That's a great history of Fred Smoot as a person, but has nothing to do with how much he could bench and whether or not it meant he could be an effective corner.
They are not saying TM7's bench is indicative of his ability or lack of, they are saying it's indicative of further off-the-field issues for TM7 (not working out like he should have been doing). That's on top of his previous off the field issues. As CBS Sports wrote: It won't be easy to convince general managers to trust him. When teams sit face- to-face with Mathieu, they will grill him with a purpose, asking why he chose drugs over his teammates and bluntly investigating whether he'll ever be dedicated to being a professional. ... It is likely several teams won't post Mathieu on their draft boards -- effectively marking him undraftable regarding his ability as a football player, the question of course is regarding his size and what position to put him at. Also from CBS Sports: At 5-foot-9, there are questions about how his skill set might translate to the NFL level -- particularly tracking a tight end like 6- foot-6 Rob Gronkowski down the seam as a safety or lining up opposite man-sized pro receivers such as 6-foot-5, 235-pound Calvin Johnson or 6-foot-4, 230-pound Brandon Marshall or 6-foot-5 Vincent Jackson -- and what position suits him best.
Probaby not the best-advised tweet from TM7: Tyrann Mathieu @Mathieu_Era 19h Games are won on the field not the weight room... #Playmaker To be fair, Deion Sanders was the one apparently egging him on. TM7 re-tweeted these two tweets from Deion "Primetime" Sanders: Tyrann Mathieu retweeted DeionSanders @DeionSanders 20h The 40. The rest dont make sense. The Bench press doesn't have a thing to do with football. Tyrann Mathieu retweeted DeionSanders @DeionSanders 2h Why does it bother you when someone says something negative about you? Their opinion doesn't matter but your opinion of you does. TRUTH! Tyrann Mathieu retweeted NFL Network @nflnetworb 1h Deion not worried about Mathieu's bench reps. 'He's a leader.' #NFLCombine Also: NFL @nfl 2h Deion Sanders: 'Tyrann Mathieu will be a baller in the NFL. Immediately.' Deion Sanders: Mathieu is 'all that and a bag of chips' USA TODAY - 41 minutes ago As for Deion Sander's at the combine, not sure if true... 1989. Sanders' combine story is one of football lore. The story goes that Sanders showed up late to the combine at the Superdome in 1989 and ran just one drill. That one drill happened to be the 40-yard dash, and after Sanders ran a blistering 4.2, second only to Bo Jackson in the era of hand-timed 40's, he didn't break stride and ran straight out of the Superdome to his limo, which took him to the airport. The performance earned him the nickname "Primetime" and also got him drafted fifth overall by the Atlanta Falcons.
Brady Quinn did like a gazillion reps in the 225. That didn't seem to help him much. Let's not even talk about T-Beau.
the Deion Sanders interview for NFL netowok at combine is a good one. Sanders worked out Mattheiu and P Peterson together and Sanders has very High Praise for Mattheiu's skills and thinks he will be a baller. Obviously, personal issues are Mattheiu's issues about being drafted
In my post-highschool days, I got into the weight room big-time. I slimmed down to a lean and mean 235 lbs, ripped every way but apart, squatting almost 600 pounds and pushing myself on the bench three days a week. I consulted with personal trainers, experienced "career gym" guys, and some of my old coaches, but I was never able to top 250 on the bench. It was like my body just wouldn't do it. Maybe he has a similar genetic disposition to a weak bench press. I honestly don't think it makes a difference in his football ability.
Tyran is a whoping 185lbs......the fact that he didn't do many reps at 225 is not a shocker. Do they ask a lineman to do reps with 400lbs?
Did anyone hear Bill Polian this morning? He said something to the effect of "No player in the history of the NFL has ever been drafted because of what they did or didn't do in a particular drill, at the end of the day it all comes back to what does he do on the field, how well can he play football" I think we all know that answer.
