Super Bowl Poll

[rowan]

American football the best spectator sport on the planet, once you figure out what's going on. Only problem is, it doesn't have an international circuit - or at least not one that can be taken seriously. & that's not going to happen either, but no team will ever get close to matching the US on the gridiron.

[Discreet Hooker]

American football the best spectator sport on the planet, once you figure out what's going on. Only problem is, it doesn't have an international circuit - or at least not one that can be taken seriously. & that's not going to happen either, but no team will ever get close to matching the US on the gridiron.

Shouldn't be encouraged imo . I did witness a ' game ' at Wembley . Thats 7 hours I wont get back . Shame .

[rowan]

It's a bit of an acquired taste, as most things are, but the proof's in the pudding:

NFL 68K, Bundesliga 43K, Premiership 36K, Aussie Rules 33K, Indian cricket 32K, Aussie cricket 30K, MLB 30K, Japanese baseball 30K, La Liga 28K, Mexican Liga 27K, Indian soccer 26K, Chinese soccer 24K, Canadian NFL 24K, Serie A 22K, Bangladesh cricket 21K, MLS 21K, Argie soccer 21K, French soccer 21K, Super Rugby 19K, Dutch soccer 19K, J-League 17K, Brazil soccer 17K, NRL 17K, NBA 17K, NHL 17K, Top 14 13K, Aviva Rugby 13K.

American football has been extremely popular as a spectactor sport precisely because it was developed as a spectator sport, with all the planning and strategy of a military operation when it comes to NFL. On top of which, the athletes themselves are outstanding. It's actually not that much fun to play, because the role of the individual players is so confined, and you spend more than half your time on the bench because there are actually two entirely different teams - offense & defense - plus special teams, and also at least a couple of options for every position, who are invariably switched and/or rotated, dependent on the strengths and weaknesses of the opponent and other factors. But I played the game mostly after retiring from rugby so I was quite happy to wind down that way.

[Discreet Hooker]

Started reading your post Rowan , but like the game , misted over before half time !

[rowan]

Started reading your post Rowan , but like the game , misted over before half time !

Of course, it does require an attention span of more than your average fly

[Discreet Hooker]

Started reading your post Rowan , but like the game , misted over before half time !

Of course, it does require an attention span of more than your average fly

I can assure you there is nothing wrong with my atten . . . . . . . . . . . .

[switchskier]

Whilst it's not the world's best spectator sport I do love watching American football. Where I think people go wrong is comparing it to rugby or similar sports. Its more like chess with live action pieces that can move and think.

Draft currently ongoing. Quite pleased with the 49ers draft so far. Trading down in the first looks a smart move though I would have preferred one of the safeties to thomas.

[Discreet Hooker]

We lost a good No.8 to this contrived over hyped ' sport ' . Think he liked wearing all the gear driving his car and whilst out shopping .

[rowan]

We lost a good No.8 to this contrived over hyped ' sport ' . Think he liked wearing all the gear driving his car and whilst out shopping .

More likely he liked the

[Big D]

If I was good enough and American I'd always choose the NFL over playing pro rugby. It's not even close.

NFL can provide financial security, thanks to the CBA there are minimum salaries and very defined restrictions on practice sessions, they now have had to take concussion seriously, provides a good pension if you last 3 years in the league.

The minimum salary for a rookie is $465k.

The pensions are generally much smaller (about $43k) but players can do a 401(k) – type plan that includes 2-for-1 employer matching.

It is incredibly tough to make it to the NFL but the rewards are there.

[rowan]

If I was good enough and American I'd always choose the NFL over playing pro rugby. It's not even close.

NFL can provide financial security, thanks to the CBA there are minimum salaries and very defined restrictions on practice sessions, they now have had to take concussion seriously, provides a good pension if you last 3 years in the league.

The minimum salary for a rookie is $465k.

The pensions are generally much smaller (about $43k) but players can do a 401(k) – type plan that includes 2-for-1 employer matching.

It is incredibly tough to make it to the NFL but the rewards are there.

NFL is hugely successful in terms of profitability and attracting spectator interest and should serve as a model to all professional sports competitions in that respect. If you're talking about player enjoyment and welfare, however, that's another story entirely.

