NFL Scouting Combine: The Tired Hype

NFL scouts at the Scouting Combine.

The Scouting Combine seems like it's becoming a mockery of itself.  More and more we hear how forming opinions of the workouts is a waste of time and that the biggest impact of the event happens in meetings behind closed doors.  In essence, it's become nothing more than a media monster where coaches and general managers are pressed for specifics they'd rather not reveal and the young players become show dogs who can talk and try to answer questions on topics that they haven't thought about before.  The television analysts tell you what to watch for during the workouts and then say none of it matters anyway because it isn't football.  The whole thing looks really silly from a distance and perhaps it should be reexamined as a whole.

Another game like the Senior Bowl would be great but there are concerns.  First, if the players at the combine are represented by the NFLPA, then they might not go for a game.  Second, the league doesn't want to tarnish its precious resource of new talent with a bunch of injuries in an exhibition game.   If Andrew Luck tore his ACL in such a scenario, the guy who said another Senior Bowl game would be a good idea might be thrown into a river.

I think a mini-camp with full pads could be a happy medium between underwear olympics and a real game.  Coaches could supervise drills and try to keep the players as safe as possible, but still provide scouts with live action rather than simulated nonsense.  It would make for better television which makes more money and more corporate sponsorship and everybody walks away satisfied. 

Since my idea is unlikely to be adopted in this season, however, the show must go on and so there are a couple of guys I want to watch.

One is Zach Brown.  This guy is a lighter outside linebacker from North Carolina who is described with those weird athletic superlatives like “freak” and “beast”.   I have read in some scouting reports that he is expected to run near a 4.40 in the 40-yard dash and could even finish under that mark.  He flashed in the Senior Bowl, especially in coverage and I feel he could be a trendy prototype of player in response to the recent emergence of the receiving tight end.  On the surface, it doesn't appear that the Bengals would have a need for a player like Brown (not great at point of attack, smallish), but with two first-rounders, I wouldn't mind taking a flyer on a guy who could be something new to the league.  The first thing everyone points to in regard to fixing the Cincinnati defense is the secondary but acquiring a player who can impact the passing game by sticking with larger, more powerful receiving targets could be worth the risk of taking him before more obvious needs.

The topic of Bengals linebackers is one of curiosity to me.  Thomas Howard and Rey Maualuga return, and while both made plays and had solid seasons, neither bring much excitement to the bigger picture.  Manny Lawson and Brandon Johnson are free-agents, and Dontay Moch and Roderick Muckleroy get a second chance to show they can stay healthy enough to play NFL football, and even Keith Rivers may surface in a striped helmet again in 2012, but there no game changers in the bunch.  All the top defenses have an excellent linebacker somewhere on their roster, and despite searching high or low, Cincinnati still hasn't found one since the woeful tale of Odell Thurman. 

Another area the Bengals could take a chance on is receiver.  Since T.J. Houshmandzadeh bolted for Seattle after the 2008 season, Marvin Lewis has yet to secure a reliable No. 2 receiver.  First it was Laveranues Coles, then it was Antonio Bryant, then it was Terrell Owens, and lastly it was Jerome Simpson, and now we're hearing names like Stevie Johnson and even Braylon Edwards, God forbid. 

I like Alshon Jeffry, especially in the second round.  Mike Mayock says that if Jeffry doesn't run a good time in Indy, he will drop because being big and slow doesn't help anybody. This guy has a Megatron frame and can jump up over defenders but if he really is that slow, I might cool off on him.  I also like Michael Floyd who has better hands and seems more like an AFC North kind of player than does Jeffry.  Floyd is another big guy with speed concerns, but he would be an excellent compliment to AJ Green's deep-ball game.  With Jordan Shipley, Andrew Hawkins, Green and Jermaine Gresham already in the mix, adding another high pick to that collection would put pressure on the rest of the division.  The lack of receiving depth severely wounded the team's chances of any postseason run in 2009 and again last season.  Rather than gamble on stop-gap veteran free-agents, why not draft someone solid and be done with it?

