Players like Rams WR Brandon Gibson don’t fare well at Combine

If you haven’t heard, the league is adding a new aptitude test that will supplement the Wonderlic, rather than replace it at this week’s Scouting Combine that begins Wednesday in Indianapolis. You can go here to get a bit more details, but I found it interesting that Falcons GM Thomas Dimitroff may have played a key role in getting this adopted according to a report.

I’ve never taken the Wonderlic, but I have taken the samples that you can find around the internet at times. And from my perspective, the Wonderlic is your standard run of the mill IQ test. For years people have criticized the Wonderlic largely because it doesn’t reflect football-centric intelligence. From the description of this new unnamed test, it does seem like it will have a bit more applications towards football. I’m not sure it’ll ask football-specific questions, but it’ll probably not feature a lot of the rote math or language questions that presumably the Wonderlic asked. It’ll be interesting to see what comes of it in the future. It probably is not going to replace the Wonderlic since apparently the Combine is unwilling to eliminate tests.

I know few put little stock in the Wonderlic, but I do think it is noteworthy when a player scores low, particularly quarterbacks. Generally, the consensus on the minimum a quarterback should score is at least 20. In one sense because it’s a timed test, it does sort of give you a ballpark answer on how quickly a guy can process information. But a very high score doesn’t necessarily indicate that a guy is processing information quickly. Or at least, it may not be the same sort of information that applies to reading a defense. I’m no quarterback, but I imagine that is more intuitive than academic, the latter of which seems to be what the Wonderlic is measuring.

I also think that the Wonderlic stands out in terms of its usage when you find a player that scores in the single digits. It by no means is a strong indicator that someone will be a bad pro (Roddy White scored a 4). But I know if I was a GM I would generally avoid players that scored in the single digits unless I was really impressed with their ability and upside. For example, Patrick Peterson and Chris Culliver both reportedly scored 9 on their Wonderlic tests in 2011. Peterson is of a caliber that I would “roll the dice” on him, while Culliver I might be lukewarm to take. I wouldn’t consider that the right way, just a matter of personal preference that I don’t want a locker room full of dummies. So I think in that sense, the Wonderlic can still retain some value even if this new test completely overshadows it.

I think it’s also nice that there will be a new wrinkle to the Combine this year. I think the Combine has lost some of its luster due to the sheer amount of preparation that goes into it for players. Prospects spend 4 to 6 weeks leading up to it, prepping for all the drills and tests. I think it inflates some of the numbers.

And I know GMs, coaches, scouts, and draft experts constantly talk about how it doesn’t affect things, that is straight B.S. They constantly talk about how tape from the season is what really matters, the proof is in the pudding. And the simple fact is that guys’ draft stock is largely determined by their performances at All-Star games like the Senior Bowl and East-West Shrine Game, as well as the Combine and pro days.

For example, you have a player like Texas wideout Marquise Goodwin. I saw a pair earlier games from Goodwin this year (versus Oklahoma State and West Virginia), and my assessment of him was that he was a borderline seventh round pick due to his special teams potential. He was targeted 10 times combined in those games and caught all 10 passes thrown his way for 52 yards. Factor in the 28 yards after the catch he had, you realize that those 10 targets traveled a combined 24 yards in the air. Essentially all 10 of his passes came on screens, quick outs, or comebacks, the types of routes that don’t require a ton of skill to execute. He may have only had 1 or 2 targets that required him to run a route more than 5 yards downfield in that pair of games. What I saw from him in those games was good straight-line speed that made me believe he had good upside on special teams. But his short stature (5-9/180) probably would limit how effective he would be as a vertical threat at the next level. But what also hurt him in my eyes was that he wasn’t that productive after the catch. Had he gone for 78 yards instead of 28 yards after the catch, then I’d be more willing to buy his dynamic potential. For me, Goodwin was a speedy slot type that may not be a reliable everydown option.

But Goodwin went to Mobile and killed at the Senior Bowl. And now he’s a potential Top 15 receiver prospect that is projected to go on the second day of the draft.

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The Falcons announced that team president Rich McKay has added the title of CEO to the nameplate on his deck.

McKay was promoted to team president following the 2007 season, after serving the previous four years as the team’s general manager. He was replaced by current Falcons GM Thomas Dimitroff at that time. Since Dimitroff handles the personnel side of things for the Falcons organization, McKay’s duties have geared towards the business aspect over the past three seasons. He has been heavily involved with the team’s quest to build a new stadium, and has also been heavily involved in salary cap management and contract negotiations. McKay is the chairman of the league’s competition committee, a position he has held since 1994 although prior to this season he shared responsibilities with former Tennessee Titans head coach Jeff Fisher. This promotion isn’t expected to significant change McKay’s day-to-day duties and role with the organization.

Rich McKay

ESPN.com reports that sources have confirmed that Falcons president Rich McKay has received a five-year extension.

