How does Buffalo lose on a safety?
I've always had this reaction to football. Rough play in other sports (basketball, watching kids in Samoa play rugby) doesn't bother me, but in football it seems like every play has some hit that looks as if it would be crippling.
I'm going soft, Megan, not world-historically flaccid.
My hand was in a cast longer the time I jammed my thumb playing ultimate than the time I broke my finger playing (touch) football.
I guess that settles it. And all the tough guys should take up cycling.
Are the injuries really more serious nowadays? I'd've actually guessed not, especially with the various rule-changes (e.g. allowing the QB to dump the ball when he's outside of the box), improved medical attention, longer recuperation time due to TV time-outs and so forth.
[It's certainly not "Flying Wedge" vicious, that's for sure, although that's not saying much.]
4: Hard to believe you went so long without resetting the TiVo.
Funny you should say that. I played football, well, through my teens. I liked belonging to a high-status group, and being given the credit that went with that. But the game itself bored me, and I don't watch it.
I love the strategy, the chance and timing, and the sustained effort of competitive cycling as a spectator sport, and I love how cycling feels.
I have the same basic response as you, ogged, except what bothers me is less the big hits than the horrendous legs at wrong angle plays. Yet, here I am watching...
As to Matt's 1, the answer is: through the workings of a beneficent providence. New England was very, very fortunate to win that game.
For some reason I find it hilarious that there's a magazine called Chasing Plastic.
10: Andy Roddick makes me ashamed to be an American.
horrendous legs at wrong angle plays
Yeah, this too, totally.
Today's tennis day.
I'm switching back and forth, but only because Federer is playing.
Why Tim? Also, Federer is almost certainly going to wax him, so have some pity.
Roddick looks like he might win the set, so I'd already be wrong about the match.
New England was very, very fortunate to win that game.
True. But remember, losing is what the Bills do. I was frustrated during the first half, but once the second got going, I felt pretty good that the Pats would be find a way to win. And no doubt at all about what to do on that final forth down.
What I was wondering was how the hell did the Ravens manage to score 27 points, but now I see that at least 14 of that was by defense and special teams, so it makes sense. Not a happy day in Tampa. But then, who the hell cares?
I worry about the injuries as well, but my lord, I'm so ready for football.
Last I looked ('till now) it was first set, 5-0. I stopped watching, because I didn't want to see Federer having sex on Center Court with Roddick's girlfriend between sets.
What I was wondering was how the hell did the Ravens manage to score 27 points, but now I see that at least 14 of that was by defense and special teams, so it makes sense.
This is why I always say that if the defense scores a touchdown, it should count as negative 7 points for the other team, instead of 7 points for the defense's team. This would make it truly clear how good the Bears defense was last year.
pff. Roddick started slow, but is doing awesome. Hope he wins the set.
because I didn't want to see Federer having sex on Center Court with Roddick's girlfriend between sets.
bullshit. I bet you would totally want to watch that.
22 might be your best comment ever, Timbot.
He's not still dating Hilary Duff, is he?
There was a story, maybe on sportscenter, a few years ago about the build up of the effects of concussions over time. Apparently a not insignificant number of football players and former football players sometimes find themselves unable to remember their phone numbers or how to get home after going out, and a few take the extra step of carrying that information with them on a card in case of a lapse.
Are the injuries really more serious nowadays?
I think the claimed problem is simply that people are much bigger and much stronger than in the past.
For some reason, I'm surprised that Tiger Woods wears his hat backwards.
Totally agree that the concussion issue is wicked creepy. Former Pittsburgh FB Merril Hodge (I think) tells the story of havign breakfast the day after a big hit. He lifts a forkful of eggs, but they're too hot, so he's blowing on them to cool them off. He's blowing, and blowing, and then realizes that he has actually got an orange on the end of his fork.
Off topic, how irritating is it to hear Jimmy Conners constantly lauded for his competitveness and old statesmen-ness? When he played, he was a jerk.
Last, can it really be true that the "not nice" thread is discussing linda hirshman now? Weird.
I would say that a close reading of the thread, which I wouldn't advise anyone to engage in, would reveal it as not particularly a discussion of Hirshman.
More a meta-discussion, really. With lots of animosity.
Yeah, I don't like the severity and frequency of the injuries either. And the championship pretty much comes down to The Healthiest Team Wins.
