Detroit Lions: The best athlete isn’t always the best player
By Robert Jones
As the Detroit Lions watch the field drills at the combine, we should all remember that just being a gifted athlete doesn’t always make a great player.
The latest version of the NFL’s meat market is now in progress. The Detroit Lions along with the rest of the league are getting ready for a bird’s eye view of this year’s installment of the NFL Combine. The week has already been chock-full of player interviews, physicals, and more poking and probing than a near-sighted nurse trying to get a blood sample.
Yessiree, business is now open. Need a speedy receiver? Just keep your eyes open. How about a mobile defensive lineman? They’ll be on display too. Or maybe you’re interested in a herculean offensive lineman? We got them all at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
All you need to do is show your credentials at the door and hurry on in to witness the feats of strength, speed, agility, and drills that will make your coordinators drool.
That’s right the leagues annual scouting combine is now in session and oh how it has it grown. Former Dallas Cowboys president and general manager, Tex Schramm was the one who came up with the idea of a centralized evaluation process for the league. The point was to make the whole scouting process much easier for everyone.
From 1982 through 1984 there were three separate scouting camps that the league used each year until 1985 when they all merged together into one big scouting event which was named the NFL Scouting Combine.
After brief stops in Arizona (1985) and New Orleans (1986) in settled down for good at Indianapolis in 1987, and now 31 years later it is a spectator sport that may be second only to the Super Bowl and NFL Draft.
Over the course of this weekend, the general managers, coaches and scouts of every NFL team, armed with their stopwatches alone, will try to evaluate the talent on the field and project what players can help them the most.
Talk about your reality television.