Tin Bits - 2010 NFL Combine Edition - Part 3 of 3

• Every year, NFL Network hypes up the defensive back portion of the combine as the main event, due to the speed and athleticism usually shown there.  And as a former failed DB myself, I tend to look forward to these workouts the most as well.  But the last two years they've been rather drab, especially in the 40.  Well, I should say whomever is calibrating the official time clock is making it rather drab.  For the second year in a row, the official times were shockingly different and not in a good way from the unofficial hand times.  Now, it should be noted that the hand times will always be faster, because the timer wouldn't hit the button until the runner actually started moving forward, and would hit it again almost in anticipation of the finish line, whereas the electronic timer starts as soon as the player makes a motion out of his 3 point stance and ends exactly as he touches the line.  But still, the Taylor Mays times are so far off as was George Selvie's time the day before it makes you wonder.  Most NFL teams pay next to no attention to the official time anyway because they realize it's innacurate.  That's why you see them have half a dozen staff members all timing - some are only timing the first 10 yards, and the others time the whole thing, and then they average them out.  So Mays will likely be attributed closer to 4.3 than 4.4 when all is said and done.

•  With that said, there were some standouts in this group, and I thought the following statements to be true:

1. Eric Berry is the top safety in the draft.  He can play both free and strong but he's probably a better fit at Free Safety in the NFL.
2. Earl Thomas is a cornerback.
3. Taylor Mays is a safety, he's just not as good as everyone thinks he is.  Chad Jones and Nate Allen are better than him, but I have the Raiders drafting him in the 1st in my mock and I'm sticking to that.  But I see him as a strong safety in the NFL, not a Free Safety.
4. Joe Haden was the biggest failure of the whole combine, IMO.  I still think Patrick Robinson is the top corner in this draft (hence why I ranked him #1 in my top 10 CB list) and I think Devin McCourty's stock has been rising steadily all off-season.
5. Myron Rolle must have gotten used to the slower pace of life in the UK.

• Overall I didn't think there were many risers and fallers in this group, because I think the cornerback class is relatively weak in this draft anyway.  However, the Free Safety group is relatively deep, at least a lot deeper than last year.  

• The Herald is reporting that Miami is interested in Antrell Rolle of the Cardinals and may make an offer and stand a good chance because of the inability of 'The Drew' to not be able to come to terms with the Cards.  However, Rosenhaus himself reported that the Cards were going to release Rolle to avoid paying him a massive roster bonus, but that they were first in line to resign him afterwards.  He's quite expensive, but I'm sure they'll take him back with a little restructuring and a whole lot of savings.

• The Dansby and Boldin to Miami rumors are still white hot, and I still believe it's pure hearsay or Miami spreading the rumors themselves, which would mean they're trying to drive up the price.  Ultimately I expect the rumors are started by Dansby's agent.  I don't see J-Lo wanting to pay this much for anything outside her wardrobe.

• And finally, I noticed a little blurb on Patrick Cobbs the other day and how his rehab is going.  At this point in the year it's almost moot where he thinks he is in that process, what matters is how effective he'll be once he comes back from the injury in August/September.  Meanwhile, his main competition, Kory Sheets has been working hard in the gym since the end of the season, and has not taken time off like most of the other players.  Keep in mind this is the same work ethic shown by Chad Henne and Jake Long last year, and it turned out pretty well for them.

Tin Bits - 2010 NFL Combine Edition - Part 2 of 3

• Jason Pierre Paul ran a 4.67 in the 40, which is fast enough to play OLB.  He had a pretty good combine, but I thought he would do even better than Connor Barwin did last year.  Ultimately I think the main plus for JPP was that he showed flexibility and good movement for someone of his size (6'5", 270lbs).  Word is he showed well in interviews also.  He's not the most eloquent guy, but he gets his point across, and he said he wants to be better than anyone who's come before him, so he's indicated he's going to be a hard-worker in the NFL.  I know I said I would move on after last year's draft, but I'm still reeling from Houston drafting Barwin to play as a backup DE behind Mario Williams.  This guy should be competing to start at OLB in a 3-4.  Anyway, he had 4.5 sacks as Williams' rookie backup.

• I almost shat myself when they posted George Selvie's 40 time.  I knew he wouldn't run fast because he's a long-stride guy with giant feet and has never been a good runner, but 4.91?  After the official times came out it turned out he actually ran a 4.77 which is much more respectable.  Sources say Selvie did very well in the interview portion.

