dagblog - Comments for "The NFL Combine - A Rant "

I agree with you about the

JimmyBob — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 18:19:35 +0000

I agree with you about the bench and the 40 times.

In the 40, of course, one is not wearing pads or cleats and they are also starting from a different stance than they would on the field. They are also not running with a football

Here is something else about the 40 that you alluded to. It's the willingness of a player to run full speed in the middle of 21 other moving players.

Our fastest high school football player played at tailback but he also rode the bench except for mop up duty. The reason he could never make as tailback as because he ran tentatively(or as our coach would say-he like to tiptoe through the tulips). He was afraid of running into someone at full speed or looking to dodge someone who was running at him full speed.

Our starting tailback, who gained over a 1000 yards 2 years in a row was slower in the 40. But he a fearless player and ran at full speed, unafraid of the hits or smashing into someone.

A lot of people are a lot faster on the field, running with reckless abandon, and going all out even if they are dog tired.

You can't capture that in a 40 yard dash.

Good blog post.

I agree somewhat (the

Mortimus — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 19:46:38 +0000

In reply to Before giving a player

I agree somewhat (the interview and intelligence test are certainly valuable - hi, Vince!) - but football is mostly instincts, spacial processing, guts and determination. The combine is more than the 40 time but that is the most overused aspect of it and if any one of these participants runs a 4.12 tomorrow (no matter what they've done in college) they jump immediately into the first round and that's ridiculous. I've never considered the "green" aspect of it, though I think there isn't much of a carbon footprint for scouts hitting forward and rewind on the game film - still I I have no doubt that the combine will smartly be branded eco-friendly in the coming years. You wouldn't by any chance be in NFL Marketing would you? If not, you should be.

Before giving a player

Ted in San Diego — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 19:34:20 +0000

In reply to The NFL Combine - A Rant

Before giving a player Millions of dollars in any sport, I'd want to know their Wonderlick intelligence score, their understanding and ability to learn the game through a course of interviews, and yes, what kind of shape they are in without their shirt on and thru a series of strength and speed tests. The combine is much more than just how fast can you run the 40...that's a very simplistic way to look at it, just to be provocative I surmise. The combine gathers all the top players together and allows all the coaches to meet/speak with all of the players they have interest in....if you think about it, it's a very Green event because it cuts down on those players being flown to several diff. cities to meet with several diff. teams and coaches through the springtime...so the combine actually cuts down on CO2 emissions!

AYE!!! some of us are just

Anonymous — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 20:50:15 +0000

In reply to The NFL Combine - A Rant

AYE!!!

some of us are just watching the "men-in-tights" and getting off on their well sculptured bodies.........and anything else that's swingin.

you know the drill.

Do you really want to play

Mortimus — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 17:13:04 +0000

In reply to well, obviously, scouts just

Do you really want to play this game? Give me the top 40-times of the last decade and I'll show you a list of overrated busts.

well, obviously, scouts just

Deadman — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 16:59:14 +0000

In reply to The NFL Combine - A Rant

well, obviously, scouts just use combine results as one input in their decision-making process. and of course for every gholston there's a chris johnson whose stellar combine stats appropriately move them up the draft chart.

more importantly, wow, you did the stop/start casio watch competition too??? and i thought i was the only one (i dont know what my time record was, but just for grins, im going to say it was better than yours).

and i didn't know you graduated from yale