Rob Sims: Detroit is a Football Town

I liked Rob Sims. I thought he had potential, and found it unfortunate that he wasn’t a good fit in Seattle’s zone-blocking scheme.

After hearing Sims’ comments following his trade to Detroit, good riddance. Have fun playing for one of the most unsuccessful franchises in recent history. But at least he’ll be playing in a “football town.”

Rob Sims, a Cleveland-native, had nothing but nice things to say about the city of Detroit:

"“This is a football town. Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Detroit. I mean, that’s football. Football and cars. This is more of what I’m accustomed to. Out there (in Seattle) the stars are Bill Gates and Paul Allen and the people that run Boeing. This here is what being in the NFL is supposed to be about, (standing) up here at the mic talking to reporters and stuff. In Seattle, it’s not like that. It’s drinking coffee, sitting down and chit-chatting.”"

Those are strong words coming from a player who never could fill the shoes of Steve Hutchinson. Maybe if he spent less time “chit-chatting,” he would have been more effective and less prone to injury. And I’m not sure what he means about the NFL being about standing behind a podium and talking to reporters – last I checked, we do that in Seattle as well.

Regardless, I think I’ve figured out why Rob Sims never developed into a great offensive lineman.

His vision was terrible; he wasn’t able to see 67,000 passionate Seahawks fans fill Qwest field every Sunday. Better known as the 12th Man, the loudest fans in the NFL are responsible for over sixty consecutive sellout games at Qwest Field. Since the second week of the 2003 season, every regular season and playoff game has been played before a sellout crowd.

His hearing was awful; he probably never recovered from playing four seasons in front of loud, passionate, sellout crowds. The same deafening noise that is responsible for the most false-start penalties since 2005 probably impacted Rob’s ability to hear audibles and other pre-snap calls.

But at least Rob Sims is finally playing in a “football town.” Good luck in Detroit.

Shaun Dolence: dolencesm@gmail.com
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