The controversy regarding the “official” 40-yard times from the Scouting Combine has gotten only more interesting, thanks to NFL Network’s brilliant creation of a simultaneous comparison of video of the fastest players who ran in Indianapolis.
Return specialist Trindon Holliday officially ran a 4.34. USC defensive back Taylor Mays officially ran a 4.43.
And the video shows Mays beating Holliday.
Speaking of Mays’ official time, our pal Rich Eisen of NFL Network said after presenting the comparison, “It has to be flawed.”
So how does this happen? Damned if we know, but the same sense of urgency that the powers-that-be applied to the Wonderlic procedures after word leaked four years ago of Vince Young’s single-digit result should be applied to improving the timing system of the 40-yard dash.
Universities throughout the country put on track meets during which times are accurately measured. Why not use the same level of precision when giving players a chance to make the kind of impression that will help determine when they get drafted and, in turn, how much they get paid?
The problem likely traces in part to the fact that the timing commences not upon the firing of a gun but on the first motion of the player. So the easy fix is to make this faux track meet more like a real track meet, and to tie the timing to the gun or the whistle or whatever.