[rowan]

The playoffs are back already. I'll set up a poll when it gets to the next stage, but defending champions New England Patriots are the favourites at 2/1. They and the Pittsburgh Steelers (who have won the most bowls in history, 6, ahead of the Pats, 5) are directly into the quarter-finals, along with the Minnesota Vikings and Philadelphia Eagles, neither of whom have ever won the title game; the former having failed on four attempts in the 1970s. The Vikings are nonetheless second favorite at odds of 4/1 (Minneapolis is the venue for this year's Super Bowl), while the Eagles come in as the No 1 ranked side in the regular season. They will be joined by the winners of the 4 wildcard playoffs, which feature 1970 champs the Kansas City Chiefs at home to the Tennessee Titans, 2000 winners the LA Rams hosting Atlanta's Falcons, the Jacksonville Jaguares at home to the Buffalo Bills (who lost 4 consecutive Super Bowls in the early 90s), and 2010 winners the New Orleans Saints at home to the Carolina Panthers. In fact, 7 of the 12 teams through to this year's playoffs are among the 13/32 franchises which have not won the Vince Lombardi trophy. Could this presage a new champion in Super Bowl LII (52 for dummies)?

Team Vegas SB odds SB% Vegas conference odds CONF%
New England Patriots 2/1 31.55% 2/3 47.81%
Minnesota Vikings 4/1 13.49% 8/5 30.34%
Pittsburgh Steelers 9/2 13.39% 2/1 24.21%
New Orleans Saints 5/1 8.61% 11/4 13.30%
Los Angeles Rams 12/1 8.61% 5/1 18.02%
Philadelphia Eagles 15/1 9.71% 9/2 26.35%
Jacksonville Jaguars 20/1 4.87% 10/1 10.16%
Kansas City Chiefs 20/1 7.39% 10/1 13.47%
Atlanta Falcons 20/1 2.59% 10/1 7.19%
Carolina Panthers 30/1 1.67% 15/1 4.80%
Tennessee Titans 100/1 0.57% 50/1 1.91%
Buffalo Bills 100/1 0.81% 50/1 2.44%
https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/2018 ... s-top-nfc/

[rowan]

Really hope the Vikings can do it!

[rowan]

Really hope the Vikings can do it!

But the logical choice is the Pats - again.

[rowan]

Wildcard playoffs underway: Falcons thumped the Rams while the Titans edged the Chiefs in a game made contoversial by the performance of the umpiring crew.

[switchskier]

I've always liked the Chiefs and Alex Smith so I'm biased but thought they were hard done by in that game. What really lost it for them however was their tacking. Too many missed trying to strip the ball rather than putting the man down. I see a regression coming next year unless Houston gets his mojo back.

[rowan]

I've always liked the Chiefs and Alex Smith so I'm biased but thought they were hard done by in that game. What really lost it for them however was their tacking. Too many missed trying to strip the ball rather than putting the man down. I see a regression coming next year unless Houston gets his mojo back.

I think it was down to poor defensive formation. They had most of their secondary lined up on one side of the field when the Titans RB made the crucial touchdown. I couldn't believe it when I looked at the replay. What made them so sure he was going to go the other way? Pretty hard to make a tackle when you're wrong-footed to begin with. I don't know much about the coaching staff these days but imagine they'll be a new defensive coach in Kansas City next season.

I'm bound to have mentioned this before, but the only NFL players I ever met were 1990s Chiefs stars Christian Okoye and Barry Word, a couple of Jonah Lomu-sized RBs. Okoye was Nigerian, orginally picked up on a track & field scholarship, and ended up in the NFL Hall of Fame! I met him in KC in 93.

[rowan]

Didn't see any of the action last night but the Jaguars and Saints eliminated the Bills and Panthers, respectively. So the playoffs picture is as follows:

Eagles v Falcons, Patriots v Titans, Steelers v Jaguars, Vikings v Saints.

I'd go with 4 home-wins, obviously, but if there's going to be an upset it'll most likely occur in Philadelphia.

Unfortunately the Pats & Steelers - the most successful franchises in Super Bowl history - cannot actually meet in the Super Bowl as they are both AFC. If they both win this coming weekend, they'll meet for the AFC title. The Eagles v Falcons winner will meet the Vikings v Saints winner for the NFC championship.

New England Patriots, +210
Minnesota Vikings, +375
Pittsburgh Steelers, +525
New Orleans Saints, +750
Philadelphia Eagles, +1200
Jacksonville Jaguars, +2200
Atlanta Falcons, +2500
Tennessee Titans, +7500

[rowan]

Now this is a good defensive effort!

[rowan]

All Black great Dan Carter has revealed just how close he came to pursuing a career in the NFL after the World Cup in 2015.

In an exclusive interview with rugbypass.com, the 36-year-old first-five admitted to holding talks with the New England Patriots about joining the Boston-based club as a kicker before deciding on Racing 92 in France.

