Wisdom of the Fans - Crowdsourced 2013 Roster

[OnceARam]

Fellow Rams fans harking from the West Coast to the great plains of the Mid-West, I have something fun for you.

We are always discussing who we should draft and what quarterback we should start... so for the first time in history I am presenting you with the chance to actually vote on it. That's right, this is now a democracy. Only one vote each, gents. (It's free! It's an experiment to test a theory, which stats that the 'wisdom of the crowd' is greater than a GM - although I like ours.)

So follow this link to vote on how our 2013 roster should be constructed. It's our show now!

<a class="postlink" href="http://greatestshow.ideascale.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://greatestshow.ideascale.com</a>

User instructions:
1. Vote Thumbs Up or Down on each player you have an opinion on.
2. Propose new players by hitting the big orange/yellow "Submit New Idea" button. Make sure to type in the position grouping (i.e., WR) in the title area as well as the tagged area.
3. Scroll down to "what we're discussing" to sort the list by position grouping.
4. Breath. If I can figure out this new age technology so can you.

http://greatestshow.ideascale.com


If you guys like this I'll add defensive players... or you can add them by pressing "submit new idea" (see instruction #2).

 

[OnceARam]

Any thoughts on this boys or should I just keep writing posts to try and convince as many people as possible to vote?

If we can get 1,000 hard core Rams fans to vote on this I think that the results would garner some attention from front office folks. In this regard, the fans could actually have a voice.

So far, it looks like we (the fans) are completely done with Gibson and Amendola - and do not want them on the 2013 roster. Given the injuries (Amendola) and missed opportunities (Gibson), it's hard to blame them.

 

[DR RAM]

I did it.

 

[-X-]

Any thoughts on this boys or should I just keep writing posts to try and convince as many people as possible to vote?

If we can get 1,000 hard core Rams fans to vote on this I think that the results would garner some attention from front office folks. In this regard, the fans could actually have a voice.

So far, it looks like we (the fans) are completely done with Gibson and Amendola - and do not want them on the 2013 roster. Given the injuries (Amendola) and missed opportunities (Gibson), it's hard to blame them.

Honestly, the front office isn't going to give the first thought about what the fans think or want. And I'm personally not aware of one person that doesn't want Amendola on the roster. The consensus seems to be that his salary demands should reflect his production and/or availability. I'd be thrilled if they can work something out with him.


.


Sent via Tapatalk2.

 

[OnceARam]

I did it.

+1

 

[OnceARam]

Any thoughts on this boys or should I just keep writing posts to try and convince as many people as possible to vote?

If we can get 1,000 hard core Rams fans to vote on this I think that the results would garner some attention from front office folks. In this regard, the fans could actually have a voice.

So far, it looks like we (the fans) are completely done with Gibson and Amendola - and do not want them on the 2013 roster. Given the injuries (Amendola) and missed opportunities (Gibson), it's hard to blame them.

Honestly, the front office isn't going to give the first thought about what the fans think or want. And I'm personally not aware of one person that doesn't want Amendola on the roster. The consensus seems to be that his salary demands should reflect his production and/or availability. I'd be thrilled if they can work something out with him.

Sent via Tapatalk2.

I don't want to speak for the fans that have voted (against keeping Amendola) but perhaps they are responding to the perceived fact that Bradford's confidence/numbers suffer every time Amendola is hurt. Perhaps Bradford needs to mature and rely less on an oft-injured player - as good as he may be.

Also, if we had enough Rams fans voting on player acquisition we wouldn't need a front office. It's been done by a soccer team in South America. So if the front office is smart they'd get on this trend before it washes them away, which eventually it will. At some point the fans will take over the NFL.

 

[Afro Ram]

Any thoughts on this boys or should I just keep writing posts to try and convince as many people as possible to vote?

If we can get 1,000 hard core Rams fans to vote on this I think that the results would garner some attention from front office folks. In this regard, the fans could actually have a voice.

So far, it looks like we (the fans) are completely done with Gibson and Amendola - and do not want them on the 2013 roster. Given the injuries (Amendola) and missed opportunities (Gibson), it's hard to blame them.

Honestly, the front office isn't going to give the first thought about what the fans think or want. And I'm personally not aware of one person that doesn't want Amendola on the roster. The consensus seems to be that his salary demands should reflect his production and/or availability. I'd be thrilled if they can work something out with him.

Very well said X.
.


Sent via Tapatalk2.

 

[DR RAM]

Any thoughts on this boys or should I just keep writing posts to try and convince as many people as possible to vote?

If we can get 1,000 hard core Rams fans to vote on this I think that the results would garner some attention from front office folks. In this regard, the fans could actually have a voice.

So far, it looks like we (the fans) are completely done with Gibson and Amendola - and do not want them on the 2013 roster. Given the injuries (Amendola) and missed opportunities (Gibson), it's hard to blame them.

Honestly, the front office isn't going to give the first thought about what the fans think or want. And I'm personally not aware of one person that doesn't want Amendola on the roster. The consensus seems to be that his salary demands should reflect his production and/or availability. I'd be thrilled if they can work something out with him.

Very well said X.
.


