Random Thoughts: The Combine
Posted by thehuddlereport.com on February 24, 2008
by Drew Boylhart
If I where the Garden State Giants I would be looking very hard at WR’s in this combine for the draft. It seems to me that when you have a player who can not practice all year long because of a severe ankle injury that after the year is done I would think that ankle would need some sort of surgery or medical attention and rehab! Well what does it mater they won the Super Bowl and next years problems are next years problems.
If I where a GM I’m not sure I would go to the combine or at least not stay there for the whole time. The reason for this is that I feel the film doesn’t lie about a player’s ability to play at the next level. My scouts should not be surprised by any heights, weights, speeds, strength or back ground issues. I should have all that information already. So what is the reason to go? I’ll bring players into the home stadium to interview and I can see players at their pro days also. The only thing the combine does is give a lot of press for players and agents to strut their stuff in one place. A better idea would be to have more than one combine an offensive and a defensive combine and invite 500 prospects to each make them the last two weeks in March and only attend pro-days for players not invited to the combines.
I suspect that if a team is interviewing a player with known back ground issues then that means in their minds they are trying to find a reason to excuse that behavior because of the kids talent and potential to impact at the next level. The truth is that if a player did something stupid two or three years ago and has had no incidents since then it’s a good bet the kid is most likely over that type of behavior. After all by the time you draft him you have gathered all of his personal life so seeing what he has to say about it and counting on that to make your final decision of drafting him or not seems to me to be a way to pass the buck if the kid doesn’t work out and live up to expectations
The NFL coaches expect to draft kids with good character. The problem is that with all the cheating going on it would seem to me that the NFL should expect good character from the coaches that they hirer first. I suggest the NFL start a combine for hiring coaches. All the coaches in the NFL get rated on a point system of wins and loses. The owner is allowed to go through their personal lives just like they do to the players in the draft. They can ask high school friends, coaches, look for police records and check any medical issues. They can check with former players on how they were treated. Then the prospective coaches must go through a wonderlic test and a polygraph test. They would also have to take a test on the rules and ethics of the NFL and they would have to pass it with 100% grade. If you are a college coach who wants a NFL job you would have to get on the list and pass the tests also. Once your on the list you go to the coaches combine to complete your test and to be interviewed face to face by owners who need a head coaches and by head coaches who need assistants. I wonder if the NFL network would televise it! Something tells me it’s not going to happen!
February 26, 2008 at 5:51 pm
I’m still curious why McFadden’s character issues are not causing you to second guess having him a top 3 prospect.
February 26, 2008 at 6:16 pm
Good Question - McFadden has some off field issues no doubt. Personally and morally I have a lot of problems with his off field behavior. When I wrote the profile I did not know of any off field problems and most of this stuff has just come to our attention. It is possible that before the draft I will put a C by his #1 TBR but having children out of wedlock is not criminal. His altercations at a bar seem to be just that, altercations! He is borderline but so far he hasn’t done anything of a criminal nature and he has never tanked it on the field. You have to be careful not to judge people to your personal standards. My character issues will always be for criminal arrest off the field and tanking it on the field but not for incidents that I may disagree with morally.
February 26, 2008 at 7:36 pm
Makes sense to me. My personal feeling is just that with the Mammoth signing bonuses in the top 5 you want to err on the side of the ’safer pick’. Just my opinoin tho, certainly McFadden has the HOF talent to be very succesful. Certainly he hasn’t been criminal yet, but he seems reckless off the field. With so many other good options around in the top 5, and so many quality running backs in the mix this season, I would personally pass. Hes a top 10 pick in my book, just not top 5.
February 26, 2008 at 7:50 pm
This is how I see the top of the draft playing out: Miami should take either Ryan, Gholston, or Long. Personally I take Long as he seems the safest bet, but if they want to go the QB route thats an option too. At #2 the Rams should take Gholston. At #3 Atlanta should take Jake Long. Yes they need a QB too but after the Vick thing, another top QB not panning out would be devastating. #4 The Raiders, who knows, but I would take Ellis to shore up the inside. #5 KC has LJ, so they should look at Ryan, or even Clady since they need OL so badly. Then by #6, If I were the Jets Id be on the phone with Jerry Jones and see if he wants to take the chance on McFadden.
