The good life: Lions QB Matthew Stafford still a winner at Super Bowl
Yeah, life's tough if you're an NFL quarterback ...
One more post here -- last one, I promise -- on the Lions' Matthew Stafford as he gets some "Hair Action" from Victoria's Secret supermodel Marisa Miller during a red carpet appearance at a Miami nightclub Friday night. Stafford is finishing up a promotional stint for Axe Hair products this week at the Super Bowl. (He's also doing promotional appearances with Gatorade and Visa.)
Matthew Stafford's getting a little Hair Action
Matthew Stafford's in Miami at the Super Bowl endorsing Axe Hair products. Here's his newest ad spot:
NFL combine list includes local college stars
The official invite list is out for the NFL scouting combine later this month in Indianapolis, and 11 local college players will be there:
Michigan - DE Brandon Graham, CB Donovan Warren, RB Brandon Minor, P Zoltan Mesko
Michigan State - WR Blair White, K Brett Swenson
Central Michigan - QB Dan LeFevour, WR Antonio Brown
Western Michigan - QB Tim Hiller
Wayne State - RB Joique Bell
Hillsdale - OL Jared Veldheer
Graham tough: U-M star hard to place as a top NFL prospect
Another mock draft worth checking out here from Pro Football Weekly: They've got the Rams going with Gerald McCoy over Ndamukong Suh, who falls to the Lions at No. 2.
But they've also got Michigan's Brandon Graham undrafted in Round 1, which seems a little less likely after the way he practiced and played this past week at the Senior Bowl.
Graham made a quick impression on the Lions' coaches with his persistent, high-energy approach to practices, and he was dominant in individual pass-rush drills. And then he carried that over in Saturday's game, earning MVP honors with a pair of sacks and a forced fumble for the victorious North squad.
"He has a lot of skills," Lions defensive coordinator Gunther Cunningham said. "He's got good quickness, he's very consistent in his approach. I know he's a failry well-thought-of player -- not only by the media guys, but the coaches like him, too."
The question is whether his productivity -- and that non-stop motor -- will be enough for teams to overlook some of the raw numbers. In particular, that 6-foot-1 frame (263 pounds) and the 30.5-inch arm length. (By contrast, a guy that also turned heads in Mobile, Arkansas State's Alex Carrington is 6-5 and 284.)
"You'd like him to have more height," Cunningham said. "But I looked at (the Steelers') LaMarr Woodley a lot when he came out (of Michigan) and I loved him, I really did. I didn't know if he was gonna be big and strong enough. But, boy, he's had a great career already. So maybe Graham will be the same thing."
I asked Cunningham if that Graham-Woodley was a fair comparison, since that's the one we in the media keep making. (I'm going to ignore the comparisons to Dwight Freeney unless he suddenly runs a sub-4.5 40-yard dash time at the combine like the Colts' All-Pro did.) Woodley, of course, made the switch to a 3-4 OLB in Pittsburgh, something that has been talked about with Graham.
"They're very much alike," Cunningham said. "I think Graham has more pass-rush skills at this stage. Woodley was a powerful player, and he looked like a linebacker, too. We haven't dropped Graham (as a linebacker) or done any of those things with him, but he sure lights 'em up."
Titans' Vanden Bosch talks about moving on; will Lions make a pitch?
I pitched this idea a month ago, and now here's one more reason to think it's a possibility: Titans DE Kyle Vanden Bosch thinks his time is up in Tennessee. But is it time to bring him to Detroit as a free agent? We'll see.
The nine-year pro didn't have a great year in 2009, and at 31, his best years are behind him. But with Dewayne White likely gone and Jared DeVries coming off a torn Achilles for the final year of his deal, maybe it's a move the Lions -- and KVB's former coach, Jim Schwartz -- will consider.
Vanden Bosch, a former Nebraska teammate of Dominic Raiola, certainly thinks he's headed somewhere else as an unrestricted free agent, absent any talks about a long-term deal to stay with the Titans. He's spent the last five seasons in Tennessee after starting his career in Arizona.
"It doesn't make me sad at all," VandenBosch told the Tennessean today at the Pro Bowl, where he's participating as a roster alternate. "I think I've had a great five years, I've had a great relationship with the coaches, the fans. It couldn't have gone better in Tennessee. But sometimes it is time to move on and better for both sides to go to a different place."
SI.com mock draft: McCoy to Lions at Number 2 ... and a Schwartz endorsement?
No surprises at the top of SI.com's first mock draft from Don Banks. He has Ndamukong Suh going No. 1 to St. Louis and Gerald McCoy going No. 2 to the Lions. It's still early, but I didn't hear anything down in Mobile -- just got back home tonight -- that led me to believe that's not a pretty safe bet. (I'll take a stab at my first mock draft right after the combine a month from now.)
Here's Banks' comment on the Lions: "The Lions really can't lose, and when's the last time we were able to use those words to describe Detroit? Being in position to take either Suh or McCoy adds another major cog to the defense Jim Schwartz is rebuilding in Motown. McCoy is known for his ability to penetrate the backfield, while still holding up against the run."
For what it's worth, Lions coach Jim Schwartz was asked about the difficulty in finding interior pass rushers yesterday. He just laughed when I told him his answer sounded like a pretty good endorsement for selecting either of those two DTs with the second overall pick.
