Breaking out of combine speed trap... Owens Runs 4.64...

[Doomsday101]

Many of those guys still end up running a 40 later at their pro days.

Very true. I think the main reason is the combines have been known for a slow track for players running the 40

 

[joseephuss]

Very true. I think the main reason is the combines have been known for a slow track for players running the 40

That seems to be the case.

I like players that run and do all the drills at the combine. I think it says something about them. They are willing to take the risks of looking bad and yet still have confidence that they will in fact look good. If I had two players rated very closely after scouting and film study, I think one of them deciding to do all the drills at the combine and the other not could be a deciding factor between the two players.

 

[DeepBleu]

this sounds like an old article written before last year's draft took place.

 

[tyke1doe]

Boldin isn't exactly a good example for this argument. He was recovering from a leg injury prior to the combine. So his poor time was impacted by his health.

Still, I think what many people overlook is that players have a practice speed and a game speed.

I see it with athletes all the time. My son is like that. He is one of the fastest kids on the field, in football, baseball and basketball. But you wouldn't tell that in practice. He often doesn't come in first in practice when we run sprint drills. But come game time, his speed just shifts to a different level. It's called competition speed.

Jerry Rice was like that.
Boldin is like this.
T.O. is like this.

Come game time, they just shift into another gear and become almost impossible to catch despite their "practice" 40 times.

 

[Doomsday101]

That seems to be the case.

I like players that run and do all the drills at the combine. I think it says something about them. They are willing to take the risks of looking bad and yet still have confidence that they will in fact look good. If I had two players rated very closely after scouting and film study, I think one of them deciding to do all the drills at the combine and the other not could be a deciding factor between the two players.

But you have to remember for many it is a chance to help themselves for others it can hurt them and that is why many agents will tell their clients not to. If I'm expected to be a 3rd or 4th round pick I have a chance to go out and increase my value but If I'm a top 5 I'm not going to help myself at the combines I can only hurt myself.

 

[burmafrd]

This thing about practice/combine speed vs game speed is a crock. Some players are able to run faster in full gear then others. Also a 40 yd sprint from the down position is very different then being fully upright and charging off of the LOS. Julius had a VERY fast first 10 yds= but after that his speed was not that great. TO does not have a fast burst (hard to do when you are that tall and that heavy) but in full run he is faster then Julius (proved that during Julius's 77 yd run vs the saints when he chased him down to block).
I have always thought timing players in shorts and track shoes is just plain stupid: have them do all the drills in full uniform with helmet. THEN you will know how fast and quick they are when it REALLY matters.

 

[Chocolate Lab]

I always love how every year there is an article citing Jerry Rice and his 40 time dropping him in the draft. He went 16th overall. That is still high and in the first round. It is not as if he dropped out of the first round or into the second day or went undrafted. He was another one that was tough to scout since he played at a small school.

Ugh, same here. Jerry Rice is the gold standard for how slow players can still be great... Just like Emmitt is for running backs.

The truth is that Rice and Owens weren't (aren't) slow. It's just that combine training today is a huge industry that didn't even exist in Rice's and Owens' day. Especially if you were from a small school like they were, you just showed up and ran. Now you have speed camps that train kids for months to have perfect technique just to shave a tenth or a few hundredths off their times. That's why you can't compare times from years ago to today.

That's why I like track times. They aren't phony, tricked up, falsely reported, or run on 38 yard tracks. Funny how for the most part, track times have remained relatively stable over the years, while football players now regularly run times that were never seen just a few years ago. Hmm, I wonder why that is?

 

[Bob Sacamano]

Very true. I think the main reason is the combines have been known for a slow track for players running the 40

Indy replaced their field so that it's faster, but I see your point

 

[DallasDomination]

40 times dont mean anything but a good estimate of how fast they are.

T.O is faster then a 4.6

Trust me if Boldin one of the slowest big name recievers is 4.6 there is no way owens is a 4.6...Owens is more like a 4.3 with amazing top speed.

 

[ThreeSportStar80]

You do know there is much more to the scouting combine than the bench press and 40 times, don't you?

NOOOO really.....

 

[goshan]

TO looks like a 4.5 guy to me. He isnt sub 4.4.

 

[btcutter]

TO looks like a 4.5 guy to me. He isnt sub 4.4.

Runs 4.5 with gear is just fine. Don't remember anyone catching him from behind.

 

[joseephuss]

40 times dont mean anything but a good estimate of how fast they are.

T.O is faster then a 4.6

Trust me if Boldin one of the slowest big name recievers is 4.6 there is no way owens is a 4.6...Owens is more like a 4.3 with amazing top speed.

I don't think anyone truly doubts that. He didn't drop in the draft due to his 40 time even though this article insinuates that was the reason. I just don't think he was ever rated as a 1st rounder and that is probably because he played at a small college. Small college players just don't get scouted as heavily as players at big colleges. Even the players that do get scouted heavily are very difficult to evaluate because they are going up against smaller, slower players at their level of play. And there are probably a whole lot of other and probably even better reasons that he got drafted where he ended getting drafted. Weren't there maturity issues with TO coming out of college? I doubt his 40 time really did that much to change GMs minds about him at that time.

 

[Bob Sacamano]

I don't think anyone truly doubts that. He didn't drop in the draft due to his 40 time even though this article insinuates that was the reason. I just don't think he was ever rated as a 1st rounder and that is probably because he played at a small college. Small college players just don't get scouted as heavily as players at big colleges. Even the players that do get scouted heavily are very difficult to evaluate because they are going up against smaller, slower players at their level of play. And there are probably a whole lot of other and probably even better reasons that he got drafted where he ended getting drafted. Weren't there maturity issues with TO coming out of college? I doubt his 40 time really did that much to change GMs minds about him at that time.

it's pretty good to be taken in the 2nd round out of Tennessee-Chattanooga

 

[silver]

That's why I like track times. They aren't phony, tricked up, falsely reported, or run on 38 yard tracks. Funny how for the most part, track times have remained relatively stable over the years, while football players now regularly run times that were never seen just a few years ago. Hmm, I wonder why that is?

they run downhill. heck even Bill Bates managed to run a 4.55 second forty in his latter days coming off re-constructive knee surgery. steroids may have something to do with it too.

 

[joseephuss]

it's pretty good to be taken in the 2nd round out of Tennessee-Chattanooga

The 3rd as well, which is where he was picked. I bet if San Fran did not take him that Dallas may have drafted him late in the 3rd with one of their supplemental picks that they used on Stepfret Williams.