![]() ![]() What happens to a player who runs bad at the combine but improves his time at his campus workout? Does he move up the board? If he does, then why should players even run in Indy? And is the adjustment the right number or a number arbitrarily picked out of a hat? For the Raiders, the 40 is everything, so they make it difficult for prospects to run a great time.Īdjusting the times can create a problem. If a player runs 4.47 at Indy, the Raiders will adjust it to around 4.51. When I worked with the Raiders, and even now, they adjust every time from the combine slower. It is widely understood that a player is much faster on a track and turf than grass, but the question remains how much faster. Today, with many different surfaces available, it becomes a challenge to adjust the time correctly. When Coach Brown started running his 40s, grass was the only surface he had his players run on. Does this player play fast? Can his 40 time be seen when he puts on his pads? Like all things, when evaluating college players, everything falls back to the evaluation of playing the game. And that is the key for finding the right balance when using the 40 times as a measuring stick. Some players are fast, but do not play fast, while others time slow, but play fast in pads. There have been countless workout warriors who have shown well at the combine and failed in the NFL. Little wonder he has played three years in the league and has yet to record a sack. Jets defensive end Vernon Gholston ran extremely well at the combine, but when he was evaluated on tape from Ohio State, his speed never translated to the field. There have been players that time fast in the 40, but when watching them play football they don’t look nearly as fast. His speed translated to his game, which then validated the 40-yard dash. However, the key validation came when Sanders showed he was fast on the football field, as well. And Sanders just kept on running, Forrest Gump-style, right into the locker room. By more than one account, he ran the 40 in 4.19 seconds, thought to be the second-fastest ever run at the combine (Bo Jackson has the fastest verifiable combine 40 time of 4.12 seconds in 1986). The most fundamental question that must be asked after knowing a player’s time and what makes the 40 a valued tool: Does he play the game of football with that speed?įor example, Deion Sanders was lightning fast at the combine in New Orleans in 1989. But the essential value of this quick dash as a measuring stick has not changed. With time comes improvement, so naturally the 40 times have improved as players have gotten stronger, highly trained and in peak condition. ![]() Little did Coach Brown know that agents would one day send their clients to speed camps hoping to improve their 40-yard times and their draft status. The runners stay low for the first 10 yards, not raising their head, and finish 10 yards past the end line. In today’s 40, players work on their start from an elongated three-point stance - unlike the one used in football - trying to gain yardage with their first step. My goal would be to have a big, fast football team - not a track team that forced me to rely solely on the 40-yard dash in shorts.īack in his day, Brown’s 40-yard test looked vastly different than the one being utilized at the combine today, even though the distance traveled is the same. And if I was building a team I would want specific requirements of height, weight, and speed for each position. The 40 time has become the measuring tool for most teams and, yes, I have to admit, I relied on knowing the times of each player. Maybe Brown should have patented his idea. Think about it: What’s the one question every single prospect leaving the NFL Scouting Combine this year will be asked? “What was your forty time?” Check out the entire list here.įastest 40s at combine since 2006 (top five) His speed has translated to the NFL, but that’s not the case for everyone. I’ve seen death staring at me with my own eyesĬhris Johnson has the fastest 40 time since 2006. * Since the following video recording, I’ve rewritten part of my “Dash” song I performed here at the California Writers Club – the day before All Saints Day. There’ll be two dates on our grave plaqueīut it’s how we live life’s dash that speaks, ![]()
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