49ers ask Stafford about parents divorce.

[70Chip]

I wouldn't allow any "team psychologist" in my building if I were in charge. I can't see Parcells having a "team psychologist". The HC is suppossed to be the "team psychologist. Of course this is San Fransisco. The whole town needs psychiatric help.

[tryfuhl]

Originally Posted by gibbsisgod

Is nothing off limits when asking questions to respective draftees? I would be offended if this were to happen to me.

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And the comments made by Singletary is just salt in the wound. I wonder how the topic came about and if he just gave a "no comment" type answer or if he became defensive. I just think some things are out of bounds when interviewing for a "job".

Thoughts?

Can you face adversity? What if you lose your QB coach or head coach that supported you, favorite wide receiver, etc.

Hell they can ask things like that in a college entrance interview and certain jobs. Likely the kid has had to talk about it before and should be a man enough to talk about it now. Sure it's not the most pleasant subject but it's not like they're breaking the news to him.

[tryfuhl]

Originally Posted by SmootSmack

The questions potential draftees are asked can be quite intense. But they're peppered in with football related questions. They're designed more than anything to test a) the player's ability to react quickly and b) to be honest

Some examples

"What did you say to your wife when she found out you cheated on her?" (said to a player without a wife)

"What if I told you your son isn't really yours right before kickoff? Could you play?"

"What's your favorite pie?" (made that one up)

"I asked Coach Gibbs a question. What did you think?" (made that one up too)

Still, Singletary's response was kind of ridiculous. I think he' taking his "I'm a tough guy" act a bit far, and he's going to lose that team fast if he doesn't pull back some.

This too, while I admire his grittiness, it's not going to get him very far in today's NFL unless he can start a one-team revolution, can't see the prima donnas going for that though

[Zerohero]

Originally Posted by GMScud

I would have flat out told them "may parents' personal lives are none of your business."

Singletary's tough guy act is getting old. If he still wants to act this way, then come out of retirement and strap on a helmet. Methinks he'd find some humility pretty quickly in that case.

I don't care how much money they are about to invest in these guys, some of this stuff is silly.

Stafford could always find another job where they give you over 10 mil your first year to walk the sidelines with a clipboard. Or if that's too insulting he can work construction with vick this year.

[jsarno]

Ahhh the life of a "celebrity". They get offended, and we talk about it like it's a big issue.
1- This is something Stafford should expect, and Singletary, while a little over the top, might be right depending on how Stafford responded.
2- Like Zerohero pointed out, if you don't like the line of questioning, why not try your hand in the real world where they are not allowed to ask that.
3- 10th pick? Seriously? You are interviewing with the 10th pick 49ers? What was your agent smoking when he set up this interview? If he goes that far in the draft, he has FAR worse problems than questions being asked.
4- When is the season going to start? These are those "non issues" that we tend to talk too much about because of the offseason.

[Dirtbag59]

Originally Posted by Mattyk72

Maybe over the top but I can see where teams are coming from. They're about to pay a guy millions to be the face of the franchise. You want to make sure you've dotted all your I's and crossed all your T's.

mua ha ha ha with blood.

[SBXVII]

and this is the exact reason I believe he should have gotten dirt on Singletary so when an inappropriate question came up he could ask one in return. Certainly if someone is going to be an a-hole and ask a stupid personal question then you don't want to be on that team. Might as well burn your bridge with the team so they don't pick you.

[GMScud]

Originally Posted by SBXVII

and this is the exact reason I believe he should have gotten dirt on Singletary so when an inappropriate question came up he could ask one in return. Certainly if someone is going to be an a-hole and ask a stupid personal question then you don't want to be on that team. Might as well burn your bridge with the team so they don't pick you.

Ha! That's funny.

Even though Singletary isn't the one who asked Stafford the divorce question, it would still make for a funny exchange if it happened:

Singletary: Have you gotten over your parents' divorce?
Stafford: Do you routinely show your bare ass to the team as a motivational tactic?

[53Fan]

That's funny. Nice comeback.

[JGisLordOfTheRings]

Originally Posted by GMScud

Ha! That's funny.

Even though Singletary isn't the one who asked Stafford the divorce question, it would still make for a funny exchange if it happened:

Singletary: Have you gotten over your parents' divorce?
Stafford: Do you routinely show your bare ass to the team as a motivational tactic?

This.

Instant classic. Wtf is wrong with Mike Singletary!? lol All those years smashin heads at LB knocked him a little silly imo.

[SouperMeister]

Originally Posted by 70Chip

I wouldn't allow any "team psychologist" in my building if I were in charge. I can't see Parcells having a "team psychologist". The HC is suppossed to be the "team psychologist. Of course this is San Fransisco. The whole town needs psychiatric help.

The psychology approach worked out really well when they opted for Alex Smith at #1 overall. Think they wish they had traded down and taken Aaron Rogers? So true what you say about Parcells.

[Son Of Man]

Originally Posted by Defensewins

The problem is Singletary comes off as a arrogant prick. Plus talking about Stafford's private business to the media is crossing the line. You can ask a player what ever you want behind closed doors, but keep it private. Why is Singletary talking about it to the media?
If someone from the media asks just say no comment.
Instead 49ers coach Mike Singletary fueled the controversy last month after comments with Ralph Barbieri on KNBR, a local radio station. “If you’re going to look at drafting a guy in the first round,” Singletary says in the interview, “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, then you know what, maybe he doesn’t belong here.”

That is like a school with out a teacher...NO CLASS!

Agreed. Singletary is proving to be a real douche!

[SBXVII]

Originally Posted by GMScud

Ha! That's funny.

Even though Singletary isn't the one who asked Stafford the divorce question, it would still make for a funny exchange if it happened:

Singletary: Have you gotten over your parents' divorce?
Stafford: Do you routinely show your bare ass to the team as a motivational tactic?

Thank You. lol. I knew someone would have dirt. lol.

You know I kinda was apprehensive about Singletary getting the job. I liked the idea cause people were saying how good he is at coaching. but there was something about his attitude that turned me off. Everytime he gets in front of the cameras I get turned off and tune him out. I'm supprised not one player hasn't just walked up to him and just punched him in the face and walked away. I think I would have been traded by now.

[John Denny]

Originally Posted by tryfuhl

Can you face adversity? What if you lose your QB coach or head coach that supported you, favorite wide receiver, etc.

Hell they can ask things like that in a college entrance interview and certain jobs. Likely the kid has had to talk about it before and should be a man enough to talk about it now. Sure it's not the most pleasant subject but it's not like they're breaking the news to him.

I think they're trying to get an unpracticed response out of him or get a real read on the guy. It may mean nothing to them other than to see how he'll respond to an off-question. Remember, he'll be asked thousands of questions for the rest of his career, maybe longer and he'll have no way to control what is asked.
And with there being so much time in-between these kids last college game and the draft, they have agents and people around them coaching them how to respond to "what would you if you lost your favorite receiver" questions. They're going to give cliche answers like "other guys are going to need to step up" or something along those lines.
Yeah divorce is common in this country and it may be none of anybody's business but when a team is investing TENS OF MILLIONS of GUARANTEED DOLLARS in ONE PLAYER, your damn right they're going to cover all the bases.
Remember Ryan Leaf. He was highly touted, had tremendous physical attributes and yet couldn't handle the pressure of playing QB at the NFL level. Now he's in a self imposed exile coaching golf in South Dakota or Idaho.
Teams want to know if they're drafting Ryan Leaf or Peyton Manning and sometimes asking tough unrelated questions is another way to size a guy up. Just my two cents.

[MTK]

Good thing some of you aren't in the NFL because you would need to lose your skirts awful quick.