Thread: Spielman on KFAN 4/10

"josdin00" wrote:

"Marrdro" wrote:

"josdin00" wrote:

Some notes from the Speilman interview:

- They talked briefly about all the rumors floating around on the internet. Speilman said they do follow up on those rumors to see if there's anything to them.

- They're currently looking at 5 or 6 names for the 22 spot, but they have 2 or 3 names that if that guy's there, there's no question that he's the pick.

- As far as putting their draft board together, they never have more than one player at the same position with the same grade. However, they will have multiple players from different positions rated with the same grade. Then, if it falls to those players, they'll choose from them based on team need.

- If they're in a position where the best player available is a position they don't need, they'll look to trade down. If they can't, they'll take the guy, and go with it.

- It sounds like they rate players by category (opening day starter...), not by draft order

- The draft board is set. The coaches come in on Tuesday, and they'll go over reports together, and tweak the board. However, the board is pretty much set now.

There's a bunch of interesting stuff here. I recommend listening to the podcast, when they put it up.

Thanks for the update Jos.

Thanks. I've been trying to take notes through the whole interview, but I don't type quick enough.

Here's the last few notes before I gave up:

- He has 6 kids at home, and at least some of them play Fantasy Football and Madden...and they're always giving him advice. I guess Speilman doesn't need to read PPO afterall. He can get the same info at home.

- They had 28 pre-draft player visits between Wed. and Thurs.

- They have 78 (I think that's the number he said) 'red dotted' players that they won't touch in the draft, either due to injury or character issues.

There is the big disconnect for me.......

Almost all the teams are doing this/or have done this of late and we never get to see that list.
Makes it damn hard to round out the late rounds of the mock....

It was a very nice interview, PA was trying to get him to name some players from the top of the board but Spielman denied it.. like i has to.. Thats the way business is..

I liked when he went trought some of the scenarios of the questions they ask the draftees, when they are talking to them and sometime you figure, what kind of players that have been scratched from teams boards because they simple had a different opponion on somethings, that the coaches/owners and such didnt like.. Scary stuff..

I guess the 2-3 guys that could fall and they would pick is Oher, Crabtree and someone else i really cant figure out..

He didnt sound to sold on Harvin, but that can also be a smokescreen.

He didnt want to say anything about the Cutler scenario, not even if the Broncos had called them and they had declined..

Tyrell Johnson is a super cool guy, very humble and just goes out there to play football and not much else.. I hope he has a great career with us.. He also said that he had become very good friends with Sharper, but that doesnt surprise me.. Darren was the kind of guy that could take youngsters under his wings and also because they played that much together.

"skum" wrote:

It was a very nice interview, PA was trying to get him to name some players from the top of the board but Spielman denied it.. like i has to.. Thats the way business is..

I liked when he went trought some of the scenarios of the questions they ask the draftees, when they are talking to them and sometime you figure, what kind of players that have been scratched from teams boards because they simple had a different opponion on somethings, that the coaches/owners and such didnt like.. Scary stuff..

I guess the 2-3 guys that could fall and they would pick is Oher, Crabtree and someone else i really cant figure out..

He didnt sound to sold on Harvin, but that can also be a smokescreen.

He didnt want to say anything about the Cutler scenario, not even if the Broncos had called them and they had declined..

Tyrell Johnson is a super cool guy, very humble and just goes out there to play football and not much else.. I hope he has a great career with us.. He also said that he had become very good friends with Sharper, but that doesnt surprise me.. Darren was the kind of guy that could take youngsters under his wings and also because they played that much together.

Thanks Skum.
Between you and Jos, don't have to listen now (but I will anyway).... ;D

Also, he talked highly of the way they got Sullivan in the 6th round last year..

And he said when it comes to O-line, they would take players that could play multiple positions, like both tackle positions, plus centers who could play guard - and the other way around..

Very interesting also..

He also said that they had a minimum for centers, when it comes to IQ and if the Centers was below the limit, they would scratch them..

"skum" wrote:

Also, he talked highly of the way they got Sullivan in the 6th round last year..

