A question for NFL fans.

[Darkstone]

A question for our American friends. I love watching old school sporting highlights from all sporting codes. I've grown up with NFL as most Aussies have. It's a great spectacle and the chess like strategies are fascinating. As i've grown older I find it a little bit frustrating when I look at the lack of skill level compared to the AFL......but I digress, thats for another topic. 

My question (finally) is, why is the lateral pass not used more often? It seems to be very valuable. 

[Crazysam]

I think teams use the lateral pass less often in the NFL for two reasons.  First, they want the ball in the hands of their best players and would prefer everyone else be utilized as a blocker, to keep the other team away from that player.  And secondly, because of the risk of fumbling/dropping the ball and turning it over to the opposing team.   

[heavyharmonies]

When you're spending your valuable seconds to pass laterally, the greater the chance of being caught behind the line of scrimmage, so a completion isn't necessarily a yardage gain. For a lateral to be effective, it takes N more seconds of live action than a comparably timed down-the-field pass.

[Darkstone]

I'm thinking more late in the play, not necessarily at the line of scrimmage. I still think a team who practiced and used it efficiently would dominate. I've seen many times when a player, knowing he's got no other option either slides into or allows himself to be tackled when he could easily dish it off and gain more yardage especially on fourth down. I get that possession is important, but as for the risk of fumbling, that's a ball handling skill issue which happens too often in the NFL. A game comprised of elite athletes. 

[Dead Planet]

 You're thinking like a rugby player but in the NFL they try to avoid high risk situations and laterals usually end badly....

[shamus]

To advance the ball with a lateral, the player passing it really needs to sell the fact he is going to keep it on his own. That involves lateraling at the last possible moment and exposing himself to a high velocity violent hit for his efforts.

It is used to advance the ball consistently and to great effect in elite flag football and touch football as there is no risk of being mowed down by a defender.

I suspect another reason we don't see laterals in the NFL is because of how situational the game is itself. There seems to be a unit of 11 players specially designed for every imaginable scenario. Since laterals are a central component in rugby, practices naturally center around plays which advance the ball via laterals, while NFL practices are burdened by learning strategies, formations, blocking schemes, run and pass plays, fakes etc. throughout the three facets of the game; offense, defense and special teams. There simply is no time to work on anything else.

[Darkstone]

Thanks for all your replies guys. I still think it could be a powerful weapon.

[Geoff]

On 8/18/2020 at 4:04 PM, Darkstone said:

 I've grown up with NFL as most Aussies have. 

What on earth does this mean? Where on the map is the version of Australia that you live in?

[Darkstone]

41 minutes ago, Geoff said:

What on earth does this mean? Where on the map is the version of Australia that you live in?

C'mon Geoff. You know as well as I do that the iconography and imagery of American football and American culture in general  is very well known down here. I've certainly been aware of "Gridiron" for as long as I can remember, although I didn't understand the rules until I started playing C64 and Amiga NFL computer games.

The winky smiley face denotes a sense of sarcasm, but you're NRL loyalties still worry me. 

"Dead Planet" referred to me above as thinking like a Rugby player.....I've never been so insulted in all my life!

 

[Geoff]

33 minutes ago, Darkstone said:

C'mon Geoff. You know as well as I do that the iconography and imagery of American football and American culture in general  is very well known down here. I've certainly been aware of "Gridiron" for as long as I can remember, although I didn't understand the rules until I started playing C64 and Amiga NFL computer games.

The winky smiley face denotes a sense of sarcasm, but you're NRL loyalties still worry me. 

"Dead Planet" referred to me above as thinking like a Rugby player.....I've never been so insulted in all my life!

 

The winky face was just to sit alongside my commentary about a different version of Australia you live in, but my point was as stated. 

Yes, I know what Gridiron is, as I'm sure everyone in the world does, but that's very different to "growing up with it." To me that suggests that you're insinuating it is a significant part of every person in Australia's life? 

No offence to the 'Mericans amongst us, but far as I've experienced, anyone I know hates the game, lol, and has as little to do with it as they can. Again, just my point of view but to me it's unwatchable. If it was just an 80min game, or 40min... however long the quarters go for and amount to - if it was just that length of time, non-stop, then yeah, fair enough. I'd acknowledge it as a proper sport. But as it is, to me I just cannot comprehend how people put themselves through it. 

But, that's cool. To each their own and we're all used to what we're used to. Which is not gridiron, in Australia. I just found it a weird comment because I don't know anyone in Australia who actually likes the sport. Except you, if you do?  

And yes, NRL is vastly superior to any other type of football.

[heavyharmonies]

1 hour ago, Geoff said:

No offence to the 'Mericans amongst us, but far as I've experienced, anyone I know hates the game, lol, and has as little to do with it as they can. Again, just my point of view but to me it's unwatchable.

And yes, NRL is vastly superior to any other type of football.

[Geoff]

27 minutes ago, heavyharmonies said:

Haha, sorry my good man. I do completely understand if you're brought up on something and for better or worse know no different you take what you know. And I guess it's the same for us. In Australia, we're used to free flowing fast paced sports. With my kids, and sport basically always on as I'm putting them to bed and stuff, I watch all my sport on delayed coverage. And even in the fast paced action that is NRL, I still fast forward any break in play. I just get bored immediately with breaks in play.

So when I see NFL, and to be fair... any American sport, where a match consists of 80% breaks in play compared to 20% actual playing time... it blows my fucking mind to a point where I can't get a grasp on it. Like I say, you guys are born and raised on it and it's what you know. I'm 100% sure I'd be the same if I lived in the US.

But to an outsider, it's just not entertainment to me at all. Sorry, friend... just how it is.

