[Other Sport] The Official NFL 2018 Thread

[DFL JCL]

That was a cruel way to get knocked out of the playoffs. Gotta say, i'm not a fan of icing the kicker. particualarly this morning.

 

[Da Man Clay]

I'd love to! That or punter. Two of the easiest jobs in pro sports.

Punter I’m with you. I think kicker is a nightmare. Missing a kick like yesterday and you’re personally held responsible for the teams loss.

 

[Fignon's Ponytail]

I'd love to! That or punter. Two of the easiest jobs in pro sports.

Check out the footage of the Seattle punter trying to kick FG's before their game on Saturday - missing badly from close range! So maybe not one of the easiest jobs in pro sport it would seem....

 

[JJ McClure]

Punter I’m with you. I think kicker is a nightmare. Missing a kick like yesterday and you’re personally held responsible for the teams loss.

Plus its a ruthless business, miss a couple of kicks and you're dropped or cut before you know it.

 

[DarrenFreemansPerm]

I got 1 of 4 predictions right

 

[Garry Nelson's Left Foot]

Punter I’m with you. I think kicker is a nightmare. Missing a kick like yesterday and you’re personally held responsible for the teams loss.

Check out the footage of the Seattle punter trying to kick FG's before their game on Saturday - missing badly from close range! So maybe not one of the easiest jobs in pro sport it would seem....

I get the pressure aspect. But then there's pressure in all positions in all sports. And I understand it's not as simple as just walking up and kicking the ball, but...

in relation to the money they make (anywhere from 500k to 4million apparently) and what they actually have to do, I think they've both got to be up there for easiest ways of making shitloads of money in pro sports. They literally have one job to do that requires one skill. It's not like they have much to do on the training field other than hone the one action of kicking a field goal/punting. Every other position in the sport and in every other sport (that I can think of off the top of my head) requires a larger skill set. Worse case scenario they fail in their first year and only earn half a million dollars. That's not too bad.

If I was a budding fly half in Rugby that looked like I could maybe have a low end pro career I'd switch to American Football and just work on my kicking. Even if I only made it a season I'd earn at least five or six times what I'd earn in a season in rugby.

And then if you're half decent at it you've got a good dozen years or more(how old is Vinatieri?!) earning an annual seven figure salary without too much injury risk. You can retire in luxury without any long term damage to your body and brain.

I am all in on being an NFL kicker/punter.

 

[The_Viper]

Plus its a ruthless business, miss a couple of kicks and you're dropped or cut before you know it.

Unless your name is Cody Parkey, then you're allowed to be the second worst kicker in the NFL and still play football. I was furious last night watching it, I am still pissed off now. BUT on the other side of the coin, we refused to cut him when we knew he wasn't good enough so we deserved to have it happen like that and secondly if it wasn't now it'd be against the Rams or even further down the stretch he cost us and that would have felt worse.

I think that is the last we see of the Bears for a few years though, an incredibly difficult schedule next season, we lose Vic Fangio as our defensive coordinator, our divisional rivals in the Vikings and the Packers have easier schedules and will definitely improve. Hopefully with a poor 2019 season will come a nice fixture list and one last crack at it in 2020 with this core team otherwise it's back to the wilderness.

 

[Horton's halftime iceberg]

I got 1 of 4 predictions right

0 out of 4 four for me.

Couple of great games though, especially the end to last nights.

 

[DarrenFreemansPerm]

0 out of 4 four for me.

Couple of great games though, especially the end to last nights.

Indeed. I feel sorry for the folks that dismiss the NFL as rugby with pads on, such a spectacle!

 

[Balders]

From nfl.com......

Cody Parkey's Double Doink miss had help.

Meticulous review of the Chicago Bears' season-ending missed field goal shows that Philadelphia Eagles defensive tackle Treyvon Hester tipped the ball just enough off the line of scrimmage to help push it offline.

Hester's tip was sufficient to help the kick leak left, hit the upright, carom off the crossbar and bound back into the field of play for the miss.

The ball getting tipped underscores that the loss wasn't solely on Parkey.

 

[Horton's halftime iceberg]

From nfl.com......

Cody Parkey's Double Doink miss had help.

Meticulous review of the Chicago Bears' season-ending missed field goal shows that Philadelphia Eagles defensive tackle Treyvon Hester tipped the ball just enough off the line of scrimmage to help push it offline.

Hester's tip was sufficient to help the kick leak left, hit the upright, carom off the crossbar and bound back into the field of play for the miss.

The ball getting tipped underscores that the loss wasn't solely on Parkey.

Impressive game winning move if that is right.

 

[Albion my Albion]

All I can say is I was right there with them. It was awful.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUOgSMvnC_4

 

[thedonkeycentrehalf]

Check out the footage of the Seattle punter trying to kick FG's before their game on Saturday - missing badly from close range! So maybe not one of the easiest jobs in pro sport it would seem....

