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The NFL thread - 2010 edition

Silva

Silva

This went well.
So, the pre-season entering it's final week, I believe we can already have a thread to comment on the season.

Plenty of action during the pre-season - Favre decided to unretire again, but instead of going to another non-NFC North team, he signed to the Vikings. The Cutler saga ended up with Chicago having a go on those "franchise QB" things they've heard about, following his imprisionment and release, Vick signed with the Eagles (for the displeasure of many people), T.O. will have the chance to fuck up Trent Edwards' brain in Buffalo, Tony Gonzalez went to Atlanta to get a shot at the Superbowl, and Brady is apparently fit again (while Cassell went to Kansas, and apparently might miss the first matches of the season due to injury).

So, any predictions or comments to get the thread rolling?
 
New England all the way (I'm still smarting off that Giants Superbowl win) and the Detroit Lions will win at least one game this year :D
 
Just a couple of updates: Shawne Merriman has been arrested over strangling his girlfriend and apparently the charges are serious enough to arrest him for a long while, and Superbowl XLII hero David Tyree was cut from the Giants.

Now, a short free agent frenzy before the season starts next Thursday.
 
Silva said:
Just a couple of updates: Shawne Merriman has been arrested over strangling his girlfriend and apparently the charges are serious enough to arrest him for a long while,

.
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What is up with these dumbass nfl players? They get payed fuckloads and get arrested for stupid shit. First i've been hearing about michael vick and now this?:rolleyes:
 
IMHO it's all about the money. A lot of those guys only reach college because they got a football scholarship, and after being drafted, they find themselves with a massive shitload of money on their bank accounts - for instance, Matt Stafford got around 40 Millions just for agreeing to sign with the Lions. If he completes his contract, it will be worth about double - excluding sponsorships. That can fuck up one's mind very quickly.

Then, it's time. A lot of these guys have something like a 5-month vacation, and only play once a week. If they had back-to-back games on a 8 month season, most of them wouldn't be able to engage in "parallel activities".
 
It's not though, is it? The big stars get shedloads, but the majority of NFL grunts don't make nearly the same amount. In fact given the size of the rosters, the salary cap and the average 'pro player life expectancy' of less than 4 years and it's not that lucrative a game for most.
 
tarannau said:
It's not though, is it? The big stars get shedloads, but the majority of NFL grunts don't make nearly the same amount. In fact given the size of the rosters, the salary cap and the average 'pro player life expectancy' of less than 4 years and it's not that lucrative a game for most.
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Well i'm on about the figures i hear about alot.

Anyhow, i've never had loads of money obviously, but i don't understand how just having that amount of money can turn someone crazy like it does seem to do to some people.
 
TrippyLondoner said:
Well i'm on about the figures i hear about alot.

Anyhow, i've never had loads of money obviously, but i don't understand how just having that amount of money can turn someone crazy like it does seem to do to some people.
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Stafford is the "franchise" now - a player that unless tanks spectacularly or gets a serious injury and never regains his form, will stay with the Lions for the next 10/15 years. On the other hand, the grunts tarannau mentioned get less than 300k a year, and a lot of them have just 2 or 3 year careers (if they're lucky not to get cut every September) before quitting. The wage disparity in the NFL is absolutely shocking.
 
Silva said:
Stafford is the "franchise" now - a player that unless tanks spectacularly or gets a serious injury and never regains his form, will stay with the Lions for the next 10/15 years. On the other hand, the grunts tarannau mentioned get less than 300k a year, and a lot of them have just 2 or 3 year careers (if they're lucky not to get cut every September) before quitting. The wage disparity in the NFL is absolutely shocking.
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Do you reckon maybe the way players are coached could have something to do with these incidents we hear about?
 
Trust a football fan, a perm-loving Tottenham fan at that, to bring up the predictable.

I'd urge you to play a game of American Football by the way Chieftster. Just think of those lovely shoulder pads and helmet crunching into your unprotected ribs again and again. No diving allowed; hell, this is a game where Youngblood once strapped up his broken leg and played on.
;)
 
TrippyLondoner said:
Well i'm on about the figures i hear about alot.

Anyhow, i've never had loads of money obviously, but i don't understand how just having that amount of money can turn someone crazy like it does seem to do to some people.
Click to expand...

To put it in context though Trippy the average US footballer is a genetic freak, honed and selected since an early age and shipped through academic institutions as stars since they were nippers. Can you imagine playing your high school games in front of 20k+ each week, or university games in stadiums bigger than the Nou Camp (Nebraska's got a 100,000 seater stadium iirc)

Add to that these are often guys from more violent neighbourhoods and society, great inequality and family instability. Add that to past steroid abuses and the short lifespan of the average player and it's almost surprisingly that there's only such a tiny proportion of nutters in such a tough, unforgiving game. Most players will hardly be able to move for bruises the day after a game.

Hell, I find Joey Barton much tougher to explain away for a start...
 
TrippyLondoner said:
Do you reckon maybe the way players are coached could have something to do with these incidents we hear about?
Click to expand...

