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The Cardinal Smiles
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/cardinals/0219nflcombine0219.html
Needs won't rule Cards' draft picks
Green's philosophy: Choose best player
Kent Somers
The Arizona Republic
Feb. 19, 2004 12:00 AM
INDIANAPOLIS - Don't mention the word "needs" to Cardinals coach Dennis Green. Big no-no.
Don't tell him his team "needs" a quarterback, "needs" a receiver, "needs" a pass rusher. He has spent the past month preaching that the key to turning around last year's 4-12 record will be the improvement of returning players, not the addition of new ones.
"You'll never hear me use that word, needs," he said. "I don't like that word. Needs - bad word."
Why? Because it's too early in the off-season to have needs, Green said. Showing desperation now means making mistakes in the draft and free agency.
"It (need) will force you to take a player higher than what he is," he said. "You never deal with need."
Of course, the desire to make the right pick is the reason representatives from 32 teams are here this week for the NFL combine to look at 330 players who were invited to be poked, prodded, tested and interviewed.
What you do, Green said, is draft the best player available. The Cardinals have the third overall pick in April's draft, and according to Green's philosophy, you don't draft a quarterback there if you think a receiver is the better player.
"No matter what anyone else does at one or two, you are going to get who you think is the third-best player in the country," Green said.
The hiring of Green won't change the way the Cards approach the combine, said Rod Graves, the team's vice president for football operations.
The main goal now is to rank the players according to ability, Graves said. As the draft approaches, the team will "line those guys up and start applying his (Green's) philosophy" to decide which ones to choose, Graves said.
NFL scouting is hardly a science, inexact and otherwise. In the past two years, the Cardinals have drafted three players in the first round - defensive linemen Wendell Bryant and Calvin Pace and receiver Bryant Johnson - who have contributed little.
Yet they found a gem in the second round, receiver Anquan Boldin, who won numerous Rookie of the Year honors, made the Pro Bowl and set an NFL rookie record with 101 catches.
Boldin's stocked dropped here last year when he ran the 40-yard dash in 4.7 seconds.
That 40 time seemed to make everyone forget that all he did at Florida State was make plays.
"I think the workouts are overrated," Boldin said. "I think the deciding factor should be the play on the field. You can have some guys who have great workouts, run fast times and jump the highest, and when it comes to football it's not there.
"You have other guys who don't work out well, but when they get on the field they just make plays."
Dropping one round can cost a player millions, which is why players and their agents put a premium on performing well at the combine and other workouts before the draft. Johnson, taken with the 17th overall pick, received $3.6 million in bonuses. Boldin, the 54th selection, received a $1.2 million signing bonus.
It's clear the Cardinals can't afford to make a mistake on their first-round pick.
Green doesn't see how they could. He thinks there are eight "blue-chip" players in this draft, guys who have everything a coach desires. He didn't list them, but among the players he has mentioned over the past month are quarterbacks Eli Manning of Mississippi and Ben Roethlisberger of Miami (Ohio), safety Sean Taylor and tight end Kellen Winslow Jr. of Miami and Iowa offensive tackle Robert Gallery.
The best player in the draft, Green said, is Pittsburgh receiver Larry Fitzgerald.
"A pure blue-chip player is a guy who has got instant success written all over him," Green said. "You don't have to worry if he's good enough, fast enough, tall enough. All your dreams have come true.
"At (number) three, I guess you could say we would get a 'super blue.' "
Cardinals fans can only hope.
The facts
WHERE: Indianapolis, RCA Dome.
WHEN: Now through Tuesday.
WHO: 330 invited players.
WHY: To be tested by NFL scouts and medical teams, who are compiling information for April's draft. Most players are in Indianapolis for three days of tests and questioning. Heights, weights are recorded, and they undergo X-rays and magnetic resonance imaging tests.
The tests
Broad jump: How far a player can jump from a standing start. Measures explosiveness.
Vertical jump: How high a player can jump. Measures explosiveness, athleticism.
40-yard dash: Sprint. Measures speed.
Short shuttle: Player runs 5 yards to one side, 10 yards to the other, then 5 yards back to the start. Measures speed, agility, quickness.
Long shuttle: Player runs 5 yards and back, 10 yards and back, 15 yards and back for a total of 60 yards. Measures speed, agility, fitness.
Three-cone drill: Player weaves around three cones, 5 yards apart. Measures speed, agility.
