The Combine's Here, Bitch!

[Direckshun]

http://www.arrowheadpride.com/2014/2...-list-workouts

2014 NFL Combine schedule: TV channel, online streaming, invite list, workouts and more
By Matt Conner
on Feb 20 2014, 10:12a

he road to the NFL Draft is longer in 2014 than any other offseason given the league's decision to push it back a few weeks to May 8-10. For the next three months, draftniks will circle around prospects like hawks, analyzing their every move and weighing the pros and cons of each player.

The process starts en masse this week with the start of the 2014 NFL Combine in Indianapolis. If you love the Draft, then this is a big week for you.

For those who are new to the NFL Combine, it's a seven-day event broken up into four-day shifts for each position group (quarterbacks to punters). Each group comes to Indy for four days to meet with representatives from each NFL team for medical assessments, interviews and a number of workouts. It's termed the Underwear Olympics for that reason, as teams fall in and out of love with prospects based on 40-yard dash times and vertical leaps.

The quick guide to the Combine

• NFL Network will televise; NFL.com will stream
• Andy Reid (Thursday, 2:15 p.m.) and John Dorsey (Friday, 12:15 p.m.) will speak to the media (full schedule here)
• Workouts take place Saturday-Tuesday
• Here are the players invited

Now that you have the basics, let's dive into a little more what's going down this week in Indianapolis.

The Combine workout schedule

Here are the days the actual workouts for each position group:

Saturday, Feb. 22: Tight Ends, Offensive Linemen, Special Teams

Sunday, Feb.23: Quarterbacks, Running Backs, Wide Receivers

Monday, Feb. 24: Defensive Line, Linebackers

Tuesday, Feb. 25: Defensive Backs

There are four groups of players arriving as shown above. Each group has four days of events.

Day 1: Travel to Indianapolis* ~ Registration ~ Hospital Pre-Exam & X-rays ~ Orientation ~ Interviews

Day 2: Measurements ~ Medical Examinations ~ Media ~ Interviews

Day 3: NFLPA Meeting ~ Psychological Testing ~ PK/ST Workout ~ Bench Press ~ Interviews

Day 4: On-Field Workout (timing, stations, skill drills) ~ Departure from Indianapolis

With the first arrivals coming on Wednesday, that puts the first day of workouts on Saturday.

The players invited

Every top college football player will likely be in attendance in Indianapolis, even if some of the top athletes won't participate in the workouts. The NFL invited over 300 players to attend. Teddy Bridgewater to Jadeveon Clowney, your favorite college players will likely be there.

Who is eligible to be invited to the Combine? Basically, seniors without college eligibility left and those who have declared early.

And how are players selected to the Combine? Read this:

Participants are determined annually by a Selection Committee. The Directors of both National and BLESTO scouting services, which combined represent twenty-five NFL teams, are joined by members of various NFL player personnel departments to form the committee. The participating NFL executives can rotate on a yearly basis, and remain anonymous. ALL eligible players are reviewed and voted on by the committee members. Each athlete receiving the necessary number of votes, by position, is then extended an invitation. While it is not a perfect science, the goal of the committee is to invite every player that will be drafted in the ensuing NFL Draft.

You can find the full list of players expected to attend at the bottom of this post. While the list is comprehensive, there are a few players every year who are drafted but didn't get invited to the Combine.

The workouts

The most important one is not a workout -- it's the interview. Teams will have the opportunity to interview players where they'll get about 15 minutes with them. With so little time, the questions have to be precise and all have a purpose.

The second most important item there is getting the medical check-up -- essentially confirming that the player is healthy or checking out previous injuries. Team doctors will want this information so the GMs and coaches can make an informed decision.

Some of the other workouts, via Big Blue View:

40-yard dash: Measures straight line speed over a distance. Not very important for non-skill position players, but coming from the 40-yard dash is the "10-yard split." That is the time it takes to travel the first 10 yards of the event and gives a measurement as to the player's explosion and first step. Very important for defensive and offensive linemen. Dontari Poe had a 10-yard split of 1.7 at 330 pounds, which is decent for a linebacker.Bruce Irvin at 235 pounds had a 10-yard split of 1.57, which is a good number for a defensive back. Both help push those players into the middle of the first round.

Bench press: Fairly simple, it measures upper body strength. Moreso it shows if you have stayed in good condition over the offseason. Poor numbers here possibly indicate not working hard enough.

Vertical and Broad jump: Another measurement of explosion and lower body strength. Also important for wide receivers and defensive backs to show off their leaping ability.

3-cone drill: Essentially a change of direction drill. Most important for skill position players. Shows off lateral agility and ability to accelerate out of a turn. One of the drills that translates best on the field. A good score in the 3 cone is often a marker for a high draft pick.

20/60-yard shuttles: Shows the ability to come to a complete stop and accelerate. Obviously important for any position and a good score here is indicative of explosion and body control. As you can see, explosion is a big factor here and one that the NFL is keen to see.

