9:51 A.M. EST: Greetings from Indianapolis, where the temperature would have to rise 10 degrees for it to be considered “frigid,” and where I just spent 35 minutes emptying out a pair of digital audio recorders to capture sound from the interviews to follow.
Not that I’m complaining or anything about the weather outside, but there were icicles forming inside my ear canal while walking from the hotel to the Indiana Convention Center.
Precious little to report so far … except that the number of media credentials issued is purportedly around 550, which is nearly three times the total issued just five years ago.
9:54 A.M. EST: And we’re under way … first player up, Virginia offensive lineman Branden Albert, who, for Combine timing purposes, is simply two letters and a number: “OL1.”
The fact that he is the first player brought into the room almost certainly affords him a larger crowd than the one he would have drawn had he simply sauntered in here mid-afternoon.
10:17 A.M. EST: Chicago Bears head coach Lovie Smith has held court at one of the podiums here for about 15 minutes. Over two dozen coaches and executives hold press conferences here over the course of the weekend, but none are scheduled to feature anyone from the Broncos. In fact, the Broncos have historically been quite reticent in this milieu; no Broncos official has held a press conference here in my six years of covering the Combine.
10:19 A.M. EST: Albert was followed by a pair of kicking specialists — North Dakota State’s Mike Dragosavich and Army’s Owen Tolson.
10:43 A.M. EST: Best name here, early edition: St. Xavier K/P Shane Longest.
11:07 A.M. EST: A few thoughts from and about Longest:
… “Even the medical exams, they’ve been fun,” he said. Wow. Six years here, and that’s the first time I’ve ever heard the physicals described in a word not synonymous with “protracted,” “invasive” or “necessary.” …
… He plans to work out on kickoffs, placekicking and punts here, but says he views himself primarily as a placekicker who can “back up” on punting detail …
… He says his longest field goal was a 75-yarder in practice. “It was pretty windy,” he said, “but it was a good kick.” Master of understatement …
… His Combine invitation provided him with the perfect Christmas present. “I got the invite the day after Christmas. My mom called me. She was kind of freaking out a little bit.” Again, master of understatement …
… St. Xavier University is located on the southwest side of Chicago. Its homepage prominently features Longest’s trip to the Combine …
… He estimates about 22 teams sent representatives to visit him on the St. Xavier campus.
12:19 P.M. EST: Very busy the last hour … several offensive linemen dropped by, most notably Michigan offensive tackle Jake Long and Notre Dame center John Sullivan, who talked about his friendship with Broncos tackle Ryan Harris … Going to start fishing through quotes and photos and will post throughout the afternoon.
1:59 P.M. EST: At one point, seven different players were doing interviews. Even with help from video producer Kasey Byers, two cameras and three audio recorders, you can’t possibly get every soundbite uttered around here, and, dear reader, the blog sort of becomes a lower priority in the quest for two months’ worth of daily content.
It’s three minutes with one guy, four minutes with another, maybe longer if you find a particularly interesting story — such as UConn’s Donald Thomas, an offensive lineman who didn’t even take up football until his sophomore year of college and didn’t finally get a scholarship until his senior year, although he used the free ride for two seasons by playing as a fifth-year redshirt.
In contrast to the slight shoving and brief jostling that was a part of the media crush that surrounded Long, only three people interviewed Thomas, including myself. Either he’s a diamond in the rough or I have an inflated opinion of the 305-pounder because I watch way too many Friday night Big East games.
3:30 P.M. EST: The day has slowed down a tad, leaving me to start sifting through hours of interviews. Boise State’s Ryan Clady is at the podium now, and he spoke at some length of how he feels comfortable in a zone-blocking scheme, citing the Denver Broncos without being prompted as a team whose line strategy would suit him.
“We were primarily a zone team (at Boise State),” Clady said. “I’m kind of like a Denver Broncos-type offensive lineman, we cut a lot and position block and stuff like that.”
6:15 P.M. EST: The last player to hit the podium today was Tulane running back Matt Forte. The parade of runners will hit full speed Friday, a day that will be all about skill positions — runners, wide receivers and quarterbacks.
