Welcome to DoctorFootball.com - The Ultimate Source for Your Ph.D. in Pigskin

2007 NFL Combine Notes Indianapolis, Indiana

Many call it the “meat market”, after the popular term for singles’ bars in the 1980s, where officials from each of the 32 NFL teams come to poke, prod, and ogle the physiques and abilities of the top 330 players that have made themselves eligible for each year’s draft. Others believe it is where many a general manager and personnel directors have made decisions that eventually led to their downfall. It is the NFL Combine, and with each passing year, it becomes more of an event worthy of admission on the annual sports calendar. In addition, however, it poses the following quandary: is too much importance placed on an athlete’s two hour performance and fifteen minute interview?

Scouts who question the emphasis placed on the five day congregation point to performance centers that train prospects to “prepare” for the drills and interviews. Which results, they say, in over-inflated value of certain players. One only need look at Mike Mamula as a perfect example of the mistake that can be made when too much attention is placed on the mind-boggling feats a draftee can achieve in a single day. Mamula was a good player who had a decent career at Boston College. But, when he exploded at the combine, primarily due to working with a trainer who specifically developed a regimen aimed at “acing” the tests in Indianapolis, the Philadelphia Eagles fell in love. They took Mamula with the seventh pick in the 1995 NFL Draft (after trading their first round and two second round picks to Tampa Bay to move up), and quickly found that he was much less impressive on the field. After five relatively unproductive seasons in the NFL, he was destined to be known as the original “Workout Warrior.”

On the other hand, some say that it provides a “level playing field” – allowing for an easier way to rank individuals coming from universities and colleges of varying degrees of competition. Furthermore, without the combine, teams would spend countless days traveling the country in order to perform physicals, meet with players, and run drills. In conclusion, even critics agree that it is a very essential, and convenient, part of the draft process.

Now, without further ado, here are some of the results from this week’s “meat market”:

The Five Most Impressive Players in Indianapolis: 1. Calvin Johnson, 6’5”, 239 lbs., wide receiver, Georgia Tech – not only is he the most complete player in the draft, he won everyone over with his personality and humble nature. Oh, and the 4.35 40 yard dash he ran didn’t hurt either. 2. Joe Thomas, 6’6½”, 311 lbs., offensive tackle, Wisconsin – even though he’s a guaranteed top five pick, he impressed everyone by participating in all of the drills. In the mirror drill, his great footwork pushed the defender three yards off the ball, a performance which no scout could recall ever happening before. 3. LaRon Landry, 6’½”, 213 lbs., safety, LSU – probably completed the best all-around performance at the combine this year. His speed (4.35 40 yard dash), agility, and ball skills were on full display – he’s just an amazing athlete. 4. Adrian Peterson, 6’1½”, 217 lbs., running back, Oklahoma – the only thing that was more impressive than his overly abundant physical ability, which was highlighted by a 4.4 40 yard dash, 38½ inch vertical jump, and 10’7” broad jump, was the fact that he did all of this after finding out his brother had been killed earlier that morning. 5. Greg Olsen, 6’6”, 254 lbs., tight end, Miami – he easily solidified himself as the best tight end in the draft with results that would have put him in the top five wide receivers. He ran a 4.45 forty and an effortless, perfect gauntlet drill in which he didn’t drop a pass or waver from the line.

The Five Most Disappointing Players in Indianapolis: 1. Quentin Moses, 6’5¼”, 261 lbs, defensive end, Georgia – his value continues to plummet after a disappointing senior season and combine. The 4.82 he ran in the 40 was below average and the stiff hips he displayed in the drills didn’t help. In eight months, he’s gone from a bona fide top ten pick to a possible second-day prospect. 2. Troy Smith, 6’0”, 225 lbs., quarterback, Ohio State – officially measured at six feet was the only positive that the Heisman Trophy winner gained this weekend. Not only was he inaccurate in the passing drills, he declined to run the 40 yard dash after admitting he was out of shape. He would have been better off telling everyone a dog ate his homework. 3. Zach Miller, 6’4½”, 256 lbs., tight end, Arizona State – more than his disappointing 40 yard dash time (4.87), it was the abundance of passes he dropped in the drills that cost him. 4. Ryan Harris, 6’4½”, 305 lbs., offensive tackle, Notre Dame – looked like a replay of his Senior Bowl showing. He was regularly beaten by almost anyone who was lined up against him. If he didn’t go to Notre Dame, people wouldn’t even be keeping track of him. 5. Jarvis Moss – 6’6½”, 250 lbs., defensive end, Florida – including him in this list probably surprises many people, but he’s here for two reasons. First, he fell four times during the drills, meaning he was trying to go too fast or he may have a bit of a balance problem. Second, he seemed to have a bit of an attitude when coaches tried to correct his mistakes.

