Notes from Indy Johnson, Thomas top my post-Combine storylines

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Notes from Indy
Johnson, Thomas top my post-Combine storylines
Posted: Monday February 26, 2007 8:27AM; Updated: Monday February 26, 2007 4:55PM

INDIANAPOLIS -- Here are the 2007 draft storylines I know about after spending four days at the Scouting Combine:
1. Calvin Johnson is atop everyone's draft board. Two team executives told me that not only is the Georgia Tech wide receiver the No. 1 player on their boards, but also he might be 32 for 32. The amazing thing is, there's a good chance he'll last until the fourth overall pick.
Oakland is 1 and has to pick a quarterback. Detroit, 2, would be excommunicated from the NFL if it picked its 43rd wide receiver in the last four drafts. Cleveland, 3, recently took Braylon Edwards in the first round, and its coach, Romeo Crennel, craves meat and potatoes. Tampa Bay, picking 4, already has Michael Clayton and Joey Galloway and needs help elsewhere, but I don't see Jon Gruden passing on the best receiver to come out in a while.
I'm not a big wideout guy this high, because I think you can find receivers down the line and the washout factor of first rounders -- by my count, only 10 of the last 30 wideouts picked in the first round are what I'd call impact players today -- is far too high. "Not many people have my size, speed and strength,'' Johnson said while in Indy. Right. Like, none. Not many 6-5, 239-pound wideouts with 4.4 speed and production.
2. Wisconsin tackle Joe Thomas was a breath of fresh air. He's a left tackle who runs like a linebacker (4.92 in the 40), looked svelte doing all the drills here, and looked very, very much like Rod Marinelli's kind of guy. Marinelli is trying to rework the Detroit locker room and make it an egoless place. Imagine getting a fixture tackle for a decade who thinks like this:
The Wisconsin defensive front had a spat of injuries near the end of the 2005 season and so Thomas, who played defense for one game as a freshman, volunteered to fill in at defensive end. In his first game back at defensive end, he tore his ACL, threatening his draft prospects for this year. Why'd he do it?
"We had a couple injuries during the year, and I just raised my hand and said I'd like to step in and help the team win. And we won. So who cares about the injury?''
I don't know Thomas. Maybe that's rehearsed. But if the Lions can determine that Thomas is legit and not the best actor in the '07 Combine, they've got to take him. "I'd love to play for Detroit,'' he said. Send the plane, Mr. Ford.
3. The Raiders have debriefed the new mentor of JaMarcus Russell, leading to rampant speculation (mine) that the fix is in and that Randy Moss is about to be a very happy man.
You may have heard that California quarterback consultant Tom Martinez, the mentor of Tom Brady since Mr. Super Bowl was 13, worked with Russell for a week at the Athletes Performance Institute in Arizona and came away highly impressed. You have not heard that the Raiders, prior to the Combine, summoned Martinez to ask him about Russell. Martinez says he told the Raiders, "There's nothing you'll ask him to do that he can't do. Nothing.'' Here are some other interesting tidbits Martinez shared with me Sunday night:
a. He told Oakland offensive coordinator Greg Knapp to remember how good Russell is, and he's only 21.
b. He told Russell after analyzing LSU tape he too often looked sluggish, like he was carrying too much weight. And the one thing he stressed with Russell is consistency with the passing motion. "Like a golf swing -- you get really good when the swing's exactly the same every time.''
c. "I told the Raiders, 'The worst thing you could do with this kid is give him four coaches in his first four years,' " said Martinez. "He needs stability. He needs the right guy coaching him the first two or three years, where he'll be taught consistency and stay on him about his technique. That's what every young quarterback needs.''
d. Everyone's talking about how well Russell throws the deep ball, and they're right. "But he makes such beautiful throws on the curls and the comebacks," says Martinez, "like an outfielder hitting the cutoff man perfectly. And his touch is so good. He throws it short with touch, deep with touch. Every throw looks so natural.''
e. Martinez worked with Russell on throwing the ball more over the top. "When Tom Brady throws an interception, it's very rarely a tipped ball because he's releasing the ball high, so it's hard to deflect it." said Martinez. He said the 6-5 1/2 Russell, releasing the ball high over his head, would, in effect, make him about 7-3 and make it very hard for defenders to tip his passes.



