One of my Favorite people on the Draft Beat is Nolan Nawrocki at pro Football Weekly. If it hasn't been said or overheard By him,..it's not worth repeating. Nolan has the daunting task of taking over PFW's Draft information from the late Joel Bushbaum, a man i considered a mentor. Here is Nolan's Most recent article in this week's PFW....Bill(Draftnik)
By Nolan Nawrocki
April 16, 2007
With two weeks until the draft, NFL teams have begun meetings to finalize their draft boards. As one veteran GM said, you cannot believe anything you hear at this time of the year, and we certainly do not trust everything we hear, including many of the remarks made by NFL evaluators below. However, the following is some of what evaluators have been saying in April.
“I threw a grade on Calvin Johnson that you could not take off with Ajax. It’s the highest grade I’ve ever given a player. … You can build around a quarterback. You can with a left tackle or a running back. It’s difficult for a receiver to make as much of an impact. When you are starting from scratch, it’s not the first position you are looking for.”
“(Falcons head coach) Bobby Petrino wants to get bigger on both sides of the ball, and they don’t have a lot of beef up front.”
“It’s amazing how much bad information is starting to fly. You better have your own intelligence or you could be had. I’ve heard new injury concerns arising on so many players. Teams are trying to get their guys.”
“Anyone who is going to criticize (LSU QB) JaMarcus Russell’s understanding of the game needs to remember that Steve McNair came into the league with a seventh-grade comprehension level. He was able to learn it."
“If anyone but Russell goes No. 1, the Browns will be doing cartwheels.”
“(Notre Dame QB) Brady Quinn is so dedicated, so committed, so programmed — he will become great because he will work as hard as Peyton Manning and he has more ability.”
“(Arkansas DE) Jamaal Anderson has not grown into his body yet. He is still trying to figure out how to play at high weight. People forget he came to school as a receiver. He’s so elongated that he starts stumbling when he comes out of his stance. He just has to mature physically and fill out, but he shows you enough right now to make you feel comfortable taking a chance on him.”
“The more I see of (Arkansas OT) Tony Ugoh, the more I like him. He competes. He’s got good feet. I think it’s unfair to pigeonhole him as a track (discus) guy. I think he could be a starting left tackle in the league.”
“(Boston College OT) James Marten is a big, developmental offensive tackle. If you study him in pass protection, he gets beat every game. I thought Jeremy Trueblood was a lot better, and that’s not saying much.”
“I like James Marten a lot. Put on the Clemson game and see what he did vs. Gaines Adams, and you’ll like him a lot more.”
“(Nebraska DE) Adam Carriker was coached not to make plays. He was asked to take up space and eat up blocks, not to come off the ball and get upfield. When you consider how the scheme called for him to play and see what he showed he could do at the Senior Bowl, I think he is all the more impressive. … To be honest, what scares me most about him is that he is married already. Why get married before college? I hate to even say it, because a family can be a tremendous stabilizing force and I am a family guy, but I’ve seen it happen way too much. … The first three years in the league, it hurts players when they are attached. I have a difficult time drafting players who are married in the first two rounds. It’s just not good. There are exceptions, but as a rule, you tell me who was married coming out of college and turned out to reach their potential. It does not happen a lot. It's a lot to overcome."
“(Texas S) Michael Griffin is a good player. He’s the second safety on our board behind (LSU FS LaRon) Landry. He’s smarter than (Florida FS Reggie) Nelson, and his character is much better than (Miami FS Brandon) Meriweather. He worked out better than both of them at the Combine. He’s more physical than either. He’s the best of all of them on special teams. He’s got a lot of value. I don’t think he will last very long. I think someone will take him in the middle of the first round.”
“Why do teams become enamored with defensive linemen this time of year? Because there are not any. They are very difficult to find.”
“This is the time of the year that a lot of mistakes are made. What happens in nearly every draft room — you talk to (evaluators) from different teams with different philosophies, and you find out you are going to have to draft a player a round or two sooner than you would like to get the player, and all of a sudden, players start moving up draft boards because of needs. The teams that do not get caught up in perception and where players will be drafted and let the board fall to them are the teams that typically draft the best, at least if their boards are stacked well.”
“There was not a scout who went through Washington State in the fall who thought (WR Jason) Hill could run. He is a 210-pounder with deceptive speed. They ask him to go vertical a lot in their offense, but I think he could sink his hips and get out of breaks.”
“It seemed like every tight end coach in the league was at (Minnesota TE) Matt Spaeth's workout. He did not lift. He ran in the low 4.8s. He’s a good blocker.”
"How well Kevin Boothe and Jahri Evans played as rookies is going to help (Towson OT) Jermon Bushrod. He's raw, but I think he's better than both of them."
"Alan Branch does not make any plays, and I don't like his lack of hustle."
