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.

[Dunerdr]

Did ebron kill it I've been working all weekend haven't kept up other than what's on cp and a few updates from buddies.

[The Franchise]

Originally Posted by Direckshun

Calvin Pryor training with Eric Berry. JIMP.

[The Franchise]

Originally Posted by Dunerdr

Did ebron kill it I've been working all weekend haven't kept up other than what's on cp and a few updates from buddies.

Ran a 4.60....and then didn't do anything else due to injury.

[Direckshun]

Originally Posted by Dunerdr

Did ebron kill it I've been working all weekend haven't kept up other than what's on cp and a few updates from buddies.

Ebron blew up the Combine.

[Direckshun]

This draft in a nutshell:

@FieldGulls: I could probably make a list of 45 players that ‘could’ go in the first round

[Dunerdr]

Originally Posted by Direckshun

Ebron blew up the Combine.

****. In Kelce we trust. How did how did safari juggernaut do? I can't wait to get of 12s n watch some of this.

[Direckshun]

Originally Posted by Dunerdr

****. In Kelce we trust. How did how did safari juggernaut do? I can't wait to get of 12s n watch some of this.

He did pretty damn good.

He and Jace Amaro should be around when we pick.

[jonzie04]

Originally Posted by Pestilence

Mario Williams got them what?

They have dick at QB. Plus Clowney is best utilized as a 4-3 DE. Could he succeed in a 3-4? Sure but it would be under-utilizing his ability.

schemes change based on personnel. watt would be equally effective as a LE in a 4-3. i understand their qb situation, however, every qb in this draft has a huge red flag attached to them. drafting a bust QB ahead of a potential hall of fame pass rusher would look incredibly bad on a GM's resume. if there was a cam newton, or an andrew luck in this draft then i would understand taking a qb. but there isn't. bridgewater, manziel, bortles will all require a lot of development time. and bridgewater, and bortles don't offer anymore long term upside than say derek carr, or garoppolo.

[ForeverChiefs58]

Originally Posted by Direckshun

Calvin Pryor training with Eric Berry. JIMP.

Would really love this pick

[OldSchool]

http://mmqb.si.com/2014/02/21/geno-a...ald-nfl-draft/

When it comes to draft prospects, comparisons to NFL players are easy to make but difficult to legitimize.

You might have heard that University of Pittsburgh defensive tackle Aaron Donald seems very similar to Bengals All-Pro Geno Atkins. Both are undersized, pass-rushing, three-technique tackles. Scouts have made the comparisons. Chiefs general manager John Dorsey told TheMMQB.com that it’s fair, too. And now, Atkins has given the comparison his stamp of approval.

“Yes, definitely,” Atkins told TheMMQB.com this week. “He has the tool set and skills to be a dominant three technique: motor, speed, leverage and strength. I’m definitely looking forward to see what he does in the league.”

Atkins wasn’t drafted until the fourth round in 2010 by Cincinnati. Now Donald is being talked about as a first-round selection after a decorated college career and, like Atkins, an impressive Senior Bowl week during which he looked unstoppable. How did that happen? Atkins (6-1, 293 pounds at the combine) busted the mold and paved the way for players like Donald (6-1, 288 at Senior Bowl).

“I think [Atkins] showed that if you can play, you can play no matter your size,” Donald said this week from Arizona, where he was training at Athletes Performance Institute. “If you can be productive, make plays and help the team win games, that’s what it’s all about. He did that and all the teams passed on him because they thought he was undersized. I bet a lot of teams are regretting that now. He’s one of the best three techniques in the NFL for sure. The success he’s having in the NFL, I think he paved the way for a lot of guys that were undersized.”

Atkins was a little bit of a different prospect. He wasn’t a flashy player at Georgia with 11 sacks and 33.5 tackles for a loss in his four-year career. The only time he made the All-SEC team was in ’07, his sophomore season.

Donald won the Lombardi Award for the nation’s top lineman or linebacker, and became the fourth player to win both the Nagurski Award (top defensive player) and Outland (top interior lineman) after leading the country with 28.5 tackles for a loss as a senior. Donald had 29.5 career sacks.

“He’d probably be the first pick in the draft,” Patriots coach Bill Belichick said of Atkins before facing Cincinnati last season. “He was an athletic guy that you saw maybe as a sub rusher, a nickel sub rusher, but he’s way more than that. . . . This guy has some power rushes where he just takes linemen back, those guards back and it just looks like they’re on roller skates. He just walks them, literally, right back into the quarterback. He’s very quick. He can get the edge and work up or up-and-under on the guards. Then when they try to set deep or take those quick moves away from him, he can turn those into power moves and collapse the pocket. He can ruin a game, there’s no question the guy can ruin a game by himself.”