Position-specific drills: Each position has specific drills that test for many different attributes. Change of direction and hip swing for defensive backs, hands skills for wide receivers during the "gauntlet," kick slide drills for the offensive linemen, power for the defensive linemen in hitting bag drills and accuracy for quarterbacks in throwing drills.

How do I watch the Combine?

NFL Network will televise some of it.

NFL.com will stream the action.

KCChiefs.com will have full video of Andy Reid and John Dorsey's press conferences but will not stream them live.

[OldSchool]

Originally Posted by planetdoc

me too.



agree, though I dont think he played quite as well as a chiefs. I dont recall his run defense as being very good. With his size I would love to have paired him up with Poe in the chiefs 2 down lineman defenses (with Hali and Houston rushing).



Catapano is 6'3.7' with 33.75'' arms, while Clarke is 6'6'' with 34.6'' arms. Catapano had 19 sacks in college while Clark had 9.5. Clarke maybe bigger, but Catapano is likely the better pass rusher (though against a lower level of competition) and the better athlete.

Have you watched Clarke play?

[Mother****erJones]

My first and third picks I want to see a playmaking WR, TE, pass rusher, safety

[OldSchool]

Originally Posted by Mother****erJones

My first and third picks I want to see a playmaking WR, TE, pass rusher, safety

I really hope we manage to re-sign Abdullah or go after a better FS in FA vs drafting one high this year and also sign a veteran 3-4 DE in FA (Carricker, Frostee Rucker, Patoitua). The OL, WR, and CB groups are too strong to pass up on in the first 3-4 rounds, we have to take Attaochu if he is there at our 3rd round pick as well.

[ForeverChiefs58]

Originally Posted by Direckshun

(a.) Assuming the following players are off the board:

QB Teddy Bridgewater, Louisville
QB Blake Bortles, UCF
QB Johnny Manziel. Texas A&M
QB Derek Carr, Fresno State
WR Sammy Watkins, Clemson
WR Mike Evans, Texas A&M
TE Eric Ebron, North Carolina
OT Jake Matthews, Texas A&M
OT Greg Robinson, Auburn
OT Tyler Lewan, Michigan
DT/DE Ra'Shede Hageman, Minnesota
DE Jadeveon Clowney, South Carolina
DE Kony Ealy, Missouri
OLB Khalil Mack,Buffalo
OLB Anthony Barr,UCLA
CB Darqueze Dennard, Michigan State
S HaHa Clinton-Dix, Alabama

(b.) And assuming no game-changing FAs are added, and of the departing FAs, we only retain Schwartz.

Here's a comprehensive list right now of who I'd take at 23, in order, as of now:

1. WR Odell Beckham, Jr., LSU -- fantastic playmaker, great YAC guy
2. TE Jace Amaro, Texas Tech -- peerless route-runner at the TE position
3. WR Brandin Cooks, Oregon State -- outstanding speed and athleticism, will stretch defenses
4. TE Austin Seferian-Jenkins, Washington -- project w/ huge size to be elite in future seasons
5. DE Stephon Tuitt, Notre Dame -- project with elite athleticism at 3-4 DE position
6. OLB Dee Ford, Auburn -- undersized, but with elite passrushing potential
7. S Calvin Pryor, Louisville -- will need work in coverage, but great at eating up space
8. NT Louis Nix, Notre Dame -- if Poe to DE is a serious option, and Nix lasts, this is worth considering
9. WR Allen Robinson, Penn State -- potential to be a really good #2 at the next level
10. OLB Trent Murphy, Stanford -- great passrusher, less than ideal athleticism
11. CB Justin Gilbert, Oklahoma State -- not a great fit for our D, but he can still win me over
12. WR Marquise Lee, USC -- on the verge of removing him from my 1st round board altogether

I would want whoever would help the chiefs pass defense the best

[OldSchool]

Kyle Fuller might sneak past Dennard. A team will take Justin Gilbert ahead of Dennard as well. Which means Dennard might be there for us.

[Exoter175]

Originally Posted by Direckshun

(a.) Assuming the following players are off the board:

QB Teddy Bridgewater, Louisville
QB Blake Bortles, UCF
QB Johnny Manziel. Texas A&M
QB Derek Carr, Fresno State
WR Sammy Watkins, Clemson
WR Mike Evans, Texas A&M
TE Eric Ebron, North Carolina
OT Jake Matthews, Texas A&M
OT Greg Robinson, Auburn
OT Tyler Lewan, Michigan
DT/DE Ra'Shede Hageman, Minnesota
DE Jadeveon Clowney, South Carolina
DE Kony Ealy, Missouri
OLB Khalil Mack,Buffalo
OLB Anthony Barr,UCLA
CB Darqueze Dennard, Michigan State
S HaHa Clinton-Dix, Alabama

(b.) And assuming no game-changing FAs are added, and of the departing FAs, we only retain Schwartz.

