American Football (NFL)
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Pats. Oh YEAH.
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I'm amused by how all the local color shots were of Sedona. Guess it's not surprising, considering how depressingly bleak and untelegenic Phoenix is.
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^Phoenix is beautiful, and I think they showed a good mix what the state has to offer.
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The Pats had the middle jammed up against the run. If the pass play works then Carroll is a genius. When it didn't …
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I'm not buying that completely, though I agree with the influence of hindsight. It would be a bad call regardless to me. Lynch had no trouble getting a yard when he needed it.
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CANNOT WAIT for today. browns logo reveal, which is rumored to reveal our new colors
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If not brown, white, and orange there will be riots.
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Did everyone enjoy last nights "safety rugby" game
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I still don't quite understand how the Falcons managed to blow that game. How do you let yourself get sacked twice to take you out of field goal range? (3 points that would have put the game out of reach.) How do you blow a three possession lead in the fourth quarter? lol unbelievable.
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I didn't enjoy that Atlanta decided to have tea and crumpets the second half of the match.
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Don't knock the team that failed, simply admire the one that triumphed. What a game!
Thank goodness for being able to work from home today too…
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Did everyone enjoy last nights "safety rugby" game
Being from New England very much so! -
Did everyone enjoy last nights "safety rugby" game
Mega, you really need to stop trolling. I know you probably don't have a lot of exposure to the myriad scientific studies, and staggering new information, we are learning regarding repetitive brain trauma because you live in the UK; but this comment is shockingly ignorant. CTE is a serious issue that is ruining lives– ruining families. Football helmets are weapons. The violent impact of a head-to-head collision in the game of football is dramatically different than a typical rugby takedown. I'm not saying head-to-head collisions don't ever occur in rugby, but they do not occur several times on every play.
I have bit my tongue, and done my best to ignore your poor humor regarding this subject over the years; but I cannot stomach it any longer. Please have some respect for all the "punch drunk" fathers out there who can no longer provide for their families, or themselves. Worse yet, the harsh reality of the abnormal rate of suicide due to this degenerative brain disease truly accentuates your lack of judgement and knowledge on the topic.
The game continues to get faster, and the athletes are getting stronger. Recent rule changes, in the interest of player safety, are a step in the right direction; but the game is still incredibly far off from anything resembling "safety rugby."
As someone who played both sports into early adulthood, I can tell you that they are not comparable. I know the quality of rugby in our country does not equal that of the Commonwealth or Pacific Islands; but I don't believe it is a coincidence that rugby players from all over the world are unable to cross over. I am painting with awfully-broad strokes here, but, in my experience, there is a significant difference in athleticism between the games.
I am going to put myself on timeout here for a while. I don't visit denim forums to get this excited and offended. It's not a sentiment I enjoy. No loss, I am not a compelling participator on this forum, anyway. This has obviously upset me for some time, and I needed to let it out. Please stop disrespecting our nation's love for this game, and the incredibly-conflicted reality we face as we continue to learn more about the sobering consequences our sports heroes are now facing in their middle age.
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Wow.
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I played rugby at a decent amateur level when I was younger but when I watch it now I'm amazed how much the game has changed in the last 20 years due to 2 factors that occurred at the same time - the advent of professionalism and the phenomenon known as Jonah Lomu. We now have brick shithouse wingers bigger than back row forwards who are capable of running 100m in 11 seconds. This was previously unheard of and although there may be a gap in fitness, ability, conditioning, etc between rugby and American football at the elite level, I'd suggest it's closing. Despite this, there is far more money in football and rugby is still a secondary sport in most countries that play it so it will never have the pull, glamour and backing of gridiron and everything that comes with that, including facilities, coaching, the playing pool, etc.
The changes over the last 2 decades have seen rugby move from a contact sport to a collision one and the increase in head injuries and associated protocol reflects this. I don't think it's as severe as football (yet) but that's in part because there are no helmets, partly the difference in the sports and also partly due to a more continuous (flowing) nature of the game than the start-stop set-play pattern of football, where collisions are key.
I also think that the ability to crossover from rugby to football isn't necessarily about ability or agility but understanding the differences in the game - roles, tactics, etc. Most rugby players are unlikely to have even played football until they switch and if you do that at the peak of your career you don't want to wait a couple of years for your opportunity, hence the likelihood for them to switch back. It's all about timing and managing expectations. In fact it's difficult enough to switch codes in rugby, let alone to another sport entirely.
I'm not really disagreeing with anyone here but just adding some further food for thought, my £0.02/$0.02 depending on your outlook!
