NFL COMBINE

The offensive guys have had their kick at the can at the scouting combine and it will be the turn of the defensive players to show their stuff starting later this morning. The defensive linemen and linebackers will go through their on-field drills today, while the DBs will go Tuesday. And the offensive players set the bar reasonably high for their defensive counterparts with some pretty good performances this weekend, highlighted by Georgia Tech WR Calvin Johnson’s impromptu 4.35 40 clocking.....


The NFL has finally released the composite selection order for the full seven rounds of the 2007 draft. http://www.nfl.com/draft/drafttracker/round/round1

It probably doesn’t have much to do with the outstanding performance Wisconsin OT Joe Thomas turned at the scouting combine in Indianapolis over the weekend, but both Oakland and Detroit, which have the first and second picks overall this year respectively, made announcements about their particular LT situations. Oakland, for example, has moved incumbent LT Robert Gallery, the second player taken overall at the 2004 draft, from the left side to RT; in his place, the Raiders will pencil in veteran journeyman Barry Sims at LT. Meanwhile, the consensus around the NFL is that Detroit would take Thomas with the second pick overall and then slide Jeff Backus, their returning starter at LT, over to the right side. Lions’ head coach Rod Marinelli is being quoted as saying that Backus will stay at LT no matter what Detroit does with the pick as it would be too unnatural of a move for Backus, who is signed through 2011. Neither move may say much about what either the Raiders or Lions have planned for the second pick, but Thomas certainly made the case that he is pick worthy when the 6-7, 311-pounder showed impressive athletic skills at the combine this weekend where he ran a 4.92 40......

Kansas City reportedly plans to tender restricted-free-agent-to-be DE Jared Allen at the highest level. That means that any team signing Allen would have to compensate the Chiefs with first and third rounds picks if Kansas City didn’t match the offer sheet. And Allen isn’t happy that talks on a contract extension with the Chiefs haven’t gone well. Indeed, Allen has reportedly formally requested a trade by the Chiefs, a request the Chiefs denied. Allen produced 27.5 sacks in his first three years with the Chiefs after being selected in the 4th round of the 2004 draft. The fact that Allen recently served a jail sentence for his second DUI arrest, however, hasn’t helped his case.....

While many of his former teammates are preparing for the 2007 draft, Notre Dame FS Tom Zbikowski will be heading back to the boxing ring for his second pro fight when he fights Kevin Murphy on March 6th in a heavyweight exhibition bout in South Bend. The fight will be a benefit for several local charitable foundations. In his first fight last June, Zbikowski defeated Robert Bell in a 49-second technical knockout at New York's Madison Square Garden. Zbitkowski, a 4th year junior, had been expected to enter the 2007 draft, but opted to return to school when he met Notre Dame’s academic requirements.