They haven’t changed much. When I played it was a 300-yard shuttle. In different combinations (some require six 50-yard sprints and others require twelve 25-yard sprints), they add up to 300 total yards. Think of old-school gassers. Run, touch the line, and come back — over and over until you have run a total of 300 yards. Rest in between sets and get back on the line. The times are broken down into three position groups: skill (WR, DB, RB), semi-skill (LB, TE, QB) and linemen (OL, DL). Each group has a time they have to complete each set in.
In Green Bay, under Mike Sherman, you ran three of them — with about a two minute rest in between. They are nasty. For the skill guys, the time limit was under 48 seconds. We ran the 300-yard shuttle — made up of six 50-yard sprints — took that small rest and got ready to do it again. By the end, your legs feel like Jell-O.
Not every team does it. In Buffalo with Dick Jauron, if you went through the offseason program, you didn’t have to run a test.
If you play defense for Gregg Williams, his test is on the day of the first practice — in pads. Forty up-downs in full gear right after the team stretch (which are filmed and watched in meetings). Not fun in the Virginia heat and I can’t even imagine what it is like to do 40-up downs in pads down in New Orleans right now. And, don’t forget that you have a full two-hour practice to get through after you pass his test. By the time you get to 7-on-7 drills, your body is spent.
But, the real point here is that you know they are coming. Therefore, there is no excuse to fail one of these tests. It is more about accountability than anything else. If you have been in the offseason program and used the month of July to stay in top shape and take care of your body, you should have no problem finishing this test. Take care of it, and show the coaching staff that you are ready to practice. It is part of your job as a player in the NFL.
That was from Matt Bowen, but basically every former player has said all of this tests are horrible.
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Originally Posted by CoMoChief:
Breeland Speaks still a fat ass pos?
Not surprising at all.
For some reason, Breeland Speaks reminds me of Courtney Upshaw.
Maybe he can be our Courtney Upshaw.
:-)
[Reply]
Originally Posted by Marcellus:
Really? Then what's the point?
It's just a baseline. Like I said, if he pushed himself 100% during the test, he can pass whereas other in shape people had to only use 75% effort to pass.
[Reply]
Originally Posted by smithandrew051:
To be fair to Breeland, a circle is in fact a shape. So yes, he was in shape.
Too slow.
Originally Posted by RealSNR:
Breeland Speaks was in shape.
The shape of a circle.
[Reply]
Originally Posted by Mecca:
It's also possible they told him they wanted him to weigh in at 285-290 as a big end/DT so he proceeded to make sure he weighed that when in reality a lot of that is not going to be good weight.
He was already a chunky dude anyway and some guys are just going to be built like that.
Remember back in the day when Derrick Johnson carried that weird little gut around? Like how can you be that fast and look that frumpy?
[Reply]
