Stafford, Moreno get passing grades at combine

It has been interesting to keep up with Georgia’s two highest-profile guys being put through the paces at the NFL combine the last couple of days. Interesting, but I wouldn’t say enlightening.

Quarterback Matthew Stafford and running back Knowshon Moreno have garnered a lot of attention up in Indianapolis. That’s understandable considering they’re both expected to be first-round selections. And nothing that happened over the weekend appears to have changed that. They’re still going to be first-rounders.

Each guy answered satisfactorily the most pressing questions about them: How mobile is Stafford? How fast is Moreno? The answers: Mobile enough and fast enough.

Depending on which report you read, Moreno was clocked at 4.62 seconds in 40-yard dash with unofficial times as low as 4.53 by some scouts. Despite what you read in recruiting, these are actually very good times. Yes, five or six other backs ran faster than Moreno. But if speed was all it took be a great NFL back, then sprinter Usain Bolt would play during his track offseason. Besides you guys who have watched Moreno the last two seasons could have told them Moreno didn’t have blazing, breakaway speed. But try bringing him down behind the line of scrimmage.

Stafford elected to not pass at the combine and this seemed to generate a lot of buzz. But why should he? By all accounts, he’s still the man to beat as the top quarterback pick and perhaps as the No. 1 pick overall. That puts him in an advantageous position. Why not show what he can do on his own terms on his own turf? He will do that at UGA’s pro day next month and bring a lot of attention to his alma mater at the same time. Meanwhile, Stafford went through interview process and ran the 40 and other agility drills. His 4.84 was better than the 4.97 Mark Sanchez based on the reports I saw. He did nothing to hurt his status and might have helped it.

But as ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. said himself, a lot that comes out of the NFL combine is “much ado about nothing.” It’s a big deal this weekend and everybody’s talking about it because there is no other football going on. But it will represent only a portion of the data NFL general managers utilize when deciding whom to pick in April’s draft.

Your thoughts?

Some links:

According to SI.com’s “Risers and Sliders, Knowshon Moreno and Kenny McKinley were a couple of the big winners at the NFL combine.

Here’s a good ESPN video I ran across of Matthew Stafford prepping for the NFL combine interview process.

Be sure to check out this great AJC photo gallery by Brant Sanderlin of the current Bulldogs going through offseason workouts. . . .

In case you didn’t see it, our Thomas Stinson did a good story on Dan Parker of Parker Executive Search, who is spearheading Georgia’s initial search for a basketball coach, and the extensive use of search firms overall these days. . . .

Looks like it’ll be a few days still before Tampa tight end Orson Charles, the Bulldogs’ final target, makes a decision. Rivals.com reports on his recruiting visit to Southern Cal this past weekend.