OL Rob Sims (official thread)

[billmac91]

Congrats to Rob, a great tOSU ambassador. Putting together a very solid pro career as well.

Was really disappointed the Browns didn't reach out to Seattle when he was on the block for a 4th/5th round pick.

 

[Buckskin86]

Lions Q&A: Offensive lineman Rob Sims worked as telemarketer, enjoys debating
Published: Sunday, November 14, 2010
Brian VanOchten | The Grand Rapids Press

AP File Photo
Rob Sims, acquired from Seattle in the offseason, signed a four-year contract extension with the Lions last month.

ROB SIMS Age: 26 Hometown: Macedonia, Ohio Size: 6-foot-3, 312 pounds College: Ohio State Acquired: Traded to the Detroit Lions on April 6, 2010, from the Seattle Seahawks in exchange for defensive end Robert Henderson and a swap of lower-round draft choices. Scouting report: The fifth-year pro originally was drafted by Seattle in the fourth round (No. 128 overall) in the 2006 NFL draft. ... He has started all eight games this season and 42 of 53 games in his NFL career. ... He started 14 games for Seattle last season, but was inactive for two games due to an ankle injury. ... Signed a four-year contract extension with Detroit last month. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. ... All-Big Ten Conference first-team selection as a senior after switching from left tackle to left guard. ... Son of the late Robert "Mickey" Sims, a tackle for the Cleveland Browns from 1977-79. ... Earned letters in football, basketball and track in high school, including fourth-place finish in Ohio state championship meet in the shot put as a senior.

ALLEN PARK -- A question-and-answer session with left guard Rob Sims.

Q: Your feelings on being part of the rebuilding process in Detroit?
A: Excited. I'm just so excited. It's unbelievable because they brought me here and said, 'You are going to be part of the future here.' Now, it's time for me to pay them back and show them they made the right decision. I think we're onto something were. I think they're not afraid to pull the trigger (on signing players to long-term deals). To get a new contract after just a few games here is pretty remarkable to me. I'm honored they thought that much of me. I'm just ready to repay them.

Q: Any nicknames?
A: Robbie Sundays. They used to call me that all the time when I was younger because they said, 'You'll be playing on Sundays.'

Q: Your childhood heroes?
A: My dad played in the league. His name is Mickey Sims. He passed away a few years ago. Of course, him playing football and living in Cleveland, it was amazing. And Shaquille O'Neal. Every big dude loves Shaq, man.

Q: Best player in the NFL?
A: Peyton Manning. There's nothing else to say. He's the man.

Cont...

http://www.mlive.com/lions/index.ssf/2010/11/lions_qa_offensive_lineman_rob.html

 

[Buckskin86]

Posted by Bob Wojnowski (The Detroit News) on Sat, May 21, 2011
Lions players are better, not bitter -- so far

The NFL lockout is deep into its third month, with tedious legal wrangling slowing everything down. Commissioner Roger Goodell gradually is cranking up the heat, but the players aren't really feeling it, yet.

At the Lions' recent informal workouts at Detroit Country Day, the mood was light, even fun. That's partly because it's only May, two months before training camp would start. But still, there's no end in sight and plenty to do.

The league hasn't even gone through free-agency. Rosters are in flux. Who knows how many players will fall out of shape, although that didn't appear to be an issue for the 35 or so Lions in attendance. There's still time to escape from this mess with minimal damage to the game and its fandom, which is why the players are remaining calm.

"I don't think it's anger, it's more frustration, because this is what we do for a living," Lions offensive guard Rob Sims said. "It's just business. I mean, players hold out on owners all the time. I guess we can kind of see what their thing is, and I hope they see what our needs are."

And then Sims said what most players are saying: "I think we'll play football this year one way or another."

http://apps.detnews.com/apps/blogs/wojoblog/index.php?blogid=171

 

[Buckskin86]

Clayton's all-underrated team...

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/columns/story?columnist=clayton_john&id=6648025

 

[Buckskin86]

Lions OL Rob Sims: Talk about playoffs is refreshing
Jun. 26, 2011
BY CARLOS MONARREZ
DETROIT FREE PRESS SPORTS WRITER

Lions offensive lineman Rob Sims hears the talk. It's everywhere.

"I was at dinner the other day," Sims said. "My fianc?e had to go change the baby. Some people were at another table: 'Hey, Rob, come over here.' They want to talk Lions football.

"It's nice. It's refreshing that everybody around here is excited. It's the way it should be. Hopefully we just make good on it."

And more than anything, people want to talk about the Lions making the playoffs. Fans and pundits alike think they're due for their first playoff appearance since the 1999 season.

"I agree," Sims said. "I think it's time. I don't think it's premature. I think we put the work in last year and went through the bumps. We took the licks that we needed to take last year.

"It is time for us to think that way. It's time for us to get ready to play that way. Attitude is everything. If you set those goals high, you can reach those goals."

