New England Patriots Links 3/02/10 - NFL Scouting Combine Only One Piece To The Puzzle

Jon Robinson, Patriots director of college scouting, explains the value of the combine.

"This is just another piece to the puzzle," Robinson told [Patriots Today reporter Brian] Lowe. "We started looking at these guys last spring, and through their senior years this fall and it really just confirms (that) or maybe you see something in the way they move that you didn't see on the film that'll make you go back and re-evaluate the film to see that you've got the player evaluated correctly. ...

"It's exciting. It is a long process, and it's going to be even longer this year with the first round being it's own deal (standing alone on a Thursday night). So yeah, it's long, it's taxing, but it's the culmination of a year's worth of work with the scouts, with the coaches, with all of us trying to make sure we improve the football team."

Mike Reiss reminds us that the Combine isn't everything.  Pats are in it for the interviews and the physicals.

The Patriots drafted four players who weren’t invited to last year’s combine and two of them might be their best selections – offensive lineman Sebastian Vollmer (second round) and receiver Julian Edelman (seventh round). So while the team figured to make solid progress in its preparations at the combine, this remains only one piece of a much larger puzzle.

That’s really what teams like the Patriots are looking for, especially for the juniors who entered the draft. As part of the scouting process during the year, juniors are off limits, so this was the first chance for teams to meet with them. Because players are so well trained for the interviews, then the challenge becomes assessing how "real" the player actually is in those interviews.

TEAM TALK

• Andy Hart notes the media access at the Combine closed on Sunday with NFL Network analysts Mike Mayock and Mike Lombardi sharing their thoughts on the draft class.
• Andy Hart notes the safety position offers both elite prospects and solid depth heading toward April’s draft.
• Erik Scalavino looks at the best cornerbacks available this year. Big corners dominate this '10 draft class.
• PFW Staff Free Agent Preview: Tight End.
• Patriots Today - Jon Robinson, Patriots director of college scouting, discusses scouting process at the NFL Scouting Combine. (2.47 min. video)
• New England Patriots Charitable Foundation (NEPCF) will be holding several online auctions beginning March 1, 2010.
• Gillette Stadium Draft Party, Thursday April 22, 2010. Meet current Patriot players and alumni; dinner buffet, visit to Gillette Stadium field, cheerleaders, raffles and more.
• The New England Patriots are currently accepting nominations for the 2010 Community MVP Awards program which is supported this year by the Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund.

LOCAL LINKS

• Albert Breer notes the Patriots strong Draft position in the first two rounds: Picks 22, 44 (from Jacksonville), 48 (from Tennessee), and 53.
• DJ Bean offers an account of what people over the last week have been predicting the Patriots will do in the Draft. Some interesting picks here.
• Ian Rapoport reports tackle Vladimir Ducasse (UMass) tops the local prospects at the NFL Combine. Mike Mayock projects him as a 2nd round pick.
• DJ Bean notes that Jason Pierre-Paul (Southern Florida) has the pass-rusher height that fits in the Patriots mold. Would Belichick move up to get him?
• Albert Breer wonders could Brady name his price when it comes to negotiating his contract.
• Albert Breer reports the Patriots have a complicated negotiation ahead with Brady that's really no one's fault, since his last contract was signed in 2005. It just gives you an idea of how muddy the waters in the NFL are right now.
• Christopher Price offers five things we learned in Indianapolis: Draft packed with pass rushers.
• Jeff Howe looks back at the Patriots' 2003 Draft class as one that continues to shape the history of the franchise.
• Tom E. Curran offers a Patriots' free-agent outlook: Running backs. Pats don't need another aging RB and will most likely draft with an eye on Ryan Matthews (Fresno State).
• Mike Reiss projects the Patriots free agent possiblities at cornerback and safety.
• Mike Reiss looks at 2010 as a make or break year for CB Terrence Wheatley.
• Daniel Kobialka lays out a case for why the Patriots should retire Mosi Tatupu's number 30.
• Mike Reiss comments on the Jets' release of RB Thomas Jones, saying he was always well contained by the Patriots. Leon Washington caused more of a problem.
• Albert Breer notes the Olympic hockey gold medal game was out-rated by nine of the NFL's 11 playoff games, and also beaten out by the BCS National Championship Game

NATIONAL NEWS

• Tim Graham (ESPN) 2010 draft vital to uphold Patriots.
• Mike Sando (ESPN) ranks the 32 NFL teams in terms of Draft firepower for the first two rounds. The Patriots rank 8th in the league.
• Jason Cole (Yahoo! Sports) Manning could easily command $25 million a year.
• Gregg Rosenthal (ProFootballTalk) Colts GM Bill Polian told NFL Network that nothing is imminent with Brackett.
• Tony Pauline (SI) Risers & Sliders: Hybrid DE-LBs shine on Day 5 of NFL Combine.
• Wes Bunting (Nat'l Football Post) Combine’s weekend sliders and standouts.
  
• Don Banks (SI) Dispatches from Day 3 of the NFL's Scouting Combine.
• Dennis Waszak Jr. (NY Post) Jets to say goodbye to Jones. The Jets will release running back Thomas Jones on Friday.
• Rich Cimini (NY Daily News) New York Jets players grumble about release of RB Thomas Jones.
• Tim Graham (ESPN) Owens' time in Buffalo served its purpose.
• Don Banks (SI) Snap Judgments: Running back depth, Tebow's strong numbers.
• Robert Boland (Nat'l Football Post) What Warren Buffet can teach NFL teams.