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
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Thursday, April 12, 2007
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Agents, athletes create mini-industry with NFL draft preparation
Agents, athletes create mini-industry with NFL draft preparation
Thu, Apr 12, 2007
By Associated Press
EUCLID, Ohio -- Hidden behind a former General Motors plant is the training center where Ted Ginn Jr. refined his blazing speed.
It's where Ginn, the Ohio State star and a sure first-round pick, has spent weeks leading up to the NFL draft - training alongside Renard Stevens, a wide receiver from a Division II school in West Virginia.
Unlike Ginn, Stevens has no guarantee of being drafted. He knew, though, that a strong time in the 40-yard dash and an impressive vertical jump at the NFL scouting combine in late February could raise his stock and improve his draft chances.
Agents and athletes, looking to climb up team's draft boards and cash in, have created a mini-industry for athletic trainers, spending millions of dollars in the weeks before the NFL draft.
''It's not an option now,'' said Danny Arnold, founder of the Plex training center in Stafford, Texas. ''Every agent has to send a player to a place like this. You end up spending the same amount of money on a first-round pick as you do a seventh-round pick.''
For players and their families there's much at stake, particularly in the first round - where falling a few spots can mean a much smaller contract. Agents, who get part of a player's earnings, have a lot on the line, too.
Speed Strength Systems, just east of Cleveland, has been preparing athletes for the NFL combine since 2001. When founder Tim Robertson started, he had little competition.
''It's a hot trend now, where everybody thinks that they can train athletes,'' Robertson said after spotting Ginn on a bench press.
Agent Eric Metz, who represents quarterback JaMarcus Russell of LSU, considered a possible No. 1 overall pick, said his firm, LMM Management, is spending about $300,000 on training and expenses for 10 players in the weeks leading up to the April 28-29 draft.
He said the turning point in training players came in 1992 when John Fina, who was rated as the 33rd-best offensive tackle in the draft, moved up to be a first-round pick with the Buffalo Bills. Metz credits Fina's pre-draft training for the dramatic jump. Fina went on to anchor the left side of the Bills' offensive line for nine seasons.
''The (other) agents criticized us and said there was nothing to it,'' Metz said. ''Now, they say look how you ruined the business, now we have to spend all this money preparing players.''
It costs $5,000 to $15,000 to train for two months at Arnold's facility, money typically paid by the player's agent.
Robertson charges $75 a day to prep athletes for the combine and pro days. Athletes put in three to five hours a day, three to six days a week for up to eight weeks.
His star client, Ginn, has been training at Speed Strength Systems since ninth grade and credits his work there with helping him lower his 40-yard dash time from more than 5 seconds down to 4.22.
''He can push you to be a first rounder,'' Ginn said of Robertson.
On an 8-degree February day, Ginn was among 10 players listening to hip hop and working out at the facility, far from the comfort of Ohio State's workout facilities. The temperature inside was a chilly 60 degrees at Speed Strength Systems, where the padding is torn on some of the weight benches.
''It's a factory,'' Robertson said. ''It's that no frills Rocky mentality.''
Robertson has his athletes work with a dietitian - some need to lose weight and others, such as Ginn, need to put some on.
''A lot of these guys don't eat well. It's a culture shock to them,'' Robertson said.
He also provides training techniques geared to improve performance on each of the drills. For the 225-pound bench press - in which players lift the bar as many times as possible - Robertson has them train with an elastic band tied to the bar. He promises an average increase of five repetitions.
''It's fun because everybody gets to motivate everybody, everybody gets to push everybody,'' Ginn said. ''It wouldn't be fun if you were just here by yourself, not having the guys around you to help you push. Me being a big name is really nothing, because we're all going for the same goal.''
Stevens, who played at West Liberty State College, traveled about three hours from West Virginia to train at Speed Strength Systems. Although he said the investment has been worth it, he was a little unnerved when he drove past the stacked pallets, trucks and weeds outside.
''When I first got here, I was like: 'Where am I going?''' Stevens said.
Players such as Marques Colston, a seventh-round pick out of Hofstra who surprised everyone with 1,038 yards and eight touchdowns for the New Orleans Saints last season, keep Stevens motivated to follow his dream.
''I'm going to chase it until my legs fall off,'' Stevens said.
Some trainers make promises that give athletes false perceptions about their chances of turning pro or oversell results when at best they can shave only a few tenths of a second off a 40-yard dash time, Metz said.
''They try to make it into something where if you run fast, you get drafted high. That's not the case,'' he said.
While training facilities are expensive, there are cheaper alternatives for those without an agent or still in high school. An internet search shows training help available for as low as $24.95, plus shipping and handling, for the Adam Archuleta Workout Video.
Sold by Pro-Tect Management of Pacific Palisades, Calif., the video provides the training program that Archuleta, a Chicago Bears safety, used in ''elevating himself from an undersized college walk-on to a first-round draft selection.''
Thu, Apr 12, 2007
By Associated Press
EUCLID, Ohio -- Hidden behind a former General Motors plant is the training center where Ted Ginn Jr. refined his blazing speed.
