Interesting perspectives on ranking players (1 Viewer)

[GroveDiesel]

Last night on ESPN they were talking about the 40 yard dash and how it impacts rankings. Jeff Fisher was on there saying that if you take the measurables from the workouts and toss them into some sort of formula, you basically can come up with an idea of the success rate of a player. For example, if a guy a RB runs a 4.40-4.43 and does 18-20 reps on the bench he may have an 85% success rate versus a RB that runs a 4.43-4.50 and does 18-20 reps having a 70% success rate (all made up numbers by me). So it seemed like Fisher put a lot of weight on the combine/pro day numbers.

Then there's this article on the Buffalo Bills website. It seems to indicate that they pretty much have the guys graded and ranked before even going into the combine. They'll basically use the workout numbers to break ties, but not move guys way up or way down because of the workouts.

Seems like two somewhat different approaches and very interesting to read and think about.

 

[Sigmund Bloom]

I really think there is no one size fits all approach that works.

If a player has great measureables but didnt produce in college, it could be that he's a workout warrior. it could also be that he didnt get the kind of coaching he needed. It could also be that he was hurt too much. It could be that he wasn't motivated. It could also be that he's just not that good and will be a bust. It could also...

You get the picture.

 

[beto]

I really think there is no one size fits all approach that works.

If a player has great measureables but didnt produce in college, it could be that he's a workout warrior. it could also be that he didnt get the kind of coaching he needed. It could also be that he was hurt too much. It could be that he wasn't motivated. It could also be that he's just not that good and will be a bust. It could also...

You get the picture.

Or the converseIf a player has poor measureables but produced in college, it could be that he can't make the physical jump needed to succeed in the NFL. It could also be that he got great coaching that made the best use of his talents. It could also be that he was bothered by injuries at the combine or pro-day or maybe is still trying to come all the way back from a past surgery

 

[Sigmund Bloom]

I really think there is no one size fits all approach that works.

If a player has great measureables but didnt produce in college, it could be that he's a workout warrior. it could also be that he didnt get the kind of coaching he needed. It could also be that he was hurt too much. It could be that he wasn't motivated. It could also be that he's just not that good and will be a bust. It could also...

You get the picture.

Or the converseIf a player has poor measureables but produced in college, it could be that he can't make the physical jump needed to succeed in the NFL. It could also be that he got great coaching that made the best use of his talents. It could also be that he was bothered by injuries at the combine or pro-day or maybe is still trying to come all the way back from a past surgery

exactly.If teams arent looking at players on a case by case basis, they are really dropping the ball. With all the money that goes into draft prep, I have assume they are.

 

[GroveDiesel]

I really think there is no one size fits all approach that works.

If a player has great measureables but didnt produce in college, it could be that he's a workout warrior. it could also be that he didnt get the kind of coaching he needed. It could also be that he was hurt too much. It could be that he wasn't motivated. It could also be that he's just not that good and will be a bust. It could also...

You get the picture.

Or the converse

If a player has poor measureables but produced in college, it could be that he can't make the physical jump needed to succeed in the NFL. It could also be that he got great coaching that made the best use of his talents. It could also be that he was bothered by injuries at the combine or pro-day or maybe is still trying to come all the way back from a past surgery

In either one of these situations it still seems to me that they'd be overvaluing the workout numbers potentially. Teams have scouts for a reason. If that team can't rely on their scouts to already factor in coaching, desire, injuries, potential, etc. than why do they have them on their staff? I can understand a good or bad workout making a team go back and dig a little deeper, but I just don't get guys flying up or dropping like rocks on the draft board after the workouts. If teams are moving guys up or down that much, it means that their scouts are either not doing a good job, or the front office is ignoring the scouts in favor of the numbers.

 

[JAA]

Seems like two somewhat different approaches and very interesting to read and think about.

or like most FF draft guru's here they always find a way to rationlize their pick as the right one

 

[toppshelff]

Polian has said his approach for the Colts is more similar to the Bills. Combine ain't worth much. Past performance and psycolgoical makeup are key ingredients.