WSJ article on AP vs. Bolt

40 yards = 36.58 meters

36.58 m / 4.38 sec = 8.352 m/s

100 m / 8.352 m/s = 11.97 seconds

Doesn't account for the time it takes to start. I'd chop off my leg if AP couldn't break 11 in the 100 right now.

Yes, that conversion is way off. You can't simply convert a 40y time to 100m by multiplying the distance. Obviously that doesn't account for the acceleration from a standing start. Adrian Peterson could easily run under 11.

That said, with all due respect to one of the greatest RBs in NFL history, AP is not going to make the US Olympic squad at any distance in 2016.

fjfdurhghg wrote:

40 yards = 36.58 meters

36.58 m / 4.38 sec = 8.352 m/s

100 m / 8.352 m/s = 11.97 seconds

True. I was thinking of 40 meters, not 40 yards. But still, the author seems oblivious to the fact that speed isn't constant throughout a 100 m race. According to the author's math, guys like Trindon Holliday and Jacoby Ford are only 11.8 and 11.7 100m guys, yet both have run well under the Olympic A standard.

She certainly does. When Usain Bolt ran 9.58 his 40 meter split was 4.64. AP's would have been 4.78 if he maintained speed through 40 meters. Any thoughts on what AP could run? I'm thinking in the 10.5s.

Usain Bolt

Dist Time Split

Reaction time 0.146 s

10m 1.85 s 1.704 s

20m 2.89 s 1.04 s

30m 3.78 s 0.89 s

40m 4.64 s 0.86 s

50m 5.49 s 0.85 s

60m 6.31 s 0.82 s

70m 7.11 s 0.80 s

80m 7.92 s 0.81 s

90m 8.74 s 0.82 s

100m 9.58 s 0.84 s

Don't forget that 40yd dash times DO NOT include reaction time. It's a "go when you're ready" situation, even when FAT timed.

fjfdurhghg wrote:

She certainly does. When Usain Bolt ran 9.58 his 40 meter split was 4.64. AP's would have been 4.78 if he maintained speed through 40 meters. Any thoughts on what AP could run? I'm thinking in the 10.5s.

Usain Bolt

Dist Time Split

Reaction time 0.146 s

10m 1.85 s 1.704 s

20m 2.89 s 1.04 s

30m 3.78 s 0.89 s

40m 4.64 s 0.86 s

50m 5.49 s 0.85 s

60m 6.31 s 0.82 s

70m 7.11 s 0.80 s

80m 7.92 s 0.81 s

90m 8.74 s 0.82 s

100m 9.58 s 0.84 s

If you give AP a .15 reaction time and extrapolate the difference between him and Bolt out to 100 m then you get about a 10.3. However, AP would probably lose a little speed in the last 20-30 meters. I'd agree that he's probably good for a 10.5 right now.

It would be a great exhibition, even get Chris Johnson in there and an American sprinter too (Tyson Gay).

It would get the interest of many NFL fans and show how fast these sprinters really are.

Publicity, publicity, publicity.

I'd love to see bolt vs 7 of the fastest guys the NFL has to offer. Bolt would be so far ahead he'd decide to do a cartwheel across the finish line.

high school harry 40yd dash wrote:

Don't forget that 40yd dash times DO NOT include reaction time. It's a "go when you're ready" situation, even when FAT timed.

You're right. But that fact still doesn't make the author's 11.98 estimation any less idiotic. Again, Adrian Peterson isn't going to make the US Olympic sprint team. But implying that he's an 11.9 guy is asinine. He's easily good for 10.5 right now. With proper training he might be able to scare 10 flat, but if he does venture into the track world I predict a best of 10.2

AP has no realistic chance of beating Bolt because however much he trained or however you convert times, he's not going under 10 seconds at this stage of his life, with his injuries, lack of specific training, etc.

I don't hold the talk against AP, however, because that's part of what makes great athletes great --- dreaming big and refusing to recognize limitations and they sometimes surprise people by doing that.

One thing not mentioned is that the 40 yard dash at the NFL combine is run on turf, not a track. It's a measure of speed on the playing field and that has to factor in when comparing to a sprinter who competes on a track. I'm not saying that AD could beat Bolt, but that writer is ignorant to think that he couldn't run 10.3 on a modern track.

Here's RGIII's 40 yard dash from the combine. He ran it in 4.41. I tried finding Peterson's, but had no luck.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wWr0H5NHO4&feature=related#/watch?v=-wWr0H5NHO4&feature=related

Better question is could Bolt play football

Answer is no, so an even better question is, what if football was on a 1000 yard field, 500 yards wide?

And the football was a golf disc that could be thrown over 100 yards with ease.

Not ultimate. Still tackle football.