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The Combine Matters.
By TOMMarch 9th, 2009 |
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The Combine matters. Every year player's draft positions and millions of dollars fluctuates up and down, and ever year I hear the same alleged sports guys complaining that the Combine is overrated or shouldn't matter. I just sit and marvel at the ignorance. They always pull out the same stupid arguments. What does running around in shorts have to do with football? The forty yard dash is overrated. I want to see football players playing football.
The Combine matters, because the forty yard dash matters. Speed kills on the football field, and in contract negotiations. It is Aaron Curry showing he has no competition, physically, at the Combine. He is the safest pick as far as athletic abilities and football skills on the field. The show he put on at he Combine, on the field, was as dominate as any I've seen. His feet, hips, and change of Direction skills for a 250 pound Linebacker is astounding. He solidified himself as my number one prospect at the Combine. I think he is the most NFL ready to physically step on the field and dominate.
But what really matters about the Combine is that for a lot of these coaches and GMs this is going to be the first and only time they see these kids live and in person. Are you going to tell me that's overrated? That is only the fifth most important aspect of the Combine. The work outs on the field make for good theatre, but it is the off the field stuff that makes the Combine important. It is the mental workouts these kids get from the decision makers in the NFL that matters. The constant assault of tests, medical examines, and interviews that test a man's soul; How does this guy, we are about to give a multi-million dollar contract to, how does he handle this mental and emotional assault? The all have a guy who tries to start a fight with the bad character guys in the interview. They all have a guy who gets a little to aggressive with the interviewee.
That is the forth most important question these GMs are looking at. How do the Kids deal nonstop meetings, interviews, and press conferences. Jason Smith handled this aspect better than any player at the Combine. He was the most mature and impressive player off the field at the Combine (And ended up as the Second pick in the draft). His handling of his press conference was masterful. His intelligence and maturity really shone through, and in my opinion he is the most NFL ready to deal with all the mental pressures these young men will have to deal with over the next ten months or so.
The most difficult aspect of being a Draftnic is that we are not privy to the most important aspects of drafting a kid, which is the individual interview. The individual interview is the third most important aspect of the Combine. Does he get along with the coach, GM, or president? A simple silly thing that we cannot quantify. Players have been drafted rounds higher and taken off board just because the coach really got alone with him (Deion Branch) or thought he was a "Con artist" (André Smith?).
A prime example of this is Mark Sanchez and Mathew Stafford.
Work ethic matters in football. What separates the great QBs from the
also-rans is film study. Which QB is going to spend half the night studying
film after he has been at the facility for ten hours working with other
players and coaches? Which QB has that ability to see the film of a defense
and understand what they are doing, and then translate that to the field on
Sunday? The ability to see it on film and then see it on the field during
the game. The great ones have that ability: Payton Manning, Tom Brady, and
Matt Cassel (that's right I said
Leadership matters in football. Look at Tom Brady, he never has a
disparaging word to say about anyone on the team. That matters. Look at Jay
Cutler, he has everything you want in a QB, except leadership. He's smart,
has a great arm, can read defenses, studies film, etc. However, he will
never be a great player until he learns to lead. I have heard him bashing
teammates and coaches behind their backs, to the media, multiple times.
Stabbing his teammates in the back in the worst possible way, to the media.
You simply cannot do that. Sanchez showed better charisma and leadership
skills at the Combine, by all accounts, then
I am trying to compare the unmeasurables, measured at the Combine, of
Sanchez and
The second most important aspect of the Combine is the medical. These guys have had the crap beat out of them for the four years or so, and their bodies are starting to show it. Each team does a medical examination on hundreds of players at the Combine. Do you have any idea how much it would cost for 32 teams to send 32 doctors to do examinations on hundreds of Prospects in dozens upon dozens of different cities, in hundreds of different medical facilities?
I'll bet it would cost 10 to 20 times as much as the entire Combine (which a tax deduction) costs, to send 32 doctors and medical staffs all around the country. Never mind, the amazingly impossible tasks of securing medical faculties in a hundred different cities. The number one reason why the Combine of ultimate importance, cost. It is the only time they can get everybody together in one place, and just prospects, but: League officials, team officials, owners, player reps, agents, head coaches, and the entire coaching staffs of every single team. And, don't forget, on top of everything you get as far as weights and measures at Indianapolis, the Combine is also a tax-deductible de facto NFL League Meetings, which is the sixth most important aspect of the Combine.
So Combine-haters when you pretend that nothing else goes on at the Combine other than weights and measures, you are just plain lying. I love how every year some idiot comes out and proclaims the Combine a waste of time, and then conveniently leaves out the five most important aspect of the Combine, six if you include the Combine as a de facto League Meeting. "Yeah, lets pretend that the six more important aspects of the Combine don't exist so I can pretend to sound smarter than everyone else!" (Please read voice inflection like your Bambi running through a pretty meadow;-) So if you think the Combine is a waste of time? I think you should proclaim your ignorance loud and proud! Like the moronic Matt Chatham. Can you believe the moron actually list the drills, and what they are trying to achieve as his absolute proof that the Combine doesn't matter;-) LOL. What a maroon! LOL. Matt, you should never let ignorance stand in the way of an opinion. Oh wait, you don't!
So when media guys say the Combine is overrated, they are lying or just plain ignorant. Just remind them that the Combine is not just a forty time. It is accurate heights and weights measurements, which is only the seventh most important aspect of the Combine. It is intelligent tests, psychological tests, and one giant mental stress test. It is the NFL’s purposely procured pressure-cooker. It is the only opportunity for every player to show their athleticism, in person, to every decision maker in the NFL, in a uniform way. It is the "chalkboard", personal interviews, and common sense tests. It is a constant assault on your mental toughness. It is how you will deal with being shoved in a strange place, surrounded by strange people, and being asked strange questions by the estranged media. It is money, agents, and power. It is an encapsulation of all the pressures player will be facing over the next ten months or so. And, most important of all, it is thousands of medical exams, with thousands upon thousands of medical tests, x-rays, MRI’s, blood test, urine samples, ultrasounds;-) etc.
If you have any questions or comments feel free to email me:
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