Official NFL Discussion Thread

[Craig Edwards]

Yeah, I kinda realised I was "Manchester United-ing" it a bit with the Steelers (picking one of the most successful teams), but I didn't care because A, I didn't pick them for their winning record and B, it'd make a nice change if ONE of my sports teams finally won something.

 

Thanks for the answers so far.

 

That reminds me of another question I forgot to ask; who 'leads' the defence? Is there a position responsible for calling audibles and adjustments to defence on the field? Or does that vary from team to team depending on the experience of the players etc?

 

It is normally the Middle Linebacker or another Linebacker and sometimes a safety will make calls too.

[The Swanton825]

Yeah, I kinda realised I was "Manchester United-ing" it a bit with the Steelers (picking one of the most successful teams), but I didn't care because A, I didn't pick them for their winning record and B, it'd make a nice change if ONE of my sports teams finally won something.

 

Actually, I'd say Pittsburgh's more like Chelsea, not quite as despised, but still very hated by most. Dallas is closer to Manchester United, especially the spending money like there's no tomorrow part.

[D-Lyrium]

Actually, I'd say Pittsburgh's more like Chelsea, not quite as despised, but still very hated by most. Dallas is closer to Manchester United, especially the spending money like there's no tomorrow part.

 

I was going more by the fact that historically they've been highly successful (Chelsea haven't, until very recently). I would say that these days, Chelsea are MORE despised that United, because of the way they play.

 

Also, just saw this under 'Penalties':

 

Holding (defensive): When a defensive player tackles or holds an offensive player other than the ball carrier. The penalty is 5 yards and an automatic first down.

 

Holding (offensive): When an offensive player uses his hands, arms, or other parts of his body to prevent a defensive player from tackling the ball carrier. The penalty is 10 yards.

 

Isn't that... basically what happens on every play? Does this only refer to non-linemen, or?

 

Surely tackling and holding a player other than the ball-carrier is 90% of a DT's job, and 100% of the OT's?

[Teh_Showtime]

The penalty comes because you are supposed to block with your arms on the inside of the opponent, it actually DOES happen on every play, but mostly gets noticed when people grab jersey while their guy is trying to run away

 

and since your team is the Steelers I should probably mention that in HS I played footbal with Leveon Bell though I was clearly not as good

[packerman120]

The penalty comes because you are supposed to block with your arms on the inside of the opponent, it actually DOES happen on every play, but mostly gets noticed when people grab jersey while their guy is trying to run away

 

and since your team is the Steelers I should probably mention that in HS I played footbal with Leveon Bell though I was clearly not as good

 

You played high school football with LeVeon Bell? Damn man.. Did you two ever hang ?

[lazorbeak]

Basically my question boils down to, if you're drafted but aren't quite ready for the starting team yet, do you stay with the team and only get sporadic playing time, or is there somewhere else you go to get experience?

 

I feel like people referencing Warren Moon and Kurt Warner aren't exactly providing current or particularly representative information. Especially Moon, since he was basically the victim of late 70's racism about black QBs not being smart enough to make reads or learn an offense.

 

In real life, what happens with a guy in the first few rounds that plays for a good team or isn't ready is that they end up being 2nd or 3rd in their position chart. The nature of the game requires cycling through players when fatigue is an issue, so a starting lineman will only play maybe 80% of the time, maybe less, depending on coaching and situation. That means that a guy that's second on the chart actually still plays a decent amount and gets the chance to improve (the big exception is quarterbacks, where back-ups usually only play if a game is a blowout or there's an injury).

 

Then, once you get into 6th and 7th round picks or undrafted players, you start seeing guys that may not make the 53-man squad. A team can have 10 guys on their practice squad, with the idea being that they know the system and are ready to play if somebody on the 53-man roster gets injured (injured players don't count towards your active players). Players on the practice squad are technically free agents, but in practice they tend to stay with the team they're trying to make.

 

Guys that don't make the practice squad or have been on a practice squad for too long are the ones that end up playing elsewhere. The starting QB for the defending champion Arena League team was undrafted, but signed with Tennessee, then signed and assigned to an NFL Europe team by Pittsburgh (this was 10 years ago), then signed by the Cardinals, where he was only active in one game, then signed to the Texans practice squad for a year. Then he signed with a CFL team, was cut, then a UFL team (a defunct league), then signed onto the Colts practice squad (his last year of practice squad eligibility), then ended up in the Arena League.

