If Gaither showed up to practice...

[Raven Nurse]

Bad thread, bad thread...DIE DIE!!!

[B-more Ravor]

No, he wasn't. He was dangled on a tender which is not a contract until signed. There is a major difference from a legality viewpoint. Tendered players(including franchise tagged players) rarely, if ever, participate in OTA's,

Yes, that's the case with franchised players, but RFAs and EFAs (and draft picks, being only tendered until they sign their contracts in July, subject to rules about when they "graduate") generally show up.

[B-more Ravor]

And this is the problem with the whole thing.

It's hard not to think of what our line could look like, and how much better it would perform with tha healthy, motivated Gaither, but that was never part of the plan. Oher fits the image of what Harbs wanted at left tackle, and it doesn't seem to matter that he looks like tarzan and plays like Jane. I think he will be our LT for some time to come, almost independant of his play there.

Had Gaither shown the dedication that they expected of him, he would have been the LT.

You continually want to make this about Oher - and some supposed lovefest with Oher - when it's anything but that. This entire situation was about Gaither and the team's belief that he is/was unreliable. Oher is just the guy that they believe can play LT too and would play there if Gaither didn't/couldn't.

Again, had Gaither shown the dedication and determination they were looking for - that he, himself, said he needed at the end of 2009 - they would have left him at LT.

This decision had nothing to do with Oher - other than he was insurance - and everything to do with Gaither.

[psuasskicker]

And this is the problem with the whole thing.

It's hard not to think of what our line could look like, and how much better it would perform with tha healthy, motivated Gaither, but that was never part of the plan. Oher fits the image of what Harbs wanted at left tackle, and it doesn't seem to matter that he looks like tarzan and plays like Jane. I think he will be our LT for some time to come, almost independant of his play there.

Sorry, but this is ridiculous. You keep saying "with a healthy, motivated Gaither..." Stop saying that! It's literally the equivalent of speculating what could have been for the Chargers with a healthy, motivated Ryan Leaf or the Raiders with a healthy, motivated Jamarcus Russel. It's not an option for us to have a healthy, motivated Gaither cause Gaither was only sometimes healthy and pretty much never motivated.

The NFL's wasteland is chock full of people who have incredible talent such that if they were healthy and motivated, they would be good, great or even Hall of Fame worthy players. Except they're either not healthy, not motivated or both, so instead they suck.

That's Gaither. Healthy and motivated very clearly is not a part of who he is. So stop pining over what could be if he was. He wasn't, so he sucks, and right now we're absolutely, positively, 100% a better team without him.

- C -

[bmorebirds_24]

Sorry, but this is ridiculous. You keep saying "with a healthy, motivated Gaither..." Stop saying that! It's literally the equivalent of speculating what could have been for the Chargers with a healthy, motivated Ryan Leaf or the Raiders with a healthy, motivated Jamarcus Russel. It's not an option for us to have a healthy, motivated Gaither cause Gaither was only sometimes healthy and pretty much never motivated.

The NFL's wasteland is chock full of people who have incredible talent such that if they were healthy and motivated, they would be good, great or even Hall of Fame worthy players. Except they're either not healthy, not motivated or both, so instead they suck.

That's Gaither. Healthy and motivated very clearly is not a part of who he is. So stop pining over what could be if he was. He wasn't, so he sucks, and right now we're absolutely, positively, 100% a better team without him.

- C -

Great, great, great post!

Everybody lives off what Gaither did in his first year. I understand the money is on the left side and he proved in one season that he was capable. Since the Ravens made the choice to play Oher on the left, Gaither gave up. Football players don't give up when its time to compete.

Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk

[jonboy79]

Sigh.. AND THE FACT THAT HE WAS A LEFT TACKLE IN COLLEGE AND DRAFTED IN THE FIRST FREAKING ROUND TO BE A LEFT TACKLE!

You know, it's amazing to me that you are holding onto this belief that Gaither was this next coming of Jonathan Ogden. Especially since he's gone and had to get picked up by a team who's basically taking a low risk flyer on him when no other team wanted him. And if you think for a minute the Ravens are drafting Michael Oher to play RT after paying him what they needed to as a first round pick, you are definately nearly alone in that thinking.

I'll say it a third time. If Gaither, a supplemental draft pick BTW, was as good and dominant as you so want everyone to believe he is/was, then Michael Oher, a LEFT TACKLE, would not have been drafted. Gaither would never have been moved to right tackle, and he'd still be here.

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. Gaither wanted money over position and voila, here we are.

just because yiou believe it to be true, and put it in capital letters does not make anything said in this post fact, simply your opinion which you are welcome to.

[jonboy79]

Had Gaither shown the dedication that they expected of him, he would have been the LT.

You continually want to make this about Oher - and some supposed lovefest with Oher - when it's anything but that. This entire situation was about Gaither and the team's belief that he is/was unreliable. Oher is just the guy that they believe can play LT too and would play there if Gaither didn't/couldn't.

Again, had Gaither shown the dedication and determination they were looking for - that he, himself, said he needed at the end of 2009 - they would have left him at LT.

This decision had nothing to do with Oher - other than he was insurance - and everything to do with Gaither.

ok bury your head in the sand and pretend they are not connected, but they are 100% intertwined. You wouldn't read my complaints nearly as much if the line play did not drop precipitously upon Gaither leaving the lineup.

