I can't quote it for its from a competing site but they say 1) His individual high tape jumps off the screen and 2) Not only is he assured to make the team but see significant playing time. Remember when we thought he was a throw in player for the Keenan deal cause he was so thin?

I'll never forget when he stared me down - Just kidding.

McCain could have been our best player last year on offense and defense. I think I remember Sonny had him playing endzone jump balls in fall practice last year, but too bad we never saw it.

McCain's got some talent. He never even came close to reaching his full potential at Cal with either coaching staff.

MaximusArelliusDaBearius;842347436 said:

---

I can't quote it for its from a competing site but they say 1) His individual high tape jumps off the screen and 2) Not only is he assured to make the team but see significant playing time. Remember when we thought he was a throw in player for the Keenan deal cause he was so thin?

I'll never forget when he stared me down - Just kidding.

---

He was never a throw in. He was a top 150 guy who was committed to Oregon. We just didn't know what the **** to do with him or how to keep him on track.

tim94501;842347439 said:

---

He was never a throw in. He was a top 150 guy who was committed to Oregon. We just didn't know what the **** to do with him or how to keep him on track.

---

We didn't know how to... (removed to prevent further butthurtedness)

Tedford had some star players who were real pain in the asses but they were kept in line. McCain was not and it wasn't either coaching staff's fault. This is on McCain. He had many, many chances and the overwhelming majority of the players on the team understood why he was kicked off.

i never thought Mccain was a "throw-in" player. the problem for me was that he came in super skinny, and was banged up frequently. then there were the rumored "character issues".

but if Mccain had the right attitude, had stayed at Cal, and went through another full year with Harrington's S&C, he could be really good. just wasn't meant to be.

Hurricanes or Dolphins?

dolphins

McCain is the kind of project who if everything worked out and we could have had him healthy and playing this year he would have been our best pass rusher. The problem was that it didn't all work out so essentially we suffered through his growing pains (shudder Oregon 2011) until we couldn't take it any more. Would have been better for us if he had matured earlier but to his credit it seems that so far he has been getting it right in Miami. All that said, would anyone be surprised if he volunteers a lot this year?

Unit2Sucks;842347468 said:

---

McCain is the kind of project who if everything worked out and we could have had him healthy and playing this year he would have been our best pass rusher. The problem was that it didn't all work out so essentially we suffered through his growing pains (shudder Oregon 2011) until we couldn't take it any more. Would have been better for us if he had matured earlier but to his credit it seems that so far he has been getting it right in Miami. All that said, would anyone be surprised if he pulls a Suarez or N. Suh this season?

---

why spend your time typing such words .. its not needed definitely not helpful ..therefore WHY? dont wish hate/bad on anyone

g4r - I don't know what you're talking about
:cheer

He's a freakazoid and honestly when I met him seemed like a cool guy. Despite all the bs at cal has not bashed is once. I wish him all the luck in the world.

BeggarEd;842347441 said:

---

We didn't know how to keep him from hitting women... (allegedly)

---

Do you have facts? If so, lets hear them. McCain has left the program and is now a pro. Why be like furd's wife and resort to double secret talk?

Otherwise you sound like a punk.

The guy played with a lot of emotion and wore his heart on his sleeve. He showed some flashes during Tedford but was hampered by a lingering injury that got surgery before his time with Dykes.

I haven't heard anything solid regarding any trouble instances other than innuendo. I think he got a bad rap because he came with the NC crew and was seen as clapping when he got removed from the game (which I thnk was misinterpreted by most here who chose to see him in a negative light).

Doctors fixed his body.
Sonny fixed his mind with some tough love.

McCain will always remember that Sonny saved his life.
And McCain has said so.

Vontaze Burfict is another. Finally seems to have harnessed hie inner demons and loosed his enormous talent in Cincy.

59bear;842347519 said:

---

Vontaze Burfict is another. Finally seems to have harnessed hie inner demons and loosed his enormous talent in Cincy.

---

Millions of dollars will do that - until they are all gone. Then the demons come back with a fury.

59bear;842347519 said:

---

Vontaze Burfict is another. Finally seems to have harnessed hie inner demons and loosed his enormous talent in Cincy.

