COMBINE, LABOR STRIFE, SORRY I'M BEHIND, HOBBLED AGAIN
Day one of player workouts down, three to go. Sunday should be exciting, the speed guys run today. Watching 300-pound offensive linemen run the 40-yard dash isn't all that thrilling. But you can see their explosion, their athleticism & with the Under Armor shirts & shorts, you can see what kind of shape these kids are in currently. Sterling Sharpe remarked this afternoon after watching Arkansas State tackle Derek Newton run "there's a lot of moving parts under that shirt." He was right, as I watched this kid run it reminded me of a lyric from an old blues song "looked like two big ole balloons in a hurricane." I find it sad that kids come to this job audition, that's what this is essentially, so unprepared. They knew back in October they were coming to Indy in February & yet they did little to really get into shape. By the way, Newton ran 6.01 in the forty, which was a first for me watching these "underwear olympics." Newton later backed up the 6.01 with a 6.04, which was timed with a calender.
As I said, the speed guys run Sunday & I'm looking forward to watching 3 particular prospects tear up the 40-yard dash. Maryland's Torrey Smith, Abilene Christian's Edmund Gates & Jerrel Jernigan of Troy, all wide receivers, could run in the 4.20's.
Several of the offensive lineman I'm high on performed very well on Saturday. None set the world on it's ear, but they did well. Florida State C/G Rodney Hudson & Florida C/G Mike Pouncey ran well, but more importantly, they looked extremely athletic, especially their footwork. Pouncey should go in round one with Hudson somewhere in the bottom half of round 2. Hudson tacked on 10 pounds of muscle since the Senior Bowl, which is a good thing. Baylor's Danny Watkins performed very well, the Canadian import with only 4 total years of football under his belt has really improved his draft status since he first went to the Senior Bowl. Colorado tackle Nate Solder did everything well except his 21 reps in the bench press was disappointing. For a 6' 8" 319-pound kid, he looked extremely athletic in every drill. The only thing holding him back from a top-10 draft slot is his inconsistency. He plays with his hands down too often & fails to square himself when engaged. The strength issue can be corrected with time in the weight room & the other shortcomings can be coached out of him, but it might take a year or two. Another tackle I'm very impressed with, Boston College's Anthony Castonzo, also had a good day. He's a first rounder, probably in the bottom half, but a very solid prospect with superior character.
The tight end group is the most disappointing bunch in many years. One guy everyone was looking to see, South Carolina's Weslye Saunders, suffered a broken foot & had to pull out of the drills. Since he was suspended before the season began for having contact with an agent, scouts wanted to see how his conditioning had progressed. How long he'll be out is unknown. The top prospect of the tight ends, Notre Dames' Kyle Rudolph is still unable to workout since being injured way back in October. Nevada's Virgil Green rocked the joint with a 42 1/2" vertical jump. The kid has some explosion in his legs.
St. Louis Rams scout Luke Driscoll endeared himself to his employers by being arrested late Friday night. He was urinating on the side of a building in downtown Indianapolis when two police officers approached. He finished peeing but upon seeing one of the officers was a lady, he began shaking his joint at the cop. He was charged with public drunkenness & public nudity. Very nice.
The opinions on Auburn's Cam Newton are really divided, some are in love, others aren't even in like. many were put off by his "I'm a football player, an entertainer & an icon" remark. He didn't do himself any favors by bringing it up over & over in a Friday press conference. The word is Mizzou's Blaine Gabbert is solidly ahead of Newton on most draft boards. Gabbert is about the only QB who won't throw today. But that's typical CAA leadership. His agent,Tom Condon never lets his QB's throw at the combine & he's had 4 of them selected in the coveted #1 overall spot in the last 6 years. The word on Gabbert after his private team interviews was very positive. "Confident without being arrogant" "understands his role & QB theory exceptionally well" & "very impressive kid who should transition quickly to our game." Gabbert won't last long, no later than #10 for sure.
Rex Ryan continues to bore everyone with his annual prediction of a Jet Super Bowl victory. He stepped to the mic on Friday & didn't disappoint Jet followers. He said "I believe this is the year we're going to win a Super Bowl. I thought we were going to do it the first two years, but I guarantee we'll win it this year." Yawn.
