3-30: Ryan Leaf on the Rich Eisen Show

[jr1]

I'm glad he turned his life around 

[jimmy10]

10 hours ago, ShadyBillsFan said:

Ryan Leaf?     Does anyone give a crap about that 

 

Talk about one of the biggest busts in NFL history 

 

People should. He and Teabag Manning were a coin flip in that draft. It’s a cautionary tale for athletes, front office executives, message board goons, everybody. 

[26CornerBlitz]

2 minutes ago, jimmy10 said:

 

People should. He and Teabag Manning were a coin flip in that draft. It’s a cautionary tale for athletes, front office executives, message board goons, everybody. 

 

A message that's too much for some to comprehend.  Save your keystrokes. 

[SlimShady'sSpaceForce]

9 hours ago, NewEra said:

Yeah.  Some people actually do give a crap.  There are ways to make yourself look like a lesser human being.  But that doesn’t make you any better than them.  Grats

 

 I wish Ryan the best.  Addiction kills.  I’m glad he’s survived so far. 

I suppose I should have been clearer.  

 

Relevant to today Johnny Manziel would be the better “topic for a conversation” on how not to screw up a career.   

 

Just saying. Carry on.   

14 minutes ago, jimmy10 said:

 

People should. He and Teabag Manning were a coin flip in that draft. It’s a cautionary tale for athletes, front office executives, message board goons, everybody. 

Teabag Manning?  And you are trying to indicate I was insensitive? 

 

Edited March 31, 2018 by ShadyBillsFan

[jimmy10]

14 minutes ago, ShadyBillsFan said:

 

Teabag Manning?  And you are trying to indicate I was insensitive? 

 

No..... But if I was, you and Teabag are big boys. You can take it. 

[aristocrat]

19 minutes ago, ShadyBillsFan said:

I suppose I should have been clearer.  

 

Relevant to today Johnny Manziel would be the better “topic for a conversation” on how not to screw up a career.   

 

Just saying. Carry on.   

Teabag Manning?  And you are trying to indicate I was insensitive? 

 

 

He still is very relevant as is Manziel. But it’s the cool thing to just knock someone after they made a mistake as though they should just go off and die somewhere. And his comment about manning was from when manning slapped a girl trainer with his dong in college. If that happened today Manning would be undrafted. 

[SlimShady'sSpaceForce]

Thanks for “schooling” me on how to be classy.  

Just now, aristocrat said:

 

He still is very relevant as is Manziel. But it’s the cool thing to just knock someone after they made a mistake as though they should just go off and die somewhere. And his comment about manning was from when manning slapped a girl trainer with his dong in college. If that happened today Manning would be undrafted. 

What will a millennial today put more credit to?   

 

A 15 year old story or a current story watching Johnny football try to resurrect his career?  

 

 

[{::'KayCeeS::}]

I've never seen an interview with Leaf, and I'm surprised by how thoughtful and intelligent he is.   But that's part of his story- he's so open and self-aware, it's refreshing and good to hear someone who has risen from the depths, so to speak.  He also has some interesting things to say about Rosen, etc., I highly recommend you watch this.

Edited April 1, 2018 by {::'KayCeeS::}

[formerlyofCtown]

What the #$@&.  Another QB thread you should be ashamed.

20 hours ago, ShadyBillsFan said:

Thanks for “schooling” me on how to be classy.  

What will a millennial today put more credit to?   

 

A 15 year old story or a current story watching Johnny football try to resurrect his career?  

 

 

Neither they know everything us old folks are fools.

[Fadingpain]

Ryan Leaf has clearly had a lot of counseling/therapy and it has obviously worked quite well.

 

 

[Hapless Bills Fan]

On 3/30/2018 at 9:06 PM, 26CornerBlitz said:

(Ryan Leaf interview) Cautionary tale for young athletes.

 

Most interesting part was when he talked about speaking with Rosen a month before he declared and learning how Rosen thinks - Rosen saying he couldn't pass up the opportunity of several big-market teams drafting in the first 3 picks this year (called out both NY teams but of course Jets in the top 3 is recent), and how many athletes show you can be a great athlete and still a businessman but teams don't want to hear that from a 21 year old draft prospect.  About 7:15 in.

 

Part about Mayfield also interesting - the "highly competitive, borderline arrogant, angry individual, the biggest thing for me will be how he deals with failure".  Said that was his downfall.  Said he listens to interviews and if he hears something that sounds like 1998 Ryan Leaf would have said, he mentally throws a red flag and he's heard those things from Mayfield, that there's a borderline with QB between arrogant and confident, a sharp edge where you want one side but you can fall over to the other side.  Said it wasn't that he failed in San Diego that was his downfall, but how he dealt with it.

