Scouting the Senior Bowl
A look at players from the game who joined the Falcons as rookies in the NFL:
2015: Justin Hardy, Grady Jarrett and Joey Mbu*
2014: Rashede Hageman, Dez Southward
2013: Desmond Trufant, Malliciah Goodman and Robert Alford
2012: Bradie Ewing
2011: None
2010: Sean Weatherspoon
2009: William Moore, Jonathan Massaquoi, Lawrence Sidbury, Peria Jerry and Vance Walker
2008: Matt Ryan, Sam Baker
* Mbu was signed as an undrafted free agent.
The Falcons are ready to turn the page on the 2015 season.
They finished 8-8 and had a stunning victory over eventual NFC champion Carolina to hang over the mantel.
Arriving at the Senior Bowl on Tuesday signaled to Falcons coach Dan Quinn that it was time to move on and to start getting ready for the 2016 season. Being at the Senior Bowl and watching the offensive and defensive line players from the end zones with general manager Thomas Dimitroff seem to re-charge Quinn.
“For me, it’s like the start-again time,” Quinn said. “When the season’s over, you come down here and kind of hit the reset button. Let’s go prove it again, have the best offseason and get into this. I haven’t been in a couple of years. So, it’s good to watch the guys, get connected and get a first-hand experience.”
Under Dimitroff, the Falcons have used the evaluations to select at least one player from the Senior Bowl in seven of the past eight drafts. In 2009, the Falcons drafted five players who played in the Senior Bowl — safety William Moore, defensive end Jonathan Massaquoi, defensive end Lawrence Sidbury, defensive tackle Peria Jerry and defensive tackle Vance Walker.
In 2011, when the Falcons made the major trade with Cleveland to land wide receiver Julio Jones, they didn’t select a Senior Bowl alumnus.
“The Senior Bowl is wildly important for us,” Dimitroff said. “It’s the marquee all-star game. You get the best-talent going against the best-talent devoid of the underclassmen, who aren’t permitted to be there.”
Quinn and Dimitroff watched all of the padded practices Tuesday and Wednesday before flying back to Atlanta.
“It gives us an opportunity to walk the field,” Dimitroff said. “Jumping up and beside all of the different groups, it gives us a chance to watch the best players against the best players in a football setting and not necessarily in a combine setting.”
The Falcons ranked the Senior Bowl highly in their offseason draft-evaluation process.
“We have an opportunity to interview a lot of players,” Dimitroff said. “Our scouting staff is really focused during that time.”
Former Middle Tennessee safety Kevin Byard made a dazzling interception during the South team’s practice Wednesday.
Byard, who is from Lithonia and played at M.L. King High, hopes to impress NFL scouts. He interviewed with the Falcons.
“I talked to them after the first night that I got here,” Byard said. “I had a good little interview with the Falcons. I’m hoping that they like me.”
There’s also some valuable networking that is beneficial to the Falcons.
“We also get to talk to some of our associates at other teams,” Dimitroff said. “It just so happens that David Caldwell and the Jaguars were in charge of another team, like they were the last two years. So, you can get some inside information on how the players are acting, their characteristics and their approach to the game.”
At the scouting combine, the teams are in the stands or in suites.
“The passion for the game is something that we talk about trying to measure, and it’s never easy,” Dimitroff said. “For us, the Senior Bowl is very valuable. Even more so at times in certain ways than the combine would be.”
Quinn has a couple of things that he looks for when he scouts at the Senior Bowl.
“Who wants to jump into the drills first?” Quinn said. “Who wants to be in front? Those are some of the things that you don’t see on tape. Who’s leading? Who’s talking? Those are some of the things I’m looking for specifically.”
Quinn got particularly excited during the North team’s pass-rush drills Wednesday.
“Overall, I thought the competition was great,” Quinn said. “They brought the whole group together and had them do some one-on-ones in front of everybody. I like that. You can feel the juice and energy from the guys. In that (North) practice you could tell the guys were competing and battling for it.”
Quinn doesn’t get too attached to the prospects at the Senior Bowl because there’s a lot of time to evaluate them, the other senior players and the massive list of underclassmen who have declared for the draft.
“When we are getting through the process with the guys, when they get here, they are a long time from getting on our team,” Quinn said. “It’s like 90-something days until the draft and 100 days or most until the guys are there. Getting them, how do we get them connected with the team. How do we find their roles? It’s like OK, now if he was on our team, what would he do?”
Quinn is fine with leaning on Dimitroff during this scouting process.
“This is my first take at it,” Quinn said. “Thomas and some of the guys from the scouting staff, they’ve seen so many of the guys. It’s my time now to get caught up. Watch and evaluate the players. I’m trying to help and make a difference by watching the guys.”
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