Went to one of the NFL Experience sessions a few years ago. As a goalkeeper I was used to goalkicking so had a go at the field goal session. First one missed as I had the kicking tee the wrong way round! Popped over the next two from 30 and 35 yards without any issues while wearing chino shorts and normal trainers so don't think the kicking itself is an issue. It is more the mental pressure that kickers have to deal with.

 

[Fignon's Ponytail]

Went to one of the NFL Experience sessions a few years ago. As a goalkeeper I was used to goalkicking so had a go at the field goal session. First one missed as I had the kicking tee the wrong way round! Popped over the next two from 30 and 35 yards without any issues while wearing chino shorts and normal trainers so don't think the kicking itself is an issue. It is more the mental pressure that kickers have to deal with.

Agree, I've tried it myself on holiday at Disney's Wide World of Sports & hit a few.....and I totally understand what people are saying about the mental side of it - they have a lot to deal with in those couple of seconds.
But if you watch the Seahawks punter trying to kick FG's in warm ups, he cant even nail one from close range WITHOUT any real pressure on him. Hitting it wide, under the bar, hitting the upright....so in his case definitely a kicking issue, which is sort of my point that its not as easy as it seems to just go out there & put the ball between the uprights for (probably) most people....pressure or no pressure. Most definitely an easy job re: paycheck, not necessarily an easy job to perform consistently, even when you're not in a game situation.

Can see why Seattle went for two each time during the game now.

 

[Fignon's Ponytail]

Unless your name is Cody Parkey, then you're allowed to be the second worst kicker in the NFL and still play football. I was furious last night watching it, I am still pissed off now. BUT on the other side of the coin, we refused to cut him when we knew he wasn't good enough so we deserved to have it happen like that and secondly if it wasn't now it'd be against the Rams or even further down the stretch he cost us and that would have felt worse.

I think that is the last we see of the Bears for a few years though, an incredibly difficult schedule next season, we lose Vic Fangio as our defensive coordinator, our divisional rivals in the Vikings and the Packers have easier schedules and will definitely improve.

I wouldn't be so sure. The Bears have a very strong roster that should make a go of it for more than just one season, whereas the Packers are on the edge of a few rebuilding seasons I reckon with a new coaching team set to come in. My friends in Green Bay have said there are also strong rumours that there will be a purge of quite a few players - including the likes of Randall Cobb & Clay Matthews. If thats the case you could see the Packers taking a while to get back to the heady heights of Division Champs, easy schedule or not next season.

 

[Hotchilidog]

Anyone catch the CFB Championship game this morning? All I can say is when Trevor Lawrence becomes eligible for the draft teams will be falling over each other to go 0-16 to get the first pick. One of the most impressive freshman QB performances I have ever seen.

 

[DarrenFreemansPerm]

Anyone catch the CFB Championship game this morning? All I can say is when Trevor Lawrence becomes eligible for the draft teams will be falling over each other to go 0-16 to get the first pick. One of the most impressive freshman QB performances I have ever seen.

I’ve only seen the opening Pick 6 and Tua’s deep TD pass so far, looking forward to catching the highlights later.
As a side note, being a Jags fan we seem to have found a spectacularly poor draft class in our search for a new franchise QB, last year was loaded, so too the year before, and next year, but this year looks like really slim pickings. Haskins appears to be the most viable option but the Giants are likely to snag him. Maybe Murray switches back from MLB?

 

[Hotchilidog]

I’ve only seen the opening Pick 6 and Tua’s deep TD pass so far, looking forward to catching the highlights later.
As a side note, being a Jags fan we seem to have found a spectacularly poor draft class in our search for a new franchise QB, last year was loaded, so too the year before, and next year, but this year looks like really slim pickings. Haskins appears to be the most viable option but the Giants are likely to snag him. Maybe Murray switches back from MLB?

The highlights will be well worth it. Shame that Jags realised a year too late that the needed to replace Bortles, I hope you can unearth a gem in the draft as you have a good team going to waste there at the moment.

 

[spring hall convert]

As a side note, being a Jags fan we seem to have found a spectacularly poor draft class in our search for a new franchise QB, last year was loaded, so too the year before, and next year, but this year looks like really slim pickings. Haskins appears to be the most viable option but the Giants are likely to snag him. Maybe Murray switches back from MLB?

The 2020 class could end up being like all-time loaded. The year before last is an interesting one isn't it? At the time it was thought of as being pretty QB light but the three taken in the first round all look like they should have good careers.

Perhaps that'll happen this time but it seems unlikely.

 

[DarrenFreemansPerm]

The highlights will be well worth it. Shame that Jags realised a year too late that the needed to replace Bortles, I hope you can unearth a gem in the draft as you have a good team going to waste there at the moment.

The decision to retain Bortles is looking more and more horrific, there’s literally no wiggle room for cap space so we can’t go after a vet QB.