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“NFL-Combine-Information Overload”

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What’s wrong with this player?

What about that deficiency?

We must find out what he cannot do well?

Is there a character flaw?

Shat is the injury history?

It’s what they are all searching for at Lucas Oil Field between now and Monday.

They’re all here in Indianapolis….General Managers, every coach-every scout-team doctors.

It is 5-day;meat market as NFL teams evaluate some 362-potential draft candidates, leading into the April draft.

It’s about information to the minute detail. It’s more than just a workout. It’s probing questions about their backgournd. A look at what they did on the field, off the field, sometimes even in the classroom.

It’s about family, friends, background.too.

Organizations have to find out how players are ‘wired’.

They get to watch them do bench presses…..run 40-yard dashes….shuttle and cone drills….take part in actual workouts and passing and running drills….grade the Wunderlic test, conduct short sit down interviews.

It is step one of face-to-face evaluations. Then come the on-campus Pro Days workouts with select draft prospects. And maybe even visits, though no workouts, at an NFL facility.

You understand the amount of money that goes to top draft picks. You understand the critical needs teams have that must be filled, with the best possible talent.

But sometimes you wonder if teams get paralysis by analysis, putting more emphasis on the NFL combine and a single Pro day workout, than the 3-years of record setting passing from USC’s Sam Darnold.

You wonder if they watch all the video, and know what Saquon Barkley went thru as Penn State came out of the horrors of the Joe Paderno-Jerry Sandusky scandal.

You guess whether they value the individual talent that Rashaad Penny is, even if he played in the off-the-radar Mountain West Conference with the Aztecs.

There are a lot of ‘can’tt miss’ prospects at the top of the draft board,the JJ Watt’s of the world.

But it is not a perfect science either, as witnessed by the fact Tom Brady was a 6th round draft pick out of Michigan, and Jerry Rice took his first steps towards stardom at tiny Mississippi Valley State.

And you remain stunned, after all the video they can watch, and then the combine and the workouts, how a club could make a mistake that sets them back forever..

The highway of failed very high first round draft picks litter the roads everywhere.

When these NFL clubs are done with the data they have access too, we watched them take people like J’Marcus Russell…..running back Trent Richardson….Robert Griffin III and Ryan Leaf and so many more.

The NFL Combine….information overload…the need to know….and yet mistakes still get made every year.

The NFL wants you to believe this is a perfect science in scouting and evaluating. Sometimes it seems ‘paralysis by analysis’.

Perfect talents on the board? You bet. Plenty of mistake picks too. Guaranteed.

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“AFC-West-So It Begins”

It starts on the field today in Indianapolis, the NFL combine, and the challenge ahead, what do each of these teams do to improve or change from what they were before?

CHARGES….An awful lot of false information out there about how good the Chargers were last year. Yes they won 9-of-12 at the end of the season, but truth be told, most of that was against a very easy schedule. They were just (2-5) vs playoff teams.

Philip Rivers had a strong season. The offensive front pass blocked better than most expected. Melvin Gordon didn’t dominate but did well, run and catch. Keenan Allen had superb bounce back season. The defense got collectively better and better as the season went on, but then again, it was against the 3rd easiest schedule in the league.

They draft 17-48-75 in the first three rounds. The needs are a young nose tackle, a more physical inside linebacker, possibly a safety, and the ever present question, is there a quarterback they can draft to develop, a future Rivers?

There is not a history of of big free agent movement but they did get quality in Russell Okung and Tre Boston, and they do have some cap space. GM Tom Telesco and President of Football Operations are just (36-44) since they started calling the shots on player decisions.

Rivers is still looking for help. He, his team, have just 1-playoff win in 10-years.

BRONCOS….John Elway will have to work some magic to fix all that ails this team. Four quarterbacks on the roster, none of whom ready to win, in fact Elway may be the best quarterbacking the building. A bad offensive line, a lackluster run game, and not as good a pass game as you would expect.

