Good job Titans O-line.

"Dwhite - Powered by Caffeine, Daft Punk, and Corgis" (Dwhite95)
09/09/2013 at 07:43 • Filed to: None

DISCUSSION (21)

McMike > Dwhite - Powered by Caffeine, Daft Punk, and Corgis
09/09/2013 at 07:51

Can you even defend against that?

davedave1111 > Dwhite - Powered by Caffeine, Daft Punk, and Corgis
09/09/2013 at 07:54

I have to say, I find American Football one of the most incomprehensible games on the planet. Not so much the rules, as the way it's played. Why didn't the yellow guy strip the ball? Why didn't his team-mates back him up? Looks like there was a clear chance to run in a TD unopposed, but they were totally unprepared for it.

SnapUndersteer, Italian Spiderman > McMike
09/09/2013 at 07:59

You extend the count and get an encroachment call

TheBloody, Oppositelock lives on in our shitposts. > davedave1111
09/09/2013 at 08:01

It's not like rugby so once the tackle is made the ball is considered dead.

Edit: Also once forward progress stops the play is also considered dead.

McMike > SnapUndersteer, Italian Spiderman
09/09/2013 at 08:04

(doesn't watch football) If the QB extends the count from "On three" to "on four" when he sees a defender coming, won't the rest of the line jump up at "three" because they didn't get the message?

(thinks about it for a second...... ) or does he just pause between hut two and hut three?

davedave1111 > TheBloody, Oppositelock lives on in our shitposts.
09/09/2013 at 08:05

Not if you strip the ball, or keep the guy on his feet, though - I thought?

Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire > davedave1111
09/09/2013 at 08:10

It's very hard to strip a ball when the player has his arms around it and you're flying at him.

TheBloody, Oppositelock lives on in our shitposts. > davedave1111
09/09/2013 at 08:13

Depends on the ref, as soon as the QB starts going backwards with the tackler the play is technically dead. The ball would have to start coming out before that happens, so if they were to wrestle for control of the ball it will be considered a tackle and the play would end. The only way to strip the ball would be a simultaneous catch between two opposing receivers or if Polamalu were to punch the ball out of the QB's hands forcing a fumble.

The only way you could strip ala rugby is if the defense were to drag the ball carrier forward while they tried to strip the ball.

davedave1111 > Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire
09/09/2013 at 08:15

I didn't say it would be easy, although having played rugby quite a bit I reckon you're overstating the difficulty. That said, what's the downside to at least trying to do it even if it is that hard?

davedave1111 > TheBloody, Oppositelock lives on in our shitposts.
09/09/2013 at 08:19

In rugby, stripping the ball is normally a single action, done while in motion. Either the QB would have held the ball, or the tackler would have the ball in his hands and be on his way without ever stopping.

But yeah, this is why I find the game so hard to understand - it's never quite clear if there's an obscure rule responsible for something I don't get, or just one of those things that's become established practice for no good reason.

Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire > davedave1111
09/09/2013 at 08:20

err footballs and rugby balls are different. But, really it's because the QB turned away right before he was hit, and Polamalu wasn't thinking about stripping the ball, he was concerned with making the QB his new bitch.

davedave1111 > McMike
09/09/2013 at 08:20

Sidestep, uppercut. Should work :)

TheBloody, Oppositelock lives on in our shitposts. > davedave1111
09/09/2013 at 08:24

Grew up in South Africa so it's taken be about 10 years to fully understand the obscure rules in football. Most times I was able to strip the ball in rugby was during a maul when I had time to work it loose hence why I feel if they were to set up a maul type situation and just kept the ball moving forward they'd have time to strip.

davedave1111 > Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire
09/09/2013 at 08:24

I haven't played much with a football, but from what I've seen I'd've thought it would be much easier to strip than a rugby ball. You reckon it's the other way around? It's possible, I guess.

Polamalu wasn't thinking about stripping the ball, he was concerned with making the QB his new bitch

I figured that. But wouldn't scoring a touchdown there have made the QB and the whole team into his new bitches?

Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire > davedave1111
09/09/2013 at 08:28

There a bit smaller and grippy, when you properly tuck the ball in between your elbow, chest, and pads, it can be nigh impossible to remove.

Getting a touchdown would only get you six points, but concussions last a lifetime.

TheBloody, Oppositelock lives on in our shitposts. > McMike
09/09/2013 at 08:31

There is probably a code word for extended count, so the QB yells that to let the O-line know.

As shown here .

desertdog5051 > Dwhite - Powered by Caffeine, Daft Punk, and Corgis
09/09/2013 at 09:00

Great timing.

Autophile412 - what's the world got in store? > Dwhite - Powered by Caffeine, Daft Punk, and Corgis
09/09/2013 at 09:02

Troy Polamalu ..... 'nuff said.

It's too bad the rest of the defense and our offense couldn't put a game together yesterday. Effin terrible. I am thinking this is going to be a looooong season. Thankfully the NHL starts soon.

Slave2anMG > Dwhite - Powered by Caffeine, Daft Punk, and Corgis
09/09/2013 at 09:25

That's about the only thing the Steelers did well yesterday...

bhardoin > davedave1111
09/09/2013 at 10:15

My best explanation:

A) Footballs are slightly smaller than rugby balls, so you can tuck them very tightly between your hand, bicep, and chest. There's an interesting "sport science" video on youtube where UFC fighters try to punch footballs out of running back's hands with little success.

B) Quarterbacks are less padded than other players, and more injury prone. As a result, if yellow-pants-man had tried more forwardly to strip the ball, the quarterback would have just gone down on his own terms, rather than taking a somewhat rough hit.

C) If you watch yellow-pants-man's left arm closely, he tries to strip the ball while bringing down the quarterback. The priority is to tackle him, and ensure he doesn't wiggle free. But second priority is to make it tough for him to hold the ball. If you watch slow motion videos of running backs getting tackled, there's always other hands on the ball trying to pry it free.

Bakkster, touring car driver > davedave1111
09/09/2013 at 11:18

1) Intimidation factor. Make the QB overly cautious and you've made an impact for the rest of the game, instead of just a single play.

2) The rest of the team was waiting for the snap, they couldn't move before the ball did.

3) The players stopped because the play was whistled dead. Sometimes a player will continue moving just in case, but once the whistle blows it doesn't matter what happens on the field, even if it was a mistaken whistle.

4) The team on the left had a running back behind the QB. He can be seen touching the tackling player at the end of this clip. Even if he had stripped the ball, he would have been down by contact and unable to run it for a touchdown, he was not unopposed as you thought.

5) Finally, it's risk reward. There was a high probability of a tackle costing the other team a down. There was just a small possibility of stripping the ball, and attempting to do so would make him less likely to stop their play as well. So it's a question of 'a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush'.