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Suh - def. not a we not me guy. He is a known freelancer that made life heck for Miami. He couldn't care less how they played as long as he did his own thing.
Marcus Peters literally punched a college coach and was booted from the program at UW.
Fowler wasn't exactly a choir boy in Jacksonville either. Fighting a teammate after practice. An arrest for beating up a 55 year old and stepping on his glasses and then throwing his groceries in a lake. Yeah, a real stand up dude.
I'm not even going to get started with Aqib "I shot myself in the leg" Talib.
These are all of the we not me players Snead and McVay signed and traded for. So say what you want about Tillery and his laundry list of character flaws, he does fit right in with the rest of the boys on the defensive side of the ball.
FWIW, I don't like him as a pick either, but this is just the vibe I started to get 10 days ago and until something changes, I think he's the pick. My mock drafts are not ducky bunny mocks where I mock players I think everyone will like or agree with. I just try to get as close to right as I can.
I've got a different read on the "We not me" thing than you do. I don't understand it to mean high character guys that don't have colorful personalities.
First of all, I think it goes beyond whether any one player is a "we not me" player. It's a team-wide culture and mentality where everyone realizes they're part of something bigger than just themselves. They all understand they have value, a role, and are accountable to each other.
In terms of individual players, Snead and McVay have never used character terms or phrases like stand up guy to describe what they're looking for. They've consistently used phrases like "passionate", "loves football", "intelligent", "studies film", "respected teammate", "leader on the football field", etc.
For Marcus Peters, they used several of those terms. I specifically recall them describing him as a player who loves to compete, is passionate, and loves football. McVay said he noticed that about him a couple of years ago and that's why he wanted him on his team if he ever got the chance.
For this criteria, punching a coach in college is irrelevant. That is a lack of maturity thing which falls under a character deficit. In fact, I recall that when he first joined the team, they went out of their way to explain the difference between maturity issues and they type of football character they are looking for. They have acknowledged that he needs to learn to control his passion and mature but no one has ever questioned whether he brings his all to the football field or not. No one is more heartbroken than him when he screws up and costs the team for some error he made. Because he is a passionate, instinctual, hard working player who loves to compete he fits the culture despite despite those exact characteristics along with maturity issues getting him in trouble some of the time.
Same with Talib. Shooting yourself in the leg is incredibly stupid but it literally has nothing to do with the slogan IMO. Talib is as respected as a teammate and leader on the field as they come. He too has unparalleled passion and love for football. He's also notorious for having a strong work ethic in studying film and finding the opposing teams weaknesses. Those characteristics make him the epitome of team first.
I don't know as much about Fowler but I do know that being a team first guy has little to do with being a choir boy. "We not me" is not close to the 4 pillar character thing. Fighting a teammate would be a mark against him but that may be an isolated event. I haven't heard anything about him being a bad teammate, or a lazy player that doesn't work hard to live up to team standards. Those types of issue would suggest that he's not a good fit for the culture.
Suh. I believe there is a reason Suh isn't back: he was not a "we not me" player. We agree on this one. This was clearly evident by the way he dialed it wayyyyy up in the playoffs. Where was that during the season, Suh!!?? Coasting is bad character on the football field. It's a lack of passion. He's also been described throughout his career as aloof. I see them as trying an experiment one year. It didn't work out, move one.
I've said before, and IMO it bears repeating: if Tillery really doesn't love football, the Rams won't draft him.
Because for them, I haven't seen character issues being a disqualifier, but with the exception of Suh, I haven't seen them pick up anyone who wasn't passionate, loves football, works hard, thought of highly by teammates, and often is pretty football smart.
EDIT: P.S. Thanks for the mock draft. It's great work and an enjoyable read!
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/20/2019 05:47PM by dzrams.
