INDIANAPOLIS -- Indianapolis Colts president Bill Polian
evaluates players his way.
Like all NFL talent evaluators, he spends hours breaking down
tapes, attending college games and meeting with scouts. Then he
gathers additional information at the NFL scouting combine each
February.
But while Polian knows he won't get all the answers he needs at
this year's pre-draft workouts, which begin Thursday, he won't
hesitate to make decisions his way, like passing on the increasing
number of players who show up for the combine but don't work out.
"If 75 guys don't work out, 50 to 65 percent of them eliminate
themselves because you will have a question about their numbers,"
he said. "So you say, 'OK, we had a question about his temperament
and now he's not going to work out, so forget him.' It winds up
hurting most of the guys who don't work out."
|  | | Edgerrin James, drafted by Bill Polian, made the Pro Bowl after each of his first two seasons. |
Through the years, Polian has proven himself an expert. In
Buffalo, he drafted Bruce Smith, Thurman Thomas and Andre Reed.
With Jim Kelly, drafted before Polian got there, they formed the
heart of the Bills' four Super Bowl teams.
In Carolina, he selected Kerry Collins, who helped take the New
York Giants to the Super Bowl last month. And his first two No. 1
picks with the Colts -- quarterback Peyton Manning and running back
Edgerrin James -- already have played in two Pro Bowls.
Polian follows the book -- his book.
"I'm the scourge of the scouts," he said. "I gave the speech
'Don't give a guy credit if he has a motor.' I just don't want the
scouts to fall in love with overachievers."
Every general manager has his style.
"What we try to do is get information," said John Butler, the
San Diego Chargers' new general manager, who has the No. 1 draft
pick this year. "You don't understand why a guy wouldn't want to
work out when it's something they've worked all their lives to get,
but you've got to find out all the circumstances."
The circumstances seem simple.
For the best athletes, the NFL combine has become little more
than an exercise in measurements.
Doctors weigh and measure. They poke, prod and X-ray athletes to
detect any physical flaws. That information is provided to all 31
NFL teams.
But most of those considered top picks, including this year's
likely No. 1 choice, Virginia Tech quarterback Michael Vick, will
do nothing more.
"He won't work out because he's preparing to be at his best at
the end of the month," said Mike Sullivan, one of Vick's agents.
"The combine is set to suit the schedule of the NFL and when
you're projected at the top of the first round, it's in his best
interests to prepare for his best performance."
So Vick, like many other top picks, will hold a workout on more
familiar turf -- at Virginia Tech.
And while such maneuvering has become commonplace in today's
draft strategy, executives like Polian get rankled by the
evolution.
Agents have taken on a significant role. Not only do they advise
players about working out or providing material -- food, drinks and
massages -- that aid their clients' performances, but also help
prepare them for the written and psychological tests and
face-to-face interviews that can play a prominent role in
evaluation.
Polian said he can tell when an agent has prepared his clients.
"You get the same answers from guys who have the same agent,"
Polian said. "What it does is invalidate the interview."
Not everyone agrees.
"I think that's a good thing," said Green Bay general manager
Ron Wolf, who is retiring after this draft. "Everyone says it's a
meat market. I say that's baloney. I look at it as a job interview,
and this is one heck of a job interview. I don't know who wouldn't
prepare for it."
Polian wishes everybody would participate in the full interview.
"It's leveled off in terms of who doesn't work out," Polian
said. "It's essentially anybody whose agent thinks they can get
away with it and about half of those are wrong.
"We'd like to see them all work out on a level playing field so
we can get a baseline measurement."
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