How important is the senior bowl?

[twosheds]

If you ask me, not much as far as football skills go. The senior bowl is a week of practise and an exhibition game. On the other side you have game film from twelve games or more that actually mean something.

However, the senior bowl is a chance for coaches to get to know the character of the players better. Character, imo, is what makes players rise and drop on the boards of NFL teams after the senior bowl.

[Merk]

The most important part of the Senior Bowl is the practice week leading up to the game. 90% of the scouts and coaches will be out of there on friday and wont even watch the game

This is a chance when coaches get to see how a player practices and how he responds to someone being on him all the time at an NFL level. It also is a little test of there football IQ b/c they are using the most basic of playbooks and if they cant grasp that there likely not going to be able to grasp an NFL play book that easily

They also take note of the one on one matchups b/c these are the best of the best of 4 year players.

In the end I've taken how much I weight the Senior Bowl down a little bit since I've started watching it. If you notice a lot of players will move up boards this week b/c its the only action we are going to see untill the combine and then the boards to to re-adjust

[admarc]

I think Senior Bowl week is bigger for some players than others. Guys from small schools have an opportunity to show scouts how they look vs top competition side by side. Really, any chance a player has between now and draft day to catch the eye of team can help them as long as they don't fall on their face. For scouts that watch players year round they probably won't change their opinions much but for coaches who have some say this may be a chance for a prospect to make a good first impression since those coaches have spent much of the past 10 months immersed in team matters. This week may make a team's scouting department go back and check the tape of a kid who caught their attention this week that maybe they hadn't focused much on. Ultimately though, what probably matters most is what is actually on those tapes.

GBN (http://www.gbnreport.com/seniorbowlwrap.html)talked about this question in their wrap up today:

That's a wrap.... Perhaps the most important thing to remember when heading home from Mobile and this week's Senior Bowl workouts is not to overestimate the impact of the various players' performances here, especially - and perhaps ironically - what they do on the field. Indeed, it appears that pro scouts spend almost as much time just watching the players and how they react to various situations on and off the field such as how they react to making a mistake; how do they seem to relate with their teammates; are they paying attention to the coaches; what they do when they are not on the field; even how they warm-up.

Its also critical to keep in mind that everything is relative and the players must always be rated in comparison with the guys around him; a player could dominate, however, if what's the level of the talent he's working with and against. This week, for example, Texas A&M C Cody Wallace really struggled, for whatever reason in the individual line drills and any DT drawing him for reps almost by definition had a good day. It is also important to keep in mind that what happens in Mobile, in statistical terms, is a very small sample. When all is said and done, the players are really on the field for a total of 3-4 hours and will only be involved in a limited number of plays at speed with real contact. It is perhaps even more important to keep in mind that the ultimate goal of pro scouts is to try and project how well a player will perform in the NFL in 2-3 years rather than whether he necessarily makes a play today. That said, the following are some of the trends observed at this year's Senior Bowl practice week.

[JayHall93]

The game does not matter as much as the practices as far as the scouting goes. Most scouts only stay for the week of practice. Combine a solid senior bowl week + a solid combine and you have guys that shoot up their stock 2-3 rounds. happens every year.

[ksl66]

Yeah the weigh ins and the week of practice are huge, not for everyone but for guys like Rodgers-Cromartie and McKlevin, off the radar guys who get to show their skills against a higher level of competition and guys who are attemting to make a position change (DE to OLB). I think it is least important for the WRs, these guys are out there with three different QBs in practice and they have very little chance to build any type of cohesion and timing, so I think you will always see drops from the WRs, not that they shou;d be ignored, but if a guy went three years without having a problem with drops and then has a rough couple days I wouldn't be too worried.

[wpod]

It's the first time these guys experience being under the NFL microscope. It's also very important for small school prospects and guys with question marks, such as injuries or changing positions, to see how they perform on a field with their peers. It's important but it's just step two in the process (step one having been their previous college career). There's still the Combine.