Loading ...Aug
11
2011
40 yard dash is overrated
Author: bmurrayToo many times I have heard about some player’s 40 time and people thin, wow his 40 time is great that must mean he is a great player, but all that does is show how fast the person can run in a controlled environment.
Look at the way a person starts the 40 at the combine, a person who needs to be that fast will never start on the field in that position, also there are things like other players in the way, how fast the person can move laterally, field awareness, sure hands, how much they grasp the game, route running, technique, that are much much more important than how fast they can run the 40.
Sure, having a fast player is a good thing, but if that speed doesn’t translate from the tests to the field it is worthless, if the player can’t run routes properly or get timing down, the speed is going to be useless, the fastest running back will do no good, if he can’t follow blockers, can’t read defenses, can’t find the holes or can’t hold on to the ball, same goes with recievers.
While I am not saying the measure is totally useless, it is always nice to know a person’s top end speed, it should not be given as much precedence as it is has, take Jerry Rice for example, his 40 time was 4.71 and would be considered terrible for a receiver, but look how that turned out, while they should keep it, they should rely on it less when scouts and teams give values to their players and look at more important aspects of the player, rather than 40 time.
