NFL Combine scouting pictures are worth a 1000 words

[kanatablues]

Yes, once again it seems I've inadvertently come up with a series of articles on a particular topic. This time, it's scouting. Here is Part 3 in the series, a somewhat lighter piece on NFL body types which though does stoop to showing a young, scrawny Tom Brady, at least stays away from Andre Smith's jiggling man boobs.

Part 1: NFL Scouting Departments
Part 2: The Dictionary meaning and the NFL Scouting meaning

NFL Combine scouting pictures are worth a 1000 words
by Ted Sundquist

Before the NFL Network got hold of the National Invitational Camp (better known as the NFL Combine) there was little the outside world knew about what went on behind the walls of the RCA Dome. Now google NFL Combine scouting pictures and you get over 1.64 million results.

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But really it’s not so bad. I like having the exposure and the pressure it brings down upon the prospects. In fact it’s created an entire cottage industry around combine preparation and now combine coverage. Experts in both fields have popped up out of nowhere, many never having even made the trip to frigid Indy in February.

But there’s one thing you can’t prepare for or hide from, and that’s your obligatory NFL Combine scouting picture. The chance to see a draft prospect in nothing but his shorts is rather coveted opportunity that is annually captured in some sort of photographic format.



The most popular pic appears to be that of Tom Brady. You have to really search hard to find many other NFL Combine scouting pictures out there for public consumption. I for one don’t see what the big deal is. It’s just another opportunity to analyze and evaluate body types as they relate to athletic ability and performance on the field.

So The Football Educator thought it would do just that. Let’s look at some past NFL Combine scouting pictures of former Denver Bronco draft choices and see what they might tell us.Elvis Dumervil and Brandon Marshall were both selected by the Denver in the 4th round of the 2006 draft. This might arguably be as good a class as the Broncos have ever had, producing QB Jay Cutler (Bears), TE Tony Scheffler (Lions), WR Domenik Hixon (Giants) and starting Bronco OG Chris Kuper. For a Defensive End, Dumervil’s height jumps out by just looking at the chart (5′ 11 3/8″). But you immediately notice his long arms for a shorter stature. It’s this extension that gives Elvis such a great advantage when taking on Offensive Tackles. But couple that with a low center of gravity and an immense lower body (legs/butt) hidden behind those shorts, and you have the making of a pass rush phenom. This is a powerful player, with a strong upper body build (30 reps on bench press) and athletic lower. I do notice a smaller hand for the length of his arms (and it is at 9 1/8″).



Brandon Marshall is a specimen for the position of Wide Receiver. His height alone makes him a menace for most DB’s and combine that with his reach of 32 5/8″ and you have today’s prototypical build for a dominant player at the position. What immediately jumps out at you is his upper body physique that is more in line with a linebacker than wide receiver. It’s this upper strength that makes him so hard to tackle in the open field. This is an unusual build for a receiver and one that all teams wish they had. Despite his overall size he is still explosive and powerful in the lower body, and showed it with a 37″ vertical jump and 10′ broad jump. Again however, notice the smaller hands for the longer arm. Brandon has been criticized in the past for dropping the football and does indeed struggle at times with an 8 7/8″ hand span.



Now two current Broncos that I didn’t bring on to the roster, Eddie Royal and Wesley Woodyard. Royal was selected in the 2nd round of the 2008 draft and Woodyard was signed as an undrafted free agent. Both have enjoyed solid early careers. Royal is a smaller receiver, just over 5′ 9 1/2″. He’s a very solid 184 lbs as seen in his upper and lower body makeup. A highly developed chest shows a smaller player that enjoys the weight room, no surprise he was first at the Combine in bench press for WR’s (24 reps). Arm length (31″) and lack of height give a smaller catching radius than most, and with only 8 5/8″ hands he will tend to body catch (hands appear smaller). This is a player with bigger thighs and rear end, leading to explosive power seen in his 10’4″ broad jump and #2 overall 10 yard time for WR’s.



