Anyone still arguing the fact that 40 times don't matter are crazy. They do. Ask Manti if he's not taken in the first round if they don't matter.
I love what John Clayton said, whom i respect a ton:
"Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o came out of Saturday's interview session with the national media and 20 team interviews at the combine with the impression that his fake girlfriend incident didn't drop his first-round grade. Te'o, his agents and those who prepared him for the interviews had to feel good. But Monday deflated the entire group. Te'o ran a 4.82 40 and could have possibly dropped out of the first round. Teams need fast linebackers who can drop into coverage and chase down tight ends or fast running backs."
No matter how thick your green goggles are, 40 matters. Speed matters. Do other guys succeed? Sure, there are exceptions to every rule. But If I'm spending 1st round money on a LB, he's not coming off the field.
Do I think his 40 is going to make him a bad pro? No. But if he wants to be elite, he better get faster. Or hide it with exceptional instinct and tackling.
I'm sorry but I can't agree. While he needs to improve his 4.82 during his pro-day, it's not as important as it is pumped up to be. Analysts were saying at his size, they would like a 4.75 or better, that's most certainly attainable and for what he has gone through the past few months, I'll give him the benefit of the doubt. We have seen him play his entire career, at what point did his 40 time matter?
I'm not understanding how 40 time equates to stamina as people are suggesting because of his 40 time that he cant be an every down LB.
Honey Badger did 4 reps at 225. Why don't you hear about that more? He was also kicked off the team. Again, don't hear much about it. Bring up Manti and the wolves come out. People love to nit pick.
From The Chicago Tribune: (
Chicago Bears: It's a good time to buy on Manti Te'o - chicagotribune.com)
It's never a bad thing to run a sizzling 40, but the truth is track speed has little to do with middle linebacker play. "If a middle linebacker runs a 4.82 but he is instinctive and quick in a short area, the 40-yard dash time doesn't matter," one AFC general manager said. "At that position what matters is they are productive and make plays."
Lofa Tatupu ran a 4.83 in the 40-yard dash and promptly made three Pro Bowl appearances as a member of the Seahawks.
In the 20-yard shuttle, which measures short-area quickness and ability to change direction, Te'o had a respectable time of 4.27.
More than one front-office man said Te'o looked tense and nervous, and that they expect him to test better at his pro day in South Bend.
Many NFL teams were more interested in listening to Te'o talk at the combine than they were in watching him prance around wearing Lycra. And according to four team executives who interviewed Te'o, he talked as well as he played last season — which is to say he did a fine job in interviews.
"Manti did a real good job with the interview," Bucs general manager Mark Dominik said. "You could see how smart he was, how bright he was."
Vikings general manager Rick Spielman praised Te'o for being upbeat and full of energy in their interview session even though he was being interviewed at 10:45 p.m. after Te'o previously had been interviewed by a dozen or so teams.
Ultimately, what should carry the evaluation of Te'o is his body of work at Notre Dame. That body of work includes his performance against Alabama — but it also includes performances in 48 other college starts.
"Guys all have tough games," Dominik said. "You have to look at the whole season. You can't look at one game and say that defines the guy."
The most challenging part of evaluating Te'o might be focusing strictly on the football player and everything he did between the lines.
"I think a lot has been blown out of proportion with Manti," Giants general manager Jerry Reese said. "We have to depend mostly on our evaluation on what he did on the field. We talk to them about off-field issues, take psychological inventories, and find out as much as we can. But at some point you can talk yourself out of some good football players with too much information. We try not to do that. We don't put our head in the sand, but we don't overanalyze the information we get either."
I'd like to think these GMs know what they are talking about more then Clayton.