"I got the opportunity to go to Boston and see the Patriots facilities, I thought I was just having a tour of their facilities . . . but I arrived there and two of their scouts came out straight away and said 'right, let's go onto the pitch and have a kick'," Carter said.

"I was like, what's going on here?

Story continues here: https://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/a ... d=12047556

[rowan]

2018-2019 regular season begins a week from today with defending champs the Eagles on the road to the Falcons. http://www.nfl.com/schedules/2018/REG1

[rowan]

Eagles struggle to a 10-9 win at home in the final week of pre-season:

Thursday
Browns 35, Lions 17 (box score)
Dolphins 34, Falcons 7 (box score)
Eagles 10, Jets 9 (box score)
Patriots 17, Giants 12 (box score)
Colts 27, Bengals 26 (box score)
Ravens 30, Redskins 20 (box score)
Jaguars 25, Buccaneers 10 (box score)
Steelers 39, Panthers 24 (box score)
Saints 28, Rams 0 (box score)
Bills 28, Bears 27 (box score)
Vikings 13, Titans 3 (box score)
Texans 14, Cowboys 6 (box score)
Chiefs 33, Packers 21 (box score)
Broncos 21, Cardinals 10 (box score)
Chargers 23, 49ers 21 (box score)
Raiders 30, Seahawks 19 (box score)

[rowan]

From NRL to NFL. Nice story:

AUSSIE NFL freak Jordan Mailata has been selected in the Philadelphia Eagles’ final 53-man squad.

The former South Sydney rugby league product — who was recruited as a raw, long-term project when the Eagles selected him with the No. 233 pick in the seventh round of the 2018 NFL Draft — has survived the final cut to the reigning Super Bowl champions’ roster.

The 158kg wrecking ball did enough in the Eagles’ final two pre-season games to squeeze his way into one of 10 roster spots given to offensive linemen.

Maialata’s selection was the headline act on a bumper day for Aussies in the NFL with rookie punter Cameron Johnston also making the Eagles’ roster.

Defensive end Adam Gotsis also kept his position with the Denver Broncos while Aussie rules-bred punters Michael Dickson (Seattle Seahawks), Jordan Berry (Pittsburgh Steelers) and Lachlan Edwards (New York Jets) also won spots on active rosters.

Philadelphia was reportedly hesitant to drop Mailata to its practice squad — fearing that a rival team may choose to swoop and recruit Mailata immediately.

The Eagles confirmed reports of Mailata’s inclusion on Sunday morning when they announced their full 53-man roster.

Mailata revealed he broke down in tears when an Eagles coach called him to give the most important news of his life.

https://www.news.com.au/sport/american- ... fd9eace418

[switchskier]

From NRL to NFL. Nice story:

AUSSIE NFL freak Jordan Mailata has been selected in the Philadelphia Eagles’ final 53-man squad.

The former South Sydney rugby league product — who was recruited as a raw, long-term project when the Eagles selected him with the No. 233 pick in the seventh round of the 2018 NFL Draft — has survived the final cut to the reigning Super Bowl champions’ roster.

The 158kg wrecking ball did enough in the Eagles’ final two pre-season games to squeeze his way into one of 10 roster spots given to offensive linemen.

Maialata’s selection was the headline act on a bumper day for Aussies in the NFL with rookie punter Cameron Johnston also making the Eagles’ roster.

Defensive end Adam Gotsis also kept his position with the Denver Broncos while Aussie rules-bred punters Michael Dickson (Seattle Seahawks), Jordan Berry (Pittsburgh Steelers) and Lachlan Edwards (New York Jets) also won spots on active rosters.

Philadelphia was reportedly hesitant to drop Mailata to its practice squad — fearing that a rival team may choose to swoop and recruit Mailata immediately.

The Eagles confirmed reports of Mailata’s inclusion on Sunday morning when they announced their full 53-man roster.

Mailata revealed he broke down in tears when an Eagles coach called him to give the most important news of his life.

https://www.news.com.au/sport/american- ... fd9eace418

If you watch the highlights he looks really good already. Big and strong but really nombke on his feet. I was hoping that the eagles would try stash him on the practice squad and my 49ers could steal him.

On a less positive rugby note, Alex Gray was released by the Falcons.

[rowan]

League players seem a little better suited to NFL than their union counterparts, probably because the XIII man code has more in common with the American game, having copied it in certain respects in its efforts to diverge completely from union and create a more entertaining spectacle. The most obvious example is the automatic turnover following a certain amount of plays.