MNF clocked Vince, 46 yards in 4.7 sec

Vince ran a 4.42 for Houston and a 4.45 for Tenn accoding to draft blitz..

He ran a 4.5 on his pro day but didn't think he would be asked to run that day because he thought everyone was there to see him pass..
He thought everyone knew he could run so he really had not worked on his speed or technique like all the others that really needed a great 40 to improve their draft status.....

Vince said he ran 4.40-4.42 at Texas but never really took it very seriously like some players..

I read one story Vince was out ran by a young longhorn named Tatum who had 4.3 speed by less than a foot..

The kid would not shut up after the race and kept messing with Vince until Vince shut him up by other means... The kid transferred soon after..

Maybe some longhorns know more about that story?

 

Combine 40 speeds differ from real track speeds because of the surface, the equipment and frankly the technique. In the combine, Vince wasn't going to run the 40 because his technique was bad. He was cajoled into running it anyway and posted a 4.5 something.

I watched the film. He came out of stance (raised his shoulders/upper body) after about 8-10 yards as opposed to 15-20 yards. That cost him at least several hundreths of a second.

Also, Vince takes much longer strides because of his build. That is why he is deceptively fast. His legs aren't moving as fast as shorter legged guys with equal speed but he covers more ground per stride. That's also why he appears to "pick up" speed on longer runs.

F= ma. That's why Vince is so hard to bring down once he gets in stride.

 

Vince Young might be one of the most difficult players in the league to bring down. Here's why.

1) His stride is gigantic. Watch this guy run, and look at how freakin' LONG each step is. He appears to almost glide out there.

2) He's deceptively quick. He's got a solid frame (6'5, 230), and you wouldn't expect someone with that size to make great cuts. He just does.

3) His accelleration in the open field may be the best I've seen in a while. Seriously, he looks like a damn gazelle out there; very smooth transition from scrambling out the pocket and then just simpily moving forward.

4) His size/speed combination is intimidating for most players. If he weighed less/had less strength, I could see him being much easier to take down. But the athletic balance is prototypical.

 

Well..

Yes, there are many other variables when truly talking about a player's ability to move faster, fake out, whatever, other players.

But in terms of raw speed (as in a straightline), he makes a good point. The more powerful you are, the less the additional weight will affect you.

Everyone is affected the same by the uneven surface (again, we're talking straightline speed) and many other variables to different degrees.

Gut

 

Force= mass X acceleration (F=ma)

Also, F/mass = acceleration, so proportionally speaking Gut is correct.

With Vince, he possess an unnatural ability to accelerate (change in speed over time) with his size. A helluva combination. His long strides also allow him to cover more ground (speed) per stride. Kami is right on in how this effects his run/play-making ability.

 

I am willing to bet it's an insignificant difference. Sure if you have a big strong guy who runs a 4.5 40 and a small skinny guy who runs a 4.5 40 the bigger guy will probably be faster than the skinny guy if you add additional weight. However I think the weight you have to add is considerably more than football equipment, when you consider the build and strength difference between the pro players.
So in theory I agree with you, but not in the real life NFL.

Again I have to disagree. Someone who practices strictly track running will be slower than someone who trains strictly crosscountry, and vice versa depending on the surface they run on.

 

Umm...

Well, even adding 15lbs to a 260 lb DE can slow their 40 time down. It doesn't neccessarily...especially if the 15lbs added is solid muscle. But equipment gives nothing to your power so it is probably NOT an insignificant change. Especially if we're talking about players weighing even less than that. For example, a 200lb wr adding 10lbs of equipment (or 5% of his bodyweight) couldd add a .1 to your 40. Stronger players would likely see no difference until you added more weight. My experience as a player in HS was that I was not as fast with pads on. How much slower (or if at all) I can't say cause I never timed myself in shorts. In fact, I think only one guy wasn't slowed at all...and he was a sprinter who practiced pulling stuff behind him.

I'm failry certain overall speed is affected to some degree...more or less depending on how much weight added vs how much power you have.

I'm not talking about sprinters on a track, we're talking football players. Best is when football players are timed in spring drills on a field (some teams only time on a track). Otherwise, you get the track/field bias and the different bias' for different tracks (indoor vs outdoor - into and with the find), ect.

But everyone who ran at the combine at Indy ran under tha same conditions - no wind, same track. That's why they all have the same disadvantage translating that onto the same football field's uneven surface...still under the same conditions....is my point.

Gut

 

Gut, my point is that I believe the overall differene in drop in performance between running with or without pads is so small that in the greater scheme it makes no difference.

Sure a skinny WR might drop .5 of a second with the equipment on, but if the DE drops .3 the difference is, in my opinion, insignificant. I don't think you'll find cases where anyone drops enough time with pads on to become slower than someone who was significantly slower without the pads.

 

Great points KamikaZ,

I would also like to add to your fourth point...

4.) b. He makes his lower body bigger when he runs, with his stance making it almost impossible for Defenders to get there arms around his waist. Look at any of his film in college, and I am also reminded of DL not being able to bring him down, around the waist in the NFL. VINCE has incredible lower body strength when asked about it, "He attributed it to doing lots of squats."