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Veteran Free Agent Combine - televised 3/22

So many fans on Twitter says VY is going to win the combine and get a roster spot....between the dress thing yesterday, and now this.
 
Brian T. Smith ‏@ChronBrianSmith
According to rep, Young was not "invited" by NFL and entered late. Could attend last-minute but as of now he won't be there.

Young had planned to attend the first-ever veterans combine to take one more shot at returning to the NFL.

Vince Young was not accepted to and won't attend the NFL Veterans Combine on March 22 in Phoenix, according to a representative for Young.
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Players scheduled to appear – Subject to Change:

Armstrong, Matt | C | Grand Valley State

Carter, Sherman | C | Tennessee State

Foster, Jason | C | Rhode Island

Gallington, Deveric | C | Texas Tech

Golic, Mike | C | Notre Dame

Gottschalk, Ben | C | Southern Methodist

Pocic, Graham | C | Illinois

Van Roten, Greg | C | Pennsylvania

Berry, Aaron | CB | Pittsburgh

Burton, Brandon | CB | Utah

Carr, Deveron | CB | Arizona State

Edwards, Kip | CB | Missouri

Lee, Saeed | CB | Alabama State

Love, Jordan | CB | Towson

Lyn, Keon | CB | Syracuse

Patrick, Johnny | CB | Louisville

Posey, Julian | CB | Ohio

Reid, Greg | CB | Valdosta State

Sullen, Jordan | CB | Tulane

White, Ryan | CB | Auburn

Anderson, Jamaal | DE | Arkansas

Brown, Sammy | DE | Houston

Carriker, Adam | DE | Nebraska

Cox, Rakim | DE | Villanova

Mims, Tevin | DE | South Florida

Paulhill, Shahid | DE | Temple

Rayford, Caesar | DE | Washington

Roh, Craig | DE | Michigan

Sam, Michael | DE | Missouri

Black, Larry | DT | Indiana

Collins, Nate | DT | Virginia

Forston, Marcus | DT | Miami

Harris, DaJohn | DT | Southern California

Jerideau, Byron | DT | South Carolina

Minter, Zach | DT | Montana State

Thompson, Everrette | DT | Washington

Troup, Torell | DT | Central Florida

Moore, Dan | FB | Montana

Pryor, Lonnie | FB | Florida State

Unga, Harvey | FB | Brigham Young

Dominguez, Ray | G | Arkansas

Goodin, Stephen | G | Nebraska-Kearney

Huey, Michael | G | Texas

Morris, Darius | G | Temple

Wells, Justin | G | St. Augustine's

White, Ian | G | Boston College

Baker, Chris | LB | East Carolina

Copeland, Brandon | LB | Pennsylvania

Devitto, Steele | LB | Boston College

Doughty, Jake | LB | Utah State

Dowtin, Marcus | LB | North Alabama

Drakeford, Darin | LB | Maryland

Fox, Dan | LB | Notre Dame

Glaud, Ka'Lial | LB | Rutgers

Keiser, Thomas | LB | Stanford

Kimbrough, Jeremy | LB | Appalachian State

Lutrus, Scott | LB | Connecticut

Rolle, Brian | LB | Ohio State

So'oto, Vic | LB | Brigham Young

Steward, Phillip | LB Houston

Miller, Jordan | NT | Southern U.

Johnson, Jerrod | QB | Texas A&M

Kafka, Mike | QB | Northwestern

Kay, Brendon | QB | Cincinnati

Price, Keith| QB | Washington

Robinson, Zac | QB | Oklahoma State

Thomas, Darron | QB | Oregon

Wilson, Tyler | QB | Arkansas

Bush, Michael | RB | Louisville

Hampton, Jewel | RB | Southern Illinois

Hines, Quentin | RB | Akron

Jones, Felix | RB | Arkansas

LeShoure, Mikel | RB | Illinois

Scott, Da'Rel | RB | Maryland

Wood, Cierre | RB | Notre Dame

Mcmillian, Jerron | S | Maine

Mitchell, Charles | S | Mississippi State

Owusu-Ansah, Akwasi | S | Indiana, Pa.

