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]

Chris Smith is just packed.

[Direckshun]

Originally Posted by OldSchool

Reminds me of Cincy's Sanu.

Hmmm.

[Direckshun]

Sam getting some praise in the 3-4 OLB drill. Mayock still shitting on him though.

[Direckshun]

Not for nothing, but I'm good friends with the mother of a Mizzou player at this Combine.

She knews Sam personally, Sam basically lived with them for a couple years. She said he was the nicest, sweetest guy.

Just FYI.

[Dunerdr]

Originally Posted by Direckshun

He looks a little doughy, too, compared to some of the more powerful muscle-freaks like Chris Smith.

He's honestly going to be a special teams guy for a year.

He's super special alright. He's been less that stellar numbers wise. after the year he had, I thought I might be gay for Sam. But after this I may have to find a different silly stallion to hitch my wagon too. I want another physical freak on the line with Poe. Is that too much to ask for?

[Direckshun]

Sam's not an OLB. He's a passrusher. That's it.

He's a 4-3 DE.

[Direckshun]

Originally Posted by Dunerdr

He's super special alright. He's been less that stellar numbers wise after the year he had. I thought I might be gay for Sam but after this I may have to find a different silly stallion to hitch my wagon too. I want another physical freak on theine with Poe. Is that too much to ask for?

Yes, lol. It's too much to ask for.

[Direckshun]

Pretty amusing watching all these guys in the 3-4 OLB drill. So many guys doing it for the first time. Falling, stumbling, all over the place.

[Exoter175]

Originally Posted by Direckshun

Probably. Do you take him? I'd be concerned about separation.

I think there's better value to be had in the third, and I believe it's going to largely depend on who we take in the first.

If say, we had Mosley in the first, just spitballing, doubt he drops that far. I'd guarantee that we take a WR in the third. But it also depends on whether we re-sign dex or not. If we do, we take a possesion type big body guy in the 1st or 3rd. If not, I think we target cooks and get him, or try to trade up to get him if we think he's going to be gone early. I'm also curious to see who slips into the deep third, because we know there's serious talent all over this draft, and there's going to end up being a few top 50 guys available @ our 3rd. So do we go BPA at that point or stick to our needs? Hard to say really.

I'd love to go 1:Beckham, 3B/OL, 4: Fiedorowicz, 5: Josh Brown, 6: James Morris, 7: BPA

Or

1. Mosley, 3: Ellington (doubt he falls that far), 4: Fiedorowicz, 5: Josh Brown: 6: DB, 7: OL

[Direckshun]

Jonathan Newsome looked GREAT in the 3-4 OLB drill. Well done.

[Exoter175]

Webster looked good there!

[Direckshun]

Chris Smith, looks brilliant again in space. Again.

Marcus Smith too. ARG. Give me a Smith.

[Direckshun]

Originally Posted by Exoter175

Webster looked good there!

He did.

[The Franchise]

Did Tuitt's interview ever air? I was in a meeting for the last 50 minutes.

[Direckshun]

Never saw it.

Probably online somewhere.