Combine Steamers

So after a weekend up in Scotland with the folks the first thing on my agenda for this Monday evening was to review some key combine action.

A couple I really like so far…

Jameis Winston, wow this guy comes across well. Good intelligence, feet & arm. Appears to have a nice degree of confidence and says all the right things, a real football IQ apparently, with the build to take a hit. I have to say that until now I was mariota guy… not anymore. In a couple of seasons we might be seeing this guy go in the 1st round of our fantasy draft. He had interception problems in college which I’m going to take as “over self belief” which NFL coaches will channel into better decision making.

Danny Shelton, really impressive run stopper. Also very intelligent (by all accounts actually taught a class at college). Comes across as very mature and professional (possibly due to the loss of his brother a couple of years ago). Strikes me as somebody that will go early in the 1st and could become one of the great lineman in the game. Would like to see him go to the saints (if they don’t go the OL route), if not them then a bold move in the 1st by the colts would be exciting, they certainly need something of his makeup.

Still reviewing some of the action, anybody else been watching?

Have only been watching a few bits but so far it’s been interesting, Feel much better over the Bucs possibly (probably?) taking Winston at #1 overall after how he’s done this weekend.

Yeh I agree, I think the Bucs are a perfect fit for Winston now that I have seen doing drills and interviews.

Byron Jones is another guy making the most of the combine. A CB out of Ucon, a team captain no less. His broad jump and high jump were both freakish however he did not run the 40. The problem here is that generally speaking his form on the field does not reflect his athletic ability. That said he did make a couple of picks in successive games this season, one went for a TD. That was just before he injured his shoulder which put an end to his collegiate career. This guys athletic ability puts him in the 1st round of a draft that is not overwhelmingly deep at CB yet his on field prowess has him as a 3rd to 5th rounder. The big question must be… Does this guy have ball tracking liabilities or suffer from low awareness or was he just finding his feet prior to his injury. If it’s the former/s then he lacks the top skills a CB requires but if the latter applies then he really could be a beast down the line!!

One has to remember the combine only highlights specific areas of athletic ability and has little to do with football ability. Good performances in the “tests” at the combine have hoodwinked teams since the 80’s. Motor, dedication and drive are not tested. The interview sessions are a joke, usually trying to pinpoint personality flaws. Investing a draft pick in someone should involve more than combine performance.

Absolutely, people such as Mayock suggest that a draft profile is made up of about 85% tape and approx 15% combine. While a player may run fast in a straight line it does NOT mean that they “play quick” for example. A scout will have been monitoring collegiate careers leading up to this point and will know based on game play who they rate and where, the combine however helps to solidify or weaken a players draft profile and as a result will move players up or down the draft boards of all 32 franchises.

A small but simple example of this IMO is Amari Cooper & Kevin White, most had the former listed as the best WR going into the combine however White performed so well that he probably has the edge now and that will mean a better pay day for the latter come this summer.

Additionally, the combine is a great opportunity for lesser known players (whether that may be due to small school syndrome, off field issues or injury problems. It provides the chance to stand out in comparison to pre draft profiles and to show “potential” where it may not have been seen before.

A classic example of this would be Ali Marpet, an OL from a Div3 school who had a decent senior bowl before proving that he was the most athletic in his class at the combine. He moved up draft boards considerably based on the combine alone.

At the end of the day, anything that affects who picks who in the draft has a huge effect on future success for all 32 teams so yes I agree totally that its just the combine and later this spring it will just be the pro day and on their own they mean little but in the context of franchises building there draft boards for April 30th it has an effect for sure.

Also, I have to say… I just love the off season. Am I alone in that? I really get into the scouting news, the cuts, the free agency moves, the franchise tags, the salary cap issues not to mention the movement of managers and co-ordinators around the league. Its right up there with the actual football season for me.

I don’t get the hype for Winston - he was awful in the Rose Bowl, his fuckups became meme-legendary. Yeah he’s got a prototype build and can throw the ball pretty well, but his decision making is average, he’s done things that would put a Texans’ third string QB to shame, and quite possibly raped a girl. So yeah, I wouldn’t be too excited about drafting him.

Mariota on the other hand is a bit skinny (but 6’4"), fragile and reminds me a bit of Manziel (or a skinny Russell Wilson if you want to be positive). He’s got the brain though and probably just needs 1-2 years to bulk up. Probably the best QB in the draft if you don’t need to start him on year one.

You lot put me to shame only thing I really look at / watch off season is the draft and then the pre-season games of the Lions but that’s it!

Adam,

Yeh he is well known for his interception ratio and I agree that’s probably decision making but I think NFL coaches can turn that around. I think in year one we shall see Jameis play some good and bad football but given time to learn he could be particularly good. Also there are as many false rape claims as there are real these days so I take that as little to nothing.

My biased view is that it’s easy to bulk up a skinny athletic 6’4" quarterback in a year with an NFL training program, but getting someone to improve mentally and learn all the playbooks is much harder, something many players can’t manage in an entire career.

In football intelligence and real IQ terms, Mariota is basically NFL ready today. Winston seems to be lacking in both those areas. So Mariota has much better potential as his main limitations right now are easy to overcome physical issues.

Oh, and it’s not just the rape issue with Winston - he’s been arrested and slapped on the wrist numerous times for really stupid things like bringing a gun to his university campus and shooting squirrels, and multiple cases of shoplifting (dumb shit like stealing crabs and soda). People with half a brain don’t do that shit.

lol all fair points dude