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Daniel Graham is just one free agent who could sign a big contract this offseason.
AP





4. Cleveland GM Phil Savage is going to have a very tough decision to make. When Adrian Peterson ran a 4.37 40, it set up this pleasant quandary for the Browns, assuming Russell and Thomas go 1-2. The Browns could have their choice of four primo players at positions of major need -- quarterback Brady Quinn, defensive end Gaines Adams, wideout Johnson and running back Peterson. Savage met Peterson on Saturday and was impressed by what a solid rock he is. He might be Eric Dickerson.
5. There was almost a mini-scandal in the coin flip for the third pick in the draft. The Bucs and Browns finished tied for the third pick, because their opponents' won-loss records were identical. So Friday morning, Savage and Tampa Bay GM Bruce Allen met in a Westin Hotel conference room to break the tie for the third pick of the draft. Imagine the significance here.
Allen came into the room with a coin he wanted to use, one from a military base in Florida. That was fine with Savage. League officials Joel Bussert and Ken Fiore ran it. Allen called heads. And when the coin went up in the air, Allen shouted, "Wait! Wait!'' The coin was plucked out of the air. And Allen said, "What are we going to do, let it fall to the floor or catch it and flip it over on your hand?'' Let it fall, he was told. He called heads again. It came up tails.
Pretty big stuff. Might be the difference between the guy who can save your team for the next three or four years or the guy who might be a nice, complimentary player. "It was just nice to get a win,'' said Savage, sounding like a desperate coach. "We gotta string some wins like that together.''
6. Free-agency is going to be insane. I think some team is going to pay Daniel Graham, a blocking tight end, $5 million a year. I think some team (rumored to be Washington, profootballtalk.com reported Sunday night) is going to pay London Fletcher-Baker $6 million a year. I think some team might pay Tampa Bay defensive end Dewayne White (60 career games, 14 sacks) $7 million a year.
I know some team will pay Adalius Thomas $8 million per, minimum. My guess is Thomas gets to $9 million. And within four months, he'll be the best addition of the year to whatever locker room welcomes him. My upset special for a no-name guy who will get the richest: Buffalo defensive end Chris Kelsay.
Football's amazing. Three weeks ago, the Super Bowl was the big story, and we all thought, "Well, that's over. Time to hibernate for a while.'' And now our psyche is all football, again. Sometimes I wonder how a great sport like hockey makes it. This should be the best time of the year for hockey, with the race for the playoffs heating up. But I'll bet you SportsCenter had more minutes of Combine coverage this weekend than Sabres-Senators highlights and other hockey games. Football just doesn't end.



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Quote of the Week I


Ohio State's Troy Smith grew tired of answering questions about his height at the Combine.
AP






"Would you have any problem playing in a colder climate, like a Minnesota?''
--Reporter's question to Georgia Tech's Calvin Johnson during Johnson's press conference at the Combine Saturday afternoon.
The Vikings have played in a dome since 1982.
Quote of the Week II
"You make it seem like being 6-feet is a disease.''
--Ohio State quarterback Troy Smith, who measured exactly 6-0 at the Combine, to a reporter he felt was pressing the height line of questioning too long.
Quote of the Week III
"Just look at my body of work at USC. I won a national championship as a freshman. I've been all-American two times, broke every record at USC, fourth in NCAA history in scoring touchdowns. I had 41. So look at the film.''
--Trojans wide receiver Dwayne Jarrett, sounding a tad bitter at the prospect of dropping in the draft. He's projected to be a late first- or second-round pick, dropping in some scouts' eyes because of average quickness and a perceived difficulty in getting away from quick corners in bump coverage.
Quote of the Week IV
"I respect him, he respects me, and that's how we pretty much differ.''
--Dwayne Jarrett, on his relationship with former USC wideout Mike Williams.
Was that English he was speaking?
Stat of the Week
The Raiders are 0-14 in AFC West games over the past 26 months.
They had the fewest rushing touchdowns (five) and passing touchdowns (seven) in the NFL last year.
Marion Barber (16) scored more touchdowns than the entire Oakland offense (12).
San Diego's Nate Kaeding out-kicked Sebastian Janikowski in extra points, 58-16.
I guess my point is if the Raiders don't take a quarterback with the first pick of the draft, they just might be certifiable.
Factoid of the Week That May Interest Only Me
To say that new Giants quarterback coach Chris Palmer's dad is pleased with his son's new position might be an understatement. Francis Palmer, a resident of Brewster, N.Y., an hour north of the Meadowlands, has been a Giants' season-ticket holder for 50 years.
Enjoyable/Aggravating Travel Note of the Week
Indianapolis the last weekend of February. The Combine.
Groundhog Day.
"It's snowing sideways out there!'' JaMarcus Russell's uncle, Ray Williams, said Saturday night, walking into the hotel suite of the agents representing the LSU quarterback: Eric Metz, Vince Malinovic and Ethan Lock.
"It snows like that every year here,'' I said.
"I've been coming here 21 years now,'' said Metz, from Arizona. "It's pretty much the same weather every year.''
Same faces too. There's Don Breaux, Joe Gibbs' ancient assistant, crossing the street wearing his omnipresent reading glasses. There's Jerry Jones' luxury Cowboys bus, idling in front of the Marriott, across from the convention center and RCA Dome; wonder which agent he's schmoozing in there now? Jim Mora, in line at Starbucks. Mike Lombardi, the Raider scout, at Jillian's sports bar, watching the NBA game Friday night, like he does every year. Rick Gosselin, the crack Dallas Morning News NFL writer and superb draftnik, buttonholing scouts and coaches arriving for the 7:30 a.m. weigh ins. Wade Phillips in his nylon Cowboys pullover. Last year it was a Chargers pullover. A few years ago, a Bills pullover. A decade or so ago, a Broncos pullover.
The 11-year-old cheerleaders from across Indiana. The 9-year-old gymnasts from around the Midwest. I swear they time their big contests and meets to coincide with the Combine, to give the halls of the convention center a bizarre feel. Look honey! It's Jeff Fisher! Get Suzy and Misty and Bobby Jo and get the camera out! Coach, can we bug you for a photo! There's a bunch of Cardinal scouts, stepping around a preteen cheerleading squad with CARDINALS across the chest, all of them done up like Jon Benet.
Only difference between now and, say, 10 years ago around here? The immense media throng -- maybe 15 media folk in 1997, 350 in 2007. Dot-coms, scores of them, team Web sites and college papers. Instead of staking out the hallways for players, now they're brought into a media ballroom. And I almost forget the NFL Network and SIRIUS radio. Instead of having a half-hour alone with Bill Polian, now we get a few minutes, and the NFL entities get him for much of the time we used to have with him exclusively. Sign of the giant NFL times.
Just a little snapshot of something that, like everything else in the NFL over the years, is exploding.



