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[mutigers1fan]

I'm going to stay out of this one and chalk it up to a poorly run organization. I will say though that I was in favor of trading the pick at the time.

 

[Vitamike]

I'm going to stay out of this one and chalk it up to a poorly run organization. I will say though that I was in favor of trading the pick at the time.

Really, this ones not that messy, I really don't think Junkie and I are too far apart even though it may appear that way. We both want Sam to do well this year and if he's turns out that he's not the guy, we both want him out.

As far as the Bradford VS Suh thing goes, I've always been a fan of the BIG12, moreso of OU however, but it was a win either way for me. The one thing I'll add to this however, if hindsight is 20/20, I liked the way things turned out, I think the Fisher/Snead combo is fantastic, there is nothing concrete that says Sam is a bust at this point and our D Line is one of the best in the NFL if not the best so it's not killing us that we don't have Suh on the roster.

 

[mutigers1fan]

Vita, I'm staying out because I don't have a side. You and Junkie both have solid sides and as you said really aren't far apart. I'm just glad the team has a direction now and not garbage for a coach or front office.

 

[mutigers1fan]

You should know i won't shy away from an argument if I'm adament about my point.

 

[fastforward]

Hindsight is very much 20-20. If Ogletree was hit by a drunk-driver would it make him a bad pick? Of course it wouldn't. You evaluate a decision based on the information available at the time and the alternatives available. A considerable number of Devaney's high picks suffered major injuries early in their careers. The CBA at that time made Draft signings very expensive so players who were injured and came back as average players were expendable.

2008 - 5 year maximum
1) Chris Long - Made NFL roster or IR 5 years. Projected starter 2013.
2) Donnie Avery - Made NFL roster or IR 5 years. Projected starter 2013. (Major Injury).
3) John Greco - Made NFL roster or IR 5 years.
4a) Justin King - Made NFL roster or IR 5 years.
4b) Keenan Burton - Made NFL roster or IR 2 years.
5) Roy Schuening - Bust.
7a) Chris Chamberlain - Made NFL roster or IR 5 years.
7b) David Vobora - Made NFL roster or IR 4 years.
Years as starters, (started 12 or more games): 11

2009 - 4 year maximum
1) Jason Smith - Made NFL roster or IR 4 years.
2) James Laurinaitis - Made NFL roster or IR 4 years. Projected starter 2013.
3) Bradley Fletcher - Made NFL roster or IR 4 years. Projected starter 2013. (Major Injury).
4) Darell Scott - Made NFL roster or IR 3 years.
5) Brooks Foster - Bust.
6) Keith Null - Bust.
7) Chris Ogbonnaya - Made NFL roster or IR 3 years.
Years as starters, (started 12 or more games): 7

2010 - 3 year maximum
1) Sam Bradford - Made NFL roster or IR 3 years. Projected starter 2013.
2) Roger Saffold - Made NFL roster or IR 3 years. Projected starter 2013.
3) Jerome Murphy - Made NFL roster or IR 3 years. (Major Injury).
4) Mardy Gilyard - Made NFL roster or IR 2 years.
5) Michael Hoomanawanui - Made NFL roster or IR 3 years. (Multiple Injuries).
5b) Hall Davis - Made NFL roster or IR 2 years
6a) Fendi Onobun - Made NFL roster or IR 2 years.
6b) Eugene Sims - Made NFL roster or IR 3 years.
7a) Marquis Johnson - Made NFL roster or IR 2 years.
7b) George Selvie - Made NFL roster or IR 3 years.
7c) Josh Hull - Made NFL roster or IR 3 years.
Years as starters, (started 12 or more games): 7

2011 - I'm not going to argue possible merits of 2011 with anyone. I absolutely hated this Draft. I didn't like a single pick. This was a boom or bust Draft from a management team that had to win immediately or face being fired. Everyone knew that our O-Line was awful but we went for the flashy picks to 'give Sam some weapons'.

From 2008 - 2010 Devaney drafted a lot of NFL quality talent. We'll never know how good Avery, Fletcher, & Murphy could have been for us because of injuries. It's true that we didn't pick one single superstar whilst picking a very high profile bust in Smith. Those 2 facts overshadow our matching our being league average or better with the other picks. We were undermined by God-awful coaching and high-profile free-agent decisions that backfired. That's what really contributed to our failings.

Yes!!! Devaney was responsible for the free-agents and...
Yes!!! He deserved to be fired...but please don't say it was all because of the Drafts.

 

[fastforward]

I also don't think the decisions they made after round 3 were sensible.

Gilyard over Williams just because Williams had some character concerns ( thank you 4 pillars mantra ). How did that work out?

2 TE's in back to back rounds? All the good TE's were taken in rounds 2-4.

And, if you select a QB #1, shouldn't you draft some weapons for him? Gilyard, Hoo and Onobun in rounds 4-6 are the "weapons" you pick? They could have taken Graham in round 3 instead of Murphy.

I know hindsight is 20/20 and we can all play the "what if" game, but you have to agree that the past regimes were terrible at drafting. All you have to do is look at the current roster and see how few of their draft picks are still with the team to see that fact.

