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SIDELINE ARCHIVE Unnecessary Hits To The Pocket / Upset: BYU October 17, 2008 Romo's Pause / Seattle Seahawks October 15, 2008 Weekend Prep: Red River and More October 10, 2008 College Football's 'Crossroads' Weekend October 9, 2008 Gramatical Error October 7, 2008 Turning The Page September 30, 2008 So Cal 'Quizzed — But Who Will Answer? September 26, 2008 3rd Tuesday Panic Button / Forté Yard Dash September 23, 2008 Two and Oh; Oh and Two September 22, 2008 No More NCAAffeine September 11, 2008 Week 1 College Football September 6, 2008 How To Spell Heisman / Chad Ocho Cinco September 1, 2008 Why the Favre story STILL won't go away August 18, 2008 Olympic Notes / Ricky's Still Relevant August 14, 2008 Committee Meetings August 9, 2008 Let the QB Battles Begin August 8, 2008 Slinging The Slinger — More Favre August 6, 2008 Welcome to the 2008 season July 28, 2008 Plus One May 27, 2008 Draft: The Morning After April 28, 2008 Draft: Thinking the Unthinkable April 25, 2008 Draft: Ready For The Long Haul April 23, 2008 Sofa–bound Sport April 16, 2008 Post–Winter Wonderland April 11, 2008 Six Impossible Things February 4, 2008 Brady's Misdirection Play February 3, 2008 Colorful Language January 23, 2008 Let the Romo–bashing begin: Dallas lost January 14, 2008 Bowl Bites: The Wrap January 10, 2008 All About The Coaches January 1, 2008 Bowl Bites 3 and A Communication Breakdown December 29, 2007 Bowl Bites 2 December 27, 2007 Bowl Bites 1 December 23, 2007 The Empty Chair - Coach Situations Vacant December 22, 2007 For Some, The Playoffs Are Now December 15, 2007 A Certain Lack Of Welcome December 13, 2007 Unrelated Notes November 29, 2007 Two Thanksgiving thoughts November 22, 2007 Halftime: NFC November 9, 2007 Halftime: AFC November 8, 2007 London, Part 2 / A Tale of Two Chads / A Game of Intimidation November 4, 2007 Damp Squib / Other London Notes October 29, 2007 Rock 'Em, Sock 'Em / Dolphins – The Aftermath October 23, 2007 The Dolphins Did What? October 18, 2007 Notes on the Defenses October 13, 2007 Habits to be Broken October 12, 2007 Overtime October 13, 2007 This Week's Starters October 6, 2007: USF: Covering The Spread / Fantastic Football September 27, 2007: Grossman: The Final Act? / McNabb, the Epilogue September 24, 2007: Eagles QB in Slight Controversy September 21, 2007: Leftwich's Parting Gift to Jacksonville? / Boos cruise September 18, 2007: Notre Dame M.I.A. September 16, 2007: Looking Beyond NFL Wk. 1 September 12, 2007: Best Hope For Heisman September 10, 2007: Coaching Hot Seats / AP Poll Feeling ’Appy September 7, 2007: The NFL’s Prime Cuts September 5, 2007: Michigan Falls to Killer Apps September 3, 2007: Look Out Couch / The Taint's On You, Bud September 1, 2007: |
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SPORTS SIDELINE 
Observations, Opinion & Occasional Silliness by Richard L Gale Post–Winter Wonderland Welcome to April. Time for slumbering football fans to uncurl, and head out of the cave for the mid–hibernation snack of hope known as the NFL draft. We fans have been through our usual yawn–and–stretch routines. We've given too much attention to some player's 40 time (regardless of whether they can catch a ball). We've taken a quarterback who wasn't being talked about this time last year and pinned franchise–savior expectations to him. We've downgraded linebackers for being an inch shorter than their colleges claimed. And of course, there's the usual Wonderlic cat–and–mouse of pretending IQ scores don't matter, scrambling to read them once some were 'leaked', and then pretending they don't matter again — one of our stranger pre–draft routines. Well, who am I to break from tradition? The Wonderlic test is a written test, a measure of mental dexterity graded out of 50, with 20 as an average grade. For some positions, I like to think it can be used as a measure of how quickly a player can assimilate the playbook. I know that Dan Marino allegedly scored only 16 and still did just fine in every football–related numerical category, but for me that's the exception that proves the rule. If Steve Young scored 33, John Elway 30, Troy Aikman 29, and Eli Manning 39, I'm seeing a rings–to–Wonderlic relationship I like, as long as I don't look too hard. For a quarterback or an offensive lineman, it's something I'm going to pay attention to. According to Paul Zimmerman's The New Thinking