2010 NFL Combine

Really the list is not that long once you get by Mamula.
The list of workout wonders that succeeded is longer.

 

back in the days when the combine was a great place to be to get to know thee nfl's power brokers, you could always count on the bengals/mike brown posse to be dining at the nearbyburger/shakes place. forget the name (shake 'n something) but it's a chain. good shakes, anyway.

those "good ol' days" were pretty recent, too -- it wasn't until, oh, 2000 or so that espn and later nfl network turned into a huge event. maybe about 15-20 hardcores staked out the lobby of the hotel players would come to to be interviewed by the teams. coaches and execs there to be intercepted throughout.

now, everything about it is a league-staged event. it was much better the old way, says this grumpy ol' man.

 

George was thought of as possibly a low first-round pick, but after one workout -- one -- where he showed off his arm strength, suddenly teams were burning the phone lines to Atlanta to get that No. 1 pick. The Colts "won." Tellingly for George's tenure in his hometown, 90 percent of respondents to a TV poll, "Are you happy the Colts drafted Jeff George," answered "no." Not scientific, but people locally hated him for how his high school coach would let him run the two-minute drill with his team up 35-0, the whole situation with his mom, and the messiness at Purdue.

For the all (justified) criticism of Bill Polian, one thing he does well -- what any good general manager does -- is follow under-the-radar players, and then lets the combine confirm or not confirm his instincts.

 

That's Steak 'n' Shake, Roger Ebert's favorite. My brother works there (as a tax accountant, not a burger flipper). Odd thing about Steak 'n' Shake -- it was acquired by a 32-year-old self-styled investment wonder from San Antonio who wants to use it as the basis to become the next Warren Buffet. I would be happy if he would just bring back King Cola.

 

Steak-N-Shake. Dang, I miss that place. We don't have any in the South.

 

But George was a known commodity. Mamula came out of nowhere.

 

yes!! "steak 'n' shake!!" great shakes.

after 11 p.m. or so, the hotel bar rooms were terrific places to develop good face-time relationships with folks. gotta say i miss being part of it all.

 

Hey, I liked it. It's very clean and shows that you've really busted your ass to get where you are.

 

Agreed. It's kind of sad that some of us around here feel the need to belittle someone out of their own insecurities.

 

Alexander Wright (who could not catch or do much of anything else) logged one of the fastest times in the history of the combine.

Naturally, he became a Raider at some point in his career.

 

What part of the South do you live in? All over ACC and SEC country where I have traveled. Heck, I remember when they first started coming here circa 2003, a photag I worked with nearly drove off the road when he saw one. (he had previously worked in KC, and was uber excited.)

 

Also,

to get back on Combine stuff. You never know what to expect. I profiled a kid last year from a small school who put up all kinds of great numbers ( top 10 in shuttle, 40, bench press and a couple more) and was passed over in the draft. It is such a hit-or-miss thing.