Omar released from PS

[UK Peregrine]

I didn't see this anywhere, but then I don't read every thread anymore. Anyways, the Steelers cut all ties with Omar yesterday.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06256/721355-66.stm

[jerzyboy247]

Who knows if another team will pick him up?

[Nati Hutch]

Such a disapointment, esp as a Steeler fan. Brian St. Pierre, the guy didn't even want to be there last year.

I really hope Omar gets picked up by another team, I'm sure he will.

[Columbus_Zak]

My name is Omar Jacobs and I gave up my final year of eligibility to play back up for the Columbus Destroyers.

[bgsufn]

Just another reason to hate the damn Steelers!

Good luck Omar, hope you land somewhere!

[tcochran]

Someone has made a mistake making Omar think that he had the skills to leave college early and enter the NFL. He now has given up his scholarship and his chances at playing football for a living.

[transfer2BGSU]

Someone has made a mistake making Omar think that he had the skills to leave college early and enter the NFL. He now has given up his scholarship and his chances at playing football for a living.

While I agree it was a mistake to leave school early (despite the opinions of many), I do not think his chances of ever playing again are zero. I believe he is going to have to work that much harder for the opportunities that are out there.

[Falcon52]

I wish Omar the very best from a personal standpoint.

It's very unfortunate that he was led to believe that it's now or never. I was dead against him leaving. The NFL knows talent, and even if you have a crappy year or you get hurt, if your talented, they will still give you a shot. Greed, lawyers, and agents blew it, for us and Omar.

Did anyone ever tell him that losing your key position players is only going to make you better!

If I were a college coach, I would start building a portfolio of stories just like Omar's to show the next start player what could happen to them.

[Rollo83]

Would another year at BG have really helped address the problems Omar experienced in the Steelers' camp this year? No way!

He would have still been running an offense primarily from the shotgun. So he would have gotten very little experience taking snaps from center. And, he would still have trouble next year trying to learn an NFL-style offense. It's not like another year running Brandon's spread offense was gong to help him grasp an NFL offense.

I think he did the right thing coming out. He put around $200,000 in his pocket from his signing bonus and other things. He can always go back and get his degree. Plus, now he can take a shot in Europe, Canada or someone else's camp next year and still be only 22 years old.

My only problem is I wish he would have stuck with the Steelers' practice squad. At least being around the practices would have helped him learn more of the offense. Spending a year or 6 months away from football won't do much for his progress as a NFL QB.

Hopefully he gets picked-up by another team. I watched a lot of NFL preseason games on NFL Network and there are some horrible 2nd and 3rd team QBs out there. Tell me Omar isn't a better future QB prospect than what the Browns have behind Fry? If he someone has the patience to let him learn their system at his own pace, Omar still has the pootnetial to pay off big time for some NFL team. His size, arm strength and accuracy doesn't just grow on trees. But he wouldn't be the first good, physically gifted college QB to flunk out of the NFL. If Vince Young wasn't the third pick in the draft, he would be in the same boat...and he isn't half the passer Omar is. Of course his legs give him quite and advantage over Omar.

[dduncan]

Omar really seems to fit the CFL pretty well.

Though he needs to stick to a team's PS, learn the system, go to Europe, work on reading defenses, etc.. Come back next summer and see if he can make an NFL roster as a 3rd QB.

He'll get another chance, but he has to make sure it is a team that will be somewhat patient with him.

[transfer2BGSU]

Would another year at BG have really helped address the problems Omar experienced in the Steelers' camp this year? No way!

He would have still been running an offense primarily from the shotgun. So he would have gotten very little experience taking snaps from center. And, he would still have trouble next year trying to learn an NFL-style offense. It's not like another year running Brandon's spread offense was gong to help him grasp an NFL offense.

I think he did the right thing coming out. He put around $200,000 in his pocket from his signing bonus and other things. He can always go back and get his degree. Plus, now he can take a shot in Europe, Canada or someone else's camp next year and still be only 22 years old.

Like I said, some of us will disagree. Wowwee! He got to put $200,000 in his pocket. Well, that's great but right now he is not playing. Whether it is on an NFL team, practice squad, or college - he's not playing. And after he pays his agent and his taxes and his other expenses, well....he doesn't have $200,000 and he still is not playing football.

He came out after an injury. I think he could have used this year to show what made him so special in 2004. Quit thinking about NOW and think about the FUTURE. $200,000 is absolutely nothing compared to what he could make if he eventually lands on a roster.

And who is to say that Brandon and Co. could not have designed some plays to put him under center? Throw off other teams who became used to seeing us in the spread offense. I think Omar could be an NFL QB but I also believe he should have stayed in school.

[hammb]

I don't think another year in our system would've made Omar a more NFL-ready player. He may have been able to put up good enough numbers to fool more NFL execs and get himself drafted higher (which would force them to keep him on the roster), but even about that I'm not so sure.

All it's really about is getting yourself into camp and showing what you can do. Omar did that, and what he showed wasn't even enough to stick on a practice squad. Does anyone really think that another year in our offense, or even a couple plays under center, would've changed that?

[tcochran]

I believe that Omar would have benefited from another year at BG and had the advantage of playing Wisc. and OSU in "big game" atmospheres. If he had a injury free season with good numbers he would have been drafted higher and therefore a team would not be as quick to cut him. Also, I would like to see the statistics of college athletes who leave early, fail to make it and then go back to get their degrees. It can't be too high.

[Jacobs4Heisman]

The worst part about this is that the Steelers are one of the 3 "smartest" franchises in the NFL in terms of evaluating players. If they still don't like him, that says a lot more than if the Lions don't like him.

Omar, in spite of all his physical gifts, just might not be strong enough mentally to play QB in the NFL. Very few individuals are.

He could still get another shot though.


Fun "what if" of the day. Put Josh Harris' head and legs with Omar's right arm. Boo-yah.

[UK Peregrine]

What waiting a year would have done that probably would have been most beneficial to Omar is that Young, Leinart, Cutler, Clemens, Jackson, Whitehurst, and Croyle would have been out of his way. Instead this year, he would have been competing against seniors like Quinn, Smith, Stanton, Leak, Tate, and Palko. This senior class is one that I feel Omar could have rated quite well against compared to the class he decided to enter against. We'll never know.