I will be there again this year so if anyone else is going the first drink at Tavern on South is on ME.
That is where EVERYONE goes.
Anyway the combine: I was thinking about the discussions we have had on the board over the years regarding the value of the combine, or is it just a glorified pajama party.
I have gone back and forth on this myself and have concluded emperically that the combine is extremely valuable.
Case in point, after looking at the Conley kid from Ohio State and trying to get a good read on who/what he is at corner, I discovered that I could not get a good feel for his movement skills. In the Big Ten they play some press man, off man, and a lot of zone, and in man against teams like Michigan, I saw guys getting separation on him on inside releases and crossing routes.
I also saw something that is prevalent everytime I watch Big Ten corners, losing leverage and having to reach and grab to recover. So without making this post too long and technical, I want to see the position drills for the corners to ascertain if he's tight hipped, if there is a pattern match issue, a recognition issue or if he just has slow feet.
I want to see his back peddle, his cones, his agility drills and his 40. The forty is extremely important for a corner's make-up speed if he has problems with route recognition or his back peddle and flipping his hips.
The position drills at the combine will help me gauge his movements and pin point where the deficiency is.
So from that perspective the combine is very useful in evaluating players that show something on tape that you need more information on.
This happened to me a few years ago when another very highly rated Big Ten corner came out. I watched his game tape and noticed he was very grabby. He was losing leverage and had to grab to recover, so I wanted to get a better handle on why he was losing leverage.
I saw it on tape but the position drills at the combine showed clearly that he had very stiff hips, actually some of the worst I've seen at corner, which is a death nail for a cornerback.
Despite the evidence the so called "experts" missed it, which makes me believe that some team evaluators as do fans, undervalue the importance of the combine.
Best,
Laram
