Martin runs 4.84 40

Submitted by JeepinBen on

Title says it all. 4.84 unofficial. 14th out of 27 DL (including DEs) that have run. At 306 lbs. Bruce Feldman is showing MM the love on Twitter.

 

EDIT: That means MM was 3rd fastest among DTs and put up the 3rd most reps on the bench of DTs. Damn.

ThWard

February 27th, 2012 at 11:30 AM ^

Nick Perry's 40 time is also insane.  Man, that kid might have been the biggest loss of the past few years (given that he was originally thought to be a heavy UM lean, is from Detroit, etc.).  Great athlete.

Magnus

February 27th, 2012 at 2:07 PM ^

Martin does do a good job on both plays, but I'll say this:



Play 1: That's almost an impossible block for the backside guard to reach a 1-technique on the center's opposite shoulder, especially because the center doesn't give him any help.

Play 2: Burkhead stepped up took the contact without wussing out.  Of course he didn't stand a chance, but I at least liked the effort.

Hail-Storm

February 27th, 2012 at 11:40 AM ^

I remember him forcing the fumble against Sandiego State.  I think in addition to both his and Martin's suprising speed, they will be even more lauded for their pursuit(?) angles.  Another reason to thank Denard, as well as the coaching staff. Love to see M players succeed.

aaamichfan

February 27th, 2012 at 11:40 AM ^

Seems pretty good for a DT. I'm surprised to see that he measured in at 6'1''. I was standing next to him at the bar over the Summer, and was very surprised how much his height was overreported on the UM roster. I figured he would be more like 6'0''.

Space Coyote

February 27th, 2012 at 11:48 AM ^

Not to discredit Martin at all, who is a very good athlete and fast and (more importantly) quick for his size, but it seems like 40 times are much faster than in the past.  I know players are better trained for it now and everything, but no one expected RGIII to run a 4.41, or Floyd a 4.47, or Hemingway a 4.5.  Maybe the extremely fast time isn't there, but Wilson ran a 4.55 and even Luck, a better athlete then given credit it for, ran an unexpected 4.67.  The fact that 6 DEs ran below a 4.7 is insane.  Just seems like a fast track this year for some reason.

VSS

February 27th, 2012 at 12:18 PM ^

 

I disagree. I don't think this year is different than others. Everyone knew RGIII was fast. Running a 4.41 isn't unexpected considering his accolades pre-knee injury. 

And I don't understand why people are surprised at the times of people like Floyd or Hemingway. Hemingway was a guy that people made out to be so slower than he actually was. 4.5 is a decent time and Hemingway has decent speed.

And Floyd is a big, physical guy, who people don't think of as being fast, again, w/ little reason. The TE's and DE's are freaks these days, so it's not surprising to see big guys with speed.

Technique definitely matters, and there is a difference between game and track speed, but a lot of people just have these inaccurate projections coming in. 

Chris Rainey ran a 4.45, who may have looked faster than he is because he's a small guy.

Magnus

February 27th, 2012 at 2:10 PM ^

Hemingway does not play football like a 4.5 guy.  He's always had a hard time getting separation downfield, and that slant against Indiana in 2010 was almost painful to watch.  Yes, he made it all the way to the endzone, but he looked horribly slow in the process.

VSS

February 27th, 2012 at 2:19 PM ^

How was it painful to watch? I just re-watched it and it didn't even look as if he was running 100%. I'm not saying he "plays like a 4.5 guy", but from what people say, it's like he's a 4.8 guy. People make it a foregone conclusion that he doesn't have the athleticism to be effective in the NFL. He's not a burner, but I don't think he's slow, either. And with respect to the 40 yard dash, some guys take time to accelerate, and some guys don't lose their top end speed at the same rate as others. There are other details involved, but I don't think Indy is a fast track or that Junior should be considered slow. 

Space Coyote

February 27th, 2012 at 2:52 PM ^

Was how well Hemingway did in the 3-cone drill and the shuttle drills, showing that he is quick as well.  According to the combine he is quick, has burst, and is fast, which didn't translate to the field.  Not sure why, but anyone saying he didn't struggle to get seperation isn't watching the games clearly.  Some of it probably had to do with Denard passing, but nonetheless.

Besides just seeming to not play that fast, the best conclusion I'm coming to is that his routes aren't very good.  RR's staff wasn't exactly known for teaching good route mechanics, so that may be the case, but I never saw a huge problem in that area either.  It seems that he may just be one of those guys.  Either way, I hope this improved his draft stock enough to help him out.

Magnus

February 27th, 2012 at 4:05 PM ^

I didn't have a problem with the way Rodriguez and his staff coached the kids to run routes, but their routes were so simplistic that I think the offense was a bit predictable.  Of course, when you have Denard Robinson, it opens things up a bit (like the play action slant).  But Michigan's receivers essentially knew how to run slants, flares, go routes, and hitches...and that's about it.

VSS

February 27th, 2012 at 5:47 PM ^

Maybe because it's how he tends to have his head on the swivel all the time. He's not lowering his head and sprinting on every snap. That tendency is better for running against zone defenses than in man coverages. 

We also run a lot of drags. RR's passing offense catered more to the slots, and that's not what Junior is. He's not running a lot of drags, bubble screens, and slants. He's an outside guy, but he doesn't have a pro-style qb with a gun to get him the ball on the outside. 

I just think people were tough on Junior. People seemed to love Darryl, but guys like Junior are underappreciated and in the NFL, he could very well be a productive player because of how skilled he is. 

Stuck in Ohio 2

February 27th, 2012 at 12:09 PM ^

...why does everyone refer to combine times as "unoffical". It seems to me that if any time were to be "offical" it would be the combine time..So what does one have to do to get an "offical" time.

 

VSS

February 27th, 2012 at 12:20 PM ^

4.84 is a strong time. Hopefully he performs well in the drills because I was never concerned about his strength or straight line speed, but more with his agility and pass rushing skills.