Football Blog

Teams looking for intangible that can’t be measured by drills
By Steve Wyche  |  NFL.com
Senior Writer

INDIANAPOLIS — The prospective NFL offensive linemen moved about the media circuit at the combine Thursday at Lucas Oil Stadium following extensive medical workups. Most looked the part, strolling around in black sweats, meeting media that probed which teams the players will be meeting with before going through a multitude of drills in the coming days.

Yet, this whole circuit might not dictate much of what teams — especially those in desperate need — are looking for in an offensive lineman.

“Toughness,” Dolphins coach Tony Sparano said about the main trait he wants in an offensive lineman.

Can’t measure that in a 40-yard dash or in drills where guys go at it in non-padded Under Armour gear. You can measure it, though, but it might take the insight of an offensive line coach, by nature, like Sparano.

“It’s OK to watch them against the best player, but I kind of like to watch them against people they should play well against and see maybe what they’re about,” Sparano said.

Manhandling the vulnerable measures a player’s focus, will and, maybe, his nasty streak — requirements that are mandatory in the NFL, where there are no patsies eager to make their mark by racking up quarterback sacks and tackles for lost yardage.

Sparano, along with members of Miami’s personnel staff, saw what he liked in Michigan tackle Jake Long and used the NFL draft’s No. 1 pick on him last season. Though a lot of other things fell in place, Long’s development at left tackle factored into the Dolphins advancing to the playoffs after winning just one game the season before he was drafted.

As a result, Miami will select 25th overall in April’s draft, long after most of the top offensive line prospects have been snatched up.

Tackles Andre Smith (Alabama), Eugene Monroe (Virginia), Jason Smith (Baylor) and Michael Oher (Mississippi) and centers Alex Mack (California) and Max Unger (Oregon) lead an offensive line group that is highly regarded for its depth and top-end talent, especially at tackle. The guard group isn’t viewed as spectacular, but solid players can be found (isn’t that what is always said about guards?).

“We coached in the Senior Bowl last year, and you had a pretty good idea about both (teams’) lines,” Raiders coach Tom Cable said about the offensive line prospects in the 2008 draft class. “This year, just going to the Senior Bowl and watching, I thought all these guys are going to be NFL players. I wasn’t sure about all those guys last year.”

Most of the teams in the top 10 of the draft need to upgrade their offensive lines with top-level players (St. Louis, Cincinnati and Jacksonville, especially), and some of them will. The run on tackles could start much earlier than last season, when six went in the top 19 picks. There might not be as many tackles selected, but the top four could be gone before the 15th selection.

The projected first-round picks among the offensive linemen have the size, footwork, strength and athleticism to be anchors for years. Yet, do they have that extra bit of heart that will let them overcome being whipped by Pittsburgh linebacker James Harrison on the previous play? Do they possess that extra toughness to move Albert Haynesworth back a yard at money time after being hammered for the better part of four quarters?

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For those of you who don’t know, the Combine is like a job fair for players who want to be in the NFL. Players go through a series of drills, tests and interviews with more than 600 NFL personnel including head coaches, general managers and scouts.

The Combine started today and will go on over the next six days.

For more information go to www.nfl.com/combine

Watch the Combine Online here