Football Funhouse Rookie Thread - 1st Downies

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Sports Argument Stadium > The Football Funhouse > Football Funhouse Rookie Thread - 1st Downies

adaz: Mar 7, 2009

sc0tty posted:

Q. Whats the deal with divisions and division grouping. The Cowboys with NY, Philly and Washington?

The NFL realigned a decade or so back to 8 4 team divisions from 6 divisions of various sizes. It is far more geographically sane that it was but to keep some traditional rivalries intact (like the cowboys/redskins) some teams are a bit "odd" in where they are located.

quote:

Q. In the wiki it mentions that there is no salary cap in 2010. This sounds like a pretty big deal. Is this true?

It's true, but it hasn't been a big deal so far. The biggest impact has been teams cutting players who they otherwise wouldn't have been able to. a lot more trades than you would've seen happen in a capped year, and quite a few contract extensions that are heavily front loaded to take advantage of the no cap year.

# ¿ Jul 6, 2010 01:31

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ¿ Apr 29, 2024 00:57

adaz: Mar 7, 2009

quote:

but it seems to me that crappy teams are unfairly rewarded by playing other crappy teams (via the whole 'play the teams in other divisions who finished in the same spot as you last season' thing), and good teams have a harder time by being made to play other good teams? Is that the whole point of it?

It's one of the many things the NFL owners & players do to keep parity in the league. Yeah, about once a year some team gets really lucky with an easy schedule and waltzes into the playoffs but really, considering how teams can rise and fall so fast, it evens out. I haven't ever heard a NFL fan or team complain about the scheduling to be honest.

It also leads to lots of dollars when you can establish near permanent things like Colts/Patriots rivalry this decade, despite each team being in different divisions, have played each other for like 9 consecutive years since they basically always win their respective divisions. Matchups like that are cool and cause TV executives to drool as they tend to be extremely highly rated.

# ¿ Jul 6, 2010 02:03

adaz: Mar 7, 2009

NC-17 posted:

Does anyone actually have the honest to god official NFL wording of what constitutes a catch these days?

It's in an archived thread awhile back (week 1 when louis murphy had his td catch overturned). I'm 95% sure this is correct (it came from Trin)

quote:

"A player is in possession when he is in firm grip and control of the ball inbounds. To gain possession of a loose ball that has been caught, intercepted or recovered, a player must have complete control of the ball and have both feet completely on the ground inbounds or any other part of his body, other than his hands, on the ground inbounds. If the player loses the ball while simultaneously touching both feet or any other part of his body to the ground or if there is any doubt that the acts were simultaneous, there is no possession. This rule applies to the field of play and in the end zone."

"A player who goes to the ground in the process of attempting to secure possession of a loose ball [with or without contact by a defender] must maintain control of the ball after he touches the ground, whether in the field of play or the end zone. If he loses control of the ball, and the ball touches the ground before he regains control, there is no possession. If he regains control prior to the ball touching the ground, it is a catch, interception or recovery."

e: NFL rulebook isn't public (of all the retarded things) but this was quoted by the NFL director of officiating last season as well.

adaz fucked around with this message at 03:24 on Jul 6, 2010

# ¿ Jul 6, 2010 03:22

adaz: Mar 7, 2009

This will probably cause Notre Dame fans to froth at the mouths (so a win-win) but Bob Davie wrote an excellent series of columns for ESPN.com years ago on various formations, schemes, blocking, basic football, etc breaking them down and how they work. It's insider only content but I'll post an example. With mod approval I can post more.

http://search.espn.go.com/bob-davie-football-101/

bob davie on Zone Blocking posted:

Over the past several years, Minnesota has done a better job of consistently running the football than any other team in the country. Most college football coaches would agree that even though the Gophers have had some talented players, no staff has done more with less than Minnesota's -- particularly in the running game.

