NFL Combine 2012: Why Combine Hype Should Be Ignored

The offensive linemen and tight ends have begun workouts at the 2012 NFL Scouting Combine, and soon enough the media and fans will be breathlessly discussing the merits of a wide receiver's blazing 40-yard dash time or debating the outstanding showing of a defensive lineman in the bench press.

The combine can be an important tool in that allows some players from lesser-known schools an opportunity to showcase their talents on a big stage, but all too often fans and sportwriters get caught up in the hype of one week's workouts and lose sight of a player's entire body of work.

What's even worse is that sometimes even NFL scouts and coaches aren't immune to the vortex of verbiage, as there have been numerous examples of players that shined at the combine, shot up draft boards and then faceplanted in the NFL.

The most famous example is likely Mike Mamula, the Boston College defensive end who was one of the pioneers of working out specifically for the drills that are run at the combine. Mamula's strategy paid off, as he dominated the 1995 combine, inspiring the Philadelphia Eagles to trade two draft picks to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for the rights to select Mamula with the seventh overall pick.

In Mamula's defense, he was a serviceable pro when healthy, but given how highly he was drafted his injury-marred six-year, 31.5-sack career is viewed as a massive disappointment, especially since the Buccaneers then used the two picks they got from the Eagles in 1995 to draft defensive tackle Warren Sapp and linebacker Derrick Brooks, who both became perennial Pro Bowlers.

There have plenty of more recent examples as well. In 2008, Ohio State defensive end Vernon Gholston tore up Indianapolis, highlighting a fantastic combine by tying the event record in the bench press. The New York Jets were so enamored with Gholston, who managed all of 16 tackles in the NFL and is now out of the league, that they took him with the sixth overall pick in that year's draft.

Two years later, USC safety Taylor Mays had everyone "oohing" and "aahing" at the combine, showing off a tremendous physique and running a blazing 4.43 in the 40-yard dash. The San Francisco 49ers thought well enough of his performance to draft Mays in the second round of the 2010 draft.

They apparently didn't think well enough of him to keep him around, as Mays has since been traded to the Cincinnati Bengals.

The combine is an important tool in evaluating players coming into the National Football League, but everyone needs to keep in mind that it's just one tool and not nearly as vital as film study. The last time I checked, football isn't played in your underwear and the only number that really matters is the one on the scoreboard.