• I'll admit I don't "get it" when it comes to the McCoy/Suh debate.  All the talking heads went from crowning Ndamukong Suh as the top prospect in the draft to suddenly switching their minds to Gerald McCoy.  Part of the argument is that McCoy is a better pass-rusher than Suh.  Suh didn't seem to have any issues with applying pressure when he was asked to in the games I watched.  I see it happening before my eyes, and I think the pundits are getting this one wrong, and that Suh is the better overall football player, not to mention the better 'face of the franchise'.  In any event, if the Rams pick a QB, and the Lions go with McCoy, would you trade up to the 3rd spot to get Suh?

• Taylor Mays was said to run an unofficial 4.24, but his official time was a 4.43.  Between the Selvie time and this one, it's obvious that someone is having an off day (or week) with the stop-watch.

• Mike Mayock stated that Rolando McClain, the talented ILB from Alabama, had been undergoing hamstring treatment since the Senior Bowl.  I didn't really understand the statement since McClain was not attending the Senior Bowl since he wasn't a Senior.  The question then becomes was he injured in the National Championship and if so, it probably isn't a simple hamstring tweak.  I love the player, but I'm not drafting anyone who can't pass the physical, so we'll have to keep a close eye on this - I assume he went through medical exams at the Combine and that info will come out soon enough.

• At this point, I think it's clear to say that 2009's Andre Smith and 2010's Terrence Cody are, in fact, the same person.  Cody had a shocking Senior Bowl week and need to prove something this week and decided not to bother.  He must be of the mindset that he is a top of the board draft pick, when logically he's got to be considered lower than a lot of DTs at this point behind Suh, McCoy, Williams, Price, and a few others.

• It's official!  Mike Berardino has an agenda.  Last week he posted a story about how sweet and cuddly Rex Ryan is, and this week he's touting the Jets again.  If I was a betting man, I'd think he was a Jets fan.  I know they say reporters shouldn't cover the teams they follow, so I'm  not expecting him to be a Dolphins fan, but a Jets fan covering the Dolphins?  

• I'm quite shocked that certain WRs have been all but forgotten.  If you had asked me a few months ago what round we could draft Minnesota's Eric Decker in, I would've told you late 1st, early 2nd.  These days I'm all but convinced he could be had in the 4th round unless he starts making some noise in the next few weeks.  And despite several media-scouts grading Elon's Terrell Hudgins as a 7th round or undrafted free agent, in my gut I felt he wouldn't last past the late 5th/early 6th.  But out-of-sight is out-of-mind when it comes to football, and these two guys need to start the PR campaign.  I'm especially surprised by Decker's (seen in the photo scoring after beating our own Vontae Davis) absence, since he had recently committed to football and eschewed a shot at Major League baseball.

• Latest 'tweet' from Omar Kelly: "I'm disappointed to admit I was invited to watch USF DE Jason Pierre-Paul workout before the combine & didn't follow up. I'm slipping."

• And finally, a guy I really like coming out of the past week is UCLA's Brian Price.  No one is projecting him as a NT because of the way he gets into the backfield, but he reminds me so much of Jason Ferguson at times, more in personality than playing style.  I think he's got good character.

I've Got A Brand New Combine Harvester, or, Men In Shorts

It's that time of year again when over-sized men strip off into their underwear and run around in front of a bunch of fully-clothed, older men with cameras, notebooks, stop watches, and tape measures.  Before they get to all the action though, they spend 15 minutes getting to know each other in what could only be compared to Speed Dating.

It's the 2010 NFL Scouting Combine.  It runs from today through Tuesday, and its purpose is to invite every football player who is expected to be drafted down to Indianapolis for a real prodding by NFL coaches and General Managers.  And while it's true that nothing that happens over the next 7 days changes anything on tape or defines how good a football player is, it does have significant effects on how a team views a player, and anyone who thinks it doesn't has never gone through a job interview process.

Yes, references and work history are what qualify you for the job, but if the hiring manager just doesn't like you, he's not going to hire you, and that's why they hold the interviews in the first place, otherwise they'd just look at your resume, then call you up and give you the job.

Below is the official Invite List (organized by player ID number), as well as the official schedule.  As you can see, the actual drills/workouts don't start until Saturday but the lead up until then is full of interviews, medical exams, the glorious Wonderlic and the all important measurements.  The numbers obtained here will be considered the OFFICIAL numbers, as opposed to those shown in the All-Star games or on College documents.  