Glenn Mason, who has been named Coach of the Year in the MAC, Big Eight and Big Ten, is committed totally to the running game. Much like with the Denver Broncos, it doesn't seem to really matter who lines up at tailback for the Gophers. They all have success.

Every team in the country has some kind of zone blocking scheme, but Minnesota's looks different because of its efficiency. This is a credit to the offensive staff led by coordinator Mitch Browning. No one does it better, which is why coaches from all over the country study Minnesota every spring to see what it does differently.

When you watch the tape, though, it is not what the Gophers do that makes them unique, it is how they do it. Minnesota has made a total commitment to the running game and zone blocking. Commitment is an easy word to say, but the tape clearly proves that the Gophers' identity is formed by their ability to run the football.

What is zone blocking?

Zone blocking in the running game is when two offensive linemen work in tandem to block an area as opposed to each having a predetermined specific man to block. The concept calls for two adjacent linemen to come off in unison and hip-to-hip to attack a down defensive lineman or area. Depending on the charge of that defensive lineman, one offensive lineman will stay engaged on the defender, while the other will come off for the linebacker. The initial double-team at the point of attack provides movement and allows the offensive linemen to be aggressive because they have help if the defender pinches inside.

It appears that the linemen have double-teamed the down linemen and allowed the linebackers to go free. However, all four eyes of the offensive guard and tackle are on the linebacker while they are engaged in the initial double-team on the down lineman.

If the down lineman stays outside, the offensive tackle will stay engaged and the offensive guard will come off the initial double-team and block the linebacker.

If the down lineman pinches inside, the offensive tackle will go to the linebacker and the offensive guard will stay engaged and take over the down lineman.

Keys to Minnesota's zone blocking technique

1. The linemen stay hip-to-hip as they attack.

2. The linemen keep their shoulders square.

3. Most importantly, all four eyes of the two offensive linemen are on the linebacker as they double-team the down lineman.

4. The linemen must know who and when to take over the defensive lineman and who leaves to block the linebacker.

What separates Minnesota?

When watching Minnesota on tape, you see there are two things the Gophers do better than anyone in college football. The first is their ability to pull linemen on their outside stretch play. The second is their great technique in cutting defenders with legal cut blocks.

Pulling linemen on outside stretch

Minnesota does a great job pulling linemen on their outside stretch plays. Which lineman pulls is based on the alignment of the defense. This is actually a man-blocking scheme with the tight end blocking down on the defensive end and the guard blocking down on the defensive tackle. The offensive tackle pulls around for the outside linebacker and the center pulls around for the middle linebacker.

Cut blocks

Minnesota linemen do an outstanding job of utilitizing legal cut blocks to chop linebackers to the ground. The reason they are good at it is they practice the block at full speed. Many teams in the country don't like to chop block in practice because of injury concerns. As a result, they never get good at it. Again, we mention the word commitment. The Gophers are committed to chop blocks and obviously practice them.

Cut blocks are illegal if two linemen are engaged on one defender at the same time or if an offensive blocker is blocking from the outside back in toward the line of scrimmage and blindsides a defender. As long as the defender sees the chop block coming, it is legal.

Summary

Minnesota is obviously well-coached and totally committed to running the football. Every college football team uses zone blocking, but no one does it as well as the Gophers.

# ¿ Jul 6, 2010 04:24

adaz: Mar 7, 2009

Gendo posted:

Give me a minute I have to overcome the massive wave of depression that just hit me.

I might have picked that one intentionally :twisted:

# ¿ Jul 6, 2010 04:31

adaz: Mar 7, 2009

As it turns out a few of these are NOT insider only and are really awesome sources of information. I've compiled some links for you all.

