TheWarpath.net Talks to Former NFL Scout Dan Shonka

[SmootSmack]

So, the Warpath Front Office thought we’d do a different sort of Q&A. Sorry we didn’t have a chance to field your questions this time. This was a bit more spontaneous. We hope to have him on again soon and we can pose your questions to him.

Anyhow, many of you don’t know the name Dan Shonka but you know his work. He currently runs ourlads.com, and spent close to four decades as a scout in the NFL, including 2001 when he was with the Redskins.

Ourlads.com - Dan Shonka Bio

So we talked to Dan about his time with the Redskins and how the scouting process works. Those answers are below. Coming up later in part 2, Shonka talks to us about this year’s draft.

Q: Tell us about working for Marty Schottenheimer
A: Marty was a great man to work for. He was very respectful and listened carefully about every player. He is impressive as a leader. He made the scouts feel they too had ownership in the team. He had confidence in me as a scout and during the spring he had me go through the Big 10 workout days to evaluate players when I was in the West during the fall.

Q: How much input did Dan Snyder have on the scouting process?
A: Dan Snyder had no input. He was never in our meetings.

Q: What did you see in Antonio Pierce that no one else drafting saw?
A: Antonio Pierce jumped out at me on tape because of ability to play with hunger..he finished every play, he was always around the ball he had great instincts. I sat next to a GM from another team studying tape and I told the GM to take a look at Antonio..that was the 1st and only time I alerted a competitor about a sleeper. The GM said Antonio couldn't play. Marty said during training camp that Antonio was the most instinctive LBer he had seen in his 30 plus years in the NFL.

Q: Is there much interaction among scouts across the league?
A: I didn't talk to other scouts about players. Why would I do the work and tip them off...many scouts don't do their due diligence.

Q: Talk about the scouting process. Explain the difference between the area scout, the regional scout, and the national scout?
A: The area scout goes through first and knows the player by studying him as an underclassman. He does the background work. The regional scout will then evaluate about 4-6 weeks after the area scout (depending on the size of the region). Then you have the national (crosschecking) scout who studies all of the top players across the country. His direct evaluation occurs late in the season or in bowl practices and bowl games. The national scout looks at the top 1250150 players. Your draft should only consist of your top 125-150 players.

Q: How much influence does the coaching staff have on the process?
A: A team doesn’t want a scout to like a player just because a coach or another scout likes him. You must have the facts to back up your grade. Some teams don’t want scouts talking about the same player with each other to avoid any possible influence on the part of one scout over another. For the sake of integrity, you must have strong scouts with honest opinions

Q: How important is the off-the-field behavior (including combine interviews)?
A: The scout’s grade is based on what they do on the field. Once the top 125-150 are selected to be put up on the board then you code with them off field stuff. If it’s very bad you move them to a “no draft” board.

Stay tuned for more soon

[Dread-Skin]

Good read. Thanks Dan and SS.

[skinsfan69]

Originally Posted by SmootSmack

So, the Warpath Front Office thought we’d do a different sort of Q&A. Sorry we didn’t have a chance to field your questions this time. This was a bit more spontaneous. We hope to have him on again soon and we can pose your questions to him.

Anyhow, many of you don’t know the name Dan Shonka but you know his work. He currently runs ourlads.com, and spent close to four decades as a scout in the NFL, including 2001 when he was with the Redskins.

Ourlads.com - Dan Shonka Bio

So we talked to Dan about his time with the Redskins and how the scouting process works. Those answers are below. Coming up later in part 2, Shonka talks to us about this year’s draft.

Q: Tell us about working for Marty Schottenheimer
A: Marty was a great man to work for. He was very respectful and listened carefully about every player. He is impressive as a leader. He made the scouts feel they too had ownership in the team. He had confidence in me as a scout and during the spring he had me go through the Big 10 workout days to evaluate players when I was in the West during the fall.

Q: How much input did Dan Snyder have on the scouting process?
A: Dan Snyder had no input. He was never in our meetings.

Q: What did you see in Antonio Pierce that no one else drafting saw?
A: Antonio Pierce jumped out at me on tape because of ability to play with hunger..he finished every play, he was always around the ball he had great instincts. I sat next to a GM from another team studying tape and I told the GM to take a look at Antonio..that was the 1st and only time I alerted a competitor about a sleeper. The GM said Antonio couldn't play. Marty said during training camp that Antonio was the most instinctive LBer he had seen in his 30 plus years in the NFL.

Q: Is there much interaction among scouts across the league?
A: I didn't talk to other scouts about players. Why would I do the work and tip them off...many scouts don't do their due diligence.

Q: Talk about the scouting process. Explain the difference between the area scout, the regional scout, and the national scout?
A: The area scout goes through first and knows the player by studying him as an underclassman. He does the background work. The regional scout will then evaluate about 4-6 weeks after the area scout (depending on the size of the region). Then you have the national (crosschecking) scout who studies all of the top players across the country. His direct evaluation occurs late in the season or in bowl practices and bowl games. The national scout looks at the top 1250150 players. Your draft should only consist of your top 125-150 players.

Q: How much influence does the coaching staff have on the process?
A: A team doesn’t want a scout to like a player just because a coach or another scout likes him. You must have the facts to back up your grade. Some teams don’t want scouts talking about the same player with each other to avoid any possible influence on the part of one scout over another. For the sake of integrity, you must have strong scouts with honest opinions

Q: How important is the off-the-field behavior (including combine interviews)?
A: The scout’s grade is based on what they do on the field. Once the top 125-150 are selected to be put up on the board then you code with them off field stuff. If it’s very bad you move them to a “no draft” board.

Stay tuned for more soon

Nice comments about Pierce. The guy should go into coaching.

[Chico23231]

cool insight, thanks SS

[MTK]

Good stuff SS.

[Lotus]

That was very instructive, Mr. Shonka. Thank you for your comments.

Gracias SS for putting this together.

Hindsight is 20/20 but it now seems unimaginable that someone would flat-out say that Pierce could not play.

[MTK]

Originally Posted by Lotus

That was very instructive, Mr. Shonka. Thank you for your comments.

Gracias SS for putting this together.

Hindsight is 20/20 but it now seems unimaginable that someone would flat-out say that Pierce could not play.

Proof of how an inexact science scouting is. Parcells once said Cooley was a special teamer at best.

[tryfuhl]

Awesome.. in the future q&a I'd like to know about our scouts being a bit of a laughing stock due to staff size, age, etc

[skinsfaninok]

Great Thanks

[NC_Skins]

Thanks SS! Good read indeed.

[Daseal]

Thank you Mr. Shonka and SS. I found the piece about Snyder interesting. Fans constantly scream about how involved Snyder is, yet there is very little evidence that comes from within the organization to support that.

[SmootSmack]

Well Snyder is less involved in the day to day than we would all like to think, but keep in mind this was 2001 when Snyder was completely uninvolved. Had I talked to a scout from 2003, I'm sure the answer would have been more like "occasionally" And if I ask someone now, I'm sure the answer would be the same as 2001

[Daseal]

SS. I was under the impression that Snyder's main job was signing checks, especially starting with Gibbs and with Shanny. I just feel like the man is a pinata for fans and commentators when he isn't nearly as involved as we think.

[53Fan]

Good stuff! Thanks SS!

[mlmdub130]

Originally Posted by Daseal

SS. I was under the impression that Snyder's main job was signing checks, especially starting with Gibbs and with Shanny. I just feel like the man is a pinata for fans and commentators when he isn't nearly as involved as we think.

he does it to him self, if he didn't try to throw his money around and continually make him self out to be the bad guy, he wouldn't be.