First, the video, since we can drop this in our blog interface now … and the first of many video pieces produced that you will also see here in the blog.

In talking with a slew of Senior Bowl players this week, I was struck by how differently they approached the week and how it fit into their career.

Some, like South Florida linebacker Ben Moffitt, saw the all-star game — won by the South squad, 17-16 — and its week of practices as the beginning of their NFL careers. The game is played under professional rules, and the practices are defined by a gathering of scouts, personnel executives and scouts that is only surpassed by the National Scouting Combine in Indianapolis next month.

Others, like Florida wide receiver Andre Caldwell, saw it differently. This wasn’t the first day of their professional life; it was the last of their collegiate one.

Little-known fact: Mobile averages more rain in the winter months than Seattle. Between December and March, famously damp Seattle receives an average 19.31 inches of precipitation, while Mobile absorbs 21.94 inches a year.

Having lived in Seattle and being a regular January visitor to southern Alabama, I can attest to the validity of that statistic, which reared its head on a dreary, raw morning for the North team’s practice. Today, temperatures struggled to lurch past 50 degrees, and while the rain didn’t pelt upon us as it did during the monsoon-like storm that engulfed Ladd-Peebles Stadium during last year’s Senior Bowl game, the lower temperatures made the morning feel like the Broncos-Chargers game on Oct. 7, when the cold rain provided an apt accompaniment for a 41-3 Denver loss.

As a result of Thursday morning’s conditions, most of the scouts who convened for Thursday morning’s practice sought the lone refuge that provided a view of the field, huddled in the five rows of bleachers that remained dry below the press box.

As promised, some more thoughts, but first a question answered:

From myleshigh:

Mase, I hate asking you for this because I would rather be asking you when the Broncos Press day is but where do we find the rating of all of these college players for the draft. Some of these seniors are pretty good but where are they rating. Please help a fellow fan pacify his need of dreaming big or fast for his sweet sweet team … Also how’s the weather down there and who’s down there with you if your allowed to say or not …come on, give us the scoop.

Well, there’s any number of sites that can help you out … the one I tend to use most often is NFLDraftScout.com. Unfortunately, most of the information there is available only to those who fork over some cash for an annual subscription. I find its database of prospects that goes back through the decade to be quite informative and helpful; it’s always interesting to read their analysis of players before they were drafted. DraftDaddy.com is a site that offers a pretty decent roundup and is free of charge, but is plagued with pop-ups and Google ads and such Web annoyances of that ilk.

The weather is decent … as long as the clouds don’t spit rain, we’ll be okay. Pencil-lead-gray-yet-dry skies are okay by me, especially since I’ve incurred some serious sunburn on particularly bright days in past years.

Some thoughts from the North team’s morning practice:

USC defensive lineman Sedrick Ellis: A man among boys. I opted to watch the one-on-one line drills closely on Wednesday morning, and Ellis was utterly dominant, throwing blockers out of his way. With North Carolina’s Kentwan Balmer out with a hamstring injury, Ellis could be the strongest defensive lineman here.

Delaware quarterback Joe Flacco was back in his old college helmet on Wednesday, and had his best performance of the week, doing particularly well in goal-line and red-zone work that ended the practice. As with many players that come to Mobile from outside of what is now officially called the “Football Bowl Subdivision,” Flacco seemed to have some issues adjusting to the tempo at first, but has shown some rapid progress.

You love to see receivers getting downfield to block, as Virginia Tech’s Eddie Royal did here to impede USC’s Terrell Thomas. However, I reckon Cal running back Justin Forsett wishes that Royal had managed to hold off Thomas just a little longer, since he still managed to stop Forsett a few yards upfield.

Royal did have some nice catches today, as he has all week. He is an intriguing prospect, to say the least, especially given his outstanding work on returns for the Hokies in recent years.

Over on the main site, clock on the audio/video tab to hear from Colorado linebacker Jordan Dizon, with whom we caught up after the morning practice.

Until next time, vaya con Dios … and I promise I’ll make time to get to some of the questions posed in the last three or four blog entries before I go to bed tonight, so keep posting there and below if you want to know what I think of other specific players and other topics from down here.

Time to head to the afternoon practice. More to follow.

Not-so-random late-night ramblings and some assorted photos from Senior Bowl week …

From time to time, the defensive lines for both the North and South teams forced their quarterbacks to scramble. On this play, Maryland’s 307-pound defensive tackle, Dre’ Moore, collapsed the pocket, working his way around Texas A&M’s Cody Wallace and forcing Ainge to escape.

Much was made Monday over the recent withdrawals of Louisville quarterback Brian Brohm and Boston College quarterback Matt Ryan from this week’s activities, with Brohm removing himself from the game because of a lower leg injury. They joined Michigan offensive tackle Jake Long, LSU defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey and Virginia defensive end Chris Long as seniors who bypassed this year’s Senior Bowl work.

But they are the exception. The vast majority of players don’t decline the chance for what amounts to a week-long job interview. Texas wide receiver Limas Sweed is one; he missed over half his senior season with ligament damage in his hand and said Monday that doctors advised him not to play. But he’s here anyhow.

For others, health isn’t a concern. Some can’t say ‘Yes’ to the Senior Bowl and its audience of team scouts and coaches fast enough.

“I accepted right away, because I didn’t know if maybe they would take it away from me,” said West Virginia fullback Owen Schmitt.

Yet the risk of injury looms over the entire week. While scouts, coaches and personnel executives would almost universally counsel a player to take part in this week’s work, their presence isn’t without some risk, which is linked arm-in-arm with the full-contact, full-speed work that makes these practices such a vital component of pre-draft evaluation.

Injuries are inevitable, as Schmitt’s roommate this week, UNLV linebacker Beau Bell found out first-hand Tuesday morning.

“I’m praying for (Bell) right now because he got rolled up on today in practice,” Schmitt said. “That’s one reason why guys don’t come.”

As for those that were here Tuesday morning for the North squad, a few notes …

… Michigan quarterback Chad Henne was first up among the passers, followed by Delaware’s Joe Flacco and USC’s John David Booty. Flacco seemed a little flustered on occasion, while Booty, displaying a classic drop-back style, was composed …

… The running backs got uncorked throughout the morning, with East Carolina’s Chris Johnson and Oklahoma State’s Dantrell Savage each turning in some solid gains …

… Schmitt lost his helmet in a collision while blocking …

… Several players took their turns on kickoff returns, including Johnson, Virginia Tech wide receiver Eddie Royal, Cal running back Justin Forsett, Colorado’s Terrence Wheatley and Indiana’s Tracy Porter.

Back with more in the blog, photos, a notebook and Broncos TV following the South team practice this afternoon … until then, vaya con Dios.