Head Coach Jim Schwartz and his staff are three days into working with their team of college players at the Senior Bowl and have been feeling out personalities, work ethics and learning abilities of each player.
For General Manager Martin Mayhew, the process is a bit different.
“I’ve seen the North and the South,” said Mayhew. “I’ve been working with Steve Hale, who runs the Senior Bowl and I can’t say enough about the job that he does and the college talent and knowing where those players are, chasing them down and getting them here.
“Both rosters are really impressive. There are a lot of talented guys on both sides of the ball.”
Schwartz has mentioned on numerous occasions that he specifically did not learn much about the players who would be participating in this Saturday’s game.
“A lot of times if you pre-judge – if you already say, ‘Hey, this is what the player is’ – you don’t accept face value his performance in a game like the Senior Bowl,” said Schwartz. “You say, ‘Well, he looks good in this, but I don’t think he’s very good.’ Or, ‘Hey, I think he’s really good’ and then you excuse him not doing so well in a game like this.
“I try to keep an open mind – let these games stand on their own – and then circle back and really get a good evaluation after watching them in a game like this.”
Mayhew’s role in Mobile is completely different from that. He has already seen many of these players from traveling to colleges throughout the season, giving him a familiarity with them ahead of time.
For the players he hasn’t seen firsthand, he is taking much the same approach as Schwartz.
“I disregard what I’ve read or what I’ve heard,” he said. “I try to just look at them all at face value and make my own judgment on them and then, at the end, we’ll all compare notes.”
A lot of the note taking will be done during film sessions once everyone returns to Allen Park next week. During this week’s practices, Mayhew is focusing more on letting his eyes do the scouting to make sure he doesn’t miss anything important.
“It’s good to see them live and not have to look down and write and all that,” he said. “We’ll go back and watch the film later and I’ll see it a few times before the draft, but what I’ve really been doing is going to practice and trying to be around our team as much as possible.
“Even at breakfast and in the lunchroom they have for us, I’ve just been kind of hanging out with the guys. That’s been kind of how my days been going.”
While Mayhew and other members of the front office watch practices, the Lions coaches are teaching and working with these players at a different level.
It is for that reason that Mayhew will make sure to consult with his coaches both this week and afterward to learn more about the players than just watching them perform.
“I want to get from my coaches how these guys learn,” said Mayhew. “Sometimes there are subtle things that happen on the field that I don’t see. I think it’s going to be important to get input from the coaches on how these guys are learning as far as how fast they pick things up, and how receptive they are to coaching - that kind of thing.
“That’s all good information that our coaches have the most access to that info right now.”
Things general managers, scouts and coaches who aren’t working with the players wouldn’t know from simply watching practice is what kind of teaching these players are receiving and how they respond to that teaching.
For example, a player may make a mistake numerous times and be corrected numerous times, but not respond to that correction.
“You’re looking for guys who are coachable,” said Mayhew. “Most guys have the ability to improve and we don’t want players who think they have it all figured out or think they can’t grow in this area or that area. You’re looking for guys who are willing and receptive to take coaching.”
The bottom line is that this process of the Lions’ staff coaching the North team will further help Mayhew when it comes to evaluating this year’s draft class down the line.
“There are certain players that catch your eye and you might keep your eye on a little bit more,” he said. “You can learn a lot just by being around these players whether you’re in practice or whether you’re on the bus heading to practice. Whatever you’re doing there are a lot of opportunities to learn about these guys.”
