http://views.washingtonpost.com/theleague/predraft/ 15 Washington Post NFL panel breaks down college football prospects from scouting combine to draft day and beyond. en Copyright 2009 Tue, 05 May 2009 10:23:39 -0500 http://www.movabletype.org/?v=4.2-en http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss After his Combine, the journey to which we covered in Part 1 and Part 2 of this series, Wake Forest linebacker Aaron Curry got ready for a short American tour, and prepared for some visitors to his home campus. At Wake Forest's Pro Day on March 23, 41 representatives from all 32 NFL teams showed up to watch Curry and his teammates in action. Curry stood on his 4.52-40 time and 25 bench press reps from the Combine, but he impressed in agility drills, cementing his status as the "safest pick in the draft". Curry had pre-draft visits scheduled with the Lions, Chiefs, and Browns. The Seahawks actually canceled their visit with him -- it seems they'd seen enough to know what they were going to do -- and Curry spent the next month talking with most every team with the opportunity to draft him. There was no question that http://views.washingtonpost.com/theleague/predraft/2009/05/aaron-curry-seattle-seahawks-draft-interview.html http://views.washingtonpost.com/theleague/predraft/2009/05/aaron-curry-seattle-seahawks-draft-interview.html Seahawks Tue, 05 May 2009 10:23:39 -0500 They each have Super Bowl rings -- all four of them. As assistant coaches, head coaches, general managers. Each of them has risen to the top of his profession, and though each of the four will be analyzing the 2009 draft instead of participating in it, few would be surprised to see any of them in a war room in 2010. They are respected names -- Steve Maruicci, Jon Gruden, Brian Billick, and Charley Casserly. There's Mariucci, or "Mooch", who learned under Mike Holmgren in Green Bay before helping to turn the late-90's 49ers around and landing head-first in an epic disaster in Detroit. Gruden, the dynamic young coach who gave the Raiders his toughness and installed the West Coast Offense in Tampa Bay. There's Billick, like Gruden, an offensive mastermind who got his ring primarily through a dominant defense. And there's Casserly, Washington's GM from 1989 through 1999, and http://views.washingtonpost.com/theleague/predraft/2009/04/four-ways-to-draft-day----the-quarterback-problem.html http://views.washingtonpost.com/theleague/predraft/2009/04/four-ways-to-draft-day----the-quarterback-problem.html Draft Sun, 26 Apr 2009 03:30:33 -0500 Follow along live as Cindy Boren Twitters from the NFL Draft. (Click here to follow us on Twitter) #twitter_div h2 { background-color: transparent; color: #C00; font: bold 12px Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-transform: uppercase; margin: 0 0 1px 0; padding: 10px 0 0 0; border-bottom: 1px dotted #CCC; } #twitter_div ul { margin: 0 0 5px 0; padding: 0; list-style: none; } #twitter_div ul li { margin: 0 0 1px 0; padding: 7px 5px; font: 13px/18px Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; background-color: #EEE; } #twitter_div ul li span { font-weight: bold; } #twitter_div { padding-bottom: 10px; } #twitter_div p { font: bold 11px/14px Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin: 0; text-align: right; } #twitter_div a:link, #twitter_div a:visited { text-decoration: none; } #twitter_div a:hover, #twitter_div a:active { text-decoration: underline; } Latest Draft Buzz Previous Updates » http://views.washingtonpost.com/theleague/predraft/2009/04/draft-feed-1.html http://views.washingtonpost.com/theleague/predraft/2009/04/draft-feed-1.html Draft Sat, 25 Apr 2009 16:01:22 -0500 For most NFL quarterbacks, sixteen starts make up a season. For USC's Mark Sanchez, sixteen starts add up to a lifetime. That's how many times the 6-2, 227-pound resident of Mission Viejo, California took the ball under center as the main man for what has essentially become the NFL's minor-league team. That's not a lot to go on, especially since Sanchez is coming out a year early, foregoing his senior season to see what the NFL has to offer. There are two sides to the small sample size conundrum -- some believe that Sanchez needs more game film to validate his NFL readiness, while others believe that what he's done in just those 16 starts speak to an upside that is as high as it is for any player in this draft class. The man in question says that you should look at the quality, not the quantity, of the http://views.washingtonpost.com/theleague/predraft/2009/04/mark-sanchez-quality-over-quantity.html http://views.washingtonpost.com/theleague/predraft/2009/04/mark-sanchez-quality-over-quantity.html Doug Farrar Sat, 25 Apr 2009 00:00:53 -0500 Just as having your ticket stamped by a big school isn't a lead-pipe lock when it comes to NFL success, a small-college designation needn't doom a player to backup or washout status. This is true even when it comes to quarterback -- the most important position in the game. In the last decade, quarterbacks like Delaware's Joe Flacco, Miami of Ohio's Ben Roethlisberger, Marshall's Chad Pennington and Byron Leftwich (along with Big Ben, the Holy Trinity of MAC quarterbacks), East Carolina's David