Like millions of other Americans, NFL Network analyst Brian Billick was blown away by the show put on by Usain Bolt at the Olympic Games in London.
On Sunday night, Bolt won the 100-meter dash in the second-fastest time (9.63) in history. Billick, doing what a coach does, attempted to put the feat into NFL perspective.
But could that be possible? The fastest 40 time in the "modern" combine era is held by Tennessee Titans running back Chris Johnson, who went 4.24 in 2008. Could Bolt really blow away CJ2K?
To answer that, we turned to the NFL's Sultan of the Dash -- Pittsburgh Steelers scout Mark Gorsack. For the past eight years, Gorsack's been the official starter at the combine. He was once most famous for being Joe Montana's center in high school. Now, he's That 40 Guy From The Combine.
Gorsack is a source. So I asked him: Could anybody go sub-4.0 in the 40?
"I don't think so, only because I think it would've happened already," he said. "Also, when you break down Usain Bolt, first of all he's on an ideal surface. Second of all, he's in starting blocks. Then you got to look at spikes. Those spikes get a chance to grip in the ground, which gives you more force to push off. When people wear spikes, they are faster."
All fair points. But if we decked Bolt out in Under Armour gear and sent him to Lucas Oil Stadium in February, how could he not be the fastest man in the building?
"Is he fast? Oh yeah. Is he as fast as other National Football League players? Most likely, but I'm not sure," Gorsack said. "Running in our conditions, he'd be completely out of water."
Don't hold your breath on ever finding out, football fans. Bolt made $20 million per year in endorsements before capturing gold again Sunday. Something tells us he's going to take a pass on going over the middle on Sundays.
(Somewhere, Al Davis shakes his head in disappointment.)
