rugby vs american football.

stira64

its true that rugby requires you to be more fit , and ruggers is quite a tough game, its nowhere near as intense or violent as american football. to anyone who doesnt believe me, try playing defensive lineman against an 17 stone nutcase with a crash helmet!

if you wanna play american football in ireland go to www.dublinrebels.com

daveirl

This post has been deleted.

mike65

American Football is a joke of a game, it exisits only to sell advertising space on TV. The skill levels seem minimal (though I realise on a bad day the same can seem true of rugby!), and it like all US games is really just bad version of something better...is it an accident
that US games have never found a truly global following?

Mike.

Hairy Homer

Despite similar roots, Rugby and American football have nothing in common any more apart from the shape of the ball.

The British game that American football most closely resembles, in terms of pace, duration, strategy, apparel, obsession with statistics and general ease of comprehension is ...

......Cricket.

Health warning: saying this to an American will likely get you punched, but it's very true.

Well lads all i can say is you cant make a decision untill you play . In American football you need pads because its alot more of an impact sport then rugby . Rugby is a faster game and i agree totally different . Yes American football caters for people of different sizes , If you are a large guy you can be a blocker , if you are a small guy you can be a runner with the ball getting through small gaps / or even a punter . If you are normal size you can play anywere . We had about 10 guys join our American football team . They didnt realise how tough it was . 1 guy lasted . American football is a tougher meaner sport . Rugby is still an old english collage boys sport .

If anybody else wants to play american football try www.dublindragons.com

Makaveli

You need pads in american football because you can tackle anywhere. And you get hit harder.
As for fitness, well blockers are fat because they dont need to run, all they have to do is block the offensive line. I'm sorry but if you think that running backs and recievers are unfit you need your head examined.

bucks73

As daveirl said its a vicious circle with the pads. If there were no pads then players wouldnt be throwing themselves headfirst into blocks.

They are not even tackles as holding in american football is a penalty offence.

Those linemen are just big slabs of meat. I bet not one of them could do a couple of laps of the pitch. All they work on is their muscles and blocking. Loads of skill required for that.

MarVeL

Originally posted by bucks73
They are not even tackles as holding in american football is a penalty offence.
[/B]

There are tackles in American Football and you are indeed allowed to hold onto the player while making them. I have even heard of players being fined for not holding onto a tackled player by their coaches. Holding is a penalty that is usually called at the line of scrimmage on the offense as one of the offensive players tries to stop a defender getting to the quarterback. It has nothing to do with tackling as neither player has the ball.

I still prefer rugby although I like the tactical element of american football. It always seemed more of a coaches than a players game to me (who has never properly played the american game but would, undoubtedly have been one of the big slabs of meat if he had :-) )

Sangre

Just on the whole fitness thing. In fairness they have to run all over the pitch blocking people even if its in short burst.

The games imo are too long to watch but I'd say it would be good to play.

the fnj

In my opinion you have to a more rounded athlete to play rugby. Rugby players have to run, tackle, ruck, pass etc etc. While the majority of positions and players in American football are very one-dimensional.

adecartref

There is no comparsion in terms of endurance fitness rugby players are streets ahead of their counterparts in american football.

But the padding in gridiron is essential as hits can happen whether you have the ball or not. There is contact between the two sets of linemen on every single play and the strategies will often mean a player being hit simultaneously by two opposing players in order to get an advantage.

In addition recievers have no protection when catching passes, they can be (and are) hit in the air. As soon as they make contact with the ball (even before they have it under control) they can be legally hit. They also have to retain possession and make a move with the ball after hitting the ground so the best time for a defensive player to hit is as the feet hit the floor as this will more than likely dislodge the ball.

The average career for a running back in the NFL is 4 years. These players carry the ball into contact 20-30 times in a game and 90% of those carries ends with a tackle. The tackles are often by more than one player, if caught on the line of scrimmage this means being hit by a 300-330 pound monster.

A quarterback will make 25-40 passes on average in a game and will normally have to release the ball just as he is being hit in order to find an open receiver - this means his body is totally exposed as he will still be in the follow-through of his throw. He can expect to be hit in this manner between 5 and 15 times in each game - as often as not from the side as well as from the front

So in terms of impact there really isn't a comparison either.

Whether you like the game or not is a matter of taste, but I love the game because it is as much a battle of intelligence and strategy as it is a spectacle.

adecartref

"They are not even tackles as holding in american football is a penalty offence."

You can only tackle a player who has the ball.

Holding is an offence if you tackle or grab a player who does not have the ball - you can only block these players not hold them.

You are right about the "slabs of meat" for defensive & offensive tackles, but the linemen on the outside (defensive ends particularly) have to be strong enough to fight off a 330 lb guard, then have the speed to get to the quarterback. The likes of Michael Strahan of the New York Giants, Jason Taylor of Miami and Simeon Rice of Tampa Bay are probably some of the most impressive athletes in sport.

suppafly

You can only tackle a player who has the ball

i don't think so! i've seen them play sometimes and one of the players will be running for the line and he'll have 1/2 others running with him to fend off would be tacklers.
I really do think it is a fairly dumb sport. They do a run, get tackled and then they stop and then have some kind of other run. sort of like in rugby leaguye when u get tackled and then the put the ball back but way slower!! The game for my part is way to slow!!
While we're on this topic, did anybody else hear about O'Gara getting approached by the owner of the miami dolphins to kick for them??

stira64

most of the people who replied have never even played american football, so their opinion is worthless, especially the guy who said its a joke of a game!

