The myth of Rice's "4.7" 40 time

This laughable "time" people throw around about Rice came from internet make-believe land. Not only that, but it's rather recent. Before the mid-2000s or so, it didn't even appear on the internet. People would instead make up something like "4.6" instead.

Reality: There was no official timing at the combine back then, as everything was hand timed. What a player ran would depend on which scout you asked. Gil Brandt (Cowboys front office executive at the time) had him at 4.4. Another scout I remember seeing interviewed for a piece said he had him at 4.55.

What's laughable is that people actually think a division 1-AA wide receiver would have gone 16th overall with a 4.7; especially considering that the actual knock on Rice coming out, aside from level of competition, was that he played in a gimmick offense (wide open passing game). The late 49ers scouting director at the time, Tony Razzano, was not a fan of his, and cited his struggles when he did face actual competition (such as vs. Isaac Holt, who was a 2nd round pick corner) as being evidence that he wouldn't be able to beat coverage at the next level.

This is one of many laughable NFL myths that needs to go into the dumpster.

I think the myth is that ppl care about this.

Originally posted by crabman82:
I think the myth is that ppl care about this.

People care enough to try to use it as an example to then claim 40 times don't matter (which is BS).

Originally posted by darockzillahitman:
This laughable "time" people throw around about Rice came from internet make-believe land. Not only that, but it's rather recent. Before the mid-2000s or so, it didn't even appear on the internet. People would instead make up something like "4.6" instead.

Reality: There was no official timing at the combine back then, as everything was hand timed. What a player ran would depend on which scout you asked. Gil Brandt (Cowboys front office executive at the time) had him at 4.4. Another scout I remember seeing interviewed for a piece said he had him at 4.55.

What's laughable is that people actually think a division 1-AA wide receiver would have gone 16th overall with a 4.7; especially considering that the actual knock on Rice coming out, aside from level of competition, was that he played in a gimmick offense (wide open passing game). The late 49ers scouting director at the time, Tony Razzano, was not a fan of his, and cited his struggles when he did face actual competition (such as vs. Isaac Holt, who was a 2nd round pick corner) as being evidence that he wouldn't be able to beat coverage at the next level.

This is one of many laughable NFL myths that needs to go into the dumpster.

Walsh really wanted Eddie Brown out of Miami, he had him ranked higher but the Bengals drafted him first.

Well Anquan did run slower than that, for real. So I'd believe it if Jerry ran a 4.7.

I don't remember Jerry ever getting caught from behind

Originally posted by darockzillahitman:

Originally posted by crabman82:

I think the myth is that ppl care about this.

People care enough to try to use it as an example to then claim 40 times don't matter (which is BS).

They really dont matter as football is not played in a straight line. And they arent being timed in pads, helmet etc.

I'm not sure where it came from, but there is nothing to suggest in college or the pros that Rice was that slow. Perhaps running in shorts he was. Or maybe he wasn't that fast coming out of high school. Regardless of what the situation was, the film didn't lie on Rice's game speed which is the most important speed.

Originally posted by TheRambler:
Well Anquan did run slower than that, for real. So I'd believe it if Jerry ran a 4.7.

Anquan Boldin was actually slow, played at a big school, and dropped to the late 2nd because of that time.

Originally posted by LifelongNiner:
I'm not sure where it came from, but there is nothing to suggest in college or the pros that Rice was that slow. Perhaps running in shorts he was. Or maybe he wasn't that fast coming out of high school. Regardless of what the situation was, the film didn't lie on Rice's game speed which is the most important speed.

There's no such thing as "game speed." This is a myth people come up with to explain things they don't understand, such as seeing Rice run away from people who were slower than him and believing in nonsense such as, "Jerry Rice ran a 4.7 40."

Anyone who finished his NFL career with 208 total touchdowns cannot be considered slow.

No one believes that.

Thats a myth.

Originally posted by Young2Rice:
No one believes that.

Thats a myth.

https://www.google.com/search?source=hp&ei=jwDUWpfoOoPctQWI7rdY&q=Jerry+Rice+40+yard+dash+4.7&oq=Jerry+Rice+40+yard+dash+4.7&gs_l=psy-ab.3...372.2706.0.2939.28.22.0.0.0.0.165.2114.12j9.21.0....0...1.1.64.psy-ab..7.19.1948.0..0j46j0i131k1j0i131i46k1j46i131k1j0i46k1j0i22i30k1j33i21k1j33i160k1.0.-IvOdx95vSg

Bill Walsh Rice 40 time

Bill Walsh stated Jerry timed at 4.59

Here's Walsh thoughts on 40 times and his explaination of Jerry

Originally posted by darockzillahitman:

Originally posted by LifelongNiner:
I'm not sure where it came from, but there is nothing to suggest in college or the pros that Rice was that slow. Perhaps running in shorts he was. Or maybe he wasn't that fast coming out of high school. Regardless of what the situation was, the film didn't lie on Rice's game speed which is the most important speed.

There's no such thing as "game speed." This is a myth people come up with to explain things they don't understand, such as seeing Rice run away from people who were slower than him and believing in nonsense such as, "Jerry Rice ran a 4.7 40."

what s**t have you been smoking,ask darrel green and prime time just how fast jr was ON THE FIELD.