The 40 Yard Dash and the Great Lie

[Shadowlight]

Back in the 60's and 70's NFL Wide Receivers were often timed in the 50 or most likely 100 yard dash. From deep threat speedsters like the Packer's Carrol Dale or the Ram's Jack Snow just to name two out of the many white WR"s everyone knew were REAL SPRINTERS. Basically it wasn't until the late 80's and 1990's did the 40 yard dash become the only testing method for speed for NFL players. Odd is it not 40 yards? Based on basically how long punts are kicked. Not to mention the coincidence ( or is it) that during the rise of the 40 yard dash we have seen the precipitous decline of the white skilled NFL player.
Several things to bear in mind. Baseball which is the AMERICAN sport despite all this NFL and NBA talk, has a much richer history when it comes to figuring out speed. Baseball never bought into fads like football and the 40 yard dash. Baseball tests the speed of their players in two ways. First the 60 yard dash which is a scaled down variation of the Olympic 100 meter dash and the home to first time. A subset of the home to first is the drag bunt. What baseball set out to determine in the 60 yard dash was who ran the fastest obviously and because of the dimensions of baseball fields 100 meters just seemed too long so they settled on the next best thing. Home to first was more a measure of quickness than flat out speed.
Fine and dandy right? Well no. The 100 yard NFL field eclipses baseball ballpark dimensions by a country mile so to speak so why is the NFL relying on a sprint that is only 10 yards more than home to first?
The point I am driving at is this idea that the guy with fastest time in the 40 is the fastest player in the NFL is totally wrong. The 40 is an artificial modern time device which only equates to a certain quickness level. We do not know who the fastest player in this year's draft is despite the media conceding it is John Ross who ran the 40 in 4.22 at the combine. I should mention that is not a real Track and Field time because the NFL "cheats" on the starts. Track and Field starts are off the gun with no hedging. Who is to say little known Iowa WR Riley McCarron is not the fastest player in the draft? The players are not tested in the 100 yard dash or 100 meter dash. That is how you determine the fastest so when Jordy burns the living crap out of these so called 4.3 CB's that the media shoves down our throats as being faster than light you realize that the 40 yard artificial hostess cupcake way of determining true speed is a bit of a farce. Jordy has TRUE SPEED. The fastest man in the world is determined by the 100 meter dash period. The 40 yard dash is a modern day gimmick.

 

[Leonardfan]

I totally agree. Don't forget these players aren't typically running 40 yards without getting bumped or pushed off their route nor are they performing the run with full pads and equipment.

How many plays result in 40 yards or more? In the modern NFL the short to mid range passing game is king not vertical offenses. What good is a 40 time running in a straight line when on a football field elusiveness and change of direction need to happen prior to any seam opening to give a player a clear 40 yards to run. Busted plays and missed tackles do happen but typically as a result of missed assignments, poor fundamentals or making a defensive player miss rather than running a straight line and beating a defensive player 40+ yards down the field.

The average dwf can ask these obvious questions though - they are well conditioned sheep.

 

[Shadowlight]

The NFL uses the 40 yard dash as the imprint of speed but it is a false indicator. For example Zach Zenner ran a pedestrian 4.6 in the 40 but if you break down his top end speed one realizes Zenner was really starting to churn just as the 40 yard was ending which indicates over another 20 or more yards he could have possibly beaten these guys who had a faster 40, in a 60 yard dash. Many of these black players reach their peak times early which gives them an edge in such a short race but over a longer haul they would likely falter. Black football players overwhelmingly concentrate on the 40 yard dash at an early age so all of their speed techniques are geared towards it. White athletes rarely focus on speed because they are told that isn't in their make up. I think it would be eye opening and more proper if NFL scouts used different speed tests. If it was up to me I would install two tests. For Offensive and Defensive linemen I would have them run a 30 yard dash. For everyone else I would have them run a 60 yard dash. I would also make note of the ten yard split time. I would eliminate the 40 yard dash and throw it in the trash. With the 60 some endurance and pacing is required and out on the field during a game players get tired so it is more reflective of game speed. The 40 is just a burst and after a few plays these guys are not running a 4.3 40 yard dash. Even though most football plays like Leo says are shorter than 40 yards a burst of running 40 yards when you are as fresh as a daisy at the combine is not a good indicator of true field speed. It is a test that has favored the black athlete disproportionally through the years and it has been used as a somewhat false weapon against white players. The NFL has to stop this tunnel vision black is everything approach and what better time to start than today. Better late than never.
I want to add one more nugget. Riley McCarron who sizzled a 4.36 indicated Iowa does not run 40 yard dashes. So he had to learn how to run the 40 on the fly before pro day and killed it. That said during Iowa football games we were told they did not have SPEED at WR--(the big hint they had some white WR"s) but it turns out they have a guy that can run a faster 40 than all these so called black studs who have been running the 40 their entire lives. Riley to me is the BEST ATHLETE in the draft.