The Rest of College Football

[entropy]

part of the problems is guys like Vick get away with being great athletes for so long, they are behind in the passing game and actually running an offense.

[entropy]

Its been done. Glanville's Run-N-Shoot. The Jim Kelley Buffalo Bills. The Curt Warner Rams. All had great success for short periods...and all are extinct as offensive philosophies.

Running plays quickly cuts both ways; it prevents defensive substitutions, but it also prevents offensive substitutions. Its also puts a lot of pressure on the offense to be successful on a high number of its plays, or its off the field quickly. This, and the stress of operating quickly, cuts down on the playbook. Less personnel diversity, fewer plays.

those were hurry up offenses? I know they flung the ball all over, but I guys I don't recall them being hurry up in the CF sense.

[Hannibal]

If you compare the ratio of passing yardage to rushing yardage, or total yardage, I'll bet that the run-and-shoot offenses of 1991 were closer to today's offenses than the conservative offenses of the time. The NFL has evolved into a pass, pass, pass league.

[entropy]

hanny.. agree. NFL is a passing league. That would be my guess as well.

[Wild Hoss]

those were hurry up offenses? I know they flung the ball all over, but I guys I don't recall them being hurry up in the CF sense.

They were. Buffalo under Marv Levy was the trendsetter, but the RNS by definition was an up-tempo scheme.

[Wild Hoss]

hanny.. agree. NFL is a passing league. That would be my guess as well.

It has been for a long time.

[Da Geezer]

Did anyone read Lou Holtz' 2/3 page advertisement (er. . op ed written by Steve Moore) on the overwhelming merits of Notre Dame in Saturday's Wall Street Journal?

Notre Dame has relaxed their recruiting standards and improved their facilities "but . . the typical SAT scores for Notre Dame players was 1,300 which (Holtz says)' means that of the top 100 players you could only recruit about 15 of them'".

He later says that the way to address concussions is to do away with facemasks, so that players would not lead with their heads.

Instead, I guess they lead with their mouth like Coach Holtz

[lineygoblue]

He later says that the way to address concussions is to do away with facemasks, so that players would not lead with their heads.

The way you get kids to stop leading with their heads, is to eliminate the coaches who continue to teach the kids that their helmet is a weapon to inflict damage with. "Stick your helmet in his belly and DRIVE" ...

How many times have we heard that?

And, ... do we need to be reminded of Clowney's hit on Smith? He led with the crown of his helmet, into Smith's sternum.

But yet, that hit will end up as one of the "all time great hits" on ESPN.

[Hannibal]

He later says that the way to address concussions is to do away with facemasks, so that players would not lead with their heads.

I have warmed up to this idea. Hits would be less hard and tackles would be more about wrapping up and bringing the guy down if the guy making the tackle didn't feel like an invulnarable tank.

Do sports like Rugby and Aussie Rules football have anywhere near the amount of concussions and other injuries that American football has? Those guys play with essentially no protection.

[hack]

I have a rugby pal who says the problem is on the rise there too, but we didn't get into specifics.

[WingsFan]

What the hell? Game isn't even 5 mins old and 2 terrible calls against the Domers?? Bama up 7-0

[WingsFan]

14-0 zip very close to a blowout already. ND better do something, that Lacy will be playing on Sundays for sure, what a bruiser RB.

[Jeff Buchanan]

I have no love for either team but I'd bet Alabama could play close with mid to low level NFL teams; they'd beat the likes of the Lions.

If Saban does anything well as a coach, he has his teams ready. I'm enjoying watching ND get spanked. I never really felt they were a complete team warranting the top ranking. But the way the system works, they were undefeated and therefore #1 in the flawed system we have to deal with.

It's good that the first quarter, anyway, demonstrates just how flawed a system it is. ND just looks overwhelmed.

[hack]

I never really felt they were a complete team warranting the top ranking.

If you were lucky to beat Team 133, you aren't a top team.

[lineygoblue]

So far, its going about as I expected.

Poor Brent Musberger. He's going to have to change his Depends at halftime ...