Combine Ramblings - Part II

Now that the Defense has rested (yep, made that one up myself), it's now safe to look at their performances and make some ridiculously biased and asinine comments about who could land in Dallas' lap on this side of the ball at #51 or later. I'll also call out some notably good or bad performances in drills, just because I can...

Ron Brace: anyone who has read my posts on BTB knows I am an advocate of finding a true Nose Guard to displace the undersized Jay Ratliff and move him to the base End spot to take advantage of his quickness and motor. Well, Ron Brace sure looks like that guy. He lifted strong (32 reps on the bench) and ran like the wind. Okay, the last part NOT SO MUCH, but who cares??? He's a 334-pound behemoth, for goodness' sake.  Trust me, if he is having to run 40 yards during games, your defense has MUCH bigger problems than his timed speed. Plus, rumors of his back issues shouldn't keep him from playing. John Henderson, Marcus Stroud, Casey Hampton and Jamaal Williams have all had back issues at one time or another and they all turned out okay. Keep in mind, this is pick number 51 we are talking about.

Jarron Gilbert: had a good Combine and is built like a true 3-4 End. I'm trying to find more clips of him on the net given that he played at San Jose State without much fanfare. He might be a nice late round pick.

DL: what really ticks me off about this group is the sheer number of DT's who DID NOT participate in the drills. Of the notable interior guys over 320 pounds, Sammie Lee Hill chose only to run, Chris Baker only lifted and ran, and most guys just sat on the sidelines. What happened to position drills you jerkweeds? I am of the opinion that anyone who gets an invite to the Combine should be required to do all of the drills or they can keep their lazy butts on the couch at home while others get a shot at the spotlight!! The Combine is becoming a failure due to so many of these guys coming in to do a half-assed job! Okay, sorry, I am returning to my happy place now...With Dallas needing a big body, Tom Ciskowski's guys will be traveling to lots of pro days to see how these fatso goo-bodies can do in the phone booth.   

Jasper Brinkley: really helped himself by running a 4.72 40 and at 252 pounds, showing good strength with 26 reps and he reminds me a lot of Jeremiah Trotter. Brinkley is a thumper and was an intimidator at South Carolina. He's a true 3-4 ILB. He has also seemingly recovered from a previous injury. I like this guy!!!

Scott McKillop: Pittsburgh Panther who didn't stand out for anything other than maybe his height, which surprised some at just under 6'1". Here is another example of a guy the computer wouldn't rank highly based on his triangles, but one that scouts love because of what he brings on game day. He should be there at #51, but may also be there in round 3.

LB's: clearly, this is the strength of this draft, with guys like Maualuga, Curry, Laurinitis, Cushing and possibly Sintim all being 1st round picks. If you add the guys from the DE workouts who could transition to 3-4 rush LB's like Everette Brown, Larry English and Aaron Maybin, it is obvious that scouts are looking most closely at this very deep group of LB's. Curry emerged as the star of the Combine. He had a 37-inch vertical, benched well with 25 reps and ran a 4.56 40 at 254 pounds! Coupled with his eye catching on-field productivity, he looks every bit like a true blue-chip guy. Personally, I still feel he is better suited as an OLB in a 4-3 than a rush LB in a 3-4.

Rashad Johnson: had a poor workout, especially his 4.56 40 time, which for me isn't such a bad thing because I think he'd be a great fit in Dallas. He has shown the ability to make plays on the ball while it is in the air unmatched by anyone else in this draft except maybe Darcel McBath (who ran a 4.57). Both had more INT's in 11 or 12 games than anyone in Dallas had in 16.  

Vontae Davis: highly doubtful he would be around at #51, but he is notable because he was probably the ONLY well-regarded CB in Indy who didn't lay an egg. He ran a 4.46 with 25 reps on the bench while showing smooth hip turn (this is why Anthony Henry is a terrible press corner) to run with receivers.

DB's: this has to be the most uninspiring group of DB's to come through the draft in years (Kareem Larrimore would have been a 1st round prospect in this group!). Kudos to Dallas for NAILING IT with the Orlando Scandrick pick last year. He would surely have been a 2nd rounder in this draft. This year's class ran slow...really slow...across the board. The CB's showed stiff hips while the safeties were just plain awful in drills (those that actually participated). Malcolm Jenkins cost himself 20 million dollars this weekend. I would urge that Dallas look hard at the available Free Agent safeties for a stopgap while moving Henry to FS. There are no impact safeties that jump out at you in this draft, which was hurt badly by guys like Taylor Mays and Myron Rolle choosing to stay in school.

So, there you have it. The Combine is in the books, and I for one, was really pleased with the coverage from NFL Network. That said, the invitees not participating in so much of the event was a real downer and the NFL needs to step in and establish some minimum requirements, given that so many other players who would participate in the event, get nudged out by those who come and do bupkiss.

It's a good year for o-linemen, WR's and, as mentioned, linebackers. There are very few prototypical pocket passing QB's and it's a horrible year for corners and safeties. This is a great draft to mine the later rounds for depth and Dallas is in a great position to do just that with what looks to be 11 picks (after the compensatories are awarded). I hope they choose wisely.    

GO COWBOYS!!!