They wasted a strong year on defense and have age and injury issues to deal with there.

The Broncos have cap space, and the 5th pick in the draft. Things would change quickly if they wind up with Redskins free agent QB-Kirk Cousins. They could use the 5th pick for a linesman, for a big time running back, or even trade down.

What they do with Cousins impacts everything else.

RAIDERS….Bring on the Jon Gruden era, take two, after a year of underachievement.

Which was the real offensive line, the one so dominant in 2016, or so horrid in 2017? They were terrible on defense most of the year, force feeding a lot of kids.. It took them half a year to find a run game. Now they are changing leadership and philosophy, and definitely culture.

Gruden says he is going to coach Derek Carr ‘hard’, so he can become a star and not the next Jeff George. They need to get more out of Marshawn Lynch, get more receivers, and get more productivity on defense.

They could be active in free agency, to plug in the right veterans to a very young roster.

This will be a fascinating off season.

CHIEFS….A truly wasted season, and now you almost get the sense they have decided to rebuild. They think life after Alex Smith, dealt to Washington, will be okay. There’s a lot of faith and a lot of pressure on the shoulders of the young QB-Pat Mahomes.

They have purged the defense, dealing the volatile Marcus Peters, releasing Derrick Johnson, Ron Parker and more.

The needs are at wide receiver, more help in the offensive front, and probably more pass rush help.

Andy Reid has done wonders i KC, but has not taken them deep into postseason, and now they have ripped up the blueprint and appear to be starting over.

They don’t have a first round pick either, so this process may be longer than they expect.

The AFC-West is up for grabs.

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“NFL Rule Book-Change After Change”

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A busy week in Indianapolis. It’s NFL combine week, where every team evaluates everything about potential draft picks.

But behind closed doors, important meetings are taking place too, not involving scouts, prospects, doctors, coaches or GMs.

It’s the NFL competition committee, trying to sort out the quagmire of problems with NFL rules.

Instant replay has aided the NFL by use of multiple angles, and slow motion, to make sure the correct call is made on big plays, especially in the biggest games of the year, the post-season.

Or so we thought.

The NFL in the last five years, as the growth of replay continued, the rule book got thicker and thicker. Layer upon layer of explanations were added, making the officials job tougher, and the instant replay review even more complex.

So this week, the Competition Committee has decided to re-write the “Catch Rule”.

You name it, we’ve had controversy after controversy. The Dez Bryant catch. The Jesse James catch. The Rob Gronkowski catch. It goes on and on, with interperation’s as different as the day of the week.

Look for a language change in the catch rule. Catch the ball, make a football move, hold onto the ball. That seems simple enough.

But the debate. What is a football move? How many steps must the receiver take in possession of the ball? Must he head up field, or is allowed to run lateral or even give ground?

How many steps must he take in bounds before he goes out of bounds? How many steps must be in the end zone before he goes out of bounds?

Will you re-do the contact rule, where a defender can knock a receiver out, even with the ball, and have it be a non-catch, because both feet did not come down in bounds?

What do you do about the ball moving in the receivers hands, as he goes to the ground? Does he have true possession, is he in possession but moving it from one hand to another? Is he being jostled causing the ball to come loose of grip?

Can the ground cause the fumble, or is a receiver downed by contact? And what if the ball is moving when he hits the ground after being contacted?

So now we see what the NFL does in terms of different language.

You could simplify the rule by making a reception like college football, just one foot in-bounds.

You could allow the receiver to be treated like a running back-quarterback, if the ball breaks the plane of the goal-line, t’s a TD, doing away with ‘completing the play’.

The sideline play, if he has the ball in possession in the air, and is in-bounds, but gets knocked out of bounds, make that a catch. could that be a catch.

The idea that this can be solved easily is absurd.

The game is so fast, so quick, with such great players, it may be impossible to solve the question. Simplify the rule.And instant replay will be there to solve he questions that will arise.

What’s a catch? Des Bryant, Jesse James, Rob Gronkowski are all waiting for the new rule. So are the coaches and fans.

