Could Tiger have played in the NFL?

[Bronco Billy]

Holy crap. How obvious can this be? There are great players within a given sport, and then there are great overall athletes. Woods belongs in the former, but certainly not the latter.

 

Take a guy like Tony Gonzales. He's a top TE in the NFL, but he also was a college basketball player. His skill set transferred over from one sport to another at a high level. Dave Winfield probably could have played at the pro level in three sports. John Elway was a legit pro baseball prospect as well as a stud QB. Even Drew Henson is a much better athlete than Woods.

 

None of this detracts from Woods' success in golf. He's the state of the art right now. But to expect him to legitimately compete at an upper level in other sports? Give me a f'n break. There are a bunch of 3 sport high school kids out there that are better athletes than Woods.

[Bronco Billy]

You must not know much about Big Baby. He's always struggled with his weight and devoted himself this offseason to lose weight in hopes it will help his endurance. Give him a month and he could put on as much weight as any strength coach wanted and he would enjoy each and every bite.

 

 

I know a bit about the kid. Adding weight isn't what O-line play is all about. Davis needs to be at or below 300 lbs to be capable of performing at a high level athletically. He may be capable of adding significant weight, but it isn't the type of weight that enhances his ability. He doesn't carry the additional weight effectively.

[Rockerbraves]

Sorry Rocker, but, this thread is downright silly. Can Tiger Woods play football, I have absolutely no idea, but, we certainly shouldn't assume that he could because he is good at golf.

 

 

GOOD at golf. Give me an effing break! He's incredible the best to ever play the game. He embarrassingly admits he's overly competitive in anything he does whether it's in business or playing a pickup game of basketball. Kids these days have to make choices early in life as to which sport they really want to pursue. IMO that doesn't mean a kid couldn't have been great in another sport. Got to wonder how many southern athletes might have been great hockey players if they would have been introduced to the sport.

[Menudo]

GOOD at golf. Give me an effing break! He's incredible the best to ever play the game. He embarrassingly admits he's overly competitive in anything he does whether it's in business or playing a pickup game of basketball. Kids these days have to make choices early in life as to which sport they really want to pursue. IMO that doesn't mean a kid couldn't have been great in another sport. Got to wonder how many southern athletes might have been great hockey players if they would have been introduced to the sport.

 

 

No argument that he is the best golfer ever, that wasn't my point.

[Rockerbraves]

I know a bit about the kid. Adding weight isn't what O-line play is all about. Davis needs to be at or below 300 lbs to be capable of performing at a high level athletically. He may be capable of adding significant weight, but it isn't the type of weight that enhances his ability. He doesn't carry the additional weight effectively.

 

Are you kiddin me. Earned the SEC Freshman of the Year honor and then followed it up SEC Player of the Year...2nd team All American.

[Bronco Billy]

Kids these days have to make choices early in life as to which sport they really want to pursue. IMO that doesn't mean a kid couldn't have been great in another sport. Got to wonder how many southern athletes might have been great hockey players if they would have been introduced to the sport.

 

 

What evidence do you have that Woods' skill set would have tranferred over to another sport at even the high school varsity level, much less at a higher level like colleges or the pros?

 

Golfing is very unique in its skill set as a sport in that there is no physical contact at all and the object being struck is stationary at all times. To be a great golfer one has to be capable of constantly repeating a swing that generates significant torque at the cluhead at controllable different rates and striking the stationary object with great accuracy. How does that transfer to an effective skill set in any other sport?

 

I know this is yet another one of your infamous fishing trips, and they are entertaining to partake in simply for the arguing value, but to put forth a fishing trip that has any staying power there has to be some kind of plausible logic involved.

[wildcat2334]

GOOD at golf. Give me an effing break! He's incredible the best to ever play the game. He embarrassingly admits he's overly competitive in anything he does whether it's in business or playing a pickup game of basketball. Kids these days have to make choices early in life as to which sport they really want to pursue. IMO that doesn't mean a kid couldn't have been great in another sport. Got to wonder how many southern athletes might have been great hockey players if they would have been introduced to the sport.

 

 

Rocker - yer nuts - Tiger Woods is a great athlete in the golf world- I think if you tried to project Tiger- he may have been an average High School Football player, that is about it. The dude played golf for a reason, he ain't even in the same ballpark as stud Pro, College, and even High School football and basketball players.

