I can't imagine this break of a week or so has been paralyzing for football fans, but rest lightly tonight—the NFL Scouting Combine season has already begun, with the St. Louis Rams' braintrust back at work in preparation for the combine and the 2011 draft. Turf Show Times suggests Mizzou DE Aldon Smith as possible Julio Jones insurance; he'll definitely earn a look from the Rams, along with whatever strange pieces Josh McDaniels needs for his "forward pass" offense. (Mike Sando at ESPN suggests it's size, size, size, if you look at McDaniels's recent history.)
↵The Rams' needs are clear and plentiful, so the Combine could prove to be exactly what we need to learn where those needs will intersect with the personnel available at their draft positions. A good combine could put players out of reach, or take a fringy receiver and push him into the receiving-dead-zone at 14; a bad one could make the Rams' decision for them.
↵Of course, we can worry about this, but it all comes down to how contractual negotiations in the end—after all, what's the point of all this if Albert Pujols doesn't sign? Sorry, I mean, if the NFL ends up in a lockout?
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