We’ll find out by Friday, when the new language is put in place, leading to an owners vote later in the spring..

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“College Basketball-AKA-Cesspool”

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The deeper you get, the dirtier it gets.

Think of the stain on college basketball, as we move towards ‘March Madness’, it’s most important showcase..

The sport has been dragged into the gutter. The sludge is everywhere, and it appears this is about to become an open sewer.

The seedy underside of college basketball has bubbled to the top.

College basketball, where once upon a time, racism existed unchecked, at least until Texas Western and Don Haskins changed the game.

The game has exploded in popularity. Great talent, a great amount of money in TV contracts, big time personality coaches.

Fast forward from Magic-vs-Byrd…Phi Slamma Jamma….The Wizard of Westwood….Bobby Knight…Tom Izzo.

What was then, is not now. Teams of greatness, coaches of renowned recognition.

Basketball is in big trouble.

It’s no longer academic fraud, like North Carolina. No longer scandalous abuse of players, like the latest mess at Colorado State. This is not the drug scandal that destroyed Baylor. It’s not the junk of the UNLV Shark-the-Tark era. It’s not point shaving at Boston College or CCNY.

The game is reeling under the weight of a slush fund scandal, that now may have touched as many as 35-athletes, 21-schools. Where is smoke, there is fire. There are so many more to be involved. You cannot stop connecting the dots.

What started with assistant coaches trying to get money to players who would then in turn hire deposed NBA agent Andy Miller to rep them in the future, seems to be the tip of the iceberg.

The 4,000-documents seized by the FBI in the raid on Miller’s offices, show a pattern of corruption that seems to have no end.

Allegations of a Michigan State player getting $40, to some 75,000 in payments to Dallas Mavericks first round pick Dennis Smith, the numbers are staggering.

It has brought the crushing end to RickPitino’s sordid career.

It may be about to end Arizona coach Sean Miller’s long tenure in basketball.

This is so different from college football scandals of decades gone by, booster payments, and all.

College basketball’s crisis involves AAU coaches, people with influences, shoe companies, payoffs, kickbacks, bribes.

The NCAA, which could crack down on college football, does not seem to be able to control the inventory of players, 24-hours a day. Whom they interact with, what their parents are involved in, who they interact with as intermediates, to deliver payoffs.

How to solve it? Who knows. I’ve always thought the NCAA was toothless in real discipline.

A solution would be to link with the NBA, to take action against dirty college players, who then face sanctions in the NBA.

Of course, I felt if the NCAA had the right to sue NFL players for damages over wrong
dong in college, the Reggie Bush case for example, maybe all the cheating, all the tampering would stop.

They didn’t in football, but the scandals have spilled to basketball.

Here in San Diego, this isn’t so much about Malik Pope, the Aztec, as it is lots of players in lots of programs, across the country. It’s now an out of control epidemic.

If the NCAA started suspending every player whose name was on the ledger, what happens if more documents surface?

You might win up with a Final 4-weekened that would pit Harvard, Savannah State, Miami of Ohio and Alabama State.

The stain on the game is awful. The stench won’t go away.

Tell me college basketball isn’t a cesspool?

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“Padres-Smiles & Sadness on Sunday”

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It was like the Winter Baseball Meetings, but only outdoors. Baseball execs everywhere, managers on hand, former players, media, and fans milling.

They came to Petco Park, not to make deals, but to honor the late Padres General Manager Kevin Towers, who passed away last month after a 15-month battle with cancer.

Larry Lucchino, the super exec, and managers Bruce Bochy and Bud Black were there.

Bryan Cashman of the Yankees, Theo Espstien of the Cubs,
Walt Jocketty of the Reds, Tony LaRussa, the former A’s-Cardinals icon, Ned Colette of the Dodgers, Jed Hoyer of Chicago, Sandy Alderson of the Mets, Paul DiPodesta, now in the NFL, became part of all this.

