The Big Board: February
BaltimoreRavens.com writer Mike Duffy brings you exclusive coverage from team headquarters in Owings Mills, whether it's breaking news or random observations. Want to go behind the scenes? Then check back for
The Big Board
blog.
DB Workouts
Feb. 27, 2007, 4:52 p.m.
The defensive backs' numbers finall came in, and they can be found
here
LaRon Landry, whom you read about
here
, turned in a blazing 4.35 40 to finish second to Arkansas' Chris Houston (4.32). I don't know about you, but I'd love a future collision between the hard-hitting Landry and wideout Calvin Johnson across the middle. Like two speeding freight trains.
It might be reminiscient of Landry's most-memorable hit, one he put on Brodie Croyle of Alabama two years ago. Landry recalled that both LSU safeties blitzed the quarterback, and he went through untouched.
After his press conference on Sunday, I talked with him on the side, and he admitted that he had a video of his hardest hits. He even looks them up on youtube every so often. Check it out.
Tank Of A Lineman
Feb. 27, 2007, 11:31 a.m.
All the results from Monday have come in, and wow, did NC State's Tank Tyler impress. Check them out
here
. Did the defensive tackle actually bench press 225 pounds 43 times?
Yeah, it looks like he did. The 6-2, 323-pounder blew away the competition, as the next highest D-lineman put it up 34 times. That was Joe Cohen from Florida.
For the linebackers, Desmond Bishop of Cal-Berkley led the group with 33 reps.
All Results From Sunday's Workouts
Feb. 26, 2007, 9:11 a.m.
It turns out that Kansas State wideout Yamon Figurs' time in the 40-yard dash (4.30 officially) is going to stand. At least until the defensive backs have a crack at it today. Times and measurements for Monday should start coming in just before noon, and in case you didn't catch all the stats from yesterday, they can be found
here
Attack of the Cheerleaders
Feb. 25, 2007, 2:42 p.m.
Apparently, there is a children's cheerleading competition taking place at the Indiana Convention Center. Apparently, nobody told them that the Combine is also going on. Every color of the rainbow - and some that I never knew existed - is represented in the fluorescent uniforms on the cheerleading troupes lining the halls. Parting the masses on the way to an airport shuttle is like trying to wade through a thick swamp. . . .One that just happens to be covered in sequins.
BR.com will rejoin you back in Baltimore.
Second Receiver Group
Feb. 25, 2007, 2:27 p.m.
40-yard dash
1. Mike Walker - Central Florida - 4.35
2. Laurent Robinson - Illinois State - 4.38
3. Robert Meacham - Tennessee - 4.39
4. Mike Mason - Tennessee State - 4.40
5. Legedu Naanee - Boise State - 4.41
6. Chandler Williams - Florida International - 4.42
7. Steve Smith - USC - 4.44
8. Paul Williams - Fresno State - 4.45
9. Ryne Robinson - Miami (OH) - 4.48
10. Courtney Taylor - Auburn - 4.50
Live Arms II
Feb. 25, 2007, 1:45 p.m.
From the second group of quarterbacks:
1. Troy Smith - Ohio State - 58.5
2. Jeff Rowe - Nevada-Reno - 57
3. Drew Stanton - Michigan State - 55.7
4. Jared Zabransky - Boise State - 55.2
5. Paul Thompson - Oklahoma - 54.8
Live Arms
Feb. 25, 2007, 12:25 a.m.
Quarterback ball speed just came in for the first group of throwers. The results are:
1. Toby Korrodi - Central Missouri - 63 mph
2. John Beck - BYU - 61.1
3. Kevin Kolb - Houston, Trent Edwards - Stanford - 55.2
5. James Pinkey - East Carolina - 53.9
And, for complete results of Saturday's workouts, click
here
Calvin!
Feb. 25, 2007, 12:01 a.m.
After announcing that he wouldn't perform any drills in a packed-to-capacity, Georgia Tech's finest, wideout Calvin Johnson, did in fact take the field this morning for probably the most exciting day of the Combine thus far.
Why was it exciting? Well, Sunday is the day that quarterbacks and wideouts hit the turf for their workouts. And Johnson was one of the top attractions.
When asked yesterday if he would workout or not, Johnson was a little terse, replying, "No. My Pro Day is March 15 and I plan on doing everything there."
It seems that he had a change of heart. The 239-pound receiver blazed in the 40-yard dash with an unofficial time of 4.35 seconds. Johnson was in the first group of wideouts to run today, with another going later this afternoon. Here are the results:
Kansas State's Yamon Figurs topped the list with a blazing 4.30, with the rest of the top 10 falling behind him.
2. Jason Hill - Washington State - 4.32
3. Calvin Johnson - Georgia Tech - 4.35
4. Ddavid Clowney - Virginia Tech - 4.36
5. Aundrae Allison - East Carolina - 4.39
6. Steve Breaston - Michigan - 4.41
7. Anthony Gonzales - Ohio State - 4.44
8. Johnathan Holland - Louisiana Tech - 4.45
9. Craig Davis - LSU - 4.46
10. Johnnie Lee Higgins - UTEP - 4.48
Johnson's time is pretty impressive, considering he's such a big athletes, but then again, he basically said as much on Saturday.
"It's my combination of size, speed and strength, and then my willingness to help out whatever team takes me. So I believe those combined will help me make plays at the next level."
Work It Out
Feb. 24, 2007, 2:15 p.m.
There has been so much going on today,
The Big Board
hasn't had a chance to check in until now, but after checking out the offensive line and tight end workouts in the RCA Dome, there are some interesting numbers that were put up. Here's a breakdown of what happened:
The linemen ran the 40-yard dash pretty well, considering they're all almost over 300 pounds. Missouri Southern's Allan Barbre had the fastest 40 time among the offensive linemen. He ran a 4.84. Here are the other top linemen 40 times.
2. Gabe Hall - Texas Tech - 4.91
3. Joe Thomas - Wisconsin - 4.92
4. Ryan Kalil - USC - 4.96
5. Tony Ugoh - Arkansas - 5.06
6. Andy Alleman - Akron - 5.07
7. Brandon Frye - Virginia Tech, James Marten - BC, Adam Koets - Oregon St. - 5.08
10. Ryan Harris - Notre Dame - 5.09
Of the tight ends, there was no Vernon Davis this year, but Miami's Greg Olson sure came close. He posted a time of 4.51 seconds. After him came:
2. Michael Allan - Whitworth, Gijon Robinson - Missouri Western St. - 4.71
4. Ben Patrick - Delaware, Derek Shouman - Boise St. - 4.74
6. Dante Rosario - Oregon - 4.76
7. Kevin Boss - Western Oregon, Scott Chandler - Iowa - 4.78
As far as the 225-pound bench press went, the linemen definitely impressed. Texas tackle Justin Blalock was tied with Texas Tech's Manuel Ramirez with 40 reps. Here's the rest of the top 10 at o-line with a six-way tie for third.
3. All with 34 reps:
Nathan Bennett - Clemson
Dustin Fry - Clemson
Brandon Frye - Virginia Tech
Ryan Kalil - USC
Enoka Lucas - Oregon
Cameron Stephenson - Rutgers
9. both with 32 reps:
Kasey Studdard - Texas
Tony Ugoh - Arkansas
Kickers and Punters
Feb. 23, 2007, 7:01 p.m.
The on-field scouting began today for the Ravens, as national scout Joe Hortiz and player personnel assistant Mark Azvedo checked out the specialists working out. The Ravens already have the automatic Matt Stover at kicker, and stalwart rookie Sam Koch on board, but the scouting goes beyond just the Ravens' roster. Anyone of the prospects sending balls flying all over the RCA Dome could be picked up by another opponent. Who wants to face the next potential Matt Stover?
As crazy as the first two days of the Combine have already been, everything is turned up to 11 tomorrow, so stick with us at BaltimoreRavens.com all day long!
Cleveland Injury Front
Feb. 23, 2007, 4:30 p.m.
With all the coaches and players walking in and out of the media workroom constantly, often with three or four or five mini-press conference at the same time, it's difficult to drown out the din and focus on exactly who you want to talk to.
When the Cleveland Browns' head coach Romeo Crennel and general manager Phil Savage came in to face the horde, my ears perked right up. The Ravens' AFC North rivals had just won the third pick in the draft earlier that morning, as Savage called tails to win a coin flip with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for the slot.
The toss was necessary because each team finished with 4-12 records and had the same opponents' winning percentage.
But, I wasn't listening because of the flip.
I wanted to hear about what was happening with prized free agent signing LeCharles Bentley. The talented center was brought on last offseason, but tore ligaments in his
first
drill of training camp. He vowed to play again after missing the entire 2006 campaign, but he is having another surgery, which would put him out yet another year.
"We are not going to have him for this year," Crennel said. "The doctors have talked to him and they're going to evaluate to see if they need to do another procedure on him. They know that they're not going to have him this year, and then at this time next year, we'll find out what his future will be."
Crennel also weighed in on Browns - and former Ravens - cornerback Gary Baxter, who tore both patellar tendons on the same play last year.
"Gary Baxter is trying to make history as the first guy to come back from two torn patellar tendons," the coach continued. "He's making progress. I saw him the other night, and he didn't have his walker with him. He was on his own standing up. He told me every day that he's rehabbing, and I think he's going to play again."
Skills and Personnel
Feb. 23, 2007, 10:47 a.m.
It's another bustling morning here in the media center, and it's going to get progressively busier throughout the day, as the quarterbacks, running backs, fullbacks and wideouts are coming in, along with the most club personnel representatives. The Ravens' personnel department is going to be rep'd by general manager Ozzie Newsome sometime this week, but it's not certain when.
Before any of the skill players take the podium, though, there was one leftover from yesterday's o-linemen that didn't speak: Penn State's Levi Brown. The 6-4, 325-pounder is regarded by many as one of the top two tackles in the draft. With some pundits, it's a dead heat between Brown and Wisconsin's Joe Thomas.
Brown, gregarious and well-spoken, was asked who he looked up to as far as NFL tackles go. He was quick to point out Baltimore's Jonathan Ogden.
"You watch a lot of guys but you don't just want to (pattern) yourself after one guy because a lot of guys do things well," he said. "You watch guys like Ogden, Pace and Jones."
And his aspirations are as lofty on par with Ogden's accolades, who recently was voted to his 10th-consecutive Pro Bowl.
"Whether or not me getting taken No. 1, I do plan on making it to a lot of Pro Bowls in my career."
Will he make it to as many as Ogden? Only time will tell.
DeCosta On NFL Network
Feb. 22, 2007, 6:30 p.m.
I got a chance to check out the taping of director of college scouting Eric DeCosta's appearance with the NFL Network crew for
Path to the Draft
, which is actually filmed inside the empty RCA Dome around 5:00 p.m. but airs at 6:30 - or now, I guess. Walking across the new Field Turf surface that will certainly be put to good use during this weekend's 40-yard dashes, we chatted about how the first day with players in-house went. More on that coming later on the homepage of BR.com.
Prospect Parade
Feb. 22, 2007, 3:52 p.m.
A cavalcade of players came in and out of the media workroom in a steady stream of interviews. It was always very clear when a player walked into the bee-hive accompanied by an NFL staffer. Each player wears the Combine uniform of a coded league-issued shirt. By coded, I mean they've all got their position abbreviation and are alphabetically numbered.
For instance, if by some reason you don't know who Division III Whitworth's Michael Allan (who??) is, he's going to have a TE01 pasted on his left shoulder, along with his number and last name emblazoned on the back.
Speaking of the tight ends, the size of those invited to the Combine is a pretty tall order. Five of the 15 tight ends in attendance measured in above 6-feet-6 this morning. That would be Allan, Matt Spaeth (Minnesota), Joe Newton (Oregon State), Scott Chandler (Iowa) and Kevin Boss out of Western Oregon.
The overall mood of the day is lighthearted. Basically, these guys are really happy to be here and get so much attention. Most of the offensive linemen, tight ends and specialists that spoke were loose in front of the camera, and some even cracked a joke or two.
Joe Thomas, the top-rated lineman in this year's draft, had this to say about the Cleveland Browns offensive line, which he could be called upon to bolster with the Browns' third/fourth (a coin toss tomorrow with Tampa Bay will determine the order). The unit lost multiple players to injury, including their marquee free-agent signing of 2006, center LeCharles Bentley, who tore tendons in his knee last offseason.
"Yeah, they obviously need an upgrade. . . and antibiotics," he noted with a laugh.
"I think they're getting a little bit older but I think putting me in there would definitely help solidify that offensive line."
Morning Blitz
Feb. 22, 2007, 11:20 a.m.
If there's one statement that seems to be coming out of everyone's mouth here in the media center, it's "Man, I can't believe how big this thing has gotten." They're right. Apparently, the Combine just grows and grows every year. Now, this is BR.com's inaugural Combine, but nearly the entire first floor of the Indiana Convention Center is crawling with camera- and notepad-toting media.
Basically, the media workroom is divided into two sections, with podiums on each end. Coaches and team personnel representatives follow a loose schedule, but when it's time for the players to talk to reporters, it's basically a free for all. There is a row of tables along flanking each side of the room for everyone to set up their computers and have a pseudo home-base to work from, while six-person round tables take up space in the middle. Video cameras are set on the riser that splits the room in half, each with the ability to do an about-face and shoot either podium.
There is a low hum hovering all around, as clicking keyboards mingle with muffled laughs, coughs and conversations.
More to come later. . .
Touchdown, Indianapolis!
Feb. 21, 2007, 8:14 p.m.
The two-hour flight from Baltimore wasn't so bad. The Southwest jet to the Midwest was highlighted by two extra bags of honey-roasted peanuts, an entire empty row all to myself and three empty Sudokus in their
Spirit
magazine. When a flight isn't highlighted by bumpy turbulence, screaming children and tasteless pretzels, that's a great trip, isn't it?
This particular flight was continuing on to Las Vegas, but I de-planed with coaches Wade Harman, Tony Nathan and Jeff Friday, national scout Joe Hortiz and northwest area scout Joe Douglas. Ozzie Newsome and a few others have been at the Combine for the day, but I haven't seen them yet around the hotel, and other Ravens are still heading up tomorrow.
Sharing a cab with Harman and Friday from the airport, the RCA Dome rises like a blimp on the horizon - mainly because of the balloon-like look of the canopy covering the stadium. The thing is huge. Why do domes always look bigger than uncovered stadiums? Maybe it's just me, but the Superdome (Saints), Metrodome (Vikings) and even Ford Field (Lions) to some extent all seem to be larger than most of their counterparts.
Anyway, one thing also stuck out in front of the Colts' home. Their future home. Lucas Oil Stadium sits with exposed steel girders right on the edge of downtown and looks to be coming together nicely. Some of the brick facade is already being applied, which is good because they're expecting to play in it for the 2008 season.
Tomorrow, the offensive linemen, kickers, punters, long snappers and tight ends are going to be available for interviews, so we'll look to chat with some of the NFL hopefuls.
Feb. 16, 2007, 4:16 p.m.
Ravens linebackers Tim Johnson and Gary Stills will be back at M&T Bank Stadium Saturday, but not to play football. They have been invited to speak at the Maryland Football High School Coaches Association's seventh-annual All-State and Hall of Fame Banquet, which honors the top 30 high school football players in the state for 2006. The event will also introduce the new inductees to the Maryland High School Football Hall of Fame.
High school football players to be celebrated this year include defensive back Maurice Portee and running back Tavon Austin from Dunbar High School, the Maryland Class 1A State Champion, and linebacker Kyle Jackson from 2A State Champ Edmondson-Westside.
Feb. 15, 2007, 3:40 p.m.
One of the Ravens' coaches left frigid Maryland yesterday for a little SoCal sun, but this trip wasn't about pleasure. Wednesday evening, defensive coordinator Rex Ryan flew to San Diego to
interview
for the Chargers' vacant head coaching job, the seventh - and final - vacancy in the league.
Ryan's name is on a short list of candidates. Accordint to media sources, the Chargers have already met with San Francisco linebackers coach Mike Singletary and are expecting to chat with 49ers' offensive coordinator Norv Turner later Thursday. Also, Chicago defensive coordinator Ron Rivera is scheduled to interview for the position on Friday.
I spoke with Rex briefly yesterday, and he said he was confident that he was ready to make the next step.
It would be a heartbreaker not to have the gregarious Ryan roaming the halls in Owings Mills next season, but you can't help but root for Rex to follow in the footsteps of his father, legendary NFL coach Buddy Ryan.
Feb. 14, 2007, 12:30 p.m.
For those of you sitting indoors on a certainly snowed-in Valentine's Day, you're probably joined by the majority of the Ravens' staff. Like almost everywhere else around Baltimore, team headquarters was basically shut down by a massive dumping of snow and ice by the weather gods.
But, taking a cue from the U.S. Postal Service ("neither rain, nor sleet, nor snow. . ."), the Ravens personnel department was making it business as usual despite the adverse conditions.
General manager Ozzie Newsome, director of college scouting Eric DeCosta, director of pro personnel George Kokinis and the rest of the scouts officially holed themselves up in the Ravens' draft room this week, and Wednesday was no different.
The draft room is sacred ground around the facility. For most of the year, the area is available for anyone to walk through, but around mid-February, it becomes a top-secret cocoon of player evaluation.
Like all NFL teams, the Ravens hold their "draft board," a giant, white wall that holds the ranked list of draftable players, close to the vest, and if you're not part of that personnel group, you're not getting access for a while.
With the Combine upon us next week in Indianapolis (Feb. 21 - 27), all of the information that the scouting department has gathered over the past season is being considered as the Ravens meticulously develop their preliminary grades.
Feb. 12, 2007, 11:06 a.m.
Correction
: Last Friday, Feb. 9, BR.com reported that the
recent signing of Kenny King and Daniel Oliphant
raised the total of NFL Europa allocations by the Ravens to seven. Regrettably, the actual total is five, as King and Oliphant will join Drew Olson, Rob Abiamiri and Jimmy Cottrell in the NFLEL.
Feb. 3, 2007, 10:40 a.m.
With the Super Bowl nearing, Friday night was all about the party, and for NFL staffers and some lucky media members and guests, the Commissioner's Ball was where it went down.
As all things seem to do surrounding championship week, this particular party one-ups itself each year. Last year, it was held at Detroit's massive Ford Museum, featuring classic cars from the Ford line and displays of Americana history. My personal favorite was an exact replica of a Holiday Inn room from the 1950s.
This year, though, the Ball took place at the Parrot Jungle animal park. Titled "Passport to Paradise," exotic animals were walking, stalking, climbing and cawing all over the expansive zoo.
Lions, tigers and bears. . . Oh my.
Well, actually there were no bears, but a real-life liger (yes, they do exist!) took care of the lions and tigers in one fell swoop.
Walking into the park, attendees were greeted by a towering giraffe, lazily munching on some type of foliage. Want to hold a monkey? Then walk past the rows of colorful parrots perched along a path to a jungle auditorium, where the liger, an orangutan and monkey were presented and put on a show. Handlers also strolled the grounds with baby crocodiles, armadillos and other wildlife.
Of course, the animals weren't the only draw to the event. There were the open bars slinging mojitos and plenty of Coors beer, food stations that saw long lines waiting for fresh sushi, and Jon Secada performing on the main stage (besting the Boyz II Men show in Detroit).
If you were fortunate enough to get your "Passport to Paradise" stamped for Parrot Jungle, it was really a night to remember.
Feb. 2, 2007, 4:03 p.m.
Radio row is crazy.
For those who don't know about radio row, it's the area where all the sports radio stations set up during Super Bowl week to do their shows on-site. Basically, each outlet is given a table to put their traveling equipment on, and then they wait for the celebrities/athletes/randoms to walk through.
And it is always a zoo, bringing anybody that is promoting anything out of the woodworks to shill for national shows like Jim Rome and Tony Bruno, and smaller-market productions like
Friday was a great day to watch the hubbub. I had a lot of other NFL duties to perform, but I couldn't help but wander out through the throng of talking heads, looking for the non-footballers doing interviews.
Vitaly Klitschko, who is making a comeback to the world of boxing, was the first person I saw. The 250-pound Ukrainian was promoting his upcoming bout with Oleg Maskaev. Staying with the boxing theme, this time with more sparks, was the meeting of Oscar De La Hoya and Floyd Mayweather, Jr.. They are gearing up for a showdown on May 5, but it almost erupted on the floor of the media center. There was definite animosity between the two as their paths crossed on more than one occasion. Mayweather felt it and began talking some serious smack within earshot of De La Hoya, who attempted to tune it out. It was pretty heated for a moment, but no blows were exchanged.
Andy Rooney of
60 Minutes
fame ran the gamut of radio shows. Well, maybe more like slowly ambled. He's way over 80 years old, but somehow keeps on ticking. Jeanette Lee, the Black Widow of women's billiards, dropped by and even shot a game of pool with Baltimore's WNST crew.
Subway Jared and a gaggle of Hooter's girls were some of the odder participants.
And, there were the football representatives. Classics like Doug Flutie, Joe Montana and Don Shula all held court, while current-day players - including Ravens Ovie Mughelli, Jason Brown and Bart Scott - added to the mix.
For some great shots of the event, visit Photo Galleries on BR.com.
Feb. 1, 2007, 1:55 p.m.
The scene around Miami - at least in the Media Center - was one of circus-like chaos Thursday. It was thick with humidity in South Beach, as the glut of the media finally arrived in town. The main beat writers from most of the news outlets from around the nation hit the destination on Monday, but later in the week is when the horde is amassed.
That means more shuttles from the airport, from the hotels, to the parties and to the press conferences, clogging all the highways and thoroughfares around Miami and Fort Lauderdale.
Which brings me to my first event of the week, the Colts' media session. Holed up in the Marriot Harbor Beach in Fort Lauderdale, the league erected a giant banquet tent in the back, right up against the sandy beach. One half served as an auditorium with a podium at one end, and the other was divided up with about 30 round tables with six risers along the walls.
Tony Dungy spoke first in the auditorium in front of a mass of cameras, reporters and flashing bulbs. Always affable, Dungy has this ability to bring the room to him with a warm, engaging smile. That has to be tough, especially during a week when he's fielded about 13,295 questions like, "How has it been to coach Peyton Manning?" Ugh. . .
Once he's done, though, the man in question files into the tabled room, followed by each one of his Indianapolis teammates. Manning, Marvin Harrison and the other biggest names took the risers, and the tables were filled with the rest of the players, sometimes three or four to a table.
This is an interesting phenomena, because inevitably, there are a few guys that don't warrant the intense scrutiny Manning undergoes on a regular basis, which prompts the deployment of the very newspapers covering the game.
It can get pretty lonely if you're not a Manning.
Feb. 1, 2007, 8:55 a.m.
The salty Miami air drifting off the Atlantic Ocean might be sweet, but this weekend certainly would have been sweeter if the Ravens - and the mass of Ravens faithful - would have stormed South Beach for Super Bowl XLI.
The second-best option, as far as I can tell, is to bring the Ravens faithful along for the ride, as BaltimoreRavens.com will do its best to bring the sights and sounds from the massive carnival that NFL officials like to call the Super Bowl.
So, keep in tune with
The Big Board
for exclusive, behind-the-scenes observations from all over this sunny paradise.
Like today, Prince (not the artist-formerly-known-as, he's now called Prince again) is having a press conference to discuss his participation in the halftime show. That is taking place at 2:30 p.m., and BR.com will be there. Such an event may seem ridiculous, but hey, it's the Super Bowl.
More to come, all day long!
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