Re: NFL 2011/12 thread

by beamer on Sun Sep 18, 2011 12:14 am

That was exactly my point, in some ways the two sports couldn't be more different but they have a fair few things in common...

by Bradman on Sun Sep 18, 2011 12:46 pm

And in the real stuff Oklahoma will probably retain 1st and LSU didn't do enough to sneak into 2nd ahead of 'Bama. Though Boise is a real floater.

by Zat on Sun Sep 18, 2011 10:56 pm

Carolina's rookie QB sets and NFL all-time record for most yards passed in the first two weeks of a season, threw 422 last week, and 432 this week for 854.

About three hours later, with the Patriots having smashed up a mistake-ridden Chargers, Tom Brady, who threw 517 last week, threw 423, to take the record just sent and put it in the toilet, flush it away, for it to be eaten by the alligators that live under the streets.

And after just two weeks of the season, only seven of the 32 teams have gone 2-0 to start. Three of them in the AFC East, previously known as the Patriots charity conference.

by Yorkie Jill on Thu Sep 22, 2011 1:06 pm

Watched a college game the other night on the teev at Florida State, think Oklahoma were visiting. Attendance was over 84,000. I'd say stop/start does just fine.

by Zat on Thu Sep 22, 2011 11:33 pm

Here's a nice touch from Prez Obama:

nfl.com wrote:Twenty-six years after they stormed through the NFL on their way to a 15-1 record, a dominating Super Bowl XX victory and an atrocious music video, ProFootballTalk.com reports that the 1985 Chicago Bears will finally get their day at the White House.

According to Comcast SportsNet Chicago, the 1985 Bears have been invited to the White House to be honored by President Barack Obama on Oct. 7.

The team missed out on the traditional presidential celebration after its January 1986 Super Bowl victory over New England. Two days after the game, the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded, and the nation went into mourning.

A final list of attendees has not yet been confirmed.

Obama, a Bears fan, had to swallow his Chicago loyalty this summer when he hosted last season's Super Bowl champions, the rival Green Bay Packers.

by beamer on Fri Sep 23, 2011 7:57 am

Yorkie Jill wrote:Watched a college game the other night on the teev at Florida State, think Oklahoma were visiting. Attendance was over 84,000. I'd say stop/start does just fine.

Don't really get the whole college football thing to be honest, it's like watching Oxford v Cambridge Uni at "soccer" rather than Man Utd v Chelsea... It's fair enough that people in cities/states without an NFL team turn up to watch their local college but why it gets national and even international interest comparable with the professional game is beyond me...

by Zat on Fri Sep 23, 2011 11:49 am

beamer, the college sports thing, especially with football in the states, is that there's no real 'second tier' comp for American Football. Once a college player finishes college, if he isn't drafted, it's basically all over as far as his football career is concerned.

As the NFL works on the principle of limiting supply to increase supporter interest (32 teams, but only 16 matches for each team in the regular season) there's plenty of air time left for college teams. And as the college ranks are where the next generation of NFL stars come form, there's interest in who's coming up. Also, college foootball is a pretty good standard.

I don't really know why there's international iinterest in College Football, but I suspect that as ESPN these days serves a global audience, and they have plenty of the college football to fill their schedule, it's the 'Field of dreams' thing. They've built it, and the audience has come.

by JGK on Fri Sep 23, 2011 7:16 pm

Hi there.

by beamer on Fri Sep 23, 2011 10:55 pm

The "limited supply" of NFL is I guess largely down to the physical demands of the game. Could anyone really play more than 16 games (plus play-offs) per year? There's enough injuries as it is. I know the likes of Brett Favre and Peyton Manning went over a decade without missing a game, but it's a different story for those on defense or the offensive line for example. They were trying to increase it to 18 games in the regular season but I think the players resisted that one.

It does mean each game is more of an event though. I don't follow baseball but do know there are hundreds of matches per season, some of them very poorly attended.

by Yorkie Jill on Sat Sep 24, 2011 12:04 am

beamer wrote:
Yorkie Jill wrote:Watched a college game the other night on the teev at Florida State, think Oklahoma were visiting. Attendance was over 84,000. I'd say stop/start does just fine.

Don't really get the whole college football thing to be honest, it's like watching Oxford v Cambridge Uni at "soccer" rather than Man Utd v Chelsea... It's fair enough that people in cities/states without an NFL team turn up to watch their local college but why it gets national and even international interest comparable with the professional game is beyond me...

But it's not. Like Zat said, these guys are the next big thing. There isn't really a comparison in English sport because they're still amateurs and students, but a lot of them, particularly from big colleges, are going to go on to be professional and paid millions. I guess people want to watch and see who the next stars are going to be. I can see why alumni would support a certain team, but there must be locals who get out there too. And then there's always high school football. Plenty of interest there, as it's just the next tier down from college ball.

by JGK on Sun Sep 25, 2011 1:26 pm

Brady intercepted 4 times as Pats blow a 21-0 lead.

by beamer on Mon Sep 26, 2011 6:05 am

Only three teams are 3-0, and two of them are the perennially crap Lions and Bills! The lockout may have made this season even more unpredictable than usual.

by Bradman on Mon Sep 26, 2011 1:19 pm

beamer wrote:Only three teams are 3-0, and two of them are the perennially crap Lions and Bills! The lockout may have made this season even more unpredictable than usual.

Following the Bills is like following Spurs. You can but hope.

by Zat on Sun Oct 02, 2011 10:21 am

Bills lose in week four. To the Bengals. The Bengals! And Detroit is the only unbeaten team in the NFL. The world has gone mad.

Patriots @ Oakland being screened on terrestrial TV in Aus, on One HD. It's the worst of all possible worlds, with the CBS coverage from the US being easily the wrorst of the five networks that cover games there, being relayed through the Ten network, who are, and have always been, traditionally Australia's most inept sports broadcasters. Already several key plays have been missed because the work-experience kid in the control booth decided to stick in extra ad breaks.

by beamer on Sun Oct 02, 2011 9:00 pm

Zat wrote:Bills lose in week four. To the Bengals. The Bengals! And Detroit is the only unbeaten team in the NFL.

Apart from Green Bay, easy to forget the defending champions I suppose... Still, they're in the same division as the Lions so one of them will have to lose soon!