Why yes, please do send more NFL games to Europe!!!

[MMXcalibur]

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com...ium-in-london/

NFL reaches deal to play games at Tottenham’s new stadium in London

Posted by Josh Alper on July 8, 2015, 7:30 AM EDT
Tottenham Hotspur v Manchester City - Premier League
Getty Images
In April, there was word from London that English Premier League side Tottenham wanted to share their new stadium with an NFL team when and if the NFL put a team on that side of the Atlantic.

There’s no team heading there on a permanent basis, but there will be games at Tottenham’s building when it opens in 2018. The EPL team announced that they and the league have struck a 10-year agreement to play a minimum two regular season games a year at their stadium, which is under construction. The stadium is being built with the NFL in mind and will have two fields — grass for soccer, FieldTurf for football — that can be swapped out as needed.

“With growing enthusiasm for the NFL in the United Kingdom, we are committed to hosting NFL games in world-class venues and are excited to partner with Tottenham Hotspur to play games at their future stadium,” NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement from the team. “We share a vision and commitment to creating the best experience for our teams, fans and the local community.”

The deal does not mean the league will stop playing games at Wembley Stadium, which will host three games during the 2015 regular season. NFL executive vice president of international Mark Waller said, via Daniel Kaplan of Sports Business Journal, that the league has a “great relationship” with Wembley and that securing another site in London gives the league more flexibility in scheduling as well as the opportunity to play more games in London as either a visitor or permanent resident

I wish I could quit the NFL sometimes.
I really do.

[Amnorix]

Originally Posted by beach tribe

The QBs of that era weren't coached to play that way. To think they wouldn't be able to put up the #s that QBs are today is silly. The huge majority of QBs are no more prepared for what the NFL is coming in today than they were then. They learn it from NFL coaching staffs.

EDIT: And Brady is one of the greats. There only a handful of people who could have EVER played the way he does.

I agree all around. I think the QBs of back then would put up good numbers today, but an average QB then is going to be an average QB now. Dane seems to be suggesting that an AVERAGE QB in 1980 would obviously be AWESOME if he played today. Like seriously above average. I see no reaosn to believe that to be true.

[Amnorix]

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud

Brian Sipe sucked? Either you weren't alive then or your NFL knowledge is near zero.

I was alive then, but my NFL knowledge isn't zero. And you're misreading me. He didn't suck overall. He was pretty decent overall, but he had two GREAT years, one pretty good year, and like 6 meh years. If you throw out his best years, what's left is pretty mediocre, really.

HEre are his career stats:

Year Team GP Att Com Pct Yds TD Int Rate
1974 Cleveland Browns 10 108 59 54.6 603 1 7 47.0
1975 Cleveland Browns 7 88 45 51.1 427 1 3 54.4
1976 Cleveland Browns 14 312 178 57.1 2113 17 14 77.3
1977 Cleveland Browns 9 195 112 57.4 1233 9 14 61.8
1978 Cleveland Browns 16 399 222 55.6 2906 21 15 80.7
1979 Cleveland Browns 16 535 286 53.5 3793 28 26 73.4
1980 Cleveland Browns 16 554 337 60.8 4132 30 14 91.4
1981 Cleveland Browns 16 567 313 55.2 3876 17 25 68.2
1982 Cleveland Browns 6 185 101 54.6 1064 4 8 60.7
1983 Cleveland Browns 15 496 291 58.7 3566 26 23 79.1
NFL Career Totals 125 3439 1944 56.5 23713 154 149 74.8

He had one great year ('80), another pretty good year ('79). As for the rest, even when he had alot of yards, his TD/INT ratio was pretty much 1:1.

His career was a whopping 10 years. Half of them were 3,000 yards plus, but the other half were nowhere near that. One year at 2,100 and then way down from there.

Sipe when healthy and for a brief period was a damn good QB. But outside of that brief period, it's pretty damn meh.

Injuries, not ability.

Yes, I remember Hebert, and I agree. He looked good when he could stay out there, but he was brittle. Maybe he'd be healthier today, maybe not. QBs are more protected, but we've still had our Chad Penningtons, our Sam Bradfords, etc.

Gods? Uh, no. Better than the majority of QB's today? Yes.

Not a drop of evidence to support this. Seriously. Just pure speculation. No reason at all to think that that is true.

[DaneMcCloud]

Originally Posted by Amnorix

I agree all around. I think the QBs of back then would put up good numbers today, but an average QB then is going to be an average QB now. Dane seems to be suggesting that an AVERAGE QB in 1980 would obviously be AWESOME if he played today. Like seriously above average. I see no reaosn to believe that to be true.

I didn't say awesome, I said they'd be better than today. I don't even know how could can argue otherwise.

It's a common perception that Dan Marino would easily be a 6,000 yard passer today, if not 7,000 yards. So why wouldn't 3,800 and 4,000 yard passers in the same era be 5,000 yard passers in 2015?

[Amnorix]

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud

I didn't say awesome, I said they'd be better than today. I don't even know how could can argue otherwise.

It's a common perception that Dan Marino would easily be a 6,000 yard passer today, if not 7,000 yards. So why wouldn't 3,800 and 4,000 yard passers in the same era be 5,000 yard passers in 2015?

That's kinda ridiculous. First, I would disagree with the concept that Marino would top 6,000 or 7,000 per year. Maybe ONE year.

The basic issue is that there are only so many plays per game, only so many yards per game that can be made. The Dolphins at that time were bending the curve -- playing a style that would look more familiar ot us in 2015 than it did to teams back in 1984. Their Pass/run ratio was more like today's, and their defense wasn't spectacular.

Or do you really think that Marino is like 50% better than Rodgers/Manning/Brady/Brees? It's ludicrous.

And second, you are highlighting