Bench press: Player benches 225 pounds as many times as he can. Measures strength.
Needs won't rule Cards' draft picks
Green's philosophy: Choose best player
Kent Somers
The Arizona Republic
Feb. 19, 2004 12:00 AM
INDIANAPOLIS - Don't mention the word "needs" to Cardinals coach Dennis Green. Big no-no.
Don't tell him his team "needs" a quarterback, "needs" a receiver, "needs" a pass rusher. He has spent the past month preaching that the key to turning around last year's 4-12 record will be the improvement of returning players, not the addition of new ones.
"You'll never hear me use that word, needs," he said. "I don't like that word. Needs - bad word."
Why? Because it's too early in the off-season to have needs, Green said. Showing desperation now means making mistakes in the draft and free agency.
"It (need) will force you to take a player higher than what he is," he said. "You never deal with need."
Of course, the desire to make the right pick is the reason representatives from 32 teams are here this week for the NFL combine to look at 330 players who were invited to be poked, prodded, tested and interviewed.
What you do, Green said, is draft the best player available. The Cardinals have the third overall pick in April's draft, and according to Green's philosophy, you don't draft a quarterback there if you think a receiver is the better player.
"No matter what anyone else does at one or two, you are going to get who you think is the third-best player in the country," Green said.
The hiring of Green won't change the way the Cards approach the combine, said Rod Graves, the team's vice president for football operations.
The main goal now is to rank the players according to ability, Graves said. As the draft approaches, the team will "line those guys up and start applying his (Green's) philosophy" to decide which ones to choose, Graves said.
NFL scouting is hardly a science, inexact and otherwise. In the past two years, the Cardinals have drafted three players in the first round - defensive linemen Wendell Bryant and Calvin Pace and receiver Bryant Johnson - who have contributed little.
Yet they found a gem in the second round, receiver Anquan Boldin, who won numerous Rookie of the Year honors, made the Pro Bowl and set an NFL rookie record with 101 catches.
Boldin's stocked dropped here last year when he ran the 40-yard dash in 4.7 seconds.
That 40 time seemed to make everyone forget that all he did at Florida State was make plays.
"I think the workouts are overrated," Boldin said. "I think the deciding factor should be the play on the field. You can have some guys who have great workouts, run fast times and jump the highest, and when it comes to football it's not there.
"You have other guys who don't work out well, but when they get on the field they just make plays."
Dropping one round can cost a player millions, which is why players and their agents put a premium on performing well at the combine and other workouts before the draft. Johnson, taken with the 17th overall pick, received $3.6 million in bonuses. Boldin, the 54th selection, received a $1.2 million signing bonus.
It's clear the Cardinals can't afford to make a mistake on their first-round pick.
Green doesn't see how they could. He thinks there are eight "blue-chip" players in this draft, guys who have everything a coach desires. He didn't list them, but among the players he has mentioned over the past month are quarterbacks Eli Manning of Mississippi and Ben Roethlisberger of Miami (Ohio), safety Sean Taylor and tight end Kellen Winslow Jr. of Miami and Iowa offensive tackle Robert Gallery.
The best player in the draft, Green said, is Pittsburgh receiver Larry Fitzgerald.
"A pure blue-chip player is a guy who has got instant success written all over him," Green said. "You don't have to worry if he's good enough, fast enough, tall enough. All your dreams have come true.
"At (number) three, I guess you could say we would get a 'super blue.' "
Cardinals fans can only hope.
The facts
WHERE: Indianapolis, RCA Dome.
WHEN: Now through Tuesday.
WHO: 330 invited players.
WHY: To be tested by NFL scouts and medical teams, who are compiling information for April's draft. Most players are in Indianapolis for three days of tests and questioning. Heights, weights are recorded, and they undergo X-rays and magnetic resonance imaging tests.
The tests
Broad jump: How far a player can jump from a standing start. Measures explosiveness.
Vertical jump: How high a player can jump. Measures explosiveness, athleticism.
40-yard dash: Sprint. Measures speed.
Short shuttle: Player runs 5 yards to one side, 10 yards to the other, then 5 yards back to the start. Measures speed, agility, quickness.
Long shuttle: Player runs 5 yards and back, 10 yards and back, 15 yards and back for a total of 60 yards. Measures speed, agility, fitness.
Three-cone drill: Player weaves around three cones, 5 yards apart. Measures speed, agility.
Bench press: Player benches 225 pounds as many times as he can. Measures strength.
