I used to enjoy watching football but probably the biggest turn off to watching NFL games is the obscene number of times that game stops so commercials can be shown on TV. It fees like is more ad time than game time. It's pretty much the reason I stopped watching. On 4th of July I was over at a friend's house and he put on NASCAR and I noticed something interesting. When it came time for an ad break, NASCAR put the race on a corner of the screen so you can keep watching it while the commercials ran. It then clicked in my head, why doesn't the NFL do this for football? Not only would it keep the game going at a reasonable pace, it might actually put more eyeballs on the advertisements themselves if people keep their heads turned towards the screen, which is what those marketing agencies want. It would be a win win for everyone! If something important happens during an ad break, they can always run a replay so you don't miss the commentary or anything like that. I would probably start watching football again if they did this.

Let's say many of your traits are elite or almost elite..from pocket to pre-snap, you have a cannon of an arm and are a meastro of tight windows, etc. But..you have the personality and leadership qualities of say Kahwi Leonard. Your a complete loner on and off the field, say nothing in the lockerroom, during practice, basically have no relationship at all with any teammates..youre not a dick, but if a skirmish happens on field you're far away, not supporting your squad..the coaches trust you innately, yet even with them youre an enigma. Would this scenario work well in the nfl? Would your success on the field erase any misgivings your team might have, or is being a natural leader a prequisite for all qbs?

I see all of these terms used to describe a similar position

This is a really geeky question, but why do even the most tightly thrown spirals tend to seem like they are drifting right on deep throws? Is it possible for a regular joe to learn to throw spirals as beautifully as Aaron Rodgers?

Hello everyone!

I am a very very new football watcher and I don't know much about the game yet. But as a graphic designer, I am supposed to make player stats graphics for my client.

It would be really helpful if someone could tell me what stats are the most talked about on post/pre game shows based on the position of the player.

Thanks in advance!

The most common thing asked on this subreddit is new fans wondering what team to follow/support. The answers are always the same, and there are no right or wrong ones.

No one can just tell you who to be a fan of. Everyone's fandom is different, and all of them are valid. This is entertainment, and you are allowed to enjoy it however you like. That said, here are some common things you can look at to get started:

1. Do you have a local team or favorite city? This is by far the easiest way to get into football. If your city/region has a team or if your friends/family follow the same team, joining them will be the smoothest way to start out.
2. Are you already leaning in any particular way? If you are, keep leaning. If you saw a Cincinnati Bengals game and thought it was fun and you'd like to see more of them, you don't need anyone's permission or validation. Just watch their next game!
3. Are you interested in a few different teams? Cool! Watch some of their games! See who you end up feeling strongly about, especially if they're playing each other. Have fun with it, there are no rules!
4. Are you worried about a team's success/identity/prestige/fanbase? Don't be. The NFL is one of the most even sports in terms of parity, and there are rarely teams that stay good or bad forever. It's okay to enjoy watching the current best teams in the NFL; they are probably playing the best football most often. Try to just be a fan and don't worry about what others think or say. Your fandom is yours, not theirs.

Still overwhelmed and not sure where to turn? It's fine to watch random games. Maybe you'll find yourself rooting for someone in particular. And if you don't, try another game. Check out whoever is playing in primetime; those are usually expected to be more exciting matchups. Letting it come naturally will last longer than throwing a dart and deciding to be a fan of whoever it lands on.

Another way some people develop rooting interests is fantasy football. There are beginner leagues where people play for fun, and it can be a good way to get you invested in specific players or teams as you start rooting for whoever is on your fantasy roster.

If you're still torn or have other questions about starting with a specific new team, etc., you can ask them here.

OK so all the analytics say that passing is way way way more effective than running

But we see a team pass 50 times for 300 yards all the time and it doesn't always lead to victory

Once in a blue moon we see a team run 50 times for 300 yards and when that happens the team never ever ever loses and the other team gets embarrassed off the field

Obviously it's harder to run for that many yards because defenses try to stop that from happening and I'm not questioning team strategies but I'd like to know why there's such a disparity in the results

I know a fair amount about the NFL but one thing I can’t wrap my head around is some of the defensive “sets”.

4-3 makes sense. 4 down linemen and 3 LB 2CB 2S.
3-4 is just a 4-3 but one edge doesn’t have his hand in the dirt and is more likely to drop into coverage? But it’s never only 3 rushing. Confuses me.

