NFL 2024
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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
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Yeah ultimately it's basically impossible to design a perfect defensive scheme - I think there's a stat somewhere about completions vs perfect coverage or similar. So a good enough QB can always beat the coverage. Defences schemes are really just tradeoffs. Cover 2 sacrifices some strength against the run and yards underneath to take away deeper threats.
On paper the Chiefs and Vikings are the best teams in the AFC/NFC. Neither of them look it though. I can buy the Chiefs are a great team moving through the gears, but the vikings still have to prove it. Their results seem a bit too dependent on early turnovers and Justin Jefferson being a freak. But the NFL is a very momentum based league, so a good (not great) team getting hot and gelling as o unit can go really deep. It's not like they other US sports where the seasons are 90 games and hot streaks blow out.
Crazy to think that next week we'll be 1/3 of the way through the (regular) season.
Jets are a total shambles, as always. Rodgers is the most talented qb I've ever seen on the field. If you needed someone to play for your life, he's the guy. But off the field he has no idea, and is too happy with yes men. Now that he's regressed to around QB 10-15 that really hurts. He needs an OC than can do creative, surprising things to take some of the load off, instead he's got Hackett who has two plays: run up the middle and give it to Aaron. It's not even like they needed a great OC. Manning's two great years with the Broncos had Gase as the OC and be all accounts, he'd basically draw up a big pile of plays and let Manning work out which one would work best.
Totally off topic now, but I've always thought if you could get a QB with Rodgers ability on the field and Brady's mentality off it, you'd probably have to stop playing football, because that guy would never lose a game.
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While i get Rodgers is a great player, and a great QB physically, i am not sure he's the guy i'm having play for my life. When the game is there to be won, he's not the guy i want with the ball. It's not perfect i know, but his "game winning drives" stat is pretty average compared to many others. He's effectively got the same number as Kirk Cousins (in way more seasons) a player universally derided for not having it when it mattered.
I'm still taking Brady in the 4th quarter.
But if my life was dependent on a QB to throw the ball, i've never seen anyone throw it better than Aaron, and his individual records back that up
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Sam Darnold schools the team that drafted him, Vikings made more errors than previous weeks and last two games have gone to sleep after making some big leads.
Cracks are there that perhaps they will hit a loss sooner than later, but that defence is still pretty good -
Yeah I can see that. Brady's metronomic consistency was freakish. I'm sure I saw a Bruce Arians quote when Brady was at the bucs saying something like he's the only QB he's ever worked with that never got tired throwing 7 yard slants. I've never found it again though so might not be true, but it made me respect that consistency.
Not a big fan of the game winning drives stat. There are so many other influences on that kind of scenario.
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Mahomes would be the one you'd have to save your life with a game winning drive.
Length of the field in 13 seconds - wow!American foorball is well organised . . . high school on friday night, college on saturday, pro on sunday . . . very tidy.
early, but i think the bills can clinch their division if they beat the jets this round. . . even tho i dont think the bills are as good as last year, the rest of the division is a bit of a shambles.
f'n chiefs are going to be better this year than last . . .
still cant believe the bills did the Worthy trade with them . . . GM brandon bean F wit
the other 31 teams should just tell the chiefs to F off if they want to do a deal
hate the f'ing chiefs, and mahomes and kelce (and his bother) and most of all . . . taylor f'ing swift!
aaaah, that feels betterhuge upset in college football . . . Vanderbilt beating Alabama . . . FUUUUCK OFF!
it's the defences that are whinging about the game not being the same, and they're right to a certain extent.
But the leading with the helmet shots had to go, and they just got rid of the hip drop.
Because of the helmets they still have bigger hits than rugby (league and union)
Shoulder charge still allowed. -
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And out first HC casualty of the year. Saleh out. First time in about 50 years that the jets have an in season HC replacement, which given some of the previous jets seasons is kind of incredible. I suspect that this isn't over yet and there will be more staff changes to follow. Current DC has already been appointed as interim HC for the rest of the year.
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Exactly why I think we'll see more staff changes. Hackett probably gets a demotion to Rodgers Golf Buddy and someone else takes over as oc but it's complicated because owner Woody Johnson is an idiot in thrall to Rodgers so a lot depends on whether the interim HC feels free to change what they want.
Assuming no staff changes, the biggest difference on offence would be a more aggressive mindset. Saleh was super conservative (infamously describing a game vs the raiders last year as a race to twenty), so if Ulbrich pushes to open up the playbook more and get more creative and aggressive things might improve. But not sure how much more Hackett has in his playbook.
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I think it was Johnson. He's leading the charge, and the reporters closest to the jets are supporting that. He's a tinkerer with minimal m football sense but a real desire to be popular., and a belief that solutionss are only a change or two away. Apart from his previous reluctance to fire guys mid season it's classic woody Johnson behaviour.
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I think it was Johnson. He's leading the charge, and the reporters closest to the jets are supporting that. He's a tinkerer with minimal m football sense but a real desire to be popular., and a belief that solutionss are only a change or two away. Apart from his previous reluctance to fire guys mid season it's classic woody Johnson behaviour.
Not the first time the Jets have signed a previous SB winning QB from Green Bay who was past his prime
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Robert Saleh was fired for underperformance that the (checks notes) New York Jets???
There are some pretty funny reports around about this already.
Lets preface all of this with a really big "reportedly"
Saleh was about to fire Hackett when he himself was fired. Or, alternatively, was giving the game day play calling to someone else. Something that the new interim coach is also considering.
The owner spoke with Rodgers, but totes not about firing the head coach.So the defense has only conceded 85 points through 5 games, yet their offence can't get them over the line, and who pays the price? The head coach who put that defense together. Hilarious.
I did read they walked him, he didn't even get to talk to the players.
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@mariner4life stay classy, NY Jets
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Woody Johnson is possibly the worst owner in the league. Just has no idea and constantly flails around for a quick fix.
Sliding doors moment: someone else buys the jets in 99 and Belichick doesn't resign at his introductory HC press conference to jump to the pats.
Firing Saleh is fine. He's had 3 seasons to work it out and consistently failed. Massive success with the defence (first in EPA during his tenure I believe), but he's a HC not a DC. Even if he's delegating most of the offence to the OC he's responsible for setting the tone and philosophy and hiring a completent staff. He's done none of that. But none of that has changed through 5 games. It's the same team as last year, it's just an incompetent owner flailing about.
Ulbrich has a hell of a job on his hands, if he can't hold everything together I can see a mid season retirement coming for Rodgers.
Monday night/Tuesday afternoon going to be a fun game (although probably pretty rubbish quality football, bills have been struggling lately too).
