🏈🏈 The American Football Discussion Thread 🏈🏈

[DireWolfM14]

2023 Fantasy Football League participants:

Hueristic - Hueristic's Barbarians (Manager)
suchmoon - Moon Coiners
wheelz1200 - Eli-2 Brady-0
nutildah - Bit Bowlers
yahoo62278 - Burrowhead
bbc.reporter - Sailor Jerkers
South Park - South Park Cows
Hhampuz - twentiwan
ChiBitCTy - ChiBitCTy
morvillz7z - New England Potatoes
DireWolfM14 - Ayahuasca Brewers (Treasurer)
seek3r - seek n destr0yers'



Thanks to Nutildah for hosting last season's NFL thread, that was a lot of fun.  I've decided to start this thread as a general discussion for anything relating to American Football.  Feel free to discuss anything related to the NFL, free agency, the draft, the new XFL league, college football, gambling, or whatever might be related to football.

I've had the XFL games on the TV while doing some work around the house, not paying close attention, but checking out the big plays.  It's actually not bad at all.  The players are mostly selected from those who barely didn't make it onto NFL teams' 53-man rosters.  Some were on NFL practice squads as well.  Many are definitely good athletes, and look like they could easily play in the NFL.

There are some different rules that make the games flow a bit faster, which means fewer commercials.  They also allow three options for the extra-points try following a touchdown which are pretty interesting.

Overall, I think this one of the better attempts I've seen to compete with the NFL.  Previous attempts to create a new pro-football league have largely failed because the quality of football wasn't there.  If the new XFL teams can keep some decent players on their rosters, I think they might survive longer than one season, lol.


Self moderated topic local rules; spam posts will be deleted.

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[tyKiwanuka]

Philip Rivers will not return to the Chargers and will be a free agent. I immediately thought about Brady going back to California, but they are no contenders in my book, so can't imagine that. According to this article, Rivers moved his family to Florida recently and though the article mentions Tampa maybe being interested in him, I would think it's more likely he will land at the Jaguars somehow.

It will add some spice to the draft too. Bengals will take Burrow at #1, then you have Redskins, Lions, Giants that are not really in need of a QB and Dolphins and Chargers sitting at 5/6, who should be very interested in Tagovailoa and will both maybe try to move up to get him.

[Hippocrypto]

I heard the xfl was back, I haven't caught a game yet, wasn't sure if it was actually worth it's salt or going to be around in a couple of years. I'll have to catch a game.

Pretty much interesting to expect for more good games for this team, and this brings more entertainment to American fans worldwide. This is very exciting, since it's been a long silence they're totally coming back for good and many opportunities to come for those who missed previously. I'll be hoping for greener pasture on their career wish them all the best.

[DireWolfM14]

I heard the xfl was back, I haven't caught a game yet, wasn't sure if it was actually worth it's salt or going to be around in a couple of years. I'll have to catch a game.

Pretty much interesting to expect for more good games for this team, and this brings more entertainment to American fans worldwide. This is very exciting, since it's been a long silence they're totally coming back for good and many opportunities to come for those who missed previously. I'll be hoping for greener pasture on their career wish them all the best.

With there only being 8 teams in total how are they setting up the schedule, I mean that seems pretty spare or will it be similar to baseball with multiple games with the same teams?

They have two divisions, Western and Eastern, each with four teams.  Each team in either division plays each of their divisional rivals twice; once away and once at home.  They also play each team in the other division once, for ten total games.  The two teams with the highest win percentage in each division face each other again for the one playoff game, then the two remaining teams play for the league championship.


 

[South Park]

Philip Rivers will not return to the Chargers and will be a free agent. I immediately thought about Brady going back to California, but they are no contenders in my book, so can't imagine that. According to this article, Rivers moved his family to Florida recently and though the article mentions Tampa maybe being interested in him, I would think it's more likely he will land at the Jaguars somehow.

I found odd that Rivers is hitting free agency instead of straight out retiring, I do not really see a lot of teams being interested in him when this season his numbers took an important hit and he does not have a reputation of being a winner, would he accept a job as a backup? Because it will be difficult for him to get a starting job.

Also it seems the negotiations between Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys are going nowhere, he is simply asking too much money and while he has the right to ask whatever he wants at the same time the Dallas Cowboys can refuse if they think the price is not right, this most likely means the franchise tag will be applied to him and now there are some crazy rumours stating that Brady may be headed to the Cowboys, I do not believe it but if it were to happen it will be one of the biggest media storms we have ever seen.

