For the next five days, about as many football fans will try to weasel into the RCA Dome in Indianapolis as scouts will try to escape the bubble’s menial madness at the National Football Scouting Combine.

‘I’ve had as many requests to get into the National Football Scouting Combine as almost any other event as we’ve had over the years,’ said Mike Fox, the Dome’s stadium director.

The event has never been open to the public, and perhaps the questions surrounding it draw attention. If only those fans knew the reality of the combine, a stop-watch-beeping, whistle-blowing festival, that’s worn down many a scout.

‘It’s a miserable time for us,’ said Doug Majeski, a 10-year scout for the Buffalo Bills. ‘You get tired of watching guys run around.’

Actually, it’s a bit more than that. The Combine, run by the Tulsa, Okla.,-based National Football Scouting Inc., provides NFL scouts and executives a chance to observe and interview 333 of the nation’s top prospects. Since teams are sure to drop millions on some of their picks in April’s draft, the Combine provides a chance to see all possible draftees on an equal stage.

‘It’s great that you get the access to the guys to get their medical information and find out who’s healthy,’ Majeski said. ‘Kind of tie up some loose ends.’

So, who gets to go?

It’s all up to a committee made up of five or six NFL personnel representatives, Duke Babb (president of National Football Scouting) and Jack Butler, who runs BLESTO, a separate scouting service used by NFL clubs. The committee meets at the Blue-Gray All-Star game in December and formulates a list.

NFL teams pay fees to National to help fund the Combine’s costs of transporting, housing and feeding players. The Combine began in 1977 — when it was run by three scouting services (National, BLESTO and Quadra) — and was moved to Indianapolis in 1984.

National was founded in 1964 and has always employed its own staff. Fifteen NFL teams currently pay for National’s services. BLESTO, which has a rep in the NFL front office, began in 1963 and is an acronym for its four original members (Bears, Lions, Eagles and Steelers Talent Organization)

The two scouting services enabled NFL teams to discover small-college players. Imagine the league without Jerry Rice, who was drafted in 1985 out of Mississippi Valley State, a Division I-AA college.

So once the players get to the Combine, they run around cones and climb ropes like gym class, right?

Not quite.

Though some of the events (three-cone drill and broad jump) sound like something out of fifth grade, there’s more to the Combine than that. Players undergo medical exams, measurements and even have to take a Wonderlic intelligence test. And that’s before they take the field.

Day 1 (see schedule) consists mostly of X-rays and an orientation meeting. Day 2 brings measurements (height, weight, arms), weightlifting tests, the Wonderlic exam and interviews with team reps. Players conclude the day at the hospital for physicals. Day 3 presents the typical Combine events: 40-yard dash, vertical-leap test, shuttle runs and skill drills.

National’s cameras capture a player’s every move and even film him shirtless to check out his physique. From the footage, the scouting service develops a highlight tape for every player.

Still, scouts agree that the one-on-one interviews are the most beneficial part of the Combine.

‘We ask a little bit about their family, a little bit about their position, their football background,’ said Ron Labadie, the Miami Dolphins’ director of college scouting. ‘We want to get a feel for them and kind of get some feel for their maturity and how they communicate.’

Scouts will write down a couple comments about a player after the interview, though they already know a good deal about him from background checks.

As far as physical events go, some players decide not to compete in all the drills, for one reason or another. Though Labadie said he doesn’t discount players for that and tries to complete the missed drills when he goes to the player’s school for an individual workout, Majeski takes a different view.

‘I look at it like: Why won’t a kid work out?’ Majeski said. ‘Is he scared about competing against his peers? A guy that works out well at the Combine really doesn’t have anything else to do other than just sit around and wait for the draft.’

Yeah, so it’s draft day now. Is my team really picking a guy based on his Combine performance?

Certainly not solely on the Combine efforts, but those numbers could play a part.

‘There are some guys who work out great that really don’t do anything in college or don’t make plays,’ Majeski said. ‘Yeah, it helps them, because you can see their athletic talent. But then you look at it two-fold, like ‘Why weren’t they as productive on the field?’ ‘

For all those who bust out with a 4.2-second 40-yard dash, there are an equal number who don’t perform to expectations. Outside factors from nerves to the unfamiliar atmosphere can all impact a player’s times and distances.

But as Majeski said, ‘The times that the college kids and the public has are so overrated. Everybody thinks you’ve got to run a 4.4. Well, the best players in our league, all of them don’t run 4.4. They’re good players for other reasons. Football’s not a track meet.’

Majeski pointed to the case of Tay Cody, a Florida State cornerback drafted last year by the San Diego Chargers. Cody didn’t perform exceptionally at the Combine but still ended up as the Chargers’ second-string corner with 59 tackles last year.

So these players, they get all sorts of free stuff, don’t they?

Let’s put it this way. The tab for this whole shindig is on the league.

Players end up walking home with a boatload of NFL paraphernalia — hats, shirts and even backpacks, last year’s hot item.

And the facilities themselves, they provide everything the league needs. As Fox said, ‘We’ve got a really nice, tight package for them.’ From the indoor stadium to tons of meeting rooms in the nearby convention center to six hotels within walking distance, Indy is ideal for the event.

It even offers four or five steakhouses near the players’ hotel. Simple math: four to five steakhouses plus 333 college football players plus a free run at the salad bar equals the mantra for the weekend, in Fox’s words.

‘Bring it on, and I’ll take two.’

Published on February 27, 2002 at 12:00 pm