It's All In the Preparation
The master cooks are firing up their grills for the summer and so are the head coaches of the NFL. This is where they beging cutting the overall fat of the meat, their team, and than look at the whole by putting it through a very grueling process, and than seeing which spices come alive for the finished product, the 53 man roster.That's all a team can carry, 53 men and 8 on the practice squad. No more hiding men, non of this half on injuried reserved and half off, nope, 80 plus guys and 1 butcher or cook to trim the fat and see who goes into the final stew. This is also the time of the dreamer. Those that had no chance at being selected on the first day of the NFL draft, those that lingered, and some that were signed after the draft, getting that hope call to be invited to anyones camp and try out.
Now don't to ahead of yourselves, not every one has been called to a team. We still have the NFL Supplemental draft. Yeah I know what your thinking, THE WHAT? Thats right the NFL supplemental draft, which is really like the NFL draft, just withholding some of the glitz and glamour. There will be no media coverage, no commishoner, no invites or a place to stay. Just a phone call from a team who'll have to forfiet their next pick in the next draft. If you are lucky to be selected.
Than once all the teams have gathered their ingredients, they are going to see who wants to be in their final masterpiece, and who wasnt able to make the cuts. And there will be trimming. Of course, majority of your favorites will make the team. Lets not get hasty, there are 80 plus guys in the camp, you need 53, and you didnt invite enough playmakers to make a whole new team out of. But essentially what you are looking for is 1) possible hidden gems, either you signed or drafted late, 2) competition to remind your vets there are plenty of guys out there to take their jobs, and most importantly 3) heart and progress, who wants the job more, and which of your players made the most progress, the young player you drafted, or the wiley vet.
A head coaches eyes cannot be all over the field at once, but he sure will damn try it everytime. This is where they are relying heavily on scouting reports, the eye of their assistance, and lots and lots of film. Now the coach has his ingridents, but he's not sure which is the meat and which one is going to be spice, which is why the draft is sooo important. Now he's added some more flavor and wants to see if it takes. Now the head coaches stand before the begining of all this mess and try to figure out which job it was they took when they signed the contract, cause some think they are superior cooks as well and why not, they do all the same things except finish it off with a bill.
Allow me to wrap up and give you a few names that may get looked at in the Supplemental draft:
* Ahmad Brooks, LB, Virginia: A national defensive player of the year coming out of high school, Brooks had an outstanding 2004 season for the Cavaliers in 2004, but got hurt last year.
* Jason Berryman, DE, Iowa State: At about 240 pounds, he's probably a linebacker in a 3-4 scheme.
* David Dixon, LB: Dixon is from Galveston, Texas, and last played at Hutchinson Community College in Kansas in 2004.
* Ahmad Hall, FB, Texas: Hall served in the Marines and wasn't eligible for the regular draft. He worked out at Texas' Pro Day on March 22 and was measured at 5-10¾, 232 pounds. He ran his 40s in 4.53 and 4.55 and also had a 35-inch vertical jump, 10-foot-9 long jump, 4.20 short shuttle, 7.21 three-cone drill and 24 bench presses.The Supplemental draft will be held July 13th. Circle your calenders, believe me, no one else has.
A few tidbits for you:
Minnesota Vikings
The Minneapolis Star Tribune reports that quarterback Brad Johnson's contract remains untouched following his ascension from backup to starter. Johnson's salary is $1.2 million, which makes him the NFL's lowest-paid veteran starter this season. If Johnson chooses to hold out for a better contract, the team could be in trouble since Mike McMahon has a career passer rating of 55.1 and neither J.T. O'Sullivan nor rookie Tarvaris Jackson has thrown an NFL pass.
San Francisco 49ers
The 49ers appear to be interested in former Virginia linebacker Ahmad Brooks who will be part of the July 13 supplemental draft. The Sacramento Bee reports that the 49ers gave Brooks a medical examination and spent three hours with him at the team's Santa Clara facility. Brooks weighed 255 pounds but plans to enter an NFL team's training camp a month from now at 245, his weight during his standout sophomore season in 2004.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Barber is heading into the final year of his contract, but the St. Petersburg Times reports that he is sitting patiently and quietly while the front office shows almost no intention of getting a deal done. The Bucs seem hesitant to make a financial commitment to a player who will be getting up in age by the end of a potential contract.And finally a good bye, hope you enjoyed and maybe ill get lucky and be able to keep you posted on the training camps, I myself will try to keep an eye on my teams' TC, but I can also check on others for the fan that loves the Nuts and Bolts of the game.
