Winner: Geno Smith

The West Virginia QB put up some impressive numbers in all the athletic drills, eliminating any idea that he’s just a pocket passer.

Loser Luke Joeckel

The potential #1 overall was extremely unimpressive in the athletic drills, which led Mike Maylock and others to focus on his deficiencies and the mistakes he made over the course of the season. It will be much tougher not for the Chiefs to sell Joeckel to their fans if he is the number 1 pick.

Winner: Eric Fisher

The Central Michigan offensive tackle came into the combine as the consensus #2 OT in the draft. While Joeckel was disappointing, Fisher looked incredibly athletic and may have impressed his way above Joeckel on some draft boards.

Winner: Many wide receivers

This might be the fastest class of wide receivers since the inception of the NFL Scouting Combine. The 40 times this year were very low.

Loser: Keenan Allen

Before the combine, he was the likely first WR off the board. He might still be, but he certainly didn’t help himself by not participating in any of the drills. While the rest of the position group was putting up some eye-popping numbers, Allen was a complete afterthought.

Loser: Mike Wallace and Dwayne Bowe

There’s simply no way that most teams are going to pay top dollar for this pair of WRs when the draft class is so good and deep at the position.

Winner: Justin Hunter

The Tennessee WR was slowed by a knee injury for most of 2012, but looked healthy and dynamic in drills. His performance will force teams to reexamine his 2011 tape from before his injury which was more impressive, and should lead to Hunter climbing on draft boards.

Loser: Cordarrelle Patterson

Hunter’s Tennessee teammate was the #1 or #2 WR on most draft boards before showing up in Indy. Not only is he 2 inches shorter than he was listed in college, his 4.42 time in the 40 was slower than expected.

Winner: Tyler Eifert

There’s a 2 way fight for the top spot on the TE rankings between Notre Dame’s Eifert and Stanford’s Zach Ertz. Eifert bested Ertz in a number of drills, including the 40, vertical jump, broad jump, 3 cone, and both shuttle drills.

Feb 22, 2013; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Southern California quarterback Matt Barkley speaks at a press conference during the 2013 NFL Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

The NFL Combine coverage for fans has officially begun. Todays is probably the biggest and most important day of the combine, though the drills and interviews will continue through Tuesday.

Live Feed

If you don’t have the NFL Network, or you’re simply not at home but still want to watch all the happenings at the NFL Combine, then you’re going to need a live feed of the event. Lucky, the NFL takes care of that on their website.

NFL.com Live Feed

I will warn you that the bandwidth will be heavily tested. I expect the signal to be poor at times.

Workout Schedule

» Saturday, Feb. 23: Tight ends, offensive linemen, special teams
» Sunday, Feb. 24: Quarterbacks, running backs, wide receivers
» Monday, Feb. 25: Defensive linemen, linebackers
» Tuesday, Feb. 26: Defensive backs

Drill Results

If you’re just looking for the results, you’ll want to check out the official tracker, found HERE. It is sortable, which is nice, but it doesn’t seem to be updated as often as I’d prefer. I suppose i can’t complain though, at least they’re nice enough to put all the info in one place for us.

For example, asked to almost every player this week will be this question: What are you hoping to accomplish here?

Really? each player gets asked questions for a a maximum of 5 minutes, and you’re wasting everyone’s time with that question? How can anything that is said in response to that question be remotely interesting for for the readers of whatever periodical you work for?

If you actually don’t know what players are doing there in Indy, then perhaps you need to find a new career.

I know the excuses. There’s 330 players in Indianapolis this week, and most of the media members weren’t given time prep questions for more than a couple dozen. That makes sense. As does the explanation that someone is alwasy willing to asked these lame questions rather than have the player stand there for 5 minutes in an awkward silence.

Right, thats why guys like Manti Te’o will get asked the same dumb questions as everyone else. Nice try, but I’m not buying it.

This is also how I know I’d never get drafted (aside from the obvious lack of physical talent). Any of these extremely dumb questions would be met with a serious dose of sarcasm, leading to people to believe I have “character issue.” hmmm… Perhaps they’re right.

Just for fun, he are some of my favorite mind-numbingly dumb questions I heard during the media interviews a year ago, along with answers I’d most likely give if I were on the podium:

Q: What are you hoping to accomplish here? A: I’ve heard Indy has great coffee. I’m going to try and hit 15-20 coffee joints this week.

Q: Which team do you hope drafts you? A: Real Madrid. I’ve always wanted to see the sights in Spain.

Q: Tell me one thing you learned from your college coach that really stuck with you A: BBQ is about smoke. Most ppl Grill, not BBQ.

Q: What’s your favorite play? A: one that doesn’t end with me face down in the mud with 12 people sitting on my helmet.