Cont...

http://www.freep.com/article/20110626/SPORTS01/106260627/1049/rss14

 

[Buckskin86]

Sims recovers on wild play -NFL Video

 

[Buckskin86]

Lions G Rob Sims wanted to show us his moves

Lions guard Rob Sims made a heads-up play in Sunday's victory over the Buccaneers when he recovered a Maurice Morris fumble that kept the winning touchdown drive alive.

Bucs linebacker Dekoda Watson, instead of catching the ball as it was going out of bounds, batted it back and Sims caught it after keeping after the play.

Sims simply fell to the ground after catching it. But that's not how he envisioned that play working out in his mind.

"I caught another one back a few years ago and ran 16 yards. I had all these moves in my head," Sims said with a laugh.

He was then asked if he has a touchdown dance in place if he ever scores.

"I've got a lot of stuff in my mind," he said. "But if I get it I don't know what's going to happen."

At 6-foot-3 and 312 pounds, it's probably best Sims just fell to the ground and secured the football.

From The Detroit News: http://apps.detnews.com/apps/blogs/lionsblog/index.php?blogid=2909#ixzz1XwFk4qBd

 

[billmac91]

One of the most underrated guards in the NFL. Been a very solid NFL player. Still wish the Browns pulled the trigger on him several years back when Holmgren was kicking the tires on a 4th rounder for him...

 

[Buckskin86]

Tight-knit Lions: It has become a Friday night ritual this season in Detroit. Lions guard Rob Sims, one of the most underrated players in football, has hosted his teammates at his house for a night of bonding and pampering. Sims has hired chiropractors, cooks and masseuses to take care of his teammates before their upcoming game.

Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson has attended, as has running back Jahvid Best, and some believe the Friday night gatherings have contributed to the team's successful start.

Now, few people would have guessed it, but the NFL's last two unbeaten teams are the Green Bay Packers and Lions. The fact that they are the last two unbeatens, and competing for the NFC North title, will make a great holiday even better. The Packers and Lions play on Thanksgiving Day, which means Sims will have to move up his Friday night gathering that week.

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/page/10spot-11week5/nfl-eagles-steelers-underachieving-common

 

[Buckskin86]

Lions offensive guard Rob Sims hosts get-togethers to rally teammates
Oct. 16, 2011
BY DAVE BIRKETT
DETROIT FREE PRESS SPORTS WRITER

From left, Corey Hilliard plays pool with Jacques McClendon, Ray Hillenbrand and Jason Fox in the home of teammate Rob Sims. They eat, get haircuts, have spinal adjustments from a chiropractor and play games, helping to foster a close-knit locker room. / Photos by WILLIAM ARCHIE/Detroit Free Press

Rob Sims watches his daughter, Mikaella, who is bouncing on the lap of teammate Jacques McClendon. Sims hosts a get-together each Friday for anyone on the team.

Rob Sims' home is hard to find -- but easy to spot.

The immaculate 8,000-square-foot brick house sits on an unmarked street with vacant lots to its right, two houses in various states of construction across the street. It is so new it doesn't show up on MapQuest.

There's a mostly empty wine cellar in the basement, a wellness room with a personal sauna on the first floor, and every Friday night during the season a dozen or so cars, trucks and SUVs line the street out front and jam the driveway leading up to the garage.

Seven players -- including receiver Calvin Johnson, running back Jahvid Best and half the offensive line fill Sims' basement on this particular evening, playing the video game "Gears of War 3" on a 107-inch projection screen and shooting pool while Sims' 10-month-old daughter, Mikaella, who took her first steps a day earlier, scurries across the floor.

When Sims' personal chef places a second dish of piping-hot lasagna on the granite countertops of the downstairs bar, everyone stops what he's doing to shovel food onto his plate. Corey Hilliard plops his 2-year-old daughter, Cydney, on his lap.

Sims and his wife, Natalie, began hosting these weekly get-togethers last fall. They're well attended, open to anyone and, if you believe good chemistry leads to winning -- which most here do -- a contributing factor to the Lions' 5-0 start.

"Everybody gets along, and that's the cool thing," Sims said. "We haven't had any losses, thank God, but if a loss were to happen, I've been places where immediately you start pointing fingers. I don't think we have that here.

cont...

http://www.freep.com/article/201110...g-sessions?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|FRONTPAGE

 

[UpNorthBuckeye]

Living up here in tsun, i have become a Lions fan, and it's great to hear the Lions fans lovin' on Sims. Not only do a lot of them point out that he is their most consistent lineman and all around performer, but you never hear his name, as in false starting, or missing a block, or doing something stupid. And he is awesome in the running game replays, pushing his man out and to the side.

Between him and Bobby Carpenter, there is a lot of Buckeye love going around up here.

 

[Buckskin86]

Lions' Rob Sims has added 20 pounds in off-season
May 10, 2012
By Dave Birkett
Detroit Free Press Sports Writer

Lions guard Rob Sims is introduced before a game against the Green Bay Packers in Detroit on Thursday, Nov. 24, 2011. / AP

Rob Sims showed up for the Detroit Lions? off-season program last month about 20 pounds heavier than he was last year, but offensive line coach George Yarno said the extra weight didn?t come from ?laying around, goofing around or overeating.?