Here are the top prospects at each position going into the pro-day workouts: Quarterback 1. JaMarcus Russell, 6’5½”, 265 lbs., LSU 2. Brady Quinn, 6’4”, 232 lbs., Notre Dame 3. Drew Stanton, 6’3½”, 226 lbs., Michigan State 4. Kevin Kolb, 6’3”, 218 lbs., Houston 5. Trent Edwards, 6’4”, 231 lbs., Stanford Running Back 1. Adrian Peterson, 6’1½”, 217 lbs., Oklahoma 2. Marshawn Lynch, 5’11”, 215 lbs., California 3. Tony Hunt, 6’2”, 233 lbs., Penn State 4. Michael Bush, 6’1½”, 243 lbs., Louisville 5. Antonio Pittman, 5’11”, 195 lbs., Ohio State Fullback 1. LeRon McClain, 6’1”, 257 lbs., Alabama 2. Brian Leonard, 6’1½”, 226 lbs., Rutgers 3. Jason Snelling, 5’11”, 233 lbs., Virginia Wide Receiver 1. Calvin Johnson, 6’5”, 239 lbs., Georgia Tech 2. Dwayne Bowe, 6’2½”, 221 lbs., LSU 3. Ted Ginn, Jr., 5’11½”, 178 lbs., Ohio State 4. Robert Meachem, 6’2”, 214 lbs., Tennessee 5. Steve Smith, 5’11½”, 197 lbs., USC Tight Ends 1. Greg Olsen, 6’6”, 254 lbs., Miami 2. Ben Patrick, 6’4”, 252lbs., Delaware 3. Zach Miller, 6’4½”, 256 lbs., Arizona State 4. Michael Allen, 6’6”, 255 lbs., Whitworth 5. Martrez Milner, 6’4”, 252 lbs., Georgia Offensive Tackle 1. Joe Thomas, 6’6½”, 311 lbs., Wisconsin 2. Levi Brown, 6’5½”, 323 lbs., Penn State 3. Tony Ugoh, 6’5½”, 301 lbs., Arkansas 4. Joe Staley, 6’6”, 306 lbs., Central Michigan 5. James Marten, 6’8”, 307 lbs., Boston College Offensive Guard 1. Ben Grubbs, 6’3”, 311 lbs., Auburn 2. Justin Blalock, 6’3”, 320 lbs., Texas 3. Aaron Sears, 6’4”, 328 lbs., Tennessee 4. Josh Beekman, 6’2”, 313 lbs., Boston College 5. Tim Duckworth, 6’3”, 306 lbs., Auburn Center 1. Ryan Kalil, 6’3”, 299 lbs., USC 2. Samson Satele, 6’2½”, 300 lbs., Hawaii 3. Dan Mozes, 6’3”, 293 lbs., West Virginia 4. Doug Datish, 6’4”, 302 lbs., Ohio State 5. Leroy Harris, 6’2½”, 302 lbs., NC State Defensive End 1. Gaines Adams, 6’4½”, 258 lbs., Clemson 2. Jamaal Andreson, 6’5½”, 288 lbs., Arkansas 3. Adam Carriker, 6’6”, 296 lbs., Nebraska 4. Anthony Spencer, 6’3”, 261 lbs., Purdue 5. Jarvis Moss, 6’6½”, 250 lbs., Florida Defensive Tackle 1. Amobi Okoye, 6’2”, 302 lbs., Louisville 2. Alan Branch, 6’6”, 324 lbs., Michigan 3. Justin Harrell, 6’4½”, 300 lbs., Tennessee 4. Brandon Mebane, 6’1½”, 309 lbs., California 5. Tank Tyler, 6’2”, 306 lbs., NC State Outside Linebacker 1. Jon Beason, 6’0”, 237 lbs., Miami 2. Lawrence Timmons, 6’1”, 234 lbs., Florida State 3. Rufus Alexander, 6’1”, 228 lbs., Oklahoma 4. Paul Posluszny, 6’1½”, 238 lbs., Penn State 5. Tim Shaw, 6’1½”, 236 lbs., Penn State Inside Linebacker 1. Patrick Willis, 6’1”, 242 lbs., Mississippi 2. David Harris, 6’2½”, 243 lbs., Michigan 3. Justin Durant, 6’1”, 230 lbs., Hampton 4. Zak DeOssie, 6’4½”, 250 lbs., Brown 5. Buster Davis, 5’9½”, 239 lbs., Florida State Cornerback 1. Leon Hall, 5’11”, 193 lbs., Michigan 2. Chris Houston, 5’10”, 185 lbs., Arkansas 3. Darrelle Revis, 5’11½”, 204 lbs., Pittsburgh 4. Aaron Ross, 6’0½”, 193 lbs., Texas 5. Eric Wright, 5’10½”, 192 lbs., UNLV Safety 1. LaRon Landry, 6’0½”, 213 lbs., LSU 2. Reggie Nelson, 5’11½”, 198 lbs., Florida 3. Brandon Meriweather, 5’10½”, 195 lbs., Miami 4. Michael Griffin, 6’0”, 202 lbs., Texas 5. Eric Weddle, 5’11”, 203 lbs., Utah