[jonboy79]

Sorry, but this is ridiculous. You keep saying "with a healthy, motivated Gaither..." Stop saying that! It's literally the equivalent of speculating what could have been for the Chargers with a healthy, motivated Ryan Leaf or the Raiders with a healthy, motivated Jamarcus Russel. It's not an option for us to have a healthy, motivated Gaither cause Gaither was only sometimes healthy and pretty much never motivated.

The NFL's wasteland is chock full of people who have incredible talent such that if they were healthy and motivated, they would be good, great or even Hall of Fame worthy players. Except they're either not healthy, not motivated or both, so instead they suck.

That's Gaither. Healthy and motivated very clearly is not a part of who he is. So stop pining over what could be if he was. He wasn't, so he sucks, and right now we're absolutely, positively, 100% a better team without him.

- C -

No, ryan Leaf and Jamarcus SUCKED when on the field. Even you have admitted that Gaither's 31 games at LT were better then Ohers 23? at LT.

If what we saw in those 31 games was an unhealthy and /or unmotivated Gaither then that was good enough for me. It is superior to what we get from healhty motivated players now.

[Shas]

ok bury your head in the sand and pretend they are not connected, but they are 100% intertwined. You wouldn't read my complaints nearly as much if the line play did not drop precipitously upon Gaither leaving the lineup.

Maybe I'm not following your train of thought. If I focus on the last sentence, you seem to be making the argument that the loss of Gaither is what killed them, and I agree. And don't see what that has to do with Oher. Whether it was Oher on the right, and Gaither on the left, or vice versa, it wouldn't matter. Subtract Gaither from the equation and they are screwed -- whether it left Oher at RT and Cousins at LT, or it left Oher at LT and Yanda at RT to me doesn't matter. It was 100% a Gaither issue, and 100% related to his availability.

If you are arguing that the decision to test Oher on the left led to Gaither having a hissy fit, stopping his work outs, losing weight, and failing to heal then I still don't think that matters, either. In my book, it's still a 100% Gaither issue.

If they had never drafted Oher, same story, only worse. Gaither's availability and reliability would have still been what it was.

They came to realize they could not rely on the guy, whether it was through no fault of his own, or whether it was completely his doing. But Oher doesn't factor in that story.

[Beau Petard]

jon--
I have to agree with those who see Gaither's absence as a plus for the team.

IFF Gaither is "100%" healthy, he exhibits incredible irresponsibility to his employer by not keeping them informed of his health status, weight loss, etc. He also exhibits undesirable traits if he's not doing his "homework" - staying in as good of football shape as he can, being prompt for meetings, etc. In this scenario, it sounds as if the Ravens have a player with an attitude problem. I have no idea whose "fault" it is, but it makes sense to me that the team would divest of this problem.

IFF Gaither is not 100% healthy, and could not pass a physical in Oakland, and is already unable to practice for the Chefs (I'm getting this from what I've read on this forum), then his injuries may be more serious than what those who believe he's healthy think. Yes, Gaither played well a few seasons ago, but my guess is that he was not playing "injured" at that time. I also suspect Gaither was motivated then, simply because he had to prove to the team that he deserved a bigger contract at some point. In any case, it doesn't make sense to me that the Ravens would want to carry an injured Gaither on the roster and at an enhanced contract cost, especially in light of the apparent attitude (or behavior, or whatever term you prefer) issues.

[jonboy79]

Maybe I'm not following your train of thought. If I focus on the last sentence, you seem to be making the argument that the loss of Gaither is what killed them, and I agree. And don't see what that has to do with Oher. Whether it was Oher on the right, and Gaither on the left, or vice versa, it wouldn't matter. Subtract Gaither from the equation and they are screwed -- whether it left Oher at RT and Cousins at LT, or it left Oher at LT and Yanda at RT to me doesn't matter. It was 100% a Gaither issue, and 100% related to his availability.

If you are arguing that the decision to test Oher on the left led to Gaither having a hissy fit, stopping his work outs, losing weight, and failing to heal then I still don't think that matters, either. In my book, it's still a 100% Gaither issue.

If they had never drafted Oher, same story, only worse. Gaither's availability and reliability would have still been what it was.

They came to realize they could not rely on the guy, whether it was through no fault of his own, or whether it was completely his doing. But Oher doesn't factor in that story.

Gaither's hissy fit began the first day of minicamp when Harbs played Oher 100% Lt and Gaither 100% RT. That night Harbs commented the move was "potentially permanent" and the very next day, just a couple of snaps in, Gaither hurts his foot. He then lost 20 pounds came to camp and hurt his back almost immediately.

So in short, I blame the precipitous drop of our Oline play on that decision and the manner in which his coach handled it with the media, which led to Gaither being an immature, lazy POS.

It's easy to lay all of the blame on Gaither for not being a fighter, and I see that point. I simply am one of very few that spreads some blame to the coaching staff for making a decision in their minds during the offseason instead of on the field in camp. I also, personally see plenty of fault in their evaluation regarding those two players. Trust me, I understand Gaither gets the lions share of the blame, but that doesn't excuse the way that the castle handled the whole scenario.

Oher could turn around and perhaps be an average LT, but I don;t see it happenning. He should be a probowl RT instead. Like he was, before they messed with all of this.

IF is the biggest word in the english language, but I feel that IF that fateful day never happenned in mini-camps(with the presser later) then we would likely have had a healhty motivated Gaither last year, and he would likely be re-signed here again.

[StingerNLG]

just because yiou believe it to be true, and put it in capital letters does not make anything said in this post fact, simply your opinion which you are welcome to.

I'm not the one who doesn't get it Jon.