Players hoping to impress NFL general managers and coaches this week at the scouting combine might have to answer a few strange questions.
"Do you think your mother is attractive?"
"Are you more like a dog or a cat?"
"If you could kill someone and not get caught, would you?"
"If you got lost in the woods, how would you find your way out?
Vikings coach Mike Zimmer said he has no plans to ask this year's combine class if they're attracted to a family member or prefer K9 or feline, but he has been in the room when players were peppered with these weird questions.
"One of the questions was, 'What are stamps for? What do you use stamps for? Why do they collect taxes' and all kinds of stupid stuff," Zimmer said Thursday in Indianapolis. " 'If you got lost in the woods, how would you find your way out?' Most of these guys have never been in the woods."
Some of the questions even stumped Zimmer.
"I got the answers wrong a lot. One of the questions was, 'Name the holidays,' stuff like that. It's like, OK, whatever."
Despite Zimmer's tone in these quotes, he's actually somewhat amused by the ridiculous nature of the questioning.
The questions, often asked by team psychologists, are intended to rattle the players and see how they respond. Clinical psychologist Dr. Chris Mazzarella told Sports Illustrated that the questions are likely for shock value and a test of character. Zimmer agreed.
"Each team is a little bit different, the way they do it. But basically it's just getting a feel for the player. You asked them questions – who is the toughest guy on the team and they're all going to say 'me,' " Zimmer said, "To me, it's more about getting a feel and we always do a little bit of film work with them and see what he can recall from the play. Some guys, they've probably seen these plays a number of times but they'll say, 'Oh, yeah, that was Third-and-1,' so they have some recall."
Former NFL defensive end Austen Lane revealed more of the weird questions that can come up during combine interviews. On Tuesday he Tweeted the following:
Cincinnati defensive tackle Geno Atkins told NFL.com he was asked if he preferred "McDonald's or Burger King?"
Patriots defensive back Devin McCourty wrote in a guest column for Sports Illustrated's MMQB on Monday that he was asked "Are you more like a dog or cat?" He answered dog.
Carolina quarterback Cam Newton was asked the same "Dog or cat?" question and when he suggested that it wasn't relevant and sees himself as more of a human being, Newton was asked if he had a problem with authority.
Running back Dexter McCluster was asked to sing. Have you ever wondered if Teddy Bridgewater can carry a tune?