Sebetic, Kyle | S | Dayton

Silva, Mana | S | Hawaii

Starling, Jawanza | S | Southern California

Young, Joe | S | Rutgers

Aladenoye, Josh | T | Illinois State

Breckner, Jack | T | Gustavus Adolphus

Foketi, Manase | T | West Texas A&M

Harris, Randall | T | Towson

Childers, Jamie | TE | Coastal Carolina

Momah, Ifeanyi | TE | Boston College

Ogbuehi, Emmanuel | TE | Georgia State

Veldman, Matt | TE | North Dakota State

Walker, Dallas | TE | Western Michigan

Waters, Eric | TE | Missouri

Adams, Joe | WR | Arkansas

Anderson, Joe | WR | Texas Southern

Gadsden, Ben | WR | Miami

Jean, Lestar | WR | Florida Atlantic

Johnson, Darius | WR | Southern Methodist

Kurihara, Tukashi | WR | No College

Mayo, Thomas | WR | California, Pa.

Mitchell, Carlton | WR | South Florida

Slaughter, Nathan | WR | West Texas A&M

Steelman, Trent | WR | Army

Williams, LaQuan | WR | Maryland
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Veteran Combine not really a Combine at all

The inaugural Veteran Combine to be held March 22nd is misnamed. The Indianapolis spectacle called the Combine is a week- long event with well over 300 draft eligible collegiate players that teams want to get to know. The Veteran Combine is a single day event with just over 100 former NFL players that are well known to league insiders.

NFL executives universally acknowledge the most important part of Combine is the medical evaluation. The Veteran Combine will have no medical component. It is really just a one-day workout.

Many say the second most important aspect of Combine is the interview sessions. Once again, the Veteran Combine will have no formal interview process.

I am not saying the creation of a Veteran Combine is a bad idea. I actually hope it works out for NFL teams and its former players. I am just saying it isn’t anything like a true comprehensive Combine. Instead, it is a consolidated free agent tryout and should just be referred to as a Veteran Pro Day like the ones held at university campuses for college players...
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For those interested, last minute League decision......... the event will be televised at 8:00 p.m. ET Sunday on NFL Network.
 
PDS ‏@PatDStat
Former #Texans at Vet Combine.

Cierre Wood
Lestar Jean
Jawanza Starling
Darius Morris
Joe Adams
Nathan Slaughter
Graham Pocic
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Showtime100 said:
If you watch (on purpose).....................get help. :stirpot:
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I would watch it all day, multiple days.
I'm sick with it.
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Ian Rapoport ‏@RapSheet
At the Veteran Combine, Felix Jones and Mikel Leshoure ran 40s, back to back. Their last chance? Michael Bush ran, too.
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Darin Gantt @daringantt
Michael Sam runs an unofficial 5.10 and 5.07 in his 40s. This might better explain why he's here.
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QUARTERBACKS
Jerrod Johnson, Texas A&M
Mike Kafka, Northwestern
Brendon Kay, Cincinnati
Keith Price, Washington
Brady Quinn, Notre Dame
Zac Robinson, Oklahoma State
Darron Thomas, Oregon
Tyler Wilson, Arkansas

RUNNING BACKS
Michael Bush, Louisville 4.96/4.91
Jewel Hampton, Southern Illinois 4.92/4.93
Quentin Hines, Akron 4.76/4.76
Felix Jones, Arkansas 4.79/4.85
Mikel LeShoure, Illinois 4.75/4.85
Da'Rel Scott, Maryland 4.74/4.75
Cierre Wood, Notre Dame 4.93/4.92

FULLBACKS
Dan Moore, Montana 5.13/5.08
Lonnie Pryor, Florida State 4.96/4.91
Harvey Unga, Brigham Young 4.94/4.95

WIDE RECEIVERS
Joe Adams, Arkansas
Joe Anderson, Texas Southern
Ben Gadsden, Miami
Lestar Jean, Florida Atlantic
Darius Johnson, Southern Methodist
Tukashi Kurihara, No College
Thomas Mayo, California, Pa.
Carlton Mitchell, South Florida
Nathan Slaughter, West Texas A&M
Trent Steelman, Army
LaQuan Williams, Maryland

