Looking for Lane in all the wrong places
By Jerry McDonald - NFL Writer
Saturday, February 23rd, 2008 at 1:56 pm in Oakland Raiders.
A few notes Saturday while seeing virtually every Raiders employee at the combine but Lane Kiffin:
– Yes, he’s here, according to Raiders assistants as well as a few league sources.
– Because of the agility demands of the Raiders zone blocking scheme, line coach Tom Cable estimated that two-thirds of the linemen are eliminated off the top.
“Maybe not quite that much if they lose a little weight,” Cable said.
– Chris Long’s first memory of Al Davis was trying to make sure the Raiders owner didn’t see him.
Long, the son of Raiders Hall of Fame defensive end Howie Long and considered a lock to be among the top four picks in the draft, was breaking wanted to watch practice.
“Those were the rules,” Long said. “It wwas a no visitation time . . . don’t tell Al Davis that happened.”
Long said he remembered eventually meeting Davis but hasn’t seen him since, and downplayed the significance of wearing Raiders colors as his father did.
“It would mean the same as playing anywhere else, honestly,” Long said. “It would be an opportunity to play in the NFL. Obviously there’s so much more to it there. I’m not afraid of any situation or any burden with the name. I’ve been dealing with this stuff my whole life. But obviously it will be taken to a new level in a place like that. It’s pressure, but I tend to welcome any pressure with open arms.”
– Perhaps it was just the name lat name on the back of his T-shirt, or maybe it was the protective boot on his left foot, at first glance I don’t like the chances of a Maryland center named Andrew Crummey.
Of course, the Giants took an offensive lineman named Guy Whimper last year and now he’s being fitted for a Super Bowl ring.
– No. 4 may be too high, but the Raiders might be intrigued by the pass rushing ability of Vernon Gholston. A former Ohio State teammate of Jay Richardson, Gholston can play standing up or with a hand on the ground and some scouts think he could be similar to Shawne Merriman of San Diego and DeMarcus Ware of Dallas in terms of immediate impact.
At 6-foot-3, 266 pounds, Gholston is smaller than Richardson, built more along the lines of Derrick Burgess.
Gholston thinks the New York Giants’ win over Tom Brady and the New England Patriots will only enhance the value of defensive linemen.
“I know how big the defensive line is. If yhou’ve got a front four that can control the game, you’re destined for championships,” Gholston said. “That was proven, the way they were able to take advantage of their speed and get to the quarterback.”
– With the Washington Redskins projected to be over the $116 million salary cap, V.P. of football operations Vinny Cerrato was all but ruling his team out of the running for top tier free agents.
“The price of what these guys are going to be paid is astronomical,” I don’t foresee us being a big player in free agency. I don’t think Dan’s plane is going to be fired up and ready to go. I think it’s going to be a relatively quiet start of free agency for us. The price of what these guys are going to be paid is astronomical.”
– Penn State linebacker Dan Connor, who may be the lone inside linebacker to be taken in the first round, had a disciplinary issue in college normally associated with fifth-graders.
“I was going into my sophomore year and me and a couple of buddies were making prank phone calls and got found out,” Connor said. “It got back to coach Paterno, and he sat us down for three games. It was a tough experience, and we definitely learned our lesson.”
Connor said the calls weren’t malicious in nature.
“We were definitely joking,” Connor said. “We were doing impressions of the coaches, things like that.”
Legend has it that Rich Gannon wasn’t above a crank phone call to a rookie’s room during training camp. According to one story, Gannon called the room of one rookie and posed as a reporter, asking a few normal questions before finishing with an inquiry about a specific portion of the anatomy.
– Talked with a contracted scouting assistant named Don Pallotto, who comes to the combine each year and logs figures for the Raiders with Jon Kingdon. He also attends some college games much in the manner of a bird dog baseball scout. Pallotto said the Raiders have such scouts in every city in the NFL.
– The Indiana Convention Center hallways were a mix of coaches, agents, reporters, autograph seekers and pint-sized gymasts. The center is also playing host to a youth gymnastics event.
Some of the kids getting autographs aren’t too discerning. A boy wearing a Purdue jersey and appearing about 10 years old got the NFL Network’s Adam Schefter to sign, then Sports Illustrated’s Peter King. When King asked him about his signatures, the boy said, “I just got Adam Sheffler.”
– Many agents attend the combine to procure workouts for clients who weren’t among the invited athletes.
Jason Dillard, a Sacramento-based agent, was passing out T-shirts with pictures and statistics for four players _ Fresno State running back/return specialist Clifton Smith, Washington defensive back Roy Lewis, Fresno State defensive bcak Damon Jenkins and UNLV defensive back Mil’von James.
Above the pictures and statistical capsules on the front of the shirt it says, `Have You Seen These Guys?” On the back it says “Missing.”
Dillard was giving shirts out to the media and informational flyers to coaches and scouts.
