Can RG3 Still Run?

[NC Raven]

When RGIII was working out with Justin Gatlin and some of the other Olympic sprinters, one of them was quoted as saying he "wasn't far off" the time needed to make one of the Olympic sprint teams (might have been relay, not sure). And that he thought RGIII could get back there if he focused only on track. Just being nice? Maybe. But I don't think the guy says this if RGIII is lumbering around out there.

This was in 2018 when he was down in FL training to get back in the league. Source: my memory. Tried finding the link but gave up after 15 seconds.

As others said, he doesn't have Lamar's suddenness juking, but nobody does. But yeah as far as straight line speed, RGIII is still really fast.

[BcRaven]

Speaking of running :

Ravens’ running game atop the NFL, across the board

https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.co...oss-the-board/


... Bc

[WNCRavensFan]

Speaking of running :

Ravens’ running game atop the NFL, across the board

https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.co...oss-the-board/


... Bc

Rushes - 1st
Rushing Yards - 1st
Yards Per Carry - 1st
First Downs - 1st
Rushing TD - 1st
20 Yard Runs - 1st
40 Yard Runs - 1st

[John Reglarperson]

Yes exactly: we know what he said. He was unambiguous, and consistent; and what he stated was consistent with his actions and attitudes in the weeks before & after the combine.

So stop implying that the fact that he didn't run is somehow evidence that he knew he wouldn't have clocked as fast as people expected. That he would have run if he were really that fast. That's an assumption that is at-odds with everything Lamar said & did that offseason. Also doesn't jibe well with what we've seen from him on the field.

(Even with the insane change-of-direction, what we've seen from him doesn't imply time any slower than, say, 4.45 or so.)

Sure.

But I think we have grounds for some inferences. Lamar looks faster than several players whose 40 times are known. We can put some kind of floor on his speed (or if you prefer, ceiling on his 40 time), even if only generally. For example:

• Seems pretty clear that Lamar is faster than Hayden Hurst & Mark Andrews.
• Seems likely that Lamar is at least about as fast as Mark Ingram.
• Seems clear that Lamar is faster than most every opposing LB we've faced.
• Seems likely that Lamar is at least as fast as most every opposing safety we faced.

We've got no evidence whatsoever that Lamar is faster than Marquise Brown. I think we've seen hints that Lamar is faster than Justice Hill. But maybe not: maybe what I'm seeing on the field is that Lamar is just more decisive, not actually faster in a straight line. So: fine. Let's leave them off the table. Likewise Marlon Humphrey & Marcus Peters.

Still, there's a lot of "circumstantial evidence" to indicate where Lamar's timed speed probably falls. There's some 40-time where we can say, Lamar is probably not slower than THAT, just based on who we've seen him run away from. Don't you think? Even though it's just an estimate.

Mark Ingram was 4.66 40 / 1.62 10 split at combine, 4.53 / 1.54 at pro day.
http://www.draftscout.com/dsprofile....DraftYear=2011

Again, we don't know what Lamar's numbers are, and we can guess, but we really shouldn't be guessing "as fast as Vick". If I had to guess, I'd say that Lamar's 10 split, 3 cone and 20 shuttle would be really good, and the 40 time wouldn't be as good. I'd say that because of Lamar's suddenness, he gets to top speed quickly - that's a 10 split, and his great moves would = 3 cone and 20 shuttle. But I don't think that he's accelerating to a really high top speed, because we haven't been seeing that this year. There's a 20.03 MPH, which is what Gus Edwards did on his top run. Nick Chubb had a 21.95 MPH, Matt Brieda was the top at 22.30. So, if I had to guess, I'd say 4.45 to 4.50 40 for Lamar, somewhere in that range. Maybe something like a 1.49 10 split?

I'm a big fan of running QBs, and that includes Lamar of course, but it's not limited to Lamar. Lamar is doing a great job running but that doesn't mean that QBs before him weren't also great at running, that QBs before him didn't have attributes that he didn't have, even if Lamar has attributes that they didn't have. QBs in the Vick 4.33 are extremely rare, we can't just say Lamar has that too. Lamar ran for more yards in college, in a year, than all these guys we're talking about. Lamar is fast, but he's also good at football running. He does more than what the running QBs are asked, which is mostly, run in a straight line, and slide. People have started to compare him to Gale Sayers. He was a running back, had excellent running back skills, moves. Lamar has those those things, but that's not the same as sheer speed. There are a decent number of QBs in the 4.50-4.55 range. That's where Wilson, Kaepernick and Mariota are. All 3 of those guys have cranked out some pretty huge runs in the NFL. Watson and Manziel were in the 4.60-4.70 range. Josh Allen is in the 4.70-4.80 range.

[cjandrze]

Pretty sure RG is gone at the end of the season. I like him but no point in paying him to be a backup when we have McSorely sitting there. That kid call ball and has a great attitude, and one good hit to [Insert any NFL player here] and he's done.

FTFY

[John Reglarperson]

https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/r...-came-calling/

"He didn't look at himself as RGIII," sprinter Justin Gatlin said of his workouts with Griffin.
"He looked at himself as Robert. He was hungry, and he had another a shot to get back out there. ...
He is an Olympic-level talent. It didn't take a lot to get him technically sound."

https://www.si.com/nfl/2016/03/07/ro...al-bests-video

Team USA sprinter Justin Gatlin: Robert Griffin III would have contended for spot at 2020 Tokyo Olympics
https://www.sportingnews.com/us/nfl/...t10qlgc02b0jag

Griffin was training at a facility with a football and a track-and-field program, which apealed to the QB.
Leading the way was coach Brooks Johnson, who said Griffin had "an Olympic-level talent."
He spoke with Johnson about preparing for the decathlon or the 110-meter hurdles.
Both Johnson and Gatlin agreed Griffin could have seriously contended for a spot at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.

[edromeo]

Real quick:

(1) Vick did not run a 4.33 at the combine it was at V-Tech's proday
that's still a fast time BUT running a 4.33 at a pro-day isn't as fast as running a 4.33 at the combine

(2) Robert Griffin ran an electronic timed 4.38 at the combine on his 2nd run
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-R0yL0ixRY

---

I don't really care what Lamar's 40 time would be.
I'm not blind and can see he's legit fast:

[John Reglarperson]

Real quick:

(1) Vick did not run a 4.33 at the combine it was at V-Tech's proday
that's still a fast time BUT running a 4.33 at a pro-day isn't as fast as running a 4.33 at the combine

(2) Robert Griffin ran an electronic timed 4.38 at the combine on his 2nd run
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-R0yL0ixRY

---

I don't really care what Lamar's 40 time would be.
I'm not blind and can see he's legit fast:

Both of your 1) and 2) are right.

I'd been using 4.41 for RGIII because of this http://www.nfl.com/combine/profiles/...iii?id=2533033 and this http://www.draftscout.com/dsprofile....DraftYear=2012 - sometimes the NFL combine gives official numbers different from the numbers they actually did. Certainly does appear that a 4.33 pro day is pretty much the same as a 4.38 combine, which makes Vick and RGIII basically identical. Justin Thomas of Georgia Tech ran a 4.35 pro day with a 1.42 10 split. https://www.draftscout.com/dsprofile...DraftYear=2017

If you have a 4.38 combine 40 and people saying that you have a legit shot at the 2020 Olympics, I'd say you can still run, and it looks like, currently, the Ravens have 2 of the top, I dunno, 5 or 10 fastest QBs in NFL history, the Ravens are in good shape.

heres the combine page for QBs since 2006
http://www.nfl.com/combine/top-perfo...SH&position=QB