Sorry for the delay in getting this report filed, but it seems that once the 2022 Shrine concluded, the lights were turned off and everyone associated with the game went home. While checking around for mail and such on my laptop Saturday, I decided to try one more look at the Shrine website. Lo and behold, what popped… Read More »
A very large segment of the over 2,000 NFL Executives, League Personnel people and the media are gone by Senior Bowl gameday. Thank you football gods. There is now room to breathe for those of us that are hardcore Draftniks who stay for the actual game. And for those who say the game does not matter, I say… Read More »
The most frequent question that I get asked during Senior Bowl week in Mobile every year is which players of the 100+ who are present for the game will end up being First Round Picks in the upcoming Draft. So as I regroup from the week, and the almost 500 mile drive home, Sunday I will grab the… Read More »
The Senior Bowl Game is tomorrow and today is a day of rest for most of us covering the game, whether we like it or not. So as I was searching for Shrine Game stats, unsuccessfully I might add, I was looking at my composite practice notes for the week. As I did so it came to me… Read More »
I think I have everything dried out from Wednesday’s rainy practice sessions. The notes today will be a bit disjointed (which may not seem new to you) but juggling backpacks, pens & notebooks, while trying to not absorb too much rain was a struggle. Football is a game you can play in the rain, but it’s not much… Read More »
The stadium is closed and the sun is setting, somewhere behind those clouds, to the West out my hotel window. The first practices are in the books and hundreds of us will be tweeting and blogging about what we thought we saw going on. Let’s get right to the QB situation, as that always seems to be of… Read More »
OK, let’s get some of this settled and clear from the get-go. I am only talking about the Shrine Bowl and Senior Bowl here. Not only because they are the top “talent” games, but also because they are the two games I invested about 100 hours-plus of my life attending this year, which includes lots of practice time.… Read More »
At first blush, it appeared that the Senior Bowl had hit a QB famine this year, after having Heisman Trophy winners on their rosters for the past 2 years. But after the fact, it might be more of an indicator that the QB field of graduates at that position was down a tad this time around. And it… Read More »
This team is comprised of players who caught my eye on multiple occasions this week of practices in Mobile. With 110+ players on the field each day, I will certainly confess that I could hardly keep up with all the players and all their drill and scrimmage work. You could ask another dozen writers down here for this… Read More »
I am sorry to say that it was a damp, rainy day in Mobile and practices were moved from Ladd-Peebles to the University of South Alabama practice field, which is a turf field with a roof for cover. After some initial confusion over whether the media was allowed to attend, (the public was not), things were straightened out… Read More »
With temps rising in Mobile, so has the pace of the practices at Ladd-Peebles Stadium. The North squad took the field first, and I was determined to give the big hairy eyeball to S JEREMY CHINN, #22, from Southern Illinois. Most football fans are not familiar with this young man, and even fewer have actually seen him in… Read More »
Hopefully you have made connections and read thru the Weigh-In information from Mobile, which Colin put up a link for earlier today. Now I’d like to pass on my observations from Tuesday’s Practice Sessions, which took place late Tuesday afternoon. SOUTH The South squad took the field first for their initial practice of the week, which is one… Read More »
As I figured, today was indeed walk-through time with no pads. So being quite content that I did not drive a 160 mile round trip for that, I am using my 3 days of true practice to present to you my All-Practice squad. QB KELLY BRYANT #7 West Missouri 6’3/221 9 1/2″ hand size RB… Read More »
Looked and sounded like most of the Shrine participants watched LSU win Monday night and were energized for the day. While the East was practicing, three new teammates from Clemson arrived in town. At the conclusion of practice, the 3 players introduced themselves to their new teammates, with expectation of practicing on Wednesday. WR/DIONDRE OVERTON and OG/GAGE CERVANKA… Read More »
Hello to you all from warm and sunny (well it was when I entered the Trop well over 6 hours ago) St. Petersburg, FL, the location of the 2020 Shrine Bowl. It’s day one of practices and after a morning of weigh-in activity both teams took part in Monday afternoon practices, back to back. I would remind you… Read More »
It’s report card time! Yes, this early in the NFL season. This is a look at what All-Star Game participants made NFL 53-man rosters. No, I am not going to list them all individually, but rather give you totals, game by game. So first, let me explain the process and criteria. The numbers you will see below are… Read More »
Some folks, certainly not yours truly, question the significance of the annual All-Star Games played by the top senior prospects every January. There have been what seems like a hoard of new, wanna-be Star games in recent years. More power to them all, but for the present and immediate future, the Big 3 are still the East/West Shrine… Read More »
There are almost always two sides to every story. After giving you a couple of articles detailing some Star-Game winners, I felt obliged to make note of some guys who just did not measure up to the competition around them, both in St. Pete and Mobile. It doesn’t mean that they won’t be on Training Camp rosters next… Read More »
More often than not the Defenses dominate actual game action at this Star Game. That is due in great part to the predominance of fly-around, athletic defensive players at the event. In many instances, for example, the overall DL group may be slightly undersized by NFL standards but is very athletic and quick. Most of all, it is… Read More »
The Shrine got underway on Monday the 14th, with two afternoon practices. The morning was dedicated to National Scouting’s player weigh-in, which is a deep dark covert operation here in St. Pete, so Monday afternoon was filled with two consecutive practices at The Trop. By the end of the day, our fears were pretty much confirmed that only… Read More »
It’s Christmas in January for Pigskin Paul, with the annual All-Star football Games about to get underway. By this time next Monday, I should be entombed in The Trop in St. Pete, for the first practices of the 2019 Shrine Game. My count says this is the 10th year that this game has been in Florida. The first… Read More »
If you cherish the NFL Draft process like we do here at the GBN Report then you never tire of hearing more about the January College All-Star venues. Now that I have wrapped up all 32 team Draft Reviews, and prior to the bulk of the League teams opening their Training Camps around the 25th of July, I… Read More »
The All-Star Draft prospect exhibition season is over. Final scores in these games are almost meaningless. Who was there and how did they perform is the meat and potatoes that we look at. So here are some post-game thoughts. Please keep in mind that rosters at these games can be very fluid as injuries occur. So some of… Read More »
I wanted to wait until I got back to my home in Florida to select my final Game All-Star team, so that I could watch the game tape at least once. Working in a radio broadcast booth does not always allow for specific player watching since the broadcast follows the ball primarily. I would also note that many… Read More »
The following players were those that I thought performed best overall during the 3 days of practice this year. If I failed to mention someone who performed well but escaped my attention I truly wish to apologize. QB BAKER MAYFIELD #6 RB RASHAAD PENNY #20 WR TRE’QUAN SMITH #4 WR D.J. CHARK #7 WR CEDRICK WILSON #11 TE… Read More »
