Real "World Class" speed in the 40

[nunusguy]

I'm watching an Indoor Track Meet being Telecast on ESPN, the Tyson Invitational Meet from Fayettville, Ark. This is the fastest sprinters in the country.
Anyway, they just had the 60 meter dash (in Track & Field, everything has been metric for some time), and the winning time was something like 6.62 I think. But one of the commentators said for those NFL fans who were interested in 40 "yard" times in reference to the standard for speed in the NFL for the combine, they've done calculations and convertions for metric to yards and all the 6 or 7 finalists in this meet run within 5 hundredths of a second of 4.1 in the 40 yarder.

[Trap_Star]

Who do you guys think is the fastest man in the NFL??

[bah007]

I believe DeAngelo Hall runs the fastest 40.

[LORK 88]

Mathis or Hall.

[tulexan]

Soon to be Ted Ginn Jr.

[YoungTexanFan]

It depends on the distance. DeAngelo Hall and Michael Vick are some pretty fast guys. But then you have your J. Mathis who qualified for the Olympics in the 200m I believe, so he is the fastest at that distance.

[YoungTexanFan]

Originally Posted by tulexan

Soon to be Ted Ginn Jr.

I would take Mathis over Ginn Jr. everytime in a race.

[Texian]

What about Hester?

[bah007]

Originally Posted by Texian

What about Hester?

Hester is more about quickness & agility than he is straight-line speed.

[MorKnolle]

Originally Posted by Texian

What about Hester?

Tye Hill ran the fastest 40 at the Combine last year at a 4.30, followed closely by Johnathan Joseph at a 4.31. Hester ran a 4.41. Mathis ran a 4.26 in the 2005 Combine.

I think over a 100-meter race Mathis would be the fastest. DeAngelo Hall barely beat him in the 40 at the fastest man contest last year but had a much better start, had the race been 5 yards longer Mathis would have passed him up. Stanford Routt is also extremely fast.

[Texas_Thrill]

Originally Posted by MorKnolle

Stanford Routt is also extremely fast.

which just goes to show how overrated the 40 time is b/c when does anyone get to run in a straight line?

[vtech9]

Originally Posted by MorKnolle

Tye Hill ran the fastest 40 at the Combine last year at a 4.30, followed closely by Johnathan Joseph at a 4.31. Hester ran a 4.41. Mathis ran a 4.26 in the 2005 Combine.

I think over a 100-meter race Mathis would be the fastest. DeAngelo Hall barely beat him in the 40 at the fastest man contest last year but had a much better start, had the race been 5 yards longer Mathis would have passed him up. Stanford Routt is also extremely fast.

Mathis ran his 4.26 with a slightly pulled hammy IIRC.

[JamesC]

I remember ESPN saying Justin Gatlin ran somewhere between a 3.8 and a 3.9 40 when he tried out for the Texans.

[Ole Miss Texan]

Originally Posted by JamesC

I remember ESPN saying Justin Gatlin ran somewhere between a 3.8 and a 3.9 40 when he tried out for the Texans.

That should be illegal.

Sounds like Hester isn't as fast as these other guys...but he simply amazes me watching him return those punts and kicks.

[SF49erFaithful]

I think Donte Stallworth and Fabian Washington ran some pretty fast 40's.

[gtexan02]

I'm pretty sure Joey Galloway set the record with a 4.18

[YoungTexanFan]

Originally Posted by gtexan02

I'm pretty sure Joey Galloway set the record with a 4.18

I never took him to be a dead sprinter. I think that must be hand timed. There is absolutely no way he is faster than Mathis.

[YoungTexanFan]

Originally Posted by JamesC

I remember ESPN saying Justin Gatlin ran somewhere between a 3.8 and a 3.9 40 when he tried out for the Texans.

Is that humanly possible?

[nunusguy]

**
For the record.
**
"Many reported times are unreliable due to differences in timing methods if
not intentional falsifications. The fastest time officially recorded by the NFL was 4.29 seconds by Deion Sanders in 1989 [1], although the NFL did not begin electronic timing until 1990. In the electronic timing era, the fastest recorded time at the NFL Combine was 4.25 seconds by cornerback Fabian Washington in 2005. [2] Most other times close to 4.0 are untrustworthy due to the use of hand timing, but it is often claimed that players including Sanders (4.17)[3], Ted Ginn Jr. (4.04)[4], DeAngelo Hall (4.15)[5][6], Michael Vick (4.65)[7], Bo Jackson (4.12)[8], Michael Bennett (4.13)[9], Randy Moss (4.25)[10], Darrell Green (4.15[11], 4.2[12]), Laveranues Coles (4.2)[13], and Alexander Wright (4.09)[14] have approached that mark. Although 40 yards is always run, the 60 meter dash is not a well-regulated track and field distance, the official record for which is 6.39 seconds. Tapes of sprinter Ben Johnson's world-record breaking 1988 100 meter dash (which was later annulled due to Johnson's steroid use), however, show that Johnson ran the 60 m in 6.37 seconds; this is considered the most quickly started race ever run.[15] Johnson covered the first 40 meters in 4.53 seconds. It is often reported wrongly that Johnsons first 40 yards was timed. It was actually his first 40 meters. Which translates to an exceptionally fast 40 yard time (4.24 seconds)."
**
The "reaction time" factor, i.e.,timing of football players vs. track sprinters.
**
"However, in track and field races, the runner must react to the starting gun, which can take 0.10 to 0.20 seconds. For electronically timed 40 yard dashes, the runner is allowed to start when he wishes, and a timer hand-starts the clock (after a reaction time of 0.1 to 0.2 seconds). This difference would indicate that, at peak form, Johnson would have been electronically timed in 4.04 to 4.14 seconds, or hand-timed in about 4.00 seconds, making claims of hand-held times in the 4.1-4.2 range more credible."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/40_yard_dash

[JamesC]

Originally Posted by YoungTexanFan

Is that humanly possible?

He did hold the title of "Worlds Fastest Man" so I guess so.