this is why the NFL Combine is a little overated

[dirtface]

people are going crazy about the NFL Combine all the time.. listen i understand that people want to know the speed and strenght of players.

but the most overated part of the combine is the 40 time. all you need to know is - is that person fast or not period. people are saying that 4.55 is to slow for a NFL reciever..... that is crazy do you know the difference between a 4.4 and a 4.55......... ITS A SPLIT SECOND!!!!!!! you cant even snap your fingers that fast.

TO aint a 4.38, Rice wont a 4.4 ever in his career, Michael Irvin ran like a 4.6 in Miami...... Chris Carter wont ever a 4.4 either.

the 40 time is all about practice and technique if you practice with track coaches that 40 time will drop.. BUT in the NFL is all about the natural running motion of a player because when he is out on that field he wont be thinking about technique he will be just running. i think that the cone drill is very important because it measures agility and quickness which are crucial in the nfl Ask Barry Sanders... no one could ever catch him !!!

even after all that i just said... Maurice Clarette still sucks!!!

[Trojans14]

Amen!

[plan9misfit]

There's another thing that people seem to fail to realize: the Derrick Johnson debate. If Johnson doesn't fit a 3-4 defense, why would Cleveland draft him? You know that Crennel is going to bring the 3-4 to Cleveland, so Johnson will fall passed them. And if Alex Smith has a solid combine, he'll go #3 overall, should the 49ers pass on him.

Personally, I think he'll fall to Minnesota at #7. They need LB and CB help in a major way.

My top 11 looks like this (barring any trades):

1. San Francisco - Aaron Rodgers QB
2. Miami - Cedric Benson RB
3. Cleveland - Alex Smith QB
4. Chicago - Ronnie Brown RB
5. Tampa Bay - Cadillac Williams RB
6. Tennessee - Pac-Man Jones CB
7. Minnesota - Derrick Johnson LB
8. Arizona - Antrel Rolle CB
9. Washington - Braylon Edwards WR or Alex Barron OT
10. Detroit - Thomas Davis S
11. Dallas - Mike Williams WR

[thisnamesucks]

i think it's funny that you found the need to point out that .15 seconds is a split second LOL
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member#1877
Ware: 31 tackles, 21 ast, 11 sacks, 4 FF, 1 FR

[dirtface]

the reason for that was because people act like 1.5 seconds makes someone much faster than another person

[thisnamesucks]

well, the difference between a 4.4 and a 4.55 is .375 over the 100 yards, that is a pretty big difference
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member#1877
Ware: 31 tackles, 21 ast, 11 sacks, 4 FF, 1 FR

[addy]

I know, this is ridiculous. What a 40 time is telling you is that if I (the WR) run a 4.4, and you (the CB) run a 4.5, then I'll be about 1 yard ahead of you if I run a fly route 40 yards down the field. CBs give the WR (unless its press coverage) at least 5 yards of space, therefore that 1 yard means nothing. Besides, how many routes in a playbook call for a receiver to run long enough for that .1 second to make a difference. I mean, running a 10 yard out pattern at a 4.5 or a 4.4 will make ZERO difference.

[thisnamesucks]

it means alot if that .1 seconds is off the acceleration and not top end speed. if you got 2 guys that at top speed can run a 4.4, but because of low acceleration one runs a 4.5....that initial burst is all it takes to get open in the NFL
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member#1877
Ware: 31 tackles, 21 ast, 11 sacks, 4 FF, 1 FR

[plan9misfit]

A good bump at the line of scrimmage by the WR on a CB does the same thing. The reason guys like Moss, Burress, and T.O. get open quickly is because they can bump a CB out of position, allowing them to get downfield. There are very few CB's that can bump a big WR off his route. They usually bump themselves right out of pass coverage.

[CowboyMojo]

To anyone who doesn't think that a few fractions of a second make a difference - you are nuts! I ran a 4.59 in college & tried to cover a wide out with a legitimate 4.45. I got cooked more times than I care to remember. Those little tidbits of time make you look really silly on game day. Speed does matter. Now, it is true that Irvin & Rice never were burners, but they used other techniques to get open. Also, let's not forget that they played with pretty good talent around them. Rice starred for years in a division with the Lambs, Ain'ts, & flightless falcons. None of those teams fielded a quality team during most of Rice's stay in SanFran. Not to knock his talent, but IMO if he had played in the ultra tough NFC east of those days - his butt would have been out of football years ago.

[TheStarStillShines]

Actually, Rice did run a 4.4 to 4.45, which is why he moved into the first round despite playing at Mississippi Valley State.

The Combine is overrated in a lot of respects. Players like Erik Flowers, Willie Middlebrooks, R.W. McQuarters, Justin Smith, Quentin Coryatt, and many others moved into the 1st round due to the Combine, although they've done little to nothing at the NFL level.

The Combine also has seen some players move down due to poor showings yet excelled at the NFL level. Terrell Suggs, Emmitt Smith, Ray Lewis, and others only had so-so Combine and personal workout showings that they dropped in the draft.

At the same time, the Combine has helped some players move up in the draft, and they've excelled. Dwight Freeney, LaDanian Tomlinson, Tommie Harris, and others have been successful in the NFL.

So, in some ways, yes, the Combine is overrated since the game is played on a field and with pads, not necessarily in the weight room (this isn't to say strength isn't importants) and on a track. At the same time, it does help separate the players from the athletes in some, but not all, cases.
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