2015 NFL & College Football Thread

[Bobby]

ND is easy to watch too with their NBC deal and the ACC's Disney deal. Notre Dame has a pretty unique setup too. They're officially an Independent (for football) meaning they're responsible for their own logistics (referees, scheduling, rights deals, ect.) but they're practically a member of the ACC (which they're a full member of for other sports) so they play five ACC teams a year and have access to the ACC's bowl games.

Edit:

Baylor might be another option. Baylor scores A LOT of points. They're decent academically (they're not Notre Dame but they aren't chopped liver either) and they're a Liberal Arts school. But, like Notre Dame, they're very Christian (in Baylor's case, Baptist). Here's a long breakdown of Art Briles' offense.

 

[ShiftyPowers]

Yeah Baylor is okay academically, but for Az's sake, it's a shame Briles didn't do this at Rice.

 

[Mandieta6]

Why are ND so hated?

 

[ShiftyPowers]

Combination of past success (they are historically the most successful program, but haven't won a national championship in over 25 years), insufferable fans, anti-Catholic bigotry, the fact that they are not part of a conference, their individual broadcast deal with NBC, and for those in the South the fact that they're from the Midwest.

 

[Alex]

Can someone please translate for me:

"Jarryd Hayne made a big case for himself on pass pro. alone."

 

[ARIAGA II]

He's getting cut.

 

[ShiftyPowers]

Pass protection. He blocks well for his position.

 

[Bobby]

He could probably become a Nick Goings-esque utility back.

 

[Alex]

He's getting cut.

I don't think he'll make the final squad, nor do I think anyone really expects him top in his first year. But I think he'll be in the extended training squad or whatever they call it. That will give him another year to learn the game. They've contacted him (only on 100k or something) for a number of years already, which I believe is more than most prospects get - and suggests they see him as a project rather than something that will reap immediate rewards

 

[ShiftyPowers]

Multi year contracts in the NFL are meaningless and 100k means that he can get cut for essentially no cost at all to the team.

 

[Alex]

Multi year contracts in the NFL are meaningless and 100k means that he can get cut for essentially no cost at all to the team.

Never really looked at it like that. But it was the reason his (American) manager advised he took the San Fran deal over Detroit

 

[ShiftyPowers]

Guaranteed money (i.e. a signing bonus) is all that matters. Contracts aren't guaranteed in the NFL. You can have a 100 year contract, get cut after 2 weeks, and get no money. $100k, especially, even if his money was fully guaranteed, is so insignificant as to mean nothing. He could have a 100 year deal and the team could cut him without losing much of anything in relative terms.

 

[Bobby]

 

[Alex]

Impressive first up performance from my boy Hayne, even if it was just a trial

 

[Mus]

I read that he still has a lot of work to do still

has bad habits like running too upright (posture) and switches the ball too often


Is that true? Or just crap for the sake of it

 

[Alex]

I read that he still has a lot of work to do still

has bad habits like running too upright (posture) and switches the ball too often


Is that true? Or just crap for the sake of it

It was his first game. Of course he has work to do. He's changed his running style a bit, but that's not going to happen over night either. He's also a strong runner considering he's so upright - and it leaves him in a much better position to step and fend (stiff arm)...

I didn't see him switching the ball too much, but I'm no NFL expert. He switched it whenever he wanted to free his other arm for a fend - and generally did it well (and the commentators mentioned that it was clever)

 

[Back Door Skip]

It's clever until a defensive player punches it as he's switching or he just plain drops the ball. Usually running backs are taught to keep the ball high and tight and not to switch hands to avoid turnovers.

 

[Bobby]

Yeah, you only really switch hands if you get to the sideline and the ball is field-side, you want to get it sideline-side.

 

[Alex]

Ok. But it seemed to make sense to me - when a defender was well outside his reach, to free his arm up to fend. But you guys are the experts at this game

Rugby League players do it all the time - and dropped ball is just as big a sin in that sport - plus the balls are bigger and rounder, so easier to drop.

It seems very negative to me. I get minimising risk - but there is also a huge potential gain. I also think you rarely find a sportsman that shines by doing the same thing as everyone else.

And in any case, I'm really not sure he did it that much. I've not seen anything negative in the media about it - and I've been trying to avoid Australian media.

 

[Bobby]

I think he'll be fine, honestly. He'll never be a superstar but he could well become a serviceable player. He's an athletic freak and those don't grow on trees, teams will always take a flyer on one (Carolina has a guy who played basketball at a bible college on their roster, he hadn't played organized football in years). He will take some time to learn the idiosyncrasies though.

e: BYU has kind of made it their thing to try to convert rugby playing Samoans into college football players. Not sure any have gone pro though.