could star ILB Rolando McClain fall to us at #18 after all?

[hawaiiansteel]

it certainly looks possible now...



GBN Report -

Tide LB discloses non-football illness…

Star Alabama MLB Rolando McClain stunned the pro scouting fraternity when he disclosed after the Tide’s pro day today that has had Crohn's Disease, an inflammatory intestinal condition, since his freshman year in high school. McClain reportedly treats the condition with medication and obviously has been able to play with it a very high level, however, its certain to be a major red flag for pro teams heading into the 2010 draft at which McClain had been rated as a top 10-15 prospect.

McClain also indicated that he has been dealing with a hamstring issue since October, but still ran well enough at today's on-campus workout, posting 40 times of 4.71 and 4.74.

[NW Steeler]

Re: could star ILB Rolando McClain fall to us at #18 after all?

Not to be a broken record, but I'd take Weatherspoon over McClain.

[hawaiiansteel]

Re: could star ILB Rolando McClain fall to us at #18 after all?

Not to be a broken record, but I'd take Weatherspoon over McClain.

armed with this new information, I would agree with you.

[Lebsteel]

Re: could star ILB Rolando McClain fall to us at #18 after all?

it certainly looks possible now...



GBN Report -

Tide LB discloses non-football illness…

Star Alabama MLB Rolando McClain stunned the pro scouting fraternity when he disclosed after the Tide’s pro day today that has had Crohn's Disease, an inflammatory intestinal condition, since his freshman year in high school. McClain reportedly treats the condition with medication and obviously has been able to play with it a very high level, however, its certain to be a major red flag for pro teams heading into the 2010 draft at which McClain had been rated as a top 10-15 prospect.

McClain also indicated that he has been dealing with a hamstring issue since October, but still ran well enough at today's on-campus workout, posting 40 times of 4.71 and 4.74.

I am very sorry to hear that for Rolando's sake. I have a friend with Crohn's and though it is manageable, it is at times very debilitating and has long-term side effects.

[RuthlessBurgher]

Re: could star ILB Rolando McClain fall to us at #18 after all?

Not to be a broken record, but I'd take Weatherspoon over McClain.

armed with this new information, I would agree with you.

I disagree. If we didn't already have Timmons, then maybe. But I still see Spoon as being too similar to Timmons. McClain seems more like a Levon Kirkland type (taller and not as heavy as Levon, but still). Harrison, McClain, Timmons, and Woodley would be on par with Lloyd, Kirkland, Brown, and Greene.

[hawaiiansteel]

Re: could star ILB Rolando McClain fall to us at #18 after all?

Not to be a broken record, but I'd take Weatherspoon over McClain.

armed with this new information, I would agree with you.

I disagree. If we didn't already have Timmons, then maybe. But I still see Spoon as being too similar to Timmons. McClain seems more like a Levon Kirkland type (taller and not as heavy as Levon, but still). Harrison, McClain, Timmons, and Woodley would be on par with Lloyd, Kirkland, Brown, and Greene.

all things being equal i would agree with you. however, this revelation that McClain has Crohn's disease tips the scales in favor of Weatherspoon in my opinion.



McClain reveals he has Crohn's Disease

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal on March 10, 2010


Alabama linebacker Rolando McClain's Pro Day got off to a fine start with an expected time in the forty.

He didn't finish his drills, however, after getting ill. After the workout, he disclosed he has fought Crohn's Disease since his freshman year in high school. It's treated through medication.

We're amazed this information wasn't out already, but it clearly hasn't prevented McClain from producing. David Garrard was diagnosed with Crohn's Disease during his career and it hasn't slowed him down.

Still, we wonder if this will cause teams to look at McClain any differently - positively or negatively. Perhaps the biggest knock on McClain is his inconsistent motor and effort.

Maybe his Crohn's plays into that, maybe it doesn't. It's just one more piece to the puzzle for teams to figure out by April's draft.

[RuthlessBurgher]

Re: could star ILB Rolando McClain fall to us at #18 after all?

Not to be a broken record, but I'd take Weatherspoon over McClain.

armed with this new information, I would agree with you.