[tyKiwanuka]

I found odd that Rivers is hitting free agency instead of straight out retiring, (...)

He has a lot of kids to support

But on a more serious note, I often wondered why athletes torture themselves by playing up to their late 30's or even into their 40's and the answer is simple: They love what they are doing. And iirc Rivers never had any serious injuries, so he should still feel good playing football. Earning very good money with a thing you love is not easy to give up - even when you have more than you could ever spent probably. Rivers always gave me the feeling of really enjoying being on the field, so if he is still comfortable competing, why not.

You are right about him not being an upgrade to most of the NFL teams. The Chargers always strike me as a bit of a messy organization, so I would like to see what he could do elsewhere. But QB needy teams will just draft a new QB and the others are not really in need, because they have QB's of the caliber of Rivers already (like Broncos, Jags, Panthers).

Also it seems the negotiations between Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys are going nowhere, he is simply asking too much money and while he has the right to ask whatever he wants at the same time the Dallas Cowboys can refuse if they think the price is not right, this most likely means the franchise tag will be applied to him and now there are some crazy rumours stating that Brady may be headed to the Cowboys, I do not believe it but if it were to happen it will be one of the biggest media storms we have ever seen.

I don't think Prescott is that good tbh. He is a product from that very good O-Line and Zeke, but his throwing abilities I don't know. So I wouldn't pay him elite money.

I would love Brady going to the Cowboys and think this is a team that fits his needs (good O-Line, good running game, good WR's) and playing style nowadays. But I would only love it for all the circus that comes with it

[DireWolfM14]

I found odd that Rivers is hitting free agency instead of straight out retiring, (...)

He has a lot of kids to support

Lol, you aren't kidding.  (See what I did there?)  I had no idea he had so many kids, nine as of last March!  I thought I was asking for it with four of my own.  He'll be raising teenagers for over 20 years, poor guy!  Good looking family, though.  I wish him luck.

But on a more serious note, I often wondered why athletes torture themselves by playing up to their late 30's or even into their 40's and the answer is simple: They love what they are doing. And iirc Rivers never had any serious injuries, so he should still feel good playing football. Earning very good money with a thing you love is not easy to give up - even when you have more than you could ever spent probably. Rivers always gave me the feeling of really enjoying being on the field, so if he is still comfortable competing, why not.

You are right about him not being an upgrade to most of the NFL teams. The Chargers always strike me as a bit of a messy organization, so I would like to see what he could do elsewhere. But QB needy teams will just draft a new QB and the others are not really in need, because they have QB's of the caliber of Rivers already (like Broncos, Jags, Panthers).

I've always liked Phillip Rivers, I think he's a classy guy, and probably one of the smartest QBs to ever play the game.  He's always struck me as a Payton Manning type of quarterback, almost like a coach who suits up.  I agree that the Chargers seem like dysfunctional organisation, and have been so for decades now.  With Rivers at the helm it seems like they would have been perennial contenders if they had their shit together.

Also it seems the negotiations between Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys are going nowhere, he is simply asking too much money and while he has the right to ask whatever he wants at the same time the Dallas Cowboys can refuse if they think the price is not right, this most likely means the franchise tag will be applied to him and now there are some crazy rumours stating that Brady may be headed to the Cowboys, I do not believe it but if it were to happen it will be one of the biggest media storms we have ever seen.

I don't think Prescott is that good tbh. He is a product from that very good O-Line and Zeke, but his throwing abilities I don't know. So I wouldn't pay him elite money.

I would love Brady going to the Cowboys and think this is a team that fits his needs (good O-Line, good running game, good WR's) and playing style nowadays. But I would only love it for all the circus that comes with it

The Cowgirls' biggest issue isn't with their quarterback, or anything related to their offense.  They need to beef up their defense, have Jerry Jones step back from day to day operations, and give more authority to their coaches.  I've said it before, but I'll say it again; I think the Cowboys' biggest problem is the owner having more say than the coaching staff, and the players are well aware of this dichotomy.

I would hate to see Brady going to the Cowboys.  I've always liked Brady and have been rooting for him throughout his career.  The conflict of rooting for one of my favorite players while rooting against the team I love to hate might be too much.