"Probably a little bit harder to find 'em inside," Schwartz said. "Because ... if you're big enough to be a run stopper, generally you're not much of a pass rusher. if you're a really good pass rusher, you're not a big enough guy to stop the run. But I think that when you find one of those guys, they're extremely valuable. If you can combine the size and the strength to be able to stop the run, and also the ability to rush ... The shortest distance to the quarterback is a straight line -- the people that are closest are the defensive tackles. And they can affect the rush.
"It works hand in hand. If you're a good outside rusher, you can win every single time and if you're not getting push inside, if you're not getting somebody winning inside, it's easy for the quarterback to step up and it doesn't matter that you've won outside."
Ole Miss sparkplug a can't-miss standout at Senior Bowl
Mobile, Ala. -- He's a luxury item the Lions may not be able to afford, given their myriad needs. But one of the player turning heads in two days of practices at the Senior Bowl is Mississippi's Dexter McCluster, a running back in college who'll likely be used more as a slot receiver and return man in the NFL.
After working with the running backs Monday, the pint-sized dynamo -- he checked in at 5-foot-8 and 165 pounds at this week's weigh-in -- practiced some as a receiver in individual drills Tuesday. And he hardly looked out of place, showing good quickness and hands, highlighted by a diving reception on a deep pass by Florida quarterback Tim Tebow. (The one drop he had, he immediately responded on his own by dropping and doing push-ups.)
"He is so quick and has such a burst, you can see it with the naked eye," former Browns GM Phil Savage told Sirius NFL Radio in an interview Tuesday in Mobile. "They had a tough time corralling him out there today. Somebody's gonna say, 'Well, what do you do with a 165-pound guy in a 20-game NFL season?' You have to have a specific package and be creative. (ELIPSES HERE) I think if you're a good team (you) can take a guy like that as a luxury."
Best guess is, he'll be a second-round pick in April. With all the defensive talent and underclassmen taking up space in the first round, I can't see him going any higher than that.
But just the same, somebody's going to take a chance fairly early on McCluster, with teams -- and the Lions are among the many that have interviewed him this week -- trying to find their own Darren Sproles or DeSean Jackson or Percy Harvin.
"It gives me a lot of hope, just seeing those guys having success," said McCluster, who rushed for 1,000-plus yards in the SEC as a senior and certainly doesn't shy away from contact. "They probably dealt with a lot of the same problems I'm dealing with. That's what I want to do, show that I can compete and I will compete and I won't shy away from it."
How often does he hear he's too small?
Asked to describe his position, he joked that he and his father have decided it's simply "offensive weapon."
"I want to be a playmaker," McCluster said. "I can run the ball, I can catch the ball, I can return punts and kicks -- just showing my versatility, and have fun doing it," "I want to let (NFL scouts) know, outside of my size, I'm an overall player."
Senior Bowl - Day 1 recap
I'll get my first look at the Tim Tebow Project on Tuesday -- the North and South practiced today at the same time at separate locations -- but the early verdict Monday is that he's got a lot of work to do to quiet his critics. Not a very impressive first day for him, by most accounts.
But at the North practice, I thought a handful of players stood out. The top two OL here -- Mike Iupati and Vladimir Ducasse -- definitely looked the part. (Ducasse in particular during full-team drills, I thought.) But they're getting an earful -- all the linemen are -- from the Lions' George Yarno.
Oregon RB LeGarrette Blount showed pretty good speed for a guy who weighed in at 245 pounds (and measured 6-foot 1/2-inch) earlier in the day. Michigan's Brandon Graham had the motor revved up in a pass-rushing drill, Boise State CB Kyle Wilson looked pretty comfortable in 7-on-7 and so did Clemson WR Jacoby Ford, though he's a small target (5-8, 182). I'll have more on Graham, Dan LeFevour and Joique Bell the next couple days, but I really think all three of those guys will help themselves this week.
Schofield's ACL injury puts a damper on Senior Bowl's opening day
The NFL coaches and scouts can grumble all they want about players opting not to participate in the Senior Bowl. But earlier this afternoon, we witnessed Exhibit A in why agents and players are compelled to weigh the risks and rewards of it.
I was standing along the fence about 15 yards away from Wisconsin DE/LB O'Brien Schofield when he went down in a shrieking heap after getting tangled up with OL Vladimir Ducasse (UMass) during a pass-rush drill at the North team practice. After the Lions' training staff rushed in to examine his left knee, he was helped off the field in obvious agony. And the word a few hours later was the expected bad news: a torn ACL.
This comes on the heels of an impressive performance by Schofield last week in Tampa, where the first-team All-Big Ten selection earned defensive MVP honors and showed scouts he's capable of making the switch to OLB. He was a likely early-round pick (3rd round?), but now I'd imagine he'll be lucky to get drafted.
A serious injury like this is a rarity here at the Senior Bowl. But you have to wonder how it'll affect players' future decisions, nonetheless.
Weighing in on the Senior Bowl Day 1
Some quick hits and observations after Monday morning's weigh-in at the Senior Bowl:
Joique Bell's a pretty cut 223 pounds and looks really good after working out in California. (Vincent Goodwill had a good profile of him in the Detroit News on Saturday.)
At the other end of the spectrum is Alabama NT Terrence Cody who has his weight "down" to a very unflattering 370 pounds.
Michigan DE Brandon Graham was 6-1 and 263 pounds, while CMU QB Dan LeFevour was 6-3 and 229.
Two offensive linemen I know a lot of fans have their eye on also showed well: Mike Iupati (Idaho) was 6-5, 325 and had his arms measured at 35" (that's very good, by the way) with huge hands, while Vladimir Ducasse (UMass) was 6-4 1/2, 326 pounds with 34" arms.
