Harvard Sports Analysis Collective

Each year, the NFL decision makers gather in Indianapolis to watch players cavort about in spandex.  Even though all the players participating have appeared in dozens of college games and hundreds of plays, scouts (and fans) insist on hard “data” to determine their value.  The most widely reported test during the combine is the 40 yard dash.  Players run 40 yards (rather than 30 or 50) because Paul Brown wanted to see how they would perform on punt coverage; 40 yards was the approximate distance of a punt.

Football Outsiders’ Bill Barnwell has an interesting analysis of 40 yard times for running backs.  Rather than looking at just the time, Barnwell’s analysis also considers the RB’s weight.  He calculates a somewhat arbitrary “speed score” and explains how it does a far better job of predicting a running back’s draft position than 40 time alone.

http://www.footballoutsiders.com/stat-analysis/2009/speed-score-2009

For an entertaining look at the 40, check out this video of NFL Network’s Rich Eisen attempting to break 6.0 in a suit.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZb3DRt6_Gk

Daniel is a junior living in Lowell House. He is interested in football, and has had internships with the New England Patriots and Cleveland Browns.