Here's a comprehensive list right now of who I'd take at 23, in order, as of now:

1. WR Odell Beckham, Jr., LSU -- fantastic playmaker, great YAC guy
3. WR Brandin Cooks, Oregon State -- outstanding speed and athleticism, will stretch defenses

Assuming all of the above, I narrowed your list down.

However, I noticed you only had like 17 players "off" the board, are we assuming C.J. Mosley is taken as well? Because if not C.J. Mosley is without a doubt the absolute best pick we can make right there in our position. With how deep this WR class is, and how limited ILB's are, assuming the above with no serious acquisitions to the ILB spot, you have to take Mosley.

Don't get me wrong, I was completely wowed by the two of these receivers in your list yesterday, and I'd probably go as far to say that I'd take Beckham over Cooks hands down at this point, just seemed a bit more polished yesterday and I can see him fitting this offense well.

But, if I'm looking forward for us, especially down the stretch last season, a big problem with our defense was stopping the run and getting burned in the secondary. Once we lost our outside rushers, it was game over. And while the argument could be made to draft a DE/OLB here as well, especially with our glaring need for depth, I think the bigger issue right now was our lack of a solid #2 ILB in this defense. It felt like we really had to lean on Berry to come into the box to get shit done last year, which really left the rest of the secondary hung out to dry down the stretch last year, especially without our edge rushers.

If I'm in the hot seat and I've got the option between the two, I'd have to coin toss this one, but I'd lean towards the safer, smarter pick with Mosley, and then bank on this DEEP WR draft with our 3rd round pick to get a guy like Robinson, who I feel is going to drop considerably after this combine. Could be wrong there, but I have ZERO concern that we'll get some solid receivers in this draft. I'm not sure where you rank a guy like Josh Brown, but what I saw from him yesterday, I'd have zero problems snagging him as early as the 4th round, possibly even with our 3rd rounder if we snagged Mosley, depending on the WR availability there. I feel like Brown could really play a solid slot position/returner here in KC. Especially so if McCluster leaves, I feel like that plays a better judgement in a few months towards what we "will" do.

For reference, I know Josh Brown's draft profile says he's a "priority free agent" on nfl.com and nobody had him ranked very high anywhere prior to the combine, but I feel like he's made a mark and name for himself and launched himself into being drafted. Further, I feel like his draft position will likely be in the 5-7 round range, but could jump up a bit for a team that is needy for a slot receiver and/or returner, IE KC. I'd like to hold off as long as we could on a guy like that to get insane value from the draft pick, but I'd be perfectly content reaching a bit on him if I'm pretty confident he's a solid fit. Only time will tell though.

[jonzie04]

aaron Donald unofficial 4.65. holy ****ing shit that's fast for a dt.

[planetdoc]

Originally Posted by OldSchool

Have you watched Clarke play?

thankfully draft breakdown has about 4 games of his. ~80 snaps ~1hr of video.
draftbreakdown.com/players/will-clarke/

still think catapano is the better rusher and athlete.

[UK_Chief]

Originally Posted by Mother****erJones

My first and third picks I want to see a playmaking WR, TE, pass rusher, safety

Four players from two picks would be awesome! Conjoined twins perhaps?

[Direckshun]

Originally Posted by jonzie04

aaron Donald unofficial 4.65. holy ****ing shit that's fast for a dt.

Want.

Need to add him to my 1st pick wishlist.

Scott Wright ‏@DraftCountdown · 1m
Know what I love about Pittsburgh DT Aaron Donald? He's earning it every step of the way. Terrific senior season, Senior Bowl and Combine.

[Direckshun]

So... if Jadaveon Clowney fell to our pick, would you guys take him?

[Direckshun]

According to the scroll, Dee Ford declared himself better than Clowney on Sirius NFL Radio.

Ford was a medical scratch from the Combine. Rumor is that it was a herniated disc he suffered in 2011...

[Direckshun]

Joe Marino ‏@TheJoeMarino · 3m
Aaron Donald/Will Clarke both displaying superb change of direction ability initially in drills.

Will Clark would be an excellent midrounder for DE.

[Direckshun]

I am dying to see the 3 cone. This is like the ONE drill that actually measures something that translates to an NFL football field.

Edit:

Josh Norris ‏@JoshNorris · 6m
So no 3-cone for Clowney, per Akbar.

[Exoter175]

Originally Posted by Direckshun

I am dying to see the 3 cone. This is like the ONE drill that actually measures something that translates to an NFL football field.

Edit:

Josh Norris ‏@JoshNorris · 6m
So no 3-cone for Clowney, per Akbar.

They were just talking about that on NFL Network, I'm not super excited about him skipping that. Bench reps are cute, 40 times are fun, but its the actual drills that matter.