Sport With Best Athletes
I appreciate all sports, but here's my rant about why American Gridiron Football players have the most athletic people in the world.
American football is the only sport in the world were pure athleticism is tested before entering the league (NFL Combine); other sports have combines but none test the physical attributes of players as does the NFL. It's also one of the only sports that emphasizes athleticism more than skills.
I'm defining "most athletic" as having the best physical attributes: SPEED, ACCELERATION, AGILITY, STRENGTH, LEAPING ABILITY, PHYSICAL SIZE, & ENDURANCE.
(skills like hand eye coordination, balance, etc. aren't inthis analysis because those are based more on skills an can be taught over time. They also account for pure athleticism much less than speed, strength, etc.
SPEED:
Excluding track sprinters, American Gridiron Football players are the fastest athletes in the world. Anything under 10.60 is considered excellent speed, anything under 10.20 is considered some of the fastest men in the world, and anything under 10.00 is considered some of the fastest people of all time.
Here are 100m times from some football players
Jeffery Demps: 9.96 (tied for 47th fastest 100m time ever)
Trindon Holliday: 10.00(tied for 71st fastest 100m time ever)
Jacoby Ford: 10.01
Bob Hayes: 10.06 (he held the World Record years ago)
Ron Brown: 10.06
Darrell Green: 10.08
Jamaal Charles: 10.18
Hershel Walker: 10.22
Terrance Newman: 10.29
*There are so many other football players with faster times, but I'm not going to post them all.
Reggie Bush was clocked at 22mph during a game (with pads and helmet), Jacoby Ford was clocked at 25.7mph or 41.3kph without pad and helmet, & CJ Spiller (Ford's former team mate) was clocked at 23.1mph. Usain Bolt, the fastest man alive, averaged 23.35mph when breaking the 100m World Record. with a top speed of 27.45mph or 44.2kph.
ACCELERATION:
Acceleration is how explosive some is. 40 yard dash times determine someone’s acceleration, or how they go from rest to top speed. Times under 4.60 are considered fast, times under 4.4 are excellent, and times under 4.3 are considered elite.
NOTE: Justin Gatlin the 7th fastest man in the world with a 100m time of 9.85sec only ran the 40 yard dash in 4.42sec
Chris Johnson: 4.24 sec
Rondel Melendez: 4.24
Jerome Mathis: 4.28
*There are so many other fast electrically timed results, but I'm not going to post them all.
Here are some hand timed results:
Bo Jackson: 4.12
Michael Bennett: 4.13
Darrell Green: 4.15
Deion Sanders: 4.21
AGILITY/QUICKNESS:
Agility is the ability to move and change direction quickly. Agility is basically how well you can "juke" and make athletic moves with your body. It's hard to test agility but tests like the 3 cone drill are a good way of showing how quick someone is. It's also difficult to compare agility levels of athletes from different sports because American football players are "juking" bodies rather than using a ball to "juke" like in basketball, football(soccer), and ice hockey were they are using an object to manipulate the opponent. American football players are the only athletes that I've seen who can run at full speed and change direction at extreme angles without losing much speed.
2008 Olympic Gold Medalist in decathlon, Bryan Clay, ran the 20 yard shuttle in 4.38 sec & the 3 cone drill in 7.85 sec.
2004 Olympic Gold Medalist in 100m, Justin Gatlin, ran the 20 yard shuttle in 4.4 sec & the 3 cone drill in 7.37 sec.
American football player, Kevin Kasper, ran the 20 yard shuttle in 3.73 sec. Toby Gerhart ran the same drill in 4.25 sec and he isn't even very quick.
American football player, Scott Long, ran the 3 cone drill in 6.45 sec. And Marshall Newhouse, a 320lbs (145kg) football player, ran the same drill in 7.40 sec.
