NFL Combine shows how bogus most HS 40 times are

[Hogfaniam]

I am still fast.  A 4.25 is nothing.  I ran a 5.0 in high school but I just keep getting fatter and fatter.......

Ftfy

[Hankweb]

JJ Nelson, UAB wide receiver, ran an official 4.29 yesterday... My mistake...was a 4.28.

[jgphillips3]

6-1 298  not gonna impress too many teams

Well, remember that one of the supposed knocks on him was being too light so that weight is an improvement and gets him closer to the size people seem to think he needs.  He also has a good motor.  I really wish he would have stuck around one more year.  If  he had remained uninjured, he would have greatly improved his draft stock.

[LZH]

I bet that hand held , right? Faster, faster.

Are you making fun of me?  My HS coach said, and I quote, "you run faster in one spot than anyone I've ever seen".

Top that!

[LZH]

Ftfy

Oh no you d'int.........!

[pfrg999]

Listed 40 times are useless.  That's why every coach wants to use his own stop watch.  Not because hes necessarily more accurate than anyone else, but because he can have a consistent point of comparison.

999 times out of 1000 a person that claims to run a 4.3 is a liar.

Well I ran a 4.3... wait I mean...Damn you caught me... it was really more like a 40.3  

[John Futrall]

Listed 40 times are useless.  That's why every coach wants to use his own stop watch.  Not because hes necessarily more accurate than anyone else, but because he can have a consistent point of comparison.

999 times out of 1000 a person that claims to run a 4.3 is a liar.

I can run a 4.3.              (20 yards)

[OnTheHillHogFan]

6-1 298  not gonna impress too many teams

That is good size for a DT or a DE in a 3-4 scheme.

[MuskogeeHogFan]

Well, remember that one of the supposed knocks on him was being too light so that weight is an improvement and gets him closer to the size people seem to think he needs.  He also has a good motor.  I really wish he would have stuck around one more year.  If  he had remained uninjured, he would have greatly improved his draft stock.

I think he might have benefitted from another year of SEC play and showing what he could do. Very few R/S Sophomores in the Combine. Pretty much have to be a overly dominate player as a R/S Soph to get any kind of notice at the NFL level and that is why they have him projected to be an undrafted FA Signee. Maybe a bit premature in going Pro.

That said, now that the die is cast, I hope that he proves all of the projections wrong and becomes a dominate, big time, producing NFL player.

[thirrdegreetusker]

Think Matt Jones 40 time was something like 4.37, freakishly fast. No I don't have a link.
Bob Hayes ran a 9.1 100 yd dash, which equates to a 10.0 100 meter. Wonder how fast he could run the 40?

Bob Hayes might have been the fastest of all time. Won the 100 in something like 50 meets in a row. But was a FOOTBALL player who ran track, not vice versa.

A decade after his Olympic golds, there was a creature called "pro track". Pro track died when the amateur/pro distinction in track/field was abolished.

Anyway, the pro track promoters ran meets with races between pro football players, just for the gate appeal. At 30+ years of age, Hayes was undefeated against all the 4.1s and 4.2s and 4.3s coming out of college.

Hayes was kinda like Darrell Greene.  Everyone in the NFL knew that Hayes and Greene were the fastest guys in the league, in their eras. The "race" for second included everyone else.

[Rzbakfromwaybak]

You guys have been tricked into caring how fast any athlete can run a 40 yard dash and thinking that it means anything

Well, it would seem the NFL is also being "tricked" into believing it means something.  Wonder why they would time all these players in the 40, if it didn't mean anything?

[DeltaBoy]

Differences in the Track they are running on, electronic timers vs hand held. How rested are they just after the season.

[MJ2]

When you get down to HUNDDRETHS of a second over 40 yards, a lot of things can influence that precise of a measurement.   The "lean" at the end could change the timing.

[bigred223]

Matt jones ran a freaking 4.36! I'll never understand how that guy was so fast.

[Grizzlyfan]

And most of those that do are not RBs.

Saw a recent list of the 4 fastest combine scores for SEC players on Saturday Down South. The top 4 40 times were all 4.32 and all were CBs (including Chris Houston).

When you put this all into perspective, it makes DMACs 4.33 even more impressive.

And a good number of them run track at the highest college level.

[Grizzlyfan]

Well, it would seem the NFL is also being "tricked" into believing it means something.  Wonder why they would time all these players in the 40, if it didn't mean anything?

When it comes to the NFL draft you are looking at the best of the best of best.  Any additional bit of information can be used to make a differentiation.

Unlike baseball where you have hundreds and hundreds of draftable players from high school seniors to college players who could have been in college for 3 to 5 years. Then throw in the Latin American players.