Derrick Williams at the NFL Combine

◊ How fast can he run? How high can he jump? How many times can he bench a couple-hundred pounds?

Those questions are all supposedly answered over the course of a few days, which we call the NFL Combine. College football's finest athletes– in the eyes of the NFL scouts –are invited to work out in front of coaches and staff, with a chance to plant a final, hopefully good impression in their minds.

I was out of town, and couldn't keep up on the nitty-gritty of the combine this past week and weekend, so I only heard bits here an there. One thing that stuck out to me was one NFL Network commentator's analysis on Derrick Williams and his poor 40-yard dash times. Williams ran a 4.58 and a 4.67.

"Williams has been suffering a bit from the flu, but [those 40 times] are sure to hurt his draft stock a bit," he said.

I don't usually watch the NFL Network, or the NFL for that matter. So I don't know who it was, as they didn't show their faces or give names. Understandably, it was all about the players.

Still, I was shocked to hear his "expert" analysis of Williams' performance. Maybe I just don't understand how pro football scouting works. Do NFL teams really base much of their draft decisions on this event? I hope not, and from what I hear, they don't.

Ah, but the NFL Network wants you to believe otherwise. If we were to gauge the amount of combine coverage, compared to the amount of coverage dedicated to equally important draft events, like schools' pro days, it would seem that the combine is second only to the draft itself.

Back to Williams. He ran the 40, against his agent's advice, with a considerable bout with the flu. The scouts knew he had the flu. Everyone in the world knew he had the flu, mostly due to the sports networks' ridiculous amount of coverage. So then when Williams turns in a few very poor 40 times, everyone acts surprised?

I'm not going to defend Williams. He needs no defending. Nor will I suggest the television coverage should be "nicer" to the players. Sports is not a nice business, and I understand that.

It would just be refreshing to see more than just a hand full of "experts" think about what they say, before they say it. Did two poor 40 times, while suffering the flu, really hurt his draft stock among the NFL teams that are seriously interested in him? Probably not.

Have most NFL teams been spending every waking moment analyzing four years worth of game tape from Williams'– and the rest of the combine invitees –college careers? I would say definitely. The television coverage, and the NFL Network commentator I'm using as an example, are essentially dumbing down the draft process.

Why? Are they trying to lure in a few non-die hards, by making coverage more novice-friendly? That's a pretty poor angle to take. And not only that, but by doing so, the coverage is making the NFL teams look like they're half-assing their way to the draft decisions. They don't.

Many folks poke fun at the college recruiting season, saying how it's just a show, or how most of the prospects don't pan out. I find it ironic that we don't hear so much from that crowd once the NFL Combine rolls onto our screens.

I find that the lead up to the NFL Draft is one of the most ridiculous displays of sensationalist sports media coverage you'll find anywhere in the world. That doesn't exclude the combine.

Williams might be struck twice, though, with the same over-hype hammer.

Coming out of high school, he was rated the No. 1 recruit in the nation. Who created that ranking? The media, not the players or college coaches. Now that his college career is over, he's regarded in the media– the same media that vaulted him to the top of the rankings –as somewhat of a bust.

As we near the NFL Draft, Williams is again a victim of an unfair, if not unjust media. We all know it's not fair, and that it will never be so. But how much the media has played a role in Williams' career is astounding. Coming in, he was up. Now, he's down. Next month, he could go up again, all in the eyes of studio analysts.

So what does any of this mean? Well, for Williams, all he has to do is play his game. He once said that he is "driven by greatness." That classic quote must stick in his mind the rest of his career. Drive is an intangible trait many of the biggest draft busts lacked. If Williams can maintain it, he'll be fine.

For the NFL Combine and the draft. It means nothing. It's still the most profitable entertainment business in the country, and will continue be so. Unfortunately, the sports media has gone right along with it, under the cover of journalism.

So as we watch our college players find new homes in the NFL, just keep in mind that things are never what they seem, especially through the eyes of the media.