Carabimero
Senior HTF Member
Is anybody watching games in this new league?
I was pleasantly surprised by who some of the players and coaches (and GMs are) for this professional league. My team is the San Diego Fleet coached by Mike Martz, with several players I've known from the NFL. My estimate is that the speed and precision of the game I watched was about 85% of NFL level, which in my opinion is very good.
There are eight teams, mostly in big markets who lack a NFL team: San Diego, Arizona, Salt Lake, San Antonio, Atlanta, Birmingham, Memphis, and Orlando. Along with Martz, Mike Singletary and Steve Spurrier are also head coaches.
There are a few quarterbacks whose names should be somewhat familiar: Trevor Knight (Arizona), Aaron Murray (Atlanta), Zach Mettenberger (Memphis), Christian Hackenberg (Memphis), Garrett Gilbert (Orlando) and Mike Bercovici (San Diego).
Among the non-quarterbacks you might know, from college stardom or flaming out as high NFL draft picks: receiver Josh Huff (Arizona), linebacker Scooby Wright (Arizona), safety Rahim Moore (Arizona), kicker Nick Folk (Arizona), running back Denard Robinson (Atlanta), kicker Younghoe Koo (Atlanta), kicker Nick Novak (Birmingham), running back Zac Stacy (Memphis), running back Matt Asiata (Salt Lake), receiver Greg Ward (San Antonio), tight end Gavin Escobar (San Diego), defensive end Damontre Moore (San Diego).
Some of the rules are different: no kickoffs or extra points (you always go for two). No onside kicks but rather a difficult offensive play determines if you get the ball back (as you would on the onside), and the eye in the sky overturns egregious calls. Coaches have two challenges per game.
The game I saw between San Diego and San Antonio (with Mike Riley as the head coach and Daryl Johnston as the GM) was extremely well-played and competitive.
Starting yesterday, two games are played every Saturday and Sunday until April, at which point they have a 2-game playoff. The commentators for my game last night, which included Kurt Warner, were MUCH better IMO than the guys calling MMF.
I'm looking forward to a game today and more games every weekend for a while. These guys are playing hard. The main difference I see in the play from the NFL level is a more consistent lack of players in one-on-one match ups to get leverage on their guy. But overall the level of play is engaging and high. 53-man rosters. 43 dress.
What I don't like: Since defenses come together much quicker than offenses, you can only rush up to five on defense and they have to line up within a certain distance from the line of scrimmage. It's a 15 yard penalty on the defense for "illegal formation" otherwise.
What I do like: The pace of play is much better than the NFL. The game clock in only 35 seconds but it is not started when the ball is ready for play but immediately after the whistle blows ending the last play. Also, I don't miss kickoffs at all. That, more than anything, has added to my enjoyment. The pace of play is superior to the NFL. The coaches play to win; the players are taking it seriously.
There's no question in my mind that there are a lot of NFL-caliber players who slip through the cracks. They've found a place here. So it's pretty good football. I'm in.
Most, if not all, the games appear to be on the CBS Sports Network and the NFL Network.
I was pleasantly surprised by who some of the players and coaches (and GMs are) for this professional league. My team is the San Diego Fleet coached by Mike Martz, with several players I've known from the NFL. My estimate is that the speed and precision of the game I watched was about 85% of NFL level, which in my opinion is very good.
There are eight teams, mostly in big markets who lack a NFL team: San Diego, Arizona, Salt Lake, San Antonio, Atlanta, Birmingham, Memphis, and Orlando. Along with Martz, Mike Singletary and Steve Spurrier are also head coaches.
There are a few quarterbacks whose names should be somewhat familiar: Trevor Knight (Arizona), Aaron Murray (Atlanta), Zach Mettenberger (Memphis), Christian Hackenberg (Memphis), Garrett Gilbert (Orlando) and Mike Bercovici (San Diego).
Among the non-quarterbacks you might know, from college stardom or flaming out as high NFL draft picks: receiver Josh Huff (Arizona), linebacker Scooby Wright (Arizona), safety Rahim Moore (Arizona), kicker Nick Folk (Arizona), running back Denard Robinson (Atlanta), kicker Younghoe Koo (Atlanta), kicker Nick Novak (Birmingham), running back Zac Stacy (Memphis), running back Matt Asiata (Salt Lake), receiver Greg Ward (San Antonio), tight end Gavin Escobar (San Diego), defensive end Damontre Moore (San Diego).
Some of the rules are different: no kickoffs or extra points (you always go for two). No onside kicks but rather a difficult offensive play determines if you get the ball back (as you would on the onside), and the eye in the sky overturns egregious calls. Coaches have two challenges per game.
The game I saw between San Diego and San Antonio (with Mike Riley as the head coach and Daryl Johnston as the GM) was extremely well-played and competitive.
Starting yesterday, two games are played every Saturday and Sunday until April, at which point they have a 2-game playoff. The commentators for my game last night, which included Kurt Warner, were MUCH better IMO than the guys calling MMF.
I'm looking forward to a game today and more games every weekend for a while. These guys are playing hard. The main difference I see in the play from the NFL level is a more consistent lack of players in one-on-one match ups to get leverage on their guy. But overall the level of play is engaging and high. 53-man rosters. 43 dress.
What I don't like: Since defenses come together much quicker than offenses, you can only rush up to five on defense and they have to line up within a certain distance from the line of scrimmage. It's a 15 yard penalty on the defense for "illegal formation" otherwise.
What I do like: The pace of play is much better than the NFL. The game clock in only 35 seconds but it is not started when the ball is ready for play but immediately after the whistle blows ending the last play. Also, I don't miss kickoffs at all. That, more than anything, has added to my enjoyment. The pace of play is superior to the NFL. The coaches play to win; the players are taking it seriously.
There's no question in my mind that there are a lot of NFL-caliber players who slip through the cracks. They've found a place here. So it's pretty good football. I'm in.
Most, if not all, the games appear to be on the CBS Sports Network and the NFL Network.
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