TIGHT ENDS
Jamie Childers, Coastal Carolina
Ifeanyi Momah, Boston College
Emmanuel Ogbuehi, Georgia State
Matt Veldman, North Dakota State
Dallas Walker, Western Michigan
Eric Waters, Missouri

OFFENSIVE TACKLES
Josh Aladenoye, Illinois State
Jack Breckner, Gustavus Adolphus
Manase Foketi, West Texas A&M
Randall Harris, Towson

GUARDS
Ray Dominguez, Arkansas
Stephen Goodin, Nebraska-Kearney
Michael Huey, Texas
Darius Morris, Temple
Justin Wells, St. Augustine's
Ian White, Boston College

CENTERS
Matt Armstrong, Grand Valley State
Sherman Carter, Tennessee State
Jason Foster, Rhode Island
Deveric Gallington, Texas Tech
Mike Golic, Notre Dame
Ben Gottschalk, Southern Methodist
Graham Pocic, Illinois
Greg Van Roten, Pennsylvania

DEFENSIVE TACKLES
Larry Black, Indiana
Nate Collins, Virginia
Marcus Forston, Miami
DaJohn Harris, Southern California
Byron Jerideau, South Carolina
Zach Minter, Montana State
Everrette Thompson, Washington
Torell, Troup, Central Florida
Jordan Miller, Southern U.

DEFENSIVE ENDS
Jamaal Anderson, Arkansas
Sammy Brown, Houston
Adam Carriker, Nebraska
Rakim Cox, Villanova
Tevin Mims, South Florida
Shahid Paulhill, Temple
Caesar Rayford, Washington
Craig Roh, Michigan
Michael Sam, Missouri

LINEBACKERS
Chris Baker, East Carolina
Brandon Copeland, Pennsylvania
Steele Divitto, Boston College
Jake Doughty, Utah State
Marcus Dowtin, North Alabama
Darin Drakeford, Maryland
Dan Fox, Notre Dame
Ka'Lial Glaud, Rutgers
Thomas Keiser, Stanford
Jeremy Kimbrough, Appalachian State
Scott Lutrus, Connecticut
Brian Rolle, Ohio State
Vic So'oto, Brigham Young
Phillip Steward, Houston

SAFETIES
Jerron Mcmillian, Maine
Charles Mitchell, Mississippi State
Akwasi Owusu-Ansah, Indiana, Pa.
Kyle Sebetic, Dayton
Mana Silva, Hawaii
Jawanza Starling, Southern California
Joe Young, Rutgers

CORNERBACKS
Aaron Berry, Pittsburgh
Brandon Burton, Utah
Deveron Carr, Arizona State
Kip Edwards, Missouri
Saeed Lee, Alabama State
Jordan Love, Towson
Keon Lyn, Syracuse
Johnny Patrick, Louisville
Julian Posey, Ohio
Greg Reid, Valdosta State
Jordan Sullen, Tulane
Ryan White, Auburn
 
Oh, man... dreams crushed:

Marc Sessler @MarcSesslerNFL
Michael Bush when he learned he ran a 4.91 40 at the Veteran Combine: 'You gotta be ishting me. 4.91? There you go, there goes my career.'

"I'm still shocked, I had to come and do this."
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then hope for others...

Conor Orr ‏@ConorTOrr
No bench portion of the vet combine but Adam Carriker insisted anyway. Per @DanHellie, he got 40 reps, better than anyone at Indy combine
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I mean, how can they be surprised? These guys should have been training their arses off. They should know what they're capable of and what range of times they're looking at before they step onto that field.

Him running a 4.91 and then being shocked by it, that surprises me.
 
The Pencil Neck said:
Him running a 4.91 and then being shocked by it, that surprises me.
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I guess whoever he is training with was less than honest or didn't stress for as strictly as they did at the combine, or used less than accurate timing & means of measure.

Kinda like paying people to tell you how great you are or paying them to be hones .
 
thunderkyss said:
I guess whoever he is training with was less than honest or didn't stress for as strictly as they did at the combine, or used less than accurate timing & means of measure.

