NFL Head Coaches and General Managers took to the podium on Wednesday at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis and hit on a wide variety of topics, from their own players to those available in the 2015 NFL Draft and everything in between.
Here are a few of today's hot topics.
On expanding replay for the 2015 season:
Chicago Bears Head Coach John Fox"I think as a coach, on the sideline on game day, you have that red flag, it's an opportunity to fix something, maybe, in your opinion. They're not going to increase the number of challenges, so in my opinion, I think whatever kind of call, whether it could be a penalty or even the current things you can challenge, I don't see the harm in it personally. But we get to talk about that in March at the league meetings."
Denver Broncos Head Coach Gary Kubiak"That would be hard for me to comment on right now. I'll wait until we get to the league meetings, have a chance to actually sit down and discuss those things more in depth."
On what quarterbacks Marcus Mariota and Jameis Winston need to show at the combine in workouts and interviews:Tampa Bay Buccaneers Coach Lovie Smith"Whenever you get an opportunity to show people what you can do, we haven't seen any of the players live, you get a chance to compete. And all the competition that you'll have throughout the rest of the draft is here and it's probably not ideal, the first time for the quarterbacks they've thrown with these receivers.
"From what I know, and that's watching game highlights and watching TV and of course, watching a lot of video right now, they're two talented players that have different styles who have won a lot of football games. And what do you judge quarterbacks on? Accuracy, decision making, leadership, and both of these players win football games. Jameis, and Marcus, they've won a lot of games. Jameis didn't lose a game until the last one he played. That says a lot about him."
Tennessee Titans Head Coach Ken Whisenhunt:"That 15 minutes (of the interview) is just a part of the process. When you're talking about the number two pick, whether it's a quarterback or another position, the process the next couple of months is about spending time with them and finding out a lot about them. This is just the first opportunity to do that. The chance to see them on the field making some of the throws you want to see is an important part of it, but it's not a decision maker the first time we get it. You've got to spend a lot of time with these guys to understand how they process things, how they handle different situations, what they're thinking about when they get to the line of scrimmage. When you get to this level, there are so many things going on from that position that you have to handle."
On the strength of the wide receiver group and them being pro ready:
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San Diego Chargers General Manager Tom Telesco**"To me each year is different, so what last year's receiver class did has nothing to do with this receiver class. But I would agree that this is a very good class of receivers, and maybe the advent that so many teams run spread offense and throw the ball so much, we're seeing more receivers at this level that are much more polished. Most of these kids through high school, there are 7-on-7 camps in the summer time, and in college, these receivers have been running routes, and a lot of routes, for a long time. It's a repetition game, so many we're starting to see some of that at this level. It would be back to back years that there really a deep receiver group. I'm not talking just first round, but really all the way through the draft. Certainly a very good group."
Tennessee Titans Coach Ken Whisenhunt
"I don't know if you can say they're more ready, but there are more receivers getting more reps in college football now because more teams are running the spread offense."
