Low Wonderlic scores ding elite NFL prospects

[Wolf]

Two of the NFL's brightest future stars, LSU CB Patrick Peterson and Georgia WR A.J. Green, registered among the five lowest Wonderlic scores of the 330 participants at this year’s NFL scouting combine.

Peterson was one of four prospects who recorded a dreaded single-digit score, which NFL teams often equate with getting their name right, tying with South Carolina's Chris Culliver for the lowest mark among all defensive backs as both correctly answered only nine questions on the 12-minute, 50-question test.

Green registered the lowest score of all receivers, answering 10 questions correctly.

What does it mean? The Wonderlic test is just a small piece of the evaluation process, designed to gauge the intelligence of prospects. What NFL teams value much more highly is football intelligence — how quickly a player can instinctively read, react and make plays on the field.

"Peterson plays like a low-test guy," one NFL decision maker told PFW on the condition he remain anonymous, "but [if] he's in 'cat' [man-to-man] coverage in the NFL, it's not as big of an issue as it will be for offensive guys."

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=pfw-20110317_low_wonderlic_scores_ding_elite_nfl_prospects

 

[Wolf6151]

Every year I think of all the college scholarships and educational opportunities that are wasted on guys who can't spell football vs. all the guys who had to go to work or the military because they couldn't afford college. It's a shame we value running, throwing, and jumping more highly than english, math, and science.

 

[76Texan]

"Peterson plays like a low-test guy," one NFL decision maker told PFW on the condition he remain anonymous, "but [if] he's in 'cat' [man-to-man] coverage in the NFL, it's not as big of an issue"

....

Here was where I thought Peterson's game was lacking from what I saw on his game tapes.
It's a red flag for anybody considering moving him to safety!

 

[kiwitexansfan]

Yay, Peterson will now fall to the Texans.....

 

[WolverineFan]

Wonderlic test means jack as far as intelligence goes. My roomate is a computer engineer who sucks at grammar and is decent at math. He would probably not do so well on that test, yet he's a genius with a computer and already has a job lined up when he graduates.

Dan Marino scored a 15 on the Wonderlic, but he sure as hell could read a defense and throw a football. I could give a crap about what these guys score on some "intelligence" test. Put some plays up there and test them on football knowledge. You don't have to solve a word problem while running an out route...

 

[Hagar]

As usual QBs and OL have the highest scores.

 

[Lucky]

It's a shame we value running, throwing, and jumping more highly than english, math, and science.

Peterson won't be drafted because of his english, math, or science skills. It's the running and jumping that will earn him $$$.

I won't claim that Peterson is an instinctive football player. What I will claim is that the Wonderlic test is not a tool to determine a player's football IQ. And I must really question a scout's IQ that thinks otherwise.

 

[76Texan]

Wonderlic test means jack as far as intelligence goes. My roomate is a computer engineer who sucks at grammar and is decent at math. He would probably not do so well on that test, yet he's a genius with a computer and already has a job lined up when he graduates.

Dan Marino scored a 15 on the Wonderlic, but he sure as hell could read a defense and throw a football. I could give a crap about what these guys score on some "intelligence" test. Put some plays up there and test them on football knowledge. You don't have to solve a word problem while running an out route...

Problem with Peterson was he didn't read the overall offensive scheme well as the other top CB prospects.
In this instance, the test is comparable with football intelligence.

He could be just like Woodson, who didn't believe in film study when he first started out in the NFL (his own words, in a book that I have somewhere in the room right now.)