I disagree. If we didn't already have Timmons, then maybe. But I still see Spoon as being too similar to Timmons. McClain seems more like a Levon Kirkland type (taller and not as heavy as Levon, but still). Harrison, McClain, Timmons, and Woodley would be on par with Lloyd, Kirkland, Brown, and Greene.

all things being equal i would agree with you. however, this revelation that McClain has Crohn's disease tips the scales in favor of Weatherspoon in my opinion.



McClain reveals he has Crohn's Disease

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal on March 10, 2010


Alabama linebacker Rolando McClain's Pro Day got off to a fine start with an expected time in the forty.

He didn't finish his drills, however, after getting ill. After the workout, he disclosed he has fought Crohn's Disease since his freshman year in high school. It's treated through medication.

We're amazed this information wasn't out already, but it clearly hasn't prevented McClain from producing. David Garrard was diagnosed with Crohn's Disease during his career and it hasn't slowed him down.

Still, we wonder if this will cause teams to look at McClain any differently - positively or negatively. Perhaps the biggest knock on McClain is his inconsistent motor and effort.

Maybe his Crohn's plays into that, maybe it doesn't. It's just one more piece to the puzzle for teams to figure out by April's draft.

The fact that he's had it since freshman year in high school shows that he was able to play, and play well, with it all throughout high school and college. I believe one of the issues with Crohn's is weight loss, but Rolando has been playing at 258 lbs., which is roughly 20 pounds more than Weatherspoon's playing weight. I don't see it as a major issue (other than it possibly helping him fall to us at #18, just like Haden's poor 40 times are not a major concern to me, but rather may help us by allowing him to potentially drop to us).

[Lebsteel]

Re: could star ILB Rolando McClain fall to us at #18 after all?

Not to be a broken record, but I'd take Weatherspoon over McClain.

armed with this new information, I would agree with you.

I disagree. If we didn't already have Timmons, then maybe. But I still see Spoon as being too similar to Timmons. McClain seems more like a Levon Kirkland type (taller and not as heavy as Levon, but still). Harrison, McClain, Timmons, and Woodley would be on par with Lloyd, Kirkland, Brown, and Greene.

all things being equal i would agree with you. however, this revelation that McClain has Crohn's disease tips the scales in favor of Weatherspoon in my opinion.



McClain reveals he has Crohn's Disease

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal on March 10, 2010


Alabama linebacker Rolando McClain's Pro Day got off to a fine start with an expected time in the forty.

He didn't finish his drills, however, after getting ill. After the workout, he disclosed he has fought Crohn's Disease since his freshman year in high school. It's treated through medication.

We're amazed this information wasn't out already, but it clearly hasn't prevented McClain from producing. David Garrard was diagnosed with Crohn's Disease during his career and it hasn't slowed him down.

Still, we wonder if this will cause teams to look at McClain any differently - positively or negatively. Perhaps the biggest knock on McClain is his inconsistent motor and effort.

Maybe his Crohn's plays into that, maybe it doesn't. It's just one more piece to the puzzle for teams to figure out by April's draft.

The fact that he's had it since freshman year in high school shows that he was able to play, and play well, with it all throughout high school and college. I believe one of the issues with Crohn's is weight loss, but Rolando has been playing at 258 lbs., which is roughly 20 pounds more than Weatherspoon's playing weight. I don't see it as a major issue (other than it possibly helping him fall to us at #18, just like Haden's poor 40 times are not a major concern to me, but rather may help us by allowing him to potentially drop to us).

From a strictly business side of things and leaving the human perspective out of it, I would be very hesitant to draft him unless the Steeler doctors can go over his medical records and are assured that it can be managed. I am not a medical person, but it seems that it could cause many more problems in the short term than a disease like diabetes might. They both seem to be devastating diseases, and like I said, I am very sorry for Rolando.

[steelblood]

Re: could star ILB Rolando McClain fall to us at #18 after all?

Not to be a broken record, but I'd take Weatherspoon over McClain.

armed with this new information, I would agree with you.

