OL Rob Sims (official thread)

[Buckskin86]

SideLion Report: Rob Sims will bulk up to help protect running backs
August 1, 2012
By Zac Snyder
Detroit Free Press Special Writer

It?s hard to know what to make of early reports from an NFL training camp. Just like baseball players checking in at spring training, everyone seems to be in the ?best shape" of his life. Practice starts and far more players are ?looking good? than disappointing in early workouts.

The true test won't come until the players line up against someone who isn't a teammate. But some Detroit Lions training camp tidbits could contain some good news for the team in 2012, one being the extra bulk that guard Rob Sims added in the off-season.

Sims plans to play this season around 316 or 317 pounds after playing last season at 301.

?I feel like I?m playing my best football right now,? Sims told the Free Press. ?I?ve still got a long way to go in this camp, but I feel like the experiment worked. So putting this weight on and doing it the right way I think is going to be beneficial to me and the team.?

cont...

http://www.freep.com/article/201208...-Sims-will-bulk-up-help-protect-running-backs

Sims remains understated, reliable force on Lions O-line
By: Tom Leyden

Rob Sims doesn't make a lot of headlines, but he's been a rock at guard for the Lions since he joined the team in 2010.

In the midst of his fifth professional training camp, Sims still gets invigorated by the first day of contact.

"Always, I mean even since pee-wee," said Sims. "First day of hitting is a good day - good day to go out there and mix it up and see where you really are."

Sims, acquired from Seattle after the 2009 season, has solidified the guard position during his two seasons as a Lion. He's played in 33 straight games, including last year's playoff loss to New Orleans.

He's a well-established starter, a go-to guy in the locker room and an understated leader of the team.

At times, he has to keep the young guys in check, particularly when they get a little over-excited about the first practice with full pads on.

"Some of those guys, they get pumped up about doing it, but you just got to put them in their place, quick," said Sims.

The plan entering training camp is that the offensive line will remain intact for the third straight season, featuring Dominic Raiola at center, Sims and Stephen Peterman at guard and Jeff Backus and Gosder Cherilus at tackle.

Riley Reiff, this year's first-round draft choice, has been getting more time at tackle since Jeff Backus suffered a thumb injury during Saturday's practce. Corey Hilliard and Jason Fox have been alternating first team reps at left tackle with Backus sidelined.

"We've gotten a good start," said Sims. "That's all it is, just a start. We've still got some more work to do when we get to the games. Team-wise, we've picked up right where we left off last year in the OTAs so I know we're happy in the locker room and we hope coach is happy, too."

cont...

Read more: http://www.wxyz.com/dpp/sports/foot...-reliable-force-on-lions-o-line#ixzz22IVOYwnU

 

[Buckskin86]

Rob Sims radio interview

 

[Buckskin86]

Lions' Rob Sims ready for a trench war Sunday
September 13, 2012
By Carlos Monarrez
Detroit Free Press Sports Writer

Sunday is a big game for the Lions. Just ask Rob Sims' wife, Natalie.

Besides being married to the Lions' left guard, Natalie is the daughter of former Dolphins running back and NFL assistant coach Tony Nathan.

"Her father played in the league and coached in the league," Sims said, "so she knows when you've got an important game and stuff like that, your temperament level's a little different when you get home. And she understands that. ... It's 'how was your day, honey' a lot more than 'hey, come change this diaper.' "

Besides facing one of the NFL's best teams Sunday at San Francisco, what makes this week extra special for Sims is a one-on-one matchup with All-Pro defensive lineman Justin Smith.

Many NFL games are won in the trenches, and Sims understands that's not what most fans notice in a game. But a worthy adversary in the trenches means everything to Sims.

"I know it may not sound like much to everybody," he said, "but to me -- my wife knows when it's Justin Smith week.

"It's the same when we play a guy like Kevin Williams and La'Roi Glover, when he was back with the Rams and stuff like that. When you play great players, you've got to have a great mind-set."

http://www.freep.com/article/201209...-lions-Rob-Sims-ready-for-a-trench-war-Sunday

 

[Buckskin86]

Sims not worried about Lions slow start

Posted: 10/03/12

Perhaps, that?s why they are convinced the 1-3 record is not insurmountable. They see no reason they shouldn?t still be in the playoff hunt. Last year they lost three of four in one stretch and still made it to the post-season.
?It?s close, nobody?s giving up, nobody?s panicking around here,?? left guard Rob Sims said. ?Like I said, we?ve got to go play with that chip on our shoulders like the Lions had for years and years and years. Maybe we lost a little bit of that. We?ll go back and get it fixed.??
Sims said they are trying to be a team that they are not, at least from an attitude standpoint.
?We cut out some of the penalties the pre- and post-snap penalties and stuff which I think is a good thing, but we maybe lost some of our recklessness and playing with reckless abandon ? we need to get that back,?? Sims said.

cont...

http://www.themorningsun.com/articl...9955/-sims-not-worried-about-lions-slow-start

 

[Buckskin86]

Rob Sims recipient of Eric Andolsek Award as team?s most outstanding offensive lineman
Posted by ttwentyman on January 15, 2013

Rob Sims has been a model of consistency over the last three seasons with the Lions.

Since the team traded with Seattle for Sims before the 2010 season, he?s played in every game, and in 2012, he played every one of the Lions? 1,199 snaps on offense.

In a poll of NFC North personnel executives conducted by Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel?s Bob McGinn after the season, Sims, for the third straight year, was voted the best left guard in the division.

That wasn?t the only poll Sims came out on top of. His teammates voted him the Eric Andolsek Award as the team?s most outstanding offensive lineman.