Not that any of this really matters.  All the speculation about free agency in the middle of February is just that; speculation.  There might be three highly experienced veteran quarterbacks hitting free agency this year; Brady, Rivers, and Brees.  The players will be looking for top dollar, while teams are looking at them as a possible bargain.  In most of these situations there can be a big gap between what the players expect and what the teams are willing to pay.  After testing the market we might see a couple of these guys decide it's time to retire, or take a pay-cut and stay with their current team.

[tyKiwanuka]

The Cowgirls' biggest issue isn't with their quarterback, or anything related to their offense.

Yep, thats why I wouldn't break the bank for someone like Prescott. "Any" QB can do well behind that line and all the weapons at hand. Imagine what the Cowboys offense could do with someone like Brees, Rodgers or Mahomes.

A dominant O-Line does so much to your offense. It gives your QB time when going through the air, it gives the WR time to get free and finish their routes, it opens up space for your RB. When you have a bad O-Line, this all collapses - it's a domino effect. I know what I am talking about, since the Giants had an awful O-Line for years and you can have the best QB, the best WR, the best RB, but without a good O-Line this means nothing.

Defensively they always did only what is necessary in the last years, trying to get away with just injecting average talent (and some criminals). They just spend 25.84% of their cap on defense.

[South Park]

I found odd that Rivers is hitting free agency instead of straight out retiring, (...)

He has a lot of kids to support

LOL, maybe he wants to keep himself distracted so he does not add a few kids to his family.

You are right about him not being an upgrade to most of the NFL teams. The Chargers always strike me as a bit of a messy organization, so I would like to see what he could do elsewhere. But QB needy teams will just draft a new QB and the others are not really in need, because they have QB's of the caliber of Rivers already (like Broncos, Jags, Panthers).

Another possibility is that even if he does not find a starting job right away he could wait until there is a QB injury on a SB contender and then accept the job to try to save their season until their QB can come back.

Also it seems the negotiations between Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys are going nowhere, he is simply asking too much money and while he has the right to ask whatever he wants at the same time the Dallas Cowboys can refuse if they think the price is not right, this most likely means the franchise tag will be applied to him and now there are some crazy rumours stating that Brady may be headed to the Cowboys, I do not believe it but if it were to happen it will be one of the biggest media storms we have ever seen.

I don't think Prescott is that good tbh. He is a product from that very good O-Line and Zeke, but his throwing abilities I don't know. So I wouldn't pay him elite money.

I would love Brady going to the Cowboys and think this is a team that fits his needs (good O-Line, good running game, good WR's) and playing style nowadays. But I would only love it for all the circus that comes with it

It is fun to speculate with it but realistically it does not seem likely, if Dallas tried to get Brady then they will need to franchise tag Dak and then trade him to another team, but which team that is desperate for a QB will want to make Dak the highest paid player for the time being when they can take their chances with a rookie or one of the many veteran QBs available during this free agency?

I would hate to see Brady going to the Cowboys.  I've always liked Brady and have been rooting for him throughout his career.  The conflict of rooting for one of my favorite players while rooting against the team I love to hate might be too much.

As a NE fan I would like for Brady to stay but if he has to go there are two teams I would absolutely hate he goes to play for and those are Dallas and Miami, I would rather see Brady in an Indianapolis uniform than to see him with those two teams, fortunately it does not seem likely he will go to those teams.

Not that any of this really matters.  All the speculation about free agency in the middle of February is just that; speculation.  There might be three highly experienced veteran quarterbacks hitting free agency this year; Brady, Rivers, and Brees.

I cannot find a link but it seems Brees is only considering playing another year for NO or retirement and it does not seems likely he will hit free agency.

[tyKiwanuka]

Will watch my first XFL game today, when the LA Wildcats host the Dallas Renegades

I have no idea what to expect tbh. From the previous results, it looks like there is not a lof of points scored, which is a bit meh, but lets see. Landry Jones is set to start for Dallas, while LA will have Chad Kanoff under center - never heard that name. Wikipedia says, that he was signed by the Cardinals as undrafted FA and also stayed with the Lions and the Bucs. But he didn't get beyond practice squad with these teams. Will probably have a small punt on Dallas.

[tyKiwanuka]

Are you watching it on TV or in person? I figure the games might be on ESPN+ since its a pretty new thing, I can't see it being behind a ppv or subscription package like NFL gamepass.