This is one of the reasons that I've been enjoying college football more. The injuries just don't seem to be as devastating. And as a bonus: field goal attempts are far iffier and more exciting.
ogged, maybe you should try rugby. the snees clan went to a club match yesterday -- i.e., nowhere near the level of the NFL or college football -- and we saw a guy collapse with a fit.
that might have put me off the sport, but we spent much of the first half chatting with the massive back who was positioned near us. because of his white hair and pasty complexion, his teammates had dubbed him chalky. if we had had the time, we probably would have spent three or four hours downing pints with him in the most civilized manner.
Whatever. How much must it kill McEnroe to hear all the plaudits Connors is getting?
That's a big plus I hadn't thought of Tim. Thanks!
You don't like McEnroe? He doesn't seem like a very good person in a lot of respects, but I can't help but like him.
I don't really deeply dislike McEnroe, but it irks me when legitimately irritating athletes get better press than those who don't strut, don't scream at the umpire, and don't throw childish tantrums.
36: College ball is actually more brutal, I think, because they're so much shallower than the pro teams. The Badgers were basically one injury away from playing iron man on the line last year.
Roddick has got to stop coming to net. Federer is picking him to pieces up there.
I should add, incidentally, that the only time I was ever concussed was during a game of flag football.
Would it kill them to once, just once, one tiny little time, to, when they're talking to/about Federer, not say "the best ever"? It's silly and tiresome.
41: Are you really distinguishing between McEnroe and Connors on the basis of tantrums?
I didn't mean to make any such distinction. I don't *deeply* dislike Conners either.
Michael, it's not such a crazy claim given what Federer has done and how good he is. At 25 Sampras had 8 Grand Slam titles...
oh, I'm not denying it. I'm just sick of it being pointed out every couple of hours.
So you're saying he's better than Rod Laver? And you say that based on what, exactly, Michael? And the man who's fourth in line to succeed the leader of the military wing of Hamas, do you know his name? You ignorant ass.
That kind of acrimonious tone should be reserved for threads on feminism in which everyone is agreed on 99% of all issues of substance.
The strength and speed differences even from 30 years ago are tremendous. The powerlifting aspects of training are light years better, and throw in chemical enhancement on top of that, and it's bad news for those hits. We're also drawing from a bigger population, so what used to be freakishly large becomes normal.
insofar as we like to see whether a plan for a team will come together
I always pictured you more as Murdock than Hannibal, ogged.
Huh. I always assumed ogged was Face.
You likey the A-Team reference? Definitely more Face than Murdock.
remember, losing is what the Bills do.
I don't know shit about football and I know this.
49: You can't pull the wool over my eyes, Ogged. "Rod Laver" is obviously a gay porn star.
I'm not sure about the second query, but my guess is "mel gibson".
ogged is definitely the faceman. when you guys have to bust me out of the mental ward, you should use ogged to distract the nurses. he'll pull that whole "hey, wanna see my groove" thing. it's like colt .45 malt liquor: works every time.
I don't really deeply dislike McEnroe, but it irks me when legitimately irritating athletes get better press than those who don't strut, don't scream at the umpire, and don't throw childish tantrums.
yes indeed, what everyone wants to see is an eternal tape loop of Sampras versus Rafter, chugging along until the end of time while we all have a screaming, weeping orgasm at their sheer professionalism. FFS.
in related news, suck it in, you pencil necked bastard. The injuries are the only interesting thing in American football. What it really needs is a few lions on the pitch to liven things up. Wait until the penny drops and the NFL starts realising that you can hire Maori rugby players for cents in the dollar. Then it will get violent.
There's a couple of dozen Samoans in the NFL. I doubt if they're qualitatively wimpier than Maori All Blacks. Expect a trend. However, pacific islanders outside American Samoa will probably continue to prefer Rugby unless the financial incentives are massive, because it's a faster, better game.
And requires less equipment. With a ball and a field, you're playing rugby. You're not really playing american football unless you have the pads and the helmets -- all the hitting is completely different.
It's ironic that it's the mountains of protective gear that actually cause the vast majority of the injuries in the NFL.
Well, to the extent that the equipment makes the harder hitting possible. I mean, rugby's rough, but it's not the same sort of impacts.
I wish I could have seen a football game in the no substitution era. A really fast moving American football game would be quite entertaining, I think. It was a different game.
58: You shouldn't talk about malt liquor without referencing this.
There's a couple of dozen Samoans in the NFL. I doubt if they're qualitatively wimpier than Maori All Blacks.
Although the All Blacks do consistently kick Manu Samoa's ass, don't they? But I think that's professionalism and coaching, not inherent agressiveness.
Plus, the All-Blacks consistently poach a lot of the best players from the islands.
re: 63
Yes, the harder hitting but also the bulk and rigidity of the shoulder-pads themselves.
