I enjoy the drafting discussion on how Snead should be graded. I think it fair to say that the Rams track record during his tenure has been good and bad. No one can argue with his great successes in Goff, Donald, and Gurley. His failures are also clear. I would rate his track record as a 50/50 mix at this point. Give him both strong praise, and strong criticism. In my world, he'd be rated as average. In my competitive world, this type of average doesn't cut it.
We discussed this topic before and I've been thinking about the whole draft process, how it works, and how little I really know about the innerds of the Rams' process.
Don't the Rams work with some professional scouting organizations that are a major part of the decision making? Many years ago, didn't the Rams change from one of these orgs to another?
I don't expect a GM to be only focused on scouting and acquiring talent. Please correct me if I am wrong, but doesn't Mr. Snead have more to do than study college players? Don't the Rams have a pool of people all working on this and feeding info to Snead?
Sure, at the end of the day, the buck stops at Snead. But I surmise that he has a cast of supporting characters, who give him info, and perhaps their work is mediocre, which causes Snead's decisions to be mediocre.
None of us will ever know the inner working details behind all these draft picks, good or bad. But looking at the track record, I think there is ample room for improvement. Professionals are expected to produce better than mediocre, or even average results.
Some of you have taken exception to my previous statements on this, but I ask, would you patronize a restaurant where they boast that they cook the food correctly 60% of the time? Or a mechanic? Would you entrust a surgeon who says, "I get surgeries done right 60% of the time, choose me!" Of course not.
There are many factors that going into predicting who will be a good NFL player, and who will not. I'd find out who in the Rams's org was getting their input right, who was getting it wrong, and finding a way to make improvements, either by hiring or firing. I think the bar of excellence needs to be raised.
Sorry if I rambled, but don't you find this whole process fascinating?
