NFL Combine Talk

It seems to still be a little early for an NFL Draft Preview so I'm just going to talk about the combine for a little bit.

I've never been a huge fan of the combine. I always second guess what it really tells us. I've always felt like the combine can be manipulated. Players know the drills and there are proven ways to do really well in them. Obviously you have to be a great athlete to do well, but there's always been athletes who do really well in the combine who don't end up being good players at all (think of someone like Akili Smith). However there's also been a lot of great athletes to score well at the combine who end up being great players. Regardless of it all, it's fun to see what some of the best athletes in football's future can do, so let's check it out.

In my opinion this draft's strengths are definitely in its RBs, WR, D-Line, TEs, and CBs.

I'm going to offer my ranking and a few sidenotes.

RBs
1. Darren McFadden, Arkansas
2. Rashard Mendenhall, Illinois

3. Jonathan Stewart, Oregon
4. Chris Johnson, ECU
5. Felix Jones, Arkansas
6. Matt Forte, Tulane
7. Jamaal Charles, Texas

8. Steve Slaton, WVU
9. Kevin Smith, Central Florida

10. Ray Rice, Rutgers

11. Mike Hart, Michigan

- There are a lot of really good RBs in this draft with some impressive strength and speed.

- In case you didn't know, Arkansas has 2 great RBs in the draft this year in both Darren McFadden and his backup Felix Jones.

- McFadden is the standout back in this draft. He ran the 40 in 4.33 sec. His overall workouts have made him the unquestionable number 1 back in the draft.

- All Johnson did was lead the nation in all-purpose yards, gaining 1,423 on the ground, with 17 touchdowns, 528 receiving yards, with six scores, and 1,009 yards and a touchdown on kickoff returns, but that didn't get him much attention. Then he ran the 40. Johnson ran a 4.24, tying Eastern Kentucky's Rondel Melendez's 1999 time as the best electronically confirmed run in Combine history.

-Jonathan Stewart cranked out a defensive linemen-like 28 bench presses of 225 pounds, while Mendenhall put up 26 reps.

DE

1. Chris Long, Virginia

2. Calais Campbell, Miami

3. Derrick Harvey, Florida

4. Phillip Merling, Clemson

5. Vernon Gholston, Ohio State

6. Quentin Groves, Auburn

7. Lawrence Jackson, USC

8. Tommy Blake, TCU

9. Darrell Robertson, Georgia Tech

10. Chris Ellis, Virginia Tech

-At 6-4 and 275 pounds, Chris Long ran a 4.75 40, which would've made him the fourth-fastest quarterback and eighth-fastest tight end, came up with a vertical of 34 inches, was second among defensive linemen in the broad jump (10 feet, 4 inches), was fourth in the three-cone drill (7.02 seconds), and led the way in the 20-yard shuttle (4.21). He solidified himself as probably the no. 2 overall pick.

-Vernon Gholston probably couldn't have done anything to surpass Long. But he put up a great workout and I think he looks great. I see him as a really versatile player like a DE/LB hybrid. The biggest knock on him was his strength and he put 225lbs up 37 times, so that's out of my mind now.

TEs

1. Fred Davis, USC
2. Dustin Keller, Purdue
3. Martellus Bennett, Texas A&M
4. John Carlson, Notre Dame

5. Brad Cottam, Tennessee

- Dustin Keller, Purdue, might have helped himself more than anyone in Indy by leading all the tight ends in the 40 (4.55), vertical (38 inches), broad jump (10-11, eight inches further than the No. 2 tight end), the three-cone (4.55) and the 20-yard shuttle (4.14), while he was second in the bench press (26 reps). He probably went from a non-first rounder to possibly the top overall TE pick.

- John Carlson out of Notre dame sure looked disappointing. Once considered a top 2 TE with Fred Davis out of USC, he was sick for the Senior Bowl and didn't play and now put up an extremely disappointing 4.9 40 and only 20 reps at the bench.

- Jermichael Finley left Texas with two years of eligibility remaining and was one of the prospects everyone was curious about. His hands were great and he showed good strength was ran a horrible 4.82 40 which is sloooooooooooooooow. Looks like he should have stayed in school like me.

