| INDIANAPOLIS — Even after a self-described "shaky"
throwing exhibition during drills in front of all 32 NFL teams Sunday afternoon, Fresno
State QB David Carr voiced no regret for making his workout public. Many other players
projected to be top picks chose not to do all, or some, of the various tests. "It
was fun," Carr said Sunday at the RCA Dome. "It went good."
Brigham Young’s Brandon Doman, Stanford’s Randy Fasani, Nebraska’s Eric
Crouch and Indiana’s Antwaan Randle-El were among the players who threw in the same
group as Carr.
"I think they would all tell you," Carr said, "everybody was a little
shaky. It was a good day of throwing, but not my best day. More than anything, it was
important just to get out there and show them I have nothing to hide."
Carr worked with Florida’s Reche Caldwell and Jabar Gaffney and Auburn’s Tim
Lewis, who were being gauged for their receiving skills. Having never worked with any of
the receivers, Carr came away most impressed with Caldwell.
Widely expected to be the No. 1 overall pick in the April 20 draft, Carr did not run
the 40-yard dash, but he will do so in mid-March to draw scouts to the Fresno State campus
in order to give Rodney Wright some exposure. Wright, a 5-foot-8 speed receiver, was not
invited to the Combine.
"That was more for him than anyone else," Carr said.
Utah WR Russell on the rise
WR Cliff Russell hadn’t been mentioned in the same breath as other top receivers,
such as Caldwell, Gaffney, Hawaii’s Ashley Lelie and Antonio Bryant of Pittsburgh
— until Sunday.
Russell, who’s hoping to follow the path to NFL respectability taken by Titans WR
Kevin Dyson, also from Utah, posted a 4.39-second 40-time, assuring that his stock is on
the rise.
Tim Carter of Auburn ran a 4.33 and a 4.34 on the carpet, a surface that Combine
consultant Gil Brandt classified as "not fast, not real slow, but somewhere in the
middle."
On the flip side, Michigan WR Marquise Walker refrained from participating in the speed
test. His reasoning? He has never run the 40 — ever.
"I’ve just never done it," Walker said. "I never really trained for
it (at Michigan) and didn’t want to go out there and get hurt."
What Walker may be afraid of hurting is his draft stock, being that the knock on him is
a lack of breakaway speed. Walker plans to run at Michigan’s pro timing day March 15
in Ann Arbor.
All you need is Lovie
Rams defensive coordinator Lovie Smith has seldom been in better spirits than he was
late Sunday morning after the Rams re-signed DE Leonard Little, who was considered one of
the most attractive free agents available in this year’s market.
About 12 hours before re-signing Little to a five-year contract reportedly worth $17.5
million, with a $5 million signing bonus, the Rams signed MLB Jamie Duncan from Tampa Bay
to effectively replace London Fletcher.
"I couldn’t be happier," Smith said. "Jamie will be our
‘Mike,’ and we got our outside pass rusher back. Those kinds of guys are hard to
come by. Leonard was our No. 1 priority. He wanted to stay here, and it’s where he
belongs."
Was Lovie a bit tense waiting for the re-signing to occur, since teams such as the
Cardinals appeared to be making a serious run at Little?
"We knew that with Jay in charge (Rams president of football operations Jay
Zygmunt), we’d get a deal done," Smith said. "Leonard likes our system, and
he likes (DL coach) Bill Kollar. He really just took baby steps last year. He still has a
lot of untapped potential."
Smith said Duncan, whom he coached at Tampa Bay, will fit like a glove in the St. Louis
system. "I know him well. We’ve been through the good and the bad
together," Smith said. "There were only so many guys we were really interested
in. London wanted to go out and test the market, so we’re just really happy to get
Jamie."
Dungy holds court
New Colts head coach Tony Dungy seemed in good spirits Sunday when he was asked about
the team’s defense. But Dungy realizes that the personnel in place will need
modifications beyond the recent cuts of CB Jeff Burris, S Chad Cota and DTs Mike Wells and
Christian Peter.
"I think the defense is going to be fine," Dungy said. "I think
we’ve got some guys who can run and hit, and that’s what you look for.
We’ve got to build it and add on to it, but I’m optimistic. And I was pleased
after watching the film. I think there’s a nucleus to work with."
Dungy was also asked about the progress of RB Edgerrin James, who blew out his knee in
Week Seven last season. Dungy said he hadn’t seen James yet, but he had talked to
him. He said James believes he’s ahead of schedule in his rehab, a good sign for the
Colts.
Quick hits
- Illinois QB Kurt Kittner felt like he had pulled an all-nighter Saturday night after
failing to get much sleep. After repeated attempts to nudge his loud-snoring roommate, the
top-rated quarterback decided to take his pillow to another room, but he had trouble
sleeping on the bathroom floor.
- Northwestern’s Napoleon Harris, the top-rated outside linebacker in a weak LB class
this year, bench-pressed 225 pounds 27 times, the same number that Chicago Bears LB Brian
Urlacher had benched two years ago when he was coming out of New Mexico. Urlacher, who
resides in Lake Bluff, Ill., a short distance from Northwestern’s Evanston campus,
has befriended Harris. Because of his advice, Harris, RB Damien Anderson and LB Kevin
Bentley are all training with speed coach Chip Smith in Atlanta. Smith was largely
responsible for preparing Urlacher for the 1999 Combine.
- TE Ken Dilger, released by Indianapolis, has become a hot commodity on the open market.
Having already visited Dallas, the current front-runner, Detroit and New England, Dilger
plans to visit Tampa Bay this week. The Buccaneers recently released TE Dave Moore and
have "great interest," according to Dilger’s Chicago-based agent, Mark
Bartelstein.
- The Raiders have already added LB Bill Romanowski, but the silver and black may not be
done adding former Broncos. LB Glenn Cadrez is a candidate to join Oakland’s LB
corps, although Denver wants Cadrez to return.
- WR Corey Bradford had a breakout season in Green Bay last season, when he averaged 17
yards per catch on 31 receptions. The Packers remain hot on the unrestricted free
agent’s heels, but Bradford is testing the waters. He has at least one scheduled
visit this week, with the Houston Texans.
- OT Leon Searcy, one of the casualties of Baltimore’s salary-cap woes, will be
visiting the Redskins and Dolphins. … Houston has expressed interest in former
Buffalo QB Rob Johnson, who possibly can serve as the graybeard to show rookie David Carr
the ropes. Houston offensive coordinator Chris Palmer coached Johnson for one season at
Jacksonville. Houston has also expressed a lot of interest in Colts OG Steve McKinney.
They said it
Florida WR Reche Caldwell on why Gators receivers always seem to underachieve in the
NFL: "I don’t think it’s a big adjustment at all from (Florida’s)
offense to an NFL-level offense. In the UF offense, we didn’t see a lot of man-to-man
(coverage), and in the NFL, you probably see a lot of bump. But against UF, a lot of
people try to play zone, because in man-to-man, they know they really don’t have a
chance."
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