NFL Combine’s Effect on the Green Bay Packers? Apparently, NOT MUCH…

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For all you Packer fans that spent the weekend glued to NFL Network (myself included), getting all worked up about who just ran the fastest 40 or bench-pressed the most reps;  evidently, we could have been doing something more important…

It appears that Ted Thompson and his staff don’t give a very strong consideration to combine results.  NOW, I find that out…

In an article by Greg Bedard on JSOnline.com, he wrote about getting a glimpse at the proceedings inside the Lucas Oil Dome. Wrote Bedard:

Packers general manager Ted Thompson sat next to San Francisco 49ers GM Scott McCoughan, who worked under Thompson in both Green Bay and Seattle.  Mike McCarthy sat a few rows back by himself and was carefully studying the prospects and took notes. Didn’t appear that Thompson took notes…

Soon after, I was reading an article by Bob McGinn on JSonline.com about Wisconsin’s O’Brien Schofield when innocently enough at the end of article, McGinn segways into the following:

General manager Ted Thompson said he and John Dorsey, the Packers’ director of college scouting, will move players up and players down based on the new  {combine} information. Over the next four weeks, scouts will fan out testing prospects on their college campuses.

In the two weeks leading up to the draft, Thompson, Dorsey and others will make their final adjustments, and guess what? Their stack of players won’t look much different than it was before Indy.

“By the time you get to the draft, those names go back to the original place they were before we came to the combine,” Thompson said. “I swear it happens.

“You go back and watch the tape and say, ‘You know what? We’re nuts.’

“So, as much as we can, we try to lean on the football stuff and say, ‘Is he a good player? Does he like to play the game?’

“If he can do those things, he has a chance to be a Packer.”

Wow. Did Ted Thompson really admit that the combine results end up having very little bearing on who they draft? That might be one of the most forthcoming things the normally tight-lipped Ted Thompson has ever let slip out. Kudos to Bob McGinn, who seems to be able to, better than any other reporter, get Ted Thompson to actually say something meaningful.

So Packers fanatics, instead of wasting the whole weekend tracking the NFL combine, you could have been baking cookies, giving the dog a bath, or fixing that loose doorknob.  You know,  something IMPORTANT

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Jersey Al Bracco is the Green Bay Packers Draft Analyst for Drafttek.com. You can find more of Jersey Al ’s articles on several sports web sites: NFL Touchdown , Packers Lounge , Packer Chatters & Bleacher Report .

15 thoughts on “NFL Combine’s Effect on the Green Bay Packers? Apparently, NOT MUCH…

  1. You know what’s funny Al? Thompson said that about moving the guys around and then coming back to the original spots, during his press conference. McGinn is just smart enough to write about it. I didn’t even think to, mostly because I agree with him – it’s a dog and pony show.

  2. Aaron,

    After I had already written this, Pelissero in his chat last night said that TT comment came in the hall after the press conference. Since McGinn wrote about it, I just assumed he asked him the question. In any case, I’m just floored Ted Thompson would publicly admit that.

  3. I think the combine helps those players from smaller schools a chance to get noticed. If they can show they have similar strength and speed, they may get a look in the bottom rounds or get an invitation to camp. As far as the upper end of the draft, those players have been followed and enough tape has been collected. The combine is only a test to show a glaring deficiency that may need to be considered.

  4. Didn’t know that. But it makes sense.

    Allways thought of the combine as a way to reinforce doubts you have about players on tape.

    “he doesn’t look as fast”. Then the guy runs a 4.5, and you can check that.

    But never as a way to pick Gholston appart…

  5. Dilli, Yes, I think that’s why a lot of the big names are opting not to join in all the fun. they have a lot more to lose than to gain. Whereas the lesser-knowns have a chance to get on a team’s radar.

  6. Far be it from me to quibble w/Tom, but it was def said at the podium, not afterword in the hall. So….nyah nyah nyah nyah nyah to Tom. 😉

  7. …and now, looking over my notes, I’m not sure WHERE he said it. Not that it matters. My brain was fried just trying to grin all the time. Pay no attention to the mad blogger in the corner…

  8. I haven’t turned on any of the combine coverage. I realize that I’m just not smart enough to figure out if it means anything.

  9. Ron – Oh yeah!

    Ruppert – I wasn’t sure, so I had to check it out (first time), and then afterwords Ted tells us Eh, it dosn’t matter that much…
    OK, so now I know better.

  10. Are there any GMs out there (Besides Al Davis) that DO let combine results severely influence their board? If there are they probably aren’t GMs for long.

    1. Hey Graffin, thanks for stopping by.

      I was mostly just surprised that Thompson would come out and say it like he did. He usually is not that forthcoming.

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