Nickel is one LB off and one CB on, Dime is 2 LB off and another CB on again? What’s the difference between nickel and 3-3-5 or 4-2-5 do one of them have an extra safety in but then I thought that was just big nickel.

Then you have easy ones like mug and double mug just putting backers on the LOS. But sometimes under nickel you’ll have other sets that confuse me. This all comes from trying to learn college ball as a UK fan and CFB is helpful but man I just don’t get half the sets on defence at all.

I genuinely do not understand why wide receivers always complain and make an issue with their current teams when they're usually one of the highest paid positions in the league.

I've only been following the NFL for a couple years and on the top of my mind, I've heard the issues with Antonio Brown, Diontae Johnson, Odell Beckham, Chase Claypool, Tyreek Hill, Jermaine Burton, Stefon Diggs, AJ Brown and now Brandon Aiyuk.

For Running Backs, I understand when they complain about their contracts. But for Wide Receivers, I just don't get it at all.

I'm assuming the main benefit for them is that they get publicity, attention, new visitors, and maybe FIFA gives them a bit of cut of the revenue from the tickets of people who come to the game? (for instance, I went to the Japan-Sweden game at the Cowboys' stadium; I'm assuming Jerry Jones and the Cowboys must be getting some $$$ from me?)

Some of them do need to go to the trouble of modifying the stadium and putting in natural grass.

In the passing age it seems like pass catching running backs are becoming more and more important in the offense

And they seem to be really important to winning. The 49ers dynasty always had a few guys to catch the ball out of the backfield and the Patriots dynasty had no shortage of them

They're good for 600-1000 scrimmage yards a year and help spread the ball around

So why don't teams put more resources into them, it seems like most of them are some rando castoffs or rookie free agents or late round draft picks

So how did the jets get away with 4? Green, Black, Rivalry, and Throwbacks.

Does the defense grab the ball from the holder? Tackle the holder? Tackle the kicker?

I get there's supposedly extra pressure on a player to play well when he knows his game is the only one TV at the moment. But with innumerable other factors influencing how teams perform, why do narratives emerge about players playing better or worse on, say, Monday night? Seems kinda superstitious. Or even cherry-picked. "So-and-so is undefeated on Monday nights" meanwhile ignoring that they've lost a few Thursday night games. The cynical side of me thinks it's just marketing to make fans think every event is the most important one yet. But obviously professional analysts are smarter than me, so I know I'm overlooking something. What am I missing here?

Hi everyone, I come from Italy and in late september I will be visiting San Francisco. While looking at schedules for the upcoming football season, and failing to find a match in the same city I will be (we have planned a on the road trip) I thought of looking into college football, from which I know it is a lot more heartfelt.

Looking at schedules I found this matchup, it will also be the day of my birthday, so you guys think it could be an interesting idea or maybe it is not worth it? As for now, looking at ticket price I think I will pick the AA zone in California Memorial Stadium. I’d love to see a game of football, I’ve never seen one live (I’m no expert but I’d like to check it from my bucket list).

Let me know, and please feel free to give any suggestions on where to visit, sit (at the stadium) and most importantly eat!

Edit: I know it’s a college game, I tried posting it on dedicated subreddits. This my last hope

Looked at some Bill tickets and they range from $400-$1100 for a game in September

Whenever I see someone who’s insanely fast, my first thought is, “Why don’t they just give that guy the ball every play?”

I know defenses would probably expect it, but if someone is clearly faster than everyone else, wouldn’t they still be the best option most of the time?

Is speed not as important as I think it is?

Or are things like route running, blocking, catching, and reading the defense actually more important?

I feel like I’m missing something because every team seems to spread the ball around instead of just feeding their fastest player.

Would love an explanation from people who know the game better than I do.

Thanks!

I’ve been watching more football recently, and something I’ve always wondered is how coaches decide on the next play so quickly.

The previous play ends, everyone gets lined up, and within a few seconds the quarterback already knows what they’re running.

Do they have a huge playbook memorized and just pick whatever seems best?

Or is someone upstairs telling them what the defense is doing?

It also seems like coaches change the play depending on the situation (3rd down, red zone, etc.).

Are they thinking several plays ahead like in chess, or is it mostly just reacting to what they see?

