Bill Polian is a big believer in the 40-yard dash

[MichaelWinicki]

The 40-yard dash is the marquee event of the NFL Scouting Combine, but it’s also often disparaged by those who say that a player’s speed in running 40 yards in a straight line while wearing shorts and a T-shirt does not say much about what kind of football player he is.

Count longtime NFL executive Bill Polian among those who say the 40 does, in fact, matter.

Polian, who ran the draft room for the Bills for eight years, the Panthers for three years and the Colts for 15 years, said on NFL Live that when he looks at the ways a player can show his stuff at the Combine, it begins with showing off his pure speed.

“No. 1, the 40 times. If you are a believer in speed — and I am, and was — the 40 times are very important,” Polian said.

For more...

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com...-40-yard-dash/

[Hoofbite]

I think the 40 is relatively useless except for 2 circumstances.

Guys who run incredibly fast. Chris Johnson fast where they are approaching the best time recorded.

Guys who run incredibly slow. Like a CB who runs a time you'd expect from a lineman.

[DFWJC]

Originally Posted by Hoofbite

I think the 40 is relatively useless except for 2 circumstances.

Guys who run incredibly fast. Chris Johnson fast where they are approaching the best time recorded.

Guys who run incredibly slow. Like a CB who runs a time you'd expect from a lineman.

Emmitt Smith, Larry Fitzgerald, Anquan Boldin, and so many more agree with you.

I'm sure most agree that all else equal, go ahead and take the faster player. But the guy has to able to play the game at a very high level, first and foremost.

[Omegasupreme]

Originally Posted by DFWJC

Emmitt Smith, Larry Fitzgerald, Anquan Boldin, and so many more agree with you.

I'm sure most agree that all else equal, go ahead and take the faster player. But the guy has to able to play the game at a very high level, first and foremost.

Plus, bloodthirsty competitiveness can make pedestrian non-game workouts look silly. Brian Urlacher has incredible game speed. I just watched a Jerry Rice presentation on NFL Network and Bill Walsh said that Jerry ran a 4.59/40 but his second gear during a game made him untouchable at times.

[xwalker]

Originally Posted by Omegasupreme

Plus, bloodthirsty competitiveness can make pedestrian non-game workouts look silly. Brian Urlacher has incredible game speed. I just watched a Jerry Rice presentation on NFL Network and Bill Walsh said that Jerry ran a 4.59/40 but his second gear during a game made him untouchable at times.

Brain Urlacher might not be a good reference because he has excellent measured speed also. A 4.59 forty at 258 lbs is in the elite category.

[jobberone]

There can be 40 speed and football speed. Also if you are looking at 40s you have to look at the range of 40s on a player while looking at all the other numbers and trusting your eyeballs as well.

[Omegasupreme]

Originally Posted by xwalker

Brain Urlacher might not be a good reference because he has excellent measured speed also. A 4.59 forty at 258 lbs is in the elite category.

The Urlacher speed is beyond just his 40 time. I saw him chase down 4.4/40 KR from 20 yards away. I think it may have been Garrett Wolfe. (It was during training camp)

But even still, what was Larry Allen's 40 time? Whatever it was, its probably approaching Sainthood by now.

[xwalker]

Originally Posted by DFWJC

Emmitt Smith, Larry Fitzgerald, Anquan Boldin, and so many more agree with you.

I'm sure most agree that all else equal, go ahead and take the faster player. But the guy has to able to play the game at a very high level, first and foremost.

You have to combine the forty time with other known parameters.

You could see by Emmitt's running style that he didn't need to be a burner.

If you had a smallish primarily outside running college RB, then you would worry about a 4.6 forty.

I was not difficult to see that Fitzgerald and Boldin were power type WRs like Michael Irvin and didn't need to be burners. Actually, I'm not sure why Fitzgerald is mentioned because he ran a 4.48 forty.

[Omegasupreme]

Originally Posted by xwalker

You have to combine the forty time with other known parameters.

You could see by Emmitt's running style that he didn't need to be a burner.

If you had a smallish primarily outside running college RB, then you would worry about a 4.6 forty.

I was not difficult to see that Fitzgerald and Boldin were power type WRs like Michael Irvin and didn't need to be burners. Actually, I'm not sure why Fitzgerald is mentioned because he ran a 4.48 forty.

Frank Gore

Brandon Flowers.

Both have the right kind of slow.

[Nation]

The 40 is certainly important with certain positions. Look at the USC Mike Williams' of the world. Other positions it is less important, but that doesn't still mean that there aren't important "underwear olympics" stats to go with those players. I don't think it's any coincidence that the only edge rushers to run under a 4.1 in the short shuttle are DeMarcus Ware and Von Miller.

[DFWJC]

Originally Posted by xwalker

You have to combine the forty time with other known parameters.

You could see by Emmitt's running style that he didn't need to be a burner.

If you had a smallish primarily outside running college RB, then you would worry about a 4.6 forty.

I was not difficult to see that Fitzgerald and Boldin were power type WRs like Michael Irvin and didn't need to be burners. Actually, I'm not sure why Fitzgerald is mentioned because he ran a 4.48 forty.

I agree.

As for Fitzgerald , I was referring to his NFL combine time...which in the 4.6 range.

[TwentyOne]

Originally Posted by DFWJC

Emmitt Smith, Larry Fitzgerald, Anquan Boldin, and so many more agree with you.

I'm sure most agree that all else equal, go ahead and take the faster player. But the guy has to able to play the game at a very high level, first and foremost.

All Polian did is to priorise. He did not say that its the only thing that counts. Nor did he put any wheight in his first priority (for example he id not say: speed is 2 times as important as the second priority (which could be size or whatever)).

“No. 1, the 40 times. If you are a believer in speed — and I am, and was — the 40 times are very important,” Polian said.

So i dont even understand the whole discussion here.

[DFWJC]

Originally Posted by TwentyOne

All Polian did is to priorise. He did not say that its the only thing that counts. Nor did he put any wheight in his first priority (for example he id not say: speed is 2 times as important as the second priority (which could be size or whatever)).

So i dont even understand the whole discussion here.

I had no big complaints about what Polian said.

The discussion just drifted into 40 time importance overall.

[Doomsday101]

I think it has importance but only somewhat there are guys who post great speed and end up doing nothing. You have some guys like Welker who ran a 4.55 at the combines who have had great career. I see the combines as a tool but can't tell you what kind of football player you have.

[Nation]

So much of this also depends on how you want to build your team. Polian believed in building an offense that could put up a lot of points and get a lead and pairing that with a defense that had a lot speed and could get after the quarterback. That's why when the system did fail it was often due to being too small to play against teams that can hang with them and that's why they always had a terrible run defense.

If you look at Belichick you'll see a GM who relies less on the 40 and more on big powerful guys that can pair a strong run D with a bend-but-don't-break philosophy in the passing game, so when they got to the red zone they had less space to cover and could hopefully force field goals. That's why then you saw their system fail it was often due to bigger linebackers and safeties not being able to cover more athletic players.

Both great GMs, both have their philosophies, but it doesn't make the 40 any more or less important on a macro scale just because one likes it and one doesn't.