I disagree. If we didn't already have Timmons, then maybe. But I still see Spoon as being too similar to Timmons. McClain seems more like a Levon Kirkland type (taller and not as heavy as Levon, but still). Harrison, McClain, Timmons, and Woodley would be on par with Lloyd, Kirkland, Brown, and Greene.

This is an excellent point. If Timmons has the mental capacity to take over for Farrior, we need to begin that transition now.

[Dee Dub]

Re: could star ILB Rolando McClain fall to us at #18 after all?

I know someone who struggles with Chron's disease. Here is the problem that can arise with this disease. It usually requires of a lot pain killers....and pain killers can often result in an addiction. I've seen it first hand. Add in the rigors of playing football ( and the physical pain that comes with it), and I have to admit......this does concern me.

Yes I know he has been able to manage this and play football for some time...but a drug addiction is......CUNNING, BAFFLING, AND POWERFUL.

[RuthlessBurgher]

Re: could star ILB Rolando McClain fall to us at #18 after all?

There have been several athletes who have been able to perform at a high level while dealing with Chron's disease:

Jacksonville Jaguars QB David Garrard

former Hartford Whalers RW Kevin Dineen

former Calgary Flames RW Theo Fleury (who did struggle with drug & alcohol abuse, but that may have more to do with him being sexually molested by a junior hockey coach)

Ironman triathlete Jonathan Caron

Professional wrestler George "The Animal" Steele (I'd imagine that eating turnbuckles might have resulted in inflammation of one's digestive tract)

[Lebsteel]

Re: could star ILB Rolando McClain fall to us at #18 after all?

I know someone who struggles with Chron's disease. Here is the problem that can arise with this disease. It usually requires of a lot pain killers....and pain killers can often result in an addiction. I've seen it first hand. Add in the rigors of playing football ( and the physical pain that comes with it), and I have to admit......this does concern me.

Yes I know he has been able to manage this and play football for some time...but a drug addiction is......CUNNING, BAFFLING, AND POWERFUL.

Yes, there are certainly a lot of unknowns with the disease. A flare up, which is very debilitating, can happen at any time and the individual could be very ill for days or weeks until is under control again. Of course, some people can go for several years between flare ups. You just can't predict it and that is the really bad part, aside from the intense pain, of the disease.

So, from a football perspective, if Rolando is drafted by the Steelers, they might have to plan to be without him for a few games here and there. No player's future is certain, but with Rolando, his occasional absence is really something that has to be factored into the selection.

[JUST-PLAIN-NASTY]

Re: could star ILB Rolando McClain fall to us at #18 after all?

I made this statement before....

I would take Spoon over McClain even if he didn't have this disease.

[Lebsteel]

Re: could star ILB Rolando McClain fall to us at #18 after all?

There have been several athletes who have been able to perform at a high level while dealing with Chron's disease:

Jacksonville Jaguars QB David Garrard

former Hartford Whalers RW Kevin Dineen

former Calgary Flames RW Theo Fleury (who did struggle with drug & alcohol abuse, but that may have more to do with him being sexually molested by a junior hockey coach)

Ironman triathlete Jonathan Caron

Professional wrestler George "The Animal" Steele (I'd imagine that eating turnbuckles might have resulted in inflammation of one's digestive tract)

RB, you MUST be old if you remember George "The Animal" Steele. He had a thicker coat of hair on his back and chest than a grizzly bear. Yes, I think the turnbuckles were probably not on his diet list. What a crazy character he was!

[RuthlessBurgher]

Re: could star ILB Rolando McClain fall to us at #18 after all?

There have been several athletes who have been able to perform at a high level while dealing with Chron's disease:

Jacksonville Jaguars QB David Garrard

former Hartford Whalers RW Kevin Dineen

former Calgary Flames RW Theo Fleury (who did struggle with drug & alcohol abuse, but that may have more to do with him being sexually molested by a junior hockey coach)

Ironman triathlete Jonathan Caron

Professional wrestler George "The Animal" Steele (I'd imagine that eating turnbuckles might have resulted in inflammation of one's digestive tract)

RB, you MUST be old if you remember George "The Animal" Steele. He had a thicker coat of hair on his back and chest than a grizzly bear. Yes, I think the turnbuckles were probably not on his diet list. What a crazy character he was!