Kelly Critical of OU After Disappointing 40 Time

[SC Skins Fan]

Kelly critical of Oklahoma after disappointing performance


NORMAN, Okla. -- Wide receiver Malcolm Kelly lashed out at Oklahoma on Wednesday after a disappointing performance in a 40-yard dash in front of NFL scouts.


Kelly, who left Oklahoma after his junior season, blamed his slow time of 4.68 seconds on an unexpected change in surfaces at his pro day.


"This is my life. You know what I'm saying? This ain't no school. This ain't no classroom. This ain't got nothing to do with that," Kelly said. "This has to do with me; my family. This is what I do. I play football. And I'm supposed to come out here and run as fast as I can." ...



1) No, surfaces are not the same, and of course you will run a little faster on a track than on grass or turf, but obviously scouts aren't stupid and they account for such differences by adding tenths to times run on a track etc. Maybe he could impress some internet guys, but good scouts know the score.

2) Even before the 40 time he had likely slipped out of the first round because of questions about his knees, so I'm not sure he should really be blaming OU, it just makes him come off as a whiner and doesn't help him much. The "this ain't no classroom" comment also doesn't do much for me and the tone of the thing sounds like something Brandon Lloyd would say. "Lost the ball in the lights? Are you crazy? The quarterback sucks, it ain't my fault!"

3) Looks like he has a visit scheduled to Washington. If he were to be on the board at 51 (but not 21) it would be a nice pick. If I remember, Anquan Boldin ran a 4.7 or 4.8 and he has turned out ok. I've heard Kelly is a high character guy, but this outburst doesn't help him much in my book. I can understand the frustration, though, and if he checks out otherwise the disappointing 40 time might be a good thing for the Skins.

[SC Skins Fan]

Oh, and this should be moved to the draft forum. Apologies.

[KLHJ2]

I do not like the 40 yard dash for one reason and this might or might not have anything to do with Malcom Kelly's performance. There are some people who just cannot run well against air. There are those guys like Jerry Rice who will run a poor 40 time without competition or anyone to beat. If you take that same player and give him someone to run against, then he will blow the doors off of the place. This is similar to, but not the exact same thing as football speed vs. 40 speed. Some guys just need competition.

Now I understand that this was not his complaint, but it very well might have been part of the problem.

As far as an outburst is concerned, I believe that it is completely understandable because any sort of drop in draft status lightens your pockets. I would be pissed too if I went into a situation expecting one thing and getting another.

[Redskin]

I wish I could run a 40 that fast . I guess if he thought he was running on one thing and trained to run his 40 on that and they switched it up on him it probably took him out of his comfort zone. He was probabl to concerned with the grass and cuased a bad start or something while he was running.

[SC Skins Fan]

Originally Posted by Redskin

I wish I could run a 40 that fast . I guess if he thought he was running on one thing and trained to run his 40 on that and they switched it up on him it probably took him out of his comfort zone. He was probabl to concerned with the grass and cuased a bad start or something while he was running.

If he is actually faster than that, then it is more likely an issue of being poorly conditioned due to his injury or not working enough on his starts. Don't they run the 40 on field turf in Indianapolis? Plus, scouts know you have to account for the surface and add tenths on a fast track. Also, maybe he's never been timed electronically, that makes a difference too.

[SmootSmack]

He's frustrated, but as much as his 40 time how he responds is just as important in the eyes of the scouts. Instead of criticizing the university and medical staff, he could have said something along the lines of "While I'm disappointed in my 40 time today, I've shown what I'm capable of on game day during my college career but I will continue working hard to improve all aspects of my game."

[SC Skins Fan]

Originally Posted by SmootSmack

He's frustrated, but as much as his 40 time how he responds is just as important in the eyes of the scouts. Instead of criticizing the university and medical staff, he could have said something along the lines of "While I'm disappointed in my 40 time today, I've shown what I'm capable of on game day during my college career but I will continue working hard to improve all aspects of my game."

Exactly. His reaction might be more detrimental than the time.

[Ade Jimoh Fan Club]

Take this whiney be-otch off of the draft board. Don't want him.

Character is equally as important as a few tenths of a second on a 40 time and this guy just showed his colors.

40 times run on a surface that isn't a "playing surface" are pretty irrelevent. I think that they should have to run with all of their gear on as well. "Game Speed" is what scouts are interested in.

Let some other sucker team draft this pain-in-the-ass.

[Dirtbag59]

40 yard dash only means so much. If you're a small body guy then having a poor 40 time is a total eclipse of the heart, but for a big guy a slow 40 time isn't the end of the world, so long as they know how to run crisp routes and use their body to put themselves between them and hte ball. With that said I think I would take Brandon Flowers at 2-21 instead of Kelly.

We already have enough problems with players getting injured.

[SC Skins Fan]

Originally Posted by Dirtbag359

40 yard dash only means so much. If you're a small body guy then having a poor 40 time is a total eclipse of the heart, but for a big guy a slow 40 time isn't the end of the world, so long as they know how to run crisp routes and use their body to put themselves between them and hte ball. With that said I think I would take Brandon Flowers at 2-21 instead of Kelly.

We already have enough problems with players getting injured.

I mean this statement as a point of information that is slightly interesting rather than an attempt to pick nits, but we actually pick at 2-20 because we alternate by round with the Buccaneers between picking 20/21 in each round.

[jsarno]

I don't see why this is news worthy. It's just another athlete whining about something. It really has nothing to do with his character, he's just speaking out. What athlete doesn't now-a-days?

[JDub21]

This 40 time makes me a huge advocate of trading down
imagine picking up a talent like limus smeed or malcom kelly in the 2nd round...

[jsarno]

Originally Posted by JDub21

This 40 time makes me a huge advocate of trading down
imagine picking up a talent like limus smeed or malcom kelly in the 2nd round...

I would be absolutely thrilled to get Limus in the 2nd round. That kid has something special.

[hooskins]

"it's my life" LOL. Sounds like what a high schooler says to his parents when they find a bong or a fake ID in their room. I am not sure if I "know what he is saying" but Kelly should understand the NFL is about to be his daddy and if he wants to live in the same house he better man the F up and admit and fix his mistakes.

You know what I'm saying?

[mooby]

Originally Posted by hooskins

"it's my life" LOL. Sounds like what a high schooler says to his parents when they find a bong or a fake ID in their room. I am not sure if I "know what he is saying" but Kelly should understand the NFL is about to be his daddy and if he wants to live in the same house he better man the F up and admit and fix his mistakes.

You know what I'm saying?

I can digg what you's sayin.

While he certainly comes off the wrong way with his response, I wouldn't mind taking a chance on him in the second round if he fell that far. I've heard a couple people say he's not a character risk so I wouldn't mind having him on the team. And his forty time doesn't really matter, it's not the first time a big wide receiver has run a slow forty but succeeded in the NFL.