As the NFL playoffs gear up and gear out, for many franchises the offseason has reared its seemingly premature head into their front offices — a time that leaves them hopeful for what the future might bring.
In the distant past, the combine alone was a tall and sturdy coat rack many teams felt confident hanging their scouting hat on. However, the layers of the predraft process has grown exponentially and it starts with the Reese's Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama.
The week-long event has proven to have a lasting impact on the league as they gear up on scouting reports and pre draft interviews.
While the Senior Bowl game itself gives surface fans a unique opportunity to get acclimated with some prospect names to be heard in the not so distant future, for front offices it allows an incredibly invaluable experience to get a taste of players’ real personality through genuine human interaction, both on and off the field.
The experience is equally valuable for both scouts and coaches, but players as well. Prospects have a lot to gain during the week as well as a lot to lose. Players who come into the week with “red flags” can use the time to prove to coaches that they can be molded given the proper guidance.
In fact, some of the most important time spent from both sets of coaches is gauging just how much each player can absorb in such a quick and short time frame on a practice-to-practice basis.
From the moment they walk off the bus and receive their hotel key they already have a playbook in hand and have no choice but to mentally check into football mode, studying their assignments and keys or else watch their draft stock be constrained to the hotel lobby.
Meanwhile, prospects with off-the-field concerns are given a precious opportunity to redeem themselves from whatever misperception may have gotten them into trouble in the first place with countless one-on-one interviews with coaches and scouts throughout the week.
Given how much exposure they will have to NFL teams a player can truly make or break themselves right out of the gate by the way they perceive themselves during the week.
Just last year Arizona State’s Jamil Douglas used the week-long event to shake any misconceptions and perceived notions with coaches to clear his name and off-the-field issues enough to eventually be drafted in the fourth-round of the 2015 NFL draft.
While the three-days of practices followed by walkthrough and eventual game are extremely advantageous to both player and coach, after attending the event for what will be three consecutive years I can say it's the off the field time spent that is still secretly underrated from both parties involved.
Of course nobody knows this better than Phil Savage, a former NFL general manager for the Cleveland Browns (as well as working under Ozzie Newsome for the Baltimore Ravens) who has taken firm grasp on the event since leaving his front office role.
While the Senior Bowl itself dates back to 1950 starting in Jacksonville, Florida, Savage has just four years under his belt after taking over as the executive director in 2012. Savage however, has made the most of his small time frame capitalizing on his incredible knowledge and passion for the game.
Hand picking each and every prospect to enter his camp, Savage does so with a scout's eye in mind giving players a unique opportunity to take advantage of their skill-set to showcase in front of all 32 teams.
For example, Savage excels at being able to spotlight smaller schools players like Jeff Janis, Quinten Rollins, and Ali Marpet who were given the opportunity to shed their small school label and shine on a big stage scene against the nation's top competition for the first time.
As a former NFL general manager Savage does much more than just bring in small school talent but instead understands the needs of scouts in terms of seeing and assessing players at various positions.
Savage isn't alone in this tall task either as he reaches out to former peers and co-workers along with current general managers as key resources to get insider access determining what specific players the league wants a closer look at.
Last year a slew of prospects from the secondary came in with loads of raw talent but carried a lot of question marks with them as to what exact position they should play.
Utah’s Eric Rowe and Miami (Ohio’s) Quinten Rollins were put to the test throughout the week being shuffled into numerous drills including both press and man coverage and dropping back into a deep cover-one zone. This way scouts got a look and feel for what both player could do in each given situation with both a cornerback and safety responsibilities which helped specify where each prospect thrived and could maximize their talents.
Rowe and Rollins showed off enough press and zone responsibilities so much that their versatility was rewarded by hearing their names called in the second-round of the 2015 draft. Likely, a draft slot selection that could not have been raised as high as they were without the aid of the week long practice with their eventual employer watching up close and personal.
With the confidence of other GMs and scouting staffs behind him, Savage will go as extreme to even switch a player's position altogether to help get an unparalleled and unique look at that prospects raw athletic ability and natural football skills.
Just last year we saw Auburn quarterback Nick Marshall switch sides altogether to give scouts a taste of his natural ability at the cornerback position.
Michigan State’s Tony Lippett started and ended his Spartan career as a wide receiver but, when he touched down in Mobile coaches wanted to get a first hand look as to how well the 6’2” route runner could play defense as a cornerback.
After using the Senior Bowl to showcase his raw potential as a long and lanky cornerback Lippett went on to be drafted by the Dolphins as a fifth-round pick. Less than one year after making the dramatic switch Lippett has shown loads of big play potential already piercing the starting rotation in the Dolphins secondary.
Rowe, Rollins, and Lippett are just a few players to watch their draft stocks soar thanks to an impressive week of interviews, drills, and game play.
In 2014 Auburn defensive end Dee Ford shook the field up with his explosive first step and continuous domination around offensive tackles like Zach Martin, Brandon Thomas, and Jack Mewhort. Carrying his momentum from practice into the game itself helped Ford earn Senior Bowl MVP honors and eventually hear his name called on day-one of the 2014 draft by the Kansas City Chiefs.