 

Jeezus, we have all seen Superior athletes try and play multi sports, and they all were not very good at the 2nd sport. Jordan, awdul, Deion was better, and made the bigs, but was still a below average ML ballplayer. Bo Jacskon was an absolute freak, and the best we have ever seen by far. Gonzo- one of the best TE in history was an average College Hoop player, and did not have NBA level skills.

 

You always hear announcers say oh, can you imagine Shaq, Big Baby, LBJ and on and on playing in the NFL - cmon, they would all be a longshot to make it in the NFL.

[Bronco Billy]

Are you kiddin me. Earned the SEC Freshman of the Year honor and then followed it up SEC Player of the Year...2nd team All American.

 

 

You think he would have earned those honors at 350 lbs? Because at that height, that's about the weight he'd have to carry to be an NFL O-lineman - unless his feet and short burst speed are good enough to latch onto a team like DEN.

[kraftykraft]

Yeah, Tiger Woods could have played in the NFL. He would have been Rod "Show Me The Money!!" Tidwell.

[xMRogers]

Is the question - could he right now take a year and play in the NFL? I think we'd all say no.

 

However, I'm shocked no one thinks a guy that was able to do what he's doing to the golf world, and has been able to tune his body like he has for that particular sport, had picked a different sport as a kid would have zero luck at it because "he's just a golfer". He's been "just a golfer" since he was 3 - if he was "just a quarterback" or "just a shortstop", I believe he'd have had enjoyed a lot of success - pro level, too tough to call, but there' sno question to me he'd have been good at it.

 

This isn't an "every pro athlete could have been good at other sports" - we're talkign about one at the absolute peak - a michael jordan like....and while his attempt when he was 30 to play baseball predictably, does anyone think that if jordan had picked baseball (or golf for that matter) at 14 instead of basketball he wouldn't have been successful.

 

In sayign all that - show me 5 minutes of Tiger playing hoops or throwing a football around, and I think we'd all get a better idea of "what could have been" - I'm makign an assumption that someone that gifted at his sport has a high level of coordination, but it's possible there's an idiot savant quality involved, in which case all my words above can be taken off the table.

[Rockerbraves]

What evidence do you have that Woods' skill set would have tranferred over to another sport at even the high school varsity level, much less at a higher level like colleges or the pros?

 

 

He'd go for six hours in the gym if he could, It's no secret how much he loves the gym.

 

http://www.golfdigest.com/features/index.s...gerworkout.html

[Randall]

Is the question - could he right now take a year and play in the NFL? I think we'd all say no.

 

However, I'm shocked no one thinks a guy that was able to do what he's doing to the golf world, and has been able to tune his body like he has for that particular sport, had picked a different sport as a kid would have zero luck at it because "he's just a golfer". He's been "just a golfer" since he was 3 - if he was "just a quarterback" or "just a shortstop", I believe he'd have had enjoyed a lot of success - pro level, too tough to call, but there' sno question to me he'd have been good at it.

 

This isn't an "every pro athlete could have been good at other sports" - we're talkign about one at the absolute peak - a michael jordan like....and while his attempt when he was 30 to play baseball predictably, does anyone think that if jordan had picked baseball (or golf for that matter) at 14 instead of basketball he wouldn't have been successful.

 

In sayign all that - show me 5 minutes of Tiger playing hoops or throwing a football around, and I think we'd all get a better idea of "what could have been" - I'm makign an assumption that someone that gifted at his sport has a high level of coordination, but it's possible there's an idiot savant quality involved, in which case all my words above can be taken off the table.

 

 

You're right.

 

He's a good athlete but until you're tested against other great athletes it's hard to be called the best.

[Rockerbraves]

You think he would have earned those honors at 350 lbs? Because at that height, that's about the weight he'd have to carry to be an NFL O-lineman - unless his feet and short burst speed are good enough to latch onto a team like DEN.

 

 

Probably his top playing weight in BB was around 310 mark as an 18/19 year old. Not to sure how many young boys with that kind of weight could star in division 1 basketball. Adding another 40 to 50 lbs to that frame would seem a piece of "cake".

[Hugh 0ne]

Holy crap. How obvious can this be? There are great players within a given sport, and then there are great overall athletes. Woods belongs in the former, but certainly not the latter.

 

Take a guy like Tony Gonzales. He's a top TE in the NFL, but he also was a college basketball player. His skill set transferred over from one sport to another at a high level. Dave Winfield probably could have played at the pro level in three sports. John Elway was a legit pro baseball prospect as well as a stud QB. Even Drew Henson is a much better athlete than Woods.

