My Problem With The Combine.

I think the combine is a very exciting event. It's an opportunity for players to make or break their draft status. Although Andre Smith did the expected of someone in his shoes, being a top 10 pick with everything to lose and not much to gain, by just weighing in, being measured and not working out.

The one thing Andre failed to do was tell anyone he was leaving early to fly to Atlanta and begin training for Alabama's Pro Day. The consequences, of what was probably just Smith not knowing he had to tell anyone of his early departure, were reports of him going AWOL and being immature. Some draft analysts have Smith going from a Top 5 pick to an end of the first round pick. MSNBC has calculated Smith's error costing him $23.8 million.

The truth about The Combine is that there is no truth to the event. The Combine simply evaluates athletic talent, but what does it matter if a player can run a sub 4.4 40 yard run if they do not understand the game of football. If this is the case, that sub 4.4 speed will turn into 4.9 speed on the playing field. I would much rather have a 4.6 player that also plays at a 4.6 speed on the field.


The bench press also does not make any sense to me. The motion in a fundamental bench press does not resemble a football motion at all. Squatting strength is more important in football than that of upper-body strength. A player with leg strength can get lower and therefore get more leverage on an opposing player.

If any type of upper body strength should be measured, it should be done so by the players performing incline bench presses. A player should always try to be lower than the player they are attempting to block, therefore their motion should always be up (like an incline bench press motion).

Don't get me wrong, I love to watch the spotter yelling at the players as they try to pump out as many reps of 225 lbs. as they can do, but does it really show how good a player is?

Andre Smith Draft Stock Drops

I was very surprised to read this article. Everything I have heard about Smith prior to The Sugar Bowl was positive, but this article gives a different impression.