Every year the NFL Combine is a huge deal. The fans here all about college players 40 yard dash times, Bench Press reps, Vertical Jump and the infamous 3 cone drill. General Managers, Coaches, Coordinators and Scouts sit in a war room and decide which player will be a good fit for their team. They study the combine numbers, and break them down into minuscule percentages. If these numbers are so important in drafting players and fielding a team, then they must be important in picking a winner of a football game. Every athlete playing in Dallas for the Super Bowl attended college and has been rated against his peers using the combine numbers. I have researched every starting players combine stats. Not every player was invited to the NFL Combine so I had to research their most recent combine style test results. Using these individual player numbers, I compiled a total team average. The Packer and Steeler player’s statistics were tabulated into the team total. Using the team averages I will tell you who should win the game, if these numbers are truly important in gauging talent.

·        The first stat that we broke down was the 40 yard dash. The 40 yard dash will tell you how fast a player is from point A to point B.

o        On Super Bowl Sunday the fastest team on the field will be the Green Bay Packers. The Packers team average for the 40 yard dash comes in at 4.717391304. The Steelers were not much slower with a team average of 4.854347826.

o        The Green Bay Packers beat the Pittsburgh Steelers in team speed, but the Steelers will have the fastest player on the field. No not Mike Wallace (who is scorching fast 4.28), Ike Taylor has clocked in at an amazing 4.26 seconds for the 40 yard dash.

o        Overall the speed of the game will be won by the Green Bay Packers.

·        The next stat we broke down was the Bench Press. Front Office Executives use the bench press to gauge a player’s power. Bottom line every player bench presses 225 times as many times as possible.

o        The strongest team playing in the Super Bowl will be the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Steeler starting roster averaged 23.38095238 repetitions, which outdid the Packer starting lineup with an average of 23 even reps.

o       The Packers strongest player is B.J Raji who lifted 225 pounds 33 times. This impressive number is outdid by the Steelers Nose Tackle Casey Hampton who lifted 225 pounds an astounding 34 times.

o       Overall the strongest team playing on Super Bowl Sunday is the Pittsburgh Steelers.

·        The third stat that was measured was the Vertical Leap. The vertical leap measures a player’s ability to leap high while standing in one position. Coaches love receivers and cornerbacks that could jump high and catch and or bat away tough to reach balls.

o        The team that will be snatching balls up high in Arlington will be the Green Bay Packers. The Packer players average an impressive vertical leap of 34.80555556 inches. The Steeler players measured up at an average of 33.33333333 inches.

o        The interesting one on one match up on Super Bowl Sunday will be deep down the field. Mike Wallace can leap 40 inches into the air, while his foe Packer Safety Nick Collins also can jump 40 inches. If Ben Roethlisberger leaves a deep ball high it will be interesting to see which high jumper comes down to earth with the ball.

o        Overall the Packers have the edge at getting up high to retrieve balls.

·         The final stat gauged was the 3 Cone Drill. The 3 cone drill measures a player’s quickness side to side and front to back. Quickness is just as important as overall speed when measuring a football player’s agility.

o        The most agile team in Dallas will be the Green Bay Packers. The Packer players had a 3 cone average time of 7.12 seconds. This extremely agile time beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 3 cone time of 7.34875 seconds.

o        The most agile player on the field will be Packers Safety Charlie Peprah. The Steelers most agile player will be kick return man Antonio Brown.

o        Overall the Packers will be a more agile team then the Steelers.

This game as expected comes down to Speed versus Power. The Packers will attempt to use their speed, leaping ability and agility to beat the Steelers. The Steelers will play old school football, and use their power to try to beat the Packers. Based solely on NFL combine numbers, I project the Green Bay Packers to win the Super Bowl. To correctly predict a winner in a football game it takes a lot more analysis then just picking the more athletic team. Ball reading skills, play calling and many other aspects decide the winner in a football game. Saying that this statistical break down is the first of many ways I will predict the winner of the Super Bowl. Until further review the Green Bay Packers will beat the Pittsburgh Steelers by the amount of Combine advantages they have. The Packers will beat the Steelers by 3 points. Early prediction

Packers 34 over Steelers 31

Packers…

Steelers…