There was a study of film in Ben Johnson's world record done once (the one he was busted for!)....most agree that the first 40 out of the blocks was the fastest ever...and probably right. Anyway, his first 40 was 4.2!!!! These football players are definitely not running faster than that.
i heard on a broadcast that mo runs a 3.5 "flying" 40. which means he has a running start
Truth is, we lose many of the best track athletes before they even hit the track in college. Many of those who do compete in college (Tyrone Wheatley here in Michigan is a good example) only do so on loan from their football coaches and only when it doesn't conflict with spring practice.
Track may lose a lot of guys to football but football loses a lot of guys to US Marshall, the American Penal system and NA (Narcotics Anonymous).
On a serious note....sic
At the 1991 Penn Relays...Raghib Ismail was a featured sprinter in the college men's 100 meters. He had placed 2nd at the NCAA indoor meet at 55 meters with a time of 6.02 I recall.......He ran 10.6 something and was smoked by JOn Drummond then at TCU....short bursts of speed in football do not necessarily translate to 100 meter speed...
In 2004, American Sprinters consistently win on A World Stage....
Let's look at other sports.....
NBA cannot claim to be the best in the World anymore...they lost to Argentina and Italy....Do you think any of the "Dream Team" is embarassed that they were staying in 6 star accomodations, fathering children out of wedlock and getting arrested for spousal abuse when the teams that beat them were probably staying at the Olympic Village. If they were out of shape...maybe I should show up...I am better than Michael Jordan....when and if I decide to get in shape....sic
American NHL "Dream team" was never even close to being Olympic GOld caliber anything except hotel room trashing.
US soccer is not the best in the World but they are getting good...because they are willing to take a beating from other teams around the World....Soccer...or Football... at least as far as numbers goes....lays the best claim for having the best athletes by virtue of having the most participants around the World.
MLB "Dream Team" would get some good competition from The Japanese Dream Team, Dream Team from the Dominican Republic , PUerto Rico, Panama and a few more....at least we sent a triple A squad to Athens and they stayed in the Olympic Village...
American Football players have not proven or disproven themselves on a world stage..for the simple reason that few other countries except Canada play it....and thus as far as numerically....Football has the weakest claim that it has the best athletes as well as the fastest runners...even in hypothetical situations..If football becomes popular on a World level...the same thing might happen as the above sports...
Track was never restricted to North America
saying why run in the olympics....isnt the current 200champ a former nfl player?
It doesn't matter how fast Michael Vick is when he's laying on his back.
Everyone is comparing 40yrd for football guys, and 40m for track guys
Neuropsychiatrist wrote:
short bursts of speed in football do not necessarily translate to 100 meter speed...
well of course not. have you looked at top running backs's body structure? They don't look much like defensive backs or wideouts, do they? short, powerful, that's the key to a top RB.
more generally you seem to have a lot of bones to pick with the united states sports and athletic community. why so hostile.
The real question is:
Can Vick run a 4:30 mile???
Neuropsychiatrist wrote:
At the 1991 Penn Relays...Raghib Ismail was a featured sprinter in the college men's 100 meters. He had placed 2nd at the NCAA indoor meet at 55 meters with a time of 6.02 I recall.......He ran 10.6 something and was smoked by JOn Drummond then at TCU....short bursts of speed in football do not necessarily translate to 100 meter speed...
I saw this race too and the Rocket was actually quite close at 50 meters and then he looked like he ran into a brick wall. I'd assume most other football guys would look the same - they'd be a step or two behind a world class sprinter at 40 yards but would be left in the dust shorty after that. The biggest difference between a sprinter and a top football guy is going to occur after 40 yards. I assume their reaction times are pretty similar. A guy who runs a legit 10.0x hundred meter is not going to be more than .2 behind Mo at 40yards because he's going to lose at least another .1 in the last 64 meters.
I couldn't help laughing at this thread during the game. Some here would have you believe that Vick could beat Carl, Ben, and Mo to 40y by maybe 2 yards....but he couldn't run away from certain linebackers.
Yeah, right.
When I ran in college we did 30m sprints and took an average of 3 sprints which was listed in the fieldhouse to sort of rank us on speed. I averaged approx 3.5 secs(which was handtimed). So after reading this thread, I'm curious.....based on the fact that it was handtimed at 30m, I wonder if anyone knows what that would convert to for a 40y??
3.42 meters @ 0.086 sec/meter = 0.29 sec
40 Split - 4.69 - 0.29 = 4.40
The only thing Vick can run is -7 yards against the Eagles!
more generally you seem to have a lot of bones to pick with the united states sports and athletic community. why so hostile.
Only Basketball and football actually...
I am defintely not Anti American Track, European Football, tennis, cycling, swimming or just abotu every other sport...American Football and basketball has reached a state where it is really about hype and the institutions involved really feel they are above the Law
good observation though
dude michael vick is the fastest player in the NFL. Thats why he is such a big deal. His coordination and vision make him one of the best if not the best. I mean who else can run that fast, dodge a bunch of guys 100 lbs bigger and throw the football or burn past all of them?
He is the fastest quarterback in the NFL. Odds are that the fastest player in the NFL might only play special teams or act as a fifth receiver, because he can't play football for shit, only run.
Tim Montgomery who is the current world record holder in the 100 meter dash ran it in 9.78 sec. This is .0978 meters per second 1 yd=.9144 meters so 36.576 meters=40yds. this means that Tim montgomery ran the equivelent of a 3.577 40 yd sprint. Granted this is not exact because it is average speed rather than instantaneous velocity but it still blows vicks 4.2 away
Nice work!
Let's start with what we know. Vick ran a 4.2 for 40 yards. He did not have to react to a gun, which takes fast sprinters .130-.150 seconds. Vick was hand-timed, which means that the starters lost an known average of .25 compared to auto-timing.
MO Greene was clocked at 3.94 seconds at the 40 yard mark during his 60m best time, indoors. He did have to react to a gun and he lost .134 seconds. He did have auto-timing, so he lost another .25 more seconds.
Here are adjusted performances, then:
Vick = 4.2 seconds at 40 yards (who knows if this means 4.20 or 4.24 or 4.29 seconds?)
Greene = 3.56 seconds at 40 yards.
The difference is actually quite a lot: roughly .64 seconds. Tinman
Rob wrote:
Tim Montgomery who is the current world record holder in the 100 meter dash ran it in 9.78 sec. This is .0978 meters per second 1 yd=.9144 meters so 36.576 meters=40yds. this means that Tim montgomery ran the equivelent of a 3.577 40 yd sprint. Granted this is not exact because it is average speed rather than instantaneous velocity but it still blows vicks 4.2 away
Crappy logic.
Obviously his first 50 meters(accelerating) are going to take a lot longer than his second 50(closer to top speed).
A closer comparison is a 60m dash. What's a good collegiate time, 6.8 seconds?
Little problem between 10 and 20m. I dont think he covered those ten meters in under half a second. Perhaps the first 10m is incorrect?