| MOBILE, Ala. — Never before have I seen so many men shaking hands,
patting each other on the back and saying, "Hey, how you doing, buddy?" I’m
guessing neither the Democratic National Convention nor a fraternity reunion could hold a
candle to the Senior Bowl in that category. Hundreds of NFL scouts, coaches and
personnel directors rub elbows and either talk very loudly or very softly to each other,
depending on the topic of conversation, for a week while selected college players try to
impress and show their stuff on stage like an actor at a rehearsal or a lonely dog at the
pet store.
Injuries and a lack of raindrops were the topics of Wednesday’s action, aside from
110 college seniors on a weeklong job interview here in Mobile.
The South, coached by Mike Sherman and his staff from Green Bay, took the field
Wednesday morning for a spirited practice, while the North, coached by Bill Cowher
and his Steelers staff, battled one another in the afternoon. The day marked the first
since Monday without significant rain, but more bad weather is in the forecast for the
remainder of the week.
"(Having dry weather is) like a weight off your back," Florida State RB Travis
Minor said after an impressive day with several long runs and a consistent quick burst
through the hole. "You’re out there trying to impress people, but you’ve
got to kind of be cautious with it slippery and wet. It was hard to go out there and play
full speed until now."
The group from the North made it through the last day of practice in full pads
virtually unscathed, but the South side wasn’t as fortunate. While contact was
encouraged in drills and scrimmages, tackling was not allowed. Check that — it
wasn’t encouraged. But that didn’t stop the South team’s trainers from
becoming the busiest people in Mobile.
The injury list just from Wednesday included Texas Christian’s Heisman finalist LaDainian
Tomlinson (hamstring), Georgia DL Marcus Stroud (back), Mississippi State DL Willie
Blade, Southern Mississippi DL Daleroy Stewart (shoulder), Florida State LB Brian
Allen (hamstring), Clemson WR Rod Gardner (groin) and Tennessee RB Travis
Henry (knee tendinitis).
A bout with the flu kept Florida State’s WR Marvin Minnis and DE David
Warren and Alabama RB Dustin McClintock on the sideline.
All are considered questionable for Saturday’s game, according to Sherman, but
none of their injuries appears to be serious.
"This is kind of what it was like in Green Bay, so it continues to follow
me," Sherman said of the injury woes for the South. "I can’t get rid of the
injury bug. It follows me around, and I thought maybe I had met my quota. Hope the good
Lord considers this for next year and compensates for me at a later date."
While no one wants to see people get hurt in practice before an all-star game of this
caliber, most coaches agree that this type of atmosphere is heavier in rewards than it is
in risks for NFL-bound players.
"Injuries are a problem, but at the same time I think this experience is
invaluable," Cowher said. "The exposure that they’re getting in front of
the scouts on the practice field — they’re able to see the mannerisms of the
kid, how he’s interacting with his teammates, how he’s interacting with the
coaches — those are things they’re not going to get off tape.
"The game itself is a great opportunity, but still, it’s just one game out of
a guy’s career," Cowher continued. "The practices are something that people
don’t get to see. They don’t get to see their work ethics and how they respond
to situations."
According to observers, the defenses have ruled the roost to this point in practices.
The South’s defense, in particular, appears very strong and quick. Offensively, it
certainly takes some time to get in sync with a new scheme and a new set of plays to learn
in a less than a week, and it showed at times Wednesday.
South LBs Brian Allen (Florida State) and Eric Westmoreland (Tennessee)
looked particularly strong in coverage vs. running backs and tight ends, while
Westmoreland had the best hit of the day, knocking Tomlinson to the turf in a scrimmage.
Several defensive linemen, especially on the South squad, had their way with their
offensive counterparts. According to many, the lack of rain benefited the defensive
players greatly, as they could again utilize their speed on the edge without much fear of
losing their footing.
Two such defensive linemen who were extremely aggressive in one-on-one pass-rushing
drills were Blade and Mississippi’s Derrick Burgess, who appeared a step
quicker than anyone he faced all day.
Several offensive linemen for the North, including Northern Illinois’ Ryan Diem,
Minnesota’s Ben Hamilton, Pittsburgh’s Jeff McCurley,
Washington’s Chad Ward and Michigan’s Jeff Backus all were beaten
badly at times in drills but managed to rebound quite nicely once they settled down and
began using their hands more. Michigan OG Steve Hutchinson made a nice pulling
block to spring Maryland RB LaMont Jordan for a long gain, and Nebraska’s Bobby
Newcombe and Eastern Kentucky’s Alex Bannister came up with nice
receptions despite each having a defender draped all over him.
Mississippi State’s Fred Smoot and Baylor’s Gary Baxter each
batted down passes in the secondary during South scrimmages, while Alabama’s Kenny
Smith and Arkansas’ Randy Garner collected sacks.
As far as the South’s offensive linemen were concerned, Mississippi State’s Floyd
"Pork Chop" Womack, Georgia’s Jonas Jennings and Florida
State’s Char-ron Dorsey all made impressive stands in keeping the defenders at
bay.
After one impressive display by the 6-5, 357-pound Dorsey, one Packers coach looked him
up and down and proclaimed loudly in front of a huge circle of evaluators, "I’ll
tell you what, son, your stock just went up a bunch right there."
Later, after watching Womack devour his former college teammate, DE Ellis Wyms,
the same coach pointed in Pork Chop’s direction, looked at the coaches and scouts
only feet away and said matter-of-factly, "I’ll tell you what, fellas, this
guy’s good."
Such close proximity is what draws so many NFL personnel to Mobile every January. The
up-close evaluations can be the most intense and valuable they’ve done all year. But,
as many players who were used to closed practice sessions in college said, it has been a
bit of an adjustment practicing with so many people nearly on top of them on every play.
And one would assume that factor can only add to the pressure right off the bat.
"There are a lot of people watching and there’s some pressure, but once you
start practicing, all that gets thrown out the window and you try to go in there and take
care of business and let the chips fall where they may," Oklahoma LB Torrance
Marshall said.
One interesting thing to watch is these athletes playing on special teams. Most, if not
all, were stars on their respective college teams and were often considered too valuable
to play on special teams. But in the Senior Bowl, everyone except the 330-pound linemen
play on special teams, so several players have been a little slow to adjust to their new
duties on kicks or punts. It remains a work in progress, but the aggressiveness is
certainly there.
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