It's where Ginn, the Ohio State star and a sure first-round pick, has spent weeks leading up to the NFL draft - training alongside Renard Stevens, a wide receiver from a Division II school in West Virginia.
Unlike Ginn, Stevens has no guarantee of being drafted. He knew, though, that a strong time in the 40-yard dash and an impressive vertical jump at the NFL scouting combine in late February could raise his stock and improve his draft chances.
Agents and athletes, looking to climb up team's draft boards and cash in, have created a mini-industry for athletic trainers, spending millions of dollars in the weeks before the NFL draft.
''It's not an option now,'' said Danny Arnold, founder of the Plex training center in Stafford, Texas. ''Every agent has to send a player to a place like this. You end up spending the same amount of money on a first-round pick as you do a seventh-round pick.''
For players and their families there's much at stake, particularly in the first round - where falling a few spots can mean a much smaller contract. Agents, who get part of a player's earnings, have a lot on the line, too.
Speed Strength Systems, just east of Cleveland, has been preparing athletes for the NFL combine since 2001. When founder Tim Robertson started, he had little competition.
''It's a hot trend now, where everybody thinks that they can train athletes,'' Robertson said after spotting Ginn on a bench press.
Agent Eric Metz, who represents quarterback JaMarcus Russell of LSU, considered a possible No. 1 overall pick, said his firm, LMM Management, is spending about $300,000 on training and expenses for 10 players in the weeks leading up to the April 28-29 draft.
He said the turning point in training players came in 1992 when John Fina, who was rated as the 33rd-best offensive tackle in the draft, moved up to be a first-round pick with the Buffalo Bills. Metz credits Fina's pre-draft training for the dramatic jump. Fina went on to anchor the left side of the Bills' offensive line for nine seasons.
''The (other) agents criticized us and said there was nothing to it,'' Metz said. ''Now, they say look how you ruined the business, now we have to spend all this money preparing players.''
It costs $5,000 to $15,000 to train for two months at Arnold's facility, money typically paid by the player's agent.
Robertson charges $75 a day to prep athletes for the combine and pro days. Athletes put in three to five hours a day, three to six days a week for up to eight weeks.
His star client, Ginn, has been training at Speed Strength Systems since ninth grade and credits his work there with helping him lower his 40-yard dash time from more than 5 seconds down to 4.22.
''He can push you to be a first rounder,'' Ginn said of Robertson.
On an 8-degree February day, Ginn was among 10 players listening to hip hop and working out at the facility, far from the comfort of Ohio State's workout facilities. The temperature inside was a chilly 60 degrees at Speed Strength Systems, where the padding is torn on some of the weight benches.
''It's a factory,'' Robertson said. ''It's that no frills Rocky mentality.''
Robertson has his athletes work with a dietitian - some need to lose weight and others, such as Ginn, need to put some on.
''A lot of these guys don't eat well. It's a culture shock to them,'' Robertson said.
He also provides training techniques geared to improve performance on each of the drills. For the 225-pound bench press - in which players lift the bar as many times as possible - Robertson has them train with an elastic band tied to the bar. He promises an average increase of five repetitions.
''It's fun because everybody gets to motivate everybody, everybody gets to push everybody,'' Ginn said. ''It wouldn't be fun if you were just here by yourself, not having the guys around you to help you push. Me being a big name is really nothing, because we're all going for the same goal.''
Stevens, who played at West Liberty State College, traveled about three hours from West Virginia to train at Speed Strength Systems. Although he said the investment has been worth it, he was a little unnerved when he drove past the stacked pallets, trucks and weeds outside.
''When I first got here, I was like: 'Where am I going?''' Stevens said.
Players such as Marques Colston, a seventh-round pick out of Hofstra who surprised everyone with 1,038 yards and eight touchdowns for the New Orleans Saints last season, keep Stevens motivated to follow his dream.
''I'm going to chase it until my legs fall off,'' Stevens said.
Some trainers make promises that give athletes false perceptions about their chances of turning pro or oversell results when at best they can shave only a few tenths of a second off a 40-yard dash time, Metz said.
''They try to make it into something where if you run fast, you get drafted high. That's not the case,'' he said.
While training facilities are expensive, there are cheaper alternatives for those without an agent or still in high school. An internet search shows training help available for as low as $24.95, plus shipping and handling, for the Adam Archuleta Workout Video.
Sold by Pro-Tect Management of Pacific Palisades, Calif., the video provides the training program that Archuleta, a Chicago Bears safety, used in ''elevating himself from an undersized college walk-on to a first-round draft selection.''
NFL Draft - Notre Dame QB Brady Quinn Highlight Video
This is undoubtedly the longest highlight video I've ever seen for any one NFL Draft candidate. It's on Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn, and contains many of his best throws in his best games. In this video, we see that Quinn can run, rollout, scramble, and throw on the run and while rolling out. We see him running play action, quaterback sneaks, and running to pick up a first down. It is long, but it's a very good assembly of Brady's talent.
Here's the video:
Here's the video:
