Originally posted by Wodwo:Originally posted by MadDog49er:Originally posted by LAFortyNinerfan:Originally posted by WildBill:Originally posted by Joecool:
Interesting listening to Razzano and playing speed saying that some teams will put the players fastest 40-time on their board so if he ran a 4.3 at the combine, that's what the team would grade the player by but when he was with the Niners, he said they put the players in-game 40-time.
So, I guess scouts will have a stopwatch on hand and time a player during a game or if the film is raw footage with no speed altercations, then they time when viewing the film. That's very interesting.
What he means is like the GOAT, Mr. Rice, people rave about Rice, except his 40 shied away the teams, but Bill Watched tape and said he never say anyone catche Rice from behind.
However, I have said before, teams should time them with their pads on.
I, for the life of me, have never understood why they run in just shorts and a t-shirt on a track field. What part of the game is that?
I have advocated for years now that in addition to wearing pads and a helmet, players, depending on their position, should begin running the combine forty in a two-point, three-point, or four point stance. I would also time players in specific on the field drills.
Funk Dat!
Keep the combine the way it is. It's just ritual and entertainment now, anyway. Take it for what it is and get what you can from it... the educated people know what matters and what doesn't when it comes to evaluations.
All you need to know you can get from game film, IMO. Well, that and interviews/medical.
That's why I'd have to disagree with you about Aldon Smith. The kid is just a natural pass rusher. I don't need his shuttle time or cone time to tell me he can change direction well enough to make one of the top tackles in this class look silly (Solder). I've seen it with my own two eyes.
He's just got a different way of beating linemen than other rushers do. He's really upright and doesn't have a lot of bend to turn the corner, but that's not his game. He uses violent hand punch to beat the tackle at their own game (since his arms are usually longer than theirs) and has a quick sidestep which he combines to create separation.
The drills at the combine don't really account for his style. Just because he doesn't fit your mold doesn't mean he can't get the job done. There's more than one way to skin a cat.
I personally think that his skillset is suited to rushing from a standing position. Hell, he's an upright rusher to start anyway, right? Lulz.
Point is, he has the tools to succeed. You make him sound like a stiff, unathletic, waste of space.
Remember this: Aldon Smith played last season on a broken leg. You know he lost some time in his training during the season because of that. You know he must have been playing catch-up getting back into his normal shape (while adding 10 lbs. to his playing weight), so his combine measurables are probably not as good as they would have been.
Anyway, he can do a standing backflip. I'm sold.
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I never stated Smith was unathletic. I stated that for the 7th overall, you really want an elite athlete. And, the numbers show, to me, that he is a solid straightline rusher, but doesn't have the elite physical skills to be worthy of the 7th overall. I want a guy who has violent hands, but also a guy who can bend. Guys who are one-trick ponies just can't cut it in the NFL.
A couple of years ago, I was really high on Brian Orakpo. I saw a complete player, a man, enter the league. That is the value I want from a pash rusher, someone who is not a project, but a guy who can compete at a very high level from Day One, and has shown that he can beat a blocker in a wide variety of ways.
I just don't see that from Aldon Smith right now, and while he may be able to develop those skills, the risk is too high for the 7th overall, in this position on the field. He is raw, like sushi, and we have gambled big on him.
