How important is the Combine?

The NFL combine is just a few days away from getting underway. This is a time where Coaches,GM'S and Owners have a chance to see the top 320 NFL prospects under one roof. Although there is a select group of prospects every year that opt not to do the on-field drills whether it's due to prior injuries or because the prospect's might not want to hurt there draft stock. But at the combine running 40's,lifting, getting poked and prodded isn't the most important part of the process. These prospect's have three plus years of game film that every team will break down over the next month and a half. But the main thing these Coaches, GM's and Owners want is to interview the athletes face to face to see first hand and gauge what he is or isn't all about. They also want to see each players medical records and see if everything checks out physically and mentally.
In the 1998 draft the Indianapolis Colts drafted a guy by the name of Peyton Manning (some of you may have heard of him) anyway, that choice wasn't easy at the time, as hindsight might have made it seem. Colts president Bill Polian had a tough decision to make with the number 1 overall selection in a "hype" heavy '98 draft at the quarterback position. "Ryan Leaf or Peyton Manning, Ryan or Peyton?" this was a question that came down to the eleventh hour in the colts war room the night before the draft. The colts honestly didn't know who to pick, both players in college had accolades for days and physical tools that were pretty much a wash. So what did it come down to for Bill Polian and the Colts to select a future Hall of Famer over the NFL's biggest bust of all time? It was the interview process. Both quarterbacks were asked "If we make you the first overall pick in the draft,what's the first thing you're going to do?" Manning replied he would immediately ask for the Colts playbook so he can learn the offense as fast as he could and that he would do everything in his power to start as soon as possible. Leaf on the other hand said "Oh man. If I'm the number one pick, the first thing I'm gonna do is call up my buddies and we are going to Vegas".If that wasn't as a sign,then I don't know what is. These are the types of answers "Big wigs" in each organization use to evaluate the prospects, along with the film compiled over the course of a career and combine evaluations. Over the next month we will hear a lot about the NFL Draft stock market, many stocks will rise and many will plummet, it will be very interesting to see if teams are buying, what these players are selling.

Jus' give him the dam ball

Don't Scoff at a 4 yard gain. Three of them, get a first down and keep the chains moving. But scoring touchdowns at that rate requires long drives and keeps the clock spinning which isnt a bad thing but those types of drives are practically obsolete in this day and age. Why? Because there are so many explosive and dynamic players that can make explosive plays from anywhere on the field. Whether its a screen pass, quick slant , deep bomb, quick pitch out of the backfield or a return in the kicking game, there's many big plays to be made throughout the course of 60 minutes. Here is my Top 10 most Dynamic players with the ball in there hands in the NFL ( DON'T MISCONSTRUED best with the ball in there hands with best players in the league).....

1. Chris Johnson Tennessee Titans RB
2. DeSean Jackson Philadelphia Eagles WR/PR
3. Joshua Cribbs Cleveland Browns WR/PR/KR
4. Devin Hester Chicago Bears WR/PR
5. William Percival Harvin Minnesota Vikings WR/KR
6. Steve Smith Carolina Panthers WR
7. Felix Jones Dallas Cowboys RB/KR
8. Darren Sproles San Diego Chargers RB/PR
9. Reggie Bush New Orleans Saints RB/PR
10. Maurice Jones-Drew Jacksonville Jaguars RB
    

"Party Like its 1999"

The comparison was flung around liberally at the time, but the quarterback draft of 1983, this was not. It looked like it could be, or at least for a little while. When the first 3 players selected and five of the top 12 were QB's. But unlike the '83 first round which produced three Hall of Famers (John Elway, Jim Kelly and Dan marino) two were solid, serviceable performers (Tony Eason and Ken O'Brien) and really the only bust was the number 7 overall ( Todd Blackledge), on the other hand the 1999 draft had more whiffs than hits.

Tim Couch, Akili Smith and Cade McNown were all flat out garbage, and Daunte Culpepper didn't win much but he put up some pretty gaudy numbers until that knee injury suffered in Carolina. But only Donovan Mcnabb could legitimately be called a franchise QB.

