49ers don't want Stafford because he won't open up to shrink

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There are a number of reasons an NFL team wouldn't draft a certain quarterback. Maybe they'd be concerned about his arm strength, or footwork, or accuracy, or football IQ. There are literally dozens of flaws a signal caller might have. The San Francisco 49ers have found a new one.

Reports say that Mike Singletary and the Niners won't draft Georgia quarterback Matthew Stafford because he was reluctant to talk to a team psychologist about his parent's divorce. Said Singletary:

"If you're going to look at drafting a guy in the first round, and you're going to pay him millions of dollars, and asking him about a divorce about his parents, if that's going to be an issue, uhhh, then you know what, maybe he doesn't belong here."

Let me get this straight: A 21-year old doesn't want to talk to some stranger about his parent's divorce? Inconceivable! Such a reaction surely portends NFL mediocrity!

Honestly, that's an utterly bizarre quote from Singletary. The 49ers have to do their due diligence in researching the backgrounds of draft picks, but what does not wanting to talk about a traumatic childhood event have to do with leading a football team?

The concern about psychology is especially strange coming from Singletary, who attempted to motivate his team last year by dropping his pants before giving a half-time speech. I'm pretty sure he got that idea from Freud.

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1. Posted by TheTruth Thu Sep 03, 2009 8:27 pm EDT
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If you bothered to read the whole article, you'd see that Stafford had an attitude with the psychologist, asking him how much he was paid. That's a big red flag right there. He reminds me of Cutler. Way too over-sensitive, over-confident, under-prepared to lead a team. He's dropping fast, just like Andre Smith did. These teams are paying way too much money to throw it away on prima donnas.
2. Posted by mug0 Thu Sep 03, 2009 7:30 pm EDT
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This article seriously needs some context. It wasn't that big of a deal, according to both sides, and the quote was after Sing had been mildly flustered by Barbieri's annoying questions. After insinuating that several things that the Niners have been doing make no sense, Sing gave a reason why doing what they did might be valuable.
Seriously, do a little digging and see what odd things that other teams do (it could make for a popular article). I believe it was the Titans that had a guy yelling at the interviewee like a drill seargent, essentially out of nowhere, to see how the kid would react. (I forget the prospect, but it was a top 15 guy, a LB or DE.)
3. Posted by Timothy S Thu Sep 03, 2009 10:10 pm EDT
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What an easy article to write. No digging, no reporting, just re-hashing an old story with no new spin. Slim pickings right now? Find a real story, have a unique opinion, or stop wasting our time!
It's amazing what passes as reporting. The comment above gave me more new information than the actual article.
4. Posted by David Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:30 pm EDT
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I agree with The Truth, Stafford showed in his interview with the 49ers that he lacked maturity. If you're going to sign a 21- year old kid to multi- million dollar contract to be the teams leader on the field, he better not be some punk who's too cool for everyone. I don't think it was that he wouldn't share every detail about his parents divorce (and I don't think that's what the 9ers were looking for) it was his attitude and the way he went about REACTING to the line of questioning that was off-putting to Singletary. Sports fans forget that people have killed over a few million bucks, so no team is going to just shell it out without some serious digging into the kid's head.
5. Posted by Brad E Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:04 pm EDT
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Like, 4th.
6. Posted by Brad E Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:04 pm EDT
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I don't particularly like reading Yahoo! Sports articles. They aren't written well, and I can find better information on ESPN and Sportsline. Ehh.
Let's go Steelers.
7. Posted by Steve Y Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:08 pm EDT
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This story is old. Why is this being passed off as news? The writer should spend more time working on a legitimate story and less time doctoring his profile picture in Photoshop.
8. Posted by Sid B Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:47 pm EDT
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This is like Football 365!
9. Posted by isreal Thu Sep 03, 2009 6:57 pm EDT
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Two words...Ryan Leaf !!!!!!!
10. Posted by Sean D Thu Sep 03, 2009 9:28 pm EDT
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Draft a big DL or OL. Stay away from finesse players. You cant teach big. After Alex Smith I hope we never draft a 1st round QB again.
11. Posted by scottthomas Thu Sep 03, 2009 9:10 pm EDT
