Recently, I created a video that has become pretty popular in the last week. It was a critique of Cam Newton's 40 yard dash at the NFL Combine a couple weekends ago. If you haven't seen it yet, you can watch it by clicking here. What I wanted to do today was go over in a little more detail what I discussed in the video so that you could have a better understanding of how Cam Newton might not have maximized his full 40 yard dash potential.
The first thing I want to discuss, which I didn't go over in the video, is running a 40 yard dash at a combine is different than breaking away and running 40 yards in a game. Speed is trained completely different in those two instances. For the combine, you are trying to learn all the "tricks" you need to know to get as fast a 40 as possible. It is a controlled environment. Tons of money is on the line. During a game, you are just trying to run as fast as you can so the guys don't crush you.
I mention Cam Newton's start first in the video. Remember, this is a start for a 40 yard dash, not a track meet. There are no starting blocks. You need to get the best start possible for this time. I think Cam did a couple things wrong with his start and that sets the stage up for the rest of his 40. First his back foot was way too far back. I understand he is a tall individual, but it needs to be a little closer. You want to explode out of that start, putting your body in an almost uncomfortable position.
The other thing with that back leg is that he barely has it touching the ground. It is twitching and tapping throughout him holding the position. He needs it down a little bit so he can explode off of both legs. Think about it. If you are standing still are you going to jump higher off of two legs or one leg. Two. The same applies to this start.
Finally, his left arm is way too high. If I had one of my high school athletes running at a collegiate combine, a lot of those timers are reacting to the first movement and I don't want them to see that left arm moving and start the time too early. Cam should have tucked that arm into his side so the first movement was him exploding out.
The first 10 yards are key. Keep your head tucked for the duration, get a good, big first step, and make the 10 yards in 5.5 to 6.5 steps. Cam did all those things pretty good. Now the remaining 30 yards is getting into proper position and using your power to get down the runway.
At this point, I think his technique failed him. Being a long guy, I wanted to see a little longer strides with the same turnover. I think he got upright a little too quick and his leg stride wasn't as long as I would have liked to have seen. Surprising as it may sound, he might have needed a little strength/power development to allow his legs to get out in their fullest range of motion possible. Meaning, I don't want him trying to extend his legs out there longer, because then he might be slowing himself down, but to have the power to allow his legs to naturally get out there longer in full stride and full stride rate, so as not to lose any speed.
Despite the few minor things he could have worked on, he still ran a 4.59. The third fastest at the quarterback position. Not too shabby. I just think with those few minor adjustments I discussed, he probably could have got the fastest time for QB's which was a 4.52. Although, I don't think it is going to hurt his draft status too much. Lucky him.
No comments:
Post a Comment