The game tape on these players is important but it's not the entire picture.  Pat White looked great on game tape.  So did Vernon Gholston.  So did Michael Johnson.  So did a lot of players.  But the psychological aspect of the player can only be seen up close and personally, which is why the Combine interviews and testing are so paramount to a player cementing his status.  And performing well in the drills will usually cement a top 10 player's status as well as move a late round player into a higher round.  A defensive back who was ranked as a 7th Rd/FA could move up to the late 6th/early 7th with a good showing here.   
I have obtained a Wonderlic test but am having some issues integrating it into the site so that one can take it live and get results.  I hope to have this figured out by tomorrow.  

So, who do you think will really blow up the combine?  Personally, I'm expecting big things from CJ Spiller as well as little Trindon Holliday.

What A Barwin!

At Cincinnati's second pro day today, do-it-all player Connor Barwin ran the 40 again. His times ranged between 4.48 and 4.57. That's significantly fast. Add that to his 23 reps in the bench press and the fact that he went through drills at defensive end, linebacker and tight end. What makes him do these workouts over and over again? Obviously a drive to be the best, and a drive to keep getting better. I'd have to guarantee him as a first round pick now.

There have been a lot of impressive workouts but none more so than Barwin. I cannot think of anyone who's stock has risen so much in such a short period of time.

Like I've said before, I think the Dolphins will go CB/WR at #25, but should they decide to go linebacker, I'd wet myself if they chose Barwin. And don't worry I won't post the video. With the speed and fluidity that Barwin has shown, he might even be able to immediately switch to inside linebacker. Wouldn't it be nice to have a 6'4", 257lb inside linebacker to stuff the run, blitz, and show off his 4.5 speed and long arms in coverage? One that could slide between the inside and the outside pass rush?

The NT Tree

If ever there was a deficiency in an NFL draft, it would be this year and it would be at the increasingly difficult to find Nose Tackle. To make things a little harder, several teams are switching to a 3-4 defensive scheme this season, thus depleting the already low chances of securing a decent prospect in the draft.

The following are some of the few potential targets for the Dolphins as they try to shore up the defensive line and prepare for the eventual retirement of Jason Ferguson.

Ron Brace - The popular choice. One of the more recognizable names in the draft, the Boston College DT played alongside THE name in the draft as far as DT's go, BJ Raji. While I consider Raji to be a rare breed of pure talent, my viewings of Brace last season left me cold. Maybe he looked bad because of Raji's prowess. Maybe he looked GOOD because of Raji's prowess. It's hard to say, but either way, it raises some red flags as to how good he would be lined up on his own at the nose. Still, he has the size (6'3", 330lbs) that you look for, and played a little bit of nose in passing downs.

Sammie Lee Hill - a small school prospect that generated quite a bit of buzz during the Shrine Game and the Combine. I had never even heard of this guy until I was going through the shrine game measurements and saw his size (6'4", 329lbs). I have severe issues with him being projected by the media as a Nose Tackle, however, as I do not see it in him. He struggles with double teams, has problems separating from blocks, and was used primarily as a bull-rushing DE because of these issues. If he couldn't handle playing inside at a small college, then he shouldn't be projected to do so in the NFL.

If the Dolphins aren't extremely interested in Terrence Knighton, I'd be extremely surprised. That's a lot of extremes. Knighton is extremely big (6'3", 321lbs) and showed he could bulk up by adding 30 lbs to his frame from his Temple playing weight. If you take what he did at Temple, then add 30 lbs of mass to it, you have someone who can handle the push of the NFL Guards/Centers. As you can tell from the video, he has a very low center of gravity which will help him stand his ground on running plays.

There are a couple of other guys who I wouldn't exactly call 'tweeners' as I feel that label actually fits better on those above, with Knighton probably being the only 'ready to play' guy at the nose.

Fili Moala, Chris Baker, Dorrell Scott, Corey Irvin, Khalif Mitchell, and Marlon Favorite have all been mentioned as possible converts. Of those names I only like Baker, and think he would be good value as a Randy Starks-type player, able to play any position on the line, but I wouldn't rate him as a possible replacement for Ferguson.

In all eventuality, while I believe the Dolphins WILL draft at least one defensive lineman in April, I believe it will be a Starks-type player, one who can provide depth at multiple positions. Just like this year is the year of the wide receiver, cornerback and center, NEXT year will be the year of the Defensive Tackle, and it's very likely the Dolphins will use a top pick on one in 2010. Can you imagine Terrence Cody or Boo Robinson or Al Woods or Ndamukong Suh escaping the grasp of the Trifecta next year?

Here We Go!!

This post is dedicated to actual confirmed Miami draft targets. Some of them you know, some of them you don't, but all of them maybe getting a lot of attention in the next several weeks.

