NFL - Discussion Thread

It's not impossible, there's plenty of guys that could probably throw the ball 100 yards through the air. To do it in an NFL game though is another matter. The Offense would need to protect the quarterback for about 8 seconds to allow the reciever to get downfield and then the guy has to catch the ball. Quarterbacks like Mahommes and Rogers do throws that travel 60-70 yards through the air regularly but never have I seen a full 100 yards on film. I think the current record is something like 79 yards by someone a very long time ago. There is however footage on the internet of Lamar Jackson while he was in college throwing the football from one endzone to the other endzone for his recievers to catch while training.

Like you say, in theory it would be possible, but the o-line would have to protect the QB for a very long time. To put it into context, the average time it takes a QB to throw a pass is somewhere around 2 or 3 seconds. The defense would break through the o-line in probably 3 to 5 seconds, even with an elite o=line. He would never try it either. The risk of getting caught and conceding a safety or a fumble-6 is too high.

During a football game, I agree, there would be no possible way. During practice, especially since it's basically twice the altitude of Denver (and we all know how far people can throw and kick up there).

Just think if Favre or Marino ever had the chance to throw in Mexico. I bet they would've been able to gun it like 125 yards all air. Could only imagine how far a punt from Reggie Roby or Shane Lechler would fly down there. lol

Reggie Roby, I remember him, the Dolphins punter during the late 80�s and early 90�s. What about Ray Guy then? He was the Raiders punter who could touch the top of the New Orleans Superdome with his punts. If you let him kick in Mexico the kicking team would have about 20 seconds to run down field and get under the ball.

Favre and Marino would have no problem throwing the ball the full 100 yards, add Terry Bradshaw to the list as well, I saw him throw a few 70-80 yard bombs during the 70's to Lynne Swann and John Stallworth. Ben Rothensberger could probably do it as well.

Your mentioning of punting reminded me of a thought I've had for a while now. If a team has the ball and is at about the 40 yard line of the opposition's half (ie 40 yards away from the end zone) and have a 4th and 10, why don't teams try doing a short punt? It would work in a similar way to an onside kick, and if the kick was miss-hit, the offensive team could still recover the kick and run to make up the extra yards. It irritates me when teams punt from around that 40-yard area and either kick it into the end zone accidentally for a touchback, or punt too conservatively and give the opposition team the ball back at the 15 yard line. Why not kick 10-15 yards high up into the air and give your teammates a small chance of catching the ball for a 1st down. If the kick fails, the opposition only have the ball on the 25 yard line (nearly where a touchback would start).

Also you mention the high altitude of Denver and Mexico. Imagine the chaos of Denver punting the ball 30 metres up into the air. It would add another dimension to offenses in the NFL. Throwing a 4th down pass and having it fail means the opposition get the ball at nearly the halfway line. With so many Australian punters entering the league in recent times, they would know how to kick a ball to a player. It would just be a matter of them learning how to kick short using an NFL ball.

You could come up with all sorts of trick plays. For example, you could kick on the left side of the field 10 yards, have one of your players batter the ball back to a teammate, and have them pass to either the RB (to run to the right side of the field for the easiest of 1st downs) or the QB (who would either run and make a 1st down, or pass to a WR downfield (as the QB would in theory have a lot of open space without any defenders putting pressure on them). Hook and ladder plays are used as a form of hail mary and involve several short possessions, so why not do the same starting from a punt?

And imagine if a team was down 24-28 (a FG can't win them the game) and 10 yards out with just seconds left. I know passing into the end zone would be a much likelier outcome, but if a team decided to do a high punt into the end zone it would be madness. If a teammate catches the ball, it's a 30-28 win and game over.

:(

« Last edited by Matt77 on Jun 2nd 2019 »

If you punt and recover it, you don't keep the ball. The other team gets the ball where you catch it on a punt. Only on kickoffs can the kicking team recover the ball and keep the ball, whether onside or regular kickoffs (much harder on regular kickoffs, but I have seen it done where an idiotic kick returner didn't get on the ball).