Man's Guide to Pro Football, an average score for an offensive tackle is 26, a center 25, quarterback 24, and guard 23. Lowest, positionally are halfbacks at 16 (just hang on to the rock, guys). We might expect Wonderlic results to pop up as part of whatever draft info service we subscribe to. However, these tend to stay under wraps, despite occasional leaks, and I'm inclined to ask why. A player's time in the 40 yard dash becomes public knowledge immediately, and how relevant is that for a passer? Tom Brady put up lumpy numbers at his combine and athlete/QBs have yet to prove their case in the NFL, so I'd hazard a guess the New England Patriots gave greater weight to his 33 Wonderlic than his glacial 5.27 time in the 40. Why the secrecy about the Wonderlic? These players went to college — can't we just check their Grade Point Averages? Fortunately for those with at least passing interest in anything as nebulous as intelligence tests for footballers, some numbers have been in circulation. I do not claim these to be verified numbers, but hey, I'm a columnist — I don't have time for verifying facts when there's an opinion to be formed. Of note: QBs: Louisville's Brian Brohm may have scored as high as 45 in one test. That's just another reason for me to wonder why everybody is on the Matt Ryan bandwagon. Did Kentucky's Andre Woodson really score a high of 20? Average isn't average in the world of NFL QBs. RBs: Montana RB Lex Hilliard is said to have scored a perfect 50, as is Boston College OT Godser Cherilus and Alabama DE Wallace Gilberry. As only two other players are alleged to have posted 50s in the history of the test (Pat McInally and Ryan Fitzpatrick, both Harvard graduates), let's say I'm skeptical by this one–year statistical bulge — especially when they are reported to have scored 24, 25 and 17 respectively in other tests. This is a good example of why results need to be officially published. Georgia Tech RB Tashard Choice reportedly landed a 27, which would back up a good Senior Bowl week when given the chance to work with NFL coaches. FBs: West Virginia's Owen Schmitt (30) and Furman's Jerome Felton (41) did little to knock themselves off the top of the fullback rankings. WRs: There's a whole lot of WRs and not a lot of published results, but considering the history of Florida receivers with gaudy numbers that didn't translate in the pros, Andre Caldwell's reported high of 14 doesn't fill me with confidence. OLs: OT Chad Rinehart of Northern Iowa reportedly had a high of 42 and a low of 35. Couple that with good physical and athletic ability, and he might be a tasty pick down the road. 6–6, 310lb junior OT Ryan Clady of Boise State is riding high in pre–draft lists, but a report of a Wonderlic of 13 has me worried about how early he's going to click with the playbook and perform to expectations. Defense: I'm less worried about Wonderlic scores when it comes to defensive players, as defense is to a greater extent reactive rather than cerebral. A reported Wonderlic score of 4 might be suggestive of illiteracy, but in the case of two cornerbacks, Tracy Porter of Indiana and Travis Williams of East Carolina, their lows probably have more to do with posting low 4.4s in the 40 and caring less about some scribble test. A one–time high–flying CB prospect, DeJuan Tribble of Boston College put in a less stellar 4.6 in the 40, then reportedly landed a high of 33 in his Wonderlic. A player's interest at investing in the Wonderlic might be seen as a greater influence on the result than actual intelligence (or lack of it). Another BC Eagle, safety Jamie Silva had a high of 37, which together with QB Matt Ryan (32) gives Boston College in general a high average. Now, is that the inherent academia of BC showing through? Or are they just well–prepared for sitting this kind of test? A high Wonderlic isn't going to help a slow wide receiver get separation in coverage, nor is it going to help an introverted quarterback become a team leader overnight. A fast corner doesn't have to try hard in an IQ test any more than a Law graduate is going to win a case by doing well in the 20–yard shuttle between the judge and back. But at least the Wonderlic gives us something else to pass the time while we wait for the football season. Journalists, but the way, are said to have an average of 26 on the Wonderlic. I'm just saying. |
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