?He purposely put on weight,? Yarno said. ?I think he wanted to just be a little firmer in the run and the pass. He?s right at 300 (last year), and I think he wants to be in the 315-320 range to have more mass in order to get movement in the run game and stop the pass rush, the inside pass rush. So he?s firmer.?

Sims has started every game at left guard in the two seasons since the Lions acquired him in a 2010 trade with the Seattle Seahawks. He helped solidify a position that long had been a revolving door.

He was graded the best player on the league?s 10th-best offensive line by advanced stats site profootballfocus.com after the season, but the Lions still struggled mightily running the ball in short-yardage situations last year.

Yarno said Sims still is ?learning how to handle that weight? but should be able to play at it this fall.

?He?s got to get in shape,? Yarno said. ?There?s a process involved with this thing. We?re not ready to play a game right now. We don?t have to be. And Rob is going through this process, this nine-week process. At the end of the nine weeks, he?ll be in good shape and ready to go and be used to carrying that weight and it?ll all be good.?

http://www.freep.com/article/20120510/SPORTS01/120510063/detroit-lions-rob-sims

 

[Buckskin86]

May 18, 2012
Lions guard Rob Sims thinks adding weight will help

By Chris McCosky
The Detroit News

Allen Park? Lions offensive line coach George Yarno sat starting left guard Rob Sims down at the end of last season and asked him one question.

"You are a good guard in this league. How do we get you to be a great one?"

Since missing 15 games in 2008 with a pectoral injury, Sims has been one of the steadiest, most dependable interior linemen in the NFL. Although he has not made a Pro Bowl, Sims has started 48 straight games since then, 32 the last two seasons with the Lions.

But that's not good enough for Sims. He is tired of being described as steady and dependable. His goal was never to be merely good.

"I had to figure out what I need to do to take myself to the next level," Sims said.

His answer ? be heavier. Sims weighs 15 pounds more than he did at any point last season.

"Last year I'd be eating a Whopper on my way in to the (weigh-in) room just to get to 305 pounds, but really I was playing under 300," he said. "I want to play in the 312 to 315 range, and I could even get a little smaller than that if I wanted to. But blocking Albert Haynesworth and Justin Smith at 295 pounds, I can't do that anymore. I faked it for two years and got through it, but I can't do it no more."

cont...

From The Detroit News: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20120518/SPORTS0101/205180336#ixzz1vJuuXnmn

 

[Buckskin86]

Lions' Rob Sims provides offensive line tips at children's football camp
June 19, 2012
By George Sipple
Detroit Free Press Sports Writer

Lions left guard Rob Sims participating in a football fundamentals camp at Ford Field on Tuesday. / Courtesy of the Detroit Lions

Lions left guard Rob Sims was prepared for most of the questions he was asked from a group of more than 100 children participating in football fundamentals camp at Ford Field on Tuesday.

Sims also gave offensive line tips and signed autographs for the children, ages 6-14.

He said he was impressed by some of the questions and how much the campers knew about the Lions. That was an eye opener for Sims.

?We need to make sure we?re always doing what we need to be doing because everybody?s watching,? he said.

Some questions surprised him. One boy asked Sims to show his muscles, and Sims flexed his arm for a few seconds.

He was asked what it was like to be rich and replied: ?I?m blessed to take care of my family and do something I enjoy at the same time.?

Asked where he went to college, Sims said: ?THE Ohio State University.?

cont...

http://www.freep.com/article/20120619/SPORTS01/120619072/detroit-lions-rob-sims-childrens-camp

 

[Buckskin86]

Detroit Lions' Rob Sims adjusting to added weight
Published: Tuesday, July 31, 2012
By Justin Rogers | [email protected]

AP File Photo
Rob Sims is 15 pounds heavier than the last time Detroit Lions fans saw him in action.

ALLEN PARK -- It's one thing for an NFL offensive lineman to healthily add 15-20 pounds to his frame during the offseason. It's an entirely different animal to practice multiple days in a row with that additional weight, but that's the adjustment Detroit Lions guard Rob Sims is facing at training camp this year.

"The first couple days I was hurting, no doubt, but I like the weight," Sims said.

With the blessing of his coaches and the team's training staff, Sims decided to bulk up after being disappointed with his 2011 performance. He's currently at 316 pounds after closing out last season at 301.

The Lions struggled to run the ball consistently in 2011, particular to the Sim's side of the line. He's hoping the added weight will allow him get better push, opening up lanes for the ground game as well as helping him hold his ground against the elite pass rushing defensive tackles.

Sims admits he won't know how beneficial the additional pounds can be until he's on the field for a long offensive drive in the preseason.

"If I'm able to do my job consistently through the whole period and through the whole game, then it worked."

http://www.mlive.com/lions/index.ssf/2012/07/detroit_lions_rob_sims_feeling.html