One thing we now know for sure: Cincinnati Bengals coach Marvin Lewis is unimpressed by drills. He wants to judge prospects on their in-game performances.
Many of the top college football prospects have gathered in Indianapolis this week for the NFL scouting combine. Fair or not, in the past, an excellent performance there could make a player’s draft status soar, while a poor performance could sink his chances of being drafted altogether.
Lewis joined Dan Dakich on 1070 the Fan in Indianapolis to talk about the merits of the combine.
To listen to Marvin Lewis on 1070 the Fan, go to Sports Radio Interviews.
Bengals coach Marvin Lewis says he judges football prospects on their games, not their combine stats.
What would Chad Ochocinco do if he could come to the Combine?
Lewis: He would probably run faster than he did last time, because he probably wouldn’t wear those stupid tights.
Does Lewis put much stock in combine workouts?
Lewis: The workout becomes a confirmation for a lot of players. It’s got to be judged individually by that player. The number one thing is what that guy has done on his college campus.
So, these college players that are going to be underclassmen right now, listening to your show, they should take stock in what they do on the football field their junior and senior seasons and not get all caught up in what this is.
This is a confirmation that I can run, I weigh this much, I’m smart enough, I can carry a conversation, I can learn, I can understand, and I’m a good person. That’s what this weekend ends up being.
What does Lewis think of players who become workout warriors after leaving school?
Lewis: The other one that just kills me is that they spend three or four years with a strength coach on their college campus, and as soon as the season’s over they go somewhere else to some guy who doesn’t know them from a hole in the wall, and pay this guy a bunch of money. It doesn’t make any sense…
It used to be they had to pay for it, and now it’s part of the agent deal. They’ve cultivated a whole industry out of it. It really doesn’t make sense.
It’s actually asinine that if I go to school in Florida, now I have to go to Arizona to train. If I lived in Arizona, now I go to Georgia to train. I could see if you were stuck somewhere and you’re a small school guy, and you’ve got to go somewhere where they have an indoor place where you can run and train.
But these guys have the best facilities, and the best people working with them year round, and now all of a sudden they’ve got to go somewhere else… You don’t need to go away. A football player is a football player.
More from SRI
Albert Pujols says he’s pain-free for the first time in seven years
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One thing we now know for sure: Cincinnati Bengals coach Marvin Lewis is unimpressed by drills. He wants to judge prospects on their in-game performances.
Many of the top college football prospects have gathered in Indianapolis this week for the NFL scouting combine. Fair or not, in the past, an excellent performance there could make a player’s draft status soar, while a poor performance could sink his chances of being drafted altogether.
Lewis joined Dan Dakich on 1070 the Fan in Indianapolis to talk about the merits of the combine.
To listen to Marvin Lewis on 1070 the Fan, go to Sports Radio Interviews.
Bengals coach Marvin Lewis says he judges football prospects on their games, not their combine stats.
What would Chad Ochocinco do if he could come to the Combine?
Lewis: He would probably run faster than he did last time, because he probably wouldn’t wear those stupid tights.
Does Lewis put much stock in combine workouts?
Lewis: The workout becomes a confirmation for a lot of players. It’s got to be judged individually by that player. The number one thing is what that guy has done on his college campus.
So, these college players that are going to be underclassmen right now, listening to your show, they should take stock in what they do on the football field their junior and senior seasons and not get all caught up in what this is.
This is a confirmation that I can run, I weigh this much, I’m smart enough, I can carry a conversation, I can learn, I can understand, and I’m a good person. That’s what this weekend ends up being.
What does Lewis think of players who become workout warriors after leaving school?
Lewis: The other one that just kills me is that they spend three or four years with a strength coach on their college campus, and as soon as the season’s over they go somewhere else to some guy who doesn’t know them from a hole in the wall, and pay this guy a bunch of money. It doesn’t make any sense…
It used to be they had to pay for it, and now it’s part of the agent deal. They’ve cultivated a whole industry out of it. It really doesn’t make sense.
It’s actually asinine that if I go to school in Florida, now I have to go to Arizona to train. If I lived in Arizona, now I go to Georgia to train. I could see if you were stuck somewhere and you’re a small school guy, and you’ve got to go somewhere where they have an indoor place where you can run and train.
But these guys have the best facilities, and the best people working with them year round, and now all of a sudden they’ve got to go somewhere else… You don’t need to go away. A football player is a football player.
More from SRI
Albert Pujols says he’s pain-free for the first time in seven years
Derrick Rose on how likely it is a major free agent lands in Chicago