Garrard, Alabama State's Tarvaris Jackson, Sam Houston State's Josh McCown, and Eastern Illinois' Tony Romo have all found varying degrees of success in the NFL. In Super Bowl XLIII, Roethlisberger faced off against Kurt Warner, an undrafted one-time NFL flop from Northern Iowa, proving that two small-school quarterbacks can compete at the highest levels, and at a Hall of Fame clip. One quarterback in the 2009 draft class http://views.washingtonpost.com/theleague/predraft/2009/04/mike-reilly-the-undersold-overachiever.html http://views.washingtonpost.com/theleague/predraft/2009/04/mike-reilly-the-undersold-overachiever.html Draft Fri, 24 Apr 2009 23:02:24 -0500 There are players in the game today whose tenacity never quite meets their talent, just as there are many names from the past whose work ethic never quite equaled what they were given. To reach true greatness, desire and ability must find a meeting place. As much as anyone in the 2009 draft class, Missouri defensive tackle Evander "Ziggy" Hood has created that meeting place. He's a 6-3, 300-pound hulk with 4.8 speed and enough penetrative ability to total 22.5 tackles for loss, 15.5 sacks, eight pass deflections, and a blocked kick in his college career. But it's just as much about the determination that had him appearing in 12 games as a true freshman in 2005, coming back from a fractured foot after only three games missed in 2006, and named a team captain and Consensus All-Big 12 Conference first-team selection in 2008. Though Hood has impressed with his http://views.washingtonpost.com/theleague/predraft/2009/04/ziggy-hood-ahead-of-the-game.html http://views.washingtonpost.com/theleague/predraft/2009/04/ziggy-hood-ahead-of-the-game.html Doug Farrar Sun, 19 Apr 2009 22:01:11 -0500 The dual nature of life in football -- how one can be catastrophically aggressive on the field and a true gentleman in the "real world" -- was made clear to Florida State defensive end Everette Brown at an early age. Brown's parents were sticklers for decorum and etiquette, and their son had always followed suit, but he discovered that there was "Dad", and there was "Coach". "[It] was in my sixth-grade year," Brown told the Washington Post in February of the incident that altered his athletic mindset. "We were playing little league football, and my parents had always instilled in me a sense of manners, doing things the right way, and always making the right decision. We were on the field, in the middle of the game, and the running back came to the sideline. I had a great angle on him -- to really take the kid out -- http://views.washingtonpost.com/theleague/predraft/2009/04/the-two-sides-of-everette-brown-1.html http://views.washingtonpost.com/theleague/predraft/2009/04/the-two-sides-of-everette-brown-1.html Doug Farrar Tue, 14 Apr 2009 09:00:36 -0500 Philanthropy can be an indicator of selflessness, but the real measure of that trait can come in less obvious ways. It's in the way a person feels less comfortable talking about themselves than about others, and in the way a person gives to others at times when others are understandably focusing inward. Case in point: Two days before the 2009 NFL Draft, while most draft-eligible players are preparing for the big event, Connecticut running back Donald Brown will giving back. He'll be holding a seminar at the Downtown Café in Red Bank, New Jersey, speaking to high school players in his home area about being leaders and role models. This is one of the first steps forward in Brown's dream -- the First Annual Donald Brown Player-to-Player Leadership Conference. Those in attendance will have submitted essays on people who have mentored them, and the seminar will facilitate the idea of http://views.washingtonpost.com/theleague/predraft/2009/04/donald-brown----words-and-deeds.html http://views.washingtonpost.com/theleague/predraft/2009/04/donald-brown----words-and-deeds.html Doug Farrar Wed, 08 Apr 2009 10:21:57 -0500 In the cattle call that is the NFL Scouting Combine, the main event is the 40-yard dash. For all the other testing and poking and prodding that each player has to go through in Indianapolis, the 40-yard dash is the one event that every single athlete knows people will remember. Do you know who had the highest Wonderlic score in Combine history? What about the guy who had the best time in the three-cone drill? If you ask about the 40, though, people will start rolling off names like Darrell Green (reportedly possessor of a 4.09 40-yard dash), Deion Sanders (timed as fast as 4.19), and Bo Jackson (4.23). These are legendary athletes who became mythical figures because of their 40 time. What hasn't been done before the last couple of years, though, is any analysis of whether the drills at the Combine mean anything. Do players with great broad http://views.washingtonpost.com/theleague/predraft/2009/04/in-the-cattle-call-that.html http://views.washingtonpost.com/theleague/predraft/2009/04/in-the-cattle-call-that.html Combine Mon, 06 Apr 2009 09:31:09 -0500 From the Rooneys to the Mannings, football has always been about family. The NFL has seen over 150 father-son duos in its long history, and Ohio State wide receiver Brian Robiskie is about to add his