OT: Weak in WIsconsin

Submitted by BlueUPer on
Badger FB Bradie Ewing benched 225 14 times.. Center Peter Konz did it 18 times. Did they not know that they would have to bench at the combine? Is strength not important for these positions? I Know these are not UM players and many bloggers do no want to discuss nonMichigan anything. But I just want to hear some thoughts on how these guys especially Konz is such a good player but not overly strong. Is this a product of great technique? I thought their efforts were embarrassing. Some mock drafts are projecting Konz to Lions.
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Le_Blue

February 26th, 2012 at 8:57 PM ^

We definitely have/had (Barwis) some elite strength and conditioning staff to get our guys in shape. Even when the on field product wasnt desirable, as it was under RichRod, we know that the S/C coaches were doing their jobs

Joined: 11/05/2011

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manchild56

February 26th, 2012 at 9:09 PM ^

favorite player at U of M, then Oakland, and now with Green Bay where is career was saved by his play there. But I was shocked he didnt get suspended or even fined for the gut punch in this game. Well at least I never heard of a fine.

Joined: 10/20/2011

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Michigan4Life

February 26th, 2012 at 9:17 PM ^

on the field.  A better measure of strength is dead lift, incline press and squat.  Look at Dominic Riaola, he put up 29 in bench press and most considered him weak.  Nick Mangold put up 24 and is considered to be the best C in the league.

Joined: 07/29/2010

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Wisconsin Wolverine

February 26th, 2012 at 11:27 PM ^

I will go ahead & let my mild Badger enthusiasm shine here ...

I have no idea why these boys didn't show their grit on the bench.  But I liked watching them on the football field.  I trust the Badger O-Line after watching them this year ... I cannot explain this weak showing at the combine.  /shrug

Joined: 05/18/2011

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EGD

February 27th, 2012 at 12:35 AM ^

The thing is, all these guys usually train at weights far above the 225 lbs. they bench press at the combine.  So if it was all about just strength, then the Ohio and Wisconsin guys would have been able to hit the 30s and 40s just like Molk and Martin.  But when you start to lift any kind of weight, you begin to build up lactic acid in your muscles.  As you keep lifting, more builds up and it starts to burn.  If the amount of weight you are lifting is way below your max, then chances are you are going to stop lifting due to the lactic acid pain way before your muscles reach failure.  So, the reason Molk and Martin were able to reach 41 and 35 reps was probably because they had the mental toughness to keep going despite excruciating muscle pain, and the reason the players from Ohio quit at <20 reps is because their butts hurt.  Of course, Barwis might also have had something to do with it.

Also, why am I not surprised that a guy like Molk, who overcame multple knee injuries and even played the Sugar Bowl with an injured foot, was able to post 41 reps in what basically looks like a pain-threshold contest?  

Joined: 09/16/2009

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UMgradMSUdad

February 27th, 2012 at 8:30 AM ^

I'm not so sure about the training "at weights far above the 225 lbs."  I'm no expert in this, but in my experience weight training is about reps, not just lifting some real heavy weight a few times.

Joined: 07/02/2011

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hfhmilkman

February 27th, 2012 at 12:04 PM ^

I made a comment on the Martin 50 rep thread also.  In summary there is a lot of variables.  The basic issue is work equals force times distance.  A six foot man with long arms may have to exert twice as much work to do the same rep as a five foot five man with shorter arms.  On paper the short guy might be stronger.  But when they line up on the football field there will be little doubt what happens if the short guy is trying to get around someone like a Mike Adams that everyone is now calling weak.

Football is also a game measured in five second bursts of power.  Some folks make a point that perhaps the extra reps are due to the ability to ignore pain.  That may be a positve measurable.  However, I would be a lot more interested in how many reps someone could do of the following technique.   You determine your 1 rep limit and go slightly below.  Lift it, rest ten seconds, do it again.  Keep going until you cannot.

I think the press is useful for some things.  But as we well know lots of guys with big numbers do not equate to success.  Football is ultimately a game of force impulse or power.  It is not how strong you are, but how quickly you can leverage your strength.  Suh is considered a once in a decade talent not because he is strong but because he is powerful.  The two are different.

 

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