NFL Combine: Denver Coach Josh McDaniels

From Indianapolis, Indiana

The last time we saw Denver head coach Josh McDaniels he was walking off the turf at Invesco Field trying to figure out how his Broncos got slapped so hard by the Chiefs in the regular season finale.

It was the end to a difficult season for the first-time head coach. It started with the whole Jay Cutler situation and then there were problems dealing with WR Brandon Marshall and other players. By the time Game No. 16 was played, the Broncos were out of sorts and both Marshall and TE Tony Scheffler were held out of the game by McDaniels for reasons he has never provided.

But it’s the last day of February and every team in the NFL is focused on the 2010 season and the upcoming start of free agency and the annual Draft. It’s the time when hopes and dreams thrive and McDaniels has plenty of those.

Here’s part of his weekend press conference, including plenty about the situation with Marshall.

NFL Combine: DT Ndamukong Suh

From Indianapolis, Indiana

He’s considered either the first or second best prospect in this year’s NFL Draft.

Nebraska DT Ndamukong Suh is unlikely to get past the third pick come late April. With St. Louis, Detroit and Tampa Bay picking in that order, one of those teams is going to turn in h is name on their card for the first round.

Impressive as Suh is physically when he stands next to you, he also handles himself quite well when dealing with the prying of the media covering this year’s NFL Combine.

Here’s a little bit of what Suh had to say.

NFL Combine: DB Eric Berry

From Indianapolis, Indiana

He’s one of the highest rated players on just about every draft board in the NFL.

When it comes to defense and playmaking, every NFL team knows about Tennessee safety Eric Berry.

His name should be called somewhere in the top 10, maybe even top five and one of the attractions is not only his athletic abilities, but his versatility – he can play any of the secondary positions.

On top of that, he’s football smart. That was helped in the ’09 season when he got a chance to play for Vols defensive coordinator and NFL veteran Monte Kiffin.

Here’s some of what Berry had to say.

NFL Combine: LB Sean Weatherspoon

From Indianapolis, Indiana

He may have been the first player to walk into the media interview area at the 2010 NFL Combine and use the word loquacious.

But then just about anybody in Columbia, Missouri will tell you that linebacker Sean Weatherspoon seldom is quiet. Weatherspoon certainly was not at a loss for words when speaking to the media at Lucas Oil Stadium over the weekend.

Weatherspoon talked about his experiences at the Senior Bowl, why his defensive numbers were down in his senior season and where he fits in either the 4-3 or 3-4 defensive schemes.

Big 12 WRs Dominate … Sunday Cup O’Combine

From Indianapolis, Indiana

Wide receivers will hit the field today at Lucas Oil Stadium to run the 40-yard dash and go through other drills as part of the NFL Combine.

The Chiefs will be paying close attention; they need some young receiver help in the 2010 NFL Draft.

“It’s a good group,” head coach Todd Haley said on Saturday. “We can find something there.”

What’s noteworthy about the group of 44 wide receivers in town for the four-day Combine is the presence of so many pass catchers out of the Big 12 Conference. At every level of prospective talent among the receivers there are familiar names to college football fans in the Midwest.

The best receiver in the draft is thought to be Dez Bryant, a product of Oklahoma State who did not play in the 2009 season for the Cowboys because of an NCAA suspension. Bryant will be a first-round selection.

At the next level, considered anywhere from second to fourth-round talents are Dezmon Briscoe out of Kansas and Jordan Shipley from Texas. …Read More!

NFL Combine: What Haley Had To Say

From Indianapolis, Indiana

A year ago, Todd Haley’s world was going so fast he doesn’t remember much about the NFL Combine.

This weekend, things have slowed down and the guy who grew up in a household where judging football players coming into the NFL paid the bills, is feeling good about wearing a personnel man’s hat again at Lucas Oil Stadium.

“I enjoy this time of year a bunch,” Haley told the media assembled for the 2010 NFL Combine. “Coach (Bill) Parcells has always told me that to be an effective coach in the NFL, you have to know personnel. I’m very fortunate to have been raised by the man I was raised by who I think was pretty good at finding guys that could play football.

“I’m happy that this time of year we’re not really in full scramble mode probably trying to fill six or seven spots on the staff; so I really didn’t get to enjoy or get into this process as much as I would have liked to last year. I’m in a much more settled position where I can really put my head into finding players, which is fun for me.” …Read More!

NFL Combine: WR Kerry Meier

From Indianapolis, Indiana

Three years ago when Mark Mangino told him that he was no longer going to be the Kansas Jayhawks starting quarterback, Kerry Meier couldn’t imagine himself taking part in something like the NFL Combine.

But Meier was at Lucas Oil Stadium on Saturday, taking part in the 2010 Combine as a wide receiver, something he’s done for the last three seasons for Mangino.

And there’s a very good chance Meier will be selected anywhere from the middle to late rounds of the draft at the end of April.