New Denver coach John Fox put some future speculation to bed with "Kyle Orton is our starting quarterback" when asked about Tim Tebow.
Federal mediator George Cohen tried to put a good face on it, but it looks more & more like the midnight deadline on Thursday night will come & pass without an agreement on a new collective bargaining agreement. Word is despite the 7 consecutive days of talks, the 3 biggest stumbling blocks saw no movement toward compromise. Percentage of revenue split, the ridiculous 18-game season & the rookie wage scale saw little or no progress. The first two I put at the doorstep of management, the rookie wage scale is on the union. I think until there's a real deadline, like when training camps are scheduled to open, we won't see any real movement from either side.
The administration claims the recession is over, Oklahoma's Bob Stoops would have to agree, he just got a $1 million per season raise from the board of regents.
Steven Threet, quarterback from Arizona State, has played his last football game. The Sun Devil starter, still not cleared to play by team doctors after his third concussion last season, will walk away from the game, while he still can. Threet, one of the most highly recruited QB's in the nation just 3 years ago, said being able to "hold a coffee cup when I'm 35 & play catch with my kids" is more important than playing quarterback. He's right & good luck to him.
The NFL has issued new protocol regarding concussions. Any player diagnosed with a concussion on the sideline is to be removed from the bench area & sent to the locker room where he is to remain. Concussed players will not be allowed to be questioned by the media after the game for 48-hours.
The Tide for Toomers Facebook fund-raiser is going gang busters. They have over 60,000 followers & have raised almost $50,000 for replacement of oak trees poisoned on the Auburn campus by a deranged Alabama fan. He is on his 4th lawyer, no one wants to defend this creep.
Bill Grigsby, a legend in Kansas City sports broadcasting died on Saturday at age 89. R.I.P. Grigs.
Did anyone catch Chiefs' coach Todd Haley on The NFL Network Friday? He got a new haircut, was freshly shaved & wasn't wearing a cap. I hardly recognized him.
Sorry I fell behind the past three days, my knee is causing me a helluva lot of pain, I twisted it on Thursday & sitting here pounding on this keyboard kills me. I used an ice bag & a Lortab the size of my little finger so I could get something on here for you to read. I'm sorry, hopefully the knee will improve & I can get you an update tomorrow from the combine.
If you haven't seen the documentary "Waiting for Superman" I highly recommend you take the time to rent it. It might be the best documentary I've seen in 5 years. How the Academy Awards people missed it I'll never know.
As I said, the speed guys run Sunday & I'm looking forward to watching 3 particular prospects tear up the 40-yard dash. Maryland's Torrey Smith, Abilene Christian's Edmund Gates & Jerrel Jernigan of Troy, all wide receivers, could run in the 4.20's.
Several of the offensive lineman I'm high on performed very well on Saturday. None set the world on it's ear, but they did well. Florida State C/G Rodney Hudson & Florida C/G Mike Pouncey ran well, but more importantly, they looked extremely athletic, especially their footwork. Pouncey should go in round one with Hudson somewhere in the bottom half of round 2. Hudson tacked on 10 pounds of muscle since the Senior Bowl, which is a good thing. Baylor's Danny Watkins performed very well, the Canadian import with only 4 total years of football under his belt has really improved his draft status since he first went to the Senior Bowl. Colorado tackle Nate Solder did everything well except his 21 reps in the bench press was disappointing. For a 6' 8" 319-pound kid, he looked extremely athletic in every drill. The only thing holding him back from a top-10 draft slot is his inconsistency. He plays with his hands down too often & fails to square himself when engaged. The strength issue can be corrected with time in the weight room & the other shortcomings can be coached out of him, but it might take a year or two. Another tackle I'm very impressed with, Boston College's Anthony Castonzo, also had a good day. He's a first rounder, probably in the bottom half, but a very solid prospect with superior character.
