NFL 2015

infidel

<a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/21/sports/rugby/jarryd-hayne-an-australian-rugby-star-gives-49ers-a-much-needed-jolt-of-optimism.html?_r=0'>http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/21/sports/rugby/jarryd-hayne-an-australian-rugby-star-gives-49ers-a-much-needed-jolt-of-optimism.html?_r=0</a>
 
NY Times article on Hayne

mariner4life

Hayne with a couple of eye catching returns this morning

mariner4life

And now a big gain from running back. He's certainly giving this a real shot.

bondibludger

I know bugger all about NFL - but he seems to be going pretty well. This footage is from the pre season game earlier this morning:
 
<a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='http://streamable.com/ghz5'>http://streamable.com/ghz5</a>
 
<a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='http://streamable.com/lm1x'>http://streamable.com/lm1x</a>
 
<a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='http://streamable.com/6nse'>http://streamable.com/6nse</a>
 
No doubt we'll see a few more NFL talent scouts in this part of the world over the next couple years....

Sneakdefreak

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I know bugger all about NFL - but he seems to be going pretty well. This footage is from the pre season game earlier this morning:
 
<a class="bbc_url" href="http://streamable.com/ghz5" title="External link">http://streamable.com/ghz5</a>
 
<a class="bbc_url" href="http://streamable.com/lm1x" title="External link">http://streamable.com/lm1x</a>
 
<a class="bbc_url" href="http://streamable.com/6nse" title="External link">http://streamable.com/6nse</a>
</blockquote>
 
Calling it - the Hayne Plane will be the kick and punt returner for the 49ers and 3rd string RB behind Carlos Hyde and Reggie Bush. Might be worth a free agent pick up in some of my larger fantasy leagues.
 
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No doubt we'll see a few more NFL talent scouts in this part of the world over the next couple years....
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Which would be a worry for NRL/Super Rugby teams which have those power-type fullback/wings (Inglis, Folau etc).

bondibludger

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Sneakdefreak" data-cid="510681" data-time="1440394973">
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Calling it - the Hayne Plane will be the kick and punt returner for the 49ers and 3rd string RB behind Carlos Hyde and Reggie Bush. Might be worth a free agent pick up in some of my larger fantasy leagues.
 
 
Which would be a worry for NRL/Super Rugby teams which have those power-type fullback/wings (Inglis, Folau etc).
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Imagine RTS as a kick return!?!?! Warriors will be getting nervous. I think Inglis is probably past his prime (although I also said Hayne had no chance of making it).....

canefan

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="bondibludger" data-cid="510697" data-time="1440399474">Imagine RTS as a kick return!?!?! Warriors will be getting nervous. I think Inglis is probably past his prime (although I also said Hayne had no chance of making it).....</blockquote>inglis in his prime would have been amazing, maybe even Slater too. League back 3's are well suited to punt return and RB play

bondibludger

Canefan - agree on Inglis. Slater may have been a little small?
 
I honestly thought Jarryd had no chance. There are so many talented US college players who've grown up playing the game. I'll be very happy if I'm proven wrong - which appears almost certain now....

NTA

Preface: I have a very basic understanding of the game of grid iron, but none of its intricacies.
 
 
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="bondibludger" data-cid="510737" data-time="1440407243">
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I honestly thought Jarryd had no chance. There are so many talented US college players who've grown up playing the game. I'll be very happy if I'm proven wrong - which appears almost certain now....
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Is it a case then of these guys being skilled at fitting the mould but not necessarily breaking it? Being programmed into the system? One thing I noticed when watching College football with a mate (who is into the sport bigtime) is that its more adventurous than the NFL because of the way the game has evolved.
 
Hayne has years of professional sport and working in space - though here he's relying on blockers doing their job. The field is narrower, but there are less blokes once you're through the line who are likely to get back there, and if you make that 10 yards that is what the coach wants, most of the time.
 
Imagine a scenario where the 49ers put another punt returner or a wide receiver/running back on the field, and teach them pass and catch. Let he and Hayne work off each other, and while you lose a potential blocker, the threat of passing the ball - while not acceptable in terms of the percentage plays of the modern game - a heck of a threat to my eyes. Everyone zeroes in on the ball carrier because its only one target. If Hayne threw a dummy pass today, no-one would buy it and he'd get annihilated. But what if he DID get an offload away to a guy two yards away who sprints, untouched, to the end zone? Next game, people would be watching out for that shit.
 
People would lose their shit IF the coach ever agreed to it.