The master cooks are firing up their grills for the summer and so are the head coaches of the NFL. This is where they beging cutting the overall fat of the meat, their team, and than look at the whole by putting it through a very grueling process, and than seeing which spices come alive for the finished product, the 53 man roster.That's all a team can carry, 53 men and 8 on the practice squad. No more hiding men, non of this half on injuried reserved and half off, nope, 80 plus guys and 1 butcher or cook to trim the fat and see who goes into the final stew. This is also the time of the dreamer. Those that had no chance at being selected on the first day of the NFL draft, those that lingered, and some that were signed after the draft, getting that hope call to be invited to anyones camp and try out.
Now don't to ahead of yourselves, not every one has been called to a team. We still have the NFL Supplemental draft. Yeah I know what your thinking, THE WHAT? Thats right the NFL supplemental draft, which is really like the NFL draft, just withholding some of the glitz and glamour. There will be no media coverage, no commishoner, no invites or a place to stay. Just a phone call from a team who'll have to forfiet their next pick in the next draft. If you are lucky to be selected.
Than once all the teams have gathered their ingredients, they are going to see who wants to be in their final masterpiece, and who wasnt able to make the cuts. And there will be trimming. Of course, majority of your favorites will make the team. Lets not get hasty, there are 80 plus guys in the camp, you need 53, and you didnt invite enough playmakers to make a whole new team out of. But essentially what you are looking for is 1) possible hidden gems, either you signed or drafted late, 2) competition to remind your vets there are plenty of guys out there to take their jobs, and most importantly 3) heart and progress, who wants the job more, and which of your players made the most progress, the young player you drafted, or the wiley vet.
A head coaches eyes cannot be all over the field at once, but he sure will damn try it everytime. This is where they are relying heavily on scouting reports, the eye of their assistance, and lots and lots of film. Now the coach has his ingridents, but he's not sure which is the meat and which one is going to be spice, which is why the draft is sooo important. Now he's added some more flavor and wants to see if it takes. Now the head coaches stand before the begining of all this mess and try to figure out which job it was they took when they signed the contract, cause some think they are superior cooks as well and why not, they do all the same things except finish it off with a bill.
Allow me to wrap up and give you a few names that may get looked at in the Supplemental draft:
* Ahmad Brooks, LB, Virginia: A national defensive player of the year coming out of high school, Brooks had an outstanding 2004 season for the Cavaliers in 2004, but got hurt last year.
* Jason Berryman, DE, Iowa State: At about 240 pounds, he's probably a linebacker in a 3-4 scheme.
* David Dixon, LB: Dixon is from Galveston, Texas, and last played at Hutchinson Community College in Kansas in 2004.
* Ahmad Hall, FB, Texas: Hall served in the Marines and wasn't eligible for the regular draft. He worked out at Texas' Pro Day on March 22 and was measured at 5-10¾, 232 pounds. He ran his 40s in 4.53 and 4.55 and also had a 35-inch vertical jump, 10-foot-9 long jump, 4.20 short shuttle, 7.21 three-cone drill and 24 bench presses.The Supplemental draft will be held July 13th. Circle your calenders, believe me, no one else has.
A few tidbits for you:
Minnesota Vikings
The Minneapolis Star Tribune reports that quarterback Brad Johnson's contract remains untouched following his ascension from backup to starter. Johnson's salary is $1.2 million, which makes him the NFL's lowest-paid veteran starter this season. If Johnson chooses to hold out for a better contract, the team could be in trouble since Mike McMahon has a career passer rating of 55.1 and neither J.T. O'Sullivan nor rookie Tarvaris Jackson has thrown an NFL pass.
San Francisco 49ers
The 49ers appear to be interested in former Virginia linebacker Ahmad Brooks who will be part of the July 13 supplemental draft. The Sacramento Bee reports that the 49ers gave Brooks a medical examination and spent three hours with him at the team's Santa Clara facility. Brooks weighed 255 pounds but plans to enter an NFL team's training camp a month from now at 245, his weight during his standout sophomore season in 2004.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Barber is heading into the final year of his contract, but the St. Petersburg Times reports that he is sitting patiently and quietly while the front office shows almost no intention of getting a deal done. The Bucs seem hesitant to make a financial commitment to a player who will be getting up in age by the end of a potential contract.And finally a good bye, hope you enjoyed and maybe ill get lucky and be able to keep you posted on the training camps, I myself will try to keep an eye on my teams' TC, but I can also check on others for the fan that loves the Nuts and Bolts of the game.
Ven
