QUOTE: “When I examine myself and my methods of thought, I come to the conclusion that the gift of fantasy has meant more to me than my talent for absorbing positive knowledge.” -- Albert Einstein
INDIANAPOLIS -- With workouts in full force, there are many observations I have from the NFL Combine…
This is a good year to get a running back since the draft class features backs of all types. C.J. Spiller of Clemson and Jahvid Best of California showed the same explosive speed here that they demonstrate on the football field. Both are explosive players, both are versatile and both can impact a game with big plays. Dexter McCluster, the smallish runner/receiver from Mississippi, did not have great speed times, but his play on the field is explosive regardless of his 4.55 time in the 40.
The draft also features many power backs, led by Ryan Mathews of Fresno, Montario Hardesty of Tennessee and Toby Gerhart of Stanford. Jonathan Dwyer of Georgia Tech did not have a great day, and because of the offensive style at Georgia Tech, it’s hard to accurately evaluate his talent level. Dwyer will need to have a good workout on campus to help his draft stock.
Quarterback John Skelton of Fordham has great size, a great arm and is an interesting prospect. I expect many NFL quarterbacks coaches to visit the Bronx to spend time with him.
Quarterback Tony Pike of Cincinnati might have great size, but he doesn’t throw the ball with great velocity or power. Right now, he doesn’t look to be a potential starter in the league.
Texas’ Colt McCoy might be throwing at an almost 70-percent completion percentage, but how many of those throws are on bubble screens?
Wideout Mardy Gilyard of Cincinnati didn’t run as fast as I thought he would, nor did he catch the ball well in the workouts. He has some work to do this offseason.
Another wideout, Jacoby Ford of Clemson, is really fast and showed marked improvement from the first day of the Senior Bowl to the last, but he still has a long way to go before he can make an impact in pro football.
There’s depth in the offensive line area of the draft, and I suspect many teams will be picking lineman in the early rounds. The best part of being in an uncapped year is that if teams pick a lineman, they own his rights for six years. Rodger Saffold of Indiana will be moving up the charts.
Many NFL special teams coaches were complaining about the quality of kickers and punters invited to the combine. There weren’t many pro prospects kicking.
Free agent chatter
Even though the Cardinals will release Antrel Rolle if they can’t extend his contract before his $4-million roster bonus, the word I’m hearing is that they’ll be the favorite to re-sign him. They don’t want to lose him.
I expect the restricted market to be more active than the free-agent market. The talent of the free-agent pool lies with the restricted players, not the unrestricted free agents.
Follow me on Twitter: michaelombardi
For a look at how West Virginia QB Jarrett Brown is measuring up at the combine, check out this article from Bleacher Report.
Pike is going to be, far and away, the best Quarterback in this class. Mark it down that I said so.
I'm watching the combine right now and this Angerer out of Iowa looks to be a solid prospect based on his workout but there's so much more to evaluate. Jason Beauchamp of Nevada-Las Vegas has barely run the 40-yard dash and it appeared Gerald McCoy conducted himself well with the NFLN brass as a well-spoken young man. Of course, right now this is entertaining to watch but I realize I have no answers in any of these matters. Keep up the good work Lombardi and I'll try to make heads or tails of this combine business. It's been all linebackers and defensive linemen thus far Friday.
Listening to the guys on NFL Radio theyall were in complete agreement with Lombardi re Pike and Skelton. Pat Kirwan, Jim Miller etc. Have to value their's (and Mike's) opinion over Clayton's any day.
Well, Clayton is not a scout or a front office man. He's a TV personality. I would trust a former GM like Lombardi far more than Clayton.
Clayton knows his share of NFL people, especially in the AFC North and in particular Pittsburgh. His word on Pike may be from someone in that range of PR.
Was disappointing to see Pike weigh in a little lighter than his initial weight claims made. You need that to drive through a throw.
Getting on top of a pass isn't bad, unless the pass nose dives. Bill Walsh said that would be an issue of improper weight transfer to the front foot, likely the result of not putting enough weight there, so the throw tails downward.
I love Clayton, but he IS more of an NFL guy that reports on what's already there in the pros. I'd agree with Mr. Murder on this one. Clayton is probably hearing this from a third-party source. Mike Lombardi is in his element at the Combine and I value his opinion on this a little more. That's not to dis Clayton, but ESPN should stick with Kiper or McShay for the college kids.
Anyway, Mike already made my off-season as a Chiefs fan when he broke out the sly grin and joked on air that he would guess the Raiders will draft Bruce Campbell strictly on his Combine numbers. I hope you're right, Mike!
why do 40 times for any of these guys matterr? really...when will any of these guys ever have to run 40 yards in a straight line during a game? is Dwyer now a bad RB because he's .2 seconds slower than a few track stars? I would think the face-to-face meetings would be the most important part of the combine in terms of evaluation rather than random athletic tests that don't measure football ability. Anybody remember Peyton Manning's 40 time? Or what about Adrian Peterson's vertical (by the way, he actually tied with the illustrious Chris Henry)? Between the ears measures the true separation in these athletes...just a matter of trying to figure out who has, well, figured it out. Easier said than done.
I think CJ Spiller is the best talent in the draft. I would not pass him up at all. He has to be one of the fastest players in the draft. He has tons of talent.
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Mar 01, 2010
12:33 PM
It's interesting. ESPN's John Clayton reported that Tony Pike "has a tight overhand delivery in which the ball zips from the right of his ear and moves with velocity," and speaks of John Skelton as an afterthought comparable to Thaddeus Lewis and Riley Skinner. Lombardi says in this article that Pike doesn't throw the ball with velocity or power and that Skelton is an interesting prospect attracting attention. I guess this is why the draft is so unpredictable. The exact same actions of the same players are analyzed in completely different ways by two supposed NFL "experts". Hmm.