Forty Times are Bogus in the NFL/ Judge
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Forty times are bogus in the NFL=20
April 17, 2001=20
BY CLARK JUDGE
FOXSports.com =20
=20
There is something that makes no sense to me, and, for once, it doesn't =
involve Mark Cuban. No, it's what I'm hearing about Michael Vick, the =
first choice in this weekend's draft. The word starting to make the =
rounds on the Virginia Tech quarterback is that he can run the 40 in =
less than 4.3 seconds.
I never saw Vick run a 40, and I wasn't at his workout at Virginia Tech. =
But one thing I can guarantee is this: Vick cannot run the 40 in under =
4.3 seconds. Heck, he can't run it under 4.4, either.
That's not a knock on Vick. It's a knock on an NFL practice that is =
absolutely, positively out of whack. I'm talking about 40-yard dash =
times. They're the standard by which draft-eligible players are =
measured, and they're as reliable as UFO sightings.
Yet when the NFL begins its march of draftees on Saturday you're going =
to hear how one running back ran a 4.32, a wide receiver peeled off a =
4.34 or some 350-pound lummox breezed through a 4.85. It makes for good =
copy. But so did Paul Bunyan.
"The only way to get a true 40-yard dash time is to get electronic =
timing where a man breaks a wire when he leaves the starting gate," said =
Buffalo's vice president in charge of player personnel, Dwight Adams. =
"The 40 is a common denominator in football, but it's blown way out of =
proportion. It's physically impossible to run a 4.2 and, probably, a =
4.3."
Don't tell that to the guys holding stopwatches. I remember when Vance =
Johnson, then a wide receiver at the University of Arizona, ran the 40 =
in 4.19 seconds. At least that's what I was told. I guess Denver was, =
too, because the Broncos made him their second-round draft pick in 1985.
I also remember when Laveranues Coles, then a wide receiver at Florida =
State, was supposed to have run a 4.16. Nobody said anything about it =
being wind-aided, but it would have taken Hurricane Andrew to push him =
to a finish like that. The Jets media guide has him clocked at 4.29 last =
year, and there was no wind advisory there, either.
The NFL scouting combine has been using electronic timing since 1990, =
but that's one year after Deion Sanders set the standard against which =
all others are measured. Sanders ran a 4.29 in Prime Time, and nobody =
has beaten the mark since.
"You've got to take into consideration that most of these times are done =
with stopwatches," said San Diego State's Rahn Sheffield, coach of the =
women's track and field squad and a former track star himself. "A 4.2 =
really translates to a 4.4. When you hand time (dashes) it opens up room =
for human error. So when a Marshall Faulk runs a 4.33, it really equates =
to a 4.5."
All of which comes as no news to Adams, who for years has laughed off =
40-yard dashes and vertical jumps and long jumps as insignificant =
measures of a football prospect's abilities. He's more interested in =
production, which makes a lot of sense to me . and anyone else who =
believes stopwatches weren't made for football.
Remember when Jerry Rice emerged from Mississippi Valley State in 1985? =
He was supposed to be too slow. Same with USC running back Marcus Allen. =
Yeah, well, I never saw a defensive back who could catch Rice from =
behind until he tore up his knee, and Allen's a lock for the Hall of =
Fame.
O.J. Simpson might have been the fastest back to play the game. Go ahead =
and make a case for Bo Jackson. Maybe Herschel Walker, too. But Simpson =
ran a leg on Southern Cal's 440-yard relay team, one that set a world =
record, and if he were in this year's draft he'd be the fastest running =
back by far; faster than Big-10 sprint champion Michael Bennett. Faster =
than LaDainian Tomlinson. Faster than Deuce McAllister.
Any idea what Simpson ran for a 40? I do. Try 4.5. If you don't believe =
him ask. He said it shortly after he left USC.
"I must've missed something here," said Adams. "I spent some time this =
spring with an Olympic sprinter, and we sat in a stadium together, =
watching guys work out and talking about how the 40-yard dash times were =
way overdone."
The sprinter was Dennis Mitchell. Yeah, THAT Dennis Mitchell. He and =
Adams were together at the University of Florida, and when they heard =
times of some of the guys they watched Mitchell said nothing. He just =
shook his head.
"He was a little shocked," said Adams. "Being a great sprinter, he'd =
never seen so many people running 4.1s and 4.2s. I've talked to (track =
coach) Brooks Johnson and others who say, 'You football people are way =
ahead of us.' Of course, they're facetious."
If Adams had his way, he'd rely more on times for shorter distances -- =
especially for offensive and defensive linemen. Make them stop running =
40s and time them for 10s, maybe 20s. That's all they usually cover, =
anyway.
"I could see it," said Cleveland's vice president in charge of football =
operations, Dwight Clark. "But for running backs, wide receivers and =
defensive backs, I'd like to see the 40 stay."
The Browns don't rely on others' times. They clock prospects themselves, =
and if they don't, they don't have a record of them. The Browns never =
timed anyone at 4.2. They never timed anyone at 4.3, either, though they =
had the University of Arizona's Trung Canidate at 4.32 last year. I =
wasn't at that workout, either, but I know something was wrong.
And here's why. The fastest starter I ever saw was sprinter Ben Johnson, =
and at the 1988 Seoul Olympics track and field's fastest starter ran the =
100 meters in a blistering 9.79 seconds, a time that later was =
disallowed after Johnson tested positive for steroids. Know how fast he =
covered the first 40? It was 4.69 seconds. Forty meters is approximately =
44 yards, which means Johnson ran the first 40 in 4.26.
So, now, let's see if I have this straight: The chemically enhanced =
Johnson, the fastest starter in track history, ran the fastest 100 in =
history . only it was one-tenth of a second slower than Laveranues Coles =
a year ago and three one-hundreths of a second ahead of Sanders' NFL =
combine record.
It makes you wonder. It makes you wonder why anyone believes this stuff.
"I look at guys like Mean Joe Greene and Steve Van Buren and wonder how =
many 4.3s those guys did," said Adams. "I think we've gotten to the =
point where we've overdone the clock workout."
Senior writer Clark Judge covers the NFL for FOXSports.com. Send your =
comments to
cjudge@foxsports.com