I was thinking about it and its been thrown around that maybe coaching the senior bowl isnt such a good idea for our coaches sure they work out a few kids and what not but your alot more likely to fall in love with a guy when your coaching like that. Think about this almost all of the guys we have drafted the past two years are guys that were in the senior bowl Off the top of my head i havent looked Manny Lawson Michael Robinson Parys Haralson Marcus Hudson and 4 that didnt play in the SB This year Patrick Willis Joe Staley Ray McDonald Jason Hill Jay Moore Thomas Clayton and 2 that didn't I mean i know that its get that our guys get to coach them but what if a players personality no necessarily skill is what makes a coach like them. Dont give me the well they wouldnt jeopardize the team like that........they are human as well when you like someone you tend to overlook some things and when you hate someone you point out every little detail. One example was Thomas Clayton coach liked him so much he promised him if he was there at there last pick he would be that pick Im not saying that coaching the senior bowl isnt a good thing it is but it can have some flaws in it also say hypothetically Willis and Carriker opposite teams (north and south) would we have fallen in love with carriker like we did with willis i think we probably could have and if we had he would have been our pick at 11 no doubt in my mind. [smilie=soapbox.gif]
Yeah Nolan's into coaching at the Senior Bowl, true. Hopefully the guys that impressed him during the Bowl work out in the NFL.
I think it's a good idea, in that they get a chance to really work closely with these guys for a period of time, and get to see aspects of their game and personality/work ethic that they would not get to otherwise. It's one thing to watch games and meet with players at the combine/pro days/team workouts, it's another to really get in the mix with them in real practice and game situations and really get to see what kind of players they are, how they handle coaching, deal with adversity, etc. To me the combine seems pretty superficial, and all the players are coached up to make the best impressions in face to face meetings and interviews, so I doubt you can get a true feeling for what kind of person they really are, which IS important. I do agree, it has occurred to me that maybe Nolan and Co. are getting too keyed in on Senior Bowl players because they have spent so much time with them, and as a result are maybe looking past other players that might be a better pick in the spot. Or not. I must say in retrospect, I find it hard to argue with their choices for the most part. Goldson is still kind of a ? to me, I felt we could have waited and gotten him later, but other than that, all good. We won't really know for a year or two, but so far so good.
I thought they had a few guys that work for Nolan that go out and recruit or look for players that they are interested in. Willis I thought fit the 3-4 better and didn't Carriker have some issues although for the life of me I can't remember now. I'm sure they go through all the guys rap sheets and look for things that they want or don't want in a player.
Yeah, of course they have a scouting dept, but again thats not the same as getting right in the thick of it with a player in a game/team situation, IMO. As far as rap sheets, yeah of course, in Tarell Browns situation I remember reading that they hired a PI to go to his hometown and talk to old friends and associates and really dig deep on his past to see if he was a real headcase or just caught up in bad situations. Carriker had no issues I'm aware of, and neither of those guys had ever played in a 34 before.
I'll try and find the article I saw about why they passed on Carriker or why I thought he had some kind of issues.
I'll look for it, I thought that's what I read.....who knows now I'm thinking I didn't read it right..:(