Jeremy Bloom and NFL draft

[peterplee]

Being a CU grad and a big fan (btw, grats Toby D); thought I'd post this article:

http://www.sportsline.com/nfl/story/9387394

Draft preview: Forget skiing stuff, this Bloom's a player


Clark Judge April 20, 2006
By Clark Judge
CBS SportsLine.com Senior Writer
Tell Clark your opinion!



Relax, Steelers fans. I know where you can find the next Antwaan Randle El to return punts, and all that's required is patience. The NFL Draft is only a week and a half away.

Jeremy Bloom Verages a tasty 19.1 yards per catch as a Colorado receiver.

Seldom has a draft been so rich in return specialists, from UCLA's Maurice Drew to Miami's Devin Hester to Florida State's Willie Sims to Colorado's Jeremy Bloom.

Yes, that Jeremy Bloom, and he might just be the man to soothe Pittsburgh's separation anxiety over Randle El.

OK, so he didn't quarterback his college football team, and I haven't seen him throw an option pass. But he plays wide receiver, runs like an Acela and is a big-play threat.

Oh, yeah, he's also a world-class freestyle skier, last seen in the 2006 Olympics, but skiing is not Bloom's interest now. Football is, and the proof was an impressive workout in front of 31 teams earlier this month when Bloom demonstrated he can do more than return punts and kickoffs.

He caught short passes. He caught deep passes. Slants. Outs. Goes.

Then he shagged punts. He caught passes with two hands. With one hand. On the run. After a complete turn.

He also benched 225 pounds 19 times.

It was an impressive and necessary performance for Bloom, who has two objectives before the arrival of the April 29 draft: 1) To demonstrate that two years away from football hasn't hurt him, and 2) to reiterate that football, not skiing, is his career now.

OK, there's a third motive, too, but anyone who was there for Bloom's workout got the message: He must prove he's not a risk.

"I'm a playmaker," said Bloom. "I have God-given gift of speed and a hard work ethic to go along with it. I know the type of player I am, and I'm the type who can change a game."

I like it. And maybe so will the Steelers. Bloom visited with them this week, just after he sat down with the Denver Broncos.

Bloom is, in all likelihood, a second-day draft pick for a variety of reasons -- his two-year hiatus from the game, forced by NCAA sanctions, just the beginning. But some club -- and probably one choosing at the end of a round -- will take him, and with him it gains an intriguing athlete with a world of ability.

"He has a little bit of a gambler's mentality, which I like," said one NFC special teams coordinator. "He's productive. He's fast. And he has that great burst and vision. I like him."

Of course, Bloom isn't alone. One NFL assistant estimated that there are at least four returners in this year's draft who can step in today as a club's top specialist -- and that doesn't include USC's Reggie Bush, whom Houston presumably retires from kick-return duties once it makes him the first pick of the draft.

"I haven't seen anything like this in a long time," the coach said. "There are a slew of good returners. I have 17 of them rated, and the 11th guy has a chance to be the No. 1 return man for his team."

Bloom is one of the 17, and what makes him special is his speed and his background. Bloom is one of the fastest members of this year's class, running a 40 in 4.5 seconds at the February scouting combine only four days after competing in the Olympics.

It is that speed that makes Bloom dangerous. In two seasons at Colorado he returned three kicks for touchdowns, averaged 19.08 yards per reception and scored five times on plays of 75 yards or longer.

OK, so he never caught more than 22 passes in a year, but Miami's Sinorice Moss didn't have more than 20 in any season, either, until 2005, when he finished with 37. Plus, his yards-per-catch average was less than Bloom's, and Moss rarely returned kicks.

Yet he's considered a second-round choice.

Bloom is not, and we already detailed why. He doesn't have the experience of a Moss, and he's been out of the game for two years. Then there is his size. It's not so much Bloom's 5-foot-9 height that is the concern -- heck, Moss is 5-8 -- as is the 173 pounds he carried at the combine.

"I want to see what he weighs now," said an AFC offensive coordinator. "That weight would concern me."

Well, this just in: Bloom weighs 185 pounds, and the last time I checked Carolina's Steve Smith was 5-9, 185, while Washington's Santana Moss -- the older brother of Sinorice -- was 5-10, 185. Size should no longer be an issue.