 

So I share the same concerns about Mayfield - up to a point, using negative feedback as positive motivation can be inspirational, but if you dig up everything negative and carry it around, when there's enough it can become too heavy a weight.  If it isn't countered by a strong enough internal sense of self-worth, and then people collapse or look for a source of oblivion.  Leaf touches on that, talking about how he perceived what other people thought of him as so important, when really it's "none of my business".  (Except of course, when one has a job dealing with the public (athlete or broadcaster) there is a career impact from how people think of you, which makes it harder to tune out)

 

But I do see differences between Mayfield and Leaf - Leaf being a highly recruited as a HS QB with the coach reportedly calling him during the Rose Bowl and saying 'if you come here we're going there' but having little media scrutiny beforehand, Mayfield being a 2x walk-on who had to fight for a job and playing for a school where football is a second religion.  Mayfield has already had that experience of not being seen as good enough and battling up from it, Leaf missed that aspect until he hit the pros. 

 

It was interesting also to hear Leaf talk about how his agent gave him phone numbers of all his other clients including Troy Aikman and Steve Young and said talk to these guys, ask questions, find out how they handled it - but he didn't. 

 

Leaf called it right at the end, when he was 21 if people told him what to do he flipped them the bird, and most 21 year olds even the best of them, are like that.

Edited April 1, 2018 by Hapless Bills Fan

[Ittakestime]

That was honestly so bad.  Leaf needs to stop with the woe is me nonsense.  Sorry buddy, but sports wasn't the problem, your drug habit was.

 

I can tell he knows very little about Baker, but that doesn't stop him from slandering him.  He talks about how he doesn't know how Baker will feel with disappointment, yet fails to point out Baker had to walk on TWICE to college teams.  Clearly he deals with disappointment with working harder unlike Leaf who would pop another pill.  While Leaf was robbing someone house to get his fix in, Baker was speaking at a funeral for a little girl that beloved him.

 

It makes me sick to see someone like Leaf hurt so many people (financially too) now talk about going to the Masters. Must be nice to treat people like dog crap your whole life, yet somehow have all this money still.

[Hapless Bills Fan]

1 hour ago, Fadingpain said:

Ryan Leaf has clearly had a lot of counseling/therapy and it has obviously worked quite well.

 

I hope so.  I liked what he said about how being in the public eye probably saved his life, that so many people deal with substance abuse but are out of the public eye (or are more competent thieves who don't get caught) and don't get the help they need to recover.

 

But in the grand scheme of a life, 6 years is a short period of sobriety.  As one former NFL player struggling with SA said, "one mistake and you can slide right back down to the bottom".

 

On 3/30/2018 at 9:55 PM, ShadyBillsFan said:

Ryan Leaf?     Does anyone give a crap about that 

Talk about one of the biggest busts in NFL history

 

Ima guess you didn't listen to it, some good stuff there.

Edited April 1, 2018 by Hapless Bills Fan

[BillsFan17]

Leaf has won me back!

[Hapless Bills Fan]

4 minutes ago, Ittakestime said:

I can tell he knows very little about Baker, but that doesn't stop him from slandering him.  He talks about how he doesn't know how Baker will feel with disappointment, yet fails to point out Baker had to walk on TWICE to college teams.  Clearly he deals with disappointment with working harder unlike Leaf who would pop another pill.  While Leaf was robbing someone house to get his fix in, Baker was speaking at a funeral for a little girl that beloved him.

 

Leaf did miss some possibly critical differences between his college self and Baker, I got you on that.  But doesn't it deserve some concern if Leaf says "I listen with my eyes closed and when I hear someone say something 1998 me would have said I throw a flag"?  I do share the concern that the negativity Baker collects and uses as motivation, could overwhelm him if it's too strong and deep while his failure continues (maybe for reasons beyond his control, or because NFL adjustment is just hard). 

 

And yes, it's admirable that Mayfield spoke at a young cancer patient's funeral and appears genuinely touched by her, but even that kind of thing can become a burden - what if he dedicates his season to someone else who admires him and then he sucks?  "letting little MacKensie down" gets added to his mental load.  I think it does bodes well for Mayfield that he sees there are unsung heroes who go through crap and get life's short stick already - something I don't think Leaf did until recently.

 

I must admit, I had a "flicker" moment when Leaf talked about having NFL Red Zone in prison - I don't have NFL Red Zone, and I worked hard, saved money to retire, and pay all my own bills.  We don't have cable let alone Red Zone, family budget decision.  When I have Coach's Film it's because my family gives it to me as a birthday gift. 

 

But really, Leaf's amends are his business, aren't they?  Lots of people don't get what they deserve, from little girls who die young of horrible diseases to young people who struggle with substance abuse and aren't able to overcome it, to rich asswipes who ride for a fall they never take.

[26CornerBlitz]

20 minutes ago, Ittakestime said:

That was honestly so bad.  Leaf needs to stop with the woe is me nonsense.  Sorry buddy, but sports wasn't the problem, your drug habit was.

