Why the Rams NEED to draft Watkins

[Caynine29]

He had already moved from fourth string to backup, and without an injury would have taken over on his merits within a year or two.

Unless you're putting Drew Bledsoe in the same Pantheon as Tom Brady (which I'm assuming you're not)... you've just reinforced my point.

 

[jacobarch]

You can make the same argument for Kurt Warner. These teams never know who's good and who's not. I mean the guy was bagging groceries and playing in the Arena League for crying out loud. If thats not a reach by an organization I don't know what it. Good thing it worked out

 

[Vitamike]

You can make the same argument for Kurt Warner. These teams never know who's good and who's not. I mean the guy was bagging groceries and playing in the Arena League for crying out loud. If thats not a reach by an organization I don't know what it. Good thing it worked out

On a side note, without Lovie's defense and the final play heroics of Mike Jones, I gotta believe Kurt Warner goes down in history as the Greg Norman of football.

 

[Vitamike]

For those not familiar with golf, there are four tournaments considered Majors or akin to a Superbowl of sorts.

Greg Norman aka 'The Shark' was beat in 4 Majors by what some say are the four greatest shots in golf history to win a major...

Here they are labeled appropriately Shark Bite...


Mind you, each of these fellas had to 'hole out' to win the Major tournament!

Although he won a couple of Majors, Greg came in second or tied for second 6 times while winning two.

Just for perspective, if he wins those 6 Majors where he came in second, he would be tied for 6th all time and if he wins just those four in the video above he is tied for 12th all time.

As it is he is listed as 44th of all time in Major wins!

 

[Clayton]

Kurt Warner will go down as a risk taker. He always trusted his Wide Receivers to come down with the ball and when he played with great ones, they often did. The year he went to the Super Bowl with the Cardinals, he was an underdog in every game and he made a pass to Larry Fitzgerald in double coverage against the Falcons that just seemed ridiculous if I hadn't seen him do the same thing many times in a Rams uniform.

Ty Law and James Harrison jumped routes. Law did a lot of the same things to Peyton during his career. Harrison made a guess based on film study.

 

[Vitamike]

Kurt Warner will go down as a risk taker. He always trusted his Wide Receivers to come down with the ball and when he played with great ones, they often did. The year he went to the Super Bowl with the Cardinals, he was an underdog in every game and he made a pass to Larry Fitzgerald in double coverage against the Falcons that just seemed ridiculous if I hadn't seen him do the same thing many times in a Rams uniform.

Ty Law and James Harrison jumped routes. Law did a lot of the same things to Peyton during his career. Harrison made a guess based on film study.

And he narrowly missed beating 'Spygate' too.

I hope my point was clear...

Kurt, much like The Shark, was beat in the big ones by some spectacular play or performances down to the camera man.

Thank GOD for one Mike Jones!

Again, another spectacular play, outside of Warner's control, that sealed his fate in the Big One!

If not for Mr Jones, Kurt undeservedly so, goes down with the likes of Marino, Kelly, Tarkenton, Moon, Fouts and even Mc Nabb!

What a GREAT tackle and his decision to even cover the play was even GREATER!

It was designed to pull him specifically away from the throw.

 

[JDM]

Unless you're putting Drew Bledsoe in the same Pantheon as Tom Brady (which I'm assuming you're not)... you've just reinforced my point.

Positions are earned under Belichick. I honestly don't believe he would have started a QB who didn't earn it even if he had been taken with a high draft pick and was the heir apparent.

Separating Brady from Belichick is something I don't believe can accurately both are in the discussion for best in the league both at the moment and all time. We should get to see what Bill can do without Brady soon enough, but I really don't think there's an issue with saying both played large roles. What entertains me is the people who (in different sentences) say both suck and only succeeded because of the other.

But I'm not sure I would say Brady was luck. They worked well together and both made the other what they are today.

 

[ANGELAKERAMS]

Positions are earned under Belichick. I honestly don't believe he would have started a QB who didn't earn it even if he had been taken with a high draft pick and was the heir apparent.