"And I want to thank them for that," Bloom said of Smith and Moss. "Five to 10 years ago everyone wanted receivers who were 6-2 or 6-3. Because of the successes of Santana Moss and Steve Smith it really opened the door and allowed (smaller receivers) to come in and make a difference."

I don't know that Jeremy Bloom makes a difference in the NFL, but he showed enough in his brief football career at Colorado to interest the pros -- or, at least, some of them. I spoke to one NFC receivers coach who said he hadn't studied Bloom because, basically, he wasn't interested in someone with a background in skiing.

But here's something that maybe he and Steelers fans should consider. Maybe, just maybe, that background makes Bloom a better candidate for his next passion. Bloom thinks it does, and he makes a good point.

"The vision is very similar to freestyle skiing," he said of returning kicks. "You're going 35 miles an hour in freestyle skiing so everything is a blur. I just ran off the depth perception and the squares and colors coming my way."

Jeremy Bloom is not the best returner in this year's draft. He is not the second or third best, either. But he was good, very good, at what he did when he was permitted to do it -- and that will be enough to convince someone to give him another chance.

Just wait a week and a half.

Go BUffs!
Pete

[Below Zero]

This gets my vote for one of the most well performed "cut and pastes" of the year. Good job!

[MacDaddy]

FKNA
thanks for that JB is my heroe.

I just hope he can hang on to the rock when he gets drilled for the first time

[shmerham]

Pretty interesting article. I would think that there would be some more advantages to his skiing background. If he can ski bumps really fast, hit a jump without slowing down, throw an off-axis spin, land on his feet and keep skiing bumps; I would think that would be good evidence of balance, awareness, and footwork.

A 4.5 sec 40 isn't anything to be excited about though imo. Not for someone who expects to get drafted based on talent and physical prowess and not experience.

[funkendrenchman]

A 4.5 sec 40 isn't anything to be excited about though imo. Not for someone who expects to get drafted based on talent and physical prowess and not experience.

He's run 4.2s in the past. Probably wasn't in track running mode after the Olympics. In high school, he was a state champion sprinter.

[brannen]

i thought he ran terribly in the combine?

[Tippster]

Pretty interesting article. I would think that there would be some more advantages to his skiing background. If he can ski bumps really fast, hit a jump without slowing down, throw an off-axis spin, land on his feet and keep skiing bumps; I would think that would be good evidence of balance, awareness, and footwork.

So would being able to throw a quadruple Axle or some kind of flippy spinny vault, yet I don't see too many Figure Skaters or Gymnasts in the draft.

[babel]

So would being able to throw a quadruple Axle or some kind of flippy spinny vault, yet I don't see too many Figure Skaters or Gymnasts in the draft.

That is a stupid argument. It is like me saying that I just bought a rock that keeps away tigers. How do I know it works? I don't see any tigers.

The fact that you don't see many skaters and gymnasts in the NFL doesn't mean that certian skill sets of theirs wouldn't be beneficial in a football player. It just means it is a rare circumstance where a multisport athlete has the background, and the desire to switch from a sport where they have reached a high level of performance to football.

[Steven S. Dallas]

i thought he ran terribly in the combine?

Yeah, 4.5 or so. Not terrible, terrible, but not great if your game is all about speed. That was right after the Olympics, though.

[peterplee]

NFL draft this weekend!

I hope my Miami Hurricanes are well represented and that the 49ers draft a good player instead of some trash like we have in the past.

Petey

[Tippster]

That is a stupid argument. It is like me saying that I just bought a rock that keeps away tigers. How do I know it works? I don't see any tigers.

My example was no less apropos to Football than Bloom's skiing skillz are.