And he wouldn’t mind being drafted by the Chiefs, the team he has followed since childhood in Pittsburg, Kansas.

Here’s Meier talking with the media about the Combine and his hopes for the NFL.

NFL Combine: Todd Haley/Part 2

From Indianapolis, Indiana

Chiefs head coach Todd Haley continued his conversation with the media about all  things related to the red and gold as he met with the media at the NFL Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium.

Here’s part two.

NFL Combine: Todd Haley Speaks/Part 1

From Indianapolis, Indiana

Taking a break from watching linemen run the 40-yard dash and go through drills, Chiefs head coach Todd Haley came downstairs at Lucas Oil Stadium and met with the assembled media.

Both on the podium and afterwards when he was surrounded by the scribblers and yakkers, Haley had plenty to say about how the Chiefs. His tone was decidedly positive as he talked about the progress the team made last year and the steps forward with the coaching staff that has added fuel to that fire.

Haley also had plenty to say about individual players, from QB Matt Cassel, to RB Jamaal Charles, to OL Branden Albert, to WR Dwayne Bowe.

There’s a lot of material here and we’ve had to break it into three parts. Here’s segment No. 1.

Tebow Show Hits Combine … Saturday Cup O’Chiefs

From Indianapolis, Indiana

Green Bay head coach Mike McCarthy had just taken his spot at the podium inside Lucas Oil Stadium, with approximately 30 or so media types waiting to hear him speak.

As he began speaking, over the public address system in the room came this announcement:

“Some guy named Tebow will be at podium C,” announced the NFL type that was manning the microphone in the NFL Combine press room.

More than half of audience got up in the middle of McCarthy’s sentence and hustled to the other side of the room. McCarthy flashed a sly smile at the exodus; it was fine with him because that meant fewer questions to answer.

It was a mob scene as Tebow took to a small stage and walked to the microphone. Nobody that has visited with the media at the Combine – GM, administrator, coach or player – generated the type of reaction that came when the former University of Florida quarterback arrived in the room.

Wearing a red Combine jersey with the No. 19, Tebow was not exactly stunned by the throng standing in front of him. He’s been there many times before and this was just another moment in the life of a college football folk hero who may have a hard time making a place for himself at the next level. …Read More!

NFL Combine: WR Dez Bryant

From Indianapolis, Indiana

There’s little doubt that Dez Bryant will be the first wide receiver selected in the 2010 NFL Draft.

The question is where in the first round will Bryant be drafted and who will be grabbing him. If Bryant had played last season and put up the same type of numbers he did for Oklahoma State in 2008, he would probably be a top 10 selection.

And he still might. But a season-long NCAA suspension kept him off the field and certainly will have NFL teams considering his maturity and how much rust he’s taken on in the last year without competition and coaching.

Bryant met the media on Friday at the NFL Combine and talked about the suspension, his relationship with Deion Sanders and how much he’s looking forward to getting back in pads and playing football.

NFL Combine: Scott Pioli Part 4

From Indianapolis,  Indiana

Heard enough from Chiefs GM Scott Pioli? I doubt it. Given his penchant for staying off the nightly news and out of the headlines, we need to make sure everyone tastes whatever he has to offer, whenver he offers something.

So here comes the fourth of four parts of Pioli talking about various subjects.

NFL Combine: Bryan Bulaga

From Indianapolis,  Indiana

At 6-6, 315 pounds, there is divided opinion on whether University of Iowa offensive lineman Bryan Bulaga is best suited for guard or tackle in the NFL.

What nobody disputes is that the big man is ready to play in the pros. Bulaga left Iowa City a year earlier because his play for the Hawkeyes during the 2009 season pushed him into first-round status as a draft choice.

As you will hear, it doesn’t matter to him whether he plays guard or tackle; he’s just ready for his shot at the pro game.

Here’s some of what he told the media at the NFL Combine.

NFL Combine: Scott Pioli Part 3

From Indianapolis,  Indiana

Chiefs GM Scott Pioli produced a lot of words if not a lot of news on Thursday at the NFL Combine, so much so that had to break his conversation into pieces.

Here’s the third of four parts of what Pioli had to say about the Chiefs, the ’10 NFL Draft, the Patriots and much more.

Pioli Unplugged at Combine … Friday Cup O’Chiefs

From Indianapolis, Indiana

For just a shade under two hours, Chiefs GM Scott Pioli was a media darling here at the NFL Combine.

Pioli spoke in a press conference setting. He spoke standing in the middle of a circle of reporters. He spoke one-on-one with several scribblers and TV types.

It was a media relations tour de force from a guy who despite the fact he handles the duties very well, does not like the whole process of the media prying into his business.

That’s why at the end of those two hours was left a pile of words that when sifted and sorted, produced little in the way of news about the Chiefs and only an occasional insight into what’s happening with the team.

Here are the news nuggets: …Read More!