40-yard-dash times at the Combine downgraded for Mays and Holliday - what a joke
40 times for Mays and Holliday (and others, I'm sure) were downgraded. Apparently Mays isn't as much of a freak as initially thought, although his "official" time of 4.43 is still fast. I can see why people have motives to make times faster, but come on, this is such a crock of shit and such a joke. The combine should take control of this situation somehow. The best part of the article is their picture of the Florida 40-times board seen around these parts for a while.
http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/blog/dr_saturday/post/Haden-Mays-…-?urn=ncaaf,225322
WTF. Calm down dude. The difference in times is because the first reported times were from hand-held watches and the official times are electronically timed, and hence come out a little while after the race (and after the news is broke). What do you want people running the combine to do, ban stop watches and reporters wanting to make the scoop?
Since the combine doesn't matter much in the grand scheme of life, why does this matter much?
Of course I know the reason why there is a discrepancy. Also, I'm very calm, don't worry. I just think it's a joke that these times get released, everyone freaks out, then the adjusted time is released but that doesn't seem to make the news. It's such a simple fix. I mean, they're clocking them electronically anyway, so why on earth do people attach themselves to these bogus times?
To say the combine doesn't matter very much is false. We've seen guys with fast 40 times shoot up the board, and slower guys drop. It also weighs in the minds of GMs when they're 50-50 with someone. This doesn't even include the sea monster's decisions over there with the Raiders. I think he drafts based on 40 times alone.
This is why they do both methods.
The electronic times set everything straight.
You got money riding on the nfl combine 40s or something? ;)
4.43 = freak
4.43 + 41" vertical + 6'3" + 230 lbs. = super freak
Now, that doesn't make him a great football player, but....
Don't worry -- they were just trying to save Taylor Mays' career by ensuring that Al Davis doesn't draft him.
A human starts the timer, and the computer stops it when the guys crosses the 40 yard spot. It won't be a true 40 until they take human hands out of the equation.
The players hand is on a sensor on the ground and as soon as their hand lifts, the time starts.
Jaggs has it right. Humans have no part in the control of the timer, besides setting it at the ready. Much like FAT for track and field, a sensor sets the timer off. For track it is in the starting blocks, for the 40 at the combine, I believe it is on the white line. It is completely computer based at both start and finish. So, these are as accurate as they come.
Side note: Joe Haden's time drop is really humorous. From 4.33 to 4.57. That isn't simply difference in hand to electronic timing. That difference is almost a quarter of a second, and clearly comes from Urban Meyer's program and their "40-Board".
Small correction: In track the timer starts on the flash of the starting gun (usually), not a sensor in the blocks. Otherwise, there wouldn't be a uniform start for everyone in a race.
This is actually exactly the result I would expect from a hand time vs. FAT. The standard correction in track is to add .24 to a hand time.
4.33 +.24 = 4.57
I completely agree that they are as accurate as they come. But this video is a bit interesting all things considered.
The NFL Combine provides true official 40 times. How many times do we hear about a HS or college kid that supposedly runs a 4.3 forty. In reality he probably runs a 4.5 or 4.6 forty. We also get the true height and weight of players.
BUT BUT BUT DENARD AND MCGUFFIE AND FURMAN ALL RAN A 4.3!!!!
I bet you guys didn't know that Josh Furman, a 3-star linebacker from Maryland, is faster than the fastest cornerbacks entering the NFL.
and he hasn't even had a Barwis work-out yet.
The standard correction in track and field going from hand times to FAT (fully automated timing) is to ADD .24 to a hand time. I've found (I coach track) that for experienced hand timers that is a good conversion (i.e. a hand time for a race is usually about .24 seconds faster than an FAT of the same race). This has to do with human reaction times (hand timers always have a slight delay in starting the watch in reaction to the starting gun, or the movement of an athlete in the case of a 40 time, and always slightly anticipate the finish).
In the future, if you routinely add .24 to a hand-timed 40 time you will get a pretty accurate sense of the "real" 40 time.
I'm not really sure why you're so upset. Also 4.43 for a 6'3" ~230 lbs guy still falls within the realm of "freak." Compare that number to all the scrawny receivers and their 40 times and see what happens.
when NFL network put Mays run up against Holliday's, they were virtually identical, showing that the difference between 4.3 and 4.4 is a joke anyways.
The 40 time is something we can all relate too. The 10 and 20 yard splits are more important in showing a player's "burst". If a NFL receiver gets a couple steps on you in the NFL in a full sprint it is game over anyways (unless of course you are Darrell Green).
*EDIT for spelling