Donald shows the same type of disruptive potential as Atkins. Donald owned the one-on-one pass rush drills against top offensive linemen at the Senior Bowl (he won 12 of 15 battles) just as Atkins did in ’10. Donald used a variety of moves and, in what will be very important in the pros, he showed he can win with both quickness and power. Possess only one of those traits, and you might last a long time as a role player. Use both, and you can be a star in the NFL. Donald has decent arm and hand length despite his size, and uses them violently at the point of attack. His feet are too quick to be cut. Donald is going to be a problem to block for 60 minutes. The game film backs it up as well. There isn’t much he can’t do.

“Just by his performance here [at the Senior Bowl], he’s caught a lot of the scouts’ eyes,” Dorsey said in Mobile. “He uses his quickness and athleticism; he’s probably a better fit in the 4-3 than a 3-4 scheme. I think he’s helped himself this week and shown he’ll be able to play at a high level in the NFL.”

Even though talents like Atkins and Donald can find a home in any scheme, they are ideally suited to play just one position: three technique (on the outside shoulder of a guard, next to a legit nose tackle) in a 4-3, so that will eliminate some teams as far as Donald’s draftability. But the Atkins lesson will be on each team’s mind.

“I think what happens is when you take a player that’s productive (in college) and maybe there’s a deficiency in some area, whether it’s height, weight, arm length or hands, what teams will do then is say, ‘OK, how does that affect the scheme we’re in?’” Rams general manger Les Snead said. “The key is always when you take that type of player, having a plan for success, a detailed plan for success: how you’re going to use him in your scheme and then always the perseverance to execute the plan. But you always go wait a minute, we have a guy who’s maybe a rectangle in a square, but this guy’s a really good rectangle. How can we use him?

“Somebody is going to come out of every draft that maybe you didn’t have rated as high as he played to. I think good organizations say, ‘Let’s look at that case study and learn from it.’ You can’t change it, but you can learn from it. I think Geno is one of those cases. What did we all miss on him? We all learned something from that.”

Donald will have a few more things going for him as well heading into the draft. While there was some question about Atkins’ desire—he’s proved to be a bit of an ambivalent superstar given his laidback nature—Donald is a nonstop, in-your-face competitor. He’s going to take that to the NFL Scouting Combine this week in Indianapolis where Donald said he’s going to “shock” people with his physical testing. He could best all the marks Atkins put up in ’10, including running an unheard of 4.6 40-yard dash at nearly 290 pounds.

“Everything that I do, I want to be the best at it. That’s why I want to shock a lot of people,” Donald said. “They probably think I’m going to do this and do that, and I want to exceed expectations.”

Donald has also grown to love film study, which has been a key to Atkins’ rapid rise from situational pass rusher as a rookie to All-Pro. Donald was known to be the first guy in and last guy out with the Panthers.

“Each year I improved at becoming a student of the game, started breaking down film a lot better, stayed in the film room a lot more,” Donald said. “[Defensive line coach Inoke Breckterfield] helped me a lot learning the little keys that offensive linemen give you so you can take advantage of it and learn the formations a lot better as far as how the back’s set up. When you know what you’re doing out there, it makes things a lot easier and allows you to play faster. The film room has helped my pass rush and run stops, so I’m non-stop grinding at it.”

Undeniable production. Top-notch competitor. Would-be combine test freak. Relentless in the film room.

Go ahead, make the comparisons to Atkins. They sound on point. And Atkins agrees.

Please Dorsey, take him if he's there at 23. Instantly solves our nickel and dime package pressure problems.

Hali - Poe - Donald - Houston

That'll destroy OLs.

[OldSchool]

Originally Posted by Direckshun

This draft in a nutshell:

@FieldGulls: I could probably make a list of 45 players that ‘could’ go in the first round

Pretty much.

[In58men]

Direckshun....what do you think about James Jones in FA (not sure what he's going be asking) and draft Mike Evans for a potential TE spot? I know this isn't madden, but it's a move that happens quite a bit in the NFL. Moving positions that is.

[Exoter175]

Originally Posted by Pestilence

Right now.....I'd say 50/50. Teams like the Ravens and Jets could possibly take a WR before us. It all depends on how Mike Evans falls or if people view Benjamin as a better prospect than Beckham.

Define "slip".

And I think Beckham went out and proved everyone that he's the better prospect over Benjamin yesterday, despite a modestly solid performance by Benjamin. Beckham was just a freaking head turner though.

[jonzie04]

Originally Posted by Inmem58

Direckshun....what do you think about James Jones in FA (not sure what he's going be asking) and draft Mike Evans for a potential TE spot? I know this isn't madden, but it's a move that happens quite a bit in the NFL. Moving positions that is.

mike evans to be a TE? he's the number 2 Wr at least on most boards.

[Jakemall]

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/...rive_web#gid=3


Breakdown for those who might want it.