It's been thirty-five years since I've played with pads on, but the significance of armor, and the changes its wrought over time with design and materials development, really must be a big part of the difference in the game, as much as the changes in conditioning mentioned above. I wonder if any attempt has been made to play with different pads? It seems an obvious experiment.
In my personal experience, Samoans are actually sweethearts. I once taught a college summer course for football players; it was exactly as awful as you'd imagine, except for the Samoan quarterback.
Although funnily enough, despite being the quarterback, he didn't really seem to feel compelled to do anything to try to talk the other guys into cutting out the asshole act.
69 I'm sure every Polynesian is born with a heart of gold. But they leave it in the locker room when they're playing rugby.
69, 70: Mmmm. IME, the combination of gentle, sweet, and kind and having a stunning capacity for violence is not an implausible one.
Hmmm, out of the many Samoan football players, almost none are quarterbacks. #69 may be overly revealing of your identity.
59 is onto something. There are lots of American football players from American Samoa (or with parents from there), but not many from the independent Polynesian countries. This article suggests that the recruitment of football players from Western Samoa is just beginning, and Western Samoa has way more people than American Samoa.
I considered that was a possiblity, but I'm accustomed to assume that the various clues that get dropped here are less likely to lead a stalker to hunt me down than if I dropped them on my own blog. But thanks.
That's interesting, though. I have no idea if he's gone on to play pro, but he was in fact a really nice kid.
And they're prettier, better brought up, sing better, and on average can kick American Samoans' asses.
But it's not going to happen unless some outside organization sets up and funds an American football program in Western Samoa. There's no tradition of playing Am. football - all the coaching would have to come from somewhere else - and funding for necessary equipment would be a huge problem.
On the other hand, I'm more than 10 years out of touch. There could be American football all over the land of the Forbidden Chicken, and I wouldn't know.
I read an article in the last few years that pro's are wearing much lighter pads because of the premium on speed. I can't find it, and I can't remember if they had evidence of increasing injuries or just worries.
58: Is the rumor that's going around true? Word has it that ogged takes it in the face. That figures, what with the goggle tan and all.
I read an article a while back about the increase in rugby injuries.* The authors put it down to the increasing size of the backs -- the small, quick, skillful guys -- combined with the increasing speed of the forwards -- the huge, slow, lumbering guys.
Now, you find teams with 200lb backs who can run 100 metres in more than respectable college-level sprint times and 18 stone forwards who aren't hugely slower.
Even leaving aside guys like Jonah Lomu who was 273 lbs and could run 100 metres in 10.8 seconds, the modern rugby player is really quick and really heavy compared to those who went before.
* Although as far as I know serious career-ending rugby injuries are still rarer than in American Football.
I keep seeing this thread on the left side-bar, and it reminds me of the cock thread.
59: I think it was the Denver Broncos that tried to poach Jonah Lomu from the All-Blacks about five years ago. Didn't go anywhere but in the future, who knows?
I was on a rugby team where the year before, an opposing player broke his neck during a game. I don't think rugby is completely safe.
Oh, I used to tape the kids together after the games (as the possessor of a US government issued roll of adhesive tape and some disinfectant, I was kind of the school nurse.) But it's still a different kind of hitting from football.
To the best of my knowledge all the talk about Lomu going to American football was a beatup by his manager, trying to get him more money from rugby. (Since he was easily the highest-paid rugby player anyway, this was pushing it a bit.) You'd imagine that any Polynesian who did go into football would have to do so at the college level. It's hard to imagine any rugby player good enough to get a professional contract taking a chance on a new sport, even though the potential money is so much greater.
horrendous legs at wrong angle plays
Yeah, this too, totally.
Uh, yeah. Two injuries like that in nine months ended MY career ... at the ripe old age of 14.
And then there's the preseason Super Bowl favorite Panthers' starting left tackle, Travelle Wharton, who blew out his knee Sunday and is done for the year. (For the non-fan, the left tackle protects a right-handed quarterback's blind side and is therefore the most valuable of the five offensive interior linemen.)
concussions
Yes, and then there's the preseason Super Bowl favorite Panthers' starting middle linebacker, Dan Morgan, who suffered at least his seventh concussion in five years Sunday and is out indefinitely. (For the non-fan, middle linebacker runs most NFL defenses; in a good defense, he'll typically lead the team in tackles over the course of a season.)
And then there's the preseason Super Bowl favorite Panthers' starting wideout, Steve Smith, the league's best receiver, who isn't playing because of a "tweaked" hamstring and recovery from surgery from an ingrown toenail.
Not that I am bitter. At all.