The National Football League is a money-making monopoly, with their only focus seemingly being hellbent on world domination. One way they've succeeded in winning the television wars is by somehow providing 12 months of non-stop programming that makes it hard for sports fans to turn away. This became ever clear on Thursday when this tweet hit the internet streets:
Fascinating. The @NFL will host on March 22 in AZ the first ever NFL Veteran Combine, according to a memo sent today. It’s for veterans FAs.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 15, 2015
Per Matt Birk, the former Pro Bowl offensive lineman for the Minnesota Vikings and current NFL director of football development, the focus of NFL Veteran Combine will "serve to isolate and consolidate veteran free-agent talent for more focused evaluation on a comparative basis." Roughly 100 players will be selected to attend the event and all 32 NFL teams will send their representatives.
Knowing how the NFL gets down, the reality of this will be that the NFL Network will plop a huge desk somewhere near the premises and flank it with a multitude of personalities in their arsenal that await assignment so that they can windbag on whatever mundane observations pop into their minds. We will all watch, because we need things to watch, and somehow it will now be an annual occasion from here on out.
However, I've got a few ideas on how to make this way more interesting...
Every WR who claims to still have "it" must attend
This means that Terrell Owens, Randy Moss, Chad Johnson, Braylon Edwards and any other wideout that says they can still show these youngsters they can run the route tree and get up the field with the quickness. Do I think these dudes can still do it? Not really, but these dudes will always be some of my favorite players ever, and squeezing out that last little bit of entertainment out of the proverbial toothpaste would make watching this worth it. Speaking of which...
The NFL should mic up certain players and coaches
Who's not here to see Randy Moss mic'd up running drills while speaking that infamous country Rand drawl? Or what if Tim Tebow says he's going to make one more run at making the roster for some team? If the NFL Network brings coaches to analyze whatever there is to analyze for a "veterans combine" it could be interesting to have former coaches talking crazy on why they cut or signed certain players.
I don't think it's very likely that this happens, but I'm here for the entertainment, so let's pray it happens anyway.
The Oklahoma Drill
I don't know if this is a real tool in assessing how good a player is, but I'm here for it because it's really the best thing ever.
Make each position group race against each other
I don't care if it's 40 yards, 100 yards, whatever. Just line up all the running backs, wide receivers, defensive backs and most importantly the lineman, and let them race against each other. Who's not watching fat guys run wind sprints in garish neon-colored training outfits that Under Armour will probably provide to the players with jobs potentially on the line? I'm watching it, because I'm a brain-washed football fan, and sadly I'll watch anything.
Eddie Maisonet is the founder and editor emeritus of The Sports Fan Journal. Currently, he serves as an associate editor for ESPN.com. He is an unabashed Russell Westbrook and Barry Switzer apologist, owns over 100 fitteds and snapbacks, and lives by Reggie Jackson’s famous quote, “I am the straw that stirs the drink.”
