PoetTree
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Okay, so, I know we all know that Felix is pretty fast, faster than his combine 40-time (4.47) would suggest. Who knows? Maybe he ran a poor time that day. Maybe 40-times aren't quite as indicative of a player's "true" speed as we think it is. My evidence?
Well, take The Cat's 98-yard TD return. During the second half of the return, it appears that Felix is being caught by Quentin Demps (who himself ran a 4.39 at the combine). But after watching that play about 20 times, often in slow-mo, I have come to an entirely different conclusion:
After bursting through the perfectly-blocked wedge, Felix makes a very subtle move to evade the kicker. But it's at this point that Mr. Demps, who had began sprinting to catch up with Felix some 5 yards before, was hitting his top-gear. Although the move Felix used to slip by the kicker was masterfully simple, it did rob him of some speed; juking back towards his right for a moment, dipping his shoulder deftly that way... and then sprinting with astonishing explosion (running "sideways", as JJT reported) back to the left around Akers.
Seriously. Watch The Cat's sheer athleticism on that play. The burst he had, even at that awkward angle & already moving at such a high rate of speed, makes me see there's a at least V-10 in that puppy that still has plenty of torque even at high RPMs!
*ahem* Yeah, an engine analogy. What of it?
Anyway, after Felix gets by David and flattens out down the sideline, Demps, who gained ground during the slow-down Felix underwent to evade the kicker, gets within 2 yards of Felix Jones and appears to be closing. At about the 50-yard-line Felix glances to his right, sees Demps, looks straight ahead, and from that point on, slowly but surely, the cushion between them grows by a yard -- until Felix curves to the right just before the endzone, and Demps reaches & flails to the ground.
My point? Felix is fast! I mean, really fast. As I said, faster than his combine 40-time (4.47) would suggest. Faster than Demps (4.39), apparently. But maybe not faster than Stanback, who I've seen cited as running anywhere from 4.45 to 4.54 -- but whose "true" speed obviously belies the clock.
And to put it in even weirder perspective, this past weekend we just watched Darren McFadden (4.27 & 4.33 at the combine) get run down from behind at a dead sprint along the sideline by strong safety Bernard Pollard -- who ran a 4.57 at the combine!
Crazy stuff. But hey, maybe Felix should coach his old teammate on how not to get caught, eh?
Peace!
Poet
Well, take The Cat's 98-yard TD return. During the second half of the return, it appears that Felix is being caught by Quentin Demps (who himself ran a 4.39 at the combine). But after watching that play about 20 times, often in slow-mo, I have come to an entirely different conclusion:
After bursting through the perfectly-blocked wedge, Felix makes a very subtle move to evade the kicker. But it's at this point that Mr. Demps, who had began sprinting to catch up with Felix some 5 yards before, was hitting his top-gear. Although the move Felix used to slip by the kicker was masterfully simple, it did rob him of some speed; juking back towards his right for a moment, dipping his shoulder deftly that way... and then sprinting with astonishing explosion (running "sideways", as JJT reported) back to the left around Akers.
Seriously. Watch The Cat's sheer athleticism on that play. The burst he had, even at that awkward angle & already moving at such a high rate of speed, makes me see there's a at least V-10 in that puppy that still has plenty of torque even at high RPMs!
*ahem* Yeah, an engine analogy. What of it?
Anyway, after Felix gets by David and flattens out down the sideline, Demps, who gained ground during the slow-down Felix underwent to evade the kicker, gets within 2 yards of Felix Jones and appears to be closing. At about the 50-yard-line Felix glances to his right, sees Demps, looks straight ahead, and from that point on, slowly but surely, the cushion between them grows by a yard -- until Felix curves to the right just before the endzone, and Demps reaches & flails to the ground.
My point? Felix is fast! I mean, really fast. As I said, faster than his combine 40-time (4.47) would suggest. Faster than Demps (4.39), apparently. But maybe not faster than Stanback, who I've seen cited as running anywhere from 4.45 to 4.54 -- but whose "true" speed obviously belies the clock.
And to put it in even weirder perspective, this past weekend we just watched Darren McFadden (4.27 & 4.33 at the combine) get run down from behind at a dead sprint along the sideline by strong safety Bernard Pollard -- who ran a 4.57 at the combine!
Crazy stuff. But hey, maybe Felix should coach his old teammate on how not to get caught, eh?
Peace!
Poet
