Saturday NFL Combine Report

by Doug Farrar

Day three of the Combine is the first day in which the actual on-field tests happen (for offensive linemen, tight ends and special teamers on this day), and as a result, you see far fewer coaches and team staffers in the media room, Everyone's in the RCA Dome, working with the first rays of their future draft boards, trying to find this year's Ahmad Bradshaw. Still, there were press conferences all day, and we saw the first of the defenders, and heard we'll be seeing one that we didn't expect. These were the five primary thoughts I came away with after another action-packed day…

1. The salary cap is making the draft more and more important.

This was brought home during the press conferences of Giants GM Jerry Reese and Titans GM Mike Reinfeldt. With the cap at $116 million in 2008, teams are finding it easier to take care of their own without the formerly prohibitive franchise tag numbers getting in the way. Reinfeldt, a former salary cap maven with the Seahawks, talked about how it was far simpler to make a big free agency splash in the late nineties or early aughts, when elite players became free agents and teams under oppressive cap constraints had no way of keeping their stars when other teams, with more money and equivalent personnel needs, pressed the issue.

"Teams are signing their players earlier in their contracts," Reinfeldt said. "I think you are seeing fewer and fewer Pro Bowl-caliber players in the prime of their career really reach free agency. So that behooves you even more to build through the draft. I don’t think there are any quick fixes in the NFL any more."

Reese, who put together one of the better second-day drafts in recent memory in 2007 (his first year as GM), said that more than ever, "the second day is where we earn our money." Reese said that he looks with specific detail at small-school players during the Combine, because it's the first time he really gets to see them perform in comparison to the more renowned prospects. Both executives agreed: You acquire depth and build your team through the draft, because as long as there's a Collective Bargaining Agreement, the genie won't go back in the bottle, capwise. Free agency may enhance what you have, but it won't save your franchise anymore.

2. Mr. and Mr. (and Mr.) Smith.

On the other end of the competitive spectrum … well, there was Mike Smith, new head coach of the Atlanta Falcons. (We were trying to arrange an interview with this Mike Smith, ESPN's Michael Smith, and our own Michael David Smith, but that didn't happen). Smith is inheriting a dysfunctional situation (to say the least), but as he said in his press conference, "I don't think it's an undaunting task at all," which I'm guessing is not what he meant to say. Freudian slip, perhaps. In any case, Smith was happy about the fact the his team won the coin flip and got the third overall pick, leading to his first "win" as head coach. Smartly, Smith credited new GM Thomas Dimitroff with "a great job on the coin flip yesterday."

He hasn't had a lot of time to evaluate draft prospects yet, because his time has been spent evaluating the roster he has and cutting what the team considers to be dead weight, or players that Smith and Dimitroff don't feel will contribute to the future of the team. Quarterback is obviously the hot issue, and Matt Ryan was heard to say some nice things about the Falcons recently, but everything's up in the air as far as that goes. That's an overriding theme, really -- coaches and execs are asked about this or that prospect, and especially in the case of playoff teams, there just hasn't been time to study a lot of film and talk to scouts and coordinators about the right fit and who goes in the draft board.

3. Jeremy Zuttah, workout warrior!

So, Mister General Manager, you've said to yourself, "If only I had an offensive lineman with deep speed, my team could be so much more dynamic!" Fear not! Every year at the Combine, they put these 300-plus pound behemoths through 40-yard dashes despite the fact that very few of these gentlemen have any particular reason to run that far in a timed event, unless barbecued ribs at the finish are somehow involved.