Would love to watch it in person. Not only because it would be quite some fun, but it would also mean I would be in sunny and warm LA now and not sitting in some shitty, rainy and windy weather It will be streamed on some german website, that is also doing the main coverage for NFL here.

[wheelz1200]

I found odd that Rivers is hitting free agency instead of straight out retiring, (...)

He has a lot of kids to support

But on a more serious note, I often wondered why athletes torture themselves by playing up to their late 30's or even into their 40's and the answer is simple: They love what they are doing. And iirc Rivers never had any serious injuries, so he should still feel good playing football. Earning very good money with a thing you love is not easy to give up - even when you have more than you could ever spent probably. Rivers always gave me the feeling of really enjoying being on the field, so if he is still comfortable competing, why not.

You are right about him not being an upgrade to most of the NFL teams. The Chargers always strike me as a bit of a messy organization, so I would like to see what he could do elsewhere. But QB needy teams will just draft a new QB and the others are not really in need, because they have QB's of the caliber of Rivers already (like Broncos, Jags, Panthers).

Also it seems the negotiations between Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys are going nowhere, he is simply asking too much money and while he has the right to ask whatever he wants at the same time the Dallas Cowboys can refuse if they think the price is not right, this most likely means the franchise tag will be applied to him and now there are some crazy rumours stating that Brady may be headed to the Cowboys, I do not believe it but if it were to happen it will be one of the biggest media storms we have ever seen.

I don't think Prescott is that good tbh. He is a product from that very good O-Line and Zeke, but his throwing abilities I don't know. So I wouldn't pay him elite money.

I would love Brady going to the Cowboys and think this is a team that fits his needs (good O-Line, good running game, good WR's) and playing style nowadays. But I would only love it for all the circus that comes with it

I agree, paying dak a crazy contract as one of the highest players in the league would be a mistake.  Throw him behind the giants online and he turns into a qb people would question if he should start.  I think the cowboys would be better off paying someone like teddy Bridgewater's to come in and pay some top end defensive free agents.  But they will probably pay him and slip into long term mediocrity which is perfectly fine by me as a giant fan. 

[morvillz7z]

Will watch my first XFL game today, when the LA Wildcats host the Dallas Renegades

I watched the LA Wildcats last week, the final 6-7 minutes of the 4th quarter only, teams didn't score. Apart from a few pretty rough hits which were not flagged it was kinda boring. I might tune in today and see how are they doing. I read that they fired their defensive coordinator after that game with Houston, lol just one game and dude is gone.

I have no idea what to expect tbh.

Mid-game interviews with coaches, DC calling plays on the comms and my favorite XBOX replay reviews  

[tyKiwanuka]

First half done in my first XFL game Quality wise it's quite poor compared to NFL, but way better than GFL, what I accidentially watch from time to time. There were turnovers all over the place, miscommunications etc.

They have only 25sec per play and thus play no huddle offense mainly. This should normally make for a fast game and lots of points, but nope.

There are often sideline interviews from players that just made a great play the previous drive. It's a good idea, unfortunately it's just some bla bla like you hear so often from athletes. Seems to be some delay too, since they beeped out the f-words.

You can hear what the refs talk when a flag has been thrown and if some player engages in that discussion you can hear that too. Quite interesting. There was a booth review after a fumble, that was ruled down by contact initially, and you could hear the refs in the booth talk as well. Some coaches are mic'd up, f.e. the OC from the Wildcats, and you can hear their playcalling.

German commentators said that players earn a base salary of $27k per season with bonuses being added for winning games etc. From what I understood it's the same for everyone but the QB's. Some of those QB's might even earn more than the NFL minimum (which is around $500k).

Hard to get some NFL feeling all in all, stadium is maybe 50% full.

Score at halftime: Dallas 3-3 LA

[morvillz7z]

Score at halftime: Dallas 3-3 LA

Turned off the channel right after the first quarter, it was awful, certainly not watching LA Wildcats game again.
On top of that ref calling the game had some weird speech problem or something like that, quite off-putting.

O/U was at 46.5 (after 3 just 9 points on the board). Oddsmakers may have a hard time putting the right lines in the next few weeks.

edit; 34 points in the 4th, i guess i missed all the fun

[tyKiwanuka]

Turned off the channel right after the first quarter, it was awful, certainly not watching LA Wildcats game again.

