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]

Josh Norris ‏@JoshNorris · 27s
Kareem Martin second "unofficial" forty: 4.68. 10 yd of 1.53

[The Franchise]

Originally Posted by Direckshun

I am advocating that, actually.

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

I honestly wouldn't be surprised if we pass on a WR or safety in the 1st round. There are going to be some people who flip their shit when it happens.

[Direckshun]

Josh Norris ‏@JoshNorris · 30s
Josh Mauro second "unofficial" forty: 5.16. 10 yd of 1.75

Mauro is now officially a late rounder. Might not even get drafted. That's super slow for 271 lbs -- you're going to have to ask him to gain weight, too.

[Direckshun]

Originally Posted by Pestilence

I honestly wouldn't be surprised if we pass on a WR or safety in the 1st round. There are going to be some people who flip their shit when it happens.

Who're you thinking?

I can't see this coaching staff take their eyes off Beckham (Maclin) or Cooks (Desean Jackson). I think they are Andy Reid players.

This coaching staff does love the trenches, but let's be reasonable here.

[The Franchise]

Nix's second attempt. Let's go big man.

[Direckshun]

I just realized that McCullers isn't running today. Hm.

[OldSchool]

Originally Posted by Pestilence

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.

Really? I thought Donald would run fast judging from his play on the field. Dude is a beast and looked fluid in drills as well.

Reason I don't want Nix is because we don't need a slow and fat guy. We need pass rushers. Give me an interior pass rush specialist over a slow NT any day. If you want a NT take McCullers or someone else and develop them later in the draft. Don't waste your only pick in the top 75 on a big and slow dude who adds nothing new to your team when there are a bunch of more impact players available at the pick.

[Exoter175]

Originally Posted by Direckshun

I just realized that McCullers isn't running today. Hm.

Yeah they announced his scratch like 5-10 minutes ago

[The Franchise]

Originally Posted by Direckshun

Who're you thinking?

I can't see this coaching staff take their eyes off Beckham (Maclin) or Cooks (Desean Jackson). I think they are Andy Reid players.

This coaching staff does love the trenches, but let's be reasonable here.

I'm not so sure that Beckham is going to be there at 23 now. Cooks the WR I want if Beckham is gone.

I think Reid is going to see how the offense fared in those last games. I wouldn't be surprised if he wants to give another full offseason of those WRs working with Smith in that offense.

[The Franchise]

Originally Posted by OldSchool

Really? I thought Donald would run fast judging from his play on the field. Dude is a beast and looked fluid in drills as well.

Reason I don't want Nix is because we don't need a slow and fat guy. We need pass rushers.

Fast yeah......4.6 fast? Not in my mind.

[Direckshun]

Originally Posted by OldSchool

Really? I thought Donald would run fast judging from his play on the field. Dude is a beast and looked fluid in drills as well.

Any time you get a defensive tackle who has the straight-line speed of a rushbacker, that's surprising.

[Direckshun]

Originally Posted by Exoter175

Yeah they announced his scratch like 5-10 minutes ago

God damn it.

[Direckshun]

I really like Quarles.

Ran a 5.1, but looked great doing it.

[The Franchise]

Schwartz's take on the combine:

Geoff Schwartz ‏@geoffschwartz Feb 22

I trained for 6 weeks to run a 40... Know how many 40s I've run the last 6 years? Zero The 10 yard split is what matters. Explosion.

Why? I barely bench 350. Who cares. Bench doesn't equal forceful punch @ShaneNFL: They should have linemen bench 350 instead of 225.

Yes... I stand in place and punch someone 25x in a row. lol. Not true RT @PeteSmithWTFP: 225 is about dynamic explosion.

I can positively say my favorite part of the combine workout was the drive to the airport. I was so glad to be done w/the process.

[Exoter175]

Originally Posted by Direckshun

Any time you get a defensive tackle who has the straight-line speed of a rushbacker, that's surprising.

Outside of Clownfaceguy, I'm probably the most impressed by Kareem and Marsh.