Scouting Combine Injuries Report

Monday Day 3 of the combine.

Injuries have seem to put this draft in a somber mood and today was no drifferant. Two defensive stars went down and out of the combine both pulling hamstrings during there workouts.

Rey Maualuga a linebacker from the University of Southern California came up limping after running the 40 yard dash. Rey is projected to be one of the top linebackers taken in the upcoming draft. Rey will have a 2nd oppertunity to show his talent to scouts at his Pro Day on April 1.

Video link of injury:

http://blogs.nfl.com/2009/02/23/maualuga-comes-up-limping-at-end-of-40/

Also defensive end Brian Orakpo from Texas went down with a tweaked hamstring. Brian a projected top 5 pick Pro Day is on March 25.

Video link of Orakpo:

http://blogs.nfl.com/2009/02/23/orakpo-done-for-the-day-with-hamstring-injury/

*All stats and from NFL.com, Picture from Google

Recap of Day 2 of the NFL Scouting Combine

Sunday and Day 2 of the combine.
Today we will get to see the glitz and the glamour of the of the offensive positions in the quarterbacks, running backs and the wide receivers. Usually these are the players most teams come out and see but with the injury to Crabtree and lots of players deciding to wait until there personal work out day to show there complete arsenal of talents it left the day kind of weak because we missed that wow factor. But a few players did step up too impress the scouts.

Sundays Top performers

QB (Quarterbacks)
40 Yard Dash
Pat White 4.55
Stephen McGee 4.66
Matthew Stafford 4.81

Vertical Jump
Pat White 35.0
Josh Freeman 33.5
Chase Daniel 33.0

RB (Running Backs)
40 Yard Dash
Cedric Peerman 4.45
Ian Johnson 4.46
Kory Sheets 4.47

Bench Press
Tony Fiammetta 30
Rashad Jennings 29
Brannan Southerland 28

Vertical Jump
Donald Brown 41.5
Cedric Peerman 40.0
Mike Goodson 39.5

WR (Wide Receivers)
40 Yard Dash
Darrius Heyward-Bey 4.30
Mike Wallace 4.33
Johnny Knox 4.34

Bench Press
Brooks Foster 27
Kenny Britt 23
Greg Orton 22

Vertical Jump
Jarett Dillard 42.5
Tiquan Underwood 41.5
Mike Thomas 40.5

Here is a video of Sundays top performers courtesy of NFL.com:
http://www.nfl.com/combine/videos/topperformers#page:1/video:09000d5d80edff63

*All stats and video from NFL.com

Recap of Day 1 of the NFL Scouting Combine.

Friday was the day players got weighed measured and poked and medically checked out by the teams.

Then came Saturday and the first look at the offensive players in categories like tight end and offensive lineman. Where players were put through the ringer of test, such as the vertical jump, the broad jump, 3 cone drill, bench press, 20-yard shuttle and the 40 yard dash. These test are used to see what kind talent and potential these young players have.

Here are a few of the top performers and their scores from the OL and TE groups:

OL (Offensive Lineman)
40 Yard Dash
Lydon Murtha 4.89
Jamon Meredith 5.03
Xarvier Fulton 5.04

Bench Press
Louis Vasquez 39
Travis Bright 34
Juan Garcia 34

Vertical Jump
Travis Bright 35.5
Lydon Murtha 35.0
Brandon Wlaker 34.0

TE (Tight End)
40 Yard Dash
Jared Cook 4.50
Shawn Nelson 4.56
Cameron Morrah 4.66

Bench Press
Travis Beckum 28
James Casey 28
Dan Gronkowski 26

Vertical Jump
Jared Cook 41.0
James Casey 36.0
Marquez Branson 35.0

Video link to Saturdays top performers:
http://www.nfl.com/combine/videos/topperformers#page:1/video:09000d5d80edc4d8

But the 2 biggest stories of the day were the people who didn't even perform. OL Andre Smith a projected top 10 pick in the upcoming draft could not be found. Seems Mr. Smith decide not to participate in the draft combine which is not unheard of but just getting up and going home with out telling anyone got a couple of people upset. Later on that day Smith apologized for his actions and said he wanted to get back to training for his personal workouts.

Next was Micheal Crabtree a wide receiver from Texas Tech breaking the news that he has a stress fracture in his leg and he would post pone surgery until after his personal workout where he would run the 40 yard dash for teams. This news was not taken well since Crabtree is a projected top 5 pick in the upcoming draft. The stress fracture will take a minimum of 10 weeks to recover from which would cut into his rookie training camp.



*All Stats and video from NFL.com.

The Combine is here!

This weekend is the NFL Scouting Combine. The Combine is a 3 day event which is extremely important to how teams draft future play.

*Picture from NFL.com

Here is a picture from the 2008 NFL Draft.

*Picture from Google

About the NFL Draft

Football season is never over, there’s always something going on. If it’s not the constant free agent chatter or the firing and hiring of new coach’s it’s the endless trade rumors. But those are not why I love this time of year it’s the draft, and the reason is the hope and future of new talent coming to your team. Imagine your team is just one player a way from making a championship run or if your team is horrible and need many pieces. This is that one chance to better your team for the future. Tom Brady was a sixth round draft pick that did not even start his first year, but he led the New England patriots to 3 Championships in 4 years. The NFL Draft is a two day non stop event held every April. This year the draft will take place in New York on April 25 and 26.

But before we can get to the draft a lot of work needs to be done to evaluate talent and what your team needs. This leads us to the scouting combines held every year in Indianapolis . The scouting combine is like a grueling job fair for up and coming NFL prospects. Where teams get to pick and poke the talent before they decide to buy. This year’s combine begins on February 21^st and runs until the February 24^Th. The combine will physical test a player with a certain number of drills, such as the 40 yard dash, the bench press and various cone drills.

There is so much to cover and the time will fly bye so with that said The Detroit Lions are on the clock!

*Picture from NFL.com