[Jaysin]

I'm still upset Tyler Tettleton hasn't gotten a shot in the NFL yet. He was so much fun to watch at Ohio University. His only "professional" experience(if you can call it that) was being signed by the CFL team Tiger-Cats for a month back in 2014. I figured with his apparent skill and having a baseball legend for a dad(Mickey Tettleton), he'd at least get some sort of shot somewhere.

[The Swanton825]

I feel like people referencing Warren Moon and Kurt Warner aren't exactly providing current or particularly representative information.

 

I just realized I read that question wrong. I somehow read it as "if you don't get drafted". lazorbeak's answer is much better.

 

I'm still upset Tyler Tettleton hasn't gotten a shot in the NFL yet. He was so much fun to watch at Ohio University. His only "professional" experience(if you can call it that) was being signed by the CFL team Tiger-Cats for a month back in 2014. I figured with his apparent skill and having a baseball legend for a dad(Mickey Tettleton), he'd at least get some sort of shot somewhere.

 

Ah, I remember feeling the same about Jovon Bouknight, Wyoming's WR from around '04. That man had hands of glue and made Corey Bramlet an NFL prospect by catching so many of Corey's errant throws that he actually looked like a good QB on paper.

[D-Lyrium]

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap300000049...spended-4-games

 

[The Swanton825]

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap300000049...spended-4-games

 

 

I'll be surprised if this hampers the Pats very much, Belichick is great at taking mediocre talent and making them look Pro Bowl-caliber (See Cassel, Matt). I'm also going to be surprised if Brady sticks around much longer after the Pats threw him under the bus during the investigation.

[BHK1978]

I'll be surprised if this hampers the Pats very much, Belichick is great at taking mediocre talent and making them look Pro Bowl-caliber (See Cassel, Matt).

 

Tell that to the Cleveland Browns...

[Jaysin]

Tell that to the Cleveland Browns...

 

That's just cold man. Some of us here bleed Orange and Brown

[DAVEFAN95]

Honestly, with or without Brady, the Pats defense is pretty poor right now. Then again Belichick is pretty good at making mediocre talent look pro bowl worthy, that has already been said, but lets be honest here, Malcom Butler isn't Darrelle Revis and you also have to look at the fact that Wilfork and Browner are gone aswell. This defense is no where near as good as it was last year

[CQI13]

So he gets the same suspension Ben Roethlisberger got for his second rape allegation in less than a year; and twice what Ray Rice's original suspension was going to be...Fidel Goodell is clueless!

 

Yes, they were underinflated. And yes, that is his preference - but is there any proof that he knew they would fall under the acceptable range the league allows? Should we punish Andrew Luck for the one football that was underinflated in that same game for the Colts?

[D-Lyrium]

So, according to 'sources', whoever they are, the NFL have officially moved extra point kicks to the 15 yard line, which makes a lot more sense, because my God was it boring watching the most basic, routine kick in any sport ever. At least now there's a small, minutely small, chance they might occasionally miss.

 

But the bigger news is, 2 point conversions are being snapped from the 2m line still, and if the defence intercepts the ball (during either) it can be returned for a touchdown, but that's still only worth 2 points.

 

 

Seems pretty good in theory. Although won't that ruin the 'surprise' of the 2 point attempt, though? I thought the whole point was, the defence weren't supposed to know you were trying for it until the ball was snapped?

 

If they're from two separate lines, you might as well just keep the regular offense on the field if you're going to try for the 2, right? Or is there a rule against that?

