Into the Fire: Old School Scouting Techniques

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The NFL Combine is underway and it is a momentous occasion, like it is every single year. This is the week where general managers, coaches, team executives, and scouts get to gather nearly every single piece of information on an incoming player. It affords teams an opportunity to know what they are buying. While you and I spend 30 minutes comparing reviews on discount televisions on Amazon.com, these team representatives are doing the same, but with strapping young athletes who may make or break their very own careers as people in charge of an NFL football team.

The amazing thing about the combine is that it is not just all about the eye test. What a GM or coach sees in front of them is not all they are going by. With the electronic timers, GPS and heart monitors; they get to know every nook and cranny of a player as they are collecting data or data, or however you say that word; that will go into what becomes their plan of attack utilized in the war room on draft day. It wasn’t always like this though. Before the technology was introduced, there were stop watches and yelling. There was so much yelling. Coaches would scream and intimidate players to see if they had football toughness. Whistles were unnecessarily blown just to distract and keep players on their toes. Now this is more of a friendly orientation where players are given a heads up about the uncomfortable parts like being asked personal questions or getting their thighs measured. This was when the Combine truly consisted of herding in the cattle to select the best steers the old fashioned way. But before the Combine was even a thing, there was another old school way; the way Jon Gruden wishes he could evaluate talent. Before the Combine there were tape traders. Scouts and coaches would swap VHS cassettes with highlights of players. Word of mouth was big and gut feelings were used a whole lot more.

So before we start using all of the information on all of these players, let’s bring it back to 1982 and talk about what the Saints need using old school NFL scouting techniques. If you look up and down the roster you will see that the Saints have players you can win with at almost every position, but they are missing true talent in a few places that could really be helpful. Ideally, the Saints will be able to find themselves a tight end who is at least 6-6 and 250lbs with the strongest hands in the draft. You want a tight end who can grip a ball in traffic but also create a push on defensive ends and linebackers. I have heard a lot about this Dallas Goedert from South Dakota St. within the tape trading circles, but I have seen anything on him yet. If he is from South Dakota though, he is probably a real dull farm boy who won’t get into any trouble so that is good.

The Saints are also in need of a linebacker who can hit and hit hard. The Saints need a guy who is going to be the defensive signal caller for years to come. He needs to be the kind of guy who is football smart but real life crazy. What we’re looking for is a guy who has gotten into a bar fight or two without getting arrested. That is the mark of a great linebacker. Someone tough and mean enough to take offense to someone bumping into them at a bar, but also smart enough to evade the authorities and get to practice the next day on time. I know a lot about Rashaan Evans from Alabama since I was able to see some of his games last season on ABC and I even taped some of them. But I am always weary to Roll Tide on a linebacker considering how real life stupid so many of those guys can be. Reuben Foster anyone? I am waiting on a tape trading buddy to send me a reel on this Leighton Vander Esch from Boise State, but I won’t know anything about this kid until I have a beer with him.

– Alan Michael