Good morning from Lucas Oil Stadium. Here we are for the first day of the 2011 NFL Scouting Combine, the league’s annual job fair. Throughout the week, we will post daily blogs keeping you up-to-date on all the happenings from the media room here at the stadium. In addition, we will post video of some of the top players’ interviews, provide photos and cap each day with a top story recapping the biggest events.
Today, offensive linemen, tight ends, kickers, punters and long snappers will step to the podium as they prepare to make the leap to the professional ranks. In addition, Head Coach John Fox is expected to address the media at approximately 11 a.m. here in Indy, which means 9 a.m. Denver time.
Feel free to post any questions you have in the comments, and we will do our best to answer them. Keep checking back throughout the day for updates.
9:55 a.m. EST: Along with the athletes; coaches, GMs and NFL Network personalities will make their way through the media room podiums. First up, Buffalo Bills Head Coach Chan Gailey. The Bills hold the third pick in April’s draft, just one spot behind the Broncos.
10:39 a.m. EST: Rams Head Coach Steve Spagnuolo is the next to the podiums. A lot of question about Josh McDaniels, who will serve as the Rams’ offensive coordinator. Folks in St. Louis want to know what type of offense they will be running and how he will interact with Sam Bradford.
Spagnuolo said that one of the reasons he hired Josh was that he had one of the hardest offenses to prepare for.
10:48 a.m. EST: Panthers Head Coach Ron Rivera (pictured above) just stepped to the podium. He said Carolina is looking to add depth at a lot of positions, and the club has between eight and 10 players it will evaluate for the first overall selection. Coach Fox should be stepping to the podium shortly. Be sure to follow my Twitter feed and the Denver Broncos’ official Twitter feed for coverage as well.
12:18 p.m. EST: Back at the work station after Coach Fox talked at the podium and in a separate group interview. You can check out the video of his press conference here, and if you prefer, the audio version is here.
We’ll have more on what Fox said in a top story notebook at the end of the day, but some of the highlights included calling Kyle Orton the starter at quarterback, his thoughts on switching from a 3-4 to a 4-3 defense, re-signing Champ Bailey and getting Elvis Dumervil back healthy, why he hired Dennis Allen as defensive coordinator, what he hopes to get with the No. 2 overall pick — “You’re obviously going to get a heck of a football player,” — and the goal of winning a Super Bowl.
“Right now there are 32 teams that are all 0-0,” Fox said. “Time will tell, but that’s our goal.”
We’ll have more detail on many of those topics — including his comments on the quarterbacks — this evening.
12:25 p.m. EST: Players have begun to make their way into the room. The player drawing the most attention at the moment is South Carolina offensive tackle Garrett Chisolm. Now Alabama tackle James Carpenter is at the podium and drawing quite a crowd as well.
1:14 p.m. EST: Wisconsin’s Gabe Carimi – one of the highest rated offensive tackles – has taken to the podium with a bevy of cameras and recorders following his every word. Gray is among them and I am sure will have a few nuggets to post shortly.
1:39 p.m. EST: OK, back from talking with a few players including Carimi (pictured above) and one of the quarterbacks who made it to a podium on day one, North Carolina’s T.J. Yates.
One of the more interesting questions for Carimi was whether or not he plans to play on Jewish holidays.
“Yeah, that’s what I did this year,” he said. “Yom Kippur this year, and basically what I did is went off Israeli time. I fasted from 12:00 to 12:00.”
He said he looked at the calendar and found out Yom Kippur doesn’t fall on a Sunday for 15 years. Then he smiled and said, “Next question.”
As for Yates, he led a UNC team that faced a number of suspensions and a lot of uncertainty amid an NCAA investigation throughout the season. He said playing through that adversity shows NFL teams that he can win despite a tough situation.
“I challenge anybody to go look somewhere else for some worse adversity in a team or a program,” Yates said. “Because we had it from all angles as far as NCAA, academic stuff, then on top of that we had a ton of injuries. There were times we were stretching our depth charts in the middle of games to a fifth-string running back. Coach (Butch) Davis is looking on the sideline asking if anybody can run down on a kickoff. It got pretty hectic at some points, but I don’t think any other team in the country went through what we did, and we still salvaged a very good season.”
Yates (pictured below) said there were weeks when the team was boarding the bus for an away game, and teammates were on the phone trying to find out whether or not they were allowed to get on the bus with the rest of the squad. Sounds like it was a fairly stressful season that ended in a wild Music City Bowl win against Tennessee.
2:47 p.m. EST: Anytime a player from a smaller school is at the combine, he typically gets a pretty big gathering around his table. The first up was Brandon Fusco from Division II Slippery Rock.
Fusco said he wasn’t very big coming out of high school — about 240 pounds. “I didn’t take the weight room as seriously as I do now,” he said.
