Winner: The city of Indianapolis
This was not only my first opportunity to cover the Combine as a credentialed media member, it was my first visit to the city of Indianapolis. I went in wide-eyed and with high expectations, and the host city did not disappoint.
One of the great parts of Combine week, for me, was attending Peter King’s annual Combine Tweet-Up at Sun King Brewery. Everything, from the beer to the company, was fantastic. During that question-and-answer session, Peter mentioned how the NFL is looking at moving the Combine out west to Los Angeles, when the new Rams’ stadium complex is completed.
Now, my voice counts for absolutely nothing, but in my opinion that would be a mistake.
The beauty of Indianapolis as the host city for the Combine is multi-faced. For the teams and their scouts, they literally never have to leave the building. Or, buildings to be precise. They can stay at the JW Marriott, use the skyway to walk into the Convention Center, and then from the convention center use the tunnel to get to Lucas Oil. They never have to see the light of day.
More importantly, however, Indianapolis provides quick and easy access to the hospital where the medical examinations are performed. That does not seem to be a possibility – at least not yet – for Los Angeles and the complex being built out west.
Plus, the size of the city makes Indianapolis a great destination for fans and members of the media. The city is very walkable – even though the wind always seems to be in your face – and the centralized location of Indianapolis makes it convenient for most in terms of flight times.
Finally, the St. Elmo’s shrimp cocktail. Worth the price of admission.
Loser: The bench press
Epenesa, with 17 reps.
Andrew Thomas, the Georgia offensive tackle, with 21 reps.
Even Wirfs, who turned in a monster of a combine, posted 24 reps.
More and more it is becoming obvious that the bench press fails to truly illustrate the functional strength of these prospects. Sure, scouts can use it to see how well these athletes “prepare for the test” so to speak, but if you want to measure strength that will translate to the football field, the bench press is a poor exercise to use.
Brandon Thorn, who covers the NFL and the offensive line for outlets such as Establish the Run and The Athletic Denver, has been advocating for years that the NFL move away from the bench press and to another exercise at the combine. A more complex, athletic movement such as the squat or the hang or power clean. Yes, Wirfs benched 225 pounds 24 times, but if you want to see a true measure of his strength and power, watch him hang clean 450 pounds four times last summer:
450 easy on the hang clean 😳💪
Iowa O-Lineman Tristan Wirfs is a MONSTER.@TristanWirfs74 (via @HawkeyeFootball) pic.twitter.com/XnOP0NeVEJ
— The Checkdown (@thecheckdown) July 23, 2019
As his tweet-up on Wednesday night Peter King mentioned that the league might be moving away from the bench press. Given what players like Wirfs can do at the combine – and how their bench press numbers might not measure their true functional power – I think it is time the league moves to a different test for strength.