By Chris Pika, AF.com
January 26, 2007
Senior Bowl week in Mobile, Alabama is just about over as the North and South squads prepare for Saturday’s game in Ladd–Peebles Stadium. Falcons President and General Manager Rich McKay spoke about the process that goes on during the week leading up to the game.
McKay said that the personal interaction between club staff and the players is very important in the evaluation process.
"I like interacting with the players themselves and the interviews we do at night," he said. "It’s a good opportunity to talk to the players face–to–face in a relaxed atmosphere that’s not as tense as the Scouting Combine (in Indianapolis) is. I like that."
One of the key scouting portions is watching players from go against top–class competition all week long instead of in spurts during the regular season.
"I think you get to see more when you review the tape next week than you do live," McKay said. "I like the small college players and see how they play up to the level of competition that they have not played against before. I think that this is a really good measuring stick. It’s good from the standpoint of when you watch college tape and evaluate players, even major colleges like Ohio State who play five really tough opponents and the other seven they beat up on – it’s good to see that player go up against really good players all week in practice and in the game. The level of competition, you get a chance to evaluate a player in a different set of circumstances."
Players involved in the game are coached by NFL staffs (San Francisco and Tampa Bay) and McKay that the coaching the players get is not as important as the level of competition.
"College coaches work them over pretty hard and you can see that when you go to those practices," McKay said about the coaching during practices. "I don’t know if it’s so much as what the coaches ask them to do during practice, just that the player they are going against are better than the ones they go against during the season."
The Senior Bowl has changed over the years. Instead of total roster sizes that were 120 or more to include as many players as possible, the number is now below 100 – more manageable for NFL staffs to deal with.
"I think the Senior Bowl has gotten better," said McKay. "When the NFL’s Competition Committee required then to reduce the number of players they have, it’s helped us from a evaluation standpoint. There are more reps involved for the players and you can evaluate better. The quality of the player has really gone up over time and that makes the roster very deep and has some very good players on it. I think the game has improved."
With the coaching staff for the Falcons completed in the last week, the club avoided the job fair atmosphere that is another large part of the week in Mobile.
"I told Coach Petrino when we got the special teams coordinator (Jerry Rosburg) signed to complete the staff, I congratulated him because I know how tough an atmosphere that is otherwise for him and me since everyone is walking up to you," he said about the job seekers. "The Senior Bowl is a tough place since there are so many people who are displaced from jobs for whatever reason and they’re trying to find a place."
Finally, the veteran NFL adminstrator took time with the coaching staff – many of whom have worked for other NFL staffs and the others who were going through the week for the first time – to go over the Falcons Senior Bowl procedures for everyone involved.
"We had a two–hour meeting when we got to Mobile to go over some grading scale items and logistical items in terms of how we run the week, what we ask them to do and let them ask any questions," said McKay.
