Searching for Players in unusual places

Fios · Post by **Fios** » Fri Jun 02, 2006 10:34 am

frankcal20 wrote:Fios
I have whole slew of punters who frolic in a wooded area filled with gypsies which is accessed via a magic closet in my house.
Oh, wait, this for unusual places. Sorry to go off topic.

What?????

Read the thread topic

EA7649 · Post by **EA7649** » Fri Jun 02, 2006 11:06 am

I live in the Philly region and on CSN they said The Philadelphia Eagles have contacted Justin Gatlin. If he ever plays in the NFL i hope he is horrible in a Eagles uniform. But i do think he does have a future as a Cornerback.

http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/sports/14720127.htm

Californiaskin · Post by **Californiaskin** » Fri Jun 02, 2006 11:12 am

Bottom line.......No rugby guys are going to make it the NFL......other than possibly as a punter.......unless of course they come over here, play college ball, and become "football players". It does not matter how many amatuer rugby players in the world there are, none are sculpted to play NFL football and NONE are as Athletic as the guys on even NFL practice squads.......If you think that your fricken kidding yourself.......end of thread for me.

SkinsJock · Post by **SkinsJock** » Fri Jun 02, 2006 11:20 am

Californiaskin wrote:I dont think rugby drag down tackels would work in the NFL. I think good backs like Ladanian Tomlinson would just shuck them off and because the rugby blokes are tiny theyd just get run over. Nor do I think Rugby is played with anywhere near the same speed and intensity as NFL football. One of the main reasons the collisions are so violent in the NFL is because guys wear pads and are alot more willing to throw thier bodys around.

Maybe rugby could supply some good punters but IMO thats about it.

You obviously are not well informed about rugby or the "desire" that some (a very few) football players have to "play". There are a lot of people who play rugby (rugby league and rugby union) that would be very good in the NFL because they have this "desire".
Pat Fisher and Pat Tillman were not big physically but played with great desire.
Most NFL players play because of the money - A few (like most very good rugby players) play it because they have the drive and desire.

You cannot measure real football players of any iteration by their size.

rick301 · Post by **rick301** » Fri Jun 02, 2006 12:37 pm

Californiaskin wrote:Bottom line.......No rugby guys are going to make it the NFL......other than possibly as a punter.......unless of course they come over here, play college ball, and become "football players". It does not matter how many amatuer rugby players in the world there are, none are sculpted to play NFL football and NONE are as Athletic as the guys on even NFL practice squads.......If you think thTat your fricken kidding yourself.......end of thread for me.

I doubt that you ever played rugby. I used to play football, rugby and wrestled. These sports involved similar skills. Rugby is a whole lot closer to football than soccer or even basketball.

To play any sport at the professional level will take time - to learn the nuances of the sport and particluar position. Given that time, I am confident that rugby players would do very, very well in the NFL.

You will find that rugby players are better conditioned than their NFL counterparts. One area that the NFL players would have a hard time matching is the after match party that the Rugby players have ... they are truely memorable ... if you could remember them.

Englands Team · Post by **Englands Team** » Fri Jun 02, 2006 4:34 pm

A massive difference between the two sports is that the NFL starts as a rule when you are 22 years old. There are a few exceptions but that seems to be an average age.

In rugby if you are not playing regular first team at that stage you probably will not make the first team. You will be discarded and play at a lower level.

Probably something to think about is that our top rugby players if the were born and raised in the States would probably be playing Football ot Hockey.

Clinton Portis for example if English may well have been playing on the Wing for St Helens and doing a very good job.

I have played, at a very poor standard Football. I played Linebacker and Tight End for 5 seasons. I loved the game and found that I could play both ways in some games.

I only ever played one game of Rugby League at centre. I found that the contact felt the same. No pads but the collisons are different. If you tried a football hit you would probably break your neck. I was mainly playing football and was trying to keep in shape in the off season. I thought i had burst my lungs after about 5 mins.

I played an even lower standard of Rugby Union. I was a winger. I had my most success playing this and managed to score once or twice. At my level the easiest sport of the three physically.

The only major sport I have never played is soccer. I have played on the local field and am that clumsy I would without fail fall over the ball and hurt myself. I then stuck to games were i could carry the thing in my hands.

Another sport that can be considered is Australian Rules Football. Now those guys will make punters.

ii7-V7 · Post by **ii7-V7** » Fri Jun 02, 2006 5:14 pm

rick301 wrote: One area that the NFL players would have a hard time matching is the after match party that the Rugby players have ... they are truely memorable ... if you could remember them.

Yeah we must have had thirty or forty of those at my hou...wait...was it my house? I remember a field and a pool of v*mit....someone lost an ear....Yeah, it was my house.

Countertrey · Post by **Countertrey** » Fri Jun 02, 2006 5:32 pm

I dont think rugby drag down tackels would work in the NFL. I think good backs like Ladanian Tomlinson would just shuck them off and because the rugby blokes are tiny theyd just get run over. Nor do I think Rugby is played with anywhere near the same speed and intensity as NFL football.

You serious? What these blokes lack in size, they make up for in endurance, toughness and tenacity. Rugby is a NASTY game. It's what football used to be. I could see a few MLB's, Safety's, Fullback's and TE's coming out of there.

Then, there's Aussie Rules... ack... tough guys there, too.

Californiaskin · Post by **Californiaskin** » Sat Jun 03, 2006 11:11 am

Yeah "nasty" like soccer or tennis.......

UK Skins Fan · Post by **UK Skins Fan** » Sat Jun 03, 2006 1:20 pm

Californiaskin wrote:Bottom line.......No rugby guys are going to make it the NFL......other than possibly as a punter.......unless of course they come over here, play college ball, and become "football players". It does not matter how many amatuer rugby players in the world there are, none are sculpted to play NFL football and NONE are as Athletic as the guys on even NFL practice squads.......If you think that your fricken kidding yourself.......end of thread for me.

Sorry, you can't get away with nonsense like this, and then say "end of thread", like you've posted the final definitive word on the subject.

Your opening "bottom line" may actually be correct, since playing NFL football will always require some early exposure to the game, learning some basics and building on them over a period of time. It is unlikely that any successful rugby player of either code will have obtained this foundation. But a rugby player could certainly succeed as a punter or a kicker - probably kicker rather than punter.

None are as athletic as the guys on even NFL practice squads? Seriously? Well, if we're talking about amateur players here (and I have no idea why we are, since the best athletes in rugby are clearly professionals), then you have a point. But one look at the kind of athletes that play rugby at the top level should convince any sensible viewer that these guys could succeed in the NFL, IF they had received the early coaching necessary.

UK Skins Fan · Post by **UK Skins Fan** » Sat Jun 03, 2006 1:26 pm

Californiaskin wrote:Yeah "nasty" like soccer or tennis.......

Comparing the physicality of rugby to football (soccer to you) is like comparing the physicality of the NFL to basketball. Your point is not valid.

JeanPassepartout1974 · Sat Jun 03, 2006 6:31 pm

Rugby is very physical and rough indeed!!

Fios · Post by **Fios** » Sun Jun 04, 2006 4:31 am

Other sports besides the ones I like are dumb!

UK Skins Fan · Post by **UK Skins Fan** » Sun Jun 04, 2006 5:41 am

Fios wrote:Other sports besides the ones I like are dumb!

That sound you heard was the sound of a nail being hit on the head, as the old saying goes. (Not to be confused with the sound of a snail being hit on the head - that sounds very different, and has a subtly different meaning).

Countertrey · Post by **Countertrey** » Mon Jun 05, 2006 10:44 am

Other sports besides the ones I like are dumb!

Ba dum dum!