First up, Connor Barwin. This guy has the motor of Matt Roth but sleeker, faster, taller, leaner and with the ability to break the heart of your average USF fan by not only sacking your QB but then scoring an offensive touchdown as well. He was the star of the NFL Combine a couple of weeks ago, and Miami, along with pretty much every other team, is interested.

Oh, man, you guys are going to hate me for this one but I have to do this: WILLIAM FREAKIN' MOORE, BIATCHES!!

That's right. It's been confirmed that Mr. Moore himself is a Dolphins prospect. You know what this guy did yesterday in front of a certain Miami coach? He ran a 4.39, had a 37 inch vertical, did the 3 cone drill in 6.92 seconds, and had an amazing 10'6" broad jump. If these numbers stand up, He would have to be at least a high 2nd round grade. According to several sources, "one player who performed really well was Safety William Moore. He looked really good in his positional drills and was impressive overall."

I hate to say I told you so, but I will as soon as he is being a stand-out player in the NFL. ;)

p.s. this is an actual photo of Moore running super fast ON GRASS today. That's right, he put up those times on grass, people.

Jason Williams is a name most people associate with basketball (I remember being confused because there were two of them at one point, both basketball players, both in the league at the same time). But there's another Jason Williams, and he plays football. Where you ask? Western Illinois University. Say what?

You ever notice during opening drives of NFL games they'll have the players introduce themselves by saying their names and colleges, and half the time you think to yourself, "I've never even heard of that school!"

Well that's because it's a myth that only the big schools are pro factories. While it's true that schools like Miami and FSU and USC have had their runs, most NFL players come from all over the place. I don't know what town Western Illinois is in, but I do know that it is cold there during football season and that during their Senior game, there were about 40 die-hard fans in attendance. I know this because I was actually able to find recorded games! Here's what I can tell you about Jason Williams. He's a linebacker, listed as WLB, but he was used in a very special way. Instead of lining up on the outside when rushing the QB, he would line up on the inside and rush the Guard. In fact, he would line up inside on most plays, in a standing position on the line of scrimmage (think middle blitzer minus the DT in front of him, they play a 3-4). It was very unusual, but it allowed him to use his speed to get by the Guard and to the QB. It also allowed him to drop back in coverage from an underneath position. His numbers, 6'1", 241lbs, and he forced 14 fumbles. Very good in coverage, very good on the line. He will undoubtedly be an ILB in a 3-4. And the Dolphins are watching him.

On a side note, Western illinois had the top rusher in the country last year, Herb Donaldson. They needed him - their QB was awful in the game I watched.

Another linebacker on Miami's radar is Daniel Holtzclaw. I'm still trying to find tape on this kid but here's what I do know about him: He played for Eastern Michigan (they actually have one of the top Guards in the draft in TJ Lang), was a four year starter, 6'1", 246lbs, finished with 437 career tackles, 8 INTs, 4 FF, and had 12 games with at least 12 tackles.

In the photo to the right, Chad Henne winds up for a pass whilst #44, Holtzclaw reads him every step of the way.

Sherrod Martin is a Troy cornerback, 6'1", 198lbs, and he ran a respectable 4.48 at the Combine and despite converting from Safety to CB, he is praised for his low backpedal and movement.

So what do you guys think? The starting up of the pro days are bittersweet because on the one hand they are not televised or even covered in detail by the press, but the one good thing that we can take from it is we find out who attended (example: if a position coach is there, they're very interested in that player) and sometimes info slips out about private workouts or dinners. So these guys are being followed by the Dolphins. Most of them are likely to be 5th to 7th round, with the exception of Moore and Barwin.

Monday Combine Summary

• Connor Barwin ran a 4.66, jumped a 10'8" broad, a 40.5" vertical, a 6.87 3-cone, and a 4.18 second shuttle. At 6'4", 253 lbs, this Cincinnati DE/TE/Basketball player kicked ass today.

• The other impressive guys were Aaron Curry and Clay Matthews, who bested Brian Cushing in nearly every drill with the exception of the 3-cone drill.
  

• Vontae Davis put up 25 reps in the bench press. Pretty impressive for a cornerback.

• Connor Barwin, David Veikune, and Aaron Curry were among the standouts in the 'front seven' workouts today. Barwin was strong, athletic and showed he will be a defensive player, not a tight-end as over-exaggerating NFL network analysts have been saying since day one. Veikune interests me. He's a bit smaller and will likely end up as a 4-3 end. I believe the Bills are VERY interested in Barwin so we might see Pennington running away from him next season. Curry is considered by some to be the top player in the draft. He did nothing to hurt that standing today including the top 40 time of 4.56. Clint Sintim on the other hand was a bit of a disappointment.

