Are you an atheist? I mean, one who denies the existence of football?
USFL playoffs in Canton
- Thread starter fbrox
- Start date
305NoTomato
Well-known member
I watched the game last night and was mad at myself for not going. What an atmosphere. I was going to buy a t shirt to support the league but it was over $30!
DetroitFats
New member
Great Atmosphere. Good Football, not as great as the NFL.
Baron Von Steuben
Grand Inquisitor
Watched the game. Entertaining. Hopefully the Maulers will be playing games in Pittsburgh next season.
John Lee Pettimore
Well-known member
Watched most of the game last night, a fun game and nice crowd doesn't take away from the fact that up til last night....the product is almost unwatchable. This ain't your father's USFL. There are no Jim Kellys, Hershel Walkers, or Anthony Carters. Yes....In the 80s it was....overall....still an obvious inferior product to the NFL, but they had just enough star power and swagger as a league to keep you interested....now....not so much.
Hope it improves and builds on last night.
Hope it improves and builds on last night.
I agree with most of your post short of calling it unwatchable, although there were plenty of games that were pretty brutal to watch and failed to hold my attention. The better teams were able to spot some vulnerabilities in other teams and were actually able to take advantage. I can't recall which game(s) specifically but I remember thinking that a TD run I just saw was the result of poor Quarters coverage. I ran the play back and was pretty convinced that I was right. Some of these coaches have coached at decent places in the past and got kids who could execute the offensive and defensive schemes, they don't always have that now. Since football is no longer Cov 3, Cov 2, and some sort of Man coverage I feel like they're running the more popular schemes like Quarters, 2 Read, or Palms. Most of the players have played those coverages but as back-ups so sometimes they are just not able to get to plays they see coming.
Some teams were able to hide weak offensive linemen, for example. The two positions that I thought were dreadful were QB and DB.
John Lee Pettimore
Well-known member
Agreed, that's kind of what I meant, I don't think coaching is the problem....the talent, in my opinion, just isn't there.
There were times when I thought that passes were well-defended when it was actually poor throws. To be fair, there were some guys who weren't bad pass defenders but very few were decent open-field tacklers. I hope that they can build on the championship game as well.
Baron Von Steuben
Grand Inquisitor
I don't think this version of the USFL wants to get into that arms race. Unless you have a pro football version of the LIV Tour (that gets its funding from a government-the Saudis) all the top talent goes to The Shield.
John Lee Pettimore
Well-known member
So being fans of HS football disqualifies one from having an opinion? Ya do know I'm a fan of pro ball too? Right?
LICKING COUNTY FAN
Well-known member
The best USFL game by far.
Until they outgrow Canton they should keep the championship game there.
Until they outgrow Canton they should keep the championship game there.
It goes back to the feeling I get that they are asking guys to do things that they weren't ready or even able to do. The players are in pro football limbo, many were certainly talented enough to land on D-I rosters but not NFL caliber. Whether they are being asked to execute NFL-level schemes I don't know but something was lacking for many teams. Look at all the low scoring games. Maybe they didn't have enough practice time with it being a new league, I admit that I simply don't know. If you look at the backgrounds of the QB's in the league two or three were once on NFL rosters but never played a game. Scooby Wright was successful at Arizona while in college but never made the cut in the NFL. His other skills couldn't make up for being an undersized linebacker that runs a 4.9 40. There are plenty of high school LB's that run 4.9 or better.
Say what you will about the “talent”, but football, at any level, boils down to two things: blocking and tackling. The lines, on both sides of the ball were certainly lacking, and the defenses (not just in this game, but others I watched over the course of the season) just weren’t great tacklers.
Hate to tell you guys, but anyone can be fast and run the ball, catch the ball and then run, or run to the ball on defense; the difference lies in what you do when you have to make one guy miss, or bring the guy with the ball down.
Having said that, it also shows how important the QB is in the “professional” game. There are less than 100 guys in the country who can crack an NFL roster at the QB position, and of the 32 who start (roughly 1/3 of the 100) how many would consider a “great” QB? 5?
Bottom line, it was football in the spring/summer to watch on occasion before we get back to the “regular” season of football.
Hate to tell you guys, but anyone can be fast and run the ball, catch the ball and then run, or run to the ball on defense; the difference lies in what you do when you have to make one guy miss, or bring the guy with the ball down.
Having said that, it also shows how important the QB is in the “professional” game. There are less than 100 guys in the country who can crack an NFL roster at the QB position, and of the 32 who start (roughly 1/3 of the 100) how many would consider a “great” QB? 5?
Bottom line, it was football in the spring/summer to watch on occasion before we get back to the “regular” season of football.
CantonAnon
Well-known member
I think the speed of the game has made it a lot tougher to be an offensive lineman. Back in the original USFL you had a more run-base game. Now, you have a pass heavy game which has led to more athletic pass rushers than in the past. That gives QBs less time to read a defense and makes them look worse.
Marcus Aurelius
Member
I believe the league had a successful inaugural season from the business side - the TV numbers were what FOX wanted.
You have to admit, it was ballsy for them to hold a “neutral site” championship in Canton of all places. But the city showed up on a holiday weekend. Kudos, maybe will be back next year.
The actual football product obviously was lacking. It will likely (hopefully) improve as rosters and coaching staffs mature over several seasons.
For 2023, they’re sticking with the 8 teams they have and looking to expand their host locations to 2-4 cities. Which cities and how that will work hasn’t been clarified:
www.sportsbusinessjournal.com
Obviously, things will be more difficult for them going forward with the XFL coming online next year. Hopefully the competition leads to good things.
You have to admit, it was ballsy for them to hold a “neutral site” championship in Canton of all places. But the city showed up on a holiday weekend. Kudos, maybe will be back next year.
The actual football product obviously was lacking. It will likely (hopefully) improve as rosters and coaching staffs mature over several seasons.
For 2023, they’re sticking with the 8 teams they have and looking to expand their host locations to 2-4 cities. Which cities and how that will work hasn’t been clarified:
USFL back for second season, says Fox's Shanks
The USFL will come back for a second season and expand into more markets, Fox Sports CEO and Executive Producer Eric Shanks told SBJ in an exclusive interview.
www.sportsbusinessjournal.com
Obviously, things will be more difficult for them going forward with the XFL coming online next year. Hopefully the competition leads to good things.
Good point. The first iteration of the USFL was "more fun" to watch as they played in their home city and drew a crowd. In 1985, I had a workout with a scout for the Tampa Bay Bandits at Baldwin Wallace for P/PK. They had a CFL veteran, Zenon Andrusysyn, on the roster but they weren't thrilled with his kickoff distance. They didn't want to use 2 roster spots for kicking so their focus was on guys who punt and field goals.
I didn't end up getting invited to go to Tampa Bay for a head/head w/ Zenon but it was a fun experience.