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.

[Direckshun]

Sam visibly getting along with the other players.

Is the NFL ready for teh gays? el oh el

[Direckshun]

Originally Posted by Pestilence

Powe is ****ing nothing right now. God damn....dude was a 6th round pick who hasn't shown jack ****ing shit and we're all of a sudden supposed to pass on talent.

Why draft a WR? We have Jenkins and Hemmingway. See how stupid it sounds?

Wrong.

Powe has played very well in his limited snaps.

[The Franchise]

Sweet....Tuitt is coming up in an interview. Very likeable guy.

[Direckshun]

Joe Marino ‏@TheJoeMarino · 56s
Will Sutton ran 5.37. Not good.

Eesh.

[Direckshun]

Originally Posted by Pestilence

Sweet....Tuitt is coming up in an interview. Very likeable guy.

I love the personalities in the DL this year. Dee Ford, Michael Sam, Louis Nix, etc... very few "dumber than a box of rocks" guys.

[The Franchise]

Originally Posted by Direckshun

Wrong.

Powe has played very well in his limited snaps.

So great that he's been cut and brought back....and cut and brought back. He apparently has played so well that he gets very limited snaps. I could be wrong....but passing on BPA because you're counting on a 6th round pick from the last regime is ****ing stupid.

[Exoter175]

Originally Posted by Pestilence

Powe is ****ing nothing right now. God damn....dude was a 6th round pick who hasn't shown jack ****ing shit and we're all of a sudden supposed to pass on talent.

Why draft a WR? We have Jenkins and Hemmingway. See how stupid it sounds?

I loooooooove Hemmingway, or "the author" as I call him. Loved him in college, love him in the NFL, and I'm hoping we get him more involved this year. I'm not sold on Jenkins, but at the same time, I think he still has an outside shot at turning his career around with us.

But god, if we could get a legit slot receiver into this bitch, assuming Hemmingway/Jenkins could become a stable #2, we'd be right as rain.

[The Franchise]

And guess what? If you draft Nix....we still have Powe. You move Poe to DE where he would dominate. Poe - Nix - Devito. You put Poe and Nix on the inside in Nickle and Dime.

[Direckshun]

Originally Posted by Pestilence

So great that he's been cut and brought back....and cut and brought back. He apparently has played so well that he gets very limited snaps. I could be wrong....but passing on BPA because you're counting on a 6th round pick from the last regime is ****ing stupid.

I'm not advocating that. I'm just defending Powe's play.

He's flashed every single time he's been on the field. The coaching staff must just simply hate dealing with his learning disability -- not even kidding about that.

[Direckshun]

Originally Posted by Pestilence

And guess what? If you draft Nix....we still have Powe. You move Poe to DE where he would dominate. Poe - Nix - Devito. You put Poe and Nix on the inside in Nickle and Dime.

Boom.

You want beef? We got beef.

[Direckshun]

Kelcy Quarles and George Uko ran 4.9s.

Similar times for similar players.

[The Franchise]

And I'm not advocating drafting another defensive linemen in the 1st round. Yes I know I have a Tuitt avatar. But if Nix is there at 23....and other WRs, TEs or safeties are gone....you can't pass on Nix.

[Direckshun]

I can't get over that Clowney time.

4.47. Holy christ.

[Direckshun]

Originally Posted by Pestilence

And I'm not advocating drafting another defensive linemen in the 1st round. Yes I know I have a Tuitt avatar. But if Nix is there at 23....and other WRs, TEs or safeties are gone....you can't pass on Nix.

I am advocating that, actually.

I'd take Hageman over any WR or TE on the board, if he was still around.

[The Franchise]

Originally Posted by Direckshun

I can't get over that Clowney time.

4.47. Holy christ.

Honestly? I'm more blown away by Donald's time. Everyone knew Clowney was going to run fast. Dude is a sick athlete. Donald though? I never would have expected that.