Re: Other things to consider about draft classes - a long read...
| October 11, 2023 09:00AM |
If zn were still around he'd be flooding this thread with comparisons betw. our draft classes and where the draft landed for other teams; i.e. what percentage of players chosen when made it and where they are now, etc. When he used to post this stuff it was sobering.
When players drafted by us and left the team and contributed somewhere else are factored in, our drafting doesn't appear that bad. We chose some good players who - for whatever reason - didn't work out for the Rams.
Over the past few years when some of our players were picked up through trade or the draft I kept track of which coach, player, or scout lobbied for them - and which decisions Snead agreed to, seemingly, to keep ther peace, foster and maintain in-house management relationships. There are some interesting look-backs:
Sammy Watkins, when he was with us, lobbied hard for Robert Woods.
Stafford lobbied for AR - and then wasn't able to work out with him enough to develop chemistry preseason; that's before the injury apocalypse hit. We know what happened then: Stafford under duress didn't know reflexively where/when AR would be and so he threw to Kupp. I think he wanted, coming in, sure hands in a go-to sideline first down receiver. Before the wheels fell off there was no time to fine-tune that machine. Given that timing, Stafford usually brings out the very best in his receivers and the stats are there to show it.
When OBJ first came aboard, Stafford and OBJ required some time to get in sync mid-season and many on this board were looking at OBJ as a waste, a has-been, because Stafford wasn't throwing to him much. They had to sandwich camp into mid-week practices between games and got it together when they did. We know the results.
Many on this board thought Gaines was a whiff of a draft pick. (I liked him and thought he'd pan out, maybe turn into a beast, BTW.
I wasn't posting then.)
Quite a few were against the Aaron Donald selection because he was too short. There was a guy with the right measurables and higher pedigree available when we took Donald.
During the Bruss draft, we all remember the pool splash - wasn't Snead that made the jump, but he had to trust his subordinates. If you can't trust your people in a management position you're dead. If they screw up it's on you, and you can't tag them publicly or you've lost trust and confidence throughout the whole management team. When you've got an adament and vocal staff member on a crusade, maintaining trust and staff unity can override the decision to be made - and in the Bruss case, what if he works out? That's an unknown going in. I see Bruss as a whiff - a swing and a miss. But if another player chosen didn't turn into the next Whitworth... Snead was in a tough spot.
I forget the name of the basketball player/wide receiver that Snead didn't want, but Fisher did. They flew out to see him, have him catch a few passes, and Snead went along. His job is to get the players his HC wants. He did it and the guy was a bust.
Overall the GM of an NFL has maybe the toughest - and potentially the most rewarding - management job in professional sports. There is so much to keep track of; so many sources of input, so many points of view to bring together, so many mouths to feed. And overall, the GM, if he's approaching excellence, must have the personal depth to at once instill a philosophy (you can't impose it) in his management group. That, and oversee the personal and professional mix of talent he's bringing to the football field.
Look at what we had before Snead arrived. And look at where we are now.
The line on the graph documenting the movement from mediocrity to high achievement is very seldom linear - there are highs and lows. It's bumpy. Overall you want to see an upward trend. I think we've seen that. So many decisions are not without risk. Vey few are shoo-ins.
Knock his drafts, knock his trades, knock his not getting what this fan board thinks is enough, or giving away too much, but only after you track some of the moves long term - and see where they left us.
I don't think he's done bad at all. I'd like to know him, kick back on my back deck with him and his wife, eat some western grass-fed steaks, watch a sunset and talk into the evening. I wouldn't answer the door for nearly all of our politicians, hardly any celebrities, and not that many football GM's or coaches.
Snead is, in my view, quality folks, highly capable, broad and deep as a human being, and underappreciated.
When players drafted by us and left the team and contributed somewhere else are factored in, our drafting doesn't appear that bad. We chose some good players who - for whatever reason - didn't work out for the Rams.
Over the past few years when some of our players were picked up through trade or the draft I kept track of which coach, player, or scout lobbied for them - and which decisions Snead agreed to, seemingly, to keep ther peace, foster and maintain in-house management relationships. There are some interesting look-backs:
Sammy Watkins, when he was with us, lobbied hard for Robert Woods.
Stafford lobbied for AR - and then wasn't able to work out with him enough to develop chemistry preseason; that's before the injury apocalypse hit. We know what happened then: Stafford under duress didn't know reflexively where/when AR would be and so he threw to Kupp. I think he wanted, coming in, sure hands in a go-to sideline first down receiver. Before the wheels fell off there was no time to fine-tune that machine. Given that timing, Stafford usually brings out the very best in his receivers and the stats are there to show it.
When OBJ first came aboard, Stafford and OBJ required some time to get in sync mid-season and many on this board were looking at OBJ as a waste, a has-been, because Stafford wasn't throwing to him much. They had to sandwich camp into mid-week practices between games and got it together when they did. We know the results.
Many on this board thought Gaines was a whiff of a draft pick. (I liked him and thought he'd pan out, maybe turn into a beast, BTW.
I wasn't posting then.)Quite a few were against the Aaron Donald selection because he was too short. There was a guy with the right measurables and higher pedigree available when we took Donald.
During the Bruss draft, we all remember the pool splash - wasn't Snead that made the jump, but he had to trust his subordinates. If you can't trust your people in a management position you're dead. If they screw up it's on you, and you can't tag them publicly or you've lost trust and confidence throughout the whole management team. When you've got an adament and vocal staff member on a crusade, maintaining trust and staff unity can override the decision to be made - and in the Bruss case, what if he works out? That's an unknown going in. I see Bruss as a whiff - a swing and a miss. But if another player chosen didn't turn into the next Whitworth... Snead was in a tough spot.
I forget the name of the basketball player/wide receiver that Snead didn't want, but Fisher did. They flew out to see him, have him catch a few passes, and Snead went along. His job is to get the players his HC wants. He did it and the guy was a bust.
Overall the GM of an NFL has maybe the toughest - and potentially the most rewarding - management job in professional sports. There is so much to keep track of; so many sources of input, so many points of view to bring together, so many mouths to feed. And overall, the GM, if he's approaching excellence, must have the personal depth to at once instill a philosophy (you can't impose it) in his management group. That, and oversee the personal and professional mix of talent he's bringing to the football field.
Look at what we had before Snead arrived. And look at where we are now.
The line on the graph documenting the movement from mediocrity to high achievement is very seldom linear - there are highs and lows. It's bumpy. Overall you want to see an upward trend. I think we've seen that. So many decisions are not without risk. Vey few are shoo-ins.
Knock his drafts, knock his trades, knock his not getting what this fan board thinks is enough, or giving away too much, but only after you track some of the moves long term - and see where they left us.
I don't think he's done bad at all. I'd like to know him, kick back on my back deck with him and his wife, eat some western grass-fed steaks, watch a sunset and talk into the evening. I wouldn't answer the door for nearly all of our politicians, hardly any celebrities, and not that many football GM's or coaches.
Snead is, in my view, quality folks, highly capable, broad and deep as a human being, and underappreciated.
