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Football

  • in Football
  • 2 min read

Get Smart About Football

When NFL Network first launched, they once had a segment with Jim Fassell, the former head coach of the New York Giants. In the segment, he shows a standard offensive formation, with two tight ends, two wide receivers, a fullback and running back. He then shows the defensive formation and explains what each offensive player is supposed to do based on how the defense lines up. If a defensive cornerback plays a shallow zone (say in a standard Tampa 2 offense) the wide receiver goes long. But if a linebacker is playing man coverage on the tight end, then the wide receiver switches and runs a different route. He went through about a dozen different permutations and I came away with a new respect for the intelligence required by the players. (Unfortunately I was unable to find a clip online). We have a tendency to think about athletes, especially football players, as “dumb jocks”, but when you break down plays like Coach Fassell did in this example, it highlights how smart they have to be – and how quickly they need to react.

If you want to improve your football intelligence, you need to be reading Chris B. Brown. He has a special ability to write about football, its different concepts, and the history and evolution of play calling in an easy to understand manner. Mr. Brown writes about both college and profesional football on his blog at SmartFootball.com. He also links from there to his longer form pieces he writes for ESPN’s Grantland.

Additionally, he has written a book, suprisingly called, The Essential Smart Football. Available at Amazon, the Kindle edition is only $2.99, and I highly recommend it. Each chapter is dedicated to a concept, and here are just a few examples:

  • The 3-3-5 Defense: A Story of Innovation (and Desperation)
  • How Rex Ryan created the new look New England Patriots offense
  • Dick Lebeau, Dom Capers, and the Evolution of Defense
  • Football and Decision Making
  • The Constraint Theory of Offense
  • Gary Kubiak, Alex Gibbs, and the Greatest Run Play in Modern Football

Each chapter is easily digestible, and the book is easy to pick up and set down. Mr. Brown writes in an easy to understand way, and even football fans who don’t know the difference between the I-formation and trip rights can pick this up and learn something.

It’s a $3 well spent and his blog and writing on Grantland is something I come back to again and again.

I have seen the future of TV

…and it is the ESPN app on the new Xbox 360 update that was released today.

I’ve been in the beta for the new Xbox 360 dashboard for the last month or so, and with its release today, the embargo on blogging about it has been lifted.

Since I cut the cord and got rid of cable TV last February, the one thing that has been missing is sports. I’ve been tied to whatever the four major networks want to shovel at me. And I’m a sports junkie. I’m a huge (American) football fan, cheering for both the University of Wisconsin Badgers and Green Bay packers, and as soon as football season ends I dive right into college basketball. Having been a DirecTV customer for ten years I would pay hundreds of dollars for the NFL Sunday ticket and the March Madness packages. I’ve also started getting back into MLB the last few years cheering for the Minnesota Twins. And this summer I could only watch them on Sunday afternoons – the only time they were available over the air.

The ESPN app on the Xbox 360 changes all of that. It’s amazing – especially for college football. Branding the app as “ESPN3”, it’s a repackaged version of ESPN360 with more content available live and on demand. If you have ESPN as a cable subscriber, you’ll get to watch the game they pick for you at 11am (CST) on Saturday. With ESPN3 on the 360 you have access to every game ESPN has rights to – 4 or 5 games at 11, and about the same at 2:30. Using my IP, they did blackout the 2:30 p.m. game if it was on ABC but I still had access to all the other games. And the best part was, you could choose to watch it live or you could start at the beginning if you were tuning in late. On the 360, ESPN3 offers full DVR functionality – you could pause, rewind and fast forward. A number of games are also archived for a few days and you can watch them on demand after the game was over. It was fantastic watching the Badgers beat the Buckeyes a week ago on ESPN3 – without having to pay for cable TV.

Other content available includes NBA games, a number of second tier college sports, and selected ESPN content. There is no NFL content, including Monday Night Football games – not a huge surprise, considering the draconian rules the NFL has to protect their brand. The available ESPN original content is the only thing I’m disappointed with. You only get some highlights and clips from SportsCenter – I didn’t expect the whole show, but I did expect more. But where it really lets me down is ESPN shows like Rome is Burning, Around the Horn, E:60 and PTI (especially PTI!) aren’t available. They might have one or two clips from each, though with the official launch today I can’t find PTI at all. I don’t know if it’s a rights issue that they don’t show these original shows as they features clips and highlights from the sports broadcasts themselves or why they’re not available, but I had hoped for more original content. And the updates too those clips, at least during the beta, weren’t very timely.

The only catch with ESPN3 on Xbox360 is you have to have a broadband provider who has partnered with Microsoft. I don’t know for sure, but I’m guessing it has to be someone who offers TV service of some kind. My dashboard shows co-branding with Comcast as I have Comcast cable internet service.

As a college football fan, and general sports fan, this fixes the one major downside I had in cutting the cable. It’s an awesome experience. Live and on-demand content available at my fingertips. This is what the future will bring once the content providers figure out their new business models. If they do.

Oh, and the Netflix app in today’s update finally added the ability to search so you don’t have to use your PC to add titles to your Instant Queue. Finally!

What a weekend of football

What a weekend! First, the Packers take apart the Seahawks after a costly start, with a game to remember on the Frozen Tundra with the snow blowing. And then the Cowboys, the #1 seed, lose to the Giants at Texas stadium.