Back in the hotel room now … end-of-day wrap-up piece entry coming later, and a notebook wrapping up the day coming in a little while. The wireless Internet connection at the Indiana Convention Center was a tad spotty, but we’re cooking now … and hopefully we’ll have everything up in the next couple of hours so some restaurant can get cooking on my dinner. Ciao.
Tags: 2008 Scouting Combine
Andrew,
Thought your first blog from Indianapolis was OUTSTANDING. Thanks for bringing all of us here in Broncos Country a step closer to the team and NFL.
All you need is a laptop, tape recorder, Mountain Dew and IPod and you’re truly in your element!
Keep up the great work.
I heard Travis Henry restructured his contract so he can come back next year.
FIRE TRAVIS HENRY , IS A TROUBLE FOR BRONCOS
i hope somewhere along the line they realize it needs to be 50/50 young and henry and maybe throw some hall and bell in there also
I hate to say it, but Mike Bell is not long for Bronco-ville.
There is ample RB talent in this draft…if you want additional options after Henry/Bell…why not take a flier on Tashard Choice in round 4? He is like a mix of your top two backs and has a nose for the end zone.
Andrew,
I have noticed a lot of people feel that we are going to draft Mr. Clady. A lot of people think we are going to Draft Kenny Phillips(I hope so), but they arent sure if he has first round talent. I think you should make you own mock draft. You know how happy I would be if we were able to draft both of those guys… So Al Wilson is looking at Det. is there any chance he will come talk to us again? For those of you talking abou Mike Bell I think we should try and get a decent draft pick out of him. I just dont know if the NFL forgot about him already.
yeah but hes back for 1 year, maybe 2 if we resign him agian. we’ll get a new starting RB in 09, i hope we take clady this year though
we r getting a new RB in 09. travis is back 4 1 year. i hope get ryan clady
I hope Travis Henry was brought back simply so we do not have to start the rookie running back we draft, seriously the guy is just a loser by most standards and I still can not believe Shanahan or Sundquist actually think his character is not a problem, maybe Shanahan should learn to evaluate players based on more then four games…if Henry starts for us again, he will be injured in no time, that is a given! But hopefully we have the ability to still compete, but if we use Hall, Henry and Young…then we will get nowhere with this lousy offense, 21st in the NFL in scoring is not close enough to sniff the playoffs.
Think it’s great that Travis will be back. All you have to look at are the NFL’s rushing leaders through the first four games of last year when Travis was healthy:
Travis Henry - 433 yds., LaMont Jordan - 424 yds., Joseph Addai - 407 yds., Willie Parker - 405 yds., Adrian Peterson - 383 yds.
This offense will be just fine and Travis will be a big part of it. Know there are some red zone issues that kept the point total down, but the Broncos’ offense last year averaged more yards per play (5.7) than all but three teams in the league with a QB in his first year as a full-time starter and an offensive line that had three starters (Myers, Pears and Kuper) in their first year starting at their respective positions.
Travis is here, so next step-What is going to happen with Walker?
I could see a late pick for RB, but what about WR? If Javon goes, what about Desean Jackson (Harry Douglas looks good in the 4th)? Denver signed a bunch of LBs, so I don’t see them drafting one of those early. The low-down on Kenny Phillups is all over the board between the first and early second rounds, and mums the word from the Lynch house. There are other lineman to be had in later rounds that fit Denvers scheme, so its hard to see them picking one of those at least until the second round. Looks like DT, but does Kentwan Balmer or Pat Sims warrant a number 12 pick? Depending on what Walker does, I see Denver trading down for more picks. What’s your thoughts?
I dont even care if we get back Quentin Griffin as long as Shanahanagins drafts Branden Albert
Kenny Phillips, Ryan Clady and Spencer Larsen should be our first three draft picks. I think they’re the building blocks to success.
Hope we can afford Briggs! DJ needs help and briggs would instantly help our run d. We need to trade up to get dorsey or ellis but doubt it will happen. Glad henry is back with something to prove. He is a good back and gets the tough yards. Funny how people only talk about a player’s character when the team is losing. Randy Moss in Oakland is a perfect example. Travis is easily the best back we’ve had since portis and I think he will prove it this year.
I want to keep walker only if he wants to be here otherwise a lot of other good wideouts avalible (free agents/draft).