STRENGTH/POWER:
American football players are extremely strong, bodybuilders and professional weightlifters are the only stronger athletes. There are so many ways to show strength: deadlift, squat, etc but the bench press is the exercise most associated with upper body strength. When a player enters the league, they do as many repetitions of bench pressing 225lbs (102kg). 20 repetitions is considered strong, 30 repetitions is considered excellent, and 40+ is considered elite.
Justin Ernest: 51 reps (that's a total of 11,475lbs or 5,204kg; that's as much as lifting 3 cars)
Mike Kudla: 45 reps
Mitch Petrus: 45 reps
Brodrick Bunkley: 44 reps
*There are many other players with more than 40 repetitions.
It's rumored that Larry Allen could squat and deadlift 900+lbs and had a maximum bench press of 700lbs.
LEAPING ABILITY:
American football players have some of the highest jumpers in the world. A vertical jump test how well someone can jumps and shows lower body strength. A vertical of 35" is considered good and a vertical of 40"+ is considered elite. NOTE: The average vertical jump from an NBA basketball player is around 28". There are many offensive linemen (300lb, 136kg men) who have 30"+ verticals.
Gerald Sensabaugh: 46" vertical
Derek Wake: 45.5" vertical
Chris Chambers: 45" vertical
Chris McKenzie: 45" vertical
*There are so many more football players with 40"+ verticals.
(remember that this guy is 270lbs, 122kg.. twice the size of gymnasts & heavier than Dwight Howard)
PHYSICAL SIZE:
American football players are the largest athletes in the world in terms of weight and second largest in height behind basketball players. There are many players who weigh more than 300lbs, 136kg and there are players who stand 6'7", 2m in height. These guys are huge.
ENDURANCE:
American football players don't have excellent endurance, but decent endurance. In my opinion, endurance is the least important factor in determining athleticism. They get tired after running a long distance but can last a long time when hitting each other and falling down. Despite having lower endurance than other sports like soccer, basketball, and rugby that shows how athletic they are; the more endurance one has, the less athletic they become. For example, a long distance runner who runs the 5,000m is much less athletic than 500m runner who is also less athletic than a 100m or 200m sprinter.
Also, the endurance of American football players is a different type of endurance than required in other sports; In my opinion it's more difficult to have. A football player runs in bursts. They sprint in short intervals and it's extremely tiring to sprint, stop, sprint, stop, etc. than to jog for long distances. Anyone who knows about running is aware that the start is the hardest part and requires the most energy because you have no momentum. I compare this type of endurance to a car. A car runs much harder when it starts, stops, and changes directions compared to a car that coasts on the highway. This is why cars are have better MPG when on the highway compared to on the city, because they use more energy when starting and stopping.
*American Football players are the best physical athletes in the world, I didn't include skills like hand eye coordination, balance, etc. into this analysis because those are based more on skills an can be taught over time. They also account for pure athleticism much less than speed, agility, acceleration, strength, leaping ability, physical size, and endurance. This was to show that American football players have the best athletes, not necessarily the best overall athletes or best average athletes
SOURCES:
- 100m times are from here: http://www.apulanta.fi/matti/yu/alltime/1_Men.html If you don't believe them look 'em up yourself. (Charles, Walker, and Newman 100m times from wikipedia. They are valid times and were recorded in college track events.)
- mph times were clocked by NFL technology. Ford & Spiller we clocked on NFL Network during the NFL Combine when running the 40 yard dash. These are top speeds recorded, not average speed. They seem accurate considering these players 100m times. (Reggie Bush was clocked during a NFL game covered by ESPN, not sure how accurate this is but he was recorded having a top speed of 22mph)
- Justin Gatlin times are from the NFL Combine, he tried out for the NFL but didnt make it. His wikipedia lists the results and are valid times.
- 40 yard times, verticals, bench press reps, and agility results are also from NFL Combines. This site lists the top results from the combine. http://www.topendsports.com/sport/gr...sults-best.htm
- Bryan Clays times are from the Nike SPARQ athletic test. They are also valid and there is video of him taking the test. http://inside.nike.com/blogs/sparqtr...eatest-athlete
American football is the only sport in the world were pure athleticism is tested before entering the league (NFL Combine); other sports have combines but none test the physical attributes of players as does the NFL. It's also one of the only sports that emphasizes athleticism more than skills.
