Combine Defense Winners and Losers

1. AARON CURRY, LB, WAKE FOREST- He looked like a beast! Some players just want to keep their stock when already rated pretty high. This guy is motivated to be the first pick of the draft! Great to see, whoever gets him is a lucky team.

2. LAWRENCE SIDBURY, DE, RICHMOND- I noticed his elite athleticism during Senior Bowl drills. He ran the fastest of any d-lineman at the combine. Maybe he could play linebacker some?

3. DONALD WASHINGTON, DB, OHIO STATE- His 45 vertical jump is insane. He didn’t look great in college sometimes but workouts at least show you are a good athlete.

4. LADARIUS WEBB, DB, NICHOLLS STATE- The defensive backs ran slow. Webb though led the group with a solid 4.46 forty time. He definitely got himself in better position draft-wise. Gotta love the small school guys.

5. JASPER BRINKLEY, LB, SOUTH CAROLINA- This is a guy who is a freakish athlete and a solid linebacker. He was injured during his last season and speed has always been an issue. He then ran well and put himself into the middle rounds at least. Nice job.

6. EVERETTE BROWN, DE, FLORIDA STATE- Ran decently and kept himself in first round consideration. Will be a solid 4-3 d end at the next level.

7. CONNOR BARWIN, DE, CINCINNATI- Ran well and even played tight end in college. What a great athlete. Helped his value as a d-lineman with a 4.66 time.

7. BRIAN CUSHING, LB, USC- Simply looked smooth in drills and will definitely be a first round pick at linebacker.

8. CLAY MATTHEWS, LB, USC- Went from walk-on to possible first round pick? What a great story. It helps that he has three relatives that played in the league including his father.

9. CHRIS CLEMONS, S, CLEMSON- Ran a 4.41 forty. Not bad for a guy trying to get out of the shadow of the other Clemson safety named Michael Hamlin.

10. STANLEY ARNOUX, LB, WAKE FOREST- Overshadowed by Mr. Aaron Curry, Stanley ran the second fastest forty besides Curry and obviously helped himself. Those Demon Decons apparently make ‘em fast.

11. GERALD MCGRATH, LB, SOUTHERN MISS- Ran well also. Has decent size at 6′2, 231. Man this team is putting out players as well.

12. C.J. SPILLMAN, S, MARSHALL- Ran a solid 4.50 forty. Also has good size at 6′0, 197. Tall safeties are a plus and he put himself in good position for draft day.

13. DAVID BRUTON, S, NOTRE DAME- This guy is huge at 6′2, 219. He shows up at the combine and runs a solid 4.46. That is impressive. If this guy can play at the next level, he will be fun to watch.

Losers on Defense

1. REY MAUALUGA, LB, USC- He ran really slow in the forty and pulled up injured. He will have to really look good at USC’s pro day to gain back some ground. Other USC linebackers are moving past him on draft boards actually.

2. BRIAN ORAKPO, DE, TEXAS- Scouts wanted to see an athletic guy who could play outside linebacker in a 3-4 scheme. He also got injured and will have to workout well at his pro day to gain back some ground.

3. MALCOLM JENKINS, DB, OHIO STATE- Was generally regarded as the top corner before the combine. He ran much slower than expected and really hurt his stock. Now there is even talk that he will have to move to safety. Not a good chain of events.

4. VONTAE DAVIS, CB, ILLINOIS- He has always been an exceptional athlete. Once again, this time during the combine, he showed off his athleticism while at the same time looking terrible technique-wise. A good secondary coach could get him squared away though. Would have been considered the top corner if he would have performed better since Jenkins ran slow. Doesn’t help that his bother Vernon hasn’t done much after being a top pick for the 49ers.

Combine Offense Winners and Losers

First the Offense

1. LOUIS VASQUEZ, OL, TEXAS TECH- The guy dominated the weight lifting portion of workouts. He played too much in college to be considered a workout warrior so his work on the bench press won’t go unnoticed.