By Jerry McDonald - NFL Writer
Saturday, February 23rd, 2008 at 1:56 pm in Oakland Raiders.
A few notes Saturday while seeing virtually every Raiders employee at the combine but Lane Kiffin:
– Yes, he’s here, according to Raiders assistants as well as a few league sources.
– Because of the agility demands of the Raiders zone blocking scheme, line coach Tom Cable estimated that two-thirds of the linemen are eliminated off the top.
“Maybe not quite that much if they lose a little weight,” Cable said.
– Chris Long’s first memory of Al Davis was trying to make sure the Raiders owner didn’t see him.
Long, the son of Raiders Hall of Fame defensive end Howie Long and considered a lock to be among the top four picks in the draft, was breaking wanted to watch practice.
“Those were the rules,” Long said. “It wwas a no visitation time . . . don’t tell Al Davis that happened.”
Long said he remembered eventually meeting Davis but hasn’t seen him since, and downplayed the significance of wearing Raiders colors as his father did.
“It would mean the same as playing anywhere else, honestly,” Long said. “It would be an opportunity to play in the NFL. Obviously there’s so much more to it there. I’m not afraid of any situation or any burden with the name. I’ve been dealing with this stuff my whole life. But obviously it will be taken to a new level in a place like that. It’s pressure, but I tend to welcome any pressure with open arms.”
– Perhaps it was just the name lat name on the back of his T-shirt, or maybe it was the protective boot on his left foot, at first glance I don’t like the chances of a Maryland center named Andrew Crummey.
Of course, the Giants took an offensive lineman named Guy Whimper last year and now he’s being fitted for a Super Bowl ring.
– No. 4 may be too high, but the Raiders might be intrigued by the pass rushing ability of Vernon Gholston. A former Ohio State teammate of Jay Richardson, Gholston can play standing up or with a hand on the ground and some scouts think he could be similar to Shawne Merriman of San Diego and DeMarcus Ware of Dallas in terms of immediate impact.
At 6-foot-3, 266 pounds, Gholston is smaller than Richardson, built more along the lines of Derrick Burgess.
Gholston thinks the New York Giants’ win over Tom Brady and the New England Patriots will only enhance the value of defensive linemen.
“I know how big the defensive line is. If yhou’ve got a front four that can control the game, you’re destined for championships,” Gholston said. “That was proven, the way they were able to take advantage of their speed and get to the quarterback.”
– With the Washington Redskins projected to be over the $116 million salary cap, V.P. of football operations Vinny Cerrato was all but ruling his team out of the running for top tier free agents.
“The price of what these guys are going to be paid is astronomical,” I don’t foresee us being a big player in free agency. I don’t think Dan’s plane is going to be fired up and ready to go. I think it’s going to be a relatively quiet start of free agency for us. The price of what these guys are going to be paid is astronomical.”
– Penn State linebacker Dan Connor, who may be the lone inside linebacker to be taken in the first round, had a disciplinary issue in college normally associated with fifth-graders.
“I was going into my sophomore year and me and a couple of buddies were making prank phone calls and got found out,” Connor said. “It got back to coach Paterno, and he sat us down for three games. It was a tough experience, and we definitely learned our lesson.”
Connor said the calls weren’t malicious in nature.
“We were definitely joking,” Connor said. “We were doing impressions of the coaches, things like that.”
Legend has it that Rich Gannon wasn’t above a crank phone call to a rookie’s room during training camp. According to one story, Gannon called the room of one rookie and posed as a reporter, asking a few normal questions before finishing with an inquiry about a specific portion of the anatomy.
– Talked with a contracted scouting assistant named Don Pallotto, who comes to the combine each year and logs figures for the Raiders with Jon Kingdon. He also attends some college games much in the manner of a bird dog baseball scout. Pallotto said the Raiders have such scouts in every city in the NFL.
– The Indiana Convention Center hallways were a mix of coaches, agents, reporters, autograph seekers and pint-sized gymasts. The center is also playing host to a youth gymnastics event.
Some of the kids getting autographs aren’t too discerning. A boy wearing a Purdue jersey and appearing about 10 years old got the NFL Network’s Adam Schefter to sign, then Sports Illustrated’s Peter King. When King asked him about his signatures, the boy said, “I just got Adam Sheffler.”
– Many agents attend the combine to procure workouts for clients who weren’t among the invited athletes.
Jason Dillard, a Sacramento-based agent, was passing out T-shirts with pictures and statistics for four players _ Fresno State running back/return specialist Clifton Smith, Washington defensive back Roy Lewis, Fresno State defensive bcak Damon Jenkins and UNLV defensive back Mil’von James.
Above the pictures and statistical capsules on the front of the shirt it says, `Have You Seen These Guys?” On the back it says “Missing.”
Dillard was giving shirts out to the media and informational flyers to coaches and scouts.