 

I can tell he knows very little about Baker, but that doesn't stop him from slandering him.  He talks about how he doesn't know how Baker will feel with disappointment, yet fails to point out Baker had to walk on TWICE to college teams.  Clearly he deals with disappointment with working harder unlike Leaf who would pop another pill.  While Leaf was robbing someone house to get his fix in, Baker was speaking at a funeral for a little girl that beloved him.

 

It makes me sick to see someone like Leaf hurt so many people (financially too) now talk about going to the Masters. Must be nice to treat people like dog crap your whole life, yet somehow have all this money still.

 

You obviously didn't listen because he's doing anything but expressing a woe is me attitude and he accepts full responsibility for his failures and bad behavior. 

[Ittakestime]

4 minutes ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

 

Leaf did miss some possibly critical differences between his college self and Baker, I got you on that.  But doesn't it deserve some concern if Leaf says "I listen with my eyes closed and when I hear someone say something 1998 me would have said I throw a flag"?  I do share the concern that the negativity Baker collects and uses as motivation, could overwhelm him if it's too strong and deep while his failure continues (maybe for reasons beyond his control, or because NFL adjustment is just hard). 

 

And yes, it's admirable that Mayfield spoke at a young cancer patient's funeral and appears genuinely touched by her, but even that kind of thing can become a burden - what if he dedicates his season to someone else who admires him and then he sucks?  "letting little MacKensie down" gets added to his mental load.  I think it does bodes well for Mayfield that he sees there are unsung heroes who go through crap and get life's short stick already - something I don't think Leaf did until recently.

 

I must admit, I had a "flicker" moment when Leaf talked about having NFL Red Zone in prison - I don't have NFL Red Zone, and I worked hard, saved money to retire, and pay all my own bills.  We don't have cable let alone Red Zone, family budget decision.  When I have Coach's Film it's because my family gives it to me as a birthday gift. 

 

But really, Leaf's amends are his business, aren't they?  Lots of people don't get what they deserve, from little girls who die young of horrible diseases to young people who struggle with substance abuse and aren't able to overcome it, to rich asswipes who ride for a fall they never take.

 

You act like Mayfield never lost in his life.  In his back to OU video with McCoy, he had a list of things he wanted to accomplish.  The last one was get OU to Atlanta, he understood it didn't happen, but he felt accomplished completing the other things on the list.   In the same video he also talks how he would go in late at night and practice by himself.

 

From watching the Tom vs Time thing on facebook, Baker is more like Brady than he is Leaf.

3 minutes ago, 26CornerBlitz said:

 

You obviously didn't listen because he's doing anything but expressing a woe is me attitude and he accepts full responsibility for his failures and bad behavior. 

 

lol

 

Less than two minutes into video he was talking how sports were toxic for him.  No buddy, you were the toxic one.  Stop blaming sports on your attitude.  The dude is still arrogant prick.

[Hapless Bills Fan]

4 minutes ago, Ittakestime said:

 

You act like Mayfield never lost in his life. 

 

I think you're missing the point - it's not a debate about who lost whether and how much.  It's a question, as Leaf said, about that sharp edge between confidence and arrogance, and how people who walk that line (as most of Mayfield's supporters would acknowledge he does) deal with both failure and success.

 

I hope Mayfield deals with it well, and I agree with you that there are significant differences in life path so far between 1998 Leaf and 2018 Mayfield.  But I think you have to be pretty staunch Baker partisan not to see that there also may be valid concerns.

[Ittakestime]

1 minute ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

 

I think you're missing the point - it's not a debate about who lost whether and how much.  It's a question, as Leaf said, about that sharp edge between confidence and arrogance, and how people who walk that line (as most of Mayfield's supporters would acknowledge he does) deal with both failure and success.

 

I hope Mayfield deals with it well, and I agree with you that there are significant differences in life path so far between 1998 Leaf and 2018 Mayfield.  But I think you have to be pretty staunch Baker partisan not to see that there also may be valid concerns.

 

I'm sorry, I don't see concerns in Baker's confidence.

 

When teammates talk about a guy like this, I have zero concerns:

 

 

[{::'KayCeeS::}]

4 minutes ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

 

I think you're missing the point - it's not a debate about who lost whether and how much.  It's a question, as Leaf said, about that sharp edge between confidence and arrogance, and how people who walk that line (as most of Mayfield's supporters would acknowledge he does) deal with both failure and success.

 

I hope Mayfield deals with it well, and I agree with you that there are significant differences in life path so far between 1998 Leaf and 2018 Mayfield.  But I think you have to be pretty staunch Baker partisan not to see that there also may be valid concerns.

 

Yes, this is exactly what I got from the interview.  But also, independent from it, the point of that line is a salient one, i think.  I think a lot of people can relate to the line between confidence and arrogance.  I know I've been burned before because of it, but I wasn't also being paid millions of dollars to perform on a public stage.  It's a relevant concern, and I found Leaf to be surprisingly forthcoming about his past and his dealings with present players.