So the biggest school that recruited him was Youngstown State. But he met the coaches from Slippery Rock and visited the campus and fell in love.
He said there would be times when defensive linemen at the Division II level would be disappointed to have to go against a player of his caliber.
“There were a couple games and the defensive linemen would be like, ‘Man, this sucks.’” Fusco laughed. “I loved hearing that from lines. It makes you feel good and it pumps you up more to play better.”
The center is also pumped up by the perception that players from smaller schools can’t make it to the NFL. He pointed to the success of New Orleans Saints All-Pro guard Jahri Evans, who went to school in the same conference as Slippery Rock, as part of his motivation.
Fusco said his desire to learn new offenses as quickly as possible will help him succeed on the next level. At the Senior Bowl, he had to learn an NFL playbook, and he stayed up as late as it took to get every play down. “I can’t sleep if I don’t know something,” he said.
“I feel like everybody’s doubting me coming from a smaller school, they think I don’t belong,” Fusco said. “Everyone’s got their own opinion, but I know my game. I’m very confident. I know what I can do and I know what I need to do. I have the opportunity to be here and I’m just going to make the best of it and show why I do belong here.”
3:23 p.m. EST: Broncos TV posted the first full interview from the combine, this one with Wisconsin tackle Gabe Carimi.
3:50 p.m. EST: Players continue to roll into the room. We’ve heard from a number of top prospects, including Tennessee tight end Luke Stocker. Arkansas tight end D.J. Williams just stepped to the podium. One of the most recent guys to talk to the media was Utah guard Caleb Schlauderaff, who started at left guard alongside Zane Beadles the past few years for the Utes. He said Beadles offered him some advice before the combine.
“I got lucky,” Schlauderaff said. “Zane went through this whole process last year, so he kind of walked me through it a little bit. He’s just helped me kind of know what to expect and what to look forward to.”
He said the most important part of the combine, to him, is interviewing with NFL coaches, because it is good exposure.
“They actually ask about the same questions,” he said of the 10 to 12 teams he has already spoken with. “They just want to see how you react to them. Some will try to put you on the spot a little bit and get your reaction to it, but it’s a lot of the same questions from team-to-team — playing experience, what you can work on, what you need to get better at — stuff like that.”
4:35 p.m. EST: University of Colorado offensive tackle Nate Solder just stepped off the podium. The CU star has a shot at being the first offensive lineman picked in this year’s draft. He spoke highly of his Buffs teammate, Jimmy Smith, who he called “a heck of a competitor.” Smith has a shot at being one of the top cornerbacks chosen in the draft, as well. Then Solder was asked why with such talent playing together at CU, the Buffs weren’t able to win more games.
He looked to be taken aback by the question at first, and laughed a little before answering.
“Yeah, well, you know, if you have talent here and talent here and they’re not together, it kind of makes a difference,” he said. “I don’t know if we always played together as a team the way we should’ve.”
4:45 p.m. EST: While the majority of the gathered press was taking to Solder – we will post the entire interview on the site later tonight – I thought I would clean out the recorder a bit and post a couple quotes from Arkansas tight end D.J. Williams.
Compared to the other tight ends in the draft class, Williams is a bit smaller, standing 6-foot-2 and weighing 245 pounds. But the former Razorback says that his do-anything attitude makes up for his stature.
“Teams ask me a lot of questions, so I just fire right back at them with a couple of my own,” the verbose Williams said. “I ask them what they want from me. A lot of teams tell me the player that they want to end up drafting is the player that they see on film. I tell them time-after-time I have the attitude. I am that player that hears he has to block Ray Lewis – I say this now because he is not across from me – the attitude is, ok let’s go do it. We are out here playing football, this is what we do.”
If size is viewed as a negative for Williams, he plans on making up for it by showcasing his speed. Just don’t ask him what he plans on running in the all important 40-yard dash.
“I can’t say what I plan on running because then you jinx yourself. But probably a 4.1,” he said with a smile.
5:06 p.m. EST: Speaking of tight ends, Luke Stocker’s press session is now on the site. Click here to see what the University of Tennessee tight end had to say.
6:15 p.m. EST: That will wrap up day one of the NFL Scouting Combine. A notebook and a few more videos will be posted on DenverBroncos.com later tonight. Tomorrow quarterbacks, running backs and wide receivers will make their way through the media room and we will have full coverage. Talk to you then.
– Gray Caldwell & Kyle Sonneman.
Tags: NFL Scouting Combine
if orton is the starter next year if there is one. i will watch some games but not all based on that i wont subscribe to my nfl ticket like i have done like the last couple years. orton sucks. but if we have to say hes our starter to get a better pick for him than im all about it.
Anyone catch Michael Lombardi’s mock draft this evening on NFL Network. He slated Broncos taking Robert Quinn DE from North Carolina at #2…… ???
