Nfl Combine Rituals

[Coltsarerich]

Is anyone else troubled by nfl combine rituals? Almost like it's a complete rouse made by some smart gm to get dumb teams to drafts mike mumulas?

A smart gm would have the linemen sumo wrestling each other in epic battles lasting hours and hours to judge their talents. Being an olineman is all about feet, positioning, hands. small tiny bursts. That why Glenn had to retire, he couldnt get deep enough quick enough off the line any more duck walking backwards, he was constantly false starting. The repitive nature of his body movements probably almost drove him insane, lol.

And bench ress, what does that have to do with football, at all? How many football gm's are impressed by how quickly a guy can get up after getting knocked on his butt? That seems to be the muscle group bench pressing isolates.

40 time? Devin Hester is not considered fast, he says he relies on colors when he runs, in essence, he runs away from colors that aren't his own, and it works, lol. Is he smart? dumbed down? stupid? He's a playmaker who resisits conformity, I bet his st coach hates him.

Heck, Peyton Manning is the only QB I can think of who does the "stupid crap" he does on a play to play basis, but he wins. I bet his teammates hate standing there at the line..waiting....waiting...waiting, I could almost imagine all his sacks are purposeful by some lineman who's fighting a cramp.

Back on subject. These combines are stupid. Trust the scouts who watch the players play, rank your boards by how x player fits into your system and then rank em on the board. Best player available is completely dependent on how he fits into what you do, and it's that simple, IMO.

man Cover corner and pass rushing DE might be the only exceptions.

and I was thinking about what kind of RB would have been perfect for the colts all these years and edge james certainly is A #1. A guy like Maurice Drew or the little dude with New Orleans now from San Diego would have fit great with our old offense. Like a Thurman Thomas all around back, I don't think we have him on the roster.

[Flash7]

I agree with you to some extent. The purpose of the combine on a whole is not necessarily to get a closer look at the obvious draft prospects, but to make distinctions with lesser known prospects who may be drafted in the 3-6 rounds, or for prospects that have played in smaller schools or conferences. It gives the scouts a chance to watch them work with other propsects, and can give them a chance to evaluate them relatively.

Also, there has to be some way to measure atheletic ability and strength. So they use different forms of measurements: 40-yard dash, 3 cone drill, shuttle, broad jump, verticle jump, and bench press. These drills do not translate into NFL type movements, but they provide a way to evaluate prospects with quantifyable measurements.

With the addition of on field workouts, such as lineman drills, receivers running routes, QBs throwing different routes, it adds another dimention. At the combine you can get quantifyable data and see how each individual prospect performs relative to one another. It's not a perfect system, but it does have value. I watch the combine on TV and can notice who makes accurate throws, who runs clean routes, who has good hands, etc... I'm sure that the scouts can see a whole lot more, which allow them to make good decisions as a whole. Of course, you will have someone like the late, Al Davis, who will throw everything out of the window and draft the biggest or fastest player.

[DILLIGAFER]

Is anyone else troubled by nfl combine rituals? Almost like it's a complete rouse made by some smart gm to get dumb teams to drafts mike mumulas?

A smart gm would have the linemen sumo wrestling each other in epic battles lasting hours and hours to judge their talents. Being an olineman is all about feet, positioning, hands. small tiny bursts. That why Glenn had to retire, he couldnt get deep enough quick enough off the line any more duck walking backwards, he was constantly false starting. The repitive nature of his body movements probably almost drove him insane, lol.

And bench ress, what does that have to do with football, at all? How many football gm's are impressed by how quickly a guy can get up after getting knocked on his butt? That seems to be the muscle group bench pressing isolates.

40 time? Devin Hester is not considered fast, he says he relies on colors when he runs, in essence, he runs away from colors that aren't his own, and it works, lol. Is he smart? dumbed down? stupid? He's a playmaker who resisits conformity, I bet his st coach hates him.

Heck, Peyton Manning is the only QB I can think of who does the "stupid crap" he does on a play to play basis, but he wins. I bet his teammates hate standing there at the line..waiting....waiting...waiting, I could almost imagine all his sacks are purposeful by some lineman who's fighting a cramp.

Back on subject. These combines are stupid. Trust the scouts who watch the players play, rank your boards by how x player fits into your system and then rank em on the board. Best player available is completely dependent on how he fits into what you do, and it's that simple, IMO.

man Cover corner and pass rushing DE might be the only exceptions.

and I was thinking about what kind of RB would have been perfect for the colts all these years and edge james certainly is A #1. A guy like Maurice Drew or the little dude with New Orleans now from San Diego would have fit great with our old offense. Like a Thurman

Thomas all around back, I don't think we have him on the roster.