I know that interior offensive-line play, secondary, and running back are the most widely discussed positions as likely draft targets, but having two picks in the first round might let Mike & Marv gamble on someone purely out of curiosity.  Mike Brown has been known to experiment when it comes to draft picks (Akili Smith, Chris Perry, Peter Warrick), and this year's scenario has to tempt him to some degree to do the same. 

So as the Combine sprints and lifts and and shuffles its way through Indianapolis, and the media swarms around podiums and tries to outcheese one another, conversations elsewhere are taking place that really make the difference of a player being drafted or not.  Speculation will fly about the internet based on this thing and that, and we will read into free-agent moves to identify a Bengal draft philosophy, but, like always, none of us know unless we're drinking ice tea with Mike Brown and talking about personnel moves, which most of us aren't.  So watch the combine if you want, just don't pay any attention to it.



Mojokong—The circus strong-man's hammer.

Bengals Free Agency: Control Yourself

The NFL free-agency turns fans into small children at a toy store.  They walk around the imaginary aisles and drool over the big-named players that they recognize from television.  Eventually, they want everything in the store and they have to pee. 

Teams, on the other hand, are like the parents and are faced with a multitude of considerations when shopping for their team.  Their impulse buying must be checked with a sense of shrewdness and cold common sense. 

Not only do the basics like the roster and cap space come into play, but so do larger pictures like market-size, team philosophy and even attractive living situations.  Unlike rookies, most free-agents come to a new team as well-established adults who often have family responsibilities and other more grown-up things to think about.   After a team processes through all of these factors, their list of remaining candidates is small and often modest.  Sometimes fans get angry with little to no activity and feel their team isn't trying to get better, but in the long run, this kind of practice is a more sturdy one than frivolous spending.

Today's free-agency is used more as a stop-gap than as a power move.  There is discussion that this year's free-agent class could be fraught with cap casualties and that those bigger names fans enjoy so much will be floating around for the taking.  But of all the free-agents from a year ago, only two or three players come to mind that seemed worth the cost.

One of those was Johnathan Joseph.  The Bengals tried to keep him, but not well enough and the effects of his departure showed in both Cincinnati and Houston.  Nate Clements was signed as the stop-gap and now, in 2012, the Bengals look to upgrade that position again.  Replacing Joseph's talent level could take years to find, but such is life in the business-side of football.

Business also took away the team's secondary coach, Kevin Coyle, who became Miami's new defensive coordinator.  Mark Carrier, a onetime no-nonsense safety for the Bears, takes over an area that has received a lot of scrutiny in the past few months. Many fans and analysts point to the defensive backfield as the first place to upgrade and Carrier comes into a somewhat pressurized situation for a position coach. 

It's already been reported that former-Raider Stanford Routt is scheduled to visit Paul Brown Stadium, but that is exactly the type of filler the Bengals should avoid.  Routt looked tired at the end of games last year and was a big part of that record-setting defense for penalties committed.  He would not be an upgrade to Nate Clements and is simply “just another guy”.

One intriguing corner who might be available, however, is Terence Newman of the Cowboys.  If he is cut thanks to his big cap-number as some have speculated, he can fit into a Mike Zimmer system after having done so from 2003-06.  After nine seasons, he isn't the blazer he used to be but his talents are better than those of Clements or Routt, and if he becomes available, Zim may ask for him. 

For all the dangers and risks of plugging in free-agents on an especially young team like the Bengals, one position has historically been kind to the game when joining a new team, and that is the running back.  Even last year Darren Sprowles and, ironically the guy he replaced, Reggie Bush, had tremendous impacts on their team's offensive production last year. 

Like all backs with those kinds of numbers, those two fit their new scheme almost perfectly to gain that much production, but even a player like the aged Ricky Williams had a quality season being a normal second back for the Ravens. This year, a guy like the unrelated Micheal Bush could do the same with a new team.  When Darren McFadden went down last year, Bush filled in superbly and showed not only a bruising straight-ahead style, but also shiftiness on screens and delays.  Couple him with a sports-car back like Bernard Scott, or dare I say Trent Richardson, and suddenly the Cincinnati running game might have some teeth again. 