Wow. I suspected that may be the case, but hoped it wasn't. What a stupid rule.

Robotic punting it is then...

What about this scenario. It's 4th and inches, the ball carrier knows he is not going to make it. Why doesn't he just release the ball so that it gets accidentally on purpose kicked in front of him (like in Rugby). Does it now become a free ball for both teams if it has TOUCHED an oppossing team player and whoever recovers the ball keeps possession? Why don't teams try this, the team initially in possession is going to turn the ball over anyway. Can you imagine the chaos a move would create.

They would probably rule that as an incomplete pass. Like if a QB throws the ball on 4th down and the defender knocks the ball away, it is end of possession rather than a defender fumbling the ball. I assume an accidental kick would make no difference, as the play would still be listed as the 4th down for the offensive team.

I would say the NFL have probably been clever with their rules in an attempt to differentiate themselves as much as they can from rugby. It's unfortunate though.

I hear what you are saying Matt, I think though that in the NFL the teams can still score points from drop kicks like in Rugby. You just don't see it very often because it's a risky play.

A drop kick would score a team 3 points, as it's essentially another name for a field goal. It would be difficult like you say because an NFL ball has very pointy ends compared to a rugby ball. But I wonder, could a team score a field goal from a kickoff? Seattle's punter did several drop kick kickoffs last season, and I wonder if he kicked into the end zone between the uprights whether it would count as a field goal.

There must be some kind of rule preventing that from happening surely, as you can see below it is possible to score a field goal from the kickoff.

The longest recorded successful drop goal is 77.7m (85yd) by Gerald Hamilton for South Africa v. England in London on 2 Jan 1932.

So what is stopping an NFL team recruiting a deadly accurate drop goal specialist from the world of Rugby to score 3 points everytime it's 4th and long?

During the late 70's and early 80's the Atlanta Falcons had a place kicker named Mick Luckhurst who was a British Rugby player and he was kicking field goals from 50 plus yards. He nailed 8 out of 16 of them, his longest was 52 yards.

Here's a nice scenario:

Week 1 2019/20 NFL season
Baltimore @ Miami

Baltimore - 42
Miami - 180

Baltimore opened their 2019/20 campaign in fine style, picking off Ryan Fitzpatrick on 4 occasions for pick-6's while also adding in 2 well-produced touchdown drives. Their 42-0 HT lead saw Miami's fans boo their team off the field, as they had not made a single first down. It seemed Josh Rosen would begin the second half. But bizarrely, the entire Miami offense removed their uniforms, as if they were going to tank this game. However, with Miami kicking off the 2nd half, they stunned the nation by scoring 60 field goals; all as drop kick kickoffs, and never allowed Baltimore a single second of possession in the second half as they triumphed 180-28 (the largest winning margin in AFL/NFL history). New head coach Brian Flores hailed it as "the most hilarious moment in sporting history", going on to joke that Miami would double their score when they played New England.

Flores mentioned a meeting with members from an online gaming forum as the inspiration for the never-before-seen scoring blitz.

« Last edited by Matt77 on Jun 4th 2019 »

Lol, makes you wonder if a team did try that what would happen. Say for example every time the offense had a series of downs they got 3 points from it. It would revolutionise the game.

Bad news for Washington, Trent Williams is holding out for a new contract. Just as everything seems to be falling into place the pro bowl lineman wants a pay rise. I understand why he is doing it but as a fan it's annoying.

I see the Dolphins have waived rookie Tyler Horton, the lockdown corner from Boise state. What happened there? Below are some of the awards he won at college, looks like he was a quality player.

Bednarik Award Watch List (2018)
Bronko Nagurski Trophy (2018)
Jim Thorpe Award Watch List (2018)
2x All-Mountain West First Team (2017-18)
2x Mountain West Defensive Player of the Week (Sept. 12, 2016; Sept. 3, 2018)
Mountain West All-Academic Team (2015)

Williams does not want a pay rise. In fact, he wants nothing at all other than to be traded or released immediately. Apparently he is unhappy at the way Washington handled a medical procedure that he was having. He's told his teammates that he wants out, and that he will refuse to play any games for Washington. I didn't realise he was a 7-time Pro Bowl player and arguably the best left tackle in the NFL.