And he said when it comes to O-line, they would take players that could play multiple positions, like both tackle positions, plus centers who could play guard - and the other way around..

Very interesting also..

He also said that they had a minimum for centers, when it comes to IQ and if the Centers was below the limit, they would scratch them..

Just an observation, however, it appears they do that in other areas......CB (Seems almost all of them have at one time played S).
TE's (They love to convert them to FB/H-back).
To early to tell on LB and DL, but they seem to like to interchange the Sam and the Will and be see both the DT's and DE's switching not only sides but actual positions as well......

Is it me or at the end when someone asked spielman about Hakeem Nicks his voice kind of cracked and seemed very caught off guard when talking about him...

hmmm...

just something i noticed, could be nothing, but i just thought it seemed a little wierd as he was cool and calm the entire interview esp. with guys asking him about who we're gonna take then he gets asked this question and he was caught off guard a little..

things that make you go hmmm...

"bleedpurple" wrote:

Is it me or at the end when someone asked spielman about Hakeem Nicks his voice kind of cracked and seemed very caught off guard when talking about him...

hmmm...

just something i noticed, could be nothing, but i just thought it seemed a little wierd as he was cool and calm the entire interview esp. with guys asking him about who we're gonna take then he gets asked this question and he was caught off guard a little..

things that make you go hmmm...

I bet his poker face is reminiscent of Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure.

[img width=450 height=342]http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n220/scarlingxxdollface/bill_ted.jpg[/img]

"bleedpurple" wrote:

Is it me or at the end when someone asked spielman about Hakeem Nicks his voice kind of cracked and seemed very caught off guard when talking about him...

hmmm...

just something i noticed, could be nothing, but i just thought it seemed a little wierd as he was cool and calm the entire interview esp. with guys asking him about who we're gonna take then he gets asked this question and he was caught off guard a little..

things that make you go hmmm...

Well he said they are looking at 6 guys to draft at #22. I bet he is one of them.

My guess on his list:
WR Percy Harvin
WR Hakeem Nicks
CB Alphonso Smith
CB DJ Moore
OT Eben Britton
QB Josh Freeman *note - I don't want him

The bold are the 2-3

[size=13pt]Spielman: Vikings doing due diligence on Harvin[/size]

More than one NFL mock draft has the Vikings taking Florida wide receiver Percy Harvin with the 22nd-overall pick in the first round. It’s diffuclt to question Harvin’s talent but there have been some other issues brought up about his personality and how easy he is to coach.

Vikings vice president of player personnel Rick Spielman, appearing on KFAN Radio today, was asked about Harvin. “Good football player, had some durability issues down there at Florida,� Spielman said. “There are some rumors going around now about [him] potentially being dirty at the combine, so we’re going through all that. But he’s a very explosive receiver. Everybody is projecting him as a potential punt and kickoff returner. He can probably do that but he hasn’t done it yet in college. Very versatile. They used him at running back, they used him at slot receiver. He has some unique skills.�

However, the Vikings do their own extensive due diligence on players and that’s why so far 78 prospects have received a “red dot,� meaning the folks at Winter Park aren’t going to take them either because of injury or character concerns. And that number could grow.

[size=13pt]Harvin headlines first round’s five most risky picks[/size]

PFW polled five high-level league executives, asking them to rank five players with suspect track records � (listed alphabetically) Texas Tech WR Michael Crabtree, Illinois CB Vontae Davis, Florida WR Percy Harvin, USC ILB Rey Maualuga and Boston College DT B.J. Raji � in the order in which character is most likely to be a negative factor in the pros. All participants were granted anonymity in exchange for honesty.

One top-ranking official, who said he would not draft any of them, compared the exercise to trying to decide between whether he’d rather eat cow manure, drink monkey urine or ingest rabbit turds. None of the choices seemed attractive enough to place one over the other, and, it should be noted, not all felt strongly that character would be an issue that would prevent them from drafting the following players or affect their ability to succeed in the pros. Teams with strong locker rooms, veteran leadership and consistent, demanding coaches may be able to better tolerate concerns.