2. JOHNNY KNOX, WR, ABILENE-CHRISTIAN- Any time a receiver runs a forty yard dash in the 4.4 range or faster, they are going to get some hype. Congrats to this small school guy for getting himself on the minds of scouts.

3. CEDRIC PEERMAN, RB, VIRGINIA- The running backs group was obviously slower forty yard dash-wise than people hoped for.  He ran the fastest of any back their and that will easily improve his stock at least to a degree.

4. LYDON MURTHA, OL, NEBRASKA- This guy got a late invite to the combine and really showed off his athleticism. He is near the top of most of the top performer lists for the drills he participated in at Indy.  Now he might switch to tight end I’ve heard. At any rate he definitely put himself into position to be drafted which wasn’t the case previously.

5.  JARED COOK, TE, SOUTH CAROLINA- He led the tight ends in forty yard dash times with a real solid 4.5. This time moves him up a lot. He will probably get drafted on the first day for sure.

6. SHAWN NELSON, TE, SOUTHERN MISS- He had a great Senior Bowl and was able to keep the momentum going with a strong combine. He was second in the forty times and also moved himself into the first day of picks.

7. DARRIUS HEYWARD-BEY, WR, MARYLAND- Ran a rediculous 4.3 in the forty. With Crabtree getting hurt, Darrius is hoping to vault himself up draft boards. He will definitely not go past the second round at this point.

8. PAT WHITE, QB, WEST VIRGINIA- Some on-lookers said he was the most impressive QB at the combine. I won’t go that far but running a 4.5 forty and not looking out of place during the passing drills is a definite plus. He plans to workout at his pro-day both as a WR and a QB. Good thinking champ. This kid is going to find a way to make an impact for a team at the next level.

9.  STEPHEN MCGEE, QB, TEXAS A&M- He ran a 4.7 and looked decent throwing.  He fits a play-action rollout system really nicely in my eyes. Despite getting hurt during the year, he has done enough to get some looks once more.

10. MARK SANCHEZ, QB, USC- Though his passing performances during the drills weren’t jaw-dropping, it was his interviews with teams that really set him up nicely for draft day. There were possible questions regarding his character and leadership but it seems they were likely answered for several teams.

11. PATRICK TURNER, WR, USC- He did not run the forty but looked really smooth in receiving drills. He demonstrated good hands and as good of footwork as many of the smaller receivers who will likely be slot guys. Turner has the height as everyone knows, but with a good pro day 40 time, he will really improve his value even more.

12. JASON SMITH, T, BAYLOR- Everyone knows he is athletic because he is a former tight end. He needed to demonstrate the strength of an NFL offensive lineman. He did that by tying for fourth overall in the bench press category for o-linemen at the combine. He’s set himself up to be a top ten choice at this point.

13. AARON KELLY, WR, CLEMSON- He might have shed the possession receiver label a little by running a decent forty. He is stuck in a good group of receivers though and probably will get picked up in the third or fourth round.

LOSERS ON OFFENSE

1. JAISON WILLIAMS, WR, OREGON- Really fought the ball instead of smoothly making catches. Has good size and might have to switch to tight end. Will probably get picked up late now.

2. DERRICK WILLIAMS, WR, PENN STATE- Was expected to look really fast. I mean he was Mr. do everything in college including returning kicks and punts. Instead ran rather slow in the 4.6s and hurt his stock some.

3. MOHAMED MASSAQUOI, WR, GEORGIA- So much for me giving him props for looking smooth in Senior Bowl workouts before getting hurt and helping his stock. He ran in the 4.6 range and definitely dropped his stock now.

4. NATE SWIFT, WR, NEBRASKA- I loved this guy on film and hoped he could put in an ok forty to get himself drafted late. Instead he ran in the 4.6 range and did not distinguish himself. I thought he looked ok in receiving drills but he did not do enough to definitely get drafted.

5. ANDRE SMITH, T, ALABAMA- As everyone knows, he left the combine and the Indy officials were going crazy. This is because the officials were responsible for him, and he was eventually found at the airport in Georgia. Wow this guy is really hurting his draft stock. He went from definite top five to way later in the first round. Jason Smith and Eugene Monroe both have moved ahead of him position-wise.