The award is given in memory of the Lions? Eric Andolsek, who was emerging as one of the top young guards in the NFL when he was killed tragically in an offseason accident in 1992.

Andolsek started every game from 1989-91, making his 50th consecutive start in his final contest, the 1991 NFC Championship Game. He was named to the USA Today?s All-Pro Team that year, his first such honor as a Lion.

According Stats, LLC, Sims allowed just 1.5 sacks in 740 Lions pass attempts this season. In 93 career games, Sims has allowed just 18 sacks total.

When the Lions decided to run the football left towards Sims and left tackle Jeff Backus this season, they averaged 4.9 yards per carry, the highest average of any other direction.

Sims, 30, is signed through 2014 after signing an extension in 2010 and the team expects him to be a mainstay at left guard for years to come.

http://blogs.detroitlions.com/2013/...-as-teams-most-outstanding-offensive-lineman/

 

[Buckskin86]

Rob Sims and Dominic Raiola find themselves in different roles in 2013
Posted Jun 5, 2013
Tim Twentyman Lead Writer

With the average age along the offensive line going from 31.4 to 26.6, Sims and Raiola now carry roles of even greater importance
Rob Sims and Dominic Raiola were just one of the guys upfront for the Detroit Lions last year. They were two pieces of a veteran offensive line that had a collective age averaging 31.4 years.

Boy, how things can change in the NFL in a blink of an eye, or in this case, one NFL season.

Gone are Jeff Backus, Gosder Cherilus and Stephen Peterman. In their place, the Lions could potentially start a second-year pro (Riley Reiff), a fourth-year pro with no career starts (Jason Fox) and a rookie third-round pick (Larry Warford).

If that's the way the lineup ultimately works itself out after training camp, the average age upfront would drop to 26.6 years old. That would make Sims, 29, and Raiola, 34, the elder statesman of the bunch.

"I've always been a lead-by-example guy," Sims said. "I've always told (younger players) my stories in the league and how cut-throat it really is up here.

"You can't play (around) if you want to be a part of it. I've told them all those stories and just trying to show them things that helped me along the way."

http://www.detroitlions.com/news/li...-in-2013/8e26e504-de2c-471e-8f21-9c39992dbb6c

 

[Buckskin86]

Rob Sims is now beginning his eighth year in the NFL. Currently, a starting offensive guard for the Detroit Lions. I remember him well as an offensive lineman at Nordonia High School. Really athletic, but overweight. Excellent attitude, but overweight. Worked hard at Ohio State. Not flashy, but solid and a very consistent blocker. Could always move his feet. Drafted in the 4th round by Seattle. A 4th round draft choice had better work hard and that he did. I mean seven years in the League!!! Big, but not overweight now.

http://msrohio.blogspot.com/2013/06/rob-sims-barry-cofield-give-back.html

 

[Buckskin86]

O'Hara: Rob Sims has become a teacher for Larry Warford

Posted Jul 28, 2013

Mike O'Hara Columnist

Sims wants to do for young players what tackle Walter Jones and other veterans did for him when he was a rookie with the Seattle Seahawks in 2007
It was one of those veteran-rookie teaching moments. Rob Sims had the lead role of veteran, imparting the wisdom he has gained in seven years as a starting guard in the NFL to rookie Larry Warford.

Class was in session because Sims deemed it time to ring the school bell and give Warford the lesson of the day at Lions training camp Sunday morning.

Warford had some good moments, bad moments and average moments. Sims went immediately to Warford's side during the break between periods and had a short, pointed discussion with the rookie.

Sims wants to do for young players what tackle Walter Jones and other veterans did for him when he was a rookie with the Seattle Seahawks in 2007. Sims was at the opposite end of the learning curve. Now it's his turn to play teacher.

"I just know when I was a rookie coming in, there's so much stuff you've got to learn," Sims said. "You've got to learn the plays. You've got to learn the techniques. You have to learn to play through the game.

"It's hard coming into this league, especially for offensive linemen. Everything is so technique-oriented. It's not just your ability.

"It's good for him. It's good for me. He's going to be a good player."

http://www.detroitlions.com/news/oh...-Warford/a86d8074-6bf6-48a4-b8e2-d68dc9a2bb0f

 

[Buckskin86]

Lions guard Rob Sims finally 'going for it'
August 6, 2013

Rob Sims thinks last year was his best overall. 'I think I've done some definite growing since I've been here in Detroit, and I just kind of want to continue to do that,' he said. / Kirthmon F. Dozier/Detroit Free Press

By Dave Birkett
Detroit Free Press Sports Writer

Rob Sims has toiled in anonymity for years. That?s the life of an NFL guard, especially one who started his career in the upper northwest and now plays for the pass-happiest team in the league.

But as anyone paying attention can attest, Sims might have been the best and most consistent performer not named Calvin Johnson on the Lions? offense last year.

He started every game at left guard for the third straight season, ranked fifth in Pro Football Focus? comprehensive position ratings, and deep down wouldn?t mind getting a little recognition.

He?s not self-starting a Pro Bowl campaign, but Sims, the anchor of a revamped offensive line, admits a trip to Hawaii would be ?a cherry on top? of his blue-collar career.

?I definitely go into every year with those expectations for myself,? Sims said. ?Of course it would definitely feel good to finally get it, but sometimes it?s not in the cards for everybody. But it would definitely be one of those things like, that would be my moment. That would be my moment if I did it.?

cont...

http://www.freep.com/article/20130806/SPORTS01/308060040/detroit-lions

 

[brodybuck21]

still starting for detroit