Senior Bowl thread

[Icness]

I'm down here in Mobile for Senior Bowl week. I'll be putting up a daily report on the main page but I'll throw some other stuff in here.

Monday observations:
My plane ride here was a "Who's Who". I sat immediately next to Brad Childress. Across the aisle was Tom Dimitroff and Mike Smith. Behind them was pretty much the entire Rams staff. Josh McDaniels (he looks like he's 15), Tim Brando, John Cooper (the nicest guy you'll ever meet!), Michael Smith of ESPN were also on board. I'm not someone who gets starstruck but it was pretty awesome to be in such close proximity to so many notable people. Childress wouldn't talk much but Dimitroff was willing to chat, good dude. He asked me who I had them taking in my mock draft and provided some useful feedback. He is the most hyper-organized person I've ever seen.

I did not make it to the practice fields today, and it seems like pretty much nobody else did either. I'm in the media center right now and McShay just got here, Michael Smith is here, Pro Football Weekly and Sporting News are all in here and not at practice so I don't feel bad. Shawne Merriman was downstairs in the bar with a giant empty glass in front of him. He's significantly shorter than I expected, probably not a hair more than 6'.

Just some very preliminary "overheards" and small-talk tidbits:
--every QB here is battling to just get drafted, not in the first couple of rounds but drafted at all. I'm hearing decent buzz on Rhett Bomar but the other two North QBs (Harrell and Brown from Central Arkansas) really have to impress this week to even get picked at all. Word is the wideouts (not a good group either!) are grumbling about the crappy QBs before they even started.

--Jason Smith, T, Baylor is quickly moving up draft boards. He could realistically go #1 overall, certainly top 5.

--Aaron Curry, LB, Wake Forest is certainly in play for the Rams

--The Bengals might go OL with their top 2 picks. Keep in mind they are coaching one of the squads and Mack and Unger are both on it. Just planting the seeds...

--I'm kinda surprised at how much more I know about some of the non-marquee players here than a lot of the other "name" media. Some of the people who you will here offering opinions throughout the week had never even heard of the likes of Troy Kropog or Larry English or Tyrone McKenzie.

--Media Night is tonight and I have interviews set up with 6 different players, most notably Javon Ringer and Pat White. More on those tomorrow.

[ChronicKerr]

I thought Ringer pulled out of the senior bowl due to having his knee scoped after the season and not being completely ready. Even so, I guess he could still be there. Good info Ic

[hermes]

any thoughts on Mitch King Icness?

[studcrackers]

icness if ur also in mobile to inquire about free agent targets, i read the baltimore sun said the cowboys may look to pursue ray lewis. can u tell me how legit that is

[CJ_18]

thats weird, isn't merriman listed at 6'4 or something?

the interview with Ringer is cool, could you give a little recap of it when you finish?

[lpsevier]

but Dimitroff was willing to chat, good dude. He asked me who I had them taking in my mock draft and provided some useful feedback. He is the most hyper-organized person I've ever seen.

Any more notes on Dimitroff?

Pretty please?

[GS Warriors 1]

Great info again, IC.

Didn't think Jason Smith would rise that quickly. I've always had him as a top 20 prospect but wasn't sure he would enter the top 5 picture and it looks like thats what has happened.

[Icness]

Tuesday North Notes:
Star of the morning: B.J. Raji. Drew audible “oohs” for absolutely planting Max Unger on a bull rush. Was basically unstoppable one-on-one.

The QBs are rough to watch. Rhett Bomar is the most NFL-ready of the three. Nate Brown looks awful and overwhelmed, though interestingly he throws the best deep ball of the three. He can toss 30-yard fly routes perfect but missed 4 short outs in a row, none were even close. Graham Harrell is the opposite--he’s perfect on short throws, though lacking zip, but anything over about 12 yards he just doesn’t have the accuracy and certainly not the arm strength.

Harrell fumbled the first snap from center in the drills without RBs and LBs. He fumbled two others as well and is clearly watching the ball into his hands instead of the first steps of the defense.