Sent via Tapatalk2.

I don't think the FO would give a flying flip, but I voted anyway.

 

[Selassie I]

What QB , at any level of football , wouldn't rely on the best receiver on the team ?

 

[OnceARam]

Guys I'm not saying we should fire the FO. I'm just saying the fans (that have had to watch in agony at how bad the FO has been for the past decade) should have a say in things... and crowdsourcing gives them a means to do so.

Anyway, it's just for fun. We all know we need to draft an OL and WR on the first day of the draft, and there are countless boards discussing which OL and WR we should draft, so why not put it to a vote.

 

[Ram Quixote]

See, I don't have a problem with the opinions of this forum, or mine. But too many fans out there have impatient, twisted opinions. They far outnumber those of ROD, and you can't keep them out of your poll.

 

[Stranger]

No wisdom ever came from a crowd.

 

[OnceARam]

No wisdom ever came from a crowd.

Academic research says otherwise my friend.

The first 'documented' instance of the wisdom in the crowd came in the early 1800's when local villagers in England were asked to guess the weight of a large bull. Their guesses were averaged and it turned out that they were right on.

Later in the century a large prize was announced to be given to anyone, or any group, who could figure out how to navigate while in the ocean without the use of the stars. At the time this was a bit of a problem and the intelligentsia of the time didn't believe it could be done... To make a long story short the answer came from a totally unexpected place - a member of the general public who liked to tinker.

Today a myriad of examples come to mind; wikipedia being the most obvious. It's notable to point out that while wikipedia isn't perfect it was found to be more accurate than traditional encyclopedias. And, of course, it's also more current because of the shear volume of people who work on it.

Anyway, there is no harm and it's much more interesting than the latest mock draft posted by some guy on a message board.

Also, democracy is based on wisdom of the crowd, or at least the subset of the portion that actually votes.

 

[RamFan503]

Is there any protections from someone creating 50 yahoo accounts and bombarding the site with their opinion? I know that has been done to death on online political polls and petitions.

BTW - I tend to agree with Interference's quote.

I really DON'T think that any of us really want fans to replace the decision makers inside our team. It may be a fun practice to see what others think but base the actual decisions on fan impulse? Nah.

 

[-X-]

No wisdom ever came from a crowd.

Academic research says otherwise my friend.

The first 'documented' instance of the wisdom in the crowd came in the early 1800's when local villagers in England were asked to guess the weight of a large bull. Their guesses were averaged and it turned out that they were right on.

Later in the century a large prize was announced to be given to anyone, or any group, who could figure out how to navigate while in the ocean without the use of the stars. At the time this was a bit of a problem and the intelligentsia of the time didn't believe it could be done... To make a long story short the answer came from a totally unexpected place - a member of the general public who liked to tinker.

Today a myriad of examples come to mind; wikipedia being the most obvious. It's notable to point out that while wikipedia isn't perfect it was found to be more accurate than traditional encyclopedias. And, of course, it's also more current because of the shear volume of people who work on it.

Anyway, there is no harm and it's much more interesting than the latest mock draft posted by some guy on a message board.

Also, democracy is based on wisdom of the crowd, or at least the subset of the portion that actually votes.

Yeah, but history dictates otherwise as well. Salem Witch Trials? Jim Jones Cult? Nazi Germany?

It's cool what you're doing ... it's essentially 38 polls about roster decisions. But, there is zero chance the front office puts any thought into the way the fans would prefer the Rams to be run. If, like 503 said, a couple of guys flooded your polls and recommended the Rams drop Bradford and start Austin Davis, would you expect the Rams to act on that? Aside from that, I'd drop this team in a heartbeat if was determined they were swayed by the court of public opinion.

Additionally, I wouldn't be so quick to discount mocks posted by "some guy" on a message board. Some of the cats on this board in particular (DR RAM, Mem, jrry, etc) put A LOT of work into those things, and have infinitely more knowledge about this team's history and current direction than do some of the more uninformed and irrational "fans." Along that same vein, what's the screening process for your polls? None, right? So what if you get a bunch of "fans" who just can't stand Bradford (and there are quite a few). Wouldn't that negatively influence the results? Even though there's little rationality behind their opinions?

Again, it's a cool experiment, so I'm not raining on your parade. It's an innovative *thing*, and I haven't seen anyone do something like that. So props to you for taking the initiative to take a different approach to things. It's commendable. But, again, it's not necessarily rooted in reality if you expect it to make any kind of difference in the grand scheme of things.

 

[OnceARam]

No wisdom ever came from a crowd.

Academic research says otherwise my friend.

The first 'documented' instance of the wisdom in the crowd came in the early 1800's when local villagers in England were asked to guess the weight of a large bull. Their guesses were averaged and it turned out that they were right on.

Later in the century a large prize was announced to be given to anyone, or any group, who could figure out how to navigate while in the ocean without the use of the stars. At the time this was a bit of a problem and the intelligentsia of the time didn't believe it could be done... To make a long story short the answer came from a totally unexpected place - a member of the general public who liked to tinker.

