American Football and Aquariums

[eatyourpeas]

I am still trying to figure out American Football. Being Italian, I only know "futbol" and am a fan of Juventus.

Now, if you were to draw an analogy between the American sport and a tank to explain the game to someone, how would you do it? I can map basketball to shrimp playing with snails, but have no idea how a tank would be the field and the rules of the sport would map to critter behaviour (except for shrimp having a knack for piling on top of each other).

[Zenzo]

Imagine a large, 8' long aquarium filled with larger cichlids. Some are big and slow, while others are a little smaller but very fast and tough. Now, imagine that one group of cichlids wants to spawn on a rock at one end of the tank, while the other group wants to spawn on a log at the opposite end of the tank. The struggle and fights to get from one end of the tank to the other is your aquarium analogy to American football. 

[eatyourpeas]

On 12/13/2021 at 11:59 AM, Zenzo said:

Imagine a large, 8' long aquarium filled with larger cichlids. Some are big and slow, while others are a little smaller but very fast and tough. Now, imagine that one group of cichlids wants to spawn on a rock at one end of the tank, while the other group wants to spawn on a log at the opposite end of the tank. The struggle and fights to get from one end of the tank to the other is your aquarium analogy to American football. 

Brilliant, I get that. Now how do the rules apply to how they get there? Is it just a big fight in the game as well? Punching allowed?

[Zenzo]

On 12/13/2021 at 12:01 PM, eatyourpeas said:

Brilliant, I get that. Now how do the rules apply to how they get there? Is it just a big fight in the game as well? Punching allowed?

No, think more like a group of catfish are observing the "fights" to ensure that the cichlids abide by the rules. No biting eyes or fins. 

That's all I've got. Kind of a stretch. LOL

 

[eatyourpeas]

Ok, thanks. 🙂

Edited December 13, 2021 by eatyourpeas
Better.

[eatyourpeas]

Thank you, I still do not quite get it. Cultural differences, I guess. 😎

[sudofish]

I can't think of a good fish tank analogy but here's a pretty good video explaining some basics of it, you'll have to watch it on youtube:

 

[eatyourpeas]

@sudofish I am still curious why the position  "tight end" exists, making the teams lopsided. But this helped.

motd: thanks!

[Streetwise]

I am an American who almost exclusively watches European football, especially the EPL.

American Football is a military simulation, with all sorts of pauses in play. Soccer, a term invented by the British, means Association Football, and includes two 45 minute halves with no commercial interruptions.

 

[OnlyGenusCaps]

Wish I could help, but this is the majority I know about the sports ball:

Oddly, I got socially locked into hosting a Super Ball party for years. All because I had a craving for chicken wings one day.  The nightmare finally ended though, so you can all rest at ease. 

[Zenzo]

On 12/13/2021 at 3:15 PM, eatyourpeas said:

@sudofish I am still curious why the position  "tight end" exists, making the teams lopsided. But this helped.

motd: thanks!

As a former American Football player, I can give you some insight. Basically speaking, every position on the team serves a specific purpose, and they usually have one or two duties during the course of play. The challenge is that most positions come with limitations (sacrifices). For example, having a tight end line up on the offensive side of the ball gives that team options as far as having an individual that can both block and go out for a pass. The downside is that a tight end sacrifices speed and agility in exchange for size and power. 

Think of American football more like a combination of chess, Australian rules football, and battle. There is more strategy that goes into American football than most other sports. This is why the pace is slower compared to game like soccer (yes, there is strategy in soccer, but far less than American football).

The objective of the game is to score points in the opposing team's goal, and to prevent the other team from scoring in your goal. Points are scored in numerous ways, but the easiest to remember are touchdowns (carrying or catching the ball in the opponents goal), or via kicking the ball through the uprights. Points are scored by 1, 2, 3, or 6.

During each play, a team will try to exploit the defense of the other team and try to score a point (by passing catching, running, etc.). If they are not successful in getting into the end zone (goal), they may attempt a kick if close enough. The defense in turn devises plays to disrupt the offense and prevent them from advancing.

Because there are so many specialized plays, strategies, and types of players, it can be  challenge to fully understand the game. To be honest, I bet that 90% of people that watch the game don't really know all of the rules, or how the strategies work. It's kind of like aquariums. Millions of people have tanks in their homes, but how many are true nerds like us?

[eatyourpeas]

On 12/13/2021 at 3:43 PM, OnlyGenusCaps said:

All because I had a craving for chicken wings one day.

Was it worth it? 🤣

On 12/13/2021 at 3:51 PM, Zenzo said:

Millions of people have tanks in their homes, but how many are true nerds like us?

eh, that makes more sense. I shall continue watching fish tanks as opposed to human tanks. 😎

On 12/13/2021 at 3:25 PM, Streetwise said:

American Football is a military simulation, with all sorts of pauses in play.

I definitely do not get the pauses... 😵

[Streetwise]

@Zenzo, excellent description. I enjoy many sports with different rules, objectives, and various optimizations. Sailboat racing has some very interesting rules.

[Zenzo]

On 12/13/2021 at 4:09 PM, eatyourpeas said:

I definitely do not get the pauses... 😵

It is because the speed/violence/strategy of each play cannot be sustained. It allows both sides (offense and defense) to regroup and plan for their next move (again, think chess). You cannot plan your next 5 moves ahead of time without knowing the outcome of each play individually, and how the other team will react.

