I hate the Combine.

Hate it.

Pure, unadulterated hate.

Why?

Three reasons.

• It’s stupid. Football has become overcomplicated to an insane level I can’t stomach. Does a man’s hand size equate to his being a better thrower of the football? Perhaps. But the truth is I simply don’t care. If there was no Combine and the players were selected based purely upon their performance on the college football field (you know, like it was when Walter Payton got drafted), you trying to tell me teams would do a worse job of talent evaluation? Teams are shitty at it now and there’s three months of evaluation!
• A collection of wealthy, overwhelmingly white men sit and evaluate the physical attributes of a collection of unemployed, overwhelmingly black men. They are trying to determine whether their physical abilities suit the needs of the labor force. Do they pay the men? Absolutely. But if you don’t see the similarities between the Combine and slave auctions it’s because you don’t want to see them.
• This stupid event gives credence to the inanity of people like Mike Mayock, who will cite a player’s measurables exhaustingly when he’s ACTUALLY CALLING A GAME. The Draft Industrial Complex is the biggest waste of money and resources in the sports world.