SmootSmack
03-01-2011, 01:08 PM
So, the Warpath Front Office thought we’d do a different sort of Q&A. Sorry we didn’t have a chance to field your questions this time. This was a bit more spontaneous. We hope to have him on again soon and we can pose your questions to him.
Anyhow, many of you don’t know the name Dan Shonka but you know his work. He currently runs ourlads.com, and spent close to four decades as a scout in the NFL, including 2001 when he was with the Redskins.
Ourlads.com - Dan Shonka Bio (http://www.ourlads.com/shonka/)
So we talked to Dan about his time with the Redskins and how the scouting process works. Those answers are below. Coming up later in part 2, Shonka talks to us about this year’s draft.
Q: Tell us about working for Marty Schottenheimer
A: Marty was a great man to work for. He was very respectful and listened carefully about every player. He is impressive as a leader. He made the scouts feel they too had ownership in the team. He had confidence in me as a scout and during the spring he had me go through the Big 10 workout days to evaluate players when I was in the West during the fall.
Q: How much input did Dan Snyder have on the scouting process?
A: Dan Snyder had no input. He was never in our meetings.
Q: What did you see in Antonio Pierce that no one else drafting saw?
A: Antonio Pierce jumped out at me on tape because of ability to play with hunger..he finished every play, he was always around the ball he had great instincts. I sat next to a GM from another team studying tape and I told the GM to take a look at Antonio..that was the 1st and only time I alerted a competitor about a sleeper. The GM said Antonio couldn't play. Marty said during training camp that Antonio was the most instinctive LBer he had seen in his 30 plus years in the NFL.
Q: Is there much interaction among scouts across the league?
A: I didn't talk to other scouts about players. Why would I do the work and tip them off...many scouts don't do their due diligence.
Q: Talk about the scouting process. Explain the difference between the area scout, the regional scout, and the national scout?
A: The area scout goes through first and knows the player by studying him as an underclassman. He does the background work. The regional scout will then evaluate about 4-6 weeks after the area scout (depending on the size of the region). Then you have the national (crosschecking) scout who studies all of the top players across the country. His direct evaluation occurs late in the season or in bowl practices and bowl games. The national scout looks at the top 1250150 players. Your draft should only consist of your top 125-150 players.
Q: How much influence does the coaching staff have on the process?
A: A team doesn’t want a scout to like a player just because a coach or another scout likes him. You must have the facts to back up your grade. Some teams don’t want scouts talking about the same player with each other to avoid any possible influence on the part of one scout over another. For the sake of integrity, you must have strong scouts with honest opinions
Q: How important is the off-the-field behavior (including combine interviews)?
A: The scout’s grade is based on what they do on the field. Once the top 125-150 are selected to be put up on the board then you code with them off field stuff. If it’s very bad you move them to a “no draft” board.
Stay tuned for more soon
Anyhow, many of you don’t know the name Dan Shonka but you know his work. He currently runs ourlads.com, and spent close to four decades as a scout in the NFL, including 2001 when he was with the Redskins.
Ourlads.com - Dan Shonka Bio (http://www.ourlads.com/shonka/)
So we talked to Dan about his time with the Redskins and how the scouting process works. Those answers are below. Coming up later in part 2, Shonka talks to us about this year’s draft.
Q: Tell us about working for Marty Schottenheimer
A: Marty was a great man to work for. He was very respectful and listened carefully about every player. He is impressive as a leader. He made the scouts feel they too had ownership in the team. He had confidence in me as a scout and during the spring he had me go through the Big 10 workout days to evaluate players when I was in the West during the fall.
Q: How much input did Dan Snyder have on the scouting process?
A: Dan Snyder had no input. He was never in our meetings.
Q: What did you see in Antonio Pierce that no one else drafting saw?
A: Antonio Pierce jumped out at me on tape because of ability to play with hunger..he finished every play, he was always around the ball he had great instincts. I sat next to a GM from another team studying tape and I told the GM to take a look at Antonio..that was the 1st and only time I alerted a competitor about a sleeper. The GM said Antonio couldn't play. Marty said during training camp that Antonio was the most instinctive LBer he had seen in his 30 plus years in the NFL.
Q: Is there much interaction among scouts across the league?
A: I didn't talk to other scouts about players. Why would I do the work and tip them off...many scouts don't do their due diligence.
Q: Talk about the scouting process. Explain the difference between the area scout, the regional scout, and the national scout?
A: The area scout goes through first and knows the player by studying him as an underclassman. He does the background work. The regional scout will then evaluate about 4-6 weeks after the area scout (depending on the size of the region). Then you have the national (crosschecking) scout who studies all of the top players across the country. His direct evaluation occurs late in the season or in bowl practices and bowl games. The national scout looks at the top 1250150 players. Your draft should only consist of your top 125-150 players.
Q: How much influence does the coaching staff have on the process?
A: A team doesn’t want a scout to like a player just because a coach or another scout likes him. You must have the facts to back up your grade. Some teams don’t want scouts talking about the same player with each other to avoid any possible influence on the part of one scout over another. For the sake of integrity, you must have strong scouts with honest opinions
Q: How important is the off-the-field behavior (including combine interviews)?
A: The scout’s grade is based on what they do on the field. Once the top 125-150 are selected to be put up on the board then you code with them off field stuff. If it’s very bad you move them to a “no draft” board.
Stay tuned for more soon