There might not be a more mesmerizing story that sums up just how impactful and influential Senior Bowl week can be than of the Florida State quarterback by the name of Christian Ponder who stole the show impressing scouts and coaches with his quick decision making and accuracy.
After winning the game's MVP award Ponder would go on to boost his stock more than any other player in attendance (and possibly the entire history of the game) after he swayed the Vikings brass to use their 12th overall pick on him.
Just two years later history repeated itself as another Seminole signal caller led his offense to 21-points and was named MVP of the game. Three months later EJ Manuel watched his Senior Bowl momentum carry himself into a first-round selection as well when the Buffalo Bills used their 16th overall pick.
For every player that gets overdrafted and fails to live up to his Senior Bowl hype there is a player who comes into the process as an unknown and uses the Mobile momentum to kick start his eventual successful NFL career.
It may be no coincidence the 12 playoff teams this season had a collective 31 players drafted that had attended the 2015 Senior Bowl on their current roster. Taking another step back shows us those same 12 playoff teams rostering 26 more Senior Bowl players from the 2014 game bringing the total to 57 Senior Bowl players.
Of the 12 teams the Washington Redskins and New England Patriots tied for second with six Senior Bowl players each from the past two (2014-2015) drafts, while nobody has rostered more players from Mobile than Ted Thompson and the Green Bay Packers with eight in that same time frame.
Thompson rounded out his 2014 draft using two of his last three picks on two Senior Bowl wide outs in Wisconsin’s Jared Abbrederis and Saginaw Valley State’s Jeff Janis.
Both have seen their playing time increase dramatically with Jordy Nelson losing his season early in the year and were Aaron Rodgers top-two weapons through the air in their divisional playoff loss to the Arizona Cardinals this past weekend. Janis himself caught seven passes for 145 yards and two touchdowns, averaging over 20 yards per catch and ended his season on a high note.
Unlike the year prior, in 2015 Thompson didn’t wait to pluck his Senior Bowl sweethearts on the last day but instead started his draft out by using his first three selections on players he had grown fond of during the week long event.
The aforementioned cornerback Quinten Rollins, safety Damarious Randall, and wide out Ty Montgomery all went from Under Armor Senior Bowl jerseys to the green and gold of Green Bay after Thompson got a chance to work with them on a personal level on-and-off the field.
Had it not been for the opportunities presented to them through the Senior Bowl these players likely would have experienced a far different ending to their pre draft story.
While some prospects shine and others are exposed it's without a doubt all 110 prospects are given rare and unique opportunities throughout the week to show off their own mental and physical skill-set, displaying what they can bring to the table to any and every franchise that is willing to listen.
From every snap, to every drill, to every rep, these players are put through a rigorous week of long practices to kick off the beginning of their intense three-month glorified interview for an NFL career with the entire league watching their every move.
While herds of media corrall the chain linked fence bordering the practice field, big names from John Fox to John Harbaugh, from Jim Caldwell to Jim Irsay, flood the stands pen and pad in hand, rifling notes to one another during one-on-one drills as they roar who got the best of who.
Everywhere you look coaches and scouts march through Ladd Peebles stadium and back to the hotel where they can continue their ongoing and seemingly never ending evaluations ripping off more 15 minute interviews than a speed dating tournament bracket.
While front offices are in attendance to confirm the athleticism they saw on tape, these interviews test players think and react abilities as they are judged on how well they respond to high pressure situations.
Questions that range from psychological street smarts to the whiteboard Xs and Os, the Senior Bowl is the coach's first impression of just how quickly a player can formulate a solution to an off the wall problem.
The manner and time the prospect can respond will go along way for scouts to determine if that player has the capability to perform in a high intensity situation like a NFL game.
Because after all, no matter what 40-time they run or how hard they hit, when the game is on the line teams want to know who can stand tall under adversity and respond well under pressure.
All this happens in just 15 minutes and before they can finish the complimentary Reese’s Pieces these players have already set the wheels in motion and the path for their eventual NFL career for good or bad.
While Senior Bowl is just one stage in the predraft process it can be a pivotal key resource used by teams to weed out and narrow down which prospects can handle the mental tension, fast pace, and quick adjustments that will be needed in the NFL.
Thanks to Phil Savage and his team of football gurus the event has become increasingly more popular as he uses his scouting past to give both players and coaches rare opportunities.
These opportunities help maximize each prospects skill-set and receive priceless exposure that reaches far past america's game and the NFL, as they start their pre draft journey paving the way for the rest of their lives.
Scouts comes from all over the world to get a look at Savage’s now highly renowned handpicked roster representing leagues like the CFL, Arena, and European football league.
After all, in a deep sea draft class with more and more players flooding the waters every year, like we witness every January to April, a good first impression can go an awful long way.
Follow Luke Inman on Twitter @Luke_Spinman as he gives coverage of the 2016 Senior Bowl.