If Gaither showed up to practice...

**The Excellector** · 08-18-2011, 03:48 PM

Originally Posted by BLSmokey

Healed? Many back injuries never fully heal. I've been dealing with a thoracic issue myself for over ten years.

Your opinions, theories, and suppositions do not equal facts.

I already posted a link, in this very thread, to an written piece by Aaron Wilson, where Gaither said that he felt great and his agent said that he was 100% fully healed. The piece was written back in March.

**GOTA** · 08-18-2011, 03:52 PM

Originally Posted by The Eternal Ring

I already posted a link, in this very thread, to an written piece by Aaron Wilson, where Gaither said that he felt great and his agent said that he was 100% fully healed. The piece was written back in March.

The Raiders doctors sure didn't think so.

**Shas** · 08-18-2011, 03:53 PM

Originally Posted by The Eternal Ring

his agent said that he was 100% fully healed. The piece was written back in March...

...when he was shopping Gaither for a big contract.

**BLSmokey** · 08-18-2011, 04:07 PM

Originally Posted by The Eternal Ring

I already posted a link, in this very thread, to an written piece by Aaron Wilson, where Gaither said that he felt great and his agent said that he was 100% fully healed. The piece was written back in March.

Gaither said he felt great.

Back injuries are a day-to-day deal. Some days you're nearly perfect, and others the spasms are so hard you can barely move.

His agent said he was 100% fully healed.

No way...you mean the best agent in the business was doing his job?

Meh. I'm through with this argument. Never should have joined in the first place. I'll concern myself with Michael Oher, Jah Reid, and anyone else who enters the conversation in the coming weeks to be a Ravens' offensive tackle.

**The Excellector** · 08-18-2011, 04:35 PM

My debate was really with Sean. Sean said Gaither hurt his back in the New England game and that is why he lost the weight. I posted a link with a direct quote from Gaither, saying that he lost the weight to take pressure off of his foot. I also posted a link to a piece from this past March and last March, both of which with Gaither and/or his agent claiming that he felt great, was healthy and ready to play LT. Sean claimed that the injury was the reason why Oakland did not sign him. Yet, that would contradict Gaither's own statements.

**The Excellector** · 08-18-2011, 04:37 PM

Originally Posted by Shas

...when he was shopping Gaither for a big contract.

That may be very true, but the reality is that Rosenhaus said it and Gaither cosigned on it. With that in mind, there is no excuse for Gaither being in the shape that he is currently in. Oakland's doctors would not sign off on him and that was less than a month before KC signed him. How could he pass a physical with KC if he still he was not healthy?

**ActualSpamBot** · 08-18-2011, 04:38 PM

My feeling is is that Oakland didn't clear him because he was so out of shape. That would qualify as a failure on the medical exam would it not?

**The Excellector** · 08-18-2011, 04:50 PM

Originally Posted by ActualSpamBot

My feeling is is that Oakland didn't clear him because he was so out of shape. That would qualify as a failure on the medical exam would it not?

I would think so. That was all I was really saying. None of us can deny the truly immense potential that Jared Gaither possesses, to this day. However, I firmly believe that, had he taken better care of his body, he might have avoided some of the injuries he suffered. John Harbaugh seems to agree. As a matter of fact, I posted a link to a piece where Gaither actually agrees.

I don't think that he was faking the injury. I am not going to begin to explain why Gaither decided to lose the weight. He said that he wanted to take pressure off of the foot. I will roll with that. However, if he were more cooperative with the team during the off-season and appreciated his body more, he might not have the problems that he has now.

It was just strange that the injury is still being used as an excuse when Gaither himself said that he felt great and ready to take the LT position, five months ago. Plus, how would he suddenly pass KC's physical less than a month after failing Oakland's if the back was still a major issue?

**Shas** · 08-18-2011, 05:14 PM

Originally Posted by The Eternal Ring

Oakland's doctors would not sign off on him and that was less than a month before KC signed him. How could he pass a physical with KC if he still he was not healthy?

I heard reports asking the same thing. I know he practiced for a couple days and then was held out of practice. Haley talked about him needing to get into playing shape while Gaither talked about being 100% healthy, which is what he has said all along. There has been some quiet talk that Oakland's decision had nothing to do with his back, and instead was fear about a league-imposed suspension looming.

**The Excellector** · 08-18-2011, 05:34 PM

There is no other logical explanation Shas. Either you are right in that the rumors, which I began hearing last year when it was said that the Ravens would have secretly took a second round pick for Gaither, are true, or Gaither truly is healthy (Which he and his agent said back in March) and, since no team could monitor him, he did not put in the type of work that meets his potential. My apologies for the plethora of commas. Both cases could be true. Drug use could explain the weight loss, especially while dealing with the pain from the injury, as a guy who was never really in his best shape. We have already seen what can become of Gaither when the team is not monitoring him. Aaron Wilson reported that Gaither was out of shape at mini-camp last off-season. That is the true reason why I believe the switch was made. It was going to happen eventually, but Harbaugh is not going to put a quality player on the bench if he is ready to play. By showing up out of shape and poorly communicating with the team during that off-season, he accelerated the process.

**Raven Nurse** · 08-18-2011, 06:16 PM

Originally Posted by ballhawk

maybe you are in denial. you don't know anymore than he does. he has made a good argument to back up his opinion just like you have made a good argument to back up yours. the only people who know for sure are those directly involved..

Not true, Look at the quotes from Harbs. In medicine we call it evidenced based practice. Essentially meaning....proof that something works. Gaither proved he could not work out. He did his own thing, then got hurt. His fault, not the Ravens. The reason that Ring knows more is because has heard and seen the direct quotes. We don't need a meteorologist to tell us it is raining...or do we?

**Teavo** · 08-18-2011, 10:18 PM

Originally Posted by StingerNLG

Bottom line, they drafted Oher because what they saw in his college time was better than what they saw in Gaither, and wanted to have Gaither on the right.

I don't think you can safely assume that.

I think the Ravens drafted Oher because he was, in their view, the "best player available" and they don't like to pass up opportunities like that. I don't think it mattered a whole lot how he stacked up specifically versus Gaither at the moment Oher was drafted, especially because all teams need two starting offensive tackles anyway. The Ravens saw a BPA offensive tackle on the board so they grabbed him. Figuring out left-vs-right happened later, underscored by the fact that Oher played his rookie year on the right side.

When the Ravens drafted Oher, they didn't immediately pigeonhole either him or Gaither. They left the door open to many potential outcomes. They let the two play and then made more permanent position and roster decisions.