McKay served as the team’s GM and president from December 2003 to December 2007. In January 2008, Thomas Dimitroff was hired as the team’s new general manager and McKay has remained as president. That same month, the Falcons extended McKay’s deal through 2010. Presumably, his new deal will extend his stay in Atlanta through 2015.

McKay serves as co-chair of the league’s competition committee alongside Tennessee Titans head coach Jeff Fisher, a role he’s served since 1998.

The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports that Falcons team president Rich McKay is no longer a candidate for the Cleveland Browns open general manager position. This report confirms what Jay Glazer of FOX Sports had reported last week that McKay had rebuffed the Browns overtures, which had been disputed by the Plain Dealer indicating that McKay’s interview had only been postponed until after their playoff game against the Arizona Cardinals. The Browns hired ex-New York Jets coach Eric Mangini this past Thursday, and are currently looking for a new general manager.

Jason Cole of Yahoo! Sports reports that the Falcons have extended the contract of current president and GM Rich McKay by two years. McKay’s contract ran through at least 2008, and so with the extension he is now under contract through at least 2010. McKay’s future with the team was tenuous due to the team’s search for a replacement general manager. Owner Arthur Blank however indicated last month that McKay was asked to stay on as team president, but would be stripped of his general manager duties. It was undetermined if McKay would stay on in a lesser role, but this extension clearly indicates that he will.

McKay has been travelling with Blank during his this week for all the interviews with prospective general manager and head coaching candidates, indicating that he does still retain at least a small bit of influence in the matter.

Updating previous reports, Bill Parcells has reportedly denied the job offer from the Atlanta Falcons to join the club to oversee football operations. Reportedly, Parcells is re-considering a revised offer from the Miami Dolphins. Falcons owner Arthur Blank released a statement earlier today to address the Parcells issue:

“Late last night it was revealed to the media by a source outside the Falcons that we were close to reaching an agreement with Bill Parcells to lead the club’s football operations.”

Prior to the information becoming public, we had reached an agreement in principle with Parcells, and we met with him this morning to complete the contract. At that time, we were made aware by Parcells that he was considering a revised offer from the Miami Dolphins. He later informed us that he would not be signing a contract with us.”

We remain committed to looking at every option for building a championship-caliber team for our fans. I have stated we will leave no stone unturned in doing so, and this effort is one example of that. We gave it our best shot, and it didn’t work out.”

We will continue down the same overall path, proceeding with plans to hire a general manager and a head coach. We will identify and consider every strongly viable candidate for these positions, with the goal of hiring the best. Rich McKay remains President of the club and will retain general manager responsibilities until a new GM is hired.”

We will be making no further comment on the Parcells matter.”

ESPN’s Chris Mortensen reported on NFL Live today that he expects that Rich McKay will not return to the Falcons after the season. Reportedly, McKay will be given the opportunity to remain with the club as President, but Mortensen expects McKay to turn down that opportunity.

Gary Myers of the New York Daily News reports that Bill Parcells is close to accepting an offer to oversee the football operations of the Atlanta Falcons. Per Myers, a deal could be finalized by the end of the day today. But Parcells indicated that he has no plans to be the Falcons next head coach. In his new position, Parcells is expected to hire a new general manager and head coach. Parcells will essentially be taking over the position of football operations from President and GM Rich McKay. However, Parcells indicated that McKay is welcome to stay on with the franchise to handle league business. It is unknown if McKay does plan to stay with the franchise as this move seems to basically strip of his influence over personnel decisions.

Parcells currently works as an analyst for ESPN, after four seasons recently with the Dallas Cowboys as head coach. Parcells has coached in the NFL for 19 seasons with four different teams. In previous areas, he has served both as coach and oversaw a lot of personnel decisions, but has only worked solely in the personnel department once. That came in 2000 with the New York Jets, when Al Groh was the team’s head coach. That year with the Jets, Parcells managed to stockpile four first round draft picks. One of those picks was current Falcon defensive John Abraham. He was able to acquire some of those picks in trading wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, then managed by Rich McKay. Parcells was once pursued by the Buccaneers for their head coach position following the 2001 season, but denied them.

Falcons GM and president Rich McKay held a press conference today in order to officially address the recent off-field incident that Michael Vick had in a Miami airport.

McKay stressed the disappointment the organization has in the circumstances surrounding the incident, as well as Vick’s own disappointment to the organization and notably the fans.

McKay indicated that the Falcons will deal with Vick internally, but added they are not looking to punish him separately from anything that the league hands down. The team is also prepared to let the legal side of the matter play itself out.

Vick has had little history of “off-field” incidents throughout his career as a Falcon. The biggest black eye prior to the events in Miami, was when he made an obscene gesture to fans following a home loss to the New Orleans Saints. Vick was fined $10,000 by he league, and also instructed to donate an addition $10,000 to charity.