A Little Bit Of Everything … Thursday Cup O’Chiefs

General thoughts, tidbits and musings after the NFL Combine and just hours before the 2010 season begins with the start of free agency.

PARALYSIS OF ANALYSIS – In the last 24 hours I’ve read at least two dozen stories on the Internet about players who got a push up from their performance at the Combine and those that hurt themselves.

This outlook is typical of today’s media coverage of anything – there has to be winners and there has to be losers. Any relationship with reality doesn’t really matter. All these reports of players going up and down based on their time in the 40-yard dash or how many reps they had in the bench press are pure speculation. It’s the media playing GM or personnel director.

Joe Haden (right) the cornerback from Florida supposedly hurt his chances because of his 40-yard time, while Taylor Mays, a safety out of Southern Cal moved up the board with his unexpected 4.43 in the 40.

When it comes time to make a pick in the first round in April, the most important thing for Haden and Mays will not be what happened in Indy. It will be what the film showed when they played in Gainesville and at the Coliseum in Los Angeles.

Talk to the real scouts and decision makers and they left Indy with just another part of the evaluation process. For 99 percent of the players, the Combine was just another piece of a large puzzle that began at the start of their college career. Of all the numbers generated at Lucas Oil Stadium, I’d bet that one percent were a surprise to the guys who work the personnel end of the street.

A defensive back runs the 40-yard dash in 4.61 seconds instead of 4.59 is no big deal.

So be careful reacting to words and phrases like his stock went up, or his stock went down based on what happened at the Combine.

WHY YOU CAN’T ALWAYS BELIEVE WHAT YOU READ OR HEAR: The St. Louis Rams have the first pick in the draft. Our buddy John Czarnecki reports on FoxSports.com that if the draft were today, the Rams would take Oklahoma DT Gerald McCoy.

Over at ESPN.com, veteran NFL scribe Len Pasquarelli reports that the Rams scouts think Nebraska DT Ndamukong Suh is the best player in the draft. And

And ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported last week that the Rams are zeroing in on Oklahoma QB Sam Bradford as the top choice.

So who to believe? I know all three of these guys and they don’t just throw junk against the wall and hope it sticks. Czar has inside sources with the Rams that he’s tapped for years. Lenny knows everybody in the league and Schefter’s stint at the NFL Network put him on the return call list for many decision makers in the league.

If the Rams don’t want anybody to know what they are going to do with the first choice, then the odds are good the folks at Rams Central are enjoying the different versions floating around the country.

RAIDERS WANT TO SEE MORE OF SEYMOUR: Oakland used the franchise player tag on DL Richard Seymour so they will be able to keep him for at least another year. Head coach Tom Cable was effusive in his praise of Seymour and his affect on the Raiders in the locker room.

“I think he was everything I thought he would be,” said Cable. “I heard a lot about who he is as a person and what he would bring to the locker room and practice and preparation. To me he accomplished everything I heard about him. The thing I was most excited about was the impact he had on our younger players. He’s been in the NFL for quite some time and he knows how to prepare, how to take notes, how to practice, how to get himself ready, the time it takes, day-to-day, week-to-week and ultimately how to take care of your body.

“I think there were a lot of good lessons there for a bunch of young football players.”

L.J. CAN RETURN TO BENGALS, IF HE WANTS: Cincinnati head coach Marvin Lewis said that Larry Johnson has a place to return to if he doesn’t find what he wants in free agency. Johnson will become an unrestricted free agent on Friday.

The Bengals picked Johnson up late last season as insurance when starting RB Cedric Benson was dinged up. Johnson had 46 carries for 204 yards and three receptions for four yards in his time with the Cincinnati offense.

“I think it’s important for Larry to go out and see what might be out there for him,” said Lewis. “He did everything we asked him to do last year.

“If he decides he wants to return, we would welcome him back.”

MAY THE GAME OF SHADOWS AND LIGHT BEGIN: San Diego’s grumpy GM A.J. Smith admitted last week that he enjoys playing games with his competition when it comes to preparing for the NFL Draft. That’s not a surprise, but seldom do you see people in the league admit to the subterfuge.

“I often go to individual workouts with no intention of taking somebody,” Smith said. “I like to play along with the speculation. Last year, judging by the workouts I went to, everyone thought we were taking a running back. I think we drafted LB Larry English No. 1. I’m not sure.”

THE CONCERNS ABOUT DEZ BRYANT: The No. 1 wide receiver in this year’s draft class stayed only a few days and then left Indianapolis. Dez Bryant did not work out at the Combine because of what he called a hamstring tweak. He will do that in a few weeks in his personal workout.

But Bryant spent a lot of time talking with teams. Once clubs zero on their draft boards in the next month, he figures to have more conversations, long conversations with teams interested in his pass catching and playmaking ability.

That’s because there are many questions about Bryant the person. He missed the last nine games of Oklahoma State’s season last year because he lied to the NCAA during an investigation of his relationship with Deion Sanders.

But there’s so much more that Bryant has dealt with in his life and even those close to him say that the team that selects him will have to spend time monitoring his life away from the team.

One of the best stories I’ve seen in the last week that summarizes Bryant’s life came from Thomas George at AOL.com’s Fanhouse site. Here’s the link.

THE MORE YOU CAN DO: Cable acknowledged that he’s involved in contract negotiations with the Raiders players, and was at the negotiating table when the team worked out a big deal with kicker Sebastian Janikowski. A coach talking contract with players and agents on the record is seldom if ever seen in today’s NFL. But then sometimes the Raiders seem to be operating in a dimension different from their 31 brothers.

“That’s the way it’s always been done,” Cable said. “It was done that way last year and again this year. For me, it’s not something new. ”

WEATHERSPOON TO STAY IN BLACK & GOLD?: Missouri LB Sean Weatherspoon posted good numbers at the Combine, none of which surprised anybody in the league. The question now is where does he fit best, outside in the 4-3 or inside in the 3-4? Don’t be surprised if he ends up staying in black and gold. The Pittsburgh Steelers are interested in Weatherspoon and what he could bring to their defense.

“Coach (Mike) Tomlin said he saw me fitting in at either the mack or the buck (inside linebacker spots),” Weatherspoon said. “He was saying inside; that is what he talked about. I don’t have a problem with that.

“If I’ve got to do the dirty work and take on the linemen to free up the other players for them to make plays, then I am all about that. I am all about just being a team guy and taking care of business.”

ANOTHER NON-COMBINE NAME TO REMEMBER: Among those players who did not get an invitation to the Combine that will draw some interest in the run-up to the Draft is Florida A&M returner LeRoy Vann. He holds the NCAA record for career touchdowns on returns with eight punt returns for scores and three kick returns. Five of those punt returns came during the ‘09 season; four of those came over a matter of eight days as on back-to-back Saturdays against Winston-Salem State and Howard, Vann had four punt return TDs.

Over his 40-game career with the Rattlers, Vann he averaged 17.7 yards on 59 punt returns and 24.4 yards on 80 kickoff returns. He also played defensive back and had one interception, 118 total tackles and he blocked three kicks.

Vann is under-sized at 5-9, 185 pounds and runs the 40 in the 4.4 range. He’ll work out for all interested teams on March 18th.