ST. LOUIS -- It has been a part of the NFL Draft process for years. Call it what you will: misinformation, blowing smoke or outright falsehoods. It is as much a part of what happens in the run-up to the draft as players doing dumb things that affect their draft status. (Lookin' at you, Shane Ray.)
Of course, it seems larger than ever because of the hundreds of millions of words said and written about the draft in this age of 24-hour sports networks, the Internet, social media and endless mock drafts.
And while many teams play along, there are some that don't care for it. During the Pittsburgh Steelers' pre-draft media conference, general manager Kevin Colbert was outspoken in ridiculing those teams that put out counterintelligence in the hope it will result in certain players rising or falling to their advantage.
"I think it's horrible," Colbert said. "I think it's really bad for our profession when people use whatever means they use to get information out to try to influence the draft and they talk about a kid's test score, a kid's injury, a kid's character. I think that's awful. It's disrespectful to our profession, it's disrespectful to the game, it's disrespectful to the kid.
"We really don't pay attention to it. We don't believe in mock drafts and what people are saying about other teams because so much of it is misinformation. You'd just lose your mind trying to figure out what everyone's going to do. We're going to be true to what we do and feel good about it and live with it."
Of course, not all teams take that approach, so it's best to ignore much of what teams are saying heading into the draft. After all, there's a reason we watch the draft every year and find ourselves shaking our heads and saying, "I didn't see that coming."
Which brings us to the Rams. Coach Jeff Fisher and general manager Les Snead conducted their annual pre-draft get-together with the media Tuesday afternoon, and like with most teams, it's not a bad idea to read between the lines a bit.
To that end, we present our whimsical look at What He Said and What He Meant.
What He Said
Snead on the amount of research provided by the personnel staff and coaches: "I asked our computer people last night ... you basically take every bit of information you've got. You put it on a page on a PDF and you put it on a big screen and we talk about that information. I said, 'How many pages did we go through?' They said it's over 8,000 pages over the last three weeks of information. It's in a big font so we can all see it."
What He Meant
Hey, we have to be speed readers in this business. After all, 8,000 pages over three weeks breaks down to 381 pages a day (if everyone worked all 21 days), and 38 pages per hour if they were in meetings for 10 hours a day. It's a wonder anyone has any eyesight left ... even with a large font.
What He Said
Snead, on how much, if at all, he monitors the outside chatter surrounding the draft: "There's over 8,000 pages of chatter out there. So, you can't really pay attention to that because you're locked in a room meeting with all the football people, all the coaches, the medical staff, and you're trying to get your board right."
What He Meant
Some of those 8,000 pages were actually mock drafts so the Rams could see if anyone has their first-round pick nailed. It's also a good thing no one asked Snead how many mock drafts he believes have been published since January. He probably would have said 8,000. Or maybe 80,000.
What He Said
After Fisher said the draft is "loaded at some positions, specifically some positions of need," the question was asked if the Rams would identify some of those loaded positions. Said Snead: "Wow, that would be a kind of tough one there. Punters and kickers are loaded. I'll leave it at that."
What He Meant
Are you kidding me? Do you think we are going to acknowledge our needs? We can book this: Punters and kickers aren't loaded. Even Snead admitted later, "Other than kicker and punter, we felt early on in the process that there were some quality offensive linemen in this draft." So, even Snead shows he can play his own version of What He Said and What He Meant.
What He Said
Fisher on still not feeling any panic over the current status of the offensive line: "Yeah, I feel good about it. I feel good about the direction we're headed, and I'll feel much better when the weekend is over. I feel good about it. We have options, and there are still options out there. We're in constant communication with (unsigned right tackle) Joe Barksdale, for example. We have options out there. I think one of the perceived needs out there, outside our building from our perspective is O-line, and we feel good about where we are right now. We've got some good young players on our roster that you've not seen play or haven't played very much, but we're developing players currently on our roster. We feel good about it."
What He Meant
We haven't seen some of those young guys play because they aren't good enough or have been injured. But we sure can't count on them. Fisher can repeat over and over that "I feel good about the direction we're headed," but the team's true intention is reflected in his simple words above that: "I'll feel much better when the weekend is over."
What They Said
Fisher and Snead were asked about the possibility of selecting an edge rusher -- considered a strong position in this draft -- with the 10th overall choice. Fisher: "It's very possible, yes. We like defensive players here. Good defensive players. Can't get enough." Would you find a way to get that edge rusher on the field? Fisher: "Yes. We would. Week 1." Said Snead, "Pressure, pressure, pressure."
What They Meant
On this one, they meant every word of it. With Chris Long having reached age 30 in March and William Hayes set to on Saturday, another young pass rusher can't be discounted. Happy birthday, William.
Lookin' good! Flip through our photo album of NFL cheerleaders.
What He Said
Fisher, responding to a scenario in which the team won't take a quarterback in the early rounds of the draft: "Well, there's a possibility to take a quarterback or not take a quarterback. It really depends on how things unfold. Aside from the top two, which I think everyone assumes will be gone, there are some players in this draft that can come in and help you. We're very excited about what we've seen here the last week and a half with Nick (Foles) and what he's done in the offseason program. I think we're better at the position. We're healthy right now and there's some good things ahead as far as that's concerned. It doesn't mean to say there's not a guy at a certain point that we like that we can pass up."
What He Meant
We didn't acquire Foles to then bring in someone who could be viewed as instant competition. We brought him here to be our guy because "it's the personality. It's the competitiveness. It's the leadership qualities that he has" -- Fisher's actual comment when asked what he has seen from Foles that he likes.
What He Said
Fisher on possible flexibility with the 10th pick: "We could move up, stay where we are or move down. We have options."
What He Meant
We won't pass.
Howard Balzer can be heard daily on Lunchtime Live with Howard Balzer from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. weekdays on TalkSTL.com 1380 AM.
