Although I do have to confess to watching some of the NFL combine over the last few days I wonder how relevant the whole thing really is. Some of the drills and measurements that the players are put through don't seem applicable to their football skills.
One of the standard tests for all players is the standing broad jump. I don't see how this translates specifically to the game of football. There is a pretty good chance that the person who holds the world record in the broad jump is a really bad football player. The vertical leap is another standard at the combine. I can see how it might be relevant for a receiver or defensive back to be tested in vertical leaping, but I don't get why offensive linemen are required to test their vertical. In 35 years of watching football I can't recall one time where a guard or center failed to make a play do to poor leaping ability. As a matter of fact if my offensive lineman is leaping vertically at the line of scrimmage he is probably getting in my quarterbacks way as he tries to throw a pass. And they are not going to get any leverage to run block if they are jumping in the air. Maybe it's best if my offensive line can't jump at all. The 40 yard dash might be the most watched event at the combine. Many players have had their draft position altered do to their 40 time. I suppose that checking backs and receivers in the 40 holds some merit, but why is it so important how fast my defensive tackles run a 40 yard dash? If my nose tackle needs to run 40 yards to make a tackle I've got bigger problems than checking my stop watch. And what difference does it make if my receiver does 12 bench presses instead of 16? I would rather that my receiver can recognize coverages, make the proper route adjustments at the line of scrimmage when my passer is being blitzed, and actually catch the ball when it's thrown to him. The growing number of dropped balls by receivers over the last several seasons makes me wonder if teams are emphasizing the wrong qualities at draft time (see Darrius Heyward-Bey).
For every hidden gem discovered at the combine there is a player who rockets up the charts only to disappoint at the NFL level (see Akili Smith). While it's not entirely a bad thing to have coaches and scouts get a first hand look at potential draft picks it's the intangibles that can't be measured that can be the most important.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
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i agree with you that it is over-hyped. i think they do all of these drills just to see how good of an athlete you are. All coaches are drawn to athletes. We always think we can make a player out of a great athlete. There are things and plays that a phenom athlete can make that a good athlete can not. I think that is what they are trying to find.
ReplyDeleteIf it was the 6th round of the draft and i needed a tight end and had to pick from 2. They both are in the 6'5 250 range. One has caught 100 passes for 10 tds and the other has caught 40 passes for 5 tds. The first guy has ran a 4.8 40,benched 225 21 times, and has a verticle of 32 inches. The second has ran a 4.5, done 30 reps on the bench and has a verticle of 40 inches. In the 6th round i'm taking the second guy bcause he is the better athlete and i feel bcause of his athleticism he has more upside. I wouldnt have known that without the combine.
I don't think anyone disagrees that the combine is over-hyped. And you will find countless Akili Smith examples....what I find shocking is that coaches amd their staff's continue to "over-weight" the combine relative to the college career of the prospect.
ReplyDeleteIt's nothing more than red tape and bureaucracy if you ask me. What really is going on at these combines is not the skills part, but the "personality/mental/investigative" part. Most of these guys that are drafting a player can give a rats ass if he can jump, let alone skip- they already know who is a talented football player, or not. What they don't know is their specific demeanor and or acceptance to criticism and or instruction based on a team's personalities and staff.
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