I'm defining "most athletic" as having the best physical attributes: SPEED, ACCELERATION, AGILITY, STRENGTH, LEAPING ABILITY, PHYSICAL SIZE, & ENDURANCE.
(skills like hand eye coordination, balance, etc. aren't inthis analysis because those are based more on skills an can be taught over time. They also account for pure athleticism much less than speed, strength, etc.
SPEED:
Excluding track sprinters, American Gridiron Football players are the fastest athletes in the world. Anything under 10.60 is considered excellent speed, anything under 10.20 is considered some of the fastest men in the world, and anything under 10.00 is considered some of the fastest people of all time.
Here are 100m times from some football players
Jeffery Demps: 9.96 (tied for 47th fastest 100m time ever)
Trindon Holliday: 10.00(tied for 71st fastest 100m time ever)
Jacoby Ford: 10.01
Bob Hayes: 10.06 (he held the World Record years ago)
Ron Brown: 10.06
Darrell Green: 10.08
Jamaal Charles: 10.18
Hershel Walker: 10.22
Terrance Newman: 10.29
*There are so many other football players with faster times, but I'm not going to post them all.
Reggie Bush was clocked at 22mph during a game (with pads and helmet), Jacoby Ford was clocked at 25.7mph or 41.3kph without pad and helmet, & CJ Spiller (Ford's former team mate) was clocked at 23.1mph. Usain Bolt, the fastest man alive, averaged 23.35mph when breaking the 100m World Record. with a top speed of 27.45mph or 44.2kph.
ACCELERATION:
Acceleration is how explosive some is. 40 yard dash times determine someone’s acceleration, or how they go from rest to top speed. Times under 4.60 are considered fast, times under 4.4 are excellent, and times under 4.3 are considered elite.
NOTE: Justin Gatlin the 7th fastest man in the world with a 100m time of 9.85sec only ran the 40 yard dash in 4.42sec
Chris Johnson: 4.24 sec
Rondel Melendez: 4.24
Jerome Mathis: 4.28
*There are so many other fast electrically timed results, but I'm not going to post them all.
Here are some hand timed results:
Bo Jackson: 4.12
Michael Bennett: 4.13
Darrell Green: 4.15
Deion Sanders: 4.21
AGILITY/QUICKNESS:
Agility is the ability to move and change direction quickly. Agility is basically how well you can "juke" and make athletic moves with your body. It's hard to test agility but tests like the 3 cone drill are a good way of showing how quick someone is. It's also difficult to compare agility levels of athletes from different sports because American football players are "juking" bodies rather than using a ball to "juke" like in basketball, football(soccer), and ice hockey were they are using an object to manipulate the opponent. American football players are the only athletes that I've seen who can run at full speed and change direction at extreme angles without losing much speed.
2008 Olympic Gold Medalist in decathlon, Bryan Clay, ran the 20 yard shuttle in 4.38 sec & the 3 cone drill in 7.85 sec.
2004 Olympic Gold Medalist in 100m, Justin Gatlin, ran the 20 yard shuttle in 4.4 sec & the 3 cone drill in 7.37 sec.
American football player, Kevin Kasper, ran the 20 yard shuttle in 3.73 sec. Toby Gerhart ran the same drill in 4.25 sec and he isn't even very quick.
American football player, Scott Long, ran the 3 cone drill in 6.45 sec. And Marshall Newhouse, a 320lbs (145kg) football player, ran the same drill in 7.40 sec.
STRENGTH/POWER:
American football players are extremely strong, bodybuilders and professional weightlifters are the only stronger athletes. There are so many ways to show strength: deadlift, squat, etc but the bench press is the exercise most associated with upper body strength. When a player enters the league, they do as many repetitions of bench pressing 225lbs (102kg). 20 repetitions is considered strong, 30 repetitions is considered excellent, and 40+ is considered elite.
