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Happy Monday, everyone!
Combine week
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After a short drought, there are NFL football activities coming this weekend, as the Underwear Olympics will begin on Friday, and continue into early next week. I make fun of the combine a lot, but it’s not because I don’t think the event is worth while. There is some useful information to gather from the Combine, and athleticism can be a significant indicator of future NFL success, at times. However, I think that there are many fans, media folks, and even NFL front office folks who place far too much emphasis on the numbers they get from the combine. They forget that performing in a speedo on an indoor track, and against nobody, is vastly different than performing in a game, when you’re wearing full pads, in the elements, and with an opponent trying to prevent you from doing what you’d like to do. I always get a chuckle when a player makes a huge move on the consensus draft boards, up or down, because of the combine. 3-4 years of actual game play takes a back seat to a performance at a track meet. The numbers are a useful tool, nothing more, in my opinion.
Around the DN since our last open thread:
Chris posted version 3.0 of his Minnesota Vikings Mock Draft.
You can have a shot at winning a round of golf with Chad Greenway.
Our resident griller of meats, Admiral BigGun, once again took the Polar Plunge to benefit the Special OIympics.
MarkSP18 posted his pre-combine edition of the Vikings off-season plan.
Vikings news from other sources and news from around the rest of the NFL:
NFL.com has a schedule of events, storylines to watch, and the latest buzz re: the upcoming combine.
From SI.com, a tweet from Le’Veon Bell hinted that there is interest for his services from the Eagles.
The Sporting News has a list of 2019 NFL free agents, ranked by position, along with a signing tracker.
We come to today’s media selection:
One of my favorite Johnny Cash tunes, and he had a LOT of great ones. This is Sunday Morning Coming Down, enjoy!
“the beer I had for breakfast wasn’t bad, so I had one more for dessert” Awesome.
Again, we all know the rules, but in case someone is new:
- No discussion of politics or religion
- No feeding of the trolls
- This isn’t a male version of The View, so leave the gender hatred at the door
- Keep the bad language to a minimum (using the spoiler tags, if you must)
- Speaking of which, if discussing a newer show or movie, please use spoiler tags
- No pictures that could get someone fired or in serious trouble with their employer
- If you can’t disagree in a civil manner, feel free to go away
- While navigating the open thread, just assume it’s sarcasm
With that, the beer light is on and the bar is open. Belly up and tie one on. Don’t forget to tip your waitress, and try the spandex.