(09-07-2015, 12:47 PM)Lods link Wrote:I'm ignorant in terms of the game Kruds.
I found this bit interesting though.
This is one area where League players excel.
It's "bread and butter" stuff finding those gaps and timing a break in a defensive line.
You would think his instincts would dictate that this is one area where he'd shine
Of course as you point out it's a different game.
I'm far from the biggest league fan going around. But i've probably watched more league games than you have NFL games, so i'll give it a crack.
In league, you generally have a wall of players in a line stretching across the field. You might have 1 guy hanging out the back, full back? You pretty much go 1-on-1 in terms of matchups across the width of the ground and try a few things to MAKE a gap or get people tripping over themselves to find space. (overlaps, cut backs etc). Ultimately, the best players are the ones who can break the lines. Whether they run over a player or sidestep them. Feel free to correct me if i'm wrong with any of the above.
Now in NFL you have 'layers' of players, not just 1 line spanning the field.
You have the big fat guys from both sides who line up on the line about a foot away from their opponent. Then you have the cornerbacks who are on or about the line but are out wide who match up on the wide receivers (think wingers). Behind the fat blokes you have linebackers. Usually 3 or 4 of them. They kinda guard space and pick up anyone who breaks through the line, or comes across into it (wide receivers). Then behind them again, way out the back, you have the safeties, 2 of. They are the last line and play a 'loose man' role. Zoning off and picking up anyone who gets through the rest of the defense.
You can either run or pass in the game as a basic rule.
If you pass, then Hayne will be either be used as a body guard for people trying to hit the quarterback. Nothing spectacular to do here. Easy.
or
He will present up the field as an option to be thrown too. Learning when, where and how to present into the right area (run routes) is one of the hardest things to master. A lot of video, practice and theory goes into this for WRs and to a lesser extent, running backs - Hayne. Very difficult to master, but they can keep his plays 'simple' to begin with.
If they choose to run the ball, this is where its all on him.
To be an effective runner you need a few things in your favour.
1. A good passing game.....so the defense don't know if/when you are actually going to run the ball. Keep them guessing = element of surprise.
2. A good offensive line (fat blokes up front) to block the defense to give you somewhere to run too.
He certainly has 1. Based on a few plays this pre-season, it appears he has 2 as well. Perfect!
Just like Route running when trying to catch, knowing where, when and how to 'run' takes a lot of video watching, practice and theory is involved. A simple 'run up the middle' play can have quite a few variations to it. Those variations are automatic based on how the defense is set up. Reading that is a big deal. Knowing who is likely to run where at what given time, yardage and group that is out on the field can quickly get you undone if you get it wrong. Players, patterns and percentages. Know them, study them.
Assuming he is well drilled in all the above, then we can actually start the play! All of the above is analysed in the say, 20 seconds before they start the play, with the help of the QB. Up to this point, his head (and possibly yours) is spinning. So many different things COULD happen. So many things COULD go wrong.
Now as you can appreciate, having a play designed is 1 thing, having it work is another. If it works, you look a million bucks. Some of his 'highlight reels' are because the play worked, not because he did anything spectacular. The offensive line have made huge holes for him to run through (2m+ wide spaces where my grandma can get through). If he does get through THEN he is in the 'open field' and can work his magic in some more 1-on-1 contests, albeit with about 6 guys making it over to him at various stages, or all at once. He is big enough and fast enough that a lot of the linebackers, cornerbacks and safeties that are 'in the secondary' aren't really going to intimidate him. But believe me, there are plenty of bigger and tougher blokes out there that he will come across. They are all bigger, faster, smarter and stronger than the blokes he has been playing against so far in the pre-season.
Ok, take it back a step. What happens when you are running, but a play 'doesnt work'? The gap you were hoping to be there is not, instead it is filled by a 260 pound linebackers sprinting right at you. You have about 1/4 second to work out what to do before you are flattened. Do you stop, try and dodge him, run the other way run backwards?? You can do all of those things. Sometimes it might work. Most of the time it doesn't. What the best running backs can do is basically see how the play is turning out and run to a gap that isn't there yet. It's counterintuitive, especially for a league player. The thing is, if you see a gap, the defense also sees the gap, and they usually get to it about the same time as you do (unless its a huge gap as mentioned earlier). You need to not only run to a place where you can get through, but run to a place that the defenders don't think you can get through. Sometimes the smallest gaps are the best as you can sneak past players charging at you through the more obvious gaps. Sometimes you can 'make gaps' by knowing what a given defender will do in a given situation and trick him into thinking he has you covered. Easier said than done though.
So far he's learned 100+ plays, analysed the 20+ defenders from each of the 14 teams he'll play that season, knowing the strengths and weaknesses of all the above before he's been able to put anything into practice. If by some miracle, he has his head around all of that, he will face perhaps his biggest challenge. Holding onto the ball! Americans treasure ball security over everything else. Drop the ball and you are shunned. Drop the ball twice and they are looking to your backup to take over. Drop it 3 times and you may not have a career anymore. The americans are so paranoid about ball security that if there is a loose ball, they have an unwritten rule that if you are a 'fat bloke' don't even try and pick it up, simply fall on it. If you try and pick it up, you will probably fumble it. He'll have a good starting point from League, but its not that simple. Kick a league ball, an american football and an AFL ball. Similar basics, hard to get perfect. Same with holding it and bracing for tackles.
Clear as mud?
Again, what he has done thus far is enormous.
Making the squad and excelling is a whole different ball game.
The players he is competing with at the same position are probably all as fit, fast and strong as he is...but have a better understanding of how to actually play the game.
So because of all of the above, he probably won't be used much in that manor. He'll be used in much the same way a FB would be used in league. Playing deep and returning kicks. Which only happens a handful of times a game.