Alex Mack is awesome. During stretches he did a complete splits and then bounced up from it like a hockey goalie. He was the only C who handled Raji at all, and on one run play he pushed Cody Brown backwards for almost 15 yards. I was standing near the Redskins brass for awhile and they were glowing over him. Like, “that guy is our 1st rounder no question” talk.

The WRs are not real impressive but have isolated moments of greatness. Brandon Gibson is the fastest of the group and he made a great sliding catch, but he also got chewed out for being passive on a release and for turning his head around too early on a deep pass, which allowed Deangelo Smith to jump the route and get an INT.

Brian Robiskie had a bunch of drops but he also made a fantastic stab in heavy traffic. Jeff Ireland (Dolphins GM) pointed out that Robiskie worries about defenders he can’t see or feel, but when they’re tight on him he does great because he knows where they are and where the hit is coming from. Ramses Barden needs a lot of work but his size is going to attract suitors. Trust me, you don’t want it to be your team.

Tim Jamison had a nice morning playing LDE. Made Loadholt look bad and also made a real nice play on a cutback run, stayed home and didn’t bite.

Xavier Fulton T Illinois was impressive, great run blocking. Fired out and locked on consistently. William Beatty did well too but Fulton looks more athletic.

Loser of the morning: Ron Brace, Raji’s rotund teammate. He was the only guy hitting the oxygen machine and he hit it several times. VT center Shuman had his way with him and he’s a borderline 6th/7th rounder. Brace also jumped offsides three times that I saw. On that front, Graham Harrell does a hell of a hard count, got his own linemen to jump twice.

Connor Barwin is here playing TE primarily, and he is just as good as Pettigrew. Made some very nice edge seal blocks on run plays and flashed nice hands. The next Vrabel?

Louis Sakoda was brutal. It was pretty windy but he left a 40-yarder at least 5 yards short and pushed another couple of shorter FGs wa-a-a-y left. He looked visibly impacted by the cold wind.

Non-player stuff:
I sat about 10 feet from Bill Parcells and the Dolphins brass and two rows in front of the Texans entourage for the bulk of practice. I introduced myself to Parcells and he actually kenw who I was, which made my day. He has lost some weight. He was intently watching the WRs and DBs and asked one of their lackeys to brief him on Deangelo Smith.

Overheard right at the end of practice, don’t know who said it: “What a sh***y year to need a quarterback.” That drew lots of affirmative laughs and nods, including ones from Lions GM Martin Mayhew and Redskins coach Jim Zorn.

The Rams were talking amongst themselves about Ziggy Hood, who had a decent morning.
Green Bay is looking real hard for rush OLBs, both in draft and otherwise. They should be considered a strong candidate to chase Terrell Suggs.

Carolina will sign Jordan Gross before it deals with Peppers. Expect Peppers to hit the open market if he doesn’t come down from his expected asking price.

The Ray Lewis-to-Dallas talk is drawing more laughs than positive feedback. Laughs as in, “So they want to get older, more expensive, and more divisive in the locker room”. Almost nobody expects Ray to go anywhere. Suggs appears to be the odd man out in BAL--they’ll sign Bart Scott before Suggs because he’ll be much cheaper and they have some other guys who need new deals.

Strange sight o' the morning: The Chicago Rush of the AFL are here, scouting as if they are going to have a season.

[Celtics_Champs]

Ic, on the peppers front, is this peppers to the patriots speculation just sports radio talk because they are bored, or is that a rumor which is floating around there?

Good to hear Raji is doing well. Not surprised by brace.

I think Lewis to the cowboys would be a good move for Dallas. I hope he stays in baltimore though.

[studcrackers]

i think lewis would be good w/the cowboy too, especiall with all the "leadership concerns" the team has, apparently he'll provide plenty of that. only downside is his age but we had thomas starting here last season. if kevin burnett could stay healthy though id love to give him the starting job instead of just being in on passing downs. i dont really see how ray would be divisive in the locker room

[Celtics_Champs]

Well, from the looks of it, he does bring team members together. You will see them huddled together praying, real close with each other. I imagine the locker room is a great environment, and a large part of that is him.

Now, that might be because all those guys went to the U. But I have seen some other members brought into the huddle too. Suggs, Scott, McNair.