• Lawrence Sidbury, not exactly a household name, had a huge Senior Bowl week and at 6'3", 257lbs and running a 4.64, is making a strong case for a first day pick.

• Rey Maualuga pulled a hamstring and is done for the combine. He apparently has been nursing a hamstring injury leading up to the combine. He ran a 4.83 in the 40 drill before he felt a "snap" in his left leg.
  

• Brian Orakpo pulled a hamstring as well but had completed most of the drills already.

• Brian Cushing ran an unofficial 4.64. He ran a 4.74 officially. So if you've wondered what the difference between unofficial and official are, no you know. 1/10th of a second.

• Clay Matthews ran a 4.67 officially.

• Update on the official/unofficial times. I've looked at all the times from the linebackers today, and in an uncanny pattern, all the fast times went up and all the slow times went down. So, to put it into music terminology, the 'official' aspect of the 40 is like compression on a recording. I have not checked this pattern on the WR/RBs, etc. but would not be surprised if it held up there as well.
  

Sunday Combine Summary

• Percy Harvin was taller than expected, slimmer than expected, and slightly slower than expected. I don't know what to think about the idea of drafting him. I guess I feel it would be a step in the wrong direction.

• Kenny Britt continued to be a bad-ass, even winking at someone as he decelerated after his 40 yard dash, which timed at a 4.48. This guy is a beast and would be a huge value at #44 but he'll possibly be gone by then.
  

• DE/OLB Everette Brown shrank by more than two inches. At 6'2" 256 LBs however, he'd still be a steal if he dropped to #25.

• Brian Cushing with all his supplements managed 30 reps at the bench press. Respectable but I thought he would do 40ish.

• A couple of USF Bulls are at the combine, Taurus Johnson is a WR that lifted 18 reps, and ran a 4.47. Tyrone McKenzie, remains one of my top prospects, and he lifted 27 reps and will run tomorrow.

I won't go into how bad the weather here is affecting my viewing of the Combine, but at times it feels like I'm watching a Tetris competition. I think I need a bigger Satellite dish.

I missed the first group of WRs altogether since the NFL Network only showed that group once and the replayed the next group 6 times today. From now on I will try to watch it online instead, though it will be tricky on Monday morning explaining to my boss that 'it'll have to wait cuz I'm watching the broad jump!'

Bottom line, my take is, I like Britt, and Heyward-Bey and Maclin actually looked bigger and stronger than I expected. I wish I could've seen their full workouts but NFL Network is obsessed with the 40 and only replayed that portion.

The best part of the day was when they showed Beanie Wells' broad jump. I think at one point the guy jumped clear off the screen but one of his nose hairs fell out onto the ground and they made him re-jump.

Saturday Combine Summary

• The Dolphins are VERY interested in Percy Harvin. They have already talked to him TWICE and have a full meeting set up for tomorrow. Guess I'll have to do a profile on him now.
  

• The Dolphins hired an assistant special teams coach by the name of Darren Rizzi. I feel bad for him, having to work side by side with coach Bono, the fried eggs and bacon advocate.

• Jason Smith, the tackle from Baylor, looks like an absolute beast. But if he's so good, then how come his team is SOOOOO bad?

• LSU,s giant guard, Herman Johnson shaved off his afro, and that may have accounted for the entire 19 lbs he's lost since the Senior Bowl.

• With Alex Mack not working out, and Max Unger looking average, and Johnathan Luigs looking like a guy off the street, Louisville's Eric Wood was the best looking Center at the Combine. Well, not 'best looking' with his brillo ginger hair, but you know what I mean.

• Jamie Dukes is officially an idiot.

• North Carolina's wide-out, Brooks Foster set an NFL Combine record. His 27 reps of the becnh press were the most ever by a wide receiver.

• Kenny Britt's 23 reps were the 3rd most ever by a wide-out.

• Andre Smith is an idiot. His agent is lying to cover for him. First he has constant weight issues, then he gets suspended for the final bowl game of his college career, then he chooses not to participate in the Senior Bowl, then he doesn't hire an agent til a couple of weeks before the combine, then he doesn't bother to work out in preparation for the combine, then he doesn't lie about why he's not working out, essentially calling himself lazy in front of all of the NFL, then he pisses off home and gets his agent to lie for him. This guy should no longer be a first rounder. He has BUST written all over him.
• Oh, and someone named Crabtree is done for the combine with a stress fracture. He will work out at his pro-day then have surgery.