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Ten Things I Think I Think
1. I think these are my quick-hit thoughts of the Scouting Combine:
a. Dwayne Jarrett said Saturday that Pete Carroll's coaching staff at USC "is the best coaching staff I've ever been around.'' What a tribute! Did you know the USC coaching staff is better than New Brunswick (N.J.) High's? Amazing.






b. Best Line of the Combine Lost in the Shuffle, from Jets coach Eric Mangini: "As a head coach, five things come up every day that you didn't have scheduled.''
c. Troy Smith seems to be an impressive kid. A little Napoleonic about the height thing, but the kind of natural leader other players will like.
d. Drew Brees is three-eighths of an inch taller Troy Smith.
e. There is no really good, first-day blocking tight end in the draft.
f. Paul Posluszny, who has the face of a 13-year-old, is an impressive kid.
g. Roger Goodell sure made himself scarce over the weekend.
h. You doing OK, Andy Reid? You were missed here.
i. Watching Tony Dungy walk through a busy Indiana Convention Center, I can't imagine Bono or K-Fed drawing a bigger crowd. Maybe Britney Spears. Maybe.
2. I think more and more coaches and GMs are staying away from individual interviews at the Combine, because these Combine-prep places are doing such a good job of polishing up the players. I couldn't believe how many general managers I saw out at night, eating normal dinners instead of being cooped up for four hours a night asking the same questions to different kids and getting the same practiced answers in return.
The way the combine works is that there are physical exams and running and lifting and measuring during the day, and the night is reserved for 15-minute interview blocks in the rooms inside the Indiana Convention Center. Now teams are starting to throw changeups at the players, so they won't be able to have the mental string pulled on their back to answer the question the way the media coach wanted them to answer it.
3. I think the one interview Brady Quinn thought was original and a smart use of his time came in the Miami meeting room. Coach Cam Cameron asked Quinn midway through their time together how many run plays, how many pass protections and how many pass formations Notre Dame had. After Quinn answered, Cameron said: "OK, about seven minutes left. Go to the board and diagram every one of them.'' Quinn loved it, because it was a challenge that made him have to improvise and perform well under pressure. When the period ended, and Quinn didn't finish (obviously), Cameron told him the next time they met, he wanted him to do it again, only faster, losing none of the efficiency. (There's a draft hint, people. The Fins and Quinn will meet again before the draft.)
Speaking of Quinn, he's almost a little too perfect. But if that's who he is, that's who he is. That's what we all were saying about Peyton Manning nine years ago. Speaking of winning the big one (or not), Quinn, by my very unofficial count, was 2-8 in the Very Big Ones at Notre Dame: 2-1 versus Michigan, 0-4 against USC, 0-3 in bowl games. Not good. But let's not slay Quinn over it just yet. In those eight losses, Notre Dame allowed 47, 44, 41, 34, 34, 41, 38 and 45 points.
4. I think the scariest thing about the death of Damien Nash, the Denver running back who died Saturday night of unknown causes after playing in a charity basketball game, is that Nash had undergone four complete physicals since 2004. What a sad story.