I sat through the second half and it was worth it Good action in Q4 and even Josh Johnson showed glimpses of why he was able to be at least a journeyman in NFL (13 teams in 12 years).

This 3-point-conversion is very worth trying imo - after every touchdown. It gives as many points as a FG and attempting a pass from 10yd line is often better than from like 2yd line. There are a lot of different rules in comparison to NFL (which is quite confusing) and from what they said, this is a testbed to adopt some of them for NFL. I would have to watch some more games, to see if any of those rules could change anything for the better in NFL.

Final result: Dallas 25-18 LA

[South Park]

I don't see the NFL adopting any changes from XFL any time soon, firstly they seem pretty set in their ways now and secondly it would cause them to admit the XFL was a thing and did something better than them. I don't see it happening.

In my country some of the games are being transmitted by ESPN, ABC and even the NFL Network, in fact I have seen some shows in which they even comment about it, so I am not so sure the NFL is against this league as much as we may believe, personally I think there are some rules that could make it to the NFL very soon, the kick off rule in which the players are only 5 yards apart and begin to move only after the ball is caught is probably the rule that will be adopted the soonest since it protects the players.

Edit: I am only referring to the aspects I enumerated about the rule in the post above, since the rest of the rule is a bit quirky but I think with some adjustments the XFL could be on the right path.

I agree, paying dak a crazy contract as one of the highest players in the league would be a mistake.  Throw him behind the giants online and he turns into a qb people would question if he should start.  I think the cowboys would be better off paying someone like teddy Bridgewater's to come in and pay some top end defensive free agents.  But they will probably pay him and slip into long term mediocrity which is perfectly fine by me as a giant fan.  

I will fine with that as well but it is a terrible business decision since overpaying your QB when he does not deserve it is a sure way to not make the playoffs for a very long time.

[DireWolfM14]

This 3-point-conversion is very worth trying imo

I like the options for 1, 2, or 3 point conversions also.  I didn't get to watch any of this past weekends' games, but I have my TV service provider set to record all the games for me.  Maybe I'll pick one to watch tonight.

Last week I didn't notice any of the teams attempting anything but 1-point conversions from the 2-yard line, and I thought it was odd.  I agree that it seems like it would be more successful to attempt from the 5-yard line, or better from the 10, so I was surprised to see team not make those attempts.  But those longer attempts favor a more pass-heavy approach, and if your running game is more reliable I can see why teams would opt for 1 point instead.

The XFL has many more players on the field with speakers in their helmets, which is meant to make the game-pace a little faster with fewer interruptions.  It tend to reduce the need for offensive huddle, possibly reduce the amount of time needed on the play clock.  I like that aspect, and wish the NFL would adopt it.

All the rule changes in the XFL seem experimental, and I imagine many result from complaints about specific NFL rules.

[tyKiwanuka]

(...) the kick off rule in which the players are only 5 yards apart and begin to move only after the ball is caught is probably the rule that will be adopted the soonest since it protects the players.

Yes, think so too and I quite like that rule. NFL wants to get rid of kick offs for a long time and the way they do it in XFL seems to be a good compromise.

Last week I didn't notice any of the teams attempting anything but 1-point conversions from the 2-yard line, and I thought it was odd.  

Commentators said, the 3-point-conversion from LA was only the second successful one, so I guess there weren’t that many by now.

1-point-conversion is of course fine, if you trust your running game. In the end it’s maybe just a mathematical calculation. If you are able to convert a 10yd (pass) play with 33,33+%, then you are better off just attempting the 3-point-conversion every time. Maybe some lower percentage would be fine as well, since you don’t convert the 1-point-conversion at 100% and the 2-point-conversion at 50% most likely (or pretty sure !).

But when you look at how teams often struggle to move down the field for just a FG and all the effort it needs to get there, these 3 points look pretty cheap.

[bbc.reporter]

I found odd that Rivers is hitting free agency instead of straight out retiring, (...)

He has a lot of kids to support

Lol, you aren't kidding.  (See what I did there?)  I had no idea he had so many kids, nine as of last March!  I thought I was asking for it with four of my own.  He'll be raising teenagers for over 20 years, poor guy!  Good looking family, though.  I wish him luck.

His wife cannot hide the black spots under her eyes with make up. She clearly is very tired from taking care of those kids hehehe.

Would Rivers have a better career if he did not play for the Chargers? I read his history and it appears his team did not utilize his prime properly.