Speed Kills - sorta

Rookies to the NFL comment that the big difference between college and the pros is speed. Just how much speed it takes to make it count is hard to quantify but most observers say a little is a lot and a lot is huge. Everyone likes the 4.4 demon but the big money players usually don't have it. Take the Chicago Bear's Devin Hester, said to be the fastest man in the league at 4.28 in the forty. How much real production does that speed account for? Last season he had 51 receptions and 665 yards yet scored just 3 TDs. Impressive? Speed wise, yes. Turning that speed into something that puts numbers on the board? No. There is always some 6'1" safety who runs a 4.7 forty that gets in the way. Burning up the green may get you past the pokey OLB but if the speed doesnt dominate the entire field and produce gobs of yards and lots of TDs then it really doesn't matter much.  I bring all this up to prove one big point. Even in the bigs, production counts and being recognized for other stuff really doesn't. Highly recruited fire starters or QB's that scoot and shoot are nice and everyone likes to watch them perform. But if the whole package can't put TDs on the board then really, what use it? That brings us to Boise State. We have our share of very fast people but most are not. We have the occassional uber lineman but most are not. What we do have is a whole package that puts points on the board and does so regulalry and wins football games. And that, sports fans, is what counts.