---

Then there are the Leaf-types, soon to be joined by the Johnnie Footballers ... guys who start at the top and rapidly slide down, down, way down.
For McCain, better late than never, thanks to Sonny giving him a push up onto his feet.

I, for one, am planning to go to the Vatican for the beatification of St. Sonny.

MoragaBear;842347506 said:

---

I'm not going to badmouth McCain but he'll tell you freely himself he made A LOT of bad mistakes at Cal.

I like the guy but he had/has a lot of internal challenges to overcome. I wish him the best.

There's a long history of guys with troubled pasts growing into men and leaders in the NFL and hopefully he'll be one of them.

---

I'm not doubtful that he had problems but given the background where some of these players come from I would hope that the fan base would be a little but more sympathetic.

I guess the other issue is whether kicking him off the team was necessary vs a suspension. Not blaming Sonny here as I'm sure he considered all the factors. It just would've been nice to try to take corrective action while keeping him in school and in the team (which I would say for any player). I know it's a moot point since all that has passed.

MoragaBear;842347558 said:

---

Yes, it was necessary and long overdue.

He did stuff that you just can't let go or just suspend a guy for. Even regegade programs would've made the same call.

---

To me the point is that the public doesn't know what happened. There were enough indications that there were problems and that they had existed for a long time. I have serious concerns about the number of players that left the program since the current staff came aboard, but McCain is probably the last departure I'm concerned about.

Frankly, without more public info, I think the best course is to wish him well. His success at Miami does not make the decision to kick him off the team worse.

Though I have to say the contention that Sonny is responsible for turning McCain's life around is beyond silly and makes one start to wonder whether we are being trolled in a rather brilliant fashion.

tim94501;842347439 said:

---

He was never a throw in. He was a top 150 guy who was committed to Oregon. We just didn't know what the **** to do with him or how to keep him on track.

---

I am good friends with someone who worked on the old staff who assisted in recruiting McCain. He was higher on McCain than any other recent LB recruit that I can recall and all he kept saying was in essence: "man, this kid is a freak. I'm telling you, if we can get him to put on the weight that he needs, he is going to be a lock in the NFL. He projects to be a prototypical 3-4 OLB with his height, wingspan, athleticism and motor. It all comes down to how much functional weight we can get on him without impacting his athleticism."

Sometimes things don't work out perfectly on the field for us, but I'm hopeful for him that he's got his mind right as it sounds like he does and he can begin to make the impact that he was projected to make, albeit after he left Cal.

MoragaBear;842347580 said:

---

Those words didn't come from me. I don't have much of an opinion about what his role was in any turnaround for McCain.

---

To be clear, Moraga, I didn't mean to imply they did. There is a big difference between the contention that Sonny's action was appropriate and best for the team and the contention that it turned around the life of McCain.

OaktownBear;842347570 said:

---

Though I have to say the contention that Sonny is responsible for turning McCain's life around is beyond silly and makes one start to wonder whether we are bseing trolled in a rather brilliant fashion.

---

From what little information that is out there I don't think this premise is "beyond silly". As noted in another thread Chris McCain recently was quoted in the Miami Herald -

McCain wouldn't discuss specifics of his dismissal but said "it wasn't a violation of rules. It was attitude. I got a big head, and me and coach got into a disagreement. I didn't want to be dismissed, but it was the best thing I needed to get my life back on track. I've grown up."

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2014/08/21/4300376/undrafted-rookies-including-lb.html#storylink=cpy

So it is a reasonable inference that Sonny dismissing McCain forced him to refocus and "get (his) life back on track." Seems like a respectful nod to coach Dykes and a subtle thank you for making what was no doubt a very tough decison for both parties.

WhipItOutJoe;842347609 said:

---

From what little information that is out there I don't think this premise is "beyond silly". As noted in another thread Chris McCain recently was quoted in the Miami Herald -

McCain wouldn't discuss specifics of his dismissal but said "it wasn't a violation of rules. It was attitude. I got a big head, and me and coach got into a disagreement. I didn't want to be dismissed, but it was the best thing I needed to get my life back on track. I've grown up."

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2014/08/21/4300376/undrafted-rookies-including-lb.html#storylink=cpy

So it is a reasonable inference that Sonny dismissing McCain forced him to refocus and "get (his) life back on track." Seems like a respectful nod to coach Dykes and a subtle thank you for making what was no doubt a very tough decison for both parties.