WRs

1. Malcolm Kelley, OU
2. James Hardy, Indiana
3. DeSean Jackson, Cal
4. Mario Manningham, Michigan
5. Limas Sweed, Texas

- Class is a little thing but possibly talent loaded. Size and speed is the name of the game here.

CBs

1. Mike Jenkins, South Florida

2. Aqib Talib, Kansas

3. Leodis McKelvin, Troy

4. Brandon Flowers, Virginia Tech

5. Tracy Porter, Indiana

6. Antoine Cason, Arizona

7. Patrick Lee, Auburn

8. Terrence Wheatley, Colorado

9. Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, Tennessee State

- Take your pick between Mike Jenkins, Aqib Talib and Leodis McKelvin for the top corner spot, while Brandon Flowers, Tracy Porter, Antoine Cason and sleeper Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie are just a few of the prospects would could become a No. 1 cover man.

Do you think the combine is relevant? Do you like my rankings? What are your rankings?

2007 Heisman Hopefuls

Sorry I haven't posted within the last few days but I've been busy with work and softball lately, plus grittysquirrels is on vacation.

With the College Football season less than a month away, TSF is excited and gearing up for it. Here are TSF's top Heisman hopefuls for the upcoming 2007 season. Enjoy...

In no particular order as of now:

Darren McFadden- Jr. - RB- Arkansas
After finishing 2nd in last years race, McFadden has to be the front-runner. For the season, he rushed for 1,647 yards and 14 TDs. The multi-threat RB should definitely be the favorite if Arkansas competes for the SEC Championship again, which they definitely will. Just think how much better his numbers would be if he didn't have to share the load with Felix Jones. Again, expect even bigger numbers from McFadden this season with a slightly easier schedule.

John David Booty- Sr.- QB- USC
Booty has a lot of advantages here with the Trojans the pre-season favorite. It should also help that 3 good offensive linemen return. Booty is coming off of a great 06' season in which he threw for 3,347 yards and 29 touchdowns. With talented pass-catchers in Patrick Turner and Vidal Hazelton on the field, expect Booty to have an even better Sr. season.

Steve Slaton- Jr.- RB- West Virginia
The speedy Slaton has had a great Heisman campaign with stellar freshman and sophomore seasons and placed 4th in the race last season. He rushed for 1,744 yards and 16 touchdowns in 06', but it would be tough for anyone to pick Slaton to win it with teammate Pat White at QB.

Colt Brennan- Sr.- QB- Hawaii
If you think Brennan couldn't have near the season he did last year, think again. Hawaii has a very easy schedule, plus they have three of the top WR's returning in the WAC. Mix all of those together and Colt Brennan may be on his way to holding the Heisman Trophy in December.

Mike Hart- Sr.- RB- Michigan
Seems like he's been playing forever, he's coming off a great Jr. season with 1,562 yards and 14 touchdowns. He is a steady runner and if he can stay healthy he'll be there fighting in the end.

Jamaal Charles- Jr.- RB- Texas
Charles only had 831 yards and seven touchdowns last year, but Selvin Young is now gone and he will be the main back. Look for big things from him this season.

DeSean Jackson- Jr.- WR- California
Arguably the best WR in the country, Jackson can do it all; as a sophomore, he had 59 catches for 1,060 yards and nine touchdowns and he led the nation in punt returns with an average of 18.2 per return.

Brian Brohm- Sr.- QB- Louisville
Brohm threw for 3,049 yards and 16 touchdowns last year and also the return of WR Harry Douglas will help quite a bit. Brohm has one of the strongest arms in the country and it will take him and the Cards a long ways once again.

Ray Rice- Jr.- RB- Rutgers
The one thing about Ray Rice is that he will give you consistent production. Last year he had 1,794 rushing yards and 20 touchdowns. I wouldn't consider Rice a real contender unless Rutgers has near the season they did last year.

Others Contenders:
Colt McCoy- Texas, Pat White- WVA, Tim Tebow- Florida, Chad Henne- Michigan, CJ Spiller- Clemson, Percy Harvin- Florida and Andre Woodson- Kentucky