From afar, the NFL Combine is easily perceived as just a bunch of future pro players running 40s and lifting weights — the “Underwear Olympics’’ as it has been lovingly and not-so-lovingly called.
But the reality is a little different. For one, the interviews of the players that teams can conduct (teams are officially allowed to bring in 60 different players out of the 337 or so who will be there for 15-minute meetings) and the physicals performed are as important as anything shown on TV.
And the Combine also serves a larger purpose as something of an NFL convention, a rare time when every coach, assistant coach, general manager, player personnel exec, scout, and agent (not to mention media) gathers in one spot for a few days where, to paraphrase Thin Lizzy, the drink will flow and the rumors will spill.