From the Blue to You: NFL Combine lacks substantial meaning

JOSH RASMUSSEN/ARBITER FILE PHOTO

For the written exam offered at the NFL Combine, one question asks, “True or False: Do you like tall women?”

One player — who will remained unnamed — crossed out the “t” in tall and then provided his answer: True.

Surprised? Why would you be? This is the NFL Combine. The same event that measures an offensive lineman’s vertical jump. Maybe I missed something, but I don’t think it’s very important if an o-lineman can jump high. In fact, I don’t think they’re supposed to jump vertically for any reason during a game.

That’s just one example of why the combine is equivalent to a freak show and nothing more than an event created by the media to drive attention to the NFL Draft. These tests mean nothing and prove squat in the end.

I understand it’s between seasons and football won’t be back for nearly five months, but have people really gotten this bored? Just because Tim Tebow ran a 11.27 in the 60-yard shuttle doesn’t prove he has lateral quickness or game breaking explosiveness on the field.

Look, I realize everyone’s salivating for football and it’s only March. Right now, NFL scouts are trying to judge quarterbacks by their 40-yard dash times. Scouts should at least wait until quarterbacks start throwing before they make assumptions that could cost a player millions. Sam Bradford and Jimmy Clausen, the two best quarterbacks in this year’s upcoming draft, won’t be throwing until their schools’ pro-day.

The combine does far more bad than good for most players because their true talent usually comes on the field during a game. Football knowledge cannot be showcased properly by competing in basic drills. Some players will go as far as faking an injury so they can avoid killing their draft stock.

Cornerback Kyle Wilson was the only Boise State player invited to the combine. Wilson didn’t run because of a hamstring injury, but he did 25 bench-press repetitions at 225 pounds. This is good news for Wilson because that’s five more reps than any other cornerback. The bench-press is used to determine how much time a player has spent in the weight room during their college career.

It usually doesn’t matter what happens at the combine for players because they can make up for it during pro-day at whatever school they happen to be from.

BSU’s pro-day will be March 26. This will be when Wilson and many other Broncos will sell themselves to the viewing NFL scouts for the last time before the draft. Wilson is expected to run in the 4.3′s and there hasn’t been word if fullback Richie Brockel will be healed enough to participate in drills. Brockel suffered a broken foot late last season against rival Idaho.

Other Broncos likely to compete on pro-day include: Austin Pettis, Titus Young, Jeron Johnson and Ryan Winterswyke. More Broncos could easily jump in as well and get a feel for what to improve on with a year of school remaining before the 2011 NFL Draft.

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Posted by Trent Lootens on Mar 2 2010. Filed under Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.