Let's face it, Cedric Benson has become predictably average the past two seasons.  His side-stepping nonsense will never be reliable enough to convert short-yardage pick-ups and his me-first attitude makes him that much less attractive.  Yes, he stays healthy and doesn't wear down but his running style is not conducive to the Jay Gruden scheme.   The mistake of keeping the wrong guy can sometimes be as costly as a bad signing and Benson could help the team most by leaving it.

I don't mind some filler signings because depth is so important.  Second-tier free agents like Thomas Howard, Manny Lawson and Donald Lee saved the team at times when the ranks became thin with injury.  I would like to keep Reggie Nelson and Jonathan Fanene, and some interior offensive line depth couldn't hurt either, but the heavy-hitters looking for the jackpot are not how small-market teams succeed for the long haul.  This organization reacted in the 2011 offseason by not investing into marquee names like they had the previous years with Terrell Owens and Antonio Bryant.  They should stick to that thinking and not just spend cap-room money because it's there.  Landing a new every-down back, and improving depth in the weaker areas before the draft, will really open up possibilities with those two first-round picks, but there is no need to get carried away.

Unlike the NFC East who load up on known expensive veterans, the two most important players on each side of the ball for the Bengals were drafted in the last two years. Today's young players are more ready than ever to step onto a professional field and make an immediate difference. These are the types of players the Bengals must dump most of their resources into; that is the winning formula for a team like Cincinnati.  



Mojokong—beneath the internet. 

Bengals 2011 Epilogue: Fruits of the Lemon

The day after the Super Bowl comes with a weird mix of feelings. On one hand, there is a note of the morose knowing that come next Sunday, football will not be played. Suddenly there is a gap in the weekly routine and it's initially unsettling.

On the other hand, a break from football is necessary and even somehow refreshing, like a shower you only take once a year. The extended break between football-related activities gives us time to enjoy basketball then baseball before pulling our collective obsession out of the closet again. Brains everywhere decompress and file away most active football thoughts and memories until the following autumn. The fact it's taken away from us, allows us to appreciate it more. Limited supply leads to higher demand in this case.

That means before we close out Volume 9 of the Marvin Lewis saga, we must first briefly recap then look ahead.
Rather than whip out the microscope and supply doses of weekly Bengal analysis, this year I spread the season out over quarters like a giant map in the middle of a war-room, and now that it's over it can be summarized as such:

Early on, the Bengals overcame an awkward get-to-know-you phase with a confidence-building comeback in Week 4 against Buffalo. After that, the defense emerged as one of the better units in the league, and Andy Dalton proved he was no average rookie quarterback. The offense showed poise despite it's youth and inexperience and the result led to Cincinnati winning its next four games.

Next the Bengals wondered into AFC North waters and played four divisional games in a row, beating only Cleveland at home during that stretch. True to its bruising reputation, the injuries piled up while facing teams within their division. After the struggles, Cincinnati was branded as a team that could not play against quality competition and sadly it was true.

Desperately clinging to a playoff spot, the Bengals repeatedly stumbled through the last portion of the season. No win was thorough or convincing, and the raised stakes of a possible post-season birth did not translate to any raised performance from a supposedly hungry team. The table was set in Week 17—beat Baltimore at home and earn a wild-card spot. They lost, but the stars aligned for them and they made it anyway at 9-7. Yet, for the second straight week, they allowed the big stage to consume them and petered out late in the Wild-Card loss to Texas.

Still, the season was a success nonetheless, and now the future has perhaps never been more bright for the striped franchise. With the gems found in last year's draft firmly in place, a potential all-world tight end primed for a breakout 2012, two first-round draft picks coming up in April, and the most cap space in the NFL, the possibilities for the years to come in Cincinnati are endless.

Another key to the growing success of the Bengals is that both coordinators return despite being heavily involved in head-coaching job searches elsewhere. Now Jay Gruden can mold Dalton even further, and continue to form the offense around his sound offensive philosophy. Unlike a year ago, Gruden will have more time with his talent and can develop it at a more comfortable pace. Defensively, Mike Zimmer returns with his loyal band of merry men, but the expectations for him and his unit are higher than those of Gruden's squad. He must somehow fix the secondary and get a full year of solid play from his entire staff to take this team further into January.

