While I was perusing the Twittersphere this AM, a multi-colored chart retweeted by a 49ers fan caught my eye. In case you haven’t heard [and I’m fairly certain you have] the 49ers have had their quarterback, Colin Kaepernick, investigated for a "suspicious incident" involving a possible sexual assault, and their outside linebacker, Aldon Smith, booked on charge of false bomb threat at LAX over the course of the past week.
As you can imagine, those aren’t the kind of headlines you want to be reading...both as a member of the organization or as a fan. But the varicolored chart proved that these kind of incidents may be more the exception than the norm in San Francisco... [info compiled by San Diego Union Tribune]
As indicated by the chart, the 49ers are tied for sixth worst in the NFL in the arrested power-rankings since 2000. It’s less than one per year, if there’s any solace to be found there. And it’s a far cry from the Bengals and Vikings who are battling it out in a highly-contested race to 50!
The Rams certainly aren’t saints either [no pun intended]. In fact, they’re tied with the Houston Texans for the league’s fewest arrests [9]. Or are they?
Actually, I visited the U-T San Diego site and found that it had been slightly dated. What it missed was the recent arrest of CB Greg Reid...who’d only been with the team for about a week at that point. Additionally, prior to taking a snap [and he hasn’t taken many] for the team, RB Isaiah Pead was arrested on marijuana charges in 2012.
So just who are the rest of the Rams’ bad boys and what kind of hot water have they found themselves in?
Name [Pos.] |
Date |
Incident |
Leonard Little [DE] |
04/24/2004 |
Arrested for speeding and drunken driving on Interstate 64 in a St. Louis suburb. |
Dominique Byrd [TE] |
12/04/2006 |
Charged with assault and armed criminal action for his alleged role in a nightclub scuffle in downtown St. Louis. |
Dominique Byrd [TE] |
03/04/2007 |
Arrested on suspicion of drunken driving in Los Angeles. |
Claude Wroten Jr. [DT] |
06/28/2007 |
Arrested on charge of misdemeanor property damage stemming from argument with girlfriend in Louisiana. |
Claude Terrell [OG] |
10/23/2007 |
Charged with assaulting his wife at suburban Houston hotel. |
Gary Stills [LB] |
12/22/2008 |
Arrested on a civil warrant for failure to pay child support. |
Jerome Murphy [CB] |
07/24/2010 |
Arrested on charge of driving without a valid license in Florida, a misdemeanor. |
Isaiah Pead [RB] |
07/07/2012 |
Arrested in McKinney, Texas, for possession of less than two ounces of marijuana |
Robert Quinn [DE] |
07/10/2012 |
Charged with driving while intoxicated in Florissant, Mo. |
Trumaine Johnson [CB] |
03/22/2013 |
Arrested on misdemeanor DUI charge in Missoula |
Greg Reid [CB] |
04/01/2014 |
Driving with a suspended license, a seatbelt violation and misdemeanor possession of marijuana |
A few things to note:
"And the Award for Repeat Offender Goes toooo..." - Dominique Byrd. Byrd was drafted 93rd overall prior to the 2006 season. He started 14 games in just two seasons with the team. He had one more arrest than touchdown. You do the math...
Shortest Amount of Time Between Arrests - 72 hours. Pead get’s booked for marijuana charges. Quinn followed up three days later with a DWI. It’s fair to say these guys dropped the ball...and we’re only used to one of them doing so.
Longest Amount of Time Between Arrests - 954 days. Who snapped the streak? Byrd man...that’s who!
Who’s next? - Of the offender’s listed above, four [Quinn, Pead, Johnson, and Reid] remain on the team. They’ll now be joined by WR Kenny Britt, who’s no stranger to the cuffs . Britt was arrested in July 2012 on a charge of DWI at Fort Campbell, Ky. Oh, and don’t forget about the car chase in 2011...where he was charged with marijuana possession, resisting arrest and obstructing governmental function.
Regardless, in spite of the poor decision-making over the past 14 years, it could be worse. Minnesota and Cincinnati are averaging nearly three arrests per year. At some point, the law is going to catch up with Blair Walsh. And when they do...it’s going to be Grand Theft Nickname!