Q: Do you feel your draft stock will improve after the combine? A: I just came for the free food.*

Q: What will you miss most about college life? A: The exams. I just drew on them and my profs always marked my drawings with C for “creative.”

Q: Do you have any concerns about <insert injury>? A: not really. Glad I didn’t have surgery. A scar would have killed my modeling career.

Q: you grew up as a Steelers fan. What would you do if the rival Ravens drafted you? A: Cash my paychecks with authority.

* This one is from Paul over at Seattle Sports Central

Schedule

I’ve already posted a lists of all the players who have been invited:

• QBs and Kickers
• RBs and TEs
• Wide Receivers
• Offensive Linemen
• Defensive Linemen
• Linebackers
• Defensive Backs

Jan 26, 2013; Mobile, AL, USA; Senior Bowl south squad defensive lineman Ezekial Ansah of Brigham Young (47) against the Senior Bowl north squad during the first half of the Senior Bowl at Ladd-Peebles Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

I am just so upset I didn’t get to see Ryan Tannehill perform in the Underwear Olympics. How do you project a college quarterback’s performance in the NFL without first seeing how he would look in spandex? Isn’t it a league requirement that all rookie quarterbacks spend a year somewhere in the cheerleading depth chart? Maybe I’m wrong, but what about knowing how high he can jump? I don’t know how to feel about a quarterback unless he can LeGarrette Blount hurdle his offensive line and run 34 yards for a touchdown. Kind of like Tim Tebow after drinking a Red Bull (only Tebow reference I promise).

NFL Combine B.S. aside the truth is Ryan Tannehill does have wings, but thankfully he is nothing like ‘He Who Shall Not Be Named.’ The former wide receiver turned quarterback can not only run… but run routes, run the offense, run after the catch, throw on the run, well you get the picture. What’s not to like?! Ryan Tannehill is another freakish college athlete trying to make it in the NFL. However, freaking athleticism does not always work for a quarterback at the pro level, unless Cam Newtons start to grow on trees, but I’ll put my money on Fig Newtons remaining the only Newton to come off of a tree (only Fig Newton reference ever I promise… well maybe not). Quarterbacks need a lot more in their repertoire to be successful at this level and honestly Ryan Tannehill looks like a bit of a project. Here’s what I saw in the three games he played this year.

The Positives

Ryan Tannehill has great mobility. Not only is he capable of making plays with his feet, but speed isn’t his only weapon. This guy was a former wide receiver and a good receiver at that. He can make people miss tackles all over the place. However, this type of running in the NFL can get you killed. Someone is going to need to teach Tannehill how to slide or else he is going to meet Patrick Willis on the wrong side of a scramble.

Furthermore, Tannehill’s mobility doesn’t come without the ability to throw on the run. He reminds me of Sam Bradford when he does this. The accuracy is just unbelievable. Tannehill can make throws accurately while moving to short, intermediate, and deeper intermediate ranges. To do this with his amount of precision is pretty incredible. Tannehill’s accurate throwing is so apparent because most of the plays he makes are roll out passes to the sidelines. This is something Tannehill is very talented at. He slides left and right with his receiver depending on the direction they are running and waits for the perfect moment to put the ball out of bounds where only they can catch it.

Despite Tannehill’s mobile play it is important to note that he really is a pocket passer. He can stand in the pocket and make throws under duress, even with a defender inches away from tackling him. Additionally, he has good footwork most of the time and with a little NFL coaching Tannehill should make the change to having good footwork all the time.  Furthermore, Tannehill gets the ball out quickly and with very good velocity. He can put a lot of zip on the ball when he needs to.

The Negatives

Tannehill can throw accurately from the pocket to almost all three ranges, however at the deep ranges his balls can be a little underthrown. In the games I watched he never really allowed his receivers to run under the ball and catch it in stride. This will get you picked off in the NFL, you can’t allow the defender the ability to adjust on the ball and box out your wide receiver. Also Tannehill threw a little behind his receivers at times as well. He has good accuracy, but it’s his sideline passes that make him look most accurate.

What disappointed me the most in Tannehill’s game was his decision making. There were a few plays that left me questioning his sanity. In one of them he literally threw the ball straight to the defender without one of his receivers within ten yards of the football. It was like he forgot what color his team was wearing. The defensive back was so surprised he didn’t even catch the ball! Tannehill forces throws and this will get him picked off every time in the NFL. You can’t throw the ball when your receiver has three guys covering him and this is something I saw Tannehill do.

