Some Draft/Sanchez Articles (L.A. Times...Video In Link)

[Califan007 The Constipated]

NFL draft: A do's and don'ts list

http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-farmer-nfl-draft23-2009apr23,0,1706323.story?page=1

The secret to making the right moves in the NFL draft?

"It's easy," jokes the retired Al LoCasale, a longtime Oakland Raiders executive. "You pick the winners and avoid the losers."

Ah, if it were so simple. Even the best talent evaluators in the business would love to bat .500 when it comes to identifying which college prospects will actually live up to their potential.

Those scouts, coaches and executives spend countless hours studying video footage, interviewing anyone and everyone associated with the player, searching for every morsel of information that might indicate whether selecting him merits what could be a multimillion-dollar investment.

Even the best minds in football can't always spot the college players who will succeed in the pros, but there are some general guidelines most evaluators know well. Among those rules:

A bad football body doesn't necessarily mean a bad football player: Some guys look good getting off the bus but can't play a lick. Others have astoundingly bad bodies -- have you seen the jiggling YouTube video of Alabama tackle Andre Smith running the 40 shirtless? -- but are remarkably quick and agile on the field.

Don't be scared off by a small school: Sure, it would be nice if all NFL prospects were as seasoned by big games as players from USC, Ohio State or Florida. That's not to say experience under the brightest lights is a must, though.

Jerry Rice played at Mississippi Valley State. Walter Payton hailed from Jackson State. And, more recently, Ben Roethlisberger tore it up at Miami of Ohio.

When he was coaching the Dolphins, Johnson drafted Jason Taylor, a future defensive player of the year, out of Akron. Later, with the Cowboys, the coach found All-Pro guard Larry Allen at Sonoma State, and Pro Bowl tackle Erik Williams at Central State in Ohio.

When you take a player in the first round, make sure he can play on third down: From virtually every perspective, third down is the most important in football. You don't want your top pick standing on the sideline in the most critical of situations.

"If he doesn't play on third down, he's only going to play in 42% of the (offensive or defensive) plays," said former personnel executive Mike Lombardi, now an analyst for the NFL Network. "So he'd better be really good on first and second" to justify taking him that high. Lombardi said linebacker Bobby Carpenter, taken 16th by Dallas in 2006, is an example of a player who isn't good enough on third down to warrant such a high pick.

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Mark Sanchez could go places

http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-nfl-draft-sanchez21-2009apr21,0,7298760.story

(video in link)

Even though USC quarterback Mark Sanchez probably won't be the first player selected Saturday in the NFL draft, he could have the biggest influence on the opening round.

With so many teams in the market for a quarterback -- Jacksonville, San Francisco, Denver, Washington, the New York Jets and Tampa Bay among them -- Sanchez could inspire one of them to trade into the top five to pick him.

t looks as if the Detroit Lions will select Georgia quarterback Matthew Stafford with the No. 1 pick, and they might even announce it's a done deal before the draft, the way Houston did with top pick Mario Williams a few years ago.

Then, the real jockeying could start. Would Denver package picks to move up into position, or wait at No. 12 in hopes of getting Kansas State quarterback Josh Freeman? (The quarterback talent drops off sharply after the top three.) The exorbitant price of a top-five selection might be uncomfortably steep for Denver's Pat Bowlen, who isn't as cash-rich as some other owners. If Stafford and Sanchez go quickly, however, Freeman might not make it out of the top 10.

Does Washington trade up from 13? How about the Jets from 17, or Tampa Bay from 19?

"I'm hearing everything," Sanchez said Monday. "I try to stay out of it, but eventually you'll hear every scenario. . . . People think I have some inside scoop, but I don't. It's going to be a wild day."

[zoony]

A bad football body doesn't necessarily mean a bad football player: Some guys look good getting off the bus but can't play a lick. Others have astoundingly bad bodies -- have you seen the jiggling YouTube video of Alabama tackle Andre Smith running the 40 shirtless? -- but are remarkably quick and agile on the field.

Famously- Bill Walsh didn't trust athletes with cut-up physiques when scouting them. Preferring instead rounded physiques without a lot of definition, i.e. Muhammed Ali, or even a guy like Chris Cooley, etc.

He was on record as saying that they were almost always better athletes.