6. BRANDON PETTIGREW, TE, OKLAHOMA STATE- Ran a forty in the 4.8 range. This shows he will not be able to run  a successful seam route at the next level which is not a good thing. He was ranked as the best tight end by far. Now Cook and Nelson among others are starting to gain ground. Basically Pettigrew can catch and block but not run well while others can catch and run but not block as well.

7. CHRIS WELLS, RB, OHIO STATE- Ran a 4.59 forty, which is not great. Could have made himself the top running back prospect with a nice workout. Now the running back ratings are cloudy.

8. NATE DAVIS, QB, BALL STATE- Maybe I am crazy but he looked a lot faster while playing.  He ran a 4.9 forty which might hurt his stock because he doesn’t have great size.

9. RASHAD JENNINGS, RB, LIBERTY- I was excited to see the small school prospect perform. He first ran a solid forty in the 4.4 range I believe. Then his next run was in the 4.7 range. Scouts asked him to run again because of the huge difference in times. His third run was again in the 4.7 range so that hurts him some.

Day Four-Final Report

Today was as off the hook as it gets. I saw a ton of people including NFL personnel and prospects. I came to the conclusion that just traveling back and forth from our homes to our destinations might be the best bet for anyone trying to get into any field because of the number of people you encounter along the way during traveling.

Myself and Purdue quarterback Curtis Painter at the airport.

I hope I was able to plant a few seeds as they say as far as getting my name out there. It was an amazing experience and I will never forget all the people I met during the duration of the trip.

 

I was able to see and hear many things regarding the combine workouts that I would like to share with you.

Nebraska offensive tackle Lydon Murtha took advantage of the late combine invite he received and led or was near the top of many workouts result lists. I am not sure where he will end round-wise in the draft but he definitely opened up some eyes with his performances.

Troy Defensive Lineman Dion Gales and I pose for a picture in Indianapolis

 Wide receiver Johnny Knox from Abilene Christian ran a nice 4.34 40 yd dash which will probably get him drafted. Darrius Heyward-Bey really stepped up with a 4.30 forty.  Aaron Kelly also ran well and might have enhanced his worth because he was considered just a possession receiver but apparently has some speed to boot. Several guys ran not so well including Derrick Williams of Penn State who ended up with a time of around like 4.7. Not very good.

 The running backs did not run well in the forty yard dash. Virginia’s Cedric Peerman led the way with a 4.45 time. One guy, Gartrell Johnson from Colorado State, looks like a man-beast. He will definitely get picked up and if he becomes a fullback, if I were a linebacker, I’d get the heck out of the way when he was coming through holes.

 

The quarterbacks are also very interesting. One guy, Stephen McGee of Texas A&M, seems to have some potential. He ran in the 4.7 range in the 40 and fits in a play-action rollout scheme very well. Ball State’s Nate Davis dissappointed me with a 40 in the 4.9 range.

 

I saw tons of players including Oklahoma safety/linebacker Nic Harris, Alabama quarterback John Parker Wilson and USC receiver Patrick Turner just walking around during the day. Turner looked really smooth for a receiver who is 6′5 and weighs over 220. He definitely helped his stock.

I am signing off from the combine as I must get back to school on Monday. If I hear of any more reports from the combine, I will be sure to post. The defensive players still are in Indy with some work to do. Thank you so much for reading.

Peace

 

 

Indy Day 3, Entry 2

I have some info to pass on to fatty mogivens. I haven’t heard a lot about former Huskers but one guy who has raised an eyebrow is tackle Lydon Murtha. He currently is listed as the fastest guy 40 yard dash wise at the combine for an offensive  lineman. He ran a 4.89 which isn’t bad for a guy who is 6′7 and over 300 pounds.