Not only can Tannehill be far too aggressive at times, but he often doesn’t allow himself to make good decisions. He frequently rolls out of the pocket before going through all of his reads. It’s like he totally forgets about the other side of the football field. This was the one piece of his game that struck me as his worst quality. The first thing I look for when evaluating a quarterback’s skillset is his eyes. A quarterback needs to keep his head on a swivel. Wide receivers can be covered one moment and open the next. The NFL game moves fast.

Overall I think Ryan Tannehill is a great athlete with a good solid arm and above average accuracy for a college quarterback. It’s his instincts and decision making that scares me. If Tannehill forces passes in the NFL like he did in college he will get intercepted and get his wide receivers killed. However, Tannehill is a project. He has great upside if his forceful throws are only experience and not tendency.

Although when watching Tannehill there was nothing I saw that showed me he had a good ‘on the field football IQ.’ He may be an intelligent prospect, but I have not seen that intelligence translate into his play. Ryan Tannehill has trouble reading defenses and I foresee the NFL game moving very fast for him. I honestly don’t know how I would feel if the Seahawks draft Tannehill. He really isn’t the sexy pick and I definitely don’t think he deserves to be picked in the first round. If we don’t sign Mario Williams I would rather see us go after Melvin Ingram or another DE/OLB. Furthermore, if we do sign Mario Williams I still don’t think we should draft him at 12. It’s just too high for a quarterback of his stature. I would like the Seahawks to forget about Tannehill unless he falls to us in the second round and only if defensive end has been taken care of. Honestly I kind of like Russel Wilson (at first glance mind you), I know about his height but he looked phenomenal at the Combine.

What do you guys think?

It’s not that it isn’t important. It is. Teams get valuable information. The problem is that the best information isn’t from any of the drills. It comes from the interviews the teams get with the individual players, and none of the that is available to the fans. Plus, the biggest mistakes that are made in the draft process are made at the combine.

On the other hand, I have a weak spot for little kids who get really in to something like watching the NFL combine. So I was incredibly happy when my wife ran into a video of a 3 and a half year old who was doing the combine drills in her living room while her father was watching them on TV. Yahoo picked it up off youtube, and wrote up an analysis:

We see some Clay Matthews here, both in hair length and nascent pass-rush ability. And that burst at the end of the drill? If she starts on the 40-yard dashes, she might be able to just run out of the building, Deion Sanders-style. You can see in the video that Grace has already foregone her kindergarten eligibility and committed to the 2013 scouting combine — the rest of you prospects out there had best be eating your Wheaties if you want to match up.

Here’s the original story. Please check it out. It’s easily the best thing I’ve ever seen written about the combine.

Instead, we’re subjected to some of the dumbest interviews of the year with NFL coaches, and then even dumber analysis of said interviews. I mean seriously, if you’re a sports reporter and you ever find yourself writing a headline about whether or not a blow hard coach like Rex Ryan guaranteed a superbowl, consider finding a new job.

I would also like to add that no, in fact, it isn’t news that (insert any coach here) didn’t comment on Peyton Manning, or express interest in him. Manning is still on the Colt’s roster, meaning it’s illegal for any team other than the Colts to talk about him. If they did, then the Colts would simply file a tampering complaint, resulting in whatever coach was dumb enough to talk having to give the Colts some free draft picks.

Seriously reports, ask the stupid questions if you must, just stop pretending that the rest of us care.

Don't worry Rex, we already knew you were clueless. Credit: Brian Spurlock-US PRESSWIRE

Earlier today, Mays unofficially ran a 4.24 40-yard dash. Officially, the time was 4.43. But regardless, there is no way a 6’3″, 230 pound safety should move that fast.

On 950 KJR-AM in late February, Taylor Mays told show host Dave “Softy” Mahler that he was capable of a sub-4.3 40. In fact, Mays claimed that he was clocked at 4.25 during his junior year at Southern Cal. Skeptics were unsure if Mays possessed that sort of speed, but even his unofficial time will turn some into believers.

Chris Johnson, running back for the Tennessee Titans, currently holds the NFL Combine record for fastest 40-yard dash at 4.24 seconds. If Mays’ unofficial time stood, he would’ve tied that mark – especially remarkable, since the commentators were immediately critical of his form and style.

Chris Johnson is 5’11″, 200 pounds. Taylor Mays is 6’3″, 230 pounds.

In addition to an impressive 40-yard dash, Mays also bench-pressed 225 pounds 24 times (tied for second among defensive backs), recorded a 41-inch vertical jump (second best defensive back, following Eric Berry), and had a broad jump of 10’5″ (also second behind Eric Berry).

Taylor Mays proved his physical prowess today, and also silenced a lot of skeptics. A big, hard-hitting safety with that sort of physical ability would look great in Seattle’s defensive backfield. Unfortunately, Al Davis and the Raiders pick eighth overall – my preliminary guess is that Mays won’t last any longer than that come April.