Every year at the NFL combine, Arizona Cardinals strength and conditioning coach John Lott runs the the bench press drills. In those drills, the draft prospects are to bench press 225 pounds as many times as they possibly can. As a strength and conditioning coach, he is very vocal about urging the players to keep pushing and get more reps.
Apparently, this style is starting to irritate some player agents, as at least one player tore a pectoral muscle as a result of the the bench press.
"Who cares if my guy gets 24 instead of 27 reps?" one agent told PFT. "No one has ever won a football game because of how many times a guy can lift 225 pounds with his arms."
The problem with this attitude is that it already is the culture of the weight room. That's how it pretty much is.
Does Lott need to be so boisterous? Probably not. These kids are trying to show off for organizations that are going to invest millions of dollars in kids leaving college, including a lot of those who left college early. They shouldn't need that encouragement.
At the same time, Lott is who he is. You can't take that out of him and get good coaching.
As it is, scores of players skip drills. If they are worried about injury, they should pass on the drill. They have to be the ones in tune with their body and what it needs.
Should Lott push these players to their max? Do the kids just need to pay attention to their bodies better? Do agents just need to shut up?
You tell us.