Kinda like paying people to tell you how great you are or paying them to be hones .
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You really go off on hypotheticals and take them to a new level
 
Timing is being called into question a bit, now. Perhaps to the point of being 0.10 slow. We'll see how it shakes out.
 
JB said:
You really go off on hypotheticals and take them to a new level
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If you liked his hypothetical, you're gonna love this one:

All 32 NFL teams have scouting depts that have evaluated film of all these guys and have written them off. Do you think that those scouts will come back and say "oops, we missed so-and-so" or what's-his-name is better than we had him ranked?
Isn't that like saying "we suck at our job"?

I'll be surprised if more than a dozen dudes (if that) get invites to somebody's camp.

:tinfoil:
 
The guy getting the most attention in this whole thing has never sniffed an NFL regular season roster. He is slow, under sized and happens to have a taste for male genitalia. It is ridiculous that the media continues their attempt to shove him down our throats.
 
ObsiWan said:
If you liked his hypothetical, you're gonna love this one:

All 32 NFL teams have scouting depts that have evaluated film of all these guys and have written them off. Do you think that those scouts will come back and say "oops, we missed so-and-so" or what's-his-name is better than we had him ranked?
Isn't that like saying "we suck at our job"?

I'll be surprised if more than a dozen dudes (if that) get invites to somebody's camp.

:tinfoil:
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that one actually makes sense tho... not too much of a reach imo
 
ObsiWan said:
I'll be surprised if more than a dozen dudes (if that) get invites to somebody's camp.
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That would be almost 10%, which is a decent second chance shot.

These workouts happen all season, mostly on Tuesdays, at 32 team facilities. We signed a few guys from those workouts.

Didn't get a census, but Chip Kelly and staff were all over the VC.

Pollardized said:
The guy getting the most attention in this whole thing...
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From teams will be Jerrod Johnson, imo.
 
Goldensilence said:
Would love the FO to take a flyer on Carricker.
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Me too

That guy had somewhere between Watt and Crick in abilty before the injury bug. He was out of football last yr, maybe he used it to get healthy. I would give him the vet min to find out.
 
steelbtexan said:
Me too

That guy had somewhere between Watt and Crick in abilty before the injury bug. He was out of football last yr, maybe he used it to get healthy. I would give him the vet min to find out.
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With Crick on a contract year and Pagan in second year it gives immediate depth at DE in worst case.
 
Pollardized said:
The guy getting the most attention in this whole thing has never sniffed an NFL regular season roster. He is slow, under sized and happens to have a taste for male genitalia. It is ridiculous that the media continues their attempt to shove him down our throats.
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Don't confuse TV types who are trying to generate viewers/ratings with the scouts/coaches that are making the decisions on whether to give this guy or that guy a shot in training camp to make their team; two totally different agendas.
 
steelbtexan said:
Me too

That guy had somewhere between Watt and Crick in abilty before the injury bug. He was out of football last yr, maybe he used it to get healthy. I would give him the vet min to find out.
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Me three. You know there's going to be some camp bodies brought in so why not give this guy a call and see if he's interested in winning a job and earning some incentives?

Watt - Wilfork - Carriker (a healthy Carriker) sounds pretty scary to me and if this guy can be as strong as he's supposed to be and not flash while playing with those two then he really is done.

I bet he's going to get signed and make a little bit of noise somewhere this year.
 
Goldensilence said:
Would love the FO to take a flyer on Carricker.
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steelbtexan said:
Me too

That guy had somewhere between Watt and Crick in abilty before the injury bug. He was out of football last yr, maybe he used it to get healthy. I would give him the vet min to find out.
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From the most recent data relative to NFL players:

Am J Sports Med. 2013 Aug;41(8):1841-6. doi: 10.1177/0363546513490655. Epub 2013 Jun 4.
Quadriceps tendon injuries in national football league players.
Boublik M1, Schlegel TF, Koonce RC, Genuario JW, Kinkartz JD.