[AlphaMale]

Since they are all kneeling or supporting the Black Lives Matter narrative, FUCK THEM ALL!! I'm not watching or supporting any of them. #DontDisrespectTheFlag #KeepProtestsOutOfSports

[heavyharmonies]

I've pretty much tuned out of sports completely since the quarantine began, and this makes it so much easier. I'll come back and see if the pandering and virtue signaling to support terrorist groups is over in 2021.

[Dead Planet]

You guys may as well get used to it as the protests are not going away anytime soon...maybe if Biden gets elected things will cool down...another 4 years of Trump will mean another 4 years of mayhem.....

[Leykis101]

On 9/7/2020 at 4:16 PM, Dead Planet said:

You guys may as well get used to it as the protests are not going away anytime soon...maybe if Biden gets elected things will cool down...another 4 years of Trump will mean another 4 years of mayhem.....

I doubt that, all that shit is getting away from them, they can no longer control the riots, Trump is just waiting to go in and clean house.

[Leykis101]

And Im with the Alpha on this one, fuck them all, except the MLB, their all sell outs, sucks cause my team looks good this year,

[martinsane]

Thursday is opening day and I for 1 need the distraction of fanless football. 

 

I'll watch as much as I can if I can find that euro site that hosts all the games on the downlo...

 

And lest not forget how Big Ben will get his 3rd Superbowl win and make his 4th Superbowl appearance this year...

[Darkstone]

Another question for the NFL guys.  Here's a clip of a tactic that is possibly more effective than the lateral pass. 

No flag and the commentators praise his efforts. We should see more of this. After all, you guys do wear helmets. Actually, I think NFL players wear more protection than Grand Prix Motorcycle riders do.  

 

 

 

[Dead Planet]

9 hours ago, Darkstone said:

Another question for the NFL guys.  Here's a clip of a tactic that is possibly more effective than the lateral pass. 

No flag and the commentators praise his efforts. We should see more of this. After all, you guys do wear helmets. Actually, I think NFL players wear more protection than Grand Prix Motorcycle riders do.  

 

 

 

Those helmets only help so much...there is a long list of guys with brain injuries in football and hockey....

[Dead Planet]

16 hours ago, Leykis101 said:

I doubt that, all that shit is getting away from them, they can no longer control the riots, Trump is just waiting to go in and clean house.

There are protests going on all over and the majority of them are peaceful but we don't hear about them because the media only covers the ones with violence and rioting...and I said MAYBE Biden getting elected would calm things, actually the only way for things to calm down is if the cops stop killing unarmed blacks and that will take a legislative change where police aggression and systemic racism is dealt with and that will only happen if the Dems win all 3 houses...

[heavyharmonies]

2 hours ago, Dead Planet said:

There are protests going on all over and the majority of them are peaceful but we don't hear about them because the media only covers the ones with violence and rioting...and I said MAYBE Biden getting elected would calm things, actually the only way for things to calm down is if the cops stop killing unarmed blacks and that will take a legislative change where police aggression and systemic racism is dealt with and that will only happen if the Dems win all 3 houses...

It doesn't matter how many "peaceful" protests there are; that doesn't excuse the violent ones.

What we've seen for the last 2 months stopped being about racism a LONG time ago. It is now violence and anarchy for its own sake. The video footage of these terrorists accosting and assaulting innocent members of the public shows them for the criminals they are. It's not ALL protests, but the majority in Portland, Seattle, Kenosha, and Rochester are just sheer rampant violence... and it's not for anyone's "cause." They want to tear the entire system down.

The irony is that many of the businesses being destroyed by these hoodlums are minority owned. Go figure.

If you want to take a knee during the anthem of a sporting event? Fine. You can do it, I don't have to watch it, and everyone is happy.

You want to march PEACEFULLY and not disrupt businesses or people going about their daily business, fine. I have no problem with that either.

Once you cross that tipping point into destruction of public or private property, looting, violence or intimidation against the citizenry, then I say send in the police or national guard and tear gas them into oblivion, and arrest and detain them.

The Democratic mayors and district attorneys are refusing to charge these criminals, so they're released WITHOUT BAIL to just do the same thing the next day. How the hell is that any kind of deterrent?

Meanwhile the residents and business owners in these areas are the ones left with lives destroyed. The politicians in their ivory towers don't have to bear the consequences.

Tell me the videos below aren't pure terrorism in the literal definition of the word ("the unlawful use of violence and intimidation, especially against civilians, in the pursuit of political aims").

Enough is enough.

Rochester New York:

 

Pittsburgh, PA:

 

[Leykis101]

Yeah and there aren't cops killing unarmed black men, there are unarmed black men not obeying the laws we have, and provoking cops, putting both of them in deadly situations, and I'll tell you right now, doesn't matter how many protests there are, until black men start making better decisions, the end result will always end up being fatal, regardless of what color the person is, if I get pulled over and decide I'm going to reach into my waistband and pull my phone from there(because that's where we all store our phones right) I assure you the cops not gonna say "well he's white, maybe we should not shoot first" I'll be a dead motherfucker, and I aint black, this whole notion that it's only black men is simply false, maybe only black men are acting stupid when the cops are around.

[Leykis101]

14 hours ago, martinsane said:

Thursday is opening day and I for 1 need the distraction of fanless football. 

 

I'll watch as much as I can if I can find that euro site that hosts all the games on the downlo...

 

And lest not forget how Big Ben will get his 3rd Superbowl win and make his 4th Superbowl appearance this year...

Still got a great sense of humor, I love that

[AlphaMale]

How come a white cop killed by a black, and not a peep from BLM?

https://www.cleveland.com/metro/2020/09/teen-charged-in-fatal-shooting-of-cleveland-police-officer-informant.html

Edited September 9, 2020 by AlphaMale