---

I think that it is a huge overreach on that quote to say he thinks Sonny turned his life around

WhipItOutJoe;842347609 said:

---

From what little information that is out there I don't think this premise is "beyond silly". As noted in another thread Chris McCain recently was quoted in the Miami Herald -

McCain wouldn’t discuss specifics of his dismissal but said “it wasn’t a violation of rules. It was attitude. I got a big head, and me and coach got into a disagreement. I didn’t want to be dismissed, but it was the best thing I needed to get my life back on track. I’ve grown up.”

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2014/08/21/4300376/undrafted-rookies-including-lb.html#storylink=cpy

So it is a reasonable inference that Sonny dismissing McCain forced him to refocus and "get (his) life back on track." Seems like a respectful nod to coach Dykes and a subtle thank you for making what was no doubt a very tough decison for both parties.

---

Yeah but there's a difference between Sonny dismissing him from the team which was the jolt needed to get him changing vs. Sonny taking an active role in mentoring and shaping his character. He may have provided the catalyst but McCain decided to change on his own after that. For all we know Sonny had no further contact with McCain after dismissal. I just feel like some of the rhetoric is slathering Sonny with praise for his role in turning McCain's life around when it very well might have been indirect and incidental.

I am mostly a lurker here, so sometimes I forget how closely we all parse each other's words - and everyone else's for that matter. I am not slathering praise on Dykes for dismissing McCain - I loved watching that guy play and was bummed when he was kicked from the team. I think the McCain is merely giving a nod to his former coach along the lines of, "hey coach, you were right, my attitude sucked and you did the right thing. Thanks for helping me get back on track." Sonny was aware of the massive talent McCain has and tossing his from the team must have been a very hard thing to do.

WhipItOutJoe;842347616 said:

---

I am mostly a lurker here, so sometimes I forget how closely we all parse each other's words - and everyone else's for that matter. I am not slathering praise on Dykes for dismissing McCain - I loved watching that guy play and was bummed when he was kicked from the team. I think the McCain is merely giving a nod to his former coach along the lines of, "hey coach, you were right, my attitude sucked and you did the right thing. Thanks for helping me get back on track." Sonny was aware of the massive talent McCain has and tossing his from the team must have been a very hard thing to do.

---

I'm referring more to quotes from others like:

Quote:

---

Sonny fixed his mind with some tough love.

McCain will always remember that Sonny saved his life.
And McCain has said so.

---

I get that his dismissal from the team was good for him and McCain said so himself. What I'm saying is overboard is stuff like Sonny saving McCain's life.

StillNoStanfurdium;842347617 said:

---

I'm referring more to quotes from others like:



I get that his dismissal from the team was good for him and McCain said so himself. What I'm saying is overboard is stuff like Sonny saving McCain's life.

---

Sonny set up an IRA for Chris and put in the first $100K. He also bought him an XBOX1. NCAA compliance officer - that was a joke.

WhipItOutJoe;842347616 said:

---

I am mostly a lurker here, so sometimes I forget how closely we all parse each other's words - and everyone else's for that matter. I am not slathering praise on Dykes for dismissing McCain - I loved watching that guy play and was bummed when he was kicked from the team. I think the McCain is merely giving a nod to his former coach along the lines of, "hey coach, you were right, my attitude sucked and you did the right thing. Thanks for helping me get back on track." Sonny was aware of the massive talent McCain has and tossing his from the team must have been a very hard thing to do.

---

I actually don't disagree with what YOU are saying, but the statement I was referring to was:

Quote:

---

McCain will always remember that Sonny saved his life.
And McCain has said so.

---

Not much parsing necessary there.

StillNoStanfurdium;842347614 said:

---

... For all we know Sonny had no further contact with McCain after dismissal. I just feel like some of the rhetoric is slathering Sonny with praise for his role in turning McCain's life around when it very well might have been indirect and incidental.

---

Sonny finally tossing McCain off the team was hardly "indirect"; it was direct and decisive, not "incidental".
Sonny allowed McCain to participate in Pro Day with the other Bears, rather a nice gesture towards McCain.
McCain has taken it from there, as he himself has stated.