225: Much More Than a Number

A Collaborative piece by R. McManis and S. T.

On February 7, 2010, a rookie named Austin Collie will take the field in Super Bowl XLIV. While he didn’t gain a significant amount of attention during the season, his 7 catches for 123 yards in the AFC Championship game helped propel the Colts over the Jets in the best game of his young career. Looking back on how a rookie like Collie ended up here, we decided to review his scouting report from last year. Mel Kiper Jr. described him as a good fourth receiving option for most teams given his knowledge of the game, smarts, and productivity. As the127th player taken in last April’s draft, he’s the only rookie wide receiver playing in the Super Bowl this year. But the true reason why we’re focusing on Collie isn’t his Super Bowl appearance, rather that his scouting report is almost identical to another player who is not playing in the NFL right now. We’ve listed their reports below:

Height-Weight Speed Ratio

Austin Collie: 3 - Falls within prototypical ranges for height and weight but lacks good top-end speed.

Player X: 3 - Below average for height and weight but has excellent top-end speed.

Durability

Austin Collie: 3 - Reported to 2008 fall camp with stress fracture below right knee and slowed by an ankle injury in 2007.

Player X: 2 - No injuries to date other than a minor procedure in April 2008.

Character

Austin Collie: 2 - Character doesn’t appear to be a concern. Solid worker. No off-the-field issues that we’re aware of at this point.

Player X: 2 - Excellent character. Significantly involved with the American Cancer Society. Solid worker. No off-the-field issues that we’re aware of at this point.

Separation Skills

Austin Collie: 2 - Footwork and savvy are excellent. Sinks hips, gears down quickly and does a nice job of getting shoulders turned around on comeback routes. Shows adequate burst off the line and coming out of cuts but lacks elite explosiveness and should have a harder time separating from man coverage at the NFL level.

Player X: 2 - Footwork and savvy are excellent. Sinks hips, gears down quickly and does a nice job of getting shoulders turned around on comeback routes. Shows adequate burst off the line and coming out of cuts. But will have a harder time separating from man coverage at the NFL level.

Ball Skills

Austin Collie: 3 - Shows above-average body control when the ball is in the air and can adjust to passes thrown to back shoulder. Inconsistent hands. Flashes ability to snatch ball out of air play but drops some passes that should catch and may have small hands. Let’s ball get to frame too much.

Player X: 3 - Shows above-average body control when the ball is in the air and can adjust to passes thrown to back shoulder. Legs are better than hands. Flashes ability to snatch ball out of air play but drops some passes that should catch and may have small hands. Let’s ball get to frame too much.

Vertical Speed

Austin Collie: 4 - Doesn’t show a second gear when tracking the ball downfield and isn’t going to run by many NFL corners.

Player X: 4 - Doesn’t show a second gear when tracking the ball downfield and isn’t going to run by many NFL corners.

Run After Catch

Austin Collie: 3 - Doesn’t pick up many yards after contact and appears to lack ideal lower body strength. Can make the first defender miss but lacks elite elusiveness and breakaway speed.

Player X: 3 - Doesn’t pick up many yards after contact (try none) and appears to lack ideal lower body strength. Can make the first defender miss but lacks elite elusiveness and breakaway speed.

Competitiveness and Toughness

Austin Collie: 3 - Isn’t afraid to go over the middle. Flashes ability to deliver violent initial punch and sustain blocks but effort as a blocker is inconsistent. Takes too long to slip press coverage and can get pushed around by bigger corners.

Player X: 3 - Isn’t afraid to go over the middle. Takes too long to slip press coverage and can get pushed around by bigger corners.

Draft Status

Austin Collie isn’t going to be much of a big-play threat at the NFL level and he needs to get stronger so he can hold his own working against bigger corners. In addition, he doesn’t catch the ball as well as his stats suggest. However, he’s a crisp route runner who is quick and big enough to develop into a productive sub-package receiver in time. As a result, Collie projects a mid-to-late round pick.

Player X Isn’t going to be much of a big-play threat at the NFL level and needs to get stronger to hold own working against bigger corners. However, a crisp route runner who is quick and under the right circumstances could develop into a productive sub-package receiver in time.

With scouting reports being so critical to evaluating NFL talent, how do we distinguish on paper between a player suited for the NFL and one who is not? This is where 225 comes into play. The 225 lb. bench press rep test is the only key element not touched upon in the above reports. And the difference between Collie and Player X’s results are astounding. While Collie had 17 reps, Player X couldn’t record a single rep. This simple bench press test is what tells us that Collie is an NFL player and Player X is actually Sarah Wells (aka “Kirsch”), a 35-year-old working mother more likely to catch chicken pox than a touchdown pass. And while Kirsch is a great athlete, played Division I Soccer and still plays and coaches the game, she is more importantly a woman who has to carry around a bag of rocks to keep herself firmly on the ground when it’s windy outside. This is why all of the elements of the NFL combine and the scouting reports are crucial. The 40 times may get all of the media attention, but we know that the real test is the bench press. We hope this sheds some light on the bench press rep test, especially for those of you who have questioned “why 225 lbs...isn’t that arbitrary?” Furthermore, on behalf of Kirsch’s family and friends, we just want to thank the 225 bench press rep test for keeping Kirsch safely out of the NFL.