As has been the case with every loss since week three, the
sports talk forums are filled this week with lynch calls from the mob for
coach Spagnuolo. The calls may be warranted,
but I caution from calling for revolution without first knowing who the next
leader will be. Let’s not forget that
when the Rams fired Mike Martz for having questionable head coaching abilities, the supposed solution was Scott Linehan. The
fact of the matter is even if Tom Landry were at the helm with Buddy Ryan and Bill
Walsh running the defense and offense respectively, this team couldn’t
win. They don’t have enough good players. Although Devaney inherited a barren roster, at his point he’s turned it over almost completely. You can't blame the previous administration if the ship's still sinking over three years later.
When the Rams hired Devaney, the franchise told the fan base that there
were finally proven football people running the team. Devaney cut his teeth as a scout with the
Redskins under Bobby Beathard and later followed Beathard to San Diego where he
became director of pro personnel for the Chargers. Devaney moved to the Falcons in 2006 where he
was the assistant GM until the Rams hired him in 2008. From the very beginning Devaney stressed the
importance of building through the draft.
Take a look at all of his picks.
Donnie Avery, seen here in his most prominent role as a Ram,
was the first receiver taken in the 2008 draft
(despite being the 15th ranked receiver on Mel Kiper's Big Board).
He did not make the final roster cut for the 2011 team. |
2008 (2nd overall pick)
Round 1: Chris Long
Round 2: Donnie Avery
Round 3: John Greco
Round 4: Justin King
Round 5: Roy Scheuning
Round 7: Chris
Chamberlain
Round 7: David Vobora
2009 (2nd
overall pick)
 |
| Jason Smith, the 2nd overall pick in 2009, only lasted one season as the Ram left tackle. He was demoted to right tackle in his second year. He's been a combination of injured and inept in his first three years in the NFL. |
Round 1: Jason Smith
Round 2: James Laurinaitis
Round 3: Bradley Fletcher
Round 4: Dorell Scott
Round 5: Brooks Foster
Round 6: Keith Null
Round 7: Chris Ogbannaya
2010 (1st overall pick)
Round 1: Sam Bradford
Round 2: Rodger Saffold
Round 3: Jerome Murphy
Round 4: Mardy Gilyard
Round 5: Michael Hoomanamanui
Round 5: Hall Davis
Round 6: Fendi Onobun
Round 6: Eugene Sims
Round 7: Marquis Johnson
Round 7: George Selvie
Round 7: Josh Hull
 |
| Mardy Gilyard was supposed to be a steal in fourth round of the 2010 draft. He rarely saw the field last year and did not make the final roster cut for the 2011 team. |
2011 Draft: 14th Overall
Pick
Round 1: Robert Quinn
Round 2: Lance Kendricks
Round 3: Austin Pettis
Round 4: Greg Salas
Round 5: Jermale Hines
Round 7: Mikail Baker
Round 7: Jabarra Williams
Round 7: Jonathan Nelson
Of his 34 draft choices since joining the Rams, only 18 (53%)
are still on the team and 10 (29%) are out of the league completely. Not only has Devaney been unable to identify
players that fit his coaches’ systems, he has trouble recognizing NFL caliber
players-period. They’ve already cut half
of their draft picks from this year, more than anyone else in the league. The numbers look even worse when you look at what the Falcons have done since
Devaney left.
When Devaney left to take the Rams job, the Falcons were a
mess. Their hundred million dollar, face-of-the-franchise-quarterback was facing incarceration, and their head coach had
walked out on the team. They turned to
the Patriots head of college scouting, Thomas Dimitroff, to take over as their
GM. Dimitroff came in stressing the
importance of the draft as a way to build a sustainable contender, just like
Devaney. He selected 34 players over his
first four drafts, just like Devaney.
The difference is 29 (85%) of those players are still Falcons, and only
three of them are out of the league.
Those numbers are nauseating if you’re a Rams fan,
especially considering the fact that the Rams drafted in the top two, three out of four years. I understand that the draft is no exact
science, but that is a gargantuan disparity.
That’s the difference between drafting a team into a Super Bowl
contender overnight and drafting a team that’s not even competitive after four
years. That’s why Devaney has to go as
GM. In fact, the entire scouting
department needs to be reviewed.
In June of 2010, the Rams promoted John Mancini from his Midwest
College Scouting position to Director of College Scouting. Mancini graduated from The State University
of New York at Plattsburg, a small college in upstate New York, with a degree
in business management. He started
working with the Rams in 1995 as a ticket broker. In 1997, he became a scouting assistant. In 2001, he became a full time scout.
Mancini never played or coached at a professional or Division I level. He doesn’t appear to have any real football experience prior to 1997. What’s also strange is that he was promoted to head of College Scouting after Devaney's hiring. You’d think Devaney’s first move, as a man brought in to fix the draft, would be to clean house in the scouting department and fill the positions with his own guys. Instead, he appoints a relatively inexperienced leftover from a failed era to run all of college scouting. I don't understand that at all.
Steve Spagnuolo might not be a good coach. He’s 10-32 as the Rams head coach and that’s
nearly impossible to defend, but Billy Devaney's 12-46 is no easier. Maybe Devaney and crew are drafting good
players and the Spagnuolo staff simply isn’t coaching them well, but nearly
one-third of Devaney’s picks weren’t good enough to find a role anywhere in the
league. If someone like Cower, Gruden,
Fisher, or Reid is available, that’s great, I’d love to bring in someone that
is proven as a winning head coach. I
just don’t think it’s wise to fire a coach and start over in the continuity
department unless you know for sure you can get someone significantly better,
especially when it’s clear that there are bigger problems further up the
ladder.