For one of you guys that live in Denver….did the Sports Fan behind the stadium on Federal close?
Orton reminds me of Steve Deberg or Brian Griese they are just good enough to get you beat.
listen I dont care what people say about the Kid Tebow but he has the IT quality that we have been lacking since #7.
He is the first in the building and the last one out. I thought his rookie season was good not great but better than cutler rookie year.
He is the future of this franchise so lets do it.
I would love to get Quinn! I really think he is the best DE in this draft and has shown the most consistency! He has an extremely high motor too and can chase down QB’s and RBs!! And we all know the other great DE from Carolina, PEPPERS!
Quinn looks just like Peppers in my opinion!
Plus we have his brother, Richard Quinn and maybe that helps Richard develop into a great TE with his brother being there as well??
Guys look at this! I do not know if anyone posted this yet or not but this is awesome!!
INDIANAPOLIS — The Denver Broncos are considering pursuing safety O.J. Atogwe.
The St. Louis Rams cut Atogwe on Friday after six seasons. The Washington Redskins and Buffalo Bills are two other teams that have shown interest. The Atogwe talks may not move fast, but the Broncos could end up bringing him in for a visit.
Denver is expected to make major changes on defense. There is a chance Denver won’t bring back Brian Dawkins because of his high price tag.
Detroit Lions coach Jim Schwartz indicated that Detroit will appeal their tampering charge. Defensive coordinator Gunther Cunningham was found guilty of tampering with a Kansas City Chiefs player, believed to be former safety Jarrad Page. The Chiefs will now draft No. 9 and the Lions will draft No. 23 in the fifth round. Detroit was also docked a seventh-round pick.
New Denver coach John Fox and new Carolina Panthers coach Ron Rivera embraced when they ran into each other at the NFL combine on Thursday. Rivera, the San Diego Chargers’ former defensive coordinator, replaced Fox in Carolina.
The San Diego Union Tribune reports that the Chargers are prepared to place the restricted free agency tender tags on Eric Weddle and Malcom Floyd.
It will be a family reunion like the days of the Greggs or whatever their names were. I was pretty young when they played.
Sorry guys but some of the post about Orton and Tebow on NFL.com got me fired up. I honestly dislike Orton because of what he did after TT got the starting job in the final three games. He mopped, he did not try to better himself but sat there with his head down and mopped. For this fact along with 4th quarter losses that could have been won like in the Jets game where we moved half the field in 40 seconds and had a minute and some odd seconds left and he missed the bad snap and did not even attempt to fall on the ball. That is a lack of effort. I cannot say what exactly Timmy would have done but I am 99.999% sure that he wouldn’t have sat by and watched the defense get an easy fumble recovery.
Now that that is off my chest I refuse to listen to Michael Lombardi it amazes me to know that he hold the position that he does. In his last couple of post about the Denver Bronco’s he has proved that he knows absolutely nothing about our team. With that being said I do not want a DE as our first pick DE has a solid foundation and only needs depth. Our biggest needs are DT, ILB, and S. Their are no ILB’s or S’s that are good enough in this draft to be taken that high so that leaves me with DT. If Carolina does take Newton 1st overall I would love to have Fairnasty. But If he is gone Dareus will suffice. And to all who think Fairley is a one year wonder its because he did not play for Auburn until his sophomore year and had to make a place for himself but I guarantee that if he were to play his senior year he would put up even better numbers because he is getting even better from what my friend Nosa Eguea and fellow teammate of Fairley tells me.
wow! is that true bf30?
Atogwe might still have some left. But I miss Dawks presence.
One player that I hoped we made offers for was Mercedez Lewis (TE Jaguars) that guy is a redzone machine…..
Mikey, I read those post as well… His mock draft seems very improbable, he has WR A.J Green out of the top 10!!! Even worst, he has us taking DE Ayers!? hahaha that and the “article” he posted before about Tebow and the draft “Broncos dilemma” I started to believe that the guy is retarded! LOL
I usually liked to read his stuff but he is loosing my credibility FAST!
I’m all in talking about bringin’ a proven S out of FA, guys like Atogwe, George Wilson from Buffalo, Eric Wedldle from S.D and even Michael Huff from the raiders are better than most(if not all) of our safeties!
I like the idea of drafting one S on the 2nd round, hope is Moore out of UCLA! I think we should not use the other 2nd rounder on a TE(like Rudolph for example) and get a nasty LB! We do need a playmaker TE but not in the desperate way we need playmakers on Defense so in my opinion we could hold on the TE for the 3rd or 4th round if Stocker or Kendricks are available! We could still do good on offense without that TE, it is not that high of a priority!
Lewis is out of the question in my opinion, the jags put a high franchise tag on him, and I don’ blame them, he is a hell of a playmaker!