name to the list. Brian's dad Terry was a running back with the Raiders and Dolphins for five years, from 1977 through 1981, and since retiring has been a coach with the Raiders, Redskins, Browns, and now the Falcons, where he coaches receivers. For all the players Terry Robiskie has helped in his long career, his most intriguing student might very well be his son, Brian, who has excelled with the Ohio State Buckeyes since 2006. Robiskie the younger is now known as one of the most intelligent and polished players in the college ranks, and growing up with a father who knows the ins and outs of the pro game hasn't hurt. "There's http://views.washingtonpost.com/theleague/predraft/2009/03/brian-robiskie-all-in-the-family.html http://views.washingtonpost.com/theleague/predraft/2009/03/brian-robiskie-all-in-the-family.html Draft Mon, 30 Mar 2009 10:01:48 -0500 When we last left Wake forest linebacker Aaron Curry, he had just wrapped up a top five draft pick with a senior year that saw him win the Butkus Award as college football's top linebacker. His Demon Deacons had been turned into a consistently powerful program by coach Jim Grobe, and Curry was the star. After a 29-19 win over Navy in the Congressional Bowl on December 20, it was time to start thinking about the future. Curry signed up with Athletes Performance Institute in Phoenix, training with some of the highest-caliber draft prospects for the Senior Bowl and the Combine. "Brian Orakpo, Jason Smith, Matthew Stafford, Eben Britton, Darrius Heyward-Bey, [who ran the] fastest 40 at the Combine. A lot of big-time guys, and we're just out here just competing with each other, having fun," he said. "For the NFL Combine, we worked with Luke Richesson, who is now http://views.washingtonpost.com/theleague/predraft/2009/03/aaron-curry-safe-at-home----part-2.html http://views.washingtonpost.com/theleague/predraft/2009/03/aaron-curry-safe-at-home----part-2.html Draft Tue, 24 Mar 2009 09:45:09 -0500 There are two kinds of safe picks in any draft. The more common kind can be seen in the mid-to-late rounds; players who meet their decent college projections, become valuable roleplayers, and occasionally break out into star status. The second kind of safe pick is extremely rare. These are the occasional players who not only have everything it takes to be a legitimate high-first-round draft pick; they've also sidestepped any red flags that could harm their draft status and their eventual NFL success. Once in a while, you see the complete package, with very few dings. The 2009 draft class has one of those players -- Wake Forest linebacker Aaron Curry. With a rare combination of perfect size (6-2, 254 pounds), speed (a 4.52-40 at the Combine), experience (50 games played) and passion for the game, Curry is regarded by most experts as the one sure thing in a huge http://views.washingtonpost.com/theleague/predraft/2009/03/aaron-curry-safe-at-home----part-1.html http://views.washingtonpost.com/theleague/predraft/2009/03/aaron-curry-safe-at-home----part-1.html Doug Farrar Fri, 20 Mar 2009 01:41:48 -0500 One of the many things that the spread offense has changed about college football, and by proxy the pipeline of talent that graduates to the NFL, is the tight end position. The 1980's brought the more modern pass-catching tight end to the fore with players such as Kellen Winslow and Ozzie Newsome, but over the last few seasons, the balance of the position -- the fact that tight ends are expected to block at a reasonable level as well as catch the ball -- has become skewed to the point where the higher percentage of players at the position come into the draft as enlarged receivers with minimal blocking skills and maximum playmaking ability. The true hybrid tight end in 2008 was Notre Dame's John Carlson, who was drafted by the Seahawks in the second round. At the 2008 Scouting Combine, Carlson ran a 4.88-40, which put him a tenth http://views.washingtonpost.com/theleague/predraft/2009/03/brandon-pettigrew-more-than-the-sum-of-his-stats.html http://views.washingtonpost.com/theleague/predraft/2009/03/brandon-pettigrew-more-than-the-sum-of-his-stats.html Draft Tue, 17 Mar 2009 02:46:45 -0500 http://views.washingtonpost.com/theleague/predraft/2009/03/2009-draft-top-db-poll.html http://views.washingtonpost.com/theleague/predraft/2009/03/2009-draft-top-db-poll.html Draft Thu, 12 Mar 2009 16:41:54 -0500 According to a USA Football study published in September, 2008, only California produces more NFL talent than Florida -- 214 to 185 players at the time, and probably not so different now. Only Texas can compare, with 170. The good news for Florida kids is that the scouts are well aware of the hot spots. The bad news is that some great talents get overlooked and have to travel out of state to get what they want out of a college football program. This is what happened to Darius Butler, the native of Fort Lauderdale who emigrated to the University of Connecticut when he was shunned locally. http://views.washingtonpost.com/theleague/predraft/2009/03/darius-butler-ready-for-prime-time.html http://views.washingtonpost.com/theleague/predraft/2009/03/darius-butler-ready-for-prime-time.html Draft Tue, 10 Mar 2009 12:28:15 -0500