[Manhattan Project]

Regarding Barden, would you laugh if someone wrote this;
"He intimidated corners who bumped him down the field in what would have been penalties."

Either way I know I wouldnt have been focused at all during the week if Bill Parcells knew who I was, thats pretty amazing. Kudos on that and keep up the great work, Im eagerly awaiting the next installment.

[Icness]

Wed. morning quickies:
All the QBs looked much better, esp. Nate Brown.

B.J. Raji just might be a top 3 pick. He is more impressive than Sed Ellis was here last year. No way he's not a top 10 pick.

I'm surprised at how cool teams are on both Sanchez and Stafford. Moreso Sanchez, who is no lock to go in the first round. I badly overestimated his value in my last mock. His lack of experience is a major issue. Stafford won't fall out of the top 4 picks but I'd be real surprised at this point if the Lions take him #1 overall.

Connor Barwin moved back to DE today and looked good.

Morgan Trent arrived with authority, looked very fluid and confident. Nice kid, talked to him a little after practice.

Louis Delmas has Bob Sanders-like potential. He's also unquestionably the biggest media draw. The camera loves him and he loves it right back, always talking and firing up people around him.

Max Unger had a terrible morning.

Seen:
--Sean Payton and Bill Parcells amiably chatting for a good 15 minutes
--Drew Rosenhaus trying to poach clients, notably Delmas and Ziggy Hood
--several out-of-work coaches practically begging for jobs. It's freaking depressing.
--Terry Robiskie pimping his son to the Falcons and Texans staff, while wearing a sweet Ohio State leather jacket
--Brad Childress interviewing someone (IDK who) at a nearby Starbucks. Also "hiding" there were Josh McDaniels, Jim Zorn, and two guys I recognized from the Panthers but I don't know exactly who they are.

Heard:
--most everyone here is appalled by how "experience" has become a dirty word for coaching and front office positions. Lots of old-timers are real angry about it
--the market for Matt Cassel is higher than you probably think. Like a first this year and a 2nd next year high, and you'd better believe the Pats will get it if they want.
--all the hubbub about the Cowboys plane delays is making lots of people smile and chuckle. I'm surprised at how many prominent NFL people think Jerry Jones is a complete joke. I can almost guarantee that no "name" coach is ever going to go anywhere near Valley Ranch.
--Jim Fassel is a decent bet to be the Lions OC and asst. head coach.
--look for almost all the prominent players with 2 years left on their deals (think: Rivers, Merriman, Ware, many others) to either get new deals this spring or hold out for one next training camp. And if the Chargers give the expected $$ to Rivers and Merriman, sayonara LT.

[WAYSA]

Any Bears news?

I thought Fassel was hired to be on the Oakland staff?

[Rafael122]

I've been reading on a lot of mock sites that BJ Raji is probably the guy who's done the most for himself in these practices. I'm talking, at first they projected him to go like in the teens, now there's talk about him going in the top 10, top 5 even.

Looking at your mock draft 4.0, I find it hard to believe the Skins will pass on Raji AND Monroe so they can take Orakpo. And the thought of taking Alex Mack at 13 scares the hell out of me. This team doesn't need a center, they need a left guard and a right tackle. Raji being there is best case scenario as it allows them to trade down and see who bites.

[Manhattan Project]

Any Bears news?

I thought Fassel was hired to be on the Oakland staff?

That was John.

[Icness]

Spent the bulk of last evening getting liquored up with two scouts and a recently unemployed former director of collegiate scouting. Some of the things we talked about:

--two guys who really hurt themselves by not being here in Mobile to show what they can do and answer some questions: James Laurinaitis and Michael Johnson. I've been pleasantly surprised all week by the prevailiing opinion of Johnson as an overhyped, one-dimensional role player.

--Taylor Mays made a real good decision to go back to school. Pete Carroll talked to many teams about him and every single one told him Mays was not a 1st round pick yet, but will be next year if he shows improvement in his cover skills and tackling form.

--Glenn Coffee is gaining momentum at RB.