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hey Singletary..this is football not group therapy..Is everyone going crazy about this or just me? I thought teams drafted players because they performed well and did their jobs.. Why does anyone care about peoples personal lives..ugghh..
12. Posted by Hector T Thu Sep 03, 2009 8:48 pm EDT
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scottthomas... does the name Vince Young ring a bell to you??? All the talent in the world, just unmotivated.
13. Posted by scottthomas Thu Sep 03, 2009 9:10 pm EDT
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how is he unmotivated just because he doesnt want to talk about his parents divorce? I dont understand your logic. He's an athlete who wants to play ball, not sit in a circle and talk about his feelings. I try not to compare people. Vince Young is Vince Young, not Mathew Stafford.. Stafford is great on film and did very well at Indy.. Let the man play ball and drop trying to psychoanalyse the guy.
14. Posted by PHIL Thu Sep 03, 2009 8:14 pm EDT
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If this coaching staff had been around few years ago we might not have wasted the number one pick on Smith! They need WR or lineman DE or OF not another airhead with a arm. They can always try Denver or Cleveland to get a starting QB.
15. Posted by sportsguy950 Thu Sep 03, 2009 9:45 pm EDT
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What if Stafford is in the game and a defender talks smack about his parents' divorce? With the way he reacted in a controlled environment, he'll probably crumble in a real game.
16. Posted by clifford s Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:27 pm EDT
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the 49ers have no reason asking questions like that. who the heck do they think they are, i would have told them to mind thier own f&^%ing business!
17. Posted by spambait11 Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:30 pm EDT
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The reason to ask such a question, as most have stated, is to ascertain the QB's maturity. If he has dealt healthily with his parents' divorce, then he knows what it takes to overcome difficult obstacles in life. It's clearly not a ridiculous question to ask.
18. Posted by Yosi Q Thu Sep 03, 2009 10:57 pm EDT
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I don't know who this Chris Chase is, but understand how retarded he is. What Singletary said is quite a matter of course. No problem cannot be found. The Trash's comment is appropriate and said all.
19. Posted by crockett Thu Sep 03, 2009 9:33 pm EDT
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Actually if you are 21 AND YOU STILL HAVE ISSUES WITH DIVORCED PARENTS, you are a worry. How are you going to handle sixty thousand plus screaming for your head on a plate? How are you going to handle the position of NFL qb. It is a valid reason for the coaching staff to be worried. It could be called growning up, but I bet you still blame your parents for something in your life. Who the hell are all these people writing about football, do any of them know anything?
20. Posted by Sean D Thu Sep 03, 2009 9:28 pm EDT
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Hey clifford, how many times have you paid a multi-million dollar deal of your money to somebody? I thought so. None. Every aspect of Stafford is under the microscope now. If he runs a red light, they know about it. If he hits on a breezy at a club, they know about it. If his piss come out sideways, they know about it.
If he doesn't like it, he can go to the new UFL.
21. Posted by Dan Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:44 pm EDT
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The story is based on what Stafford said in this SI article: http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1152489/2/index.htm
"I felt like, I wonder how much I'm being charged per hour for this?" he says. "But I understand. They're going to pay a lot of money in the first round."
If the Niners base their draft on things like this, they're in trouble.
22. Posted by Keven E Thu Sep 03, 2009 6:47 pm EDT
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Actually....THE 9ERS WILL NOT DRAFT A QB...at least until 4th or 5th round thats why they ARE NOT interested in Stafford/Sanchez etc.
23. Posted by Keven E Thu Sep 03, 2009 6:47 pm EDT
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Oh yeah and Yahoo sports sux
24. Posted by steveh Thu Sep 03, 2009 9:43 pm EDT
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I don't care if he ripped the biggest fart after being asked about a personal issue, if a guy is good on the field and can help the team win than that's all I care about. I understand as well as agree that a player can have a negative impact on a team if he constantly is causing distractions amongst other teammates and coaches(T.O.), but what a guy says to a psychologist regarding a subjective question like this one is not a big deal. I'm not saying that the 9ers should pick Stafford, but if McSing thinks he is worthy of being our first round pick based on his skills than this alone should not prevent them from pulling the trigger.
25. Posted by Ball Thu Sep 03, 2009 10:49 pm EDT
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This is a trash article. Most of this stuff is bs anyways.