Why The Wonderlic?

[sport historian]

Allow me to throw out this question. Why does the NFL bother with the Wonderlic test at all? Aside from Quarterback and the Offensive Line, how many positions require high intelligence these days?

Regarding the Wonderlic, an Auburn RB named Brent Fulwood was drafted in 1987. He lasted 4 years, gained around 1700 yards. Fullwood scored 9 on the Wonderlic (Source: Rick Telander's 1989 book, The Hundred Yard Lie). This means that Vince Young may well have scored only a 6 on the test.

Before the 1970's, LB was mainly a "white" position. It was said that linebackers required high intelligence as well as a "search and destroy" mentality.

 

[guest301]

I think playing middle linebacker in Tom landry's famous and innovative "flex defence" required alot of intelligence. Chuck Howley, Lee Roy Jordan and Bob Bruenig were all very cerebral and athletic middle linebackers.

 

[White Shogun]

Blistering article about Young and his failure to PREPARE for the Wonderlic, not his actual performance on the test. The author actually writes that a 6 is functionally illiterate and borderline retarded. And a 16 isn't much better.

Link

EDIT: The article also notes that Young went to meet the President of the United States dressed in a sweatshirt. I know we may not respect him very much, buuuuuuut....

Edited by: White Shogun

 

[KG2422]

The author of that article is black. No white would be allowed to say such things.

 

[guest301]

Didn't he notice all his teammates wearing suits in the background? Shouldn't that have told him something.

 

[White Shogun]

Bomani Jones, Author

 

[fastest350z]

if more black writers could make this much sense they wouldnt have to have a black writers quild and be qualified as much as the white writers.

 

[Deacon]

Young Calls Wonderlic Reports "Disrespectful"
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. -- For nearly a week, University of Texas quarterback Vince Young has had his intelligence discussed, dissected and demeaned in the wake of reported Wonderlic test scores at the NFL scouting combine.

Young, who was honored Friday at the 69th annual Maxwell Award ceremonies, would not answer specific questions about the Wonderlic test but did acknowledge how upsetting the reports have been.

"It hurts a little bit, and I think it's very disrespectful. But it's cool, it's cool," Young said. "I know what I can do, and I'm going to continue doing what I'm doing."

Young's agent, Major Adams, brushed off criticism of Young, saying some of it was expected.

"People are going to try to bring him down between the Rose Bowl and the draft day," Adams said. "They will try to take shots at him, and he hasn't done anything wrong, so we just take it with a grain of salt."

The 6-foot-5, 230-pound Young led Texas to a 41-38 Rose Bowl victory over USC in college football's national championship game. He could be a potential No. 1 overall pick by the Houston Texans in next month's NFL draft.

"A rumor is a rumor to me, it's just like high school, they say you kissed some girl, but you really didn't, so that's how I feel about it," said Young, referring to the reported Wonderlic test scores.

Young has kept his sense of humor, and relied on advice from players like Steve McNair, who also faced his share of doubters coming out of college. He's also gotten the support of reigning NFL MVP Shaun Alexander, a fellow honoree at Friday's Maxwell Awards.

"Tests are tests to me," Alexander said. "The key thing with any football player is, what can he do when he gets on the field."

Scouting directors around the league have emphasized the Wonderlic is just a small part of their overall evaluation of Young, and are giving him plenty of tests of their own.

"I don't really care about the criticism, because I'm pretty much used to it," young said. "There's always something about Vince. ... I feel like I've overcome all of that, turned out pretty good, so I want to continue to do that in the NFL as well."

 

[White Shogun]

Funny that Alexander, Young, et al, are so quick to discount the Wonderlic as 'just another test,' to proclaim that what matters is what you do on the football field; yet, slow 40 times for white athletes is a death knell on draft day.

Too bad that 'what you do on the field,' isn't really all that counts, otherwise men like Joe Jurevicius would be perennial pro-bowlers, and men like Brock Forsey and Luke Staley would actually be playing in the NFL.

 

[Guest]

Its not what you do on the field, its what color you are when your doing it.

 

[sport historian]

Soon, we may see the Wonderlic test banned entirely.

 

[Animalmuther0]

SH...you are completely correct. I think that in our lifetime, Black NFL players/apologists will spin the Wunderlich as racist, and it will be absolved,

 

[Freedom]

I took the sample test and got a couple(maybe three, couldn't read one of the answers wrong). Someone that did reasonably well in school should have little trouble with it, save a couple of questions.

I don't see what it has to do with field intelligence. Johnny Unitas failed the entrance exam at Pitt but obviously had a great on field intelligence. An IQ test (it really can be learned and coached) doesn't show their football insights and instinct. They should ask football questions rather than math.

 

[Freedom]

Whenever a white struggles academically, it is a big problem[Chris Rix]. Whenever a black struggles, it is condoned.

 

[KG2422]

Does anyone know how Vick did when he took it?

 

[Don Wassall]

Here's a link that says Vick scored a 20 -- and Dan Marino just 14 and Jeff George 10. I don't think Marino and George are geniuses, but those scores seem awful low, so read with a grain of salt.

[url]http://www.statesman.com/sports/content/sports/stories/longh orns/02/28vincetest.html[/url]

 

[Southern Knight]

If those scores are accurate, then it appears that the best QBs come out of the middle of the pack (more or less).

After listening to an interview with Vince Young, I feel certain that the infamous "6" was probably correct. Mr. Young is, quite simply, an imbecile; he is inarticulate to the point of making St. Vick sound like a Mensa candidate by comparison.

I pity the poor team that is stupid enough to draft him. His long frame will be a disadvantage in the NFL -- he will probably blow out at least one knee during his first season.

 

[C Darwin]

ESPN just ran a segment on the value of the Wonderlic test during
their show NFL Live. For their expert analysis, they relied on the
Great Communicator. No, not Ronald Regan, but Marty
Schottenheimer. He explained that there was little emphasis put on
the results of this test. He continued to say that there is very little
football knowledge in these tests and the results are just a part of
the big picture of assessing a player. The show went on to illustrate
how Vince Young "Lead" his team on a playoff run (not mentioning
his QB Rating). They also mentioned how Marino scored a 15 and is
in the HOF. And lastly, the reported that Ely Manning scored a 36
and implied that he is not doing as well as Young or Rothlesburger
(23).

First of all, intelligence has everything to do with ones ability to play
football at any position and at any level. Anyone who has coached
the game will know this to be true. Blocking assignments, hole
numbering, rout trees, containment responsibilities, coverage
alignments, how far is the team from a first down, how much time is
left on the clock, when are they supposed to be on the field, etc. The
smarter player will be able to do more for you and will know how to
compensate for any athletic shortcoming. There are many ways to
criticize the Wonderlic, but smart people will always score higher
than the dim.

Secondly, Don't give me misleading and incomplete data. ESPN
expects its viewers to make an informed decision on the Wonderlic
results of 4 NFL Players. What was Pacman Jones's, Mercury Morris's,
Jim Marshall's or Leon Lett's score? Give us some scores of true
failures in the sport of Football. Or better yet, publish all the scores
and let me do my own analysis.

At the same time ESPN talking heads will say that the 40 time can
make or break a player. I wonder why they might take this position?