The tight end group is the most disappointing bunch in many years. One guy everyone was looking to see, South Carolina's Weslye Saunders, suffered a broken foot & had to pull out of the drills. Since he was suspended before the season began for having contact with an agent, scouts wanted to see how his conditioning had progressed. How long he'll be out is unknown. The top prospect of the tight ends, Notre Dames' Kyle Rudolph is still unable to workout since being injured way back in October. Nevada's Virgil Green rocked the joint with a 42 1/2" vertical jump. The kid has some explosion in his legs.
St. Louis Rams scout Luke Driscoll endeared himself to his employers by being arrested late Friday night. He was urinating on the side of a building in downtown Indianapolis when two police officers approached. He finished peeing but upon seeing one of the officers was a lady, he began shaking his joint at the cop. He was charged with public drunkenness & public nudity. Very nice.
The opinions on Auburn's Cam Newton are really divided, some are in love, others aren't even in like. many were put off by his "I'm a football player, an entertainer & an icon" remark. He didn't do himself any favors by bringing it up over & over in a Friday press conference. The word is Mizzou's Blaine Gabbert is solidly ahead of Newton on most draft boards. Gabbert is about the only QB who won't throw today. But that's typical CAA leadership. His agent,Tom Condon never lets his QB's throw at the combine & he's had 4 of them selected in the coveted #1 overall spot in the last 6 years. The word on Gabbert after his private team interviews was very positive. "Confident without being arrogant" "understands his role & QB theory exceptionally well" & "very impressive kid who should transition quickly to our game." Gabbert won't last long, no later than #10 for sure.
Rex Ryan continues to bore everyone with his annual prediction of a Jet Super Bowl victory. He stepped to the mic on Friday & didn't disappoint Jet followers. He said "I believe this is the year we're going to win a Super Bowl. I thought we were going to do it the first two years, but I guarantee we'll win it this year." Yawn.
New Denver coach John Fox put some future speculation to bed with "Kyle Orton is our starting quarterback" when asked about Tim Tebow.
Federal mediator George Cohen tried to put a good face on it, but it looks more & more like the midnight deadline on Thursday night will come & pass without an agreement on a new collective bargaining agreement. Word is despite the 7 consecutive days of talks, the 3 biggest stumbling blocks saw no movement toward compromise. Percentage of revenue split, the ridiculous 18-game season & the rookie wage scale saw little or no progress. The first two I put at the doorstep of management, the rookie wage scale is on the union. I think until there's a real deadline, like when training camps are scheduled to open, we won't see any real movement from either side.
The administration claims the recession is over, Oklahoma's Bob Stoops would have to agree, he just got a $1 million per season raise from the board of regents.
Steven Threet, quarterback from Arizona State, has played his last football game. The Sun Devil starter, still not cleared to play by team doctors after his third concussion last season, will walk away from the game, while he still can. Threet, one of the most highly recruited QB's in the nation just 3 years ago, said being able to "hold a coffee cup when I'm 35 & play catch with my kids" is more important than playing quarterback. He's right & good luck to him.
The NFL has issued new protocol regarding concussions. Any player diagnosed with a concussion on the sideline is to be removed from the bench area & sent to the locker room where he is to remain. Concussed players will not be allowed to be questioned by the media after the game for 48-hours.
The Tide for Toomers Facebook fund-raiser is going gang busters. They have over 60,000 followers & have raised almost $50,000 for replacement of oak trees poisoned on the Auburn campus by a deranged Alabama fan. He is on his 4th lawyer, no one wants to defend this creep.
Bill Grigsby, a legend in Kansas City sports broadcasting died on Saturday at age 89. R.I.P. Grigs.
Did anyone catch Chiefs' coach Todd Haley on The NFL Network Friday? He got a new haircut, was freshly shaved & wasn't wearing a cap. I hardly recognized him.
Sorry I fell behind the past three days, my knee is causing me a helluva lot of pain, I twisted it on Thursday & sitting here pounding on this keyboard kills me. I used an ice bag & a Lortab the size of my little finger so I could get something on here for you to read. I'm sorry, hopefully the knee will improve & I can get you an update tomorrow from the combine.
If you haven't seen the documentary "Waiting for Superman" I highly recommend you take the time to rent it. It might be the best documentary I've seen in 5 years. How the Academy Awards people missed it I'll never know.
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