NFL Network cut into its 5,784th airing of Barry Sanders: A Football Life to bring us this important news item Sunday night: a female had tried out for an NFL team.

“Awesome,” I thought while having flashbacks to Kathy Ireland’s puberty-inducing role in the 1991 don’t-call-it-a-classic, Necessary Roughness.

Yup, Lauren Silberman, an MIT graduate and former soccer star, did make history over the weekend at the NFL Scouting Combine, becoming the first of her gender to officially take a swing at landing on an NFL roster. But her performance at the event was so bad that it set a second precedent: the worst tryout for someone attempting to make a team in professional sports history.

Roll the tape:

Silberman says she was injured while kicking that day and that’s what resulted in her weak performance. Enter the conspiracy theorists.

Here’s one former college kicker’s take, telling USA Today:

“It is disappointing. I hoped she would go out and do justice for an NFL tryout, because there are lots of people who have dreamed of going to the NFL. It should be something serious.”

“I also find it curious she didn’t warm up.You never go in kicking cold. There’s a reason why the kickers are the first people out there. It takes us a while to warm up.”

“Her performance does not have to do with her gender, it has to do with her experience and her preparation. Unfortunately, what’s going to happen now is she’s going to be looked at (as inferior) because she was female.

“But she was terrible.”

Ouch.

Adding fuel to the fire, several kickers at the event said that Silberman was asking them how to lineup and approach the ball on a kick, as if no homework was done whatsoever.

So was it simply a publicity stunt by Silberman? Only she knows the true answer. My guess is she simply got geeked up after one good boot at some fan fest, signed up for the combine tryout (praying that it’s just that easy and that she didn’t take a legit kicker’s tryout slot), made media appearance after media appearance after media appearance and then just prayed to Pele that her performance wouldn’t be as laughable as it eventually was on the day of the tryout.

That does not make her a criminal. But she does deserve some heat for not preparing sufficiently for something that is taken very serious by hundreds of athletes.

By the way, those brutal quotes above? They’re all from a woman.

Katie Hnida, a former kicker for Colorado and New Mexico and the first woman to score a point in a Div. 1 football, was certainly not impressed by Silberman’s efforts.

Edison-Tesla, anyone?

Matt Burke is sports editor and a columnist at Metro Boston. Follow him on Twitter @BurkeMetroBOS

The post Playing the Field: Was female kicker’s tryout a publicity stunt? appeared first on Metro.us.

The annual meat market known as the NFL Combine starts Thursday. It has always been the top place for talent evaluators to break down the top prospects in the upcoming draft. It’s more than just the 40-yard dash, as players are interviewed, tested and accurately measured as opposed to their inflated roster stats.

Both the Jets and Giants have some holes to fill in the draft and Metro takes a look at the three biggest positional needs on each squad and a few players they could target in the draft. Be sure to keep an eye on them over the weekend in Indianapolis.

GIANTS

A year after failing to properly defend their Super Bowl title by missing the playoffs, the Giants need to add depth after a year of injury struggles.

Cornerback:
The Giants had a notoriously weak secondary last year, tied for the league high with 8.1 yards per pass attempt. They can’t rely on Corey Webster and the secondary is truly lacking a playmaker other team’s need to scheme around. The prototype here is the man who plays across town, Darrelle Revis, and while the Giants can address this via free agency they would be wise to use one of their Top-2 picks on a cornerback for the future.

Round 1 target: Jonathan Banks (Mississippi State) — He possesses the ideal size to play the position at the next level and he’s a good tackler in the box. An all-around good fit for the Giants.
Rounds 2-3 target: Robert Alford (Southeast Louisiana) — No, he is not as physically strong or impressive as Banks but he is fast and covers a lot of turf. He played against lesser competition, but has tremendous upside.
Rounds 4-7 target: Blidi Wreh-Wilson (UConn) — He had a knee injury two years ago so question marks exist about his health. He has struggled with consistency for the Huskies but he has tremendous physical tools.

Offensive line:
The aging Giants could use an infusion of youth almost anywhere along the offensive line, but tackles are always at a premium. Right tackle David Diehl just completed his 10th NFL season and his window is fast closing. He, like Webster, risk being cut this offseason.