This year, the Speedy Gonzales of linemen was Rutgers tackle Jeremy Zuttah, whose 4.99-second 40-yard dash was the only under-five performance from the big guys. The 6'3", 305-pound tweener could project at guard or tackle, and the time is a big surprise, because according to NFLDraftScout.com, his pre-Combine best was 5.26. Perhaps barbecued ribs were involved! Connecticut's Donald Thomas finished second with an even five seconds, and Arizona State's Mike Pollak finished third at 5.02. Yes, these numbers are a little goofy, and such times are only really meaningful for a lineman if you are a Joe Thomas, you're already the top-rated tackle in the draft, and you come to the Combine anyway and break off a sub-five time. That's when you show what Thomas indeed showed through his rookie year with the Browns. Otherwise, you might as well be trying out for the ballet.

Former NFL Scout and USFL executive Tom Marino related the following humorous story about Jim Mora the Elder and line coach Paul Boudreau (who now has the same job with the Falcons) in this recent article [1]:

After injuries to the offensive line, the Saints brought in a number of free agent hopefuls — from which Boudreau decided to recommend an undersized center recently let go by the Denver Broncos by the name of Brad Leggett. After reviewing his workout evaluation, Mora turned quizzically in the direction of Boudreau and said, "Paul, how are we going to line up this Sunday against the 49ers with a guy who just ran 5.86 in the 40?"

Boudreau, who was never at a loss for words, was seated at the far end of the table. He looked up over his reading glasses, and with little or no emotion stated, "No problem, Jim. Just don't send him deep."

Unless he's Jeremy Zuttah, of course.

4. Dee-fense!

Today was media day for defensive linemen and linebackers, and the big news was that LSU defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey, thought to be missing the Combine due to a death in the family, did in fact arrive and will speak to the media tomorrow. Other defensive standouts had a lot to say today -- USC's Sedrick Ellis, whose stock split about 10 different times during Senior Bowl week, believes that people may not know enough about his versatility. "I can do the nose tackle, the 1-technique, or the 2-technique," he said. "I played them in college, so I’m used to doing that kind of thing. Whatever a team needs me to play I’ll play." He also said that USC has run variations of a 3-4 over the last two seasons, so he's not anticipating an adjustment if a team like Miami took him first overall (which wouldn't surprise at least one draft expert I talked to today) and groomed him as the first point of resistance in a Parcells-style defense.

Virginia defensive end Chris Long was as poised as you'd expect him to be with a father (Howie Long of the Raiders) who made it to the Hall of Fame as a player and has gained accolades as a broadcaster. "I have met Al Davis," Long said, when asked if the Oakland has shown interest. "My earliest memory of Al Davis was ducking in the car when I came to visit my dad at training camp because there were no families allowed in. That was my earliest memory. Don't tell Al Davis that happened. I remember meeting him when I was a kid, but I have not seen him since."

He won't have to wait outside anymore.

5. Cowboy up…

And hey -- the Combine isn't just about the draft! You will get the occasional breaking news happening in your immediate vicinity, as it did on Thursday, when Adam Schefter reported, about ten feet behind me, that the Cowboys slapped the franchise tag on safety Ken Hamlin. It happened again this morning, as I saw an burgeoning crowd in the hallway just outside the media room. Agent Drew Rosenhaus had jerry-rigged a very informal press conference to announce that his client, former Dolphins linebacker Zach Thomas, had agreed to terms with Dallas in a one-year deal worth $3 million.

Rosenhaus said that Thomas watched film of all the teams that showed interest -- at least the Cowboys, Patriots and Saints, and though he wouldn't seem like a fit in a Dallas-style 3-4 defense, it's apparently Wade Phillips' aim to use Thomas as he did Donnie Edwards in San Diego -- as more of a roving playmaker than a stationary linebacker with a fixed area. This led Aaron and me to wonder when Thomas found the Fountain of Youth in Florida, and whether his jersey should read, "Ponce de Leon". There's also the small matter of the concussion effects that the 34-year old Thomas has been suffering since at least 1999, but as the league always says, due diligence when it comes to concussions is a very important thing. Or something like that.

Personally, I think it's a shame he didn't sign with the Pats -- I was looking forward to the "New England's Linebackers Get Younger with Thomas!" headlines…