Forget that they're located on either side of Missouri; forget that they're playing each other in Week 2 of the preseason. Or remember all those things. Either way, the St. Louis Rams and the Kansas City Chiefs are linked, additionally, in that they both took vaguely controversial defensive tackles in the 2012 NFL Draft. The Rams surprised football by trading back and taking Michael Brockers after missing both touted wide receivers; the Chiefs surprised football by taking Dontari Poe, one of the draft's most polarizing figures, and promising he'd be a three-down starter in 2012.
Poe was this year's most striking Combine product, and how you feel about that class of player will more or less determine how you feel about him; many complained, as usual, about his work ethic in the face of mediocre college results.
As Ryan Van Bibber notes on the national, Poe's preseason so far has been exactly as checkered as his draft. A worse sign, I think, than his inability to wrest the starting job away on Day 1: The Kansas City Star is already running stories headlined "Crennel comes out in defense of Poe." I'm not sure he was hoping to use up his vote of confidence this early.
More SB Nation St. Louis news and notes ahead of Saturday's Chiefs vs. Rams game after the jump:
- Trumaine Johnson, the St. Louis Rams other rookie cornerback, is considered day-to-day ahead of Pretend Week 2.
- Jason Smith, the Rams' erstwhile lineman-of-the-future, is now locked in a position battle.
- Sam Bradford will be the center of attention after an unassuming debut.