Cal C Ryan Kalil may be the best center prospect of the last few years, even better than Nick Mangold last year. He surprisingly has added almost 15 pounds since the season ended, checking in at 296 pounds today. He still ran a speedy 4.96 forty.

NFLN's Mike Mayock and Dick Vermeil wonder why Kalil bother adding the weight. He's a technician and isn't going to play for a team that wants a mauler. Either way, he's probably a first round pick.

Mayock comes with another good scouting term: a guy that can only "play in a phone booth."

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 11:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Justin Blalock from Texas and Manuel Ramirez set the bar for the weightlighting among the OL Friday, tieing with 40 reps at 225 pounds each. Forget the car show, this is why Manny's late to spring training.

The record was set by Mark Kudla last year with 45, and he wasn't drafted.

The top center in the draft, Ryan Kalil, tied with a group of players for third with 34 reps. Penn St. T Levi Brown got the bar up 31 times.

Best scouting term of the day thus far is "ankle flexion", courtesy of Dick Vermeil.

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 11:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (43)

Okay, not really. Live from my apartment. But NFL Network is live covering the Scouting Combine Saturday, so we are too.

Today isn't the flashiest of the next four: OL, TE, and K's are on the field. Some higher profile players are in interviews.

Early news, courtesy of profootball.talk.com, is that Penn state tackle Levin Brown only ran a 5.39. He says that's real bad, but the average is around 5.30. And it really doesn't matter. Coaches want to know a lineman's first ten yards. Brown should be the second tackle drafted.

Texas G Justin Blalock, at 330 pounds, ran a 5.31 forty.

Likely top five pick T Joe Thomas looked quite athletic, breaking five seconds at 4.98.

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 11:17 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

If you have nothing better to do Saturday, drop by the blog for some Combine coverage. NFL Network coverage is from 11A-2P, plus a few hours of interviews after, so I'll be liveblogging while avoiding real life responsibilities.

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 06:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Had to share one of the most surprising headlines to an article I've ever seen...

Year in Review- Hank Poteat

The first sentence says it all.

"To say that Hank Poteat had a fascinating 2006 season would be an understatement."

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 05:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

For years, the East Village has needed more wireless cafes. Suddenly two sprung up within a block from me, but now they are always too full to find a table at. Ah well, no one cares, and I'm safely back in the warmth of the apartment and ready for some ... press conferences!

Before that, let's get to some afternoon links...

Continue reading "Mid-Afternoon Links" »

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 03:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Reading through the combine stories all week, I have been regaled with an endless supply of stories about Mike Mamula, the former B.C. and Philadelphia Eagle that is the poster boy for a "workout warrior." There is no doubt Mamula is a perfect example for this peculiar breed of human, but we all know the story by now, right? We knew it a few years ago.

I propose we find some other examples of Combine success stories gone wrong in the NFL. Just so we have some other options to hear about in these articles.

Troy Williamson comes to mind for me, although it's a little early to put dirt on his career. Anyone have any other ideas for a new Mamula?

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 11:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)

So maybe Dillon isn't retiring, after all.

Or maybe his agent is trying to convince him to play again. Or Dillon just didn't like being released by the Patriots, and wanted a way to spin it to sound better.

Teams will be happy to give Dillon a roster spot, but I'm not sure there is a starting job waiting for him out there. Either way, he won't be on the Patriots next season. Thanks for the effort and the scowls.

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 09:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The clock killer has retired.

Dillon is one of my favorites of all-time for a variety of reasons, a Hall of Fame candidate (I doubt he'll get in), a fierce runner, and a man proud enough to photocopy pages of his career accomplishments from the media guide to pass out to reporters. I'm not surprised he's not a Patriot in 2007, but I am surprised he's hanging 'em up. Good for him.

The Patriots would not have won the Super Bowl without him in 2004, a season he was overworked enough to hasten the end of his career.

‘‘I can go to sleep and wake up knowing I was a baller,’’ Dillon said.

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 12:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I'm probably NFL Network's biggest fan. It makes my job infinitely easier and almost every production is well thought out and made for serious fans. This week, at the NFL Combine, is when they really shine with unique coverage.

It's a complete sham, though, that they didn't mention the Pacman Jones story once in their hour-long NFL Total Access show Thursday. On the day the story exploded. If it seems like I'm a wee bit obsessed with this story, well, I can't remember anything like it. It makes the "Love Boat" scandal look a Sandra Bullock movie. I'm not even sure what that means. A story featuring the phrase "Make it Rain" so prominently does that too you.

Rich Eisen has often said in interviews that the Network has complete license to report how it wants and has never been interfered with. If that was true at the time, it certainly isn't anymore.

Update: Pacman has hired Ray Lewis and Jamal Lewis' former lawyers.

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 07:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)