Wonderlic

Wonderlic is most important in positions that require very quick decisions. QB, LT, CB. Learning the playbook is a different skillset, a different ability. You can learn that slowly, and retain it, if that's how you do. You can't sit down and learn how to react to Andre Johnson crossing your face inside at 7 yards from an outside release, you have to diagnose and react.

 

Gamble's a 9

 

and he quite often has played down to that number

 

could explain a lot... he's talented but plays like he doesn't have a clue where's supposed to be more often then not... and if you ask him to do anything extra, like return a punt... it's just total failure

mags referenced Peterson is a lot like Gamble when you compare the two coming out of of college... this may be more true then even he realized

 

Bookends

 

Interesting. I am under the impression that it is basically an IQ test. Timed, but still, IQ relates to more than the speed of processing and reaction time, but overall intelligence, which would, seemingly, include the mastery of a scheme or playbook. The object is to get to a point where recognition and reaction are simultaneous and cognition is almost subconscious, which is not intelligence, it is instinct. If it is a measure of this, then I do not see how the type of questions it asks measure the speed at which a player makes decisions, when the decisions involve math, logic, etc. I see where there is a blurred correlation, but not a distinct one. Perhaps I am missing something, but the tests are rather vague in application and I feel they measure more than just the player's ability to react quickly within the framework of a system.

I see the fact that the pressure of the clock is a factor, but I do not see where the content of the test or the framwork of the time limitations can accurately be applied to a CB's reaction time and not his ability to digest and comprehend the playbook in that application. I will look it up, however, because your point is interesting to me.

Here is the first article I found. It really doesn't get into the specifics enough to defend or refute your point.
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/741005/wonderlic_test_measures_many_things.html?cat=14

Found this too, which indirectly addresses one of my points:
http://www.ehow.com/about_4687216_the-wonderlic-test.html
Created by a psychology graduate student at Northwestern in the 1930s, the Wonderlic Test was first given to NFL draft hopefuls in 1970. NFL teams appreciated the insight the Wonderlic Test results provided, soon making the test a requirement for all prospective draft picks.
The test measures verbal and mathematical skills as well as the ability to perceive spatial relationships and to follow simple instructions.

 

You don't see how a timed test where players have to answer unknown questions as quickly and accurately as possible would be relevant to making decisions quickly and accurately on the field? Good grief. As magnus correctly stated, learning the playbook is a different type of intelligence than what is being assessed here. While I wouldn't rule out any player based on their Wonderlic score, there does seem to be some correlation between what the test purports to say about their mental acuity and what you see from them on the field. Very, very low and very, very high scores are also more telling than where exactly a player falls in the middle 50%.

He also plays in a man-only scheme.

 

As described by NFL.com, the Combine's Wonderlic Test "measures an individual’s ability to learn, understand instructions and solve problems." It's questions cover word and number comparisons, simple math, sentence forming, and graphs. How is this not associated with learning the playbook again?

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/...ting-concept-but-does-it-really-mean-anything

12 minutes to answer 50 questions is not the same as reacting and predicting based on experience and knowledge. Coachability is based on the ability to process new information and build on past experience. Learning is what you recall from past experience. The fact that the test is timed has nothing to do with a CBs ability to react in a fraction of a second to a route. Reaction and instinctive adaptation involves a different part of the brain than what this test measures.

It is best described as an IQ test, and that has very little to do with reaction time because an egg timer is used. Hell, you could score higher than another driver on the wonderlic but it doesn't mean you are a better driver. How is an IQ test no measure of how well a player can digest the playbook but the same timed test is a measure of how well he reacts when he as .3 seconds to react in a game and 14 seconds are alloted per question? I admit the intent is to go for speed, but they are not similar enough to measure what the NFL thinks is being measured.

 

Can I just say that worrying about the playbook isn't the primary concern? If a player in question is fucking stupid, stupid will be universal. Whether Gamble's 9 makes him stupid, he doesn't play stupid. Whether peterson's an idiot or not won't matter, he won't be with us unless we trade down past 5 and two quarterbacks and two DTs are gone.

as Collin alluded, the Wonderlic, the 40, even the lesser athletic things, they are and should be tiebreakers. They shouldn't, on the average player, make a player suddenly that much more than they were on tape.

 

They can evaluate a guy's football IQ and information processing just by watching games. The wonderlic is a complete waste of time.