Terms & terminology, a basic practice schedule - http://a.espncdn.com/ncf/columns/davie/1424560.html

The box & the 8 man front - http://a.espncdn.com/ncf/columns/davie/1427720.html

The zone Blitz - http://a.espncdn.com/ncf/columns/davie/1430750.html

The screen Package - http://a.espncdn.com/ncf/columns/davie/1433797.html

The Cover 2 defense - http://a.espncdn.com/ncf/columns/davie/1437187.html

Running out of the spread (shotgun) offense - http://a.espncdn.com/ncf/columns/davie/1443120.html

Option football (running offense) - http://a.espncdn.com/ncf/columns/davie/1447132.html

I-Formation football (running offense) - http://a.espncdn.com/ncf/columns/davie/1450473.html

Special Teams (punting) - http://a.espncdn.com/ncf/columns/davie/1453702.html

Special teams (kicking) - http://a.espncdn.com/ncf/columns/davie/1457486.html

Defensive substitution packages - http://a.espncdn.com/ncf/columns/davie/1460709.html

Spring football (college football player development) & staff development - http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/columns/story?id=1522879 & http://a.espncdn.com/ncf/columns/davie/1530733.html

# ¿ Jul 6, 2010 04:41

adaz: Mar 7, 2009

When talking about defensive line players and "quick burst" a good example is this sports science video on Suh. He reacts to the snap (trigger) in 26 hundredths of a second and he hits his top speed of 13.5 mph in 1.3 seconds after six yards. He's also 307lbs.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hBNo1jj1h54

Now compare that to Jahvid Best, UCal's running back. Incredibly fast, in track he'd be a star athlete. He hits 18mph but it's after 2.7 seconds, he hits 10 yards after 1.7 seconds. So, by my fuzy math, his burst is about equal to Suh's but he weighs about a hundred pounds less. So that's what they mean by burst.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dl6M1jSZcto

# ¿ Jul 6, 2010 05:45

adaz: Mar 7, 2009

sc0tty posted:

e: Also, as for choosing a team, after playing some madden and watching some highlights, I definitely prefer a strong running game over the the passing game. Could someone give a quick run-through of which teams favor passing versus running?

A: All of them. Very, very few NFL teams rush for more yards than they pass. Last year only one team did, the NY Jets. The top 5 teams in rush yards/gm last year were:

Ny Jets
Carolina Panthers
Tennessee Titans
Miami Dolphins
Baltimore Ravens

adaz fucked around with this message at 22:48 on Jul 6, 2010

# ¿ Jul 6, 2010 22:46

adaz: Mar 7, 2009

OhSnapGangsta posted:

Do you mean in terms of yardage gained? Carolina made way more rushing attempts than passing attempts.

Yeah in terms of yardage gained. In terms of attempts about 8 teams (it looks like) had more rushing attempts than passing attempts.

# ¿ Jul 6, 2010 22:57

adaz: Mar 7, 2009

sc0tty posted:

Anyone want to do some sort of intro primer into Fantasy Football? These are pretty standard things so if there are decent ones available via yahoo or other fantasy sites than thats just as good.

FYI i'll be updated the OP tonight with the info that has been posted.

Question probably best left for the fantasy football(among others) subforum : http://forums.somethingawful.com/forumdisplay.php?forumid=248

# ¿ Jul 7, 2010 05:47

adaz: Mar 7, 2009

kyuss posted:

I'm going to watch the finals for the American Football European Championship 2010 tomorrow in Frankfurt, Germany. As it's the first football game of my life, I was more than happy to see this thread

The forums just won't let me down. Thanks SA!

I had no idea this existed, if you think of it maybe put a bit of a trip report together? Curious about this league.

# ¿ Jul 31, 2010 00:21

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ¿ Apr 29, 2024 00:57

adaz: Mar 7, 2009

WinnebagoWarrior posted:

Anyway, read The New Thinking Mans Guide.

The author of said literature is Paul Zimmerman, better known as CNNSI's Dr. Z. It is a fantastic book and I'd also highly recommend it.

# ¿ Aug 2, 2010 03:52

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Sports Argument Stadium > The Football Funhouse > Football Funhouse Rookie Thread - 1st Downies