This would be a massive blow to Washington, and especially Haskins. It's critical that he gets above average protection, since he is a very poor mover.

Trent Williams is the best player on the Washington Redsksins team Matt. If he goes it will be a major loss, like you say for a rookie like Haskins suddenly not having a 7 time Pro Bowler in front of him will dent his confidence before he plays his first NFL game. I hope they Williams comes to some agreement, it would be a shame to lose him. Rumour has it he may end up in Cleveland if he goes, the Browns released Desmond Harrison this week and are looking for a replacement. If Cleveland get Williams you have to say the Browns will literally go from celler dwellers to division champions this year, there's just too much talent on that team now for them not to be considered a playoff team.

The issue here is that Williams' sulking tantrum means he is extremely unlikely to play for Washington again, and that other teams will be able to get him cheap (or for free) since they know Washington have no leverage in a trade. The least he could've done is kept quiet so that Washington received a 2nd round pick (to replace the 2nd rounder they gave away to get Sweat).

But seriously, that's low by Williams. Washington should refuse to trade him and force him to play, and if he doesn't they can refuse to pay him. In my eyes, if you have been given an NFL contract (something tens of thousands of Americans would be desperate for) and get paid tens of millions of dollars (something anyone would dream of), you should fulfill that contract. And if you don't, you should make sure your former club receives adequate compensation.

If this story is true, you'd expect Washington will try trade him, and will receive next to nothing (probably a 2021 5th rounder). Cleveland for example, know Washington have to get rid of him and that Washington have to accept any offer they get.

What a scumbag.

« Last edited by Matt77 on Jun 6th 2019 »

As for kickoffs... Yeah, no way to score on a kickoff unless the returner fumbles and the kicking team recovers and returns it for a touchdown. That, or the returner doesn't pick up a kickoff that hits before the end zone and rolls into the end zone, and then the kicking team grabs the ball for the touchdown (basically a very long onside kick, but never happens because no returner is stupid enough to let that happen).

As for Trent Williams... That's a huge blow that he wants out... With Williams and Schierff, along with the picks they made in draft, Washington would've had one of the better O-Lines in the entire league.

Houston definitely needs Williams... So does Miami... But my gut is telling me he will be either a Patriot, Brown or 49er.

Zero chance he goes to Miami. I mean, who would want to?

He'll be able to choose where he wants to go. Even though New England are... well New England, they're not a team on the rise. Cleveland sounds like a safe bet. San Francisco need to improve their defense if they're to contend, especially being in a division with LA Rams and Seattle.

I wouldn't rule out him going to an NFC East team like NY Giants. There's some upside there, and they are a team that would love an elite o-line player. If there's as much bad blood as it seems, he would love to stick it to Washington twice a year.

Onto a tangent - Is this the year Brady and New England slow down? (not miss the playoffs, but don't get a 1st week bye) The NFL is too predictable every year, since we know NE will be a conference championship team at minimum. I desperately want, and need to see their downfall.

« Last edited by Matt77 on Jun 6th 2019 »

I think you're right Matt, this is the year Brady and New Englands dynasty comes to an end. I have a feeling Brady's heart won't be in it like previous years. I bet he's still upset about the contract situation with New England not extending it. I know it's formality but when you look at the fact that in previous years Brady willingly took a pay cut so the team could pay more money to other players he must feel a bit disappointed.

I'm still annoyed with Trent Williams, just when the Redskins look like they're getting back on their feet after nearly three long decades the best player puts a spanner in the works. I think he'll go to Cleveland given the opportunity and if not them New England in the hope of getting a Super Bowl ring before he retires.

Looks like Fitzpatrick is beating out Rosen for the starting job at Miami. He's now completing no-look passes in training camp he feels so confident. Just seen the footage, defenders have no chance they're all looking in the same direction Fitzpatrick is. I still think Rosen is the man at Miami.