NFL Scouting Combine: Jacksonville Jaguars’ GM Gene Smith rebukes drafts skipping choice-NFL News
Jacksonville Jaguars’ general manager, Gene Smith, has become the first and probably the only official from the National Football League (NFL) to have rightly rebuked the prospective draft players’ trend of skipping some crucial parts of the NFL Scouting
Combine, which is currently underway in the city of Indianapolis.
The annual event of the Scouting Combine showcases star players from the American college football league, providing the prospective employers with an opportunity to evaluate them in all the aspects of their fitness and game skills.
It is attended by all the college league players who decide to play the professional league, and their performance at the Combine helps the owners, managers, and coaches of the potential teams to assess them and reach a conclusion on their signing during
the actual draft season.
Unfortunately, a trend of refraining from some of its drills and aspects has emerged among the draft picks, making the assessment process difficult for the prospective suitors.
For example, this year’s top draft quarterbacks, Stanford College’s Andrew Luck and Baylor’s Robert Lee Griffin III, have opted against throwing football at the event.
The Combine will end on Tuesday, February 28, 2012, and the apparent denial from the players to throw the ball has become very frustrating for the teams.
Jaguars’ GM, Smith, has noted the lapse and criticised the choice of the players.
He said for him a player’s willingness to participate in a drill, practice or exercise was the first step to assess the potential talent and skills in him.
He said:
"We like to see players who want to compete in an environment that puts the best against the best under the same conditions."
A possible reason behind the players’ approach might be that by keeping the cards closer to the chest, they aim to increase the likelihood of getting better deals from the potential employers.
It, as a matter of fact, affects their chances. No one is going to sign a player on better terms unless they see him proving his talent and skills in the open market and competitive conditions, where they have to match and compete with each other’s profile
and chances.
Both Luck and Griffin III are reported to have beaten the expectations of the potential recruiters in the fitness, figure, weight, height and other aspects of their readiness to embrace the professional league.
Yet, the teams have kept guessing about the strengths, velocity and accuracy of their throws.
Some of the football commentators have underlined a need of drafting some sort of rules by the NFL office to ensure full participation of the college league players at the Combine.
It is said to be more to protect the interest of the potential employers and facilitation of a thorough evaluation opportunity. It will also help the prospective professional players to get better financial benefits, depending on their form and performance.
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