February 26, 2008 at 9:07 pm
Basil, The safest pick for Miami to Draft with explosion off the line is Sedric Ellis. He could play in a couple of different defensive fronts for you and Parcells likes to play a 3/4 front. I see Sedric being real good as a DE in a 3/4 then moving inside on passing downs. But I also see Gholston being a Lawrence Taylor clone. Long is not as quick off the line but he is very good and a safe pick but he is a DE in a 4/3. This LB garbage about Long is just that a bunch of smoke.
I think if Miami keeps the pick they will look at Ellis or Gholston. Then they might look at Chad Henne QB later in the 1st round or as the possible 1st pick of the 2nd round.
If Miami trades down then I think they do it with an eye on Quintin Groves DE/OLB Auburn and Chad Henne QB Michigan. At least that is what I would try to do if I was Miami.
We shall see about the others, I can’t give it all away.
February 28, 2008 at 12:31 am
Youre right about some aspects of the combine, but missing a few reasons why it does have value.
1. It is a job interview. The way it has evolved, each player now has no excuse not to know the drills and be prepared. Even if it is silly and meaningless (or not as meaningful as portrayed, i.e. 40 time) it still illustrates a persons ability to accept, prepare and meet a challenge. Would you hire a person who knew exactly when their interview was, what the questions would be, where it would be, who the other candidates would be yet still showed up unprepared (e.g. over weight, doesn’t know how to do the drills, etc). Wouldn’t you want the kid that took it beyond serious, busted his ass to prepare and knocked it out of the park.
2. Now, as to why the GM should go and not just rely on his scouts. I manage a very large staff and i understand about working through people, delegation and trust. But there are times where you simply have to see it with your own eyes. The combine allows you to not only do that in great detail, but to evaluate each player on a perfectly level playing field. no homefield advantage for the scout or the player, nor some other anomoly that could happen in a real game / on film. Plus, when consider the potential negative impact of the draft selection decision that ultimately should be the GM’s, how can they afford not to see it first hand.
February 28, 2008 at 8:09 am
Lucas,
My point is not that the combine is useless; my point is that it is overkill because of all the information gathered before the combine and because of all the pro days. That’s why I suggested cutting out the one combine and having two combines and not allowing pro days. Remember I also said that teams through the years have players they may be interested in - come right to the home stadium for one on one’s. My point of trusting your scouts is also a way to evaluate your scouts. Most teams are not doing that. The Steelers are a good example of what I am talking about. They have a system. The scouts are trained to scout for the system. They hire a new head coach. He has to use the same system. He may go to the scouts and tweak a few things and tell them he needs more speed at a position or more athletic lineman but the profile they use for each position is the profile. They evaluate a college player to fit their profile of what they need. They do not just profile players talents. Cower brought this system into the Steelers franchise. That is what the fight was all about with Tom Donahue. Donahue evaluated talent and is good at it - but he is not good at evaluating talent that fits a system. Cower was getting players that had talent but did not fit what he wanted to do on the field. So you see my point is not that the combine is useless but that it is overkill unless they cut out all the pro days and learn to communicate and trust their own scouting system. Two combines, one for defense and one for offense add to that the information your scouts have been gathering all through the year and do your film study and I believe you will have better drafts overall in the NFL.
March 8, 2008 at 6:46 pm
Who do like better Chris Long or Vernon Gholston? Who do the gm’s like better? Who will go higher, and who has the higher ceiling?
March 9, 2008 at 3:42 pm
Chris,
For me personaly I think Vernon is the most explosive defensive player in this draft. I can’t tell you who will go higher, that’s Rob’s job. I can tell you that if I were the Dolphins that I would make Vernon the first pick in this draft. I also think That Parcells is a defensive guy before he is an offensive guy. I also think that Parcells thinks that Vernon is as close as you can get to a former player of his when he was the coach of the Giants. Lawrence Taylor the real LT.
Defense wins championships. Even the Colts had to have the defense step it up to win the Super Bowl.
Matt Ryan is an excellent QB - But it will take time for him to impact. Vernon can impact on defense his first year.
Chris Long is an excellent player and this would be a very hard choice, but I would have to go with Vernon over Chris Long. Ask me in a few weeks and I could change my mind. It is that close.