Quote:
Originally Posted by Sheriff Gonna Getcha
I love to watch the Senior Bowl and the combine workouts, but do they really matter? Each year players watch their draft stocks rise and fall based on the Wonderlic, 40-times, etc. Take, for example, Terrell Suggs. Terrell Suggs was thought to be a top five selection in the 2003 draft, but slid down to the Ravens because of slow 40 times in pre-draft workouts. Vince Young's draft stock might have slipped a few spots due to his Wonderlic score (a wildly inaccurate predictor of football acumen). Players are now so polished up before player interviews at the Combine that I don't think that 10 minute player interviews can be that meaningful.
In my mind, the Senior Bowl is almost totally worthless as a scouting tool since it provides such a small "sample" and is a game involving very basic schemes, new coaches, and new teammates. The combine seems almost as useless. I would think that, save the medical examination portion of the combine, it too has minimal value.
Obviously I am not a scout, so would someone please explain how they are useful and why a player's draft stock can ascend or plummet so rapidly?
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Combines, in my opinion, are not useless because pro scouts know how fast the pro games are played. They, also, know what measurements it takes to play in the NFL at each position whether it's speed and agility, strength or the knowlege of the game itself.
College players have been playing against guys who are never going to see a NFL field and although they may have dominated them it does not mean that they will be a dominant professional football player. This system just as anything is in life is not totally fool proof but it does give them some kind of idea how to spend their money. It is similar to buying a car, you are going to check the engine, kick the tires, test drive it etc. etc. because you want to know what you are getting before you purchase it because once you buy it, it is yours to keep. Just because it looks good on the lot does not mean it is going to perform well on the road.