crazietalk.net

Was watching ESPN this morning and everyone was talking about the QB at Oklahoma and his impending shoulder surgery. They were wondering if he'd be able to play in the combine. What is the combine? Is that some sort of tractor race?

After college season is over, and after all the dust settles from the Super Bowl, the NFL brings together the best 15,000 (hyperbole) prospects to one location and has them all do a number of specific drills and examinations. Each NFL team sends a number of representatives there to observe just how fast, strong, and smart each athlete is. Just how high can someone actually jump, run a series of drills, etc...? This is the chance for the college stars to show their stuff to potential employers.

A number of the elite prospects prefer not to attend the combine, as it may lower their draft status. On the other hand, someone could run faster than anyone else, and shoot up in draft status.

Lavabe wrote:After college season is over, and after all the dust settles from the Super Bowl, the NFL brings together the best 15,000 (hyperbole) prospects to one location and has them all do a number of specific drills and examinations. Each NFL team sends a number of representatives there to observe just how fast, strong, and smart each athlete is. Just how high can someone actually jump, run a series of drills, etc...? This is the chance for the college stars to show their stuff to potential employers.

A number of the elite prospects prefer not to attend the combine, as it may lower their draft status. On the other hand, someone could run faster than anyone else, and shoot up in draft status.

Ahhhh! Thanks, Lavabe!

I would think Bradford wouldn't need to attend the combine. But, he may have to due to the surgery.

TillyGalore wrote:Was watching ESPN this morning and everyone was talking about the QB at Oklahoma and his impending shoulder surgery. They were wondering if he'd be able to play in the combine. What is the combine? Is that some sort of tractor race?

The combine is a week-long, invitation-only, scouting event for the nation's top athletes. The compete in a variety of skills tests and mental evaluation. Great way to boost, or lower, your draft status.

Players do private workouts for teams that are interested in them. The combine is a REALLY big workout that many players and all the teams attend. They do drills in pads and out. It's where players get their 40 times and their bench press numbers and vertical leap numbers. They also get measured, although numbers are sometimes fudged. You can watch it on the NFL network if you want. Some players don't go because it can KILL a good prospect's draft status if they really stink it up. Other lesser known players go because if they perform well, they can at least get on some teams' radars that didn't know anything about them before. It affects players that might be drafted in rounds 3-7 a lot more than those in rounds 1 and 2. Some guys can hop up a few rounds with a good performance at the combine, or at least earn private workouts with teams that wouldn't have taken a look at them otherwise. Bigger prospects who had injuries their last year of college will often attend to show teams that they've recovered.

I think it's also where they take the infamous Wonderlic test.

It's also the one time of the year when everyone finds out about the Wonderlic Test.

Lavabe wrote:It's also the one time of the year when everyone finds out about the Wonderlic Test.

Not sure I want to know what this is.

Any chance Greg Paulus will be invited? Or any other Dukies?

TillyGalore wrote:

Lavabe wrote:It's also the one time of the year when everyone finds out about the Wonderlic Test.

Not sure I want to know what this is.

It's basically an overblown IQ test that is administered to NFL prospects at the Combine. Supposedly it measures their aptitude to grasp the intricacies of NFL systems, and to navigate the general challenges of transitioning to the "real world" (since playing football for millions of dollars qualifies as the "real world" ).
It's a big load of shit.

wilson wrote:

TillyGalore wrote:

Lavabe wrote:It's also the one time of the year when everyone finds out about the Wonderlic Test.

Not sure I want to know what this is.

It's basically an overblown IQ test that is administered to NFL prospects at the Combine. Supposedly it measures their aptitude to grasp the intricacies of NFL systems, and to navigate the general challenges of transitioning to the "real world" (since playing football for millions of dollars qualifies as the "real world" ).
It's a big load of shit.

Now that I know WHAT it is, I'd like to see the test.

How are these kids supposed to know "the intricacies of NFL systems, and to navigate the general challenges of transitioning to the 'real world'"? The difference between college and the real world was vastly different when I was in college. I can't imagine it's gotten easier to grasp. It's just something you have to go through to understand. Especially if you're all of a sudden pulling in millions of dollars.

TillyGalore wrote:Now that I know WHAT it is, I'd like to see the test.

How are these kids supposed to know "the intricacies of NFL systems, and to navigate the general challenges of transitioning to the 'real world'"? The difference between college and the real world was vastly different when I was in college. I can't imagine it's gotten easier to grasp. It's just something you have to go through to understand. Especially if you're all of a sudden pulling in millions of dollars.

It doesn't measure knowledge; rather, it (supposedly) gauges aptitude.
A sample test generally pops up somewhere on the interweb around NFL Draft season.

wilson wrote:

TillyGalore wrote:

Lavabe wrote:It's also the one time of the year when everyone finds out about the Wonderlic Test.

Not sure I want to know what this is.

It's basically an overblown IQ test that is administered to NFL prospects at the Combine. Supposedly it measures their aptitude to grasp the intricacies of NFL systems, and to navigate the general challenges of transitioning to the "real world" (since playing football for millions of dollars qualifies as the "real world" ).
It's a big load of shit.

Not sure how it compares to Myers Briggs, but a lot of scouts and warned against Ryan Leaf because he was an ENTJ and they were heavily in favor of ESTP Peyton Manning.

Miles wrote:Not sure how it compares to Myers Briggs, but a lot of scouts and warned against Ryan Leaf because he was an ENTJ and they were heavily in favor of ESTP Peyton Manning.

On the other hand, many all-time great players have scored remarkably low on the Wonderlic test. It's a 50-question test with one point awarded for each correct answer. Average score at the NFL combine is 20. Dan Marino and Terry Bradshaw both scored something like 14.

Was it Vince Young that supposedly got a 4?

This website has some sample questions:

http://www.testprepreview.com/wonderlic_practice.htm

bjornolf wrote:Was it Vince Young that supposedly got a 4?

I don't remember exactly what his purported score was, but it was widely reported as very low. Technically, the NFL considers their Wonderlic results intellectual property. While the Wonderlic is an industrial/organizational diagnostic with wide use beyond the NFL, the NFL version is tailored specifically for the Draft, and the results are not supposed to be released (though as we've seen, they frequently get leaked).

TillyGalore wrote:Any chance Greg Paulus will be invited? Or any other Dukies?

Doubt it. GP and TL are too short. :roll:

Combine: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Combine_(Half-Life)

Just want to point out - some of your girlfriends could have answered this questions.

DukieInKansas wrote:Just want to point out - some of your girlfriends could have answered this questions.

I know. But figured since I'd started a "help from my girl friends" it was only fair to start a "help from my guy friends" thread as well.

devildeac wrote:

TillyGalore wrote:Any chance Greg Paulus will be invited? Or any other Dukies?

Doubt it. GP and TL are too short. :roll:

Hey! I resemble that remark.