So now a team that some mockingly predicted would end the year without a single victory, has since put itself into real consideration to win a championship in the very near future. What once seemed delusional and a waste of time to even discuss should now be on the lips of Bengal fans everywhere when bragging about their team. I believe the NFL is tiptoeing into a new era where the old mainstays will be supplanted by the up-and-coming youngsters that are enlivening the league today. New powers like Texas, Miami and Cincinnati will soon emerge from the ranks of the average and push out the aging favorites. In 2011, the rain clouds parted. In 2012, the sun will shine.


Mojokong—this ends book six.

Super Bowl Preview: You Again!

The Super Bowl. The fattest of them all. The thing is milked dry of ways to buy and sell and buy and sell. For many millions of people, it's a thing to make fancy dips for and watch a handful of high-budget commercials. Some get off on the halftime crap bonanza that takes forever and embarrasses me to be from this planet. It draws out celebrities and even the leader of the free world to bathe themselves in the grand spectacle. The scene is frightful. It's the Coliseum all over again. How much longer until we flood Cowboy Stadium and have under-water football? Bring in the live tigers and let's do this thing right.

Yet underneath all of that—like cake under frosting—is a game worth sinking your teeth into. I sense a collective groan from the people in regards to the participants this year. They wanted the Harbowl or the Packers or somebody other than two blue-and-red teams from New York and Boston. To them, this match-up is too predictable, too passe. Yet, despite their displeasure, the game will go on and has all the makings of being a damn entertaining one at that.

Seems to me the chic pick by most analysts are the Giants. Their mental toughness and prosperous passing attack has allowed them to rip off a mean winning streak, leaving awestruck victims in their wake. Suddenly the Giants are commanding; they will not be ignored. They are a well-coached group of hard-working professionals who know what's at stake. Many of these players have ripened into their primes, most notably Eli Manning. The New York Giants are poised and ready to win another Super Bowl, but they won't.

I think Eli the Lesser is too good to shut down. I think he will lead his offense to at least 25 points and take advantage of his three-amigo like receivers against a soft and injured secondary. I think the Giants will move the ball, score points and avoid turnovers.

The real question remains, however, if the New York pass rush can get to Tom Brady. That seems to be the selling point for those who pick against the Patriots. The fearsome foursome up front for the G-Men are indeed top-notch and can make a difference, but that only plays into the hands of Brady and his odd cast of characters.

In the first Monday Night game of the season, New England killed Miami on the quick passing game with Brady dropping back three steps or less on his throws. They still play that way, it's just become a little more complex since then. Wes Welker, Aaron Hernandez and Rob Gronkowski get their money for their yards-after-the-catch ability. Every skill player on their offense can effectively line up at another position and they often do so in their hurry-up mode. Brady picks up short yardage on the sneak better than anybody I remember watching. Their offense almost always makes perfect sense and they can use it in so many ways that they become experimental, like lining up Hernandez in the back field and handing the ball off to him. The New England Patriot offense is football jazz and it's hard to put away.

I see New England pulling out some craziness from its playbook and going after the Giants right from the get-go. They ran the ball surprisingly well at key stretches against Baltimore, which makes me think they won't run once in their first 15 plays this Sunday. I think Brady is too good and has too many weapons. The Ravens kept them in check more than I predicted, but this week the Giants will see a more efficient Patriot machine and will struggle to contain them to 30 points. That total could be more, but New England prefers the multi-play, ball-control drives rather than the big hitters. They will wear the Giants out in the fourth quarter and put the thing to bed. Brady will cement his face in the Rushmore of quarterbacks and Billicheck will just go to bed.

So, that's the season, all wrapped up in a boring New England Super Bowl win. The game will be thrilling and high-scoring, great plays will be made, but afterward, most will agree they don't want to see that match-up ever again. Instead, they would love to see that hilarious boobs commercial again and again.

Patriots 31, Giants 28

Mojokong - more than money.