Blogging the National Football League, Blogging the NFL
It was nice to see the sun shining in Indianapolis today. It certainly made getting around outside the RCA Dome and Indiana Convention Center much easier. Not that you would really need to go outside here, though. The Dome and CC are connected to much of the city with indoor walkways. I get a big kick out of this. I can walk all over the city without putting on a jacket in the middle of winter. And yes, I’m easily entertained.
The Media Work room was kind of quiet early on, but things picked …read more

Podcasting the National Football League, Podcasting the NFL
The NFL Scouting Combine is the annual job fair for more than 300 prospective new NFL players. For six straight days from the RCA Dome in Indianapolis, players are put through a series of drills, tests and interviews with more than 600 NFL personnel including head coaches, general managers and scouts. From just outside the Media Work Room at the Indiana Convention Center, I sat down with NFL Draft Scout senior analyst Rob Rang to get his thoughts on this Class of 2008.
Shownotes: David Kindervater (host), Rob Rang (guest)

0:29 – Defensive tackles Sedrick …read more

Blogging the National Football League, Blogging the NFL
The NFL Scouting Combine signage around Indianapolis states: “The 2008 NFL Season Begins Now.” Thus, just three weeks removed from my trip to Arizona for Super Bowl XLII, here I am in Indy for a fresh start to a new football season.
There used to be an offseason in the NFL, but that’s a thing of the past. Almost immediately after the Super Bowl you’ve got the Combine, the Draft, mini camps and OTAs. It never ends. This is my 4th straight year working the Combine and each season has been bigger in terms …read more

Blogging the National Football League, Blogging the NFL
A couple days ago, Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard announced that his city will bid for the 2012 Super Bowl, its second effort to host the NFL’s biggest event. Political and civic leaders said this year’s bid would emphasize many of the same attributes as last year’s bid, including the city’s new retractable-roof Lucas Oil Stadium and its experience hosting major sporting events such as the Indianapolis 500. But officials declined to comment further on what would make this year’s bid more attractive, saying they didn’t want to give other cities a competitive advantage.
I’m …read more

After almost one week of writing about nothing but the NFL Scouting Combine, I was beginning to feel like I could start a side blog on the Combine and nothing else. The proceedings came to a close today as the DBs (corners and safeties) completed their drills on the RCA Dome floor. This Draft class is loaded at safety, but the corners aren’t as strong. At least in overview. There are potentially four first-round safeties in this class, but we may only see one corner taken in the top 10 or 15 picks. Here are the best results from today:
Defensive …read more

Chicago Bears head coach Lovie Smith talks with the media.
(photo David Kindervater)
It was another beautiful day here in Indianapolis. Cold, for sure. But not a cloud in the sky. I spent most of my day inside as the action picked up considerably from yesterday with more than 15 head coaches speaking with the media and an endless stream of QBs, WRs and RBs.
I arrived early and set up shop in Media Work Room 105 here at the Indiana Convention Center and RCA Dome. This is one of several “overflow” rooms for the media, but I prefer it because …read more

The RCA Dome and connecting Indiana Convention Center.
(photo David Kindervater)
It’s Day One of the 2007 NFL Scouting Combine. And it’s good to be back in Indianapolis. Today was sunny and in the mid-30s. There is still snow on the ground from the storm of a week ago.
This is one of my favorite cities and I always look forward to returning here each year in late February. As a member of the national media (I’m a credentialed member of NFL Media and the Pro Football Writers of America), this is one of several events I get to travel to and cover …read more

I arrived in Indianapolis this evening for the 2007 NFL Scouting Combine which begins tomorrow. I’ll be blogging from the Media Work Room at the Indiana Convention Center and RCA Dome for the next couple days. Props to the Sports Marketing Department at Marriott International, Inc. for the accommodations here in Indy.