Scouting E.J. Gaines

Scout’s Tale: E.J. Gaines

By StLouisRams.com

http://www.stlouisrams.com/news-and-events/article-1/Scouts-Tale-EJ-Gaines/d92e212d-f290-48fa-87c5-558be70e4255

There are numerous ways NFL teams acquire players, and the Rams’ scouting staff is always hard at work trying to find the next guy who can help them win. In Scout’s Tales, we’ll visit with members of Les Snead’s personnel department and they’ll share stories of how the process brought certain current Rams to St. Louis.

Evan Ardoin on the National Scouting Service and following E.J. Gaines.

The National scout role is part of a co-op system that certain teams in the league are involved in. When I filled that role, there were 20 teams. There are 20 teams that participate, and of those 20, 11 will commit a scout to working for National. When I was in that role, I was taken out of the Rams-specific operation and I went to Indianapolis to train to learn the National system.

In that role, I’m responsible for going out in the spring and advance scouting the next year’s senior talent. This year, I went to schools, looked at their entire roster and gave the rising seniors the Wonderlic test. I weighed and measured them so we have verified measurables for all of the teams. It gives a much clearer picture for the teams to create a road map for their own scouting operation. Everyone who subscribes to National has access to that information – it’s public.

There’s a generic system so it’s not tailored to a specific team. For instance, the Jets would grade defenders differently than the Rams because we run a 4-3 and they’re a 3-4 in New York. You talk about players in a very generic sense and what their overall value is. A player who may be a third-round pick for Seattle may not be that high for the Rams, just depending on the scheme fit.

It’s an interesting way to cut your teeth as a scout because it’s really the nuts and bolts of player evaluation. You go into a school without any information. All you have is a roster and a couple of coaches recommending their most talented seniors. You have to determine who the prospects are and at what level they’re prospects.

Being on the other side of it now as an area scout, you take that data and you plan your fall season based on what you see in that data. “I didn’t realize Michigan had seven prospects. I may need to make another trip there…” That’s the kind of thing you see when you read the National reports. It gives you more detail to make the best decisions for your own club.

It’s a difficult role. It’s two seasons of scouting as opposed to one-and-a-half like an area guy because you’re out by yourself in the fall. The NFS scout pairs with a scout from the other scouting service, BLESTO, to put on ‘junior pro days’ where we measure the next year’s seniors. If the coaches will allow us to measure guys, we’ll get verified 40 times on them as well. We’ll spend all day watching tape and then we’ll grade them.

Then there’s an opportunity for you to speak on all your players at a big presentation in front of all the other teams involved in your scouting service. That’s a positive experience for your scout because you get the chance to sit up there with confidence and speak about the things you’ve seen and evaluated. It’s a great tool for a young scout who is going to have to sit at his draft table and convince coaches and front office people that what he’s seeing is where they want to take this particular player.

I’m now working as an area scout, and one of the schools I’m responsible for is University of Missouri (Mizzou). E.J. Gaines was a player that I got to track during his career at the university. E.J. played well this season, and for that reason I often am asked how a guy like that falls to the sixth round. Sometimes those questions are hard to answer, and I just know the Rams are fortunate he did.

He ran a solid 40 time. He had incredible production. He was a senior who came out and played well over the course of his career. He wasn’t one of those juniors that was pushed up through the offseason process. He was just a really steady football player who did his job extremely well in the nation’s most competitive conference. For whatever reason, he was overlooked.

It’s interesting how the offseason circuit can push certain guys up and certain guys down. Everybody’s obsessed with the sexy 40 time, the length, height and all of these pretty measurables. A lot of times, you can’t measure a football player in those terms. E.J. is just a tremendous young man and a really competitive kid. I think some of those things got overlooked, especially how important he was as a player.

I think E.J. has proven what those intangibles mean to him, and he’s shown that since he’s been here. He’s mature, mentally tough and he’s focused. People underestimate just how difficult that position is to play. Some of those intangibles – mentally, emotionally, psychologically – are extremely important to a young man playing well, and E.J. has them.

All of the coaches at Mizzou loved E.J. and went to bat for him – Coach (Gary) Pinkel, defensive coordinator Dave Steckel and Cornell Ford, who was E.J.’s position coach and the St. Louis recruiting contact there. We deal with Cornell frequently and I have a great relationship with him. When those guys started beating their chest about a guy like E.J., it made me feel really good about recommending him to our club because of those strong relationships and the maturity with which E.J. handled himself at Mizzou.

He wasn’t just a leader there; he was a tone setter. He was the nerve center on their defense. The toughness, quiet confidence and swagger that he played with – those were things that defense fed off of. I feel we’re really fortunate to have him here and I’m proud of the way he’s played. I’m not sure that I’ve ever seen a rookie play as consistent as he has.