Separating Brady from Belichick is something I don't believe can accurately both are in the discussion for best in the league both at the moment and all time. We should get to see what Bill can do without Brady soon enough, but I really don't think there's an issue with saying both played large roles. What entertains me is the people who (in different sentences) say both suck and only succeeded because of the other.

But I'm not sure I would say Brady was luck. They worked well together and both made the other what they are today.

I think Bill retires when Brady does, so we won't get to see what he can do without Brady.

He already hates giving interviews when they lose. He's not going to risk having to give 8-10 of them a year if the heir to Brady stinks. JMO of course. I just feel that when Brady quits, so will Bill.

 

[ANGELAKERAMS]

On a side note, without Lovie's defense and the final play heroics of Mike Jones, I gotta believe Kurt Warner goes down in history as the Greg Norman of football.

If the Cards had Lovie's defense, Warner would have another ring.

Even with those pick 6's in the 2 he lost, he had his team tied or in the lead with 2:30 or less to go in both games. It's the defense that let down that cost him those rings. And if Jones doesn't make "the tackle", it would be 3 team defenses that let down.

 

[JDM]

I think Bill retires when Brady does, so we won't get to see what he can do without Brady.

He already hates giving interviews when they lose. He's not going to risk having to give 8-10 of them a year if the heir to Brady stinks. JMO of course. I just feel that when Brady quits, so will Bill.

He's already put this team in position for post Brady. There are a few holes, still, sure, but this is one of the youngest teams in the league, and there's a lot of talent there. Even if it wasn't ready for the large volume of injuries last year, that does nothing but help them going forward.


Belichick hates press conferences period. He doesn't like that it's mandatory and he has no choice in the matter. It's not like he's a different person in wins and losses. (He's actually not bad in his own voluntarily selected appearances, though. He used to do a film breakdown every week on the patriots all access and did a pretty decent job.) He could very well retire, but I don't think he does. Football's in his blood and I could honestly see him coaching 10, 20, even more, years.

 

[ANGELAKERAMS]

He's already 61

I just don't see him coaching that much longer.

Not everyone wants to be JoePa on the sideline till almost the day they die.

 

[Caynine29]

You can make the same argument for Kurt Warner. These teams never know who's good and who's not. I mean the guy was bagging groceries and playing in the Arena League for crying out loud. If thats not a reach by an organization I don't know what it. Good thing it worked out

Absolutely, jacobarch. Vermeil had no idea what he had in Kurt Warner, in 1999. Only that we were "gonna rally around Kurt Warner and we're going to play good football". (How many fans' hearts sunk to the bottom of their shoes after that speech?) Lol. If he knew... Trent Green never becomes a Ram.

Difference is, Rams fans, as opposed to Patriots fans (for the most part), can acknowledge that.

 

[Caynine29]

Positions are earned under Belichick. I honestly don't believe he would have started a QB who didn't earn it even if he had been taken with a high draft pick and was the heir apparent.

Separating Brady from Belichick is something I don't believe can accurately both are in the discussion for best in the league both at the moment and all time. We should get to see what Bill can do without Brady soon enough, but I really don't think there's an issue with saying both played large roles. What entertains me is the people who (in different sentences) say both suck and only succeeded because of the other.

But I'm not sure I would say Brady was luck. They worked well together and both made the other what they are today.

Earned? Lol. I'd say he earned it by winning the Super Bowl that year. If anything, that would indicate that Belichick is a dope (which, obviously he isn't). It's not about being a "high pick", it's about starting the guy who is clearly better. Brady was clearly better than Bledsoe, yet Bledsoe started. Are you suggesting that a HoF talent should ride the pine behind a marginal player, because he hasn't "earned it"? Well, that just makes no sense. I imagine a lot of coaches would lose their jobs over that.

Brady and Belichick are forever linked and will be synonymous with greatness as long as the Pro Football Hall of Fame is standing. I'm not saying their legacies should be separated and I'm not saying that either is any less than legendary. All I'm saying is... the story doesn't require any embellishment. Lol.