Legendary players Kirk Gibson, Hall of Fame Trevor Hoffman, and Phil Kevin took part. Guys he traded for, David Wells, Wally Joyner were there.

A throng of working media, and upwards of 500-fans made their way into Petco Park too.

Scouts from all different eras came to support Towers wife, Kelly, and family and friends.

His closest friends, Padres exec Fred Uhlman and agent Barry Axlerod spoke of good times, bad times, fun times, mad times too.

They played his favorite Country Western tunes, laughed at stories of baseball, road trips, meetings and drinking parties. They wept at the podium at the sadness we all ached about.

They told the story of how Towers, who was ripped by Axlerod, tried to deal away an Axelrod client, who had a no trade clause. They laughed at a traffic stop, when Towers driving, was pulled over by a patrol officer, a former Padres minor leaguer, Towers had released.

A gospel singing group opened with the hymn ‘Amen’…and closed with ‘Thank You for being a friend’.

22-spoke at the special service in a stadium that resembled a baseball cathedral.

It was a 2-and a half hour Baseball Tent Revival meeting, restoring your faith in people, the goodness of the game, the specialness of Kevin Towers, and all his relationships, in and out of the game.

The best quotes of the day…

Mark Sweeney-Broadcaster..He was a pillar of baseball brotherhood.

Mark Grant-Broadcaster..A good time guy, who used to say ‘sprinkle the infield with another round of drinks.

Ron Fowler-Owner..Petco would not have been built without the 1998-World Series team that Kevin built.

Peter Seidler-Owner..Kevin was a super inclusive guy….fearless-optimist-in his fight against cancer.

Larry Lucchino-President..He was generous-honest-decent-fun loving…he had candor-modesty and great judgement….he had an eye for talent…brought a culture on board linking baseball and business…fearless making the bold moves

Walt Jochetty-Reds..KT bonded with all types of GM-he made us one….he registered at a hotel under the name ‘Otis Campbell’ the town drunk on Andy of Mayberry.

Brian Cashman-Yankees..He was like a college buddy….called me ‘Sugar Daddy’….Lived like a king..married a queen…enjoyed everyday of life…but was a max effort guy…a baseball treasure.

Fred Uhlman-Padres..He put people above all …he connected with hot young execs….valued players as people…..took a two month window to live and made it a 15-month battle.

Barry Axelrod-Agent…Greatest accomplishment-in 35-years-never heard a person say a bad thing about him….He was unmatched with his courage and dignity….He was a hero for way he treated people-his legacy-he made people better around him.

Theo Epstein-Cubs…He was a friend-boss-a mentor…He was wired differently….Treated you all as equal and would drag you into his orbit….He was incredible….He empowered people to do their job…We had a front row seat at he built the Padres….He inspired loyalty.

Bill Brick-Scout…Part of Foxhole guys…he built a circle of trust.

Dennis Gilbert-Agent..He developed the Scouts Foundation to help all those old timers…convinced all the GMs to come on board.

Todd Green-Scout…he loved the city, baseball, his wife and his bulldogs.

Ryan Issacs-Scout…He was positive, transparent, authentic with a rolodex of integrity.

Bill Gayton-Scout..Such a spirit

Charles Kerfeld-Scout..You didn’t work for KT..you worked with KT.

Phil Nevin-Player..Our moments made me better….Great leaders develop great leaders.

Bruce Bochy-Manager..He was a bulldog on the mound…he did so much for so many people….taught you how to live life right to the end.

Bud Black-Manager….Never forget the competitor in him….a baseball man to the end.

Kirk Gibson….He’d wear the horns when he accomplished things in life and in baseball.

Trevor Hoffman-Player..He was superstitious…he loved being a baseball guy….Bet he’s up there scouting saints now.

It was Padres baseball history, honoring the club legacy, at its best.

We laughed at stories, we cried at memories, and we remembered.

It was a classy day honoring a classy person.

Gunslinger-Bulldog-Kevin Towers. Good baseball man-greater person.

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