--Matt Stafford grades out favorably to Cutler. The fact he started right away at UGA helps him out, and he's worked with Dan Reeves quite a bit and Reeves tells anyone who will listen that Stafford is just as ready for the NFL as Elway was when he came out. I still disagree somewhat but I'm not going to argue with Dan Reeves.

--this draft could be extremely light on 1st day running backs. Like maybe just 2--Wells and Moreno, and neither of those two would go in the top 15 if the draft were today. Remember that, because someone will probably draft Wells in the top 10 after he works out and hype builds.

--this Senior Bowl doesn't have a lot of 1st rounders but almost the entire second round is here. Surefire 1st rounders here:
BJ Raji, certainly a top 10 pick and there are whispers the Seahawks are going to have a hard time not taking him at #4
Rey Maualuga, in the 10-20 range. I can 100% guarantee you he will not fall past the Lions at #20, barring some freakish drop by another.
Peria Jerry, also in the 10-20 range, perhaps down to 25. He's also a real strong candidate for Detroit at #20.
Louis Delmas will be the first safety off the board. Whether that's in the first or the top of the 2nd (think Rams) is unknown, but props to me for being ahead of the curve on him.
Michael Oher, certainly not as well-regarded as Monroe or either Smith but we all agreed he is a top 15 pick
Brian Cushing
Alphonso Smith
Clay Matthews
Alex Mack, and the scouting director opined "He will start in the Pro Bowl within the next 2 years and keep starting until he doesn't want to anymore." We had a real nice debate over where exactly to draft a sure-fire stud at center. I say as high as 10 but the consensus was in the 15-25 range.

Biggest losers of the week:
James Davis, falling perilously close to UDFA status
Joaquin Iglesias, now a 4th/5th rounder
Max Unger, no chance for 1st round, probably now a 3rd.
Ron Brace
Macho Harris, looking slow and committing penalties at an alarming rate. He cannot cover without holding, period.

Biggest winners:
Xavier Fulton, T, Illinois is drawing praise. He needs to add some lower body strength but his technique is great and he is aggressive. Playing up into the 3rd/4th and he came here as a borderline UDFA
Robert Ayers, DE, Tennesee. Drawing Shawne Merriman comparisons, though he's not as powerful.
Coye Francies, CB, San Jose State
Arian Foster
Zack Follett
Alex Magee, who has shown bull rush ability and unexpected nimbleness

[ChronicKerr]

[quote="Icness"]
I'm surprised at how cool teams are on both Sanchez and Stafford. Moreso Sanchez, who is no lock to go in the first round. I badly overestimated his value in my last mock. His lack of experience is a major issue. Stafford won't fall out of the top 4 picks but I'd be real surprised at this point if the Lions take him #1 overall.
[/quote]

Why do you think you overestimated Sanchez having him at 16? Kiper has him at 3 to the Chiefs as of today.

[Icness]

I'm surprised at how cool teams are on both Sanchez and Stafford. Moreso Sanchez, who is no lock to go in the first round. I badly overestimated his value in my last mock. His lack of experience is a major issue. Stafford won't fall out of the top 4 picks but I'd be real surprised at this point if the Lions take him #1 overall.

Why do you think you overestimated Sanchez having him at 16? Kiper has him at 3 to the Chiefs as of today.

Mel Kiper is conspicuous in his absence here in Mobile. People here are extremely concerned about Sanchez's lack of experience and the fact he racked up his numbers against some truly awful defenses in the Pac 10. I've heard that from GMs, from coaches, from other recognizable "draftniks". He can and probably will improve his stock as time goes on, and maybe Mel is ahead of the curve. Russ Lande of TSN has Sanchez #1 overall. QBs do tend to draw some earlier-than-expected draft positions. But the word in Mobile is that Sanchez is a late 1st/2nd rounder. I know some people who like Josh Freeman better (I"m not one of them).

My next mock will have him either at 19 to TB or to DET with the 1st pick of round 2. Which means he'll probably wind up somewhere in between via a traded pick.

[ChronicKerr]

Makes sense to me, although, If the Lions go away from QB at #1 you really see them passing on Sanchez at pick 20??

To go along with WAYSA's question on the Bears isn't Marinelli down in Mobile? Any rumblings on where they're looking at going with their first pick whether offensively or defensively?