 

None of this detracts from Woods' success in golf. He's the state of the art right now. But to expect him to legitimately compete at an upper level in other sports? Give me a f'n break. There are a bunch of 3 sport high school kids out there that are better athletes than Woods.

 

 

Dude's in shape, phenomenal shape. Works out like a horse. But according to you he's not a phenomenal athlete because he plays golf? Based on his athletic conditioning, I'd say your completely wrong. No one can predict how he would excel at other sports, but an argument can certainly be made that he's an awesome athlete.

Check out his work out below, 3-4 hours, 5 times a week.

When he is not competing, Woods typically spends three or four hours a day, five times a week, in the gym. For these high-intensity workouts, said my source (let's call him Deep Bunker), he varies the focus of each session from strength training to improvements in cardiovascular performance. He usually starts with 30 minutes of some kind of cardiovascular warm-up exercise such as pedaling on a stationary bike. Then he'll perform a 30-minute session of total-body stretching, focusing on the muscles of the legs and trunk. A trainer assists him with physical therapy, manipulating his body to prepare the joints for the rigors of swinging a golf club as violently as Woods does. Everything from the kneecaps to the vertebrae are prepared for battle.

 

 

For Woods, a typical three- or four-hour workout combines light cardio exercise and some heavy lifting.

 

 

Then it's back to cardiovascular exercise. In the gym, he varies the machines he uses for this, including a treadmill, a stair stepper and a climbing machine that focuses on his upper body. Woods "loves to run, and will jog usually three to four miles, and almost always on grass,'' Deep Bunker said.

 

When Woods finishes his cardio workout, he moves to strength training. On high-intensity days, he lifts 80 percent of his maximum weight doing exercises such as the bench press, the shoulder press and squats. (Some people who have seen him work out estimate he can bench-press about 300 pounds.) One of the reasons Woods added 25 pounds to his frame is that he focused his weight training on lifting heavy weights in sets of six to eight repetitions.

 

His training involves almost anything you find in a gym—weight machines, free weights, dumbbells, medicine balls and various items for stretching and balancing, such as inflatable rubber "physio" balls and foam cylinders. But what Woods does differently from a typical weight lifter, says Deep Bunker, is that he tries to perform various exercises in movements and positions that mimic the golf swing. He works on his golf posture and grip strength while, say, lifting dumbbells.

 

Woods also performs many exercises that build core strength. This term, relatively new to fitness, means strengthening the muscles that stabilize your body. Core training involves keeping the torso in place while taking your limbs through different movements. This allows you to improve the muscles of the abdomen and back, key muscles needed for the twisting the body withstands during the golf swing. For instance, Woods may kneel on an inflatable ball and perform an exercise like a dumbbell curl while trying to maintain his balance on the ball. He also anchors long rubber bands to fixed positions and performs movements similar to the golf swing.

 

To end each session, he'll stretch out again to cool down. It's an important part of his routine—and besides, it's not as if he's in any hurry to get out of there. "He'd go for six hours in the gym if he could," Deep Bunker explained. "It's no secret how much he loves the gym."

 

Not anymore.

[Bronco Billy]

Dude's in shape, phenomenal shape. Works out like a horse. But according to you he's not a phenomenal athlete because he plays golf? Based on his athletic conditioning, I'd say your completely wrong. No one can predict how he would excel at other sports, but an argument can certainly be made that he's an awesome athlete.

Check out his work out below, 3-4 hours, 5 times a week.

 

 

 

I'd say you're impressed pretty easily.

 

Let's see. I was a DIII basketball player. Here was my in-season schedule:

 

Practice 2:00 - 5:00

Weight room 5:00 - 6:00

Supper 6:00 - 6:45

Back to gym for pick up BB 6:45 - 8:30/9:00

 

We were a 40-minutes of Hell type of team - as near as I could calculate I we ran 5 miles or more every practice.

 

So during the season, I was getting 6 1/2 hours of work out every day except Sundays & game days.

 

Off season we'd spend an extra hour in the weight room, and play an extra hour or two of pick up/camp ball.

 

I guess by work out times that I'm a hell of a lot better athlete than Woods by your standards - and I wasn't a starter and this was only DIII ball. Please note - I wouldn't even think of comparing myself to Woods in any manner, I'm just using your standard for what makes an awesome athlete.