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Distal quadriceps tendon tears are uncommon injuries that typically occur in patients older than 40 years of age, and they have a guarded prognosis. Predisposing factors, prodromal findings, mechanisms of injury, treatment guidelines, and recovery expectations are not well described in high-level athletes.

HYPOTHESIS: Professional American football players with an isolated tear of the quadriceps tendon treated with timely surgical repair will return to their sport.

STUDY DESIGN: Case series; Level of evidence, 4.

METHODS: Fourteen unilateral distal quadriceps tendon tears were identified in National Football League (NFL) players from 1994 to 2004. Team physicians retrospectively reviewed training room and clinic records, operative notes, and imaging studies for each of these players. Data on each player were analyzed to identify variables predicting return to play. A successful outcome was defined as returning to play in regular-season NFL games.

RESULTS: Eccentric contraction of the quadriceps was the most common mechanism of injury, occurring in 10 players. Only 1 player had antecedent ipsilateral extensor mechanism symptoms. Eleven players had a complete rupture of the quadriceps tendon, and 3 had partial tears. There were no associated knee injuries. All ruptures were treated with surgical repair, 1 of which was delayed after failure of nonoperative treatment. Fifty percent of players returned to play in regular-season NFL games. There was a trend toward earlier draft status for those who returned to play compared with those who did not (draft round, 3.1 ± 2.5 vs. 6.0 ± 2.9, respectively; P = .073). For those who returned to play, the average number of games after injury was 40.9 (range, 12-92).

CONCLUSION: Quadriceps tendon tears are rare in professional American football players, and they usually occur from eccentric load on the extensor mechanism. Prodromal symptoms and predisposing factors are usually absent. Even with timely surgical repair, there is a low rate of return to play in regular-season games. There is a trend toward early draft rounds for those who successfully return to play.
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Yes Carriker was a 1st rounder....theoretically in his favor. However, he had 2 re-ruptures, ie., 3 quadriceps tendon surgeries (all same right tendon) within one year. Carriker has been out of football for 2 years. Quad tendon re-rupture rates in general run only 2%. What was the chance of TWO RE-ruptures?......probably as much chance of him making it back......and, if he is miraculously fortunate enough to making it back, then staying back?:mcnugget:
 
CloakNNNdagger said:
From the most recent data relative to NFL players:

Am J Sports Med. 2013 Aug;41(8):1841-6. doi: 10.1177/0363546513490655. Epub 2013 Jun 4.
Quadriceps tendon injuries in national football league players.
Boublik M1, Schlegel TF, Koonce RC, Genuario JW, Kinkartz JD.



Yes Carriker was a 1st rounder....theoretically in his favor. However, he had 2 re-ruptures, ie., 3 quadriceps tendon surgeries (all same right tendon) within one year. Carriker has been out of football for 2 years. Quad tendon re-rupture rates in general run only 2%. What was the chance of TWO RE-ruptures?......probably as much chance of him making it back......and, if he is miraculously fortunate enough to making it back, then staying back?:mcnugget:
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Well, if we needed someone to play the kind of snaps we expect out of Watt then I'd be worried. If we even needed him to play as much as Wilfork I might be concerned. In a rotational role with Crick and Pagen I am fine with bringing him back slowly and easing him into the workload. If it doesn't work it doesn't work but you haven't lost much investing in giving him another chance I don't think. This is the kind of quality depth you don't get a chance to sign every day and sure, someone might be stupid enough to throw bigger money at him now or after he plays a year or so with us in a limited role but you don't fall for that (for all the reasons you pointed out). You let someone else be on the hook for bigger money when he ruptures it a third time.
 
Hervoyel said:
Well, if we needed someone to play the kind of snaps we expect out of Watt then I'd be worried. If we even needed him to play as much as Wilfork I might be concerned. In a rotational role with Crick and Pagen I am fine with bringing him back slowly and easing him into the workload. If it doesn't work it doesn't work but you haven't lost much investing in giving him another chance I don't think. This is the kind of quality depth you don't get a chance to sign every day and sure, someone might be stupid enough to throw bigger money at him now or after he plays a year or so with us in a limited role but you don't fall for that (for all the reasons you pointed out). You let someone else be on the hook for bigger money when he ruptures it a third time.
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Exactly. Don't go into it looking for a starter, do it looking for exceptional depth/rotation. This guy's looking for something close to league minimum. Where's the downside?
 