Woodyard’s physical makeup immediately shows longer arms for a player at just over 6′. In fact his 34 5/8″ reach is longer than both Dumervil and Marshall’s. He also shows bigger hands (specifically his left) and the 9 3/4″ span substantiates just that. His upper build looks a bit slight for a LB and his lower body is more in line with a sprinter (long lower leg). The knock on Woodyard out of college was escaping blocks with upper strength, but his speed was tops for the LB position. Woodyard has made most of his plays in straight line pursuit.

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[Shaw66]

These are interesting. Hadn't seen them before.

THe first article is puzzling. In one breath he says he doesn't understand why teams don't spend a lot more on scouting, and later he says the best staffs have the fewest scouts. Huh? What else is there to spend money on, Neflix?

I think the problem with studying more and more is that the truth is that you can't tell who's going to be good. You can develop probabilities - faster is better than slower, taller better than shorter. But some shorter, slower guys turn into great players. Too many intangibles to turn it into a science.

[kanatablues]

These are interesting. Hadn't seen them before.

THe first article is puzzling. In one breath he says he doesn't understand why teams don't spend a lot more on scouting, and later he says the best staffs have the fewest scouts. Huh? What else is there to spend money on, Neflix?

I think the problem with studying more and more is that the truth is that you can't tell who's going to be good. You can develop probabilities - faster is better than slower, taller better than shorter. But some shorter, slower guys turn into great players. Too many intangibles to turn it into a science.

You'll see more in later articles - there's infrastructure, resources, and quality people, essentially. He was one of the first GMs to really utilize technology wrt college/pro player scouting and I think that's the main point.

He originally started as a scouting grunt responsible for charting players, generating alot of info that folks found hard to find/use - was at the forefront of developing a proprietary software system to chart/track players instead.

[kanatablues]

He originally started as a scouting grunt responsible for charting players, generating alot of info that folks found hard to find/use - was at the forefront of developing a proprietary software system to chart/track players instead.

It's very interesting to look at how the scouting department has evolved, which is sort of the point of this series. To give you an idea of where they started from ...

http://www.thefootballeducator.com/t...outs-football/

I’ve been a huge proponent of technology in the day to day operations of professional football for years. When I first starting working for the Denver Broncos back in 1992, there was one PC in the Personnel Department that did nothing but blink a green curser on a black screen for hour after hour. The tracking of transactions and players was done by hand and on paper.

I felt like a Franciscan monk morphed into a Player Personnel Assistant. My job was to transcribe player movement in a ½ inch square box grid on 8 ½ X 11 paper every day. Day after day, week after week, month after month! The only way to make it fit was using a fine point mechanical pencil and writing in cryptic code.

Evidently this was the way the Dallas Cowboys had operated for years and how the then personnel chiefs felt it had to be done as well (Dan Reeves had brought Dallas scouts with him). Another method to their madness included the ever popular label and magnet system. This is where you keep track of NFL rosters, Free Agency and the annual draft on magnetized floor to ceiling white boards. It literally is the inspiration for the popular saying “moving up the board”.

[mrr0622]

These are interesting. Hadn't seen them before.

THe first article is puzzling. In one breath he says he doesn't understand why teams don't spend a lot more on scouting, and later he says the best staffs have the fewest scouts. Huh? What else is there to spend money on, Neflix?

I think the problem with studying more and more is that the truth is that you can't tell who's going to be good. You can develop probabilities - faster is better than slower, taller better than shorter. But some shorter, slower guys turn into great players. Too many intangibles to turn it into a science.

Isn't developing probabilistic models science? Using these models assists in making more informed decisions. I'm sure quality scouts are more important than quantity, garbage (data) in garbage out. My guess is a lot of the things we think are intangibles, aren't really intangible, and there is a way to quantify them. They should give scouts rating scales to use, and then use those data to see if it adds to prediction. Hence, these Depts. should hire some people in measurement and statistics, it would probably be well worth it. If you hit on one more player per draft per year, you would seriously upgrade your team.

[TrueBuffalo]

This is good I think u posted this before, great read. As were many of the posting you've made through the offseason.