During the 2007 NFL Scouting Combine, AF.com's Chris Pika will give his observations on the event, the behind-the-scenes information that you won't see on the NFL Network and any other breaking news as it develops. Keep checking back for updated entries during the day (latest entries listed first).
Thursday, February 22, 2007
- 10:00 pm - Dinner and fellowship: A group of 40 which included the Falcons coaches, scouts, personnel staff, Owner & CEO Arthur Blank and President & GM Rich McKay had a chance to get together at St. Elmo Steak House.
The highly-professional staff at the restaurant did a tremendous job from the Falcons-logoed menus all the way through dinner which gave our staff an opportunity to relax, tell stories and discuss the work that will take place over the next few days.
For the record at our table, assistant strength coach Dave Puloka (who is a NFL Combine rookie) was duped into not scraping off the mound of cocktail sauce (which includes a very healthy amount of horseradish) off of the shrimp. He coughed and immediately reached for the water glass as the guilty party in convincing him to do it - running backs coach Ollie Wilson - and the rest of the table had a chance to laugh.
Talk eventually turned to football, past Combines and current NFL events. It's not hard to see the respect in which the group holds for each other and the jobs they do year-round.
As the clock wound toward 9 p.m. and the dinner finished, several of the staff headed to the start of the evening interviews at a local hotel, when players meet on a schedule with teams interested in talking to them. It is the end of a long day and tomorrow, the first groups finally take the field.
- 4:47 pm - Coming to the end of Day 1: Steve Alic, the AFC Information Manager and the ranking NFL PR person in charge of the media operations has just informed us that no more players will be coming to our area the rest of the day.
Today was busy, but tomorrow will be even more hectic with NFL personnel coming in almost every 15 to 30 minutes starting at 10 am around the parade of players which will include quarterbacks. The NFL Players' Association-certified player agents also have their annual meeting tomorrow, so there will be plenty of stuff to report on tomorrow.
As for tonight, the entire Falcons personnel, scouting and coaching staff -- along with a couple of interlopers from AF.com - will meet for dinner at the traditional spot in Indianapolis - St. Elmo Steak House.
St. Elmo may have the best shrimp cocktail anywhere - but, for the rookies to the restaurant - don't take too much of the cocktail sauce - it is absolutely eye-opening to say the least. It's best to have a glass of water nearby, as Matt found out a year ago. Director of Football Administration Brian Xanders, being helpful, told Matt to make sure he got a lot of sauce on the shrimp. Matt did as he was told and the table got a big laugh as he turned red and gulped down some liquid refreshment.
Matt has given us the last of his video gold mine for the day as he got Wisconsin T Joe Thomas.
I will be back with a final recap of the day after dinner
- 3:43 pm - Keeping the hounds at bay: The players here are constantly having their attention divided by everything and everyone around them. They are passed through a vigorous physical exam in several rooms and eventually many of them make their way down a long hallway to the media room.
Between us (the media here) and them (the players) lie the hounds - the autograph hounds. Several people of varing ages have footballs, cards, placards and helmets for these guys to sign. These are not kids who are seeing their heroes up close for a chance to say hi, they are the pros that teams see in every hotel on the road. These guys are good -- they know who every player is and they try to work around the media who are asking questions in the hall and the poor security guard who is trying to get the player to his intended destination.
For the most part, the guys don't seem to mind signing the items, although they are walking and signing at the same time and not making eye contact with the autograph seekers.
More video fun from Matt Moore - he plays the waiting game in the hallway with the AJC's Steve Wyche and when he isn't having fun with the local media, he has press conference video from Ohio State WR Ted Ginn, Jr., Arizona State TE Zach Miller, Georgia TE Martrez Milner and Auburn G Ben Grubbs.
- 1:00 pm - Tale of two halves: The room picked up significantly when Ohio State WR Ted Ginn, Jr. came into the room for his press availability. Almost 100 media members have crowded around to ask him questions and video his presser - including Matt.
On the other end of the room was poor quarterback Luke Getsy of Akron, who had - at the most - 10 people to ask questions of him.
- 12:14 pm - First lull: Finally, the early rush of prospects and coaches has slowed for the moment which has allowed the media to go around the room and in some cases, interview each other for stories.
For the national guys, it's a chance to corral a John Clayton or Michael Smith from ESPN or some of the long-time writers like John McClain of the Houston Chronicle. Mostly, it's a lot of trading of stories along with any and all rumors. A lot of the discussion seems to be on the contract non-renewal of Chicago defensive coordinator Ron Rivera after his interviews with several clubs for head coaching jobs and some of the activity that took place around the NBA's All-Star Weekend in Las Vegas.
By the way, we have our first video blog of the day from Matt - a look at our surroundings in the RCA Dome and a pair of press conferences from this morning - Colorado K Mason Crosby and Saints Head Coach Sean Payton.
- 11:09 am - Lots of activity: The room is buzzing and a lot of activity is just outside where Sirius NFL Radio (no Sirius-XM merger just yet, LOL) is set up with Gil Brandt and Harold Balzer - hosting the NFL head coaches and personnel people as they go by.
Also, a lot of the beat writers for the teams are getting their head and assistant coaches for stories in the open space outside the media room.
Down the hall are the medical rooms as groups of players are going through their physical exams. There is a check-in area and then several rooms where the players go in sequence to be poked and prodded by club medical personnel.
- 10:33 am - Even the specialists are special: UCLA kicker Justin Medlock was the first victim of the morning as he talked with a few members of the media at one of the small tables. The great thing about the Combine to me is that everyone who walks into the room is a story - even the kickers and punters.
Bills Coach Dick Jauron is the second NFL head coach to take to the podium as Pittsburgh's Mike Tomlin preceded him. Our own Bobby Petrino will speak to the assembled masses at 12:30 pm on Saturday.
- 9:49 am - Settling in: Good morning from the media room at the RCA Dome. When Matt and I walked in here around 20 minutes ago, the room is already buzzing with activity as media are claiming spots at the rows of long tables which are set up along the sides of the room.
As this is my first Combine, I am amazed by the amount of media that travel here to cover the event. But, there is plenty to cover and it's not just about the prospects. Several coaches and GMs will step up to one of the two podums on either end of the room and talk about their clubs.
Several media members, including Rick Gosselin of the Dallas Morning News - who has covered this event since 1992 - have said this morning that the event has outgrown the room we are in.
