[washingtonismoney]

Was surprised to see he ran that slowly (http://www.nfl.com/draft/2013/profiles/z...id=2540158)

Looks like Eifert ran a 4.68 (http://www.nfl.com/combine/tracker?id=25...osition=TE)

EDIT: of course should note I've never seen any proof that 40 time matters. How many times do you think Ertz ran 40 yards in a straight line on a football field, ever?

[washingtonismoney]

Was surprised to see he ran that slowly (http://www.nfl.com/draft/2013/profiles/z...id=2540158)

Looks like Eifert ran a 4.68 (http://www.nfl.com/combine/tracker?id=25...osition=TE)

EDIT: of course should note I've never seen any proof that 40 time matters. How many times do you think Ertz ran 40 yards in a straight line on a football field, ever?

[Bruce Wang]

Arms as short as a T-rex.  Legs as slow as a brontosaurus.  How on earth did Captain America become an unanimous All-American?

[Bruce Wang]

Arms as short as a T-rex.  Legs as slow as a brontosaurus.  How on earth did Captain America become an unanimous All-American?

[Farm93]

Second 40 was better, but still not at Eifert's level.  Eifert is taller, faster, has longer arms and jumps higher.  As these things go, he has had the much better NFL Combine week.  I would guess that Ertz will be TE #2, not that there is anything wrong with that.

It was a little annoying that the TE time seemed to be overwhelmed by the guy that should have used Christian Mingle.

[Farm93]

Second 40 was better, but still not at Eifert's level.  Eifert is taller, faster, has longer arms and jumps higher.  As these things go, he has had the much better NFL Combine week.  I would guess that Ertz will be TE #2, not that there is anything wrong with that.

It was a little annoying that the TE time seemed to be overwhelmed by the guy that should have used Christian Mingle.

[71Bear]

Assuming you are speaking of TE's, I guess you have not seen Vernon Davis play.  Speed does matter...a lot.

[71Bear]

Assuming you are speaking of TE's, I guess you have not seen Vernon Davis play.  Speed does matter...a lot.

[washingtonismoney]

Assuming you are speaking of TE's, I guess you have not seen Vernon Davis play.  Speed does matter...a lot.

Speed matters, but that's distinct from 40 time. The two are entirely different -- 40 time involves, well, running straight for 40 yards. How frequently does that come into play on the football field? Reaction time, change of direction, explosion and stop-start are certainly more important than pure straight-line speed. (So: a runner running the 40 yard dash sets up in a track stance and starts running whenever he feels like it. He is not wearing pads. Does this sound like a good representation of life on the football field?)

Put it this way: LaMichael James and Ronnie Hillman both ran 4.45 40s in the NFL combine. Darrius Heyward-Bey famously ran a 4.3 whatever. Who's the fastest on the football field? Duh -- LaMike.

[washingtonismoney]

Assuming you are speaking of TE's, I guess you have not seen Vernon Davis play.  Speed does matter...a lot.

Speed matters, but that's distinct from 40 time. The two are entirely different -- 40 time involves, well, running straight for 40 yards. How frequently does that come into play on the football field? Reaction time, change of direction, explosion and stop-start are certainly more important than pure straight-line speed. (So: a runner running the 40 yard dash sets up in a track stance and starts running whenever he feels like it. He is not wearing pads. Does this sound like a good representation of life on the football field?)

Put it this way: LaMichael James and Ronnie Hillman both ran 4.45 40s in the NFL combine. Darrius Heyward-Bey famously ran a 4.3 whatever. Who's the fastest on the football field? Duh -- LaMike.

[needle]

Gronk, who's bigger, ran a 4.75. Ertz's times are respectable, and going in the first round I suspect is still a possibility.

I was way more curious about Toilolo's time. His best time was reportedly a 4.75, which will help him greatly I suspect (though I'm not bullish myself on his NFL career prospects).

[needle]

Gronk, who's bigger, ran a 4.75. Ertz's times are respectable, and going in the first round I suspect is still a possibility.

I was way more curious about Toilolo's time. His best time was reportedly a 4.75, which will help him greatly I suspect (though I'm not bullish myself on his NFL career prospects).

[needle]

Well, Toilolo's 4.75 was reported here:

http://www.ninersnation.com/2013/2/23/40...-tight-end

But I can't find it on NFL.com, so maybe I shouldn't reference an SBnation site.

USA Today lists Ertz as a "riser," with  "all the skills required of a first-round tight end."

Toilolo, meanwhile, was a "slider" who "ran a best of 4.86" and "dropped a large number of passes."

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl...r/1941839/

[needle]

Well, Toilolo's 4.75 was reported here:

http://www.ninersnation.com/2013/2/23/40...-tight-end

But I can't find it on NFL.com, so maybe I shouldn't reference an SBnation site.

USA Today lists Ertz as a "riser," with  "all the skills required of a first-round tight end."

Toilolo, meanwhile, was a "slider" who "ran a best of 4.86" and "dropped a large number of passes."

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl...r/1941839/

[socalstanfan1]

Other "slow" receivers, according to the combine:

Steve Largent
Art Monk
Jerry Rice
Michael Crabtree (criticized for being much slower, for example, than Bey)

Anyone who has actually watched Ertz run routes in which he completely turned around DBs/LBs who were trying to cover him understands his ability on the field.

Ertz may very well slip to #2 behind Eifert, based on the measurables.  But he'll be a great TE in the NFL, and I'll go ahead and predict he'll end up being one of the great route-running TEs in the league (and I don't mean "great route runner" as a euphemism for "slow white guy," which if frankly how it is all too often applied.)

[socalstanfan1]

Other "slow" receivers, according to the combine:

Steve Largent
Art Monk
Jerry Rice
Michael Crabtree (criticized for being much slower, for example, than Bey)

Anyone who has actually watched Ertz run routes in which he completely turned around DBs/LBs who were trying to cover him understands his ability on the field.

Ertz may very well slip to #2 behind Eifert, based on the measurables.  But he'll be a great TE in the NFL, and I'll go ahead and predict he'll end up being one of the great route-running TEs in the league (and I don't mean "great route runner" as a euphemism for "slow white guy," which if frankly how it is all too often applied.)

[DC]

Ertz was seldom a deep threat like Fleener was.  Of course, we all remember and love his deep catch in the Rose Bowl.  ;D  But generally he ran short to intermediate routes, so I'm not surprised at his 40 time.

Most importantly, he has really, really good hands and knows how to find holes in the defense.  Hands aren't talked about as much as speed, size, jumping ability, etc. but like accuracy for a QB, are key.  Remember the balls Ty Montgomery and Chris Owusu dropped?

[DC]

Ertz was seldom a deep threat like Fleener was.  Of course, we all remember and love his deep catch in the Rose Bowl.  ;D  But generally he ran short to intermediate routes, so I'm not surprised at his 40 time.

Most importantly, he has really, really good hands and knows how to find holes in the defense.  Hands aren't talked about as much as speed, size, jumping ability, etc. but like accuracy for a QB, are key.  Remember the balls Ty Montgomery and Chris Owusu dropped?