Oklahoma State tight end Brandon Pettigrew, who is listed number one at his position kind of looked slow with a 40 yard dash time in the 4.8 range. He is known as a blocker with great hands and might not be downgraded overly but he could have really enhanced his grade with a better time. South Carolina tight end Jared Cook ran a straight up 4.50 40 which is really impressive. Southern Miss tight end Shawn Nelson continues to make good impressions, running a 4.56 40 after a good Senior Bowl week. Louis Vasquez, the guard from Texas Tech, really impressed with his 39 reps at the bench press as well.

I will report back later with more info.

Peace

Indy Day 3

I apologize for the short report last evening. The hotel Internet has been awful and actually I lost half of my article last night.

I forgot to mention that at the Fritz Pollard award ceremony NFL commissioner Roger Goodell gave a speech, which was incredible to see live.

Last night I met a coach of the Dolphins while eating dinner. He seemed like a nice guy and I congratulated him on the fine season the team had.

This morning was interesting as Miami Dolphins GM Jeff Ireland stopped by to talk at the conference for a little while. He was a good speaker but I briefly became saddened because it sometimes seems so difficult to get into the league, but I won’t let that stop me. Ireland has done a great job so far and I believe the Dolphins will get better in the future as Jeff’s vision continues to be implemented.

NFL legend John Wooten, who invited our conference attendees to attend the Fritz Pollard ceremony yesterday, spoke to us this morning as well and did a good job. What a great ambassador for the game.

In the afternoon baseball was the first topic discussed. Former player Reggie Williams who currently works for the Memphis Redbirds minor league team was present. He is a fantastic speaker and really intelligent individual. Also Will Carroll for Baseball Prospectus stopped by. He single-handedly came up with the idea of making pro sports injury reports more available to the outsider and seems really driven.

Later in the afternoon football was again on everyone’s mind. Canadian football head coach Marc Trestman of the Montreal Alouettes was around as well as former NFL scout Russ Lande who publishes the scouting book GM Jr. every year.

Michael Lombardi, who has spent 23 years in the NFL, stopped by for awhile and gave some great insight. He seems like a really hardworker who is great at inspiring others.

Another great speaker was Jack Mills, who is an agent. His clients have included Eric Dickerson, Tony Boselli, Ironhead Hayward, Rod Smith, Daniel Graham and D.J. Hackett.

The last speaker of the day was Denver Nuggets GM Mark Warkentien. What an interesting individual he is. He has an interesting way of relating to people and is really down to earth. I haven’t met many people like him and appreciated hearing what he had to say.

As far as combine news, I haven’t heard a whole lot yet but will be out networking tonight and hopefully finding out quite a bit. I will be sure to report back. I have seen several players around including Oklahoma receivers Manuel Johnson and Juaquin Iglesias walking by. Also saw Central Arkansas tight end Marquez Branson in the elevator. Even saw Troy defensive lineman Dion Gales in a conference session today. I talked to a personnel guy for the Raiders today at lunch who seemed like a nice man.

Well I’m off to chill out and I will report back later.

Peace and thanks to Sports Management Worldwide for the background info on the speakers.

Live from Indy Part 2

This afternoon I was able to listen to several interesting speakers.  We then piled into a ballroom for the 2009 Fritz Pollard Award Ceremony. Two NFL scouts were honored for their work plus Colts former head coach Tony Dungy and Dan Rooney from the Pittsburgh Steelers. The attendees of this ceremony were most impressive. I saw Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis, 49er head coach Mike Singletary, NFL legend Doug Williams, Tampa Bay’s new coach Raheem Morris, Indy’s new coach Jim Caldwell and many others. NFL legends John Wooten and Harry Carson have a lot to do with the Fritz Pollard Alliance and were present at the event. Also present was Scott Pioli, the general manager of the Chiefs. I would have loved to have spoken with him if only for a moment but he took off quickly to get back to the combine after the ceremony.

More Tomorrow

Peace

Live from Indianapolis

I am in Indianapolis for a sports conference put on by Sports Management Worldwide during the 2009 NFL Combine. I didn’t even have to get on the plane to Indy to start seeing sports personnel also making the voyage to Indy.

