beelzebear;841955537 said:

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in the si speed issue there's a article on how fast bolt would be in the 40 with electronic timing....some suggest a sub 4.0 for the 40.

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hahahahahahahaha....

I'm not sure if Bolt could even beat his teammate Blake in the 40. Bolt always seems to be coming from behind. I would guess Bolt could be in the 4.2s closer to 4.3. I actually think Chris Johnson might be able to give Bolt a run for his money in the 40. Any sprint longer than that would be no competition.

polkeem;841955579 said:

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I'm not sure if Bolt could even beat his teammate Blake in the 40. Bolt always seems to be coming from behind. I would guess Bolt could be in the 4.2s closer to 4.3. I actually think Chris Johnson might be able to give Bolt a run for his money in the 40. Any sprint longer than that would be no competition.

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Agreed. Those long legs are a detriment in the shorter distances...

Sort of like smaller wheels / tires on a car, compared to those like on a monster truck. These differences essentially makes for different gearing, effecting acceleration and top end speed...

Or, a tall guy with very long arms doing bench presses compared to short, stocky guy. Just different dynamics at play...

I don't think it's fair to call DAT frail - the kid was a hard hitting defender and I'm not aware of any injuries. It's like all the people who assumed Sofele would be frail due to his size but he's never sustained an injury (knock on wood).

I don't think DAT could keep up with Bigelow in a straight line but I'm not sure DAT spends much time running in a straight line either. He is plenty fast, off the charts agility and has terrific instincts. If he was 2 or 3 inches taller he would be the top skill position player taken in the draft when he's eligible in 2013.

From SI, take it for what it's worth:

Quote:

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"Johnson has repeatedly suggested that he could beat Bolt in a 40, but the numbers aren't in his favor. Johnson was an outstanding 100-meter runner in high school but lost the Florida state championship in '04 to Walter Dix, who was third behind Bolt at the '08 Games. (Bolt is only 11 months younger than Johnson, and both ran the 200 as high schoolers in '04 -- Johnson in a lightning 21.30 and Bolt in a unprecedented 19.93).

According to an SI analysis that used data from Bolt's world-record 100 (9.58) and two methods of estimating Bolt's 40 potential, the Jamaican might flirt with four seconds flat. In his '09 record run, Bolt hit 40 meters in 4.64. Given his velocity, the conversion to yards and his reaction time to the starter's gun, Bolt ran a 4.19 40, but that was in a phase of the 100 in which he was not yet at top speed. Plus, the average difference between handheld times -- like those at the combine -- and an electronic time like Bolt's is 0.22. Subtract that, and Bolt is under 4."

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beelzebear;841955600 said:

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From SI, take it for what it's worth:

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the combine is not timed by hand - Johnson ran a 4.24 electronic timed. I would be willing to bet that the track that Johnson ran on wasn't as fast as the one that Bolt ran on either. On the other hand, Bolt didn't train for the 40 and wasn't optimizing the first 40 in his race. I'm not saying that Johnson would beat Bolt in a short race, but I would be shocked if Bolt broke 4 in a 40.

Lasco is no slouch either! Hand timed at 4.15 in high school. I know, I know, I don't believe it either but he's still hella fast. i hope Lasco gets to return kicks again with Bigs. No knock on Manuel--he's workmanlike and not mistake prone but not a gamebreaker and kinda ticked he told Bigs to take a knee on the last kick off in Columbus--that was a time to gamble not settle for the 25. Lasco lost his KO return starting spot when he fumbled the ball on first play vs SUU. Time to forgive and move on. Imagine Bigelow and Lasco side by side in the backfield on a couple of plays at USC?

No way he runs a sub 4.0 forty.

Regardless, he's faster on the 2nd half of the 100, not the 1st.

Unit2Sucks;841955611 said:

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the combine is not timed by hand - Johnson ran a 4.24 electronic timed. I would be willing to bet that the track that Johnson ran on wasn't as fast as the one that Bolt ran on either. On the other hand, Bolt didn't train for the 40 and wasn't optimizing the first 40 in his race. I'm not saying that Johnson would beat Bolt in a short race, but I would be shocked if Bolt broke 4 in a 40.