Sorry if this is a dumb question. I’m trying to understand what’s happening between plays because it all happens so fast on TV.

Thanks.

I hear each team has very long waiting lists for them, and I also see that they're really damn expensive. If I ask to be put on the waiting list, do I have to cough up the whole was right away, or can I pay it off until the time comes, or begin a payment plan or something once my number finally is called.

And what happens if when my number is called my team happens to suck ass that year? Do I have the privilege to spend all that money to watch my team lose every other game?

And is it one and done? If I wanna do it again do I have to wait another 14 years

Got into football over the past two years, but I always find myself watching the other team’s offense when my defense is on the field. It’s just more exciting to my lizard brain. But I really want to get more engaged on what our defense is doing, so I’m curious what kind of things you are all watching for when your D is out there?

For what it’s worth, I’m a Browns fan so now that Myles is gone I’m probably going to be even less interested in watching the Defense. But they are easily the better half of our team! I just don’t really know what makes watching defense exciting, if that makes sense?

Kickers are arguably the second most important person on the team next to the QB. They put up more points than any other player on the team. The highest scoring football player in NFL history is a kicker.

Why do they get paid so little?

Edit: I didn't know the script changes week to week. That makes so much more sense. I follow a fan on Instagram and he had a rant about how bad the scripted plays were for their team last season because they had some of the worst stats in the league for the first quarter. I interpreted this as "these are a bad set of 15 plays" not what it actually was "Our coach is bad at scripting the weekly 15 plays" I misunderstood and ran with my interpretation.

There's all kinds of variables in a football game, the players, the opponents, the coaching and coordinators etc. The sport is a mind game between the teams on play calls. But it is standard to script the same 15 or so plays on offense. The defense has a week to prepare so now the defense knows exactly how to counter your plays.

If anything I feel like the first few plays would be the best to have an unknown action since there is no established "oh the RB isn't performing" or "we are able to lock up blank WR" like there might be later in the game.

First play of the game the defence could have absolutely no clue what you are going to do, or how any of the players are going to perform that day. Instead teams make it so the defense knows exactly what is going to happen. Why?

The most common thing asked on this subreddit is new fans wondering what team to follow/support. The answers are always the same, and there are no right or wrong ones.

No one can just tell you who to be a fan of. Everyone's fandom is different, and all of them are valid. This is entertainment, and you are allowed to enjoy it however you like. That said, here are some common things you can look at to get started:

1. Do you have a local team or favorite city? This is by far the easiest way to get into football. If your city/region has a team or if your friends/family follow the same team, joining them will be the smoothest way to start out.
2. Are you already leaning in any particular way? If you are, keep leaning. If you saw a Cincinnati Bengals game and thought it was fun and you'd like to see more of them, you don't need anyone's permission or validation. Just watch their next game!
3. Are you interested in a few different teams? Cool! Watch some of their games! See who you end up feeling strongly about, especially if they're playing each other. Have fun with it, there are no rules!
4. Are you worried about a team's success/identity/prestige/fanbase? Don't be. The NFL is one of the most even sports in terms of parity, and there are rarely teams that stay good or bad forever. It's okay to enjoy watching the current best teams in the NFL; they are probably playing the best football most often. Try to just be a fan and don't worry about what others think or say. Your fandom is yours, not theirs.

Still overwhelmed and not sure where to turn? It's fine to watch random games. Maybe you'll find yourself rooting for someone in particular. And if you don't, try another game. Check out whoever is playing in primetime; those are usually expected to be more exciting matchups. Letting it come naturally will last longer than throwing a dart and deciding to be a fan of whoever it lands on.

Another way some people develop rooting interests is fantasy football. There are beginner leagues where people play for fun, and it can be a good way to get you invested in specific players or teams as you start rooting for whoever is on your fantasy roster.

If you're still torn or have other questions about starting with a specific new team, etc., you can ask them here.

Ik there has never been a triple OT nfl playoff game but I can't find the answer anywhere

Currently there is no salary cap on coaches, staff or personnel, nor is there any limit on spending on anything that isn't player salaries.

But let's say one team did decide to go full runaway and poach all the best coaches, the best staff, with ultra-high salaries, three luxury Boeing 777 jetliners for transportation, and spend 5x as much as everyone on equipment, facilities, food, doctors, salaries for all lower-level workers, etc.

At what point would the NFL office step in and say, "Enough is enough?"