Several Chiefs personnel members were on board as well as some former players. I had the pleasure of talking with former Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Danan Hughes at the airport in Indy after landing. He played both football and baseball at Iowa before suiting up  for the Chiefs and obviously he cleaned up at the home run derby contests that took place at Chiefs training camp back in the day. He is a great guy and seems to be enjoying his post-football career in banking.

Indy is a unique city, and I am enjoying it. Everything in downtown Indy is connected via skywalk, including the hotels, malls and restaurants. There seems to be a feeling of optimism in the air as personnel from the NFL are roaming around everywhere.

I think I saw Raiders head coach Tom Cable and his wife walking around, along with numerous scouts from several teams. I even had ESPN’s Michael Smith say ‘what’s up’ to me as he walked by. Also I’ve spoke with several agents (who seem to be present in flocks.) Even Canadian Football league personnel are present.

Several players are already in town and can be seen in their interesting clothing with their position and combine number labeled. Sadly the numbering system reminds me of a livestock sale barn.

Anyway, I am stoked to be here and will keep adding updates about my experiences at the conference and meeting people plus some combine coverage which everyone loves.

Peace

NFL Thoughts

I love the NFL as much as possibly anyone, but that doesn’t mean I hold it on a pedestal. A few things have crossed my mind that could make the amazing league even better.

1. The NFL Draft is outstanding entertainment in my book but something about it is wrong, the payscale. A $70 million dollar bonus is disgusting and being the first pick of the draft does not make a player worthy of so much money. The worst part of the system is that the teams making the picks at the top of the draft are usually (barring trades that occur) not great teams. They thus receive these top picks to gain access to the best collegiate talent out there. If a team is not all that good, the chances of one player turning everything around for the franchise that draft’s him are slim.  By giving that top pick so much guaranteed money, the team does not have nearly as much extra salary to spend on other players, which they probably need to obtain in order to get more wins the in the future.

2. Expanding rosters is a must. I watched a team sign a street free agent midway through the season because of need and start that player in a game that very week. This is obsurd, even if injuries pile up, which they sometimes do. Expanding the active roster to 60 from 53 would allow for more backups to be present in case of emergency. Also the practice squad, which currently allows each team to carry eight to nine extra players should be increased to closer to 15 or 20. Thus no street free agents will be needed to step in right away and play. Teams need to collect talent and let that talent develop plus learn the football system being used. Having more roster spots allows for more players, some of whom just need extra development time, to get a chance to make an impact. Everyone knows that both the Arena Football League and NFL Europe  have produced a steady amount of NFL talent and some of these players have become outstanding peformers. Without a minor league system or other leagues currently present, there is good talent going to waste. I realize with the current economic problems that increasing roster space and thus overall team salaries is difficult, but the thought that players who could become Pro Bowl type guys or even Hall of Famers will never get a real chance is truly saddening.

MLB Spring-Training

It’s almost time for pitchers and catchers to report to spring training and I am excited. I will not be making any predictions because frankly there is too much bias involved as I am as always overly optimistic about my team the Royals. Everyone is picking the Yankees because of their unbelievable off-season acquisitions. I will say that I still firmly believe that no matter what the roster looks like, you cannot buy team chemistry.

When it comes to sports memorabilia collecting, spring training is of huge importance. Hundreds of players sign through the mail during spring training and many do not have the same signing habits during the season. This means that if you want autographs from certain players, you better spend some money on stamps and get those autograph requests out there.

The thought of sports memorabilia got me thinking. I fully believe that many amazing collections are out there in people’s houses which should be being displayed by photography online. Every once in awhile a collector will throw some images up of their decked out crib and collection on my favorite site sportscollectors.net. This gets me excited about what my house will eventually look like with my collection being displayed. It’s not a lot but I have some great stories and those are what make the pieces special.

I had another thought regarding sports memorabilia. What if there was a contest for deciding the greatest sports memorabilia collection out there? An entry fee could be collected with the proceeds going to charity.  Just an idea circulating in that crazy mind of mine.