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Here's the rest of the article, the conclusion:

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"Then again, there are other factors, such as the softer (therefore slower) surface at the combine and the lack of starting blocks, both of which would add fractions of a second to Bolt's time. "All things considered," says Ralph Mann, USA Track & Field director of elite athletes sprint-and-hurdle program and a world renown bio-mechanist, "I would guess he may just be able to break four seconds. It would be close."

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I think you hit it when you suggest Bolt didn't train for the 40, wasn't optimized. If he trained for it, I think he has a chance at breaking 4.0.

Bolt doesn't get enough credit for his start. If you watch his 9.58 race, he accelerated through the first 10, 20 meters faster than tyson gay. If Bolt couldn't break 4.0 on the 40, i'm not sure who can then.

Unit2Sucks;841955592 said:

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I don't think it's fair to call DAT frail - the kid was a hard hitting defender and I'm not aware of any injuries. It's like all the people who assumed Sofele would be frail due to his size but he's never sustained an injury (knock on wood).

I don't think DAT could keep up with Bigelow in a straight line but I'm not sure DAT spends much time running in a straight line either. He is plenty fast, off the charts agility and has terrific instincts. If he was 2 or 3 inches taller he would be the top skill position player taken in the draft when he's eligible in 2013.

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DAT is one of the gunners on the punt team and a pretty hard hitter, so yeah calling him frail would be a mistake. Also he put on a considerable amount of muscle since last year. While he still maybe weighs 175, the difference in noticeable in pictures and on TV.

This from the Digital Journal:
Many sports analysts conclude that Bolt cannot be beaten because of his impressive 1.96m (6-ft 5-in) frame. Bolt only takes 41 steps to finish 100m under 10 seconds, while other sprinters require 44 steps to complete the same race.

i said the kid LOOKS frail. and while i realize that he's put on some weight since finishing his senior season at ~158-160, he still looks very thin. never said he couldn't hit, or couldn't take a hit.

6bear6;841955532 said:

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Regardless, they're both almost one second slower than Usain Bolt.

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Is JT recruiting Bolt?
[Sorry I meant to add the smilely face.]

Much of the perception of DAT's speed is in my opinion a direct result of his decisive cuts, and how explosive he is into and through them.

I don't want to get all mcshay or kuiper or whatever on this, but his acceleration once he plants is just absurd, and perhaps more to the point, his instincts as a runner always seem to lead him "correctly."

BellottiBold;841955782 said:

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Much of the perception of DAT's speed is in my opinion a direct result of his decisive cuts, and how explosive he is into and through them.

I don't want to get all mcshay or kuiper or whatever on this, but his acceleration once he plants is just absurd, and perhaps more to the point, his instincts as a runner always seem to lead him "correctly."

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I agree. DAT sets people up in the open field very well, much like Reggie Bush and Desean do. In addition, his ability to lose very little speed while cutting makes him seem even faster because defenders are gearing down and have to gear back up to try to anticipate where he is going.

As for who is faster, who knows? Bigelow ran track times that were even faster than Jahvid's times at the same age. On the field, with pads, and after Bigelow's 2 injuries? Hard to say.

FWIW,
the combine is electronically timed but the time starts based on an athlete's first movement. In the olympics, an athlete reacts to a gun.....

You have to add on the reaction time.......to fairly time an olympian. Bolt, however, is not nearly the fastest 60 meter runner or starter in track and field in the 100....

Unit2Sucks;841955611 said:

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the combine is not timed by hand - Johnson ran a 4.24 electronic timed. I would be willing to bet that the track that Johnson ran on wasn't as fast as the one that Bolt ran on either. On the other hand, Bolt didn't train for the 40 and wasn't optimizing the first 40 in his race. I'm not saying that Johnson would beat Bolt in a short race, but I would be shocked if Bolt broke 4 in a 40.

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