Today a myriad of examples come to mind; wikipedia being the most obvious. It's notable to point out that while wikipedia isn't perfect it was found to be more accurate than traditional encyclopedias. And, of course, it's also more current because of the shear volume of people who work on it.

Anyway, there is no harm and it's much more interesting than the latest mock draft posted by some guy on a message board.

Also, democracy is based on wisdom of the crowd, or at least the subset of the portion that actually votes.

Yeah, but history dictates otherwise as well. Salem Witch Trials? Jim Jones Cult? Nazi Germany?

It's cool what you're doing ... it's essentially 38 polls about roster decisions. But, there is zero chance the front office puts any thought into the way the fans would prefer the Rams to be run. If, like 503 said, a couple of guys flooded your polls and recommended the Rams drop Bradford and start Austin Davis, would you expect the Rams to act on that? Aside from that, I'd drop this team in a heartbeat if was determined they were swayed by the court of public opinion.

Additionally, I wouldn't be so quick to discount mocks posted by "some guy" on a message board. Some of the cats on this board in particular (DR RAM, Mem, jrry, etc) put A LOT of work into those things, and have infinitely more knowledge about this team's history and current direction than do some of the more uninformed and irrational "fans." Along that same vein, what's the screening process for your polls? None, right? So what if you get a bunch of "fans" who just can't stand Bradford (and there are quite a few). Wouldn't that negatively influence the results? Even though there's little rationality behind their opinions?

Again, it's a cool experiment, so I'm not raining on your parade. It's an innovative *thing*, and I haven't seen anyone do something like that. So props to you for taking the initiative to take a different approach to things. It's commendable. But, again, it's not necessarily rooted in reality if you expect it to make any kind of difference in the grand scheme of things.

Man oh man, I don't have a counter argument for Nazi Germany. It was just pure evil bro.

If we put aside pure evil for a moment; yes, the idea is to have it as open as possible. There are a number of security features I could put in based on IP addresses, social media credentials, etc... but, to be honest, that's a hell of a lot of work for something that is supposed to be fun. That said, if a team were to be run by the fans that type of security would need to be implemented. Again, this isn't at that level.

As far as starting Austin Davis and running a Pistol offense... well, that may be the future. I don't know. I will say I am damn glad that SF didn't win the super bowl though because I am really not ready for the end of traditional pro-football as we know it. Plus I dislike the 9'ers strongly for always beating the Jim Everett lead Rams.

Also, I have to apologize for saying "some guy". I was actually referring more to myself in that what I am trying to do would basically qualify me as "some guy". So no offense was meant to other members of the board who love my Rams as much as I do. But ultimately, we are all "some guy" - until we are not - when we are not working within the larger context of society. So what I'm saying is that there is more validity in consensus opinions/work/participation than there is in the hard work of an individual - however talented they may be. (Reference: Malcom Gladwell for example)

In terms of a mock draft vs. looking at things from a holistic roster perspective - i'll take the holistic approach b/c the concept of BPA (best player available) doesn't really make any sense when we score 12 points a game (number taken out of thin air to make a point).

If the FO of the Rams or any other team wanted to encourage fan participation (which is inevitable given the importance of the sport in our society) they could be involved by detailing position requirements (i.e., SLB needs to be a three down LB that is big enough to take on large TE but fast enough to play the short to intermediate zones in nickle situations, etc.), opening financial records, releasing coaches tapes, releasing player interviews...

Otherwise, thank you for your "props to you for taking the initiative to take a different approach to things". You're a leader in this funny little corner of the world, so any positive energy coming from you is greatly appreciated and humbly received.

Sorry about writing so much.... this is helping me think through the process.

Peace and love to my Rams brothers. Absolutely no offense has been meant. It's been a tough decade to be a Rams fan.

 

[Selassie I]

So I have to ask OnceARam...

Were you once a Ram, and then switched to one of the lesser NFL teams ?

Or

Were you once a player ?

Or

Once a Ram, always a Ram ?


What am I missing ?

 

[OnceARam]

So I have to ask OnceARam...

Were you once a Ram, and then switched to one of the lesser NFL teams ?

Or

Were you once a player ?

Or

Once a Ram, always a Ram ?


What am I missing ?

LOL! Once a Ram (fan) always a Ram (fan).

I did play at the collegiate level, but it was DIII. So I love the game but have certain physical limitations. If I was smart I would have retired after high school though. No glory (or cheerleaders), just pain at the DIII level.

Keep it irie bro.

 

[Selassie I]

So I have to ask OnceARam...

Were you once a Ram, and then switched to one of the lesser NFL teams ?

Or

Were you once a player ?

Or

Once a Ram, always a Ram ?


What am I missing ?

LOL! Once a Ram (fan) always a Ram (fan).

I did play at the collegiate level, but it was DIII. So I love the game but have certain physical limitations. If I was smart I would have retired after high school though. No glory (or cheerleaders), just pain at the DIII level.

Keep it irie bro.

Ev-ry ting always Irie Brudda. :mrgreen:

 

[Ram Quixote]

Yeah, but history dictates otherwise as well. Salem Witch Trials? Jim Jones Cult? Nazi Germany?

Let's drop the French Revolution in there while we're mentioning wrong-headed mob rule. Pun intended.