Hold up the phone..

Hold up the phone.. stupid crap Manning does? Oh, so you mean read a defense, change the play based on what the defense is doing to get the optimal play in to gain yardage and move down the field.. is that the stupid crap you are talking about? Give me a break! :devil:

[Coltsarerich]

Hold up the phone.. stupid crap Manning does? Oh, so you mean read a defense, change the play based on what the defense is doing to get the optimal play in to gain yardage and move down the field.. is that the stupid crap you are talking about? Give me a break! :devil:

ya, we both know he's just a perfectionist afraid to make a mistake so he stalls.

I still wanna see all the linemen sumo wrestle (no *)

mma drills. football is a lot like mma, really. those dudes go light on weight lifting. who am i to say though.

[Duolian]

If you want to test a guy's explosiveness, nail him in a box and then dump in the spiders.

[Dustin]

Devin Hester ran a 4.34.

[Ohio Colt]

"The combine should confirm what you already know" - ancient proverb

[Blackhawk4]

Is anyone else troubled by nfl combine rituals? Almost like it's a complete rouse made by some smart gm to get dumb teams to drafts mike mumulas?

A smart gm would have the linemen sumo wrestling each other in epic battles lasting hours and hours to judge their talents. Being an olineman is all about feet, positioning, hands. small tiny bursts. That why Glenn had to retire, he couldnt get deep enough quick enough off the line any more duck walking backwards, he was constantly false starting. The repitive nature of his body movements probably almost drove him insane, lol.

And bench ress, what does that have to do with football, at all? How many football gm's are impressed by how quickly a guy can get up after getting knocked on his butt? That seems to be the muscle group bench pressing isolates.

40 time? Devin Hester is not considered fast, he says he relies on colors when he runs, in essence, he runs away from colors that aren't his own, and it works, lol. Is he smart? dumbed down? stupid? He's a playmaker who resisits conformity, I bet his st coach hates him.

Heck, Peyton Manning is the only QB I can think of who does the "stupid crap" he does on a play to play basis, but he wins. I bet his teammates hate standing there at the line..waiting....waiting...waiting, I could almost imagine all his sacks are purposeful by some lineman who's fighting a cramp.

Back on subject. These combines are stupid. Trust the scouts who watch the players play, rank your boards by how x player fits into your system and then rank em on the board. Best player available is completely dependent on how he fits into what you do, and it's that simple, IMO.

man Cover corner and pass rushing DE might be the only exceptions.

and I was thinking about what kind of RB would have been perfect for the colts all these years and edge james certainly is A #1. A guy like Maurice Drew or the little dude with New Orleans now from San Diego would have fit great with our old offense. Like a Thurman Thomas all around back, I don't think we have him on the roster.

O-lineman - That is what the kick slide drill is for...It's shows their feet movement, knees and burst...

Bench Press - Really? It is pretty self explanatory. It's about upper body strength. You need upper body strength in the NFL. D-lineman need it, O-lineman need it, RBs need it, WR/DBs need it and LBs need it.

40 time - Devin Hester is considered fast. Period. His 40 time proved it you might want to look it up. Yea there are exceptions some people run faster on field than they do in combine, but it's a nice judge of how fast you are.

That "stupid crap" like reading the defense and changing the play to adapt to the defense being played is what helps make him great. If you don't like that "stupid crap" you might be better served watching Rex Grossman, Tavaris Jackson or a QB of that caliber.

The scouts missed on Arian Foster a few years ago, Kurt Warner, Antonio Gates and so on and so on. Scouts are good at their job and it is worth trusting them most of the time, but even they >>> up.

[The Peytonator]

My problem with the combine is that all the drills are done in gym shorts. Football is played with pads on, so I feel all the drills should be done with pads on. That would be the best way to gauge someone's game speed. The bench press is done for obvious reasons, but I'd also like to see some what everyone can squat too. You're legs are more important to football than upper body strength.

[21isSuperman]

The Combine is used as an indicator. You watch film, and then watch a player at the Combine. If his Combine numbers match up to what you expected based on film, then your evaluation for that player is fine. If there is a big discrepancy somewhere, you need to go back and watch more film

[oldunclemark]

I've always wondered about the value of the combine for teams like Indy (who host it on their home field) compared to teams like the Bears..

..who play outdoors in bad conditions on horrible turf...

Arent all runners and thowers better indoors...Isnt it msleading?