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5. I think it's hard not to root for Steve DeOssie's boy Zak, a 6-4 1/2, 250-pound linebacker and long-snapper from Brown -- the first Brown player ever invited to the combine -- and former Bill Belichick ballboy with the Patriots. "I hope football's going to be my life for a long, long time,'' he said, soaking up some media before hitting the RCA Dome today for his trial. "I'd play for an expansion team in Hawaii, I don't care.''






His Brown major: Public and Private Sectors of Organization. His Brown classes this term: Ancient Samarian writing ("deciphering tablets,'' he said), business management, Russian literature. Four times a week since November, he drove an hour from his Providence campus to a workout facility run by the same man who trained legendary workout warrior Mike Mamula for the Combine, Mike Boyle.
After an impressive showing in the Hula Bowl, Zak's hoping to run a 4.5 40 today so he can assure his mid-round draft status. "He's redeemed my faith in a lot of ways about what a student athlete should be,'' said his agent, Brad Blank.
6. I think the league is playing with fire by considering allowing fans into the Combine. First, you'd bore them silly. It's not sporting to watching 21-year-old after 21-year-old run around some orange cones. Second, can you imagine if the Patriots beat the Colts in the playoffs next year, and Belichick walks out on the carpet at the Dome next February to watch the proceedings, and somebody yells, "Belichick, you SUCK!'' What if there's beer sold? Isn't the object here to make money to defray the cost of the Combine? I don't get it really.
7. I think the Eagles still need Jeff Garcia.
8. I think if a third of what's alleged against Pacman Jones is true, the Titans have to cut the guy.
9. I think it's safe to say the Jets and Patriots aren't going to kiss and make up anytime soon. Take my word for it. There's some hard feelings over how New England receivers coach Brian Daboll ended up the Jets quarterbacks coach, and the Patriots won't forget last year's tampering charges against the Jets, even though the league recently dismissed the case. I doubt that Eric Mangini will be Bill Belichick's guest in Terry Francona's box seats at Fenway this spring.
10. I think these are my non-football thoughts of the week:
a. How sad at the Oscars. The Departed kicked tail. I say that's bad because ... well, have you seen it? Did the gore bother you? The over-the-top, pandering, blood-gurgling murderous spree was too much for me. We must be inured to it by now, because the Academy voted Oscars not only for the movie but also for Martin Scorsese for making the flick. What's next, I wonder. A beheading in Times Square? Gouging someone's eyes out? So sad we seem to be in search of the next great gruesome thing in movies.
b. Good for Helen Mirren winning Best Actress. I can't imagine a better acting job than what she did playing the Queen in The Queen.
c. Frank Cooney, that nfldraftscout.com is gospel to me. Thanks for making a site that is part Encyclopedia Britannica, part Inside the Scouting Combine.
d. Coffeenerdness: You learn one thing about restaurant coffee when you go to Indianapolis. I'm a coffee-after-dinner guy. Always have been. But in much of middle America, coffee after dinner too often means coffee-flavored water after dinner.
e. Adam Schefter's doing a really good job on NFL Network. I think he might have found his calling. The camera likes him. Combine that with his Grudenesque work ethic, and you've got a good TV guy.
f. Will Carroll really knows his baseball.
g. Belated thanks to friends-of-MMQB Patrick Pantano and Alex Marvez of the Pro Football Writers of America. Pantano, a PR man for NFL Films, is the classic good PR guy, suggesting good stories but not overly pushing them, passing along good NFL Films clips and ideas. Re: Marvez, he got commissioner Roger Goodell to address the annual Pro Football Writers of America meeting two days before the Super Bowl, thawing some icy waters with the league office.
h. There is no one -- not Letterman, not Leno, not Caliendo -- funnier than Bill Bryson. That's saying something.
i. Finally got an iPod. Yes, I was the last man in America to do so. And I must say two things: Mick Jagger is a better singer, remixed, than I ever thought. And also, what a country.

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