Well, In a 90s study I remember reading some former players accused their coaches of leading to drug abuse and other unacceptable aggressive behaviours (domestic abuse, random assaults, etc) because they were conditioned to go ballistic when adrenaline starts pumping up. And just because they've quit playing, society can't expect everyone of them to become "normal" persons after two decades of being told to flatten out "every fucker who isn't wearing your colours". Thankfully the NFL has special programs to deal with these cases these days, and the game itself is more controlled in that aspect.

Other factor I've completely forgot to mention and probably is the biggest cause to such problems is the "jockism" in US Colleges. Every year there are loads of reports of assaults by players in the sports team, with the occasional rape allegation. As sports are VERY important for some colleges (funding and recognition), many deans try to keep everything hush and between the campus' walls. The victim gets a settlement, maybe an extra point on their GPA, and the jocks get a slap on the wrist. This kind of gives players a sense of being above the law who goes mostly away the second they are drafted.
 
You know about the Madden curse? After making a spectacular one-handed interceptions, Polamalu got what looked a not-so friendly knee-knack. Larry Fitzgerald must be scared to hell now :D
 
Silva said:
Other factor I've completely forgot to mention and probably is the biggest cause to such problems is the "jockism" in US Colleges. Every year there are loads of reports of assaults by players in the sports team, with the occasional rape allegation. As sports are VERY important for some colleges (funding and recognition), many deans try to keep everything hush and between the campus' walls. The victim gets a settlement, maybe an extra point on their GPA, and the jocks get a slap on the wrist. This kind of gives players a sense of being above the law who goes mostly away the second they are drafted.
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But, if the movies have taught me anything, in the end the nerds always win with the jocks and that pesky dean always getting their comeuppance.
 
HobgoblinMan said:
But, if the movies have taught me anything, in the end the nerds always win with the jocks and that pesky dean always getting their comeuppance.
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:D

Now I must see Animal House for that inspired "was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbour" speech.


Oh, and after
Ward fumbled what seemed a last-seconds win for the Steelers, they still get the victory with an impressive opening drive at overtime.
 
HobgoblinMan said:
Oh, and why is the NFL season so bloody short???
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Players get more abused on a single game than most other pro athletes there over the course of one season (except maybe hockey players), so a longer season would mean more injuries, more pressure on the players being match-fit, and so on. Plus, the NFL is highly regulated due to monopoly laws - they can't even broadcast games on Friday during the college season because of that. If they tried to sneak in to August or March, even other sports pro leagues would probably whine.

It creates a huge advantage,'to. Every game is important - a single unexpected loss can might cause the team to fail to advance to the post-season or lose home advantage. I find the regular season on the NHL and the NBA (not to mention the MLB) pretty much pointless.
 
Silva said:
It creates a huge advantage,'to. Every game is important - a single unexpected loss can might cause the team to fail to advance to the post-season or lose home advantage. I find the regular season on the NHL and the NBA (not to mention the MLB) pretty much pointless.
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Being as the season is so short and matches at home grounds are so rare I bet Wembley having a home game off someone has pissed a lot of people off.....and understandably so.

Oh and for what its worth its about time the Bears won the Superbowl, im more of an impartial curious watcher of the game than an actual fan but ive always had a soft spot for them since the days of the Fridge, McMahon and Walter Perry when I was a kid.
 
StanSmith said:
Being as the season is so short and matches at home grounds are so rare I bet Wembley having a home game off someone has pissed a lot of people off.....and understandably so.

Oh and for what its worth its about time the Bears won the Superbowl, im more of an impartial curious watcher of the game than an actual fan but ive always had a soft spot for them since the days of the Fridge, McMahon and Walter Perry when I was a kid.
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Yeah, i don't like the way the nfl are going with giving wembley a game, its not our league its the USA's league, so why let another country host a game of it? I hate this modern way of thinking, ripping the home fan base off.
 
TrippyLondoner said:
I'lld rather a short NFL season than a 82 game long season like ice hockey is!
Click to expand...
Then brace yourself to the MLB season: 162 games.

StanSmith said:
Being as the season is so short and matches at home grounds are so rare I bet Wembley having a home game off someone has pissed a lot of people off.....and understandably so.

Oh and for what its worth its about time the Bears won the Superbowl, im more of an impartial curious watcher of the game than an actual fan but ive always had a soft spot for them since the days of the Fridge, McMahon and Walter Perry when I was a kid.
Click to expand...
It does. I understand the NFL wanting to break through the European market, but shouldn't do it at the expense of their own fans. The Pro-bowl would be ideal, except there's not a single place in Europe guaranteed to have at least acceptable weather in late January/February.

The Bears paid a lot for their "great defence, good running game, anyone at QB" mentality. Cutler is the first good QB they've had for ages, but now they lack receivers. If the defence manages to double-coverage Hester, and blocks Olsen and Forté, the other receivers aren't as good. But I reckon they might be Superbowl material soon-ish.
 
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