American Football Thread (NFL, NCAA)

Key words, in their prime. They got much better upon getting into the NFL where the competition is much more intense. I don't think there's ever been a player in the NFL who entered at their peak at the age of 21 or 22 and then continually got worse as time goes on. The magic age seems to be 28 or 29. Give me those players in their prime, and yes, they are a great team. But when they are all rookies? No.

 

I'm guessing you won't have much time for the Dolphins then

I don't mind the Jaguars actually. Never had much time for the Chargers though.

 

I'll take them as rookies Look over those players again... they performed right out of the gate (with the exception of Galloway and Glenn -- WRs have a big learning curve with the text which wouldn't be a problem though.)

Seriously think you over-estimate the likes of the Lions. Seriously... they are terrible. Ask yourself -- who from the Lions do you wish played for Florida this year?
I could name a few players for Ohio State, but only because we have a lot of weaknesses right now and I think Tressel could get more out of them than whatever numpty is running the show up there these days.

 

Meh... they were the team I went for before the Jaguars were founded, because it was either them or the Bucs living in Florida, and I always leaned towards the AFC. Plus, my dad grew up loving the Dolphins, but I'm kind of indifferent to them now. I wouldn't say I dislike them though, I do have to say I enjoyed watching the Wildcat offense last year, it was quite a surprise when they * the Patriots up with a formation usually used in College, and then the "great" Bill Belichek couldn't adapt to it.

 

I'd absolutely kill to have Calvin Johnson on the Gators. He dominated college cornerbacks but was relatively anonymous his rookie year. Matt Stafford was a brilliant QB but, because our system is designed around Tebow I'd keep him. I think it boils down to the offensive and defensive lines. NFL lines would just absolutely dominate college lines. College lines are just too inconsistent, I've never seen a college line where every single player was NFL quality.

 

And you think anybody on their line is NFL quality ? Shoot, I wouldn't even take Barton back...
Good point on Johnson -- I forgot he got stuck up there.

 

Really? Even though he was a first team All-Big 10?

 

He was the definition of an over-rated linesman. Roughed up little teams, folded in the big games. I never understood why he got the credit he did. He occasionally had an attitude too.
Glad to be shot of him and let some of the other kids show they can be more consistent when the chips are down.

 

That was indeed a thing of beauty. :icon_mrgreen:

My big concern for the Dolphins this year(apart from the schedule) is I can't see Chad Pennington putting another season together like he did last year. If he doesn't we'll be in trouble.

How's things looking with your teams anyway? Both the Jags and the Chargers have been among the AFC's best the last couple of years so you must be hopeful.

 

Troy Smith is another example then. He was the focal point of his college, but because of his size he'll never be more than a backup quarterback and dangerous option for trick plays. He won the Heisman by a record amount, but is stuck being a role player in the NFL. I just think that the physical gap is far too large. The players are going to be bigger, faster, and stronger.

 

The Jags have fallen a bit, and they released Fred Taylor, so now all the load will rest on Maurice Jones-Drew, so I'm not sure how that's going to work out.

With Merriman back, the Chargers are expected to challenge for the Super Bowl. That's not just me either, big media outlets like ESPN who are guilty of ignoring smaller or markets far away from Boswash like San Diego are expecting them to be one of the three big teams in the AFC alongside Indianapolis and New England.

 

Because of his size he'll never be given a chance. That's the catch. There have been QBs who aren't 6'10 that do very well in NFL.
I'm not saying he would be a success -- but he developed a LOT his senior year and is a very sincere person. I'll never forgive Cleveland for drafting that useless * Quinn over him. :icon_mrgreen:

 

In order to make up for a lack of size, you have to have an extraordinary other talent. Take Maurice Jones-Drew... if it wasn't for his incredible power 56: @ his block on Merriman) he'd be nowhere near the NFL, he'd simply get pulverized.

For me you have to look at Flutie for this argument. He's considered the big "heart over size" prototype for the NFL. But if you look at his numbers, he was quite mediocre despite his reputation. Some of these guys literally can't see over the lines, and if they manage to catch a break the wingspans of some of these linemen are just too much for them to throw over.

 

Tell me something........

I have a pretty good handle on who the big market and the big paying teams are in baseball. But in the NFL not as much. Where would the Dolphins rank? Are they a big or small market team? Do they pay well compared to other teams? I've always wondered because the Dolphins have quite a good history but they've never won the Superbowl in my 23 years of watching them.

 

Mate -- this has been gone over ad nauseum for me. But every OL on OSUs' line that year was around 6'5, even the backups rotated in. They were the same heights and weights as OL in NFL. He was able to see over them wearing a grey helmet, so I don't see how it would be different with a black or orange helmet.
Next, Flutie is shorter than Troy. Troy is 6'0 -- same height as Drew Brees.
Lastly, I think Troy does have that something special. Losing one game because the OL was porous doesn't change that. He performed big in every other big game in his career.

 

The NFL is run as an equal league, they have a hard salary cap that every team is either right at or just under, which means that there truly is parity in the league. A small city like Indianapolis wouldn't really be able to compete with a large city like New York if it wasn't run this way. It's a big system called revenue sharing. The NFL wikipedia article should have a lot of information on the economics of the league. When people reference "big markets" and "small markets" it usually refers to media attention. As far as finances go they all roughly spend the same.

Well... I think this has run its course. I respect your opinion but respectfully disagree. Not necessarily on just the Troy Smith argument, I don't know enough about him, but about the NFL vs. NCAA teams argument.

 

Aye I am familiar with the salary cap. Are the Dolphins one of the bigger 'media' teams then? Or are they viewed similar to say the Chargers? I'd imagine the New York teams, the Bears and the Cowboys would be the ones who get a lot of the coverage.

 

Not sure what you're disagreeing? I'm only saying he won't succeed because he won't be given a chance. But it looks like I may be wrong afterall.

The Schmuck Stops Here: Ravens: Troy's big night - Some say it?s better to keep your mouth shut and appear stupid than open it and remove all doubt. I disagree. - baltimoresun.com

Troy Smith: Too Good To Sit The Bench | Bleacher Report

And if you doubt he has anything special -- just watch the TDs from his heisman year. Notice the arm, the accuracy, the timing, the athleticism. His leadership is also well documented. All from a "running QB". Make it through all 5m and tell me he isn't a football player.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Udne9JTds5A

 

No, I meant that we'll have to disagree about bad NFL teams being worse than the best NCAA teams. I said that I honestly haven't seen enough of Troy Smith to debate his talents, he was just a reference of a guy who did really well in College and ok in the pros.

 

Miami's a big market. San Diego's a big market as well, but it's just so far away from the Boswash region that it tends to be undercovered. It's the 15th largest metro area in the country, so by default it's one of the bigger markets in the league since there's 32 teams.