Sports are a game of numbers.  Greatness is measured by numbers.  Skill is measured by numbers.  Achievement is measured by numbers.  On paper, the game is simplified to a numbers game, determining matchups based on numbers that give a team the best chance to win.  With the NFL Draft beginning on April 22 and the NFL Combine running the first week of March, numbers take center stage.

The NFL Combine is where prospective players are poked and prodded, measured and tested, and essentially put through a three-ring circus.  It’s where all those players listed as being six feet tall in their college media guides have their dreams come up short.  It’s where players make and lose millions of dollars based on numbers.

While the NFL Combine is a useful tool for scouting, it has become overblown in recent years with an excessive amount of emphasis placed on the raw numbers data that comes out of it.  For example, there was much fuss over Florida quarterback Tim Tebow’s 38.5-inch vertical leap and 4.72 second 40-yard dash times at the Combine.  What does this prove?  Absolutely nothing.  Anyone who knows a little bit about college football knows that Tebow is a pure athlete and a top competitor.  What does this say about his chances of being an NFL quarterback?  Absolutely nothing.

Coaches and management need to pay attention to the data they receive on players by watching game tapes and observing all-star games like the Senior Bowl.  While individual data is nice to supplement a scouting report, how fast a prospect can run 40 yards on artificial turf in Indianapolis isn’t how fast he can run 40 yards trying to chase down Adrian Peterson in Minnesota.

The famed Wonderlic aptitude test is also another avenue of evaluation that is supposed to provide a look into a prospect’s head.  The Wonderlic has 50 questions that test the reasoning of the athletes and provide a glimpse into the intelligence of a player.  But how accurate is this?  Quarterback Dan Marino scored a 15.  Defensive end/Linebacker Mike Mamula scored a 49.  Which one is in the Hall of Fame?

Mamula is the epitome of all that is wrong with the combine.  The famed “Workout Warrior,” Mamula aced every aspect of the Combine, and triggered the Philadelphia Eagles to trade for the seventh pick in the 1995 NFL Draft to select the athletic freak from Boston College.  What did the Eagles get in the “Workout Warrior?” A paltry 209 tackles and 31.5 sacks over the six-year span Mamula was in the NFL.

Prospects can easily skew results because they can prepare for what they know will be tested on at the Combine.  So when your team makes that first-round pick and you start doing research on him, don’t look at his Combine numbers.  Stick to game tapes.  They show what he’s truly capable of.

Daniel Gallen can be reached for comment at [email protected].