Above the fold
Nibbles, Not Nuggets
It’s going to be 70 degrees with no clouds nor humidity here at the world headquarters of BBR. Hence, there is no time for Ten Piece Nuggets, plus it’s soon to be swimsuit season. Here are six nibbles served from the NFL Scouting Combine.
- At least seven WR’s that worked out for the NFL at this week’s combine will receive a first-round grade. The position is deep. If you want to zig when others zag you could grab a highly rated “in the trenches guy” in the first and get first-round WR talent in the second.
- One WR Alabama wide receiver Henry Ruggs III flashed rare speed Thursday night, but he didn’t quite get the record he had hoped for at Lucas Oil Stadium. His 4.27 second forty was .05 behind John Ross, currently with the Cincinnati Bengals, who ran a 4.22-second 40-yard dash in 2017. That is considered the record in the combine’s electronic timing format that began in 1999.
- Bo Jackson’s hand-timed 4.12 in 1986 has long been considered the best combine 40 time. Can you imagine tackling that combo of size, strength, and speed?
- Joe Burrow will be a Bengal. Stop the nonsense. The media has to drum up drama where there is none to sell beer and testosterone ads. He’ll sell a lot of tickets for the Bengals himself. Word is that he blew the management team from Cincy out of the combine water in his sit down.
- The big uglies hit the field tonight. Why the make them run a forty is puzzling. When is the last time you’ve seen a right guard forty yards down the field? 30? 20?
- Las Vegas Raiders coach Jon Gruden joined general manager Mike Mayock in giving quarterback Derek Carr a vote of confidence Thursday. “I really think Derek is a heck of a player and I got a lot of respect for what he has done with some tough circumstances,” Gruden told a group of Raiders beat reporters at the NFL combine in Indianapolis. Ah, the old head fake. Sounds like the Raiders will be pursuing Tom Brady, doesn’t it?
Drink some water with a wedge of lemon in it if you are still hungry. Fore!
Comment section
Is the combine important? Maybe. But the truth is and always will be about wether a player has the Character and Ability to play consistently at the next level. These young men are watched, measured, and evaluated so much during their amateur playing days that I think its too much in general.
This combine is a commercial event for the league not a flea market of talent. I’m sure that 75-80% of all the athletes there have and will keep their same evaluation score. And all the scouts know it.
A better idea might be to host a player edition of Survivor with booze and temptations to see how they treat one another and come through the hardship and difficult moments.
Wonderlic, interviews, psych exams, and yes money are all part of the game so to speak.
It’s surprising actually that the NFL doesn’t allow / encourage fans in the stands.
It’s also surprising that Indy hosts every year versus a Draft Day like road show.
BBR missed the highlight of the combine. ASU punter Michael Turk put up 25 reps at 225 on the bench. That’s more them Frank Clark (19 in 2015), Clowney (21 in 2014), DeMarcus Lawrence (20 in 2014), Devin White (22 in 2019), Chandler Jones (22 in 2012) or Michael Bennett (24 in 2009) could muster up.
Don’t forget your sunscreen.
Terrible name-Turk for hopeful players. BBR didn’t want to jinx anyone.
Related Posts: