NFL NETWORK & NFL.COM PROGRAMMING NOTES (2/23 - 3/1)
NFL NETWORK & NFL.COM'S OVER 30 HOURS OF NFL SCOUTING COMBINE COVERAGE BEGINS THURSDAY, FEB. 24
NFL Network Draft Analyst Mike Mayock's Updated Top 5 Draft Prospects by Position Now Available on NFL.com
2011 Under Armour Senior Bowl Re-Airs Friday, Feb. 25 at 8:00 PM ET
"The Rich Eisen Podcast" Features Mike Mayock, Falcons GM Thomas Dimitroff & Jim Mora, Sr.
Exclusive Coverage of 2011 NFL Scouting Combine Presented by Under Armour on NFL Network and NFL.com Begins Thursday, February 24 - Mike Mayock's Updated Top 5 Draft Prospects by Position
NFL Network and NFL.com's exclusive coverage of the 2011 NFL Scouting Combine Presented by Under Armour kicks off on Thursday, February 24, at 2:30 PM ET with Around The League: 2011 Scouting Combine Press Conferences, followed by NFL Total Access* at 7 PM ET* live from the Lucas Oil Stadium. For six days, NFL Network broadcast live from Indianapolis, providing more than 30 hours of live programming as top prospects such as Heisman Trophy winners Cam Newton and Mark Ingram, Georgia WR A.J. Green, Clemson DE Da'Quan Bowers and Auburn DT Nick Fairley look to take the next step in their careers.
NFL Network's draft analyst Mike Mayock headlines NFL Network and NFL.com's combined 23-person roster, joining host* Rich Eisen* and analyst Charles Davis for daily reports on the prospects participating live Saturday, February 26, through Tuesday, March 1, beginning at 9 AM ET each day. Additional expert commentary includes Jamie Dukes on offensive linemen (Saturday), Sterling Sharpe on tight ends (Saturday) and wide receivers (Sunday), Marshall Faulk on running backs (Sunday), * Kurt Warner* on quarterbacks (Sunday), Jim Mora on linebackers (Monday), Warren Sapp on defensive linemen (Monday), and Deion Sanders on defensive backs (Tuesday).
New to NFL Network's Combine coverage this year is the UA E39, an Under Armour compression shirt fitted with electronic sensors that track the body's natural motion and biometric signals, which are then sent to a tiny device on the front of the shirt. This device tracks and keeps all of the athlete's critical data, including breathing rate, heart rate, horse power and G force generated. The UA E39 will give NFL general managers, coaches and scouts an unprecedented look at the athletes during their evaluations.
Additionally, Mayock's updated top five draft prospects by position are now available on NFL.com. To see Mayock's updated list, please visit: Top Five Per Position Video
Below is Mayock's top five list as of February 22:
Mike Mayock's Top 5 Draft Prospects By Position
QUARTERBACK (QB):
1. Blaine Gabbert - Missouri (MIZZ) JR
2. Jake Locker - Washington (WAS) SR
3. Cam Newton - Auburn (AUB) JR
4. Ryan Mallet - Arkansas (ARK) JR
5. Andy Dalton - TCU (TCU) SR
RUNNING BACK (RB):
1. Mark Ingram - Alabama (ALA) JR
2. Daniel Thomas - Kansas St. (KSU) SR
3. Mikel LeShoure - Illinois (ILL) JR
4. Ryan Williams - Virginia Tech (VT) JR
5. Jacquizz Rodgers - Oregon St. (ORST) JR
WIDE RECEIVER (WR):
1. A.J. Green - Georgia (UGA) JR
2. Julio Jones - Alabama (ALA) JR
3. Titus Young - Boise St. (BSU) SR
4. Jonathan Baldwin - Pittsburgh (PITT) JR
5. Torrey Smith - Maryland (MARY) JR
TIGHT END (TE):
1. Kyle Rudolph - Notre Dame (ND) JR
2. Lance Kendricks - Wisconsin (WIS) SR
3. Luke Stocker - Tennessee (TENN) SR
4. D.J. Williams - Arkansas (ARK) SR
5. Virgil Green - Nevada (NEV) SR
INTERIOR OFFENSIVE LINE (G/C):
1. Mike Pouncey - Florida (FLA) SR
2. Danny Watkins - Baylor (BAYLOR) SR
3. Clint Boling - Georgia (UGA) SR
4. John Moffitt - Wisconsin (WIS) SR
5. Rodney Hudson - Florida St. (FSU) SR
TACKLE (T):
1. Anthony Castonzo - Boston College (BC) SR
2. Tyron Smith - USC (USC) JR
3. Gabe Carimi - Wisconsin (WIS) SR
4. Nate Solder - Colorado (COLO) SR
T-5. Derek Sherrod - Mississippi St. (MSST) SR
T-5. Ben Ijalana - Villanova (VILL) SR
DEFENSIVE END (DE):
1. Robert Quinn - North Carolina (UNC) JR
2. Da'Quan Bowers - Clemson (CLEM) JR
3. J.J. Watt - Wisconsin (WIS) JR
4. Adrian Clayborn - Iowa (IOWA) SR
5. Cameron Jordan - Cal (CAL) SR
DEFENSIVE TACKLE (DT):
1. Marcell Dareus - Alabama (ALA) JR
2. Nick Fairley - Auburn (AUB) JR
3. Muhammad Wilkerson - Temple (TEM) JR
4. Corey Liuget - Illinois (ILL) JR
5. Stephen Paea - Oregon St. (ORST) SR
OUTSIDE LINEBACKER (OLB):
1. Von Miller - Texas A&M (TXAM) SR
2. Akeem Ayers - UCLA (UCLA) JR
3. Justin Houston - Georgia (UGA) JR
4. Bruce Carter - North Carolina (UNC) SR
5. Chris Carter - Fresno St. (FRES) SR
INSIDE LINEBACKER (ILB):
1. Martez Wilson - Illinois (ILL) JR
2. Colin McCarthy - Miami (FL) (MIA) SR
3. Quan Sturdivant - North Carolina (UNC) SR
4. Casey Matthews - Oregon (ORE) SR
5. Kelvin Sheppard - LSU (LSU) SR
CORNERBACK (CB):
1. Patrick Peterson - LSU (LSU) JR
2. Prince Amukamara - Nebraska (NEB) SR
3. Aaron Williams - Texas (TEX) JR
4. Jimmy Smith - Colorado (COLO) SR
5. Brandon Harris - Miami (FL) (MIA) JR
SAFETY (S):
1. Rahim Moore - UCLA (UCLA) JR
2. Ahmad Black - Florida (FLA) SR
3. Marcus Gilchrist - Clemson (CLEM) SR
4. Quinton Carter - Oklahoma (OKLA) SR
5. Deunta Williams - North Carolina (UNC) SR
Before the Combine begins, get to know some of the top prospects on NFL.com who will participate in Indianapolis:
University of Washington quarterback Jake Locker: Jake Locker vignette
Boston College offensive tackle* Anthony Castonzo:* Anthony Castonzo vignette
University of Florida safety Ahmad Black: Ahmad Black vignette
2011 Under Armour Senior Bowl Re-Airs on Friday, February 25 at 8:00 PM ET
Before the 2011 NFL Scouting Combine begins at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, see the top college senior football players in a re-air of the 2011 Under Armour Senior BowlFriday, February 25 at 8:00 PM ET. The South team defeated the North team 24-10 on January, 29 at Ladd-Peebles Stadium in Mobile, Ala.
Below are video links to game highlights and player interviews from the Senior Bowl:
Game highlights: Senior Bowl highlights
Interview with University of Washington quarterback Jake Locker: Senior Bowl highlights
Interview with Nevada quarterback Colin Kaepernick: Catching up with Kapernick
Florida State quarterback Christian Ponder throws a touchdown and speaks with Stacey Dales: College rivals hook up for Senior Bowl TD
For the fifth consecutive year, NFL Network provided exclusive coverage of the prestigious all-star game, with NFL Network's Bob Papa calling the game alongside Mike Mayock and Charles Davis.* Paul Burmeister* and Stacey Dales contributed live reports from the sidelines during the game.
Latest Edition of "The Rich Eisen Podcast" Now Available For Download on NFL.com and iTunes - Featuring NFL Network draft analyst Mike Mayock, Atlanta Falcons GM Thomas Dimitroff, and former Indianapolis Colts and New Orleans Saints Head Coach Jim Mora Sr.
The latest edition of "The Rich Eisen Podcast" is now available for download on NFL.com and iTunes. As the 2011 NFL Scouting Combine gets ready to kick off from Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis on Thursday, February 24, NFL Network draft analyst Mike Mayock offers his view on the top prospects, such as Auburn defensive tackle Nick Fairley and the quarterbacks Cam Newton,* Jake Locker, Ryan Mallett* and Blaine Gabbert. Mayock also offers his view on the business of evaluating players and recounts a defining moment in his career. Next up is Atlanta Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff, who is heading into his fourth NFL Scouting Combine in his current role. Dimitroff details his ideology when it comes to free agency, the NFL Draft and the Scouting Combine, including the interviews each team has with the prospects. Finally, with the Academy Awards coming up Sunday, Eisen gets the Oscar picks from former Indianapolis Colts and New Orleans Saints head coach Jim Mora Sr. Prior to coaching football, Mora grew up around movie studios, so he has always been a big movie buff. With that background, Mora picks the winners from all of the major Oscar categories.
Below are select quotes from this week's edition:
"My entire thing when I got into the evaluation of player personnel was by definition you're going to be wrong a percentage of the time. What you owe to people that play the game for a living and coach it for a living and evaluate for a living and the fans out there is just as much hard work as you can give and as much integrity as you can give."- Mike Mayock on the evaluation of player personnel
"I'm probably going to walk in there on the first day of the defensive line drills and say he's the No. 1 pick in the whole country. And he didn't play last year." - Mike Mayock on North Carolina defensive end Robert Quinn
"Some people argue they're just in their shorts and T-shirts, how do you really gauge football players? My feeling is if you've done your work as far as evaluated off of video like you should do, then this just supplements your opinion, and I think it's invaluable."- Thomas Dimitroff on the importance of the NFL Scouting Combine
For more information on "The Rich Eisen Podcast," please visit richeisen.nfl.com or go to iTunes to download the latest episode.
THIS WEEK ON NFL.COM
Thursday, February 24
CHAT: Steve Wyche (1:00 PM ET)
CHAT: Brian Billick (3:00 PM ET)
Friday, February 25
CHAT: Mike Mayock (12:30 PM ET)
CHAT: Rich Eisen (3:30 PM ET)
DAY-BY-DAY PROGRAMMING SCHEDULE (all times listed are ET)
Thursday, February 24*
12 NOON - Sound FX:Adrian Peterson
12:30 PM - Draft Journey: Cushing, Crabtree, Stafford:* 2009
1:30 PM - Draft Journey: McCoy, Suh, Rolle: 2010
2:30 PM - Around The League: 2011 Scouting Combine Press Conferences
4:30 PM - Sound FX: Ray Lewis
5:00 PM - Draft Journey: Cushing, Crabtree, Stafford: 2009
6:00 PM - Draft Journey: McCoy, Suh, Rolle: 2010
7:00 PM - NFL Total Access: 2011 NFL Scouting Combine
8:00 PM - NFL's Top 10: Undrafted Players
9:00 PM - NFL's Top 10: Rookie Seasons
10:00 PM - NFL's Top 10: Draft Steals
11:00 PM - NFL Total Access: 2011 NFL Scouting Combine**
Friday, February 25
12 NOON - Sound FX:Tony Romo
12:30 PM - NFL's Top 10: Undrafted Players
1:30 PM - NFL's Top 10: Rookie Seasons
2:30 PM - Around The League: 2011 Scouting Combine Press Conferences
4:30 PM - Sound FX:Peyton Manning
5:00 PM - NFL's Top 10: Undrafted Players
6:00 PM - NFL's Top 10: Draft Steals
7:00 PM - NFL Total Access: 2011 NFL Scouting Combine
8:00 PM -* 2011 Senior Bowl - Re-Air
11:00 PM - NFL Total Access*
Saturday, February 26
9:00 AM - Workouts: Kickers, Offensive Linemen, Tight Ends - LIVE
(Encores in its entirety at 4:00 PM, with cut-down versions at 8:00 PM & 11:00 PM)
2:00 PM - Workouts: Kickers, Offensive Linemen, Tight Ends - Extended Coverage - LIVE
7:00 PM - NFL Total Access: 2011 NFL Scouting Combine
(Encores at 10:00 PM & 1:00 AM)
Sunday, February 27*
9:00 AM - Workouts: Running Backs, Quarterbacks, Wide Receivers - LIVE
(Encores in its entirety at 4:00 PM,* with cut-down versions at 8:00 PM & 11:00 PM)
2:00 PM - Workouts: Running Backs, Quarterbacks, Wide Receivers - Extended Coverage - LIVE
7:00 PM - NFL Total Access: 2011 NFL Scouting Combine
(Encores at 10:00 PM & 1:00 AM)
Monday, February 28*
9:00 AM - Workouts: Linebackers, Defensive Line - LIVE
(Encores in its entirety at 4:00 PM,* with cut-down versions at 8:00 PM & 11:00 PM)
2:00 PM - Workouts: Linebackers, Defensive Line - Cut-down Version
7:00 PM - NFL Total Access: 2011 NFL Scouting Combine
(Encores at 10:00 PM & 1:00 AM)
Tuesday, March 1*
9:00 AM - Workouts: Defensive Backs - LIVE
(Encores in its entirety at 4:00 PM,* with cut-down versions at 8:00 PM & 11:00 PM)
2:00 PM - Workouts: Defensive Backs - Cut-down Version
7:00 PM - NFL Total Access
(Encores at 10:00 PM & 1:00 AM)