[The Swanton825]

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="D-Lyrium" data-cite="D-Lyrium" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="26529" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>So, according to 'sources', whoever they are, the NFL have officially moved extra point kicks to the 15 yard line, which makes a lot more sense, because my God was it boring watching the most basic, routine kick in any sport ever. At least now there's a small, minutely small, chance they might occasionally miss.<p> </p><p> But the bigger news is, 2 point conversions are being snapped from the 2m line still, and if the defence intercepts the ball (during either) it can be returned for a touchdown, but that's still only worth 2 points.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> Seems pretty good in theory. Although won't that ruin the 'surprise' of the 2 point attempt, though? I thought the whole point was, the defence weren't supposed to know you were trying for it until the ball was snapped?</p><p> </p><p> If they're from two separate lines, you might as well just keep the regular offense on the field if you're going to try for the 2, right? Or is there a rule against that?</p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> It's perfectly legal to leave your offense out on the field. In fact, most two point conversions these days are done with the normal offense anyways, so that rule change shouldn't affect much. The most it will do is take the fake field goal out of the extra point playbooks.</p><p> </p><p> Also, kickers do miss extra points. Case in point (heheh): </p><div class="ipsEmbeddedVideo"><div><iframe width="200" height="150" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/FtW6sAcKABs?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="" title="2003 - Saints @ Jaguars - Miracle Finish"></iframe></div></div>

[D-Lyrium]

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="The Swanton825" data-cite="The Swanton825" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="26529" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Also, kickers do miss extra points. Case in point (heheh): <div class="ipsEmbeddedVideo" contenteditable="false"><div><iframe width="200" height="150" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/FtW6sAcKABs?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" title="2003 - Saints @ Jaguars - Miracle Finish"></iframe></div></div></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> Wow, lateral passes and a missed field goal in one video! Miracle is right. <img alt=";)" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/wink.png.686f06e511ee1fbf6bdc7d82f6831e53.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png"></p><p> </p><p> That poor kicker though... had his very own Ray-Finkle-in-Ace-Ventura moment there. <img alt=":D" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/biggrin.png.929299b4c121f473b0026f3d6e74d189.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png"></p>

[Teh_Showtime]

<p>Oh I haven't been paying much attention this offseason but awesome news that the 2 point conversion has gone the way of NCAA</p><p> </p><p>

It rarely happens but it's much more useful in madden <img alt="" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/tongue.png.ceb643b2956793497cef30b0e944be28.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p>

[The Swanton825]

That poor kicker though... had his very own Ray-Finkle-in-Ace-Ventura moment there.

 

Quick, somebody make sure John Carney hasn't become a woman!

[CQI13]

I would have just moved the 2 point conversion to the 1 yard line - maybe gives teams the incentive to go for it more. As it is, any kick under 40 yards should be a gimme.

[D-Lyrium]

Or make it like it is in rugby, whereby the kick is taken in line with where the touchdown was scored (in NFL it'd have to be whereever the ball crossed the line). That way if the receiver isn't able to get near the centre of the field, the kick will be harder because you have to deal with the angle.

[The Swanton825]

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="D-Lyrium" data-cite="D-Lyrium" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="26529" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Or make it like it is in rugby, whereby the kick is taken in line with where the touchdown was scored (in NFL it'd have to be whereever the ball crossed the line). That way if the receiver isn't able to get near the centre of the field, the kick will be harder because you have to deal with the angle.</div></blockquote><p> </p><p> Now that's something I've wished they would adopt for years. The problem with it is that kickers would have to relearn their methods so they could adapt to the different angles.</p>

[D-Lyrium]

The dude's entire job is to kick a football 2 yards (15 now), I'm sure he'll manage. ¬_¬

[DAVEFAN95]

They'd never introduce that though. Rugby kickers need both length and accuracy to make almost every kick while, kickers in American football just need to be able kick the ball straight for the most part, plus the whole point of where the ball passes the line would take time to judge which would eat up more time in a game that already takes a long time already. As has been said anything under 40 is a gimme and even most kickers make a good percentage of their kicks inside 50 as well. The pat is a gimme, even at 15 yards, and as a coach, I still don't think going for 2 points is a better option, unless you are 2 points down with seconds to go.

[BHK1978]

CBS has been running a commercial calling this the NFL's golden season or some such nonsense (I like the commercial because who doesn't want to see Kathrine McPhee walking around in a golden football jersey?). This kind of annoys me because the league has been around since 1920 but the NFL only counts the Super Bowl era as having any sort of relevancy.

 

Let me get this straight all the crap that happened from 1920 to 1965 does not matter? It obviously does not because nobody ever talks about how many NFL titles teams have won. Only four of the Packers' championships count. This is more of a rant than anything else but I like history so for the league to sort of ignore the first forty-five years of its history is sort of annoying to me. Granted it is nothing that I would lose sleep over but it is rant worthy for me.