Hairy Homer

Originally posted by stira64
most of the people who replied have never even played american football, so their opinion is worthless, especially the guy who said its a joke of a game!

Well, I've never 'suited up' in a 'uniform' to 'try out' for a 'franchise' before seeing if I could 'make the cut' but I have actually played a stripped down version of the game with a very motley selection of nationalities comprising, Brits, yanks, paddies, dutchmen, germans and israelis. (Don't ask)

I also invested a year of my still-young life trying to learn the rules, make time to watch the monday night game when channel four used to broadcast it and even used to go to the London Monarchs home games when the World League of American Football was given a trundle some time back.

I think that's what put me off. And strangely, the guys I used to go to the games with have also switched off totally. Including one who even went to a few Monarchs away games!!!!

The reasons why would take several pages of musing, but I can tell you now that it's nothing to do with the game being boring, or the fact that the players are not athletic (on the contrary, they're superb athletes)

For many, the initial interest in gridiron spawned by Channel Four's coverage ended up as just a fad. A passing fancy. Not a long-term commitment.

Sangre

Originally posted by suppafly

I really do think it is a fairly dumb sport.

If by dumb you mean no intelligence needed then you are quite wrong, there is probably more tactics in American football, then in any other game.
If not ignore me.

Btw there is a difference between tackling and blocking. Blocking I assume is just running in front of someone or ramming into without grabbing them.

Makaveli

You tackle someone with the ball. You do grab people when you block them. At the line of scrimmage the offensive line blocks the defensive line. The offensive line protects the QB and running backs. Off course they can hold their opponents.

And yes, there are a hell of a lot of tactics. Players have to learn off entire play books.

As for it being dumb, well to each their own I suppose. It's quite easy to follow. There are total of 4 downs before a turnover. The object is to gain more than 10 yards within these four downs (or goes) in order to gain a subsequent first down. If you dont gain 10 yards within the four downs you turnover the ball, this is why you see teams punt on the fourth down or go for a field goal if they are within range. When you see things like 2nd and 8, it means it's the second down and 8 yards to go before a 1st down. If you are tackled and lose the ball, it's a fumble, if the opposition get to the ball first from the fumble it's a turnover (naturally). If a pass is thrown but is missed or dropped it's deemed incomplete, it moves onto the next down and the clock stops. If a pass is intercepted it's also a turnover. If you run off the pitch it also stops the clock. If you break the line of scrimmage before the ball is hiked depending on which team did it you either gain 5 yards or lose it, so if an offensive player breaks the ling of scrimmage on a first down it goes from 1st and 10 to 1st and 15 and they move back 5 yards. The penalty for holding is an automatic first down iirc. The same with pass interference.

6 points for a td, 1 for the kick or you can choose to try and run it into the end zone for 2 points. 3 points for a field goal. If you manage to tackle the opposition and bring them down in their own end zone it's called a safety and you gain 2 points and they have to kick. If you recover a kick you regain posession. If you recover a punt however you dont and the opposition start from where the punt was recovered from eg their 30 yard line. 3 timeouts allocated to each team per half and each quarter is (I cant remember, I know basketball is 12, think football is 15). Overtime is played if the score is level at full time.

There that's most of it I think, it's been a while since I've seen a game and even longer since I've played it. Also it's nearly 3am so if I left something out well someone else can fill in the blanks and correct my mistakes. Oh and most people that say it's dumb are people that dont understand the game.

frood4t2

Makaveli:

I appreciate the explanation of gridiron because it is my favorite sport, the true American past time. It's a good explanation too, but honestly, there is no way to explain the game other than while watching it with someone who doesn't get it. It's pretty straight forward (move the ball forward by running or passing) really, except the subtleties of offenses and defenses and the penalties that the referees get wrong all the time It's as much a battle as it is a game, and I think that is an appealing part of the sport.

And it's vicious to play. I play pick up games (granted, we don't apply all the rules) without any padding and I usually wake up really sore the next day. Just out of curiousity, because I haven't seen rugby in some time; do rugby players run full speed that often? Because full speed contact happens pretty often in football, and those are the hits that count. Believe me, i've taken a few. I honestly don't know how they do that.

P.S. adecartref good job on dropping Michael Strahan's name Because, well, the Giants are winning Super Bowl XXXVIII

adecartref

Originally posted by frood4t2

good job on dropping Michael Strahan's name Because, well, the Giants are winning Super Bowl XXXVIII [/B]

I like their chances, that young offensive line performed much better than anyone expected last year and will be better again this year. Jim Fassell has finally realised that Tiki Barber is one of the best RB's in the NFL and that he can play on every down and Jeremy Shockey looks amazing. A few of my friends are Giants fans so I'll be happy if they do win it and at 20/1 I think they are worth a bet too.

daveirl

This post has been deleted.

Q_Ball

Originally posted by mike65
...is it an accident
that US games have never found a truly global following?

What about Ice hockey?!?!?!

Didn't you see the mighty ducks? They had teams from all over the world

ferdi

danm straight chris, eh..i mean stira64
A football is for lazy people who occassionally need to get some aggression out.

spanner

i dont know,, i have played rugby all my life and so has my family (apart from my mother) i belive that rugby looks alot worst than it actually is... when you are in a ruck or mall and you get hit because you are in the heat of the game it does numb the pain,,
from looking at american football i must say i dont think its a spectator sport however i also dont belive soccer is a spectator sport ,,,

but i would love to play a proper game to see what it is like, because as one guy said you really cant tell the difference unless you play the both of them