The saints thought they had their cornerstone when they traded their six '99 draft picks and a couple of '00 selections to the skins for a chance to take the 1998 "HE-IS-MAN" award winner Ricky Williams, whom the colts had wisely passed up for Edgerrin James(hind sight is 20/20). That was alot to give up for one guys, and the return on New Orleans investment could be measured more in publicity stunts than in production.

But not every teams draft went up in flames. The ''99 draft produced one of the decades best WR ( Torry Holt) and top cornerback (Champ Bailey) along with (Donovan McNabb and Edgerrin James) oh yeah and "THE FREAK"...here is a look at some of '99 draft notables.

1.Cleveland - Tim Couch QB Kentucky
2. Philly- Donovan McNabb QB Syracuse
3. Cincinnati- Akili Smith QB Oregon
4. Indy- Edgerrin James RB Miami
5. New Orleans- Ricky Williams RB Texas
6. St. Louis- Torry Holt WR NC State
7. Washington- Champ Bailey CB Georgia
8. Arizona- David Boston WR Ohio State
10. Baltimore- Chris McAlister CB Arizona
11. Minnesota- Daunte Culpepper QB UCF
12. Chicago- Cade McNown QB UCLA
15. Tampa Bay- Anthony McFarland DT LSU
16.Tennessee- Jevon Kearse DE Florida
23. Buffalo- Antoine Winfield CB Ohio State
30. Atlanta- Patrick Kerney DE Virginia
31. Denver- Al Wilson MLB Tennessee
....................other '99 best sleepers Donald Driver 7th rd, Joey Porter 3rd rd, Desmond Clark 6th rd, Aaron Smith 4th rd

Is 30 the new 40?

On average an NFL players career is about 3 season. Imagine being a premiere running back in that league for 8 years to a decade none the less. Where 300 lbs defensive lineman who can run sub 4.6 40 yard-dashes and bench press 400 lbs consistently, teeing off for 20 to 25 times every Sunday. There is not enough icy hot, cold tubs and treatment in the world to be able to withstand that sort of punishment week in and week out. A thousand yards rushing for a season usually constitutes as a pretty successful season for a running back. For a premiere back 1200 yards usually is the 'X' that marks the spot for a successful season. But once he hits "30" years old anything more than thousand is money in the bank for Hall of Fame voters to mull over once it comes time to get into the hall of fame, IF he is lucky enough to even be considered for that honor. Over the past decade their has been a few premiere backs and possible future Hall of Famers to hit that proverbial bold brick ''30'' wall.

• Shaun Alexander rushed for 1435 yards and 14 TD's in 2004, in 2005 the year Seattle went to the super bowl he had his best season of his career and arguably one of best season ever for a running back with 1880 yards rushing 28 total TD's a 5.1 average in a super bowl run....the very next season he had 896 rushing yards and 7 TD's, over half of his production depleted and eroded skills in a matter of 7 months.



• Edgerrin James turned 30 in 2008 he rushed for 514 yards and had 4 TD's with a 3.9 average per attempt...in 2005 he rushed for 1506 yards with 13 TD's, in 2006 he had 1159 yards rushing and 6 TD's and in 2007 he had 1222 yards and 7 TD's, many may say it was the system he played under in Arizona but let's not forget he produced like a hall of famer in Indy.



• 
  
  LaDainian Tomlinson has had 7 straight season over 1000 yards averaging 1466 per season with 141 total TD's with a touchdown average of 17.75...in 2009 when LT hit the 30 year mark he had only 730 yards and 12 TD's. I think its safe say he isn't setting any D coordinators hair on fire when trying to game plan to stop him anymore.

When I was a kid, I would always ask my dad how old he was? And he would tell me his age and I would say "man, dad your getting old" and he would reply '' No I'm not getting old, I'm getting better". That saying might be the case for the average being, but in the world of an NFL running back, getting better after 30 is rare to nearly impossible. When I look at the numbers/production of these running backs in the NFL, their is one common number that they all share "30"...Age is one defender these guys can not juke or truck over in the open field...AP, Chris Johnson and Mo Jo D time is tickin'....tick tock, tick tock.

Opening Kickoff

welcome all football fans to "Cover 1 Football Talk". This is a spot where you can come read and react to my point of views, insight and opinions on all things football. Everything from the classroom to canton... 70% of the gridiron is covered by grass and the rest is covered by yours truly.