Why The Combine is a joke

The NFL is so full of crap sometimes it’s laughable. The combine is a perfect example of this, they are going to spend the better part of two weeks looking at players they have been watching for two sometimes even three years. The players have already preformed on a football field and recently they have walked a cat walk with nothing on but their underwear (I kid you not it was on NFL Network) to see their physique. They have performed a skills gauntlet and will lift weights if they hadn’t done so already. All of this will determine if they can play in the NFL………Really? I mean REALLY?!!!!!

Okay, to me, this is why the NFL has decreased in talent since the 1980’s even the 1990’s. Did Eric Dickerson have a combine? Did Walter Pyaton have a combine? Did Emmit Smith have a combine? Did the greatest quarterback of all time Joe Montana have a combine? No, why do we waste time here? Look at my Rams for the last five years or so; we have hit on maybe one draft pick in the first round. James Lauranitus was a second round pick. Did anyone watch him play in college? He was by far the best linebacker in the NCAA. Thankfully he slipped to us that year.

        Peyton Manning was in no need of a combine, yet let us not forget the number two pick that year was Ryan Leaf, and the so called experts like Mel Kiper, Jr. said he was such a talent and his combine elevated him to a higher level. Really? The combine is a joke, far too many players like London Fletcher (MLB), Tim Hightower (RB), slip through the cracks and the beat goes on. The combine is a failed system for two simple reasons. One, the NFL did not have this system as late as the 1990’s. Second it has missed far too many players and elevated far too many untalented players to the point of nausea. Players like Ryan Laaf, Tim Coach, Akili Smith, Roy Williams, WR Carlos Rodgers, WR Donnie Avery, and OT Alex Barron just to mention a few.

      The NFL should stick to what works: watching film and assessing talent based on what they see on the field and through the course of their interviews. Trust your scouts a little more because thats why they pay them, isnt it? The combine has proven to be a total failure yet, they keep using it. Rams you need to draft either Kirkpatrick, or Upshaw out of Alabama, look at the film they are the most talented players at the position. You need forget the combine!

A Rams fan since 1983,

Anthony Manna