The NFL Thread

[PPB]

Adam removes shirt, best part of this Super bowl so far.

Yawn.

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

That's going to smart in the morning.

 

[Alan]

Osi is a great laugh on BBC, not showing any bias at all....

Just said on air "I absolutely despise this football team and can't wait to see them get their faces rubbed in the dirt today".

Ha ha. No sitting on the fence!

That Osi Umeniyoura?


Wish I cared enough to watch this year.

 

[Johnny75]

That's going to smart in the morning.

I would say he definitely needs somebody to look at it.

Edelman having a blinder.

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

The other thing I've noticed since I started following the sport...Belichick really is the Fergie of the NFL, isn't he? But it's the same kind of indefinable greatness, like there shouldn't be any reason why he's been so good for so long. I mean Fergie was never an especially innovative manager, bought plenty of duds, used to lose his rag far too often, wasn't by all accounts a great training ground coach for the last decade or so of his time in particular....yet it's still trophy after trophy after trophy. I suppose if you knew what they know and all that

 

[Alan]

The other thing I've noticed since I started following the sport...Belichick really is the Fergie of the NFL, isn't he? But it's the same kind of indefinable greatness, like there shouldn't be any reason why he's been so good for so long. I mean Fergie was never an especially innovative manager, bought plenty of duds, used to lose his rag far too often, wasn't by all accounts a great training ground coach for the last decade or so of his time in particular....yet it's still trophy after trophy after trophy. I suppose if you knew what they know and all that

Pretty much, although I'd say Belichik is VERY innovative. Spot on comparison otherwise.

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

Pretty much, although I'd say Belichik is VERY innovative. Spot on comparison otherwise.

Bear in mind that as of a year ago, I had to work from a base of zero here, so I could be totally off the radar:

How much (particularly on the offense side) of the innovation is down to having basically the same QB for nearly 20 years (who is an all time great, really), with all his plays being developed over all that time, and how much is down to the Head Coach?

Again if you want to draw a Fergie parallel, Giggs was an absolute freak and bought Fergie so much, just on his own over all those years. And all for a cost of nothing (well, bar his enormous wages. Worth it though).

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

Great bit of defending to stop the Rams touchdown and then a super FG.

 

[Alan]

I'm of the opinion that Brady's success is more about BB than TB.

But Bill's true genius is on defense. There have been seasons in which he has completely changed defensive scheme from game to game, and he almost NEVER gets his "tactics" on defense wrong. He is a master. And based on the stats so far tonight, he's showing it again.

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

I'm of the opinion that Brady's success is more about BB than TB.

But Bill's true genius is on defense. There have been seasons in which he has completely changed defensive scheme from game to game, and he almost NEVER gets his "tactics" on defense wrong. He is a master. And based on the stats so far tonight, he's showing it again.

So like a Jose (when he was good) or a Sacchi

 

[Johnny75]

I think it's a bit of both DW. Belichik is one of those coaches that trusts his staff (offensive and defensive coordinators) like Fergie did with his coaches AND gets the best out of his players.

Where he's different from Fergie is he's not belligerent and changes his teams and play books with brilliant foresight. He gets the opposition to do what he wants which is hugely skillful.

He does do what Fergie does best and builds teams, ships off stars when they need to be and doesn't put up with primadonnas.

 

[Alan]

So like a Jose (when he was good) or a Sacchi

Like the good bits of SAF and Mou put together (but with Mou's bad temper with the media).

This run by the Pats is basically unrivaled in any American sport. It's worth pointing out, too, that the NFL is structured explicitly to prevent these sorts of prolonged runs of success. And yet here the Pats are, year after year.

Who's the best owner or DoF in English football history? Because that would be the equal of Robert Kraft, the Pats' owner.

It is a bit like having SAF, the aforementioned owner equivalent, and Messi all at the same club for 20 years straight.

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

Fergie is the only manager I've ever known who has built at least three (maybe four) separate great teams. In fact five if you count Aberdeen. And he won a title in 2013 that he had absolutely no right to win with that pish squad.

Belichick seems to pull a lot of the same strings, don't let things get stale, make unpopular decisions, win ugly when you need to, mess with people's minds, create a bunker mentality, and so on and so on.

I like finding parallels between the two sports, it's very interesting. Tactically and psychologically.

 

[Alan]

Fergie is the only manager I've ever known who has built at least three (maybe four) separate great teams. In fact five if you count Aberdeen. And he won a title in 2013 that he had absolutely no right to win with that pish squad.

Belichick seems to pull a lot of the same strings, don't let things get stale, make unpopular decisions, win ugly when you need to, mess with people's minds, create a bunker mentality, and so on and so on.

I like finding parallels between the two sports, it's very interesting. Tactically and psychologically.

It makes me very happy to see you enjoying (or at least finding interest in) football. I would have guessed it would be far too slow for your taste.

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

It makes me very happy to see you enjoying (or at least finding interest in) football. I would have guessed it would be far too slow for your taste.

There are professional reasons why I've taken an interest and also to be perfectly honest I had a bit of a gap to fill after Sky stopped showing La Liga, so I was left with some empty Sunday nights.

Mate, I spend countless hours a year watching cricket and baseball. I can take slow. Kevin McDonald levels of slow.

 

[Alan]

There are professional reasons why I've taken an interest and also to be perfectly honest I had a bit of a gap to fill after Sky stopped showing La Liga, so I was left with some empty Sunday nights.

Mate, I spend countless hours a year watching cricket and baseball. I can take slow. Kevin McDonald levels of slow.

Can't speak to cricket, but baseball on TV? Woof. Hard pass.

 

[Johnny75]

Like the good bits of SAF and Mou put together (but with Mou's bad temper with the media).

This run by the Pats is basically unrivaled in any American sport. It's worth pointing out, too, that the NFL is structured explicitly to prevent these sorts of prolonged runs of success. And yet here the Pats are, year after year.

Who's the best owner or DoF in English football history? Because that would be the equal of Robert Kraft, the Pats' owner.

It is a bit like having SAF, the aforementioned owner equivalent, and Messi all at the same club for 20 years straight.

Late 90's/ early 2000 Yankees were as dominant as the Pats are now and the Bulls with Jordan are the two I can think of,

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

It's similar to cricket in more ways than a lot of cricket fans would care to admit.

Again it's not about the massive home runs for me, it's the tactics. 3D chess and all that. I'm enjoying this game even though it's 3-3 and we're nearly at the end.

Also I must say that in both NFL and MLB, I love the analysis and commentary. At least what they send over our way, no inanities, just solid stuff delivered in a manner that even a layman like me can understand.

I will say that I can't stick NBA, love playing it on the PC but as a spectator sport it is shit.

 

[Alan]

Late 90's/ early 2000 Yankees were as dominant as the Pats are now and the Bulls with Jordan are the two I can think of,

I mildly discount those because, in the case of the Yankees, they could just outspend everyone (no baseball salary cap) and in basketball one player can totally change a team's fortune for years.

So you aren't wrong to point those two out, really, but IMO they ultimately don't come close to this from the Patriots, amazing as they were.

 

[Alan]

Less than 10 minutes to go, time for Brady to be Brady.