Justin Ernest: 51 reps (that's a total of 11,475lbs or 5,204kg; that's as much as lifting 3 cars)
Mike Kudla: 45 reps
Mitch Petrus: 45 reps
Brodrick Bunkley: 44 reps
*There are many other players with more than 40 repetitions.
It's rumored that Larry Allen could squat and deadlift 900+lbs and had a maximum bench press of 700lbs.
LEAPING ABILITY:
American football players have some of the highest jumpers in the world. A vertical jump test how well someone can jumps and shows lower body strength. A vertical of 35" is considered good and a vertical of 40"+ is considered elite. NOTE: The average vertical jump from an NBA basketball player is around 28". There are many offensive linemen (300lb, 136kg men) who have 30"+ verticals.
Gerald Sensabaugh: 46" vertical
Derek Wake: 45.5" vertical
Chris Chambers: 45" vertical
Chris McKenzie: 45" vertical
*There are so many more football players with 40"+ verticals.
(remember that this guy is 270lbs, 122kg.. twice the size of gymnasts & heavier than Dwight Howard)
PHYSICAL SIZE:
American football players are the largest athletes in the world in terms of weight and second largest in height behind basketball players. There are many players who weigh more than 300lbs, 136kg and there are players who stand 6'7", 2m in height. These guys are huge.
ENDURANCE:
American football players don't have excellent endurance, but decent endurance. In my opinion, endurance is the least important factor in determining athleticism. They get tired after running a long distance but can last a long time when hitting each other and falling down. Despite having lower endurance than other sports like soccer, basketball, and rugby that shows how athletic they are; the more endurance one has, the less athletic they become. For example, a long distance runner who runs the 5,000m is much less athletic than 500m runner who is also less athletic than a 100m or 200m sprinter.
Also, the endurance of American football players is a different type of endurance than required in other sports; In my opinion it's more difficult to have. A football player runs in bursts. They sprint in short intervals and it's extremely tiring to sprint, stop, sprint, stop, etc. than to jog for long distances. Anyone who knows about running is aware that the start is the hardest part and requires the most energy because you have no momentum. I compare this type of endurance to a car. A car runs much harder when it starts, stops, and changes directions compared to a car that coasts on the highway. This is why cars are have better MPG when on the highway compared to on the city, because they use more energy when starting and stopping.
*American Football players are the best physical athletes in the world, I didn't include skills like hand eye coordination, balance, etc. into this analysis because those are based more on skills an can be taught over time. They also account for pure athleticism much less than speed, agility, acceleration, strength, leaping ability, physical size, and endurance. This was to show that American football players have the best athletes, not necessarily the best overall athletes or best average athletes
SOURCES:
- 100m times are from here: http://www.apulanta.fi/matti/yu/alltime/1_Men.html If you don't believe them look 'em up yourself. (Charles, Walker, and Newman 100m times from wikipedia. They are valid times and were recorded in college track events.)
- mph times were clocked by NFL technology. Ford & Spiller we clocked on NFL Network during the NFL Combine when running the 40 yard dash. These are top speeds recorded, not average speed. They seem accurate considering these players 100m times. (Reggie Bush was clocked during a NFL game covered by ESPN, not sure how accurate this is but he was recorded having a top speed of 22mph)
- Justin Gatlin times are from the NFL Combine, he tried out for the NFL but didnt make it. His wikipedia lists the results and are valid times.
- 40 yard times, verticals, bench press reps, and agility results are also from NFL Combines. This site lists the top results from the combine. http://www.topendsports.com/sport/gr...sults-best.htm
- Bryan Clays times are from the Nike SPARQ athletic test. They are also valid and there is video of him taking the test. http://inside.nike.com/blogs/sparqtr...eatest-athlete
