NFL 2024
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@Kruse they also take up 15-20% of your salary cap. They are the single most important position on the field. QB economics are borked ... you have to swing and accept you'll probably miss in the draft - but if you don't, you won't win.
And yeah - having watched a couple of games... also realised how absolutely critical that one position is. And thought... "That's fucked".
single hardest position in sport.
You have to read the field, sense the pressure, throw the ball - all in about 2 seconds or so. And it's incredibly hard to predict who will do that well. And you need the right coordinators around you, and the right Oline, and good receivers, and so on ... it's incredibly tough.
I'm still figuring out the rules, and the tactics based on the rules, etc, etc. But yeah... what the actual fuck. It seems like an absurd amount of pressure to put on a single position, at this early stage in my NFL-journey/Seahawks-bandwagon.
And I'm sure I will have many many more questions around the "Oline" and other positions... I'm taking baby-steps at the moment... looking up penalties/fouls as I see them, and go "what the fuck?" -
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The windows for throws are insane! If you pause the video when you throw the ball, the receiver generally won't have made his break yet, so you're literally targeting a random space on the field. Being 'open' in the NFL is just having a slight leverage advantage so the QB can put the ball on a spot the defender can't reach.
I'd agree with you that it's the hardest position to play in any sport, because the US produces literally thousands of players that are draft eligible every year and most years you might find one or two that good (not great) at the position. It's crazy to think that before they had helmet radios the QB was also responsible for make the play call!
It's also the favourite scope goat - fans love to blame qbs and play callers when things go bad, but there's a lot more too it. A bad oline in particular can destroy a team no matter who else is there.
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QBs have not always been as important as they are now
rule changes over the past couple of decades have been all in their favour
for commercial reasons . . . star player QBs and spectacular way downfield plays are easy to hype to the GP
if the defenses start to get on top, they'll just tweak the rules for the QBs again
the NFL is an extremely well run league, everything is "up and to the right"
as a league they dwarf every other sports league in the world
if you are a sports fan you have to watchmakes the efforts of rugby to improve their game (by game i mean commercial product) look pretty pathetic
rugby is my game, but i watch far more american football (college and NFL) now than i do rugby -
@Kruse just watch. The commentators are top tier, the analysis is excellent (generally) - and you can google what things mean.
That's exactly what I've been doing... just watching, with my phone in my hand, constantly Asking-Jeeves "what the fuck is a Pass Interference, I thought the whole game was constant interfering with passes being thrown/caught?" ... followed by "... aahhh... shit, that changes everything, I know nothing, like Jon Snow - do I qualify for a hot redhead?"
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it's week 4 and we are supposed to be working out what each team is.
good luck with that.
The Chiefs are 4-0, but are they any good? They look terrible for large stretches of each game. But they keep winning.
Remember a couple of weeks ago when we were worried about the Ravens? Well they are okay, and gave the Bills a beat down. Derrick Henry is a fucking freak.
The Bengals got on the board.
The Saints went down again.
Sam Darnold and the Vikings are 4-0
The Washington Commanders are racking up scores.
The Titans got on the board.TLDR i have no idea who is actually good
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@mariner4life the first month is basically the new preseason now
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Kirk Cousins just threw for 509 yards
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Yes
Cousins was great
but so was mayfield and Tampa are probably a bit pissed they lost!
that's NFLMoving on Baker and breaking their franchise was the most Browns thing ever. Imagine what they could have done with the draft picks they dished and that money they are paying Watson.
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NFL is top tier entertainment. Watched most of redzone with a couple of mates yesterday, on the couch with beers, chips and tortilla. Games that looked a bit 'meh' suddenly came to life. Favourites got upset. Shit it was fun. I am enjoying the hell out of it once more.
Rugby could learn from knowledgeable commentators who aren't afraid to critique players.
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NFL is top tier entertainment. Watched most of redzone with a couple of mates yesterday, on the couch with beers, chips and tortilla. Games that looked a bit 'meh' suddenly came to life. Favourites got upset. Shit it was fun. I am enjoying the hell out of it once more.
Rugby could learn from knowledgeable commentators who aren't afraid to critique players.
Watched the Jets v Vikings game yesterday. Great entertainment. Might watch a few games until the EOYT starts
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NFL is top tier entertainment. Watched most of redzone with a couple of mates yesterday, on the couch with beers, chips and tortilla. Games that looked a bit 'meh' suddenly came to life. Favourites got upset. Shit it was fun. I am enjoying the hell out of it once more.
Rugby could learn from knowledgeable commentators who aren't afraid to critique players.
It's probably a discussion for another thread but I've been thinking a bit about stoppages in NFL vs rugby. How is it that NFL has no continuity or flow, games take 3+ hours and it's the most watched sport in the US, and yet we complain if a scrum stoppage runs longer than 90 seconds?
I don't know what the answer is and I think it's a cultural thing about how we watch sport, but it's interesting.
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@barbarian to me, the stoppages are what make NFL interesting.
Rugby is a dynamic game, it flows, people read situations on the field in real time.
NFL is far more structured. Playcallers off the field, clock management, various matchups and groupings with substitutions - it's the closest thing to chess-level strategy with humans. Fascinating. And apex athletes with effectivley unlimited money in coaching and conditioning. It's brilliant.
That, and the drives are usually not too stop-start. They flow reasonably well. The games without ads are 2 hours or so and they are bloody good to watch (DAZN do an ad-free version of games online. Top tier).
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I've experienced college football as a regular game and as a nationally televised game. The latter does take a long time and it is strange to have to wait for TV timeouts while being there. All US pro sports pump as many ads as possible into their coverage so they are used to it.
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NFL fans are perennially complaining about how the game isn't as good as it used to be. Recent example is the current cover 2 nonsense. Mel Kiper was suggesting it be banned to get back to the NFL of Terry Bradshaw's day, neglecting to mention that that same Steelers team was famous for playing cover 2 defence.
So part of it is just that fans have different things to complain about. I think the stop/start, TV timeout stuff has just been there for so long that people are used to it.
Having the same Sunday afternoon timeslot forever helps too - I think a lot of people have traditions around getting together with friends/family to watch the game, and so the constant ads just allow for more banter/food etc.
I've only been to one NFL game live, and I didn't really notice the pace at the stadium - there's so much going on that the break is over before you realise.
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Week 5 and the season is all over the shop.
Chiefs just got themselves to 5-0, didn't get to watch, but their yards to TD ratio seems pretty off. Saints have completely fallen off a cliff, "preseason" champions.
The Vikings remain unbeaten. For the Jets questions now being asked of Rodgers, while of course the Coach is getting it in the neck.
Commanders score 30+ again
Jags got a win! Colts secondary is hot garbage so TLaw helps himself to 370
Bills lose again. Bengals lose again (at least a close one v the Ravens). Ravens are back feeling good about life.
The Broncos have more wins than losses and i am not sure how i am supposed to feel
Niners lose again
The fucking Giants win? Against the previously impressive Seattle of all teams.Lots of 3-2 / 2-3 teams across the league