I don't mind GMs gambling once it gets to the 4th round...as long as there's a plan. Boom and bust picks where we need starters are fine. Depth picks where we're thin are fine. B&B picks where we hace starters are stupid. Depth picks where we have depth are stupid. We weren't set for starters at either CB or WR and we also lacked depth. Going into 2010 Avery was the #1 WR after 2 mediocre years with Gibson & Amendola, (both of whom had statistically showed nothing in 2009), for support. Robinson was coming back from an injury. The only question was which WR we were going to pick and when. The pick turned out to be a bust but it was a justifiable pick. I didn't care for Hall or Onobun but you can gamble at that point - it's why I said the first 5 picks rather than 7.

 

[SJ76]

Gents - my point is and will ALWAYS be that this organization at that time, had no clue where they were going or what they were doing. They were strictly trying to put themselves in a position to sell tickets and sell the team, HOPING to win games. The part they got wrong was winning football games and their approach was way off.

You don't draft a QB that was hurt his entire senior year and make him the overall #1 pick, giving him all of that money, having no O-line and no weapons - if you are trying to win games. Period. End of story. The best way to get the organization back to winning was to build a solid D and find some RB's and a QB that can manage the game. It was going to take time regardless. I agree with FastF, that regime definitely made picks that set us back.

But it was a leading factor in the Fisher hire which lead to the Snead hire and
put us where we are today. I'm not sure those things happen with Suh as a Ram
and not Bradford.

Whether some of you will admit it or not, the leading reason Fisher came to the Rams was all of the picks we were going to have. He knew that having that 2nd pick got us either RG3 or Luck and with having Bradford, he could eventually bring in some weapons on Offense and the defense had some key players already. Add in Finnegan and Janoris, now Ogletree - you have a solid defense.

 

[SJ76]

FastF, I look at those drafts and shake my head. I child could have just picked a random player off of a page and do better.

Sad

 

[Clayton]

2009 - 4 year maximum
1) Jason Smith - Made NFL roster or IR 4 years.
2) James Laurinaitis - Made NFL roster or IR 4 years. Projected starter 2013.

I think this little bit illustrates why I don't think you can look at our drafts quite like this. There is no way that you can put Jason Smith and James Laurinaitis on the same level as if they've had the same contribution in the NFL. Jason Smith was godawful and only made rosters because people were really hoping to justify his draft position.

As far as 2011 is concerned, the pick that really bugs me is Lance Kendrick in the 2nd round over players like Randall Cobb and Torrey Smith. And it seemed like a really awful pick when they made it, too. I know he has gotten better since his rookie year but he hasn't gotten to the point of justifying the 2nd round selection. Robert Quinn was a hell of a pick, though. There is no way any GM should pass on that opportunity in the middle of the first round. Obviously Kerrigan would've worked out, too, but Quinn was generally seen as the better prospect.

 

[SJ76]

I think Cobb went in the 4th. But I liked Torrey Smith. ANother burner and he's going to have a big year this year.

 

[mutigers1fan]

Junkie if I remember correctly he was hurt his entire junior year and came out after it. Furthers your point if anything.

 

[SJ76]

Who Sam? He played his junior year, then hurt his senior year..

I'm lost. We're talking about 4 different years of draft picks. haha

 

[SJ76]

Speaking of Maryland Wide-outs, Stephon Diggs WR - watch this guy this season.

Sammy Wadkins
Marquis Lee


I will have no problem if we end up with a top 10 pick from Washington or the Rams.

 

[fastforward]

The biggest problem we had in Devaney's Drafts is that at the top end we selected athletes with exceptional physical abilities rather than football players with exceptional skills. Lower down we were average or better. It's a trait that Snead seems to have inherited.

 

[mutigers1fan]

But if you surround great athletes with solid teams and put them in a situation to thrive I don't see that as a problem.

 

[Clayton]

The biggest problem we had in Devaney's Drafts is that at the top end we selected athletes with exceptional physical abilities rather than football players with exceptional skills. Lower down we were average or better. It's a trait that Snead seems to have inherited.

Lets be real: Devaney is gone because of Jason Smith. Devaney drafted based on positional value and just whiffed a lot. He really shouldn't be cut any slack...we had one of the worst rosters in the league for years and yet he was still finding players that couldn't make the roster.

Snead clearly takes more risks.

 

[DK7000]

Lower down in the draft, Devaney still was crap. We only have two guys from the lower round on our roster that contribute. The rest are either scrubs on other NFL teams or out of the league. There's no defending Devaney. He was incompetent.

 

[Vitamike]

Good thing is, when looking forward, things are good. We seem to have a front office who is making enough of the right moves in FA and the draft. Now is the time for Sam to put to rest the Bradford and Suh debate. If he makes enough positive strides and so do theses young and I'll add fast, playmakers, it could mean the teams health may be the only real factor this year for these Rams to hit double digits wins, even considering our tough schedule.

Well I believe this Thursday is coming upon us and I can't wait to see these guys for myself! My goodness does anyone know if this game will be televised somewhere? I only see one Rams' game scheduled for TV in the Pre-Season and that is week three vs Denver on CBS. Help!!!

 

[Retroram52]

I have not seen any televised schedule nationally except for local broadcasts. I suspect that the frontrow website might have it scheduled.

 

[mutigers1fan]

vipbox has a link up for the game Thursday. Speaking of which I'm probably gonna miss about the 1st quarter so I'll need you guys giving my your reports.