It’s somehow fitting that 10 years after the Packers won the Super Bowl after hosting the NFC Championship game, that they host another one.

Cross your fingers my playoff tickets come through!

Go Pack!

Packers vs. Bears (10/7/07)

I was at Lambeau Field this past Sunday to watch the Packers eventually beat themselves and lose to the Bears on national TV.

Having grown up in Wisconsin, and now living in Minnesota, the residents of Minnesota think they have a rivalry with the Bears, but any true Packer fan will tell you the only rivalry we have is with the Bears. It was my first Bears game, and the normally nice crowd was just mean when it came to the Bears.

It didn’t help that the Packers had almost 100 yards of penalties, 6 turnovers, and didn’t rush the ball in the second half to eventually let a 10 point lead slip through their fingers.

I’ve added two sets of pictures from the game to my Flickr pages. I’m still having issues with focus on my DSLR when using my zoom lens in sports mode, I apologize if any are still blurry.

If you’re a Packer fan, join the Packer group on Flickr.

We were graced with the University of Wisconsin Marching Band before the game, during halftime, and during the second half doing their routine they also do at Camp Randall.

Here’s my favorite picture from the evening:

IMG_0950.JPG

Welcome to Bloody Thursday

If you’re an NFL fan, Len Pasquarelli of ESPN.com has a must read article on what they’re calling today: Bloody Thursday. His follow-up article on what will go down to today is just as good.

With the Collective Bargaining Agreement between the Player’s Union and Owners set to expire tomorrow, teams must get under the salary cap – a cap number they still don’t know. Free Agency starts tomorrow, and 2007 will be an uncapped year, so teams will be reluctant to sign anyone, especially as they can only pro-rate contracts over 4 years instead of the typical 7, which drives a player’s salary cap number through the roof.

Will an 11th hour deal arrive and save the league? Are we a year away from no college draft? Will the owners lock the players out after next season?

In the next 36 hours, watch the drama unfold!

Playoff thoughts

I’m not sure why, but I was happy to see the Steelers win this afternoon.

The Colts have a coach who is well respected, with a rep he can’t win the big one, but who is supposed to be one of the nicest coaches you’ll ever meet. They have one of the best, if not the best, quarterback in the league. And yet I was rooting against them.

There’s something about Bill Cowher that makes me cheer for the man. He’s a pull no punches, tell like it is coach. I like the trick plays. I like the blue collar feel to the Steelers. I like that Cowher just wins – and his tenure in the league is as impressive as anything.

Jerome Bettis is pure class as he has accepted his role, and Big Ben, while tip-toeing the line of cockiness, is a hell of a leader on the feel. Troy Palamalu just makes plays – and he was robbed today.

Robbed! I don’t know what it was, but I thought the refs in both of today’s games were just off. From the non-call false start / off-sides in the Colt / Steelers game to the overturn of Palamalu’s interception, there were even a couple calls in the Bears / Panthers games that just seemed wrong.

Poor refs can’t ever catch a break.

I was sad to see the Patriots lose, but happy to see the Bears and Redskins lose. (Yes, I’m more happy for teams to lose than teams to win). The Bears is an easy call – I’m a Packer fan, and the true rivalry is with the team in Chicago. For the Seahawks – meh. I’m happy for them as it’s been 21 years since their last playoff win, and I respect Coach Holmgren – even if he is coaching the wrong team.

Next week’s picks: Steelers and Panthers win, and meet in Super Bowl XL.

Football!

I love this time of the year – I think I’ve watched a football game every day for the last 10 days. Even the first few bowl games with teams you’ve rarely heard of we’re quite good (and I’m still laughing at George O’Leary).

I was ecstatic to see the Badgers win decisively in Coach Alvarez’s last game. I had been walking around the last few days convinced that what the analysts said was true – Auburn’s defense was going to rip in to Wisconsin, and the Badgers had little chance to win. Was I wrong – the Badgers won, and won big. Forget about the 10.5 point underdog status – Auburn couldn’t get it together all day and the Badgers offense was hot in the first half, and the defense played a heck of a game.

I was shocked to see the Packers fire Mike Sherman today – it wasn’t the $6 million they owe him for the last two years of his contract, it’s the question of who will replace him. In a year where there will be more head coaching vacancies than normal, will there be enough talent to go around? I also question if Ted Thompson is doing it for the right reasons – is Sherman definitely the wrong guy, or is Thompson trying to put his stamp on the team.

Time will tell. This leads me to believe Favre will retire, and is will be interesting to watch the Packers enter the next generation.

Pack Wins!

Driving in a car for just over 10 hours over a 24 hour period, to watch a 3.5 hour game was worth it – the Packers actually won a game this season.

While cold, it wasn’t nearly as bad as the game 3 years ago, and I only bought one hot chocolate this time.

Definitely worth it.

Off to Lambeau

I am off for a 5-6 hour drive to Green Bay to see the Packers take on the Lions. This is the latest in the season the NFL has scheduled a night game in Green Bay, the previous being Dec. 8th 2002 against the Vikings, which I was also at, and was extremely cold (I was complaining by the end of the first quarter, some Cheesehead I am).