Pick Fairley, if gone take Peterson! Would not make me that mad if we get DT Dareus, haven’t seen him play(like I have seen Peterson) but heard he is more than solid!
I think we can wait till even the 6th round for tight end. Weslye Saunders from Carolina would be a good pick. He is big, physical and athletic with good hands. He had a bit of trouble last year with off the field incidents, but I think he could fit well for our needs.
Its tough to think that we would go DE with the first pick having Doom and Ayers moving back to DE. I think Ayers will finally be able to produce like the first round talent we all hoped him to be. I want Fairley, but if he is not there at #2 I’m fine with Peterson, becuase we can get DT, and ILB in the second round. Marvin Austin (North Carolina), Drake Nevis (LSU), or even Phil Taylor (Baylor) will be there in the 2nd, and I like Wilson ILB (Illinois) or Greg Jones (Michingan St).
Really like mikeyb’s way of thinking in the second paragraph of his 1:27 am post, well said.
Personally I think FB and TE are essential elements of a Fox/McCoy run O, specially with Tebow learning at the helm, and I say those two positions need to be addressed in the draft and the other 4 picks on D.
The dilemna here is this is one of the weakest draft at TE as you’ll find, so unless you pick one up early you may very well be left with crumbs. On the other hand the FB is the perfect position to pick up late, I have a perfect specimen for the 6th.
So by the Broncos looking at Atogwe, which I would be all for if we can afford him, they would free up a top pick to use on a TE and Rudolph to me is the only worthy one this year.
End result would be something like: DT, TE, ILB, strong side LB, FB and best available left D player whatever position.
I’m starting to reveal my draft plans way too much, haha.
But they do change each time a FA enters the fold, however I the Atogwe signing would have to take place by the 3rd for my above latest line up to hold up…
however the Atogwe…
This is actually right down hilarious, yesterday I posted a list of Legwold’s needs in the draft where he included the WR position and I took the liberty for the very first time to call him an idiot, because I do respect the man, but oh man did he step into some crap.
Anyway, this is his way out today (the hilarious part):
INDIANAPOLIS — Although two Broncos wide receivers have undergone surgery since the season ended, coach John Fox said Thursday that doesn’t mean the team will have to address the position in this year’s draft.
Eddie Royal (hip) and Demaryius Thomas (Achilles) are recovering from procedures, transforming the Broncos’ deepest position into a question mark.
“Surgeries in the offseason are pretty standard,” Fox said. “They should be back at some point in the season — Eddie before Demaryius. But I don’t think it would affect our draft plans.”
For Fox this is where the real problem lies in this draft since it is one of the very worse for RB’s:
Fox wants the Broncos to run the ball far better than in the past two seasons, when they finished 18th and 26th in the league under coach Josh McDaniels.
A better running game means finding another back to at least complement Know-shon Moreno, who also hasn’t reached the production expected of the No. 12 pick in the 2009 draft.
“In my opinion, you need more than one guy to make a full commitment to running the ball,” Fox said. “We’ll be in the process of finding more than one guy.”
Fox, you better hope for a cba with Deangelo Williams or maybe Benson, because you will be vey hard pressed to find “that guy” in the draft, just saying.
I was taken back by Lombardi’s mock, but I guess someone’s gotta cover left field.
Legwold’s backtracking….lol !
Talking about TEs:
Former Saints TE Jeremy Shockey took and passed a physical yesterday with the Miami Dolphins.
Of course WR won’t be an area of need regardless of the injuries because unless anyone forgets, a Fox O is based on the run complimented with the short passes to the backs and TE and the deep threat with Steve Smith, now Lloyd. Absolutely no need for top 6 WRs anymore, that’s just the truth of the matter and something we’ll have to get accustomed to, unless Fox and McCoy completely reinvent themselves when Tebow is fully legit, but at least for now our current WR situation is more than adequate.
About the cba from the Pittsburgh Tribune:
Past and present NFL front office leaders, sports agents and business experts interviewed during the past week by the Tribune pray for a breakthrough. But they predict a labor stoppage that could cut into the season’s opening weeks.
“If you look at the deadline, what would be the incentive of the owners? How are they going to get a CBA done before March 3? There’s really no incentive for the owners to do that because they gain more bargaining power after they lock out the players than now,” said Susan Tose Spencer, the general manager of the Philadelphia Eagles during the labor strife of the 1980s.
If they are correct then Klis might be dead on when he predicted the Broncos would go 8-7 this season since he said they would not reach a new cba until after the first scheduled game.
Website…
2011 NFL Scouting Combine: Day 1 « DenverBroncos.com…
Joke Photo and Image…
[...]2011 NFL Scouting Combine: Day 1 « DenverBroncos.com[...]…
batesville…
[...]2011 NFL Scouting Combine: Day 1 « DenverBroncos.com[...]…