Jarvis Jones working through hamstring injury

By Neal Coolong

Much ado was made of Jarvis Jones' 4.9 40-yard dash time at his Pro Day in March. An apparent hamstring injury was the main culprit. While that time didn't prevent the Steelers from taking Jones with the 17th overall pick, the injury responsible for it is holding him back in the first OTAs session of this offseason.

Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said Wednesday it wasn't preventing him from practicing, but Mark Kaboly of the Tribune Review wrote in Thursday's edition Jones was limited in the first two practices held this week. Jones admitted the injury and said it's been aggravated in both the OTAs and in rookie camp.

"I kind of tweaked it in rookie camp," he said. "I think it started when I tripped running my 40 at pro day. Everything is good, and I am going to continue to work and grind."

Hamstring injuries linger, as it appears Jones can now attest to. The muscle group is responsible for push-off and explosive power, meaning it is heavily involved in most football-related movement.

READ MORE: http://www.behindthesteelcurtain.com/2013/5/23/4358408/steelers-otas-jarvis-jones-injury-report

I pulled my hammy on the way to the coffee machine yesterday, which is why I failed to put a coversheet on my TPS reports. Fortunately, my manager understands my true productivity isn't measured by coversheets. I'll just have to fight through my hammy problems and take it day-by-day.

kirklandrules wrote:

I pulled my hammy on the way to the coffee machine yesterday, which is why I failed to put a coversheet on my TPS reports. Fortunately, my manager understands my true productivity isn't measured by coversheets. I'll just have to fight through my hammy problems and take it day-by-day.

I hope you don't get transferred to Cincinnati. Or worse ... Cleveland.

I couldn't help making lite of this report. Not sure if he really had a hamstring injury that resulted in a slow 40 time. But who cares. He destroyed the competition in the SEC. And on more than one occasion, he lined up on the opposite side just to face a high profile foe. Just ask any of the QBs he sacked the past few years if it felt like he was running slow when he slammed into them.

The combine is a useful tool to help assess certain skills and provide insight to future coaches on the talent they draft. But you have to take the information from the combine and compare it to what you see on tape. Jones ran a slow 40 time which may be an indication that he won't get to the QB or be able to chase down a RB. However, the tape proves otherwise ... he did these things, showing a certain amount of speed, while playing in the most talented division in college football. As an indicator of future performance, I'd trust what I see on game film over a stopwatch any day. No need to make excuses for a test no one will care about on opening day.