The NFL combine has now concluded in Indianapolis. It is a collection of the future players now removed from college who are put on display a la meat market. They are tested in every sense of the word. Written exams, physicals that turn up things that the player didn’t even know they had, not to
mention the various drills.
Each NFL team sends somewhere in the vicinity of 40 to 50 people. Coaches, scouts doctors, front office personnel make up the contingent. The hotels are secured from the outsiders and hangers on and until recently the workouts themselves were closed. Thanks to the NFL Network, the cloud of secrecy has been removed so we all have a better idea of what really goes on. But are we any smarter about whom to draft?
Over the years coaches, have been wowed by some of the testing. Being able to bench-press 225 pounds 35 times or run a 40-yard dash in 4.3 seconds does not always translate into being a player who has a good, let alone great, career in the NFL. All teams have fallen for it at some point.
So what do you do? How can you tell? The smart teams do their homework. They look at game film against good competition, they talk to people about character. They look for people who can really play football who happen to
be strong and fast and not the other way around. Fans get sucked into the 40 time as if all great players did it.
Future Hall of Famer Jerry Rice is a classic example. While he didn’t have a great 40 time at the combine, he still managed to have a decent career. I never saw him get caught from behind. On the other hand, there have been kids that have had dazzling times and combines only never to be heard from again when it was time to really play football. You know, the hitting and tackling stuff – the reason why you wear a helmet and padding.
For many teams this season it will be buyer beware. There were some players who went there with great expectations, only to break the hearts of those who listen to talk radio when the caller calls to give a glowing report. Thanks for the call, but I might want to invest time in listening to the people who actually do this stuff for a living. While the combine is not an exact science, there is some skill involved when it comes to teams and their evaluation of these prospects and in some cases suspects.
There will be two more evaluation periods. One will be “pro day,” when all the coaches and scouts go to a player’s school or hometown and take him through his paces. The 40 time will be in play, as will a variety of agility drills. The other evaluation will be when the team invites the player to their facility for an interview. The player and the agent must have an idea of the market and what team will have a real interest, compared to bringing in someone as a smokescreen to throw other teams off the scent.
There were countless players who were not invited to the combine and their parents and family members may think this is the end of the world. Quite the contrary. There are a lot of players in the NFL who were not invited but still found a way to take advantage of their skill. My advice: stay in shape, stay ready. If it’s meant to be, then you have nothing to worry about. If not, hopefully those four years of playing for a free education will put you closer to a degree. It lasts longer than an NFL career, anyway.
SLU and Mizzou?
As the noted boxing referee Mills Lane would say after giving the fighters their instructions in the ring, “Let’s Get It ON!” This should also apply to Missouri and Saint Louis University.
SIU and Missouri State will be on the schedule for the men next season, but what about the University of Missouri? While Mike Anderson has done a masterful job in bring the Tigers back from the dead, wouldn’t it be nice to see these two teams play each other again? I know, I know … Mizzou’s dance card is full or what would they have to gain by playing St. Louis U considering the Tigers are nationally ranked and should have a good seed in this year’s tournament? Sure, play the BCS schools, I get that. Why play a fledgling Division 1 program in SIU Edwardsville or some of the “also rans” that can be easily found in some church gyms when you could play Saint Louis University and everyone could have a good payday?
I’ll buy tickets to both venues, just get it done soon while both schools’ fans are hungry for the drive on Highway 70.