.

 

[jaxvid]

Gado, good guy or not received a lot of undeserved praise. On the ridiculous "non-safety" play he did something I have not seen above the pee-wee level and attempted to avoid a safety by throwing the ball out of the end zone and near a teammate. The announcers credited him with a heads-up play

and said he had nothing to lose by doing it. That is not true, had the Lions recovered the fumble then they would have had a shot at 7 not 2.

The resultant bad call cleared him but note that a white third string running back that had fumbled four times in three games would be selling burgers that night not starting at tailback.

 

[surfsider]

I don't begrudge Gado his success but his new found status as a runner certainly bolsters the point about RB being the easiest position to fill at the pro level.