mhendo
Aussie in San Francisco
Part 2:
In fact, the three lead changes is the fourth quarter of this year's game were the most EVER in the fourth quarter of a Superbowl.
As someone who grew up playing and watching rugby, i used to laugh at all the padding and helmets on NFL players. But i soon came to realize that, padding or not, these guys are tough. The force of the hits in the NFL is orders of magnitude greater than most rugby tackles, with the added factor that NFL players often have no opportunity to brace themselves in preparation for a hit. This is especially true of the wide receivers and tight ends.
Anyone who's played fly half or centre or wing in rugby knows that horrible feeling when you get a hospital pass, a high looping pass that you try to catch in the full knowledge that the opposition will absolutely crush you as soon as you get the ball. Wel, NFL receivers deal with this multiple times every game. Also, the nature of American football means that you never know exactly where to expect a hit, because people are moving over the field in multiple directions.
Also, many NFL players make the biggest rugby forwards look relatively small by comparison. Running backs, guys who can run 40 yards in about 4.4 seconds, often weigh in at 120kg, and the linebackers who tackle them are just as big or bigger. The offensive and defensive lines have guys who weigh over 150kg. The left tackle for the Baltimore Ravens, Jonathan Ogden, is 6'10" and 25 stone. If that guy lands on you, i don't care how much padding you've got on, it's still gonna hurt.
If you read articles about former players, you'll see that many former NFL players suffer permanent and debilitating injuries from their time on the field. Blown knees and ankles, concussions (yes, even with the helmet), separated shoulders, the list goes on. The average NFL career is three and a half seasons, and while some players get cut from the team, many others have their careers cut short due to catastrophic or recurring injuries.
I know they might look silly in their pads and helmets, but anyone who thinks that NFL players aren't tough, or that the game isn't physical, really doesn't know anything about it.
While this sort of thing can be hard to compare, look at the number of opportunities to hit per game. An average baseball game takes about 2 hours and 50 minutes. In that time, the two teams will combine for an average of about 285 pitches (about 140 or so per team). That's about 100 pitches per hour.
In cricket, 100 deliveries per hour would work out to an over rate of a bit more than 16 overs per hour, which pretty damn good. You might get an over rate that good if two spinners, or a spinner and a medium pacer, are working in tandem, but you'll never get it with two fast bowlers.
While this might seem to be the case to someone who doesn't watch much football, it isn't really true. There are plenty of games where one team gets a lead and holds it. It's true that if you have two teams with good offense and bad defense, it might come down to whoever has the ball last, but good defenses can get a lead and hold it. My team, the Baltimore Ravens, are renowned for their defense. They have taken the lead into the fourth quarter on about 50 occasions over the past 8 years, and have only lost the game on two of those occasions.
In fact, the three lead changes is the fourth quarter of this year's game were the most EVER in the fourth quarter of a Superbowl.
I used to think this, back when i was ignorant about American football. I still prefer rugby, because i like the flow of the game and the fact that everyone has to play, whether they have the ball or not. But te skills and toughness required in American football are simply different, not absent.It seems to me like rugby without the open play or the physicality. Shit in other words
As someone who grew up playing and watching rugby, i used to laugh at all the padding and helmets on NFL players. But i soon came to realize that, padding or not, these guys are tough. The force of the hits in the NFL is orders of magnitude greater than most rugby tackles, with the added factor that NFL players often have no opportunity to brace themselves in preparation for a hit. This is especially true of the wide receivers and tight ends.
Anyone who's played fly half or centre or wing in rugby knows that horrible feeling when you get a hospital pass, a high looping pass that you try to catch in the full knowledge that the opposition will absolutely crush you as soon as you get the ball. Wel, NFL receivers deal with this multiple times every game. Also, the nature of American football means that you never know exactly where to expect a hit, because people are moving over the field in multiple directions.
Also, many NFL players make the biggest rugby forwards look relatively small by comparison. Running backs, guys who can run 40 yards in about 4.4 seconds, often weigh in at 120kg, and the linebackers who tackle them are just as big or bigger. The offensive and defensive lines have guys who weigh over 150kg. The left tackle for the Baltimore Ravens, Jonathan Ogden, is 6'10" and 25 stone. If that guy lands on you, i don't care how much padding you've got on, it's still gonna hurt.
If you read articles about former players, you'll see that many former NFL players suffer permanent and debilitating injuries from their time on the field. Blown knees and ankles, concussions (yes, even with the helmet), separated shoulders, the list goes on. The average NFL career is three and a half seasons, and while some players get cut from the team, many others have their careers cut short due to catastrophic or recurring injuries.
I know they might look silly in their pads and helmets, but anyone who thinks that NFL players aren't tough, or that the game isn't physical, really doesn't know anything about it.
It's not really a contradiction. It just means that, in the NFL, who the strong teams are changes quite dramatically from year to year. In any given year, and in any given game, the weak NFL teams are less likely to upset the strong teams than in English football. But in English football, there is a core of wealthy, dominant clubs that tend to remain dominant for year to year, while in the NFL things change more quickly due to the draft and the salary cap. The one exception, recently, has been New England, which has managed to keep many of its good players and add some new ones, all while remaining a real team with good playing and coaching strategy.
It's true that events like pitching changes can really slow down a baseball game, but as someone who grew up watching and playing cricket, and who now watches baseball every summer, i truly believe that baseball is no slower than cricket.
While this sort of thing can be hard to compare, look at the number of opportunities to hit per game. An average baseball game takes about 2 hours and 50 minutes. In that time, the two teams will combine for an average of about 285 pitches (about 140 or so per team). That's about 100 pitches per hour.
In cricket, 100 deliveries per hour would work out to an over rate of a bit more than 16 overs per hour, which pretty damn good. You might get an over rate that good if two spinners, or a spinner and a medium pacer, are working in tandem, but you'll never get it with two fast bowlers.
