First and 10: Welcome to combine week

Welcome to first and 10, a roundup of all the (mostly) Patriots-related news you need to start your day:



The combine starts this week, and we got some terrific insight into what goes on behind closed doors in Indy from our buddy T.J. Moe, who was an undrafted free agent signed by the Patriots based largely on how he performed at the combine. He told us a few stories that we included in our Sunday notebook, but we’ll also toss in a couple more here. First off, he believes that for most prospects, it's a waste of time.

“You spend so much time training for stuff like the shuttle and bench press instead of learning NFL routes. But it’s such a piece of the scouting pie. If it was, like, five percent of the process, then I wouldn’t have spent six weeks learning how to make the right turns in the 60-yard shuttle. I mean, I’m a slot receiver, and yes, I’ll have to be strong enough to take on middle linebackers occasionally. But me spending six weeks making are I can do enough reps on the bench press is so stupid.

“I remember watching film when I was working out beforehand and everything you’d do was taped, and they’d break it all down in slow motion when it came to things like the 40. Wouldn’t it be more useful to teach me seven different ways to run a hitch route?”

For most guys, the time can be put to better use.

“My thing was I just needed to get into a camp, especially one with a good positional coach and quarterback. I can learn the playbook. I just needed to get into a camp. But instead of studying routes and things, I’m studying how many steps I have to put out there in drills. It was ridiculous,” Moe said. “You do find players who can be important pieces of your team at the combine. The best story was Deion Branch, who a lot of people didn’t know about. He went and had a great combine, got himself noticed, and a few years later, he turned out to be a Super Bowl MVP. For that sort of prospect, it can be useful. But for the most part, there’s too much importance based on it.”

He thinks the top prospects shouldn’t go.

“A guy like Saquon Barkley? He should just skip it. He’s the No. 1 running back, and it’s not even close. If you’re a team that needs a running back and they skip him because he didn’t go to the combine, that GM should be fired. Just skip it. ‘You’ve seen me play. I’ve been on the cover of a bunch of magazines. Why wouldn’t you pick me?’ If a guy who is a talent comes out and runs a bad 40 and drops, that’s ridiculous. Just because he had a misstep on combine day?”

Now, on to the links…

1. My Sunday notebook led with Moe talking about how to crush the combine. There’s also a really great story from Moe on his interaction with the Patriots.

2. Greg continues our New England roots series with a talk with Bay State native and Saints assistant Pete Carmichael.

3. On Friday, we pondered the possibility of a Martellus Bennett return.

4. The Patriots picked up and extra selection in this year’s draft.

5. Linebacker David Harris retired after 11 years in the NFL.

Extra Point: We had the video of his 40 over in the Sunday notebook. Here are some other highlights...