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Don't believe the hype Combine reputations can be damaging and misleadingPosted: Sunday March 03, 2002 5:50 PM
For years, NFL executives, and coaches struggled with the lack of participation by the top prospects at the Combine. I now believe most of the concerned evaluators have surrendered to the concept that guys simply aren't going to work no matter what the date or what is said to encourage them. And why should they with the absurd conclusions made about players by draft experts? You may notice team personnel people and coaches rarely comment this time of year. I spent Saturday evening after the running backs went through their testing talking to coaches about the information gathered. Trust me, coaches and real football people don't look at times in shorts the same as the so-called "draft gurus."
Premature reports of demises of Green and FosterFive minutes after top running back prospects William Green and DeShaun Foster ran 40-yard dash times in the 4.5 range, the so-called "draft experts" had them on Web sites and claimed them disappointing times. I sat with three NFL running back coaches after the 40 times and they couldn't care less. Not one coach felt the player's status had changed. Let's take it a step further to enlighten the guys who try to make a living telling fans about football players. Emmitt Smith was a 4.6 40 guy, Walter Payton didn't have 4.4 speed and I worked with Freeman McNeil, a darn good back in his day and 4.6 was his regular clocking. If you are reading propaganda that backs like Green and Foster have slipped, don't buy it. What do you think Priest Holmes or Duce Staley run? Green didn't participate in any drills but Foster did. Foster struggled a bit in shorts catching passes, even though he looked very good catching balls in pads at the Senior Bowl and at UCLA in games. A few drops from erratic young quarterbacks is not a reason for these draft experts most of whom never coached the game to suggest his status slipped. And you wonder why guys don't want to work in Indianapolis?
Speed isn't everythingI was in charge of the speed training at the Jets for three years and I saw enough in Green and Foster's 40 times to find room for improvement. But what's the point? At the end of a month of "track" training, both guys would probably dip under 4.5 but they wouldn't be better football players. They would be better track athletes. One of my favorite general managers in the league said to me, "I sure hope the rest of the guys listen to the so-called draft experts and one of these backs falls to me in the draft." As he said that, all I could remember was the year with the Jets when we took Blair Thomas with the second overall pick mostly because he had a 4.4 time. That was the same draft the mighty Emmitt Smith fell to the bottom of the round because of his 40 speed. The third- and fourth-ranked running backs in this draft are T.J. Duckett from Michigan State and Clinton Portis out of Miami. They didn't run at all, but at the end of the day they haven't hurt or helped their status. Duckett is a big power back and running back coaches already know what they get if they select him. Portis will run well down in sunny Florida in a few weeks and then the "stopwatch guys" will know what to say about him.
Combine has lost its original purposeThe Combine was originally constructed to screen medical issues and for some coaches to meet the players and get a feel for their personality and passion for the game. I'm at the point where we should do more of that and less of the conjecture business based on nonfootball testing. The idea that players get re-ranked in draft guides based on this weekend is wrong and some smart football people have created a competitive edge for themselves with the influence of the conclusions made in Indianapolis.
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