[SNOWBOUND33]

No argument that he is the best golfer ever, that wasn't my point.

 

He's incredible, but can't call him the best ever yet.

[Bill Swerski]

I'm not sure how phenominal hand-eye coordination and being in really good physical shape (but not muscular) translates into an NFL-caliber player.

[Rockerbraves]

 

I'd say you're impressed pretty easily.

 

Let's see. I was a DIII basketball player. Here was my in-season schedule:

 

I guess by work out times that I'm a hell of a lot better athlete than Woods by your standards - and I wasn't a starter and this was only DIII ball. Please note - I wouldn't even think of comparing myself to Woods in any manner, I'm just using your standard for what makes an awesome athlete.

 

I'd say you're NOT impressed easily.

 

Let's see. Tiger has had unprecedented career since becoming a professional golfer in the late summer of 1996. At age 31 Tiger has won 74 tournaments, 54 of those on the PGA TOUR, including the 1997, 2001, 2002 and 2005 Masters Tournaments, 1999, 2000 and 2006 PGA Championships, 2000 and 2002 U.S. Open Championships, and 2000, 2005 and 2006 British Open Championships. With his second Masters victory in 2001, Tiger became the first ever to hold all four professional major championships at the same time. He is the career victories leader among active players on the PGA TOUR, and is the career money list leader

 

The difference often between a pro and an amateur is that amateurs get bored do something so repetitive while pros don't. Besides his workout I'm sure he hits a few buckets of balls as well.

[Def.]

I'd say you're NOT impressed easily.

 

Let's see. Tiger has had unprecedented career since becoming a professional golfer in the late summer of 1996. At age 31 Tiger has won 74 tournaments, 54 of those on the PGA TOUR, including the 1997, 2001, 2002 and 2005 Masters Tournaments, 1999, 2000 and 2006 PGA Championships, 2000 and 2002 U.S. Open Championships, and 2000, 2005 and 2006 British Open Championships. With his second Masters victory in 2001, Tiger became the first ever to hold all four professional major championships at the same time. He is the career victories leader among active players on the PGA TOUR, and is the career money list leader

 

The difference often between a pro and an amateur is that amateurs get bored do something so repetitive while pros don't. Besides his workout I'm sure he hits a few buckets of balls as well.

 

 

 

Doesn't Tiger have a website or something where you can go express your manlove for him? This is absolutely ridiculous.

[Hugh 0ne]

 

I'd say you're impressed pretty easily.

 

Let's see. I was a DIII basketball player. Here was my in-season schedule:

 

Practice 2:00 - 5:00

Weight room 5:00 - 6:00

Supper 6:00 - 6:45

Back to gym for pick up BB 6:45 - 8:30/9:00

 

We were a 40-minutes of Hell type of team - as near as I could calculate I we ran 5 miles or more every practice.

 

So during the season, I was getting 6 1/2 hours of work out every day except Sundays & game days.

 

Off season we'd spend an extra hour in the weight room, and play an extra hour or two of pick up/camp ball.

 

I guess by work out times that I'm a hell of a lot better athlete than Woods by your standards - and I wasn't a starter and this was only DIII ball. Please note - I wouldn't even think of comparing myself to Woods in any manner, I'm just using your standard for what makes an awesome athlete.

 

 

Basketball's less of a sport than golf.

[Bronco Billy]

I'd say you're NOT impressed easily.

 

 

 

 

Other than me saying he's the state of the art in his sport & I'll freely admit he's head & shoulders above the rest of the golf pros?

[Rockerbraves]

Doesn't Tiger have a website or something where you can go express your manlove for him? This is absolutely ridiculous.

 

 

If they had a forum on Tiger's website I probably would start a thread like:

 

Could Elway or Jordan have played on the PGA Tour? Of course they could have...

[Bronco Billy]

Doesn't Tiger have a website or something where you can go express your manlove for him? This is absolutely ridiculous.

 

 

I think he's amorously hooked on black athletes that buck status quo.

[Caveman_Nick]

Jordan, being far and away the best basketball player ever (Yes, I am a long time Celtics fan, and it hurts to say it), couldn't make it in pro baseball.

 

Being great in one sport doesn't mean you can excell at another.

[whomper]

Under this premise the Cowboys have signed Minnesota fats to a 3 year deal for our O line

Edited January 26, 2007 by whomper