When it comes to Tom Brady... Belichick got lucky. It's not any sort of negative indictment on him. It's just how things go, from time to time. And I'd say it worked out pretty well for the Patriots.

 

[JDM]

Brady did not earn the starting position until he did well from the backup position.


Belichick was high on him and he earned his way to the backup role (high enough on him that despite keeping 2 guys most seasons he's been here, Brady was the fourth he kept, and quickly moved to number 2), but he did not earn the starting role until after he was placed into it. Clearly better? Based on what? Hindsight?

 

[Red_Chaos]

Official Highlights | Clemson WR Sammy Watkins - YouTube

 

[shopson67]

Lol. Good question. But my guess is yes. Lol.

Belichick is a great coach, no doubt. He was building something special in Cleveland, before they moved the show. What I always find funny though, is when people (usually Pats fans) try to tell me he's great because of his decision to draft Brady. Like he was some sort of genius for snagging him in the sixth round, because everybody else overlooked him and his hidden Hall of Fame talents.

A claim to which I always respond; "Really?.... Then why was he Drew Bledsoe's backup?". Lol. If Bledsoe doesn't get injured, we don't find out who Brady is for at least another 5 years... if ever.

It never hurts to get lucky now and again. Hopefully we can catch some of that kind of luck in St. Louis for once.

I just wonder if, without Brady, he ever gets his team to the Superbowl. Teams that stall without getting there often change head coaches even if they are otherwise successful.

 

[Caynine29]

Brady did not earn the starting position until he did well from the backup position.


Belichick was high on him and he earned his way to the backup role (high enough on him that despite keeping 2 guys most seasons he's been here, Brady was the fourth he kept, and quickly moved to number 2), but he did not earn the starting role until after he was placed into it. Clearly better? Based on what? Hindsight?

First of all, Tom Brady never did well from the backup position, because he never saw the field as a backup. He wasn't placed in the starting role on his merits. Tom Brady "earned" the starting position when Bledsoe was carted off the field with internal bleeding. Brady was the proverbial "next man up", and he ran with it.

Yes, he was clearly better. Yes... based on hindsight. And that's my whole point. To hear most Pats fans tell it (and hey, you may not be one of them), there's no hindsight involved. Never mind he made the team as a 4th stringer. Never mind that he got his starting gig via injury. No... this was all Bill Belichick's grand design. It was his sheer genius that guided him to knowingly draft a HoF QB in the 6th round when everybody else passed on him, because he's the Alpha and Omega of NFL scouting. When, in reality, he was simply drafting for a serviceable backup QB to groom for a few years and struck gold the second Mo Lewis struck Drew Bledsoe back in 2001.

You, yourself stated that Brady likely wouldn't have started for another 2-3 years. If he doesn't, then that's 2 Super Bowls missed. Any coach who wouldn't start the team's MVP for 3 years is either a complete moron, or... the far more plausible verdict... had no clue what he had and was lucky Bledsoe got injured, so the better player could get on the field.

 

[JDM]

He did earn the role as a backup. It wasn't until pretty damn near when Bledsoe was healthy that Brady was actually known to be the starter. He played, yes, but that doesn't make him the guy any more than McCown or orton was this year. He earned that.

 

[SJ76]

All this talk about Kurt Warner and Mike Jones makes me think about Steve McNair and how I shit my pants the next 2 nights from nightmares of him chasing me and trying to give me a wedgie.

Steve McNair was determined on that final drive and only ran out of time. Warner won 1 barely, lost 2 barely. RIP Steve McNair. U were a beast!

Greg Norman never won the big one. Sometimes he got beat, sometimes he choked. Tough to compare golf to a team sport. I would know, I was a pro for 12 years.

 

[SJ76]

Now spygate.. That pisses me off. The NFL says the cheatriots had game film on the steelers in the AFC championship game, but not Super Bowl?

Riiiiiiiiiight. The NFL did whatever they could to not make their product look bad. Plain and simple. When's the last time a team was fined $500,000 and lost 1st rounder??

Those fuckers had our plays and we still almost beat them. lol That's how good those Rams were.