NTA

Question: is it legal to strip the ball in the NFL?

mariner4life

Yes. It's actively encouraged. Watch how the runners/receivers hold the ball when heading for contact. 
The thing Hayne has over others is his desire and determination to make a go of this. Not every great rugby athlete is going to have the drive to go back to basics.

bondibludger

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="NTA" data-cid="510792" data-time="1440414589">
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Imagine a scenario where the 49ers put another punt returner or a wide receiver/running back on the field, and teach them pass and catch. Let he and Hayne work off each other, and while you lose a potential blocker, the threat of passing the ball - while not acceptable in terms of the percentage plays of the modern game - a heck of a threat to my eyes. Everyone zeroes in on the ball carrier because its only one target. If Hayne threw a dummy pass today, no-one would buy it and he'd get annihilated. But what if he DID get an offload away to a guy two yards away who sprints, untouched, to the end zone? Next game, people would be watching out for that shit.
 
People would lose their shit IF the coach ever agreed to it.
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I made the same comments to some family friends when visiting North America a few years ago and they looked at me like I was a complete idiot. Possession is just treasured so highly - it would take a coach with a massive risk tolerance to call the play during an actual game (even a college game). 
 
Further to M4L's comments on the carrying style - the other week I'm sure I saw Jarryd catch the ball with that weird arms crossed over style. I can understand wrapping it up like that when going into contact against massive defensive linemen but it's hard to imagine a more awkward way to try and actually catch a football. Sooooo many things he's had to unlearn to make it this far. Respect.

mariner4life

Yea they don't so much catch as cuddle the ball until they are in the clear

canefan

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="bondibludger" data-cid="510800" data-time="1440415796">
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I made the same comments to some family friends when visiting North America a few years ago and they looked at me like I was a complete idiot. Possession is just treasured so highly - it would take a coach with a massive risk tolerance to call the play during an actual game (even a college game). 
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It is an amazing thing for americans to see a lateral pass in football. Basically it is seen as a trick play, I've never seen one in the pros, only at college level, from one non QB player to another

Sneakdefreak

Green Bay Packers suffer a big pre-season loss - WR Jordy Nelson is out for the season with a knee injury. Houston Texans have chosen former Browns QB Brian Hoyer over Ryan Mallett. Both started as back up QBs to Tom Brady.

ACT Crusader

Yeah I reckon they'll take him as a punt return as its a lower risk option but has huge highlight reel potential. There could be big marketing potential as well with Aussies buying 49ers gear etc. 
I gotta say I'm getting excited for the season and the Hayne factor is definitely contributing to the excitement.

red terror

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="canefan" data-cid="510813" data-time="1440418615">
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It is an amazing thing for americans to see a lateral pass in football. Basically it is seen as a trick play, I've never seen one in the pros, only at college level, from one non QB player to another
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There are laterals, but almost always from the hand of the QB to the RB. It's an option pass or a sweep, and if you watch enough NFL you'll see plenty. The trick-plays, as you say, are things like reverse "flea-flickers," etc., where the ball is tossed between QB, RB and/or a WR who then throws the ball deep. American spectators lose their shit any time a ball is moved between three sets of hands (and I'm not counting the center snap).

red terror

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="bondibludger" data-cid="510800" data-time="1440415796">
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Possession is just treasured so highly - it would take a coach with a massive risk tolerance to call the play during an actual game (even a college game). 
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Possession is EVERY-THING. Turnovers are the WORST. That is why the game is played so tight and safe. The coach is playing for his job, and elevated risks usually get them fired. If an athlete starts throwing the ball around in open-play, that will get the athlete and the coach fired. The only athletes who can change plays called by the sideline are veteran HoF-level QBs, like Brady & Manning, and they are usually calling audibles only because they don't like the way the defense is schemed (and sometimes in the "hurry-up" a.k.a. "no-huddle" offense.) I could be wrong, but seems to me the last two QBs who were regularly permitted to call their own offensive plays on complete drives were Jim Kelly (Bills) in the 1990s, and before him Terry Bradshaw (Steelers) in the 1970s.

red terror

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="NTA" data-cid="510792" data-time="1440414589">
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Preface: I have a very basic understanding of the game of grid iron, but none of its intricacies.
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Just 'cos it's a small pet-peeve of mine, and because this is the 21st century, the game is "American Football" and never called grid-iron (certainly not in the past 50 years). (Ratpoo or a Herald sub-editor made same mistake today, made me groan.)
 
Sometimes, and then only very rarely, will somebody (a commentator, maybe) refer to the surface or playing field as a "grid-iron," but never the game itself.
 
No big deal, shurely, and I would say you are correct. But then I get equally irritated when people up here call my code "rugger." For many years people up here actually believed that's what the sport was called, although that has mostly evaporated the past 20 years as the globe has gotten smaller. Certainly few can probably tell the difference between Union and League, yet most here can now uniformly recognise the game as "rugby" and blessedly it seldom-if-ever gets called "rugger" any longer.
 
And thankfully, nobody up here as far as I can tell has ever called the game "paddock" or "pitch" or "field" (although a certain expat Sydney Swans supporter up here always calls it "outdoor wrestling.")

Quo vadis

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Sneakdefreak" data-cid="507531" data-time="1439270117">
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Btw anyone playing fantasy football this year?
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 always! who else?

The Silver Fern

NFL 2015