[acostiga]

yes, there has been lots of rumblings back and forth about the steelers perhaps being interested in bloom. as stated here, i don't think he'd be a bad pick up... provided he's not a first-day selection. my opinion might be altered if he demonstrates an ability to throw passes like ARE anyhow, i'd rather see the steelers looking to draft folks who will protect the health of big ben. that dude is going to have a bullseye on his chest this coming season...

on a semi-related note: yesterday was a joyous occasion, as my nfl films super bowl xl dvd arrived in the mail. favorite quote thus far, from the post-game locker room footage after the indy playoff game. cowher is off-screen as the players circle up. he asks jpeezy (joey porter) not to talk with the media so much during the coming week, or something like that. porter is about to lead the team in a chant, and says something like 'i got dat coach. dey shot me in denver. ready? let's ride on three...." porter is nuts, but a good kind of nuts. almost greg lloyd-caliber nuts.

[Steven S. Dallas]

I just bought a rock that keeps away tigers.

I'm thinking about getting one of these. Does it work? What color and size does it come in?

[Tippster]

Well, it hasn't "Not-worked" yet, I hear.

[PaSucks]

I'm thinking about getting one of these. Does it work? What color and size does it come in?

It only comes in black and gold and it works particularly well against Bengals. Also works against lions, bears, horses, and birds.

[Viva]

...I just bought a rock that keeps away tigers.

Funny, I got a "rock" that attracts cougars.

And Bloom, while talented, is a second day draftee.

[homerjay]

yes, there has been lots of rumblings back and forth about the steelers perhaps being interested in bloom. as stated here, i don't think he'd be a bad pick up... provided he's not a first-day selection. my opinion might be altered if he demonstrates an ability to throw passes like ARE anyhow, i'd rather see the steelers looking to draft folks who will protect the health of big ben. that dude is going to have a bullseye on his chest this coming season...

Will he be doing night laps on the Stowe moguls is the question?

[Theodore]

It only comes in black and gold and it works particularly well against Bengals. Also works against lions, bears, horses, and birds.

I guess it won't work at Mizzou then... I'm really pumped about the draft this year. First time I can say I actually know some peole who have a remote chance of going pro.

[mooseknuckle]

favorite quote thus far, from the post-game locker room footage after the indy playoff game. cowher is off-screen as the players circle up. he asks jpeezy (joey porter) not to talk with the media so much during the coming week, or something like that. porter is about to lead the team in a chant, and says something like 'i got dat coach. dey shot me in denver. ready? let's ride on three...." porter is nuts, but a good kind of nuts. almost greg lloyd-caliber nuts.

Saw that on NFL Network the week after the game. Hilarious. I understand JP does the "lets ride on three..." bit before every game. Am not entirely thrilled with his attitude or production this season before the playoffs, but he can be a handfull when pissed. Go black and gold.

[72Twenty]

Jonny Moseley should've learned to atleast punt and kick.

[babel]

I'm thinking about getting one of these. Does it work? What color and size does it come in?

I got a sorta pro deal going on these things. So you paypal me $67.63, and you'll have yourself an anti tiger rock shipped straight to you. The best part is you tell me the size and color you want and its yours.

Guranteed to work. I can tell you I have seen no tigers. Cowards all of em.

[BeanDip4All]

his 40 run time wasn't good enough to merit a 1st round pick after missing an entire year... he'll go second round. could see the Pats going after him, though- they like versatle, smart guys and that's what he seems to be

[CUBUCK]

I saw him play while I was at CU. He is a great athlete no doubt about it but he isn't built for football. Face it as his size he won't be breaking tackles, he will be relying purely on his speed and football instincts?? I think he is probably a fourth round pick, only because some front office is stupid enough to buy into the hype. Yea yea yea Steve Smith etc etc, but how much room is there in the league for guys like that? Ohh and Blooms hands are no where near as good as smith's. He may make it through the season but he sure as hell won't be a playmaker.

[funkendrenchman]

I saw him play while I was at CU. He is a great athlete no doubt about it but he isn't built for football. Face it as his size he won't be breaking tackles, he will be relying purely on his speed and football instincts?? I think he is probably a fourth round pick, only because some front office is stupid enough to buy into the hype. Yea yea yea Steve Smith etc etc, but how much room is there in the league for guys like that? Ohh and Blooms hands are no where near as good as smith's. He may make it through the season but he sure as hell won't be a playmaker.

Bloom is now 5'9" 185lbs... about the same as Santana Moss and Steve Smith.

edit - didn't see your yea yea yea

[Lone Star]

undrafted free agent, anyone?