Round 1 target: D.J. Fluker (Alabama) — Fluker was part of the offensive line that powered the Crimson Tide to consecutive national championships. He’s strong but needs to reshape his body and slim down a tad. But he has the pedigree head coach Tom Coughlin loves in draft picks.
Rounds 2-3 target: Terron Armstead (Arkansas-Pine Bluff) — He isn’t a big name in the draft but he has outstanding measurables and with good coaching could become an ideal downfield blocker, something the Giants love in their linemen.
Rounds 4-7 target: Reid Fragel (Ohio State) — He has room to grow on his frame but is a sound player. He also has some of the better feet in this draft for linemen.

Tight end:
With Martellus Bennett likely testing the free agent market, the Giants could use a tight end who can catch and block — something they haven’t had since Kevin Boss left as a free agent two years ago.

Round 1 target: Tyler Eifert (Notre Dame) — No question Eifert would be a dream fit for the Giants and he showed his stuff last year in leading Notre Dame in receptions. He’s an underrated blocker as well.
Rounds 2-3 target: Travis Kelce (Cincinnati) — He is another well-rounded tight end hailing from a school that is producing NFL caliber players at the position. Little known before this last year, he was an All-Big East selection after 40 catches in his senior season.
Rounds 4-7 target: Nick Kasa (Colorado) — Kasa played defensive end up until last season but made a solid transition his senior season to the offensive side of the ball. He’s athletic but raw.

JETS

There’s a lot of rebuilding work to be done with the Jets on both side of the ball and their draft day could be flipped if they add more picks by trading away their star Darrelle Revis.

Linebacker:
With likely three of their four starting linebackers not coming back, or expected to play a diminished role, head coach Rex Ryan’s famed 3-4 defense needs some versatile linebackers to provide depth. Pronto.

Round 1 target: Jarvis Jones (Georgia) — This is the name most linked in mock drafts with the Jets. He’s a strong and sure tackler but sometimes seems to play a bit slow. His teammate, Alec Ogletree, might have more upside but also has a track record of arrests and suspensions.
Rounds 2-3 target: Khaseem Greene (Rutgers) — The local star is one of the faster linebackers in the draft and he’s as good against the run as against the pass. He could be an ideal fit midway through the second round for a team that needs a playmaker at linebacker.
Rounds 4-7 target: Zaviar Gooden (Missouri) — Gooden is another fast linebacker but is suspect in stopping the run. If the Jets want a project, he could be a good value but he’s more a situational player.

Safety:
LaRon Landry is coming off a Pro Bowl season and might be too pricey for the Jets to keep. Eric Smith was cut earlier this week in a move to gain more room under the salary cap. A nice safety could help solidify the defense, even as the pass defense was outstanding last year.

Round 1 target: Eric Reid (LSU) — He could jump into the first round with a good showing in the 40-yard dash but his bread and butter is as a physical safety and a sure tackler. He has good size and could fit the Jets defense if they decide to trade back from No. 9 to later in the first round.
Rounds 2-3 target: Tony Jefferson (Oklahoma) — Jefferson isn’t big but he’s a solid safety and a smart football player. He could be a good fit in a backend that has lost some veteran experience.
Rounds 4-7 target: Josh Evans (Florida) — Evans might be a steal in the fifth round, as a player who is a real ball hawk. He does need to refine his technique but has ideal size at the position and room to grow on his frame.

Running back:
Four years of Shonn Greene didn’t see the player develop into an elite running back. If the Jets are stuck with Mark Sanchez as quarterback then bolstering the offense with a good running game and an elite running back might be the best way to go.

Round 1 target: Giovani Bernard (North Carolina) — Bernard averaged 122 rushing yards per game last year for the Tar Heels. His low center of gravity and build is reminiscent of Ravens running Ray Rice. He could be a nice battering ram for the Jets.
Rounds 2-3 target: Andre Ellington (Clemson) — The burner will be in demand because he might well run a 4.4 40-yard dash at the combine. He’s a consistent runner and while he needs to add size, he did average 5.1 yards per carry last year.
Rounds 4-7 target: Marcus Lattimore (South Carolina) — The still-injured Lattimore was a Heisman contender until a horrific knee injury cut his season short. If the Jets don’t mind taking on board a risk a la Willis McGahee, Lattimore could be the biggest home run hitter in this year’s draft.

Follow Jets beat writer Kristian Dyer on Twitter @KristianRDyer.

The post Who should Jets and Giants target at NFL Combine? appeared first on Metro.us.