Strategically it is extremely difficult without at least a 10-20 second "pause" between plays (most are between 30-40 seconds). Physically, it is impossible without breaks in play. It differs from games like soccer, where there are lulls in the action, and not every player is going 100% speed during the entire 90 minutes (also impossible). American football requires maximum exertion (with exception of maybe couple of players) during each play. This means full sprints. Violent tackles. Huge efforts pushing and pulling. 

[Streetwise]

NCAAF/NFL/CFL players are carrying a lot of weight in protective gear. Ice Hockey players are also layered up, and run in shifts.

For any sport that you didn’t play, watch it with someone who has, or a lifelong fan. They will provide the backstory, or you can do that for another friend.

[eatyourpeas]

On 12/13/2021 at 4:35 PM, Streetwise said:

NFL players are carrying a lot of weight in protective gear. NHL players are also layered up, and run in shifts.

For any sport that you didn’t play, watch it with someone who has, or a lifelong fan. They will provide the backstory, or you can do that for another friend.

Unless they are Italian, then there will be lots of loud screaming and gesturing! 😉

On 12/13/2021 at 4:29 PM, Zenzo said:

It is because the speed/violence/strategy of each play cannot be sustained.

Fair enough. 🙂

[Flumpweesel]

On 12/14/2021 at 12:42 AM, eatyourpeas said:

Unless they are Italian, then there will be lots of loud screaming and gesturing

I worked in a bar that foreign students used to favour and I can confirm that during the euro's (European Cup)  the Italians really are the most expressive about the sport and the most heart broken if it didn't go well. 

[eatyourpeas]

On 12/14/2021 at 4:47 AM, Flumpweesel said:

and the most heart broken if it didn't go well. 

We are very good at drama! 🤪

[Streetwise]

@Zenzo, what do think about the Manning brothers’ alternate MNF show? I have only seen a couple of them, but I love hearing them break down strategy, tactics, and what people are thinking in different situations.

It reminds me of watching the Red Sox with a super fan buddy of mine who knows all the details. 

[Zenzo]

On 12/14/2021 at 1:08 PM, Streetwise said:

@Zenzo, what do think about the Manning brothers’ alternate MNF show? I have only seen a couple of them, but I love hearing them break down strategy, tactics, and what people are thinking in different situations.

It reminds me of watching the Red Sox with a super fan buddy of mine who knows all the details. 

To be honest, I have not watched their show. In fact, I have watched very little NFL in the last year and a half or so. I watched more college ball this past/current season.

However, QBs are usually really good at breaking down plays to explain what happened. QBs and middle linebackers. The reason being is that a QB needs to know every detail of an offense, as well as being able to read and understand what a defense is doing, and communicate that to the other 10 players on offense. The same goes for the middle linebacker (often referred to as the Mike), who needs to know what his defense is doing, as well as needing to be able to read an offense and call out or change a play/assignments.

[Beardedbillygoat1975]

@StreetwiseI really like the Manning's show on MNF. They are both SB winning players, understand everything on the field, and they have a good time chatting plus their guests have been a lot of fun. The best player/analyst working is Romo, he is nearly psychic and has a phenomenal understanding of the game. 

[sudofish]

Well said @Zenzo. I've watched football 40+ years but I never played it. I still don't know every rule and I can't name a coverage when I see it. Once you start doing a deep dive into formations and man vs zone there's really a lot going on. My mother always said why do they always run it straight at the other team, they know they aren't going anywhere lol.

On 12/14/2021 at 4:51 PM, Beardedbillygoat1975 said:

@StreetwiseI really like the Manning's show on MNF. They are both SB winning players, understand everything on the field, and they have a good time chatting plus their guests have been a lot of fun. The best player/analyst working is Romo, he is nearly psychic and has a phenomenal understanding of the game. 

Oh yea that show is great. If it's a team I really care about I'll watch the other channel but otherwise their commentary is the best since Madden in my opinion.

[Scapexghost]

On 12/13/2021 at 4:15 PM, eatyourpeas said:

@sudofish I am still curious why the position  "tight end" exists, making the teams lopsided. But this helped.

motd: thanks!

Tight end doesn't make the teams lopsided. Both teams still have 11 players no matter what. Basically, the offense have 5 players that are not allowed to catch the ball, called lineman. They can only block. If you want a 6th blocker (or 7th or 8th) you put in a tight end. Tight ends can catch which make them a powerful tool in clever offensive schemes. So TEs, like Eric Ebron of the steelers and Kyle Pitts of the falcons are effectively WRs as the rarely block. The defensive equivalent of a TE is a Strong-side Linebacker. The "strong side" refers to the side with the TE. 

[eatyourpeas]

I just watched the perfect match in the PSB, and although not perfect, it came quite close. A few things that did not work as well:

- Repashy cube is not round enough to start with, so the game is pretty much all staring at the ball waiting for the signal to go off.

- They all wear the same uniform, so it is difficult for the spectator to figure out who is in which team.

- The player count changes mid-game.

- The referees (crabs and shrimp) interfere with the ball, moving it and confusing the players.

- The are totally befuddled when they score. 

- The game goes on for too long and they forget what they are supposed to do (gobies have the attention span of a gnat!).

All and all, a fun event! 😃