Have to say NFLN's one hour show on the VC was flat out awful. Seems like they predetermined which players to follow... with a narrow focus, and in doing so missed the majority of guys who showed enough to get second looks. Totally mailed it in, imo. Boring.
 
Hervoyel said:
Well, if we needed someone to play the kind of snaps we expect out of Watt then I'd be worried. If we even needed him to play as much as Wilfork I might be concerned. In a rotational role with Crick and Pagen I am fine with bringing him back slowly and easing him into the workload. If it doesn't work it doesn't work but you haven't lost much investing in giving him another chance I don't think. This is the kind of quality depth you don't get a chance to sign every day and sure, someone might be stupid enough to throw bigger money at him now or after he plays a year or so with us in a limited role but you don't fall for that (for all the reasons you pointed out). You let someone else be on the hook for bigger money when he ruptures it a third time.
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I see what you and Cak are saying. But he's already ruptured that tendon the third time. Will point out an additional detail of the study. The return numbers were for playing real games........not those that came back to practice. The thing that needs to be kept in mind is that a quad tendon tear is an eccentric stress injury, meaning it usually occurs spontaneously under a single major stress. Every snap he takes in the regular season will be the equivalent of that major stress. Limiting his snaps are unlikely to avoid what will probably be the inevitable. Anything is possible, but even an investment of little or nothing is still apt to result in little or nothing.
 
I see what you're saying too Doc but in this case I think it would be one of the times where the Texans tossing the dice might be a good thing. If it doesn't work out it doesn't work out and the man is probably done with football at that point. If it does work out he's excellent depth and that's something I'd be willing to gamble a very limited amount on getting cheap.

Part of the process is looking through the parts bin to see if there's something marked down in there that you can use.
 
Playoffs said:
That would be almost 10%, which is a decent second chance shot.

These workouts happen all season, mostly on Tuesdays, at 32 team facilities. We signed a few guys from those workouts.
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I remember those workouts. One week it would be CBs, the next week RBs, then there would be some other position. Teams get a look at guys they might like and put them on speed dial for when injuries happen.

All the more reason why I think the league scouts already have all the info they need on these guys (with the possible exception of updates for those coming off extended rehab periods). You'll not convince me that this dog & pony show isn't merely TV filler until the draft.
 
ObsiWan said:
I remember those workouts. One week it would be CBs, the next week RBs, then there would be some other position. Teams get a look at guys they might like and put them on speed dial for when injuries happen.

All the more reason why I think the league scouts already have all the info they need on these guys (with the possible exception of updates for those coming off extended rehab periods). You'll not convince me that this dog & pony show isn't merely TV filler until the draft.
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Agreed. It's just a poorly conceived idea. On its surface it seems to make sense but on closer inspection there's not much point to it all. It would make more sense for the teams to do this with available free agents at the end of training camp or early in the season and then it could replace all those Tuesday workouts for everybody. Just bring them all in, send a couple of your personnel guys to look at them, and come back with a list and some film.

Are they going to do this again next year? If so what do they do? Bring in the same bunch of guys minus a handful of guys who gave up? This crowd doesn't change from year to year as much as rookies do so having a "combine" every year is probably not worth the trouble the way they're doing it here.

Unless you're making junk programming/stories for the off-season month where nothing much happens. In that case I guess "Go on...."
 
Chris Gittings ‏@OneWestSports
Super excited for @OneWestSports client Nate Slaughter, signing with the Arizona Cardinals. Fastest 40 @ the NFL Vets Combine.
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One down...
 
I like the idea of something like the veteran combine from a player standpoint. Gives them a way to get back on the radar as opposed to trying to approach teams individually for a look. I think the idea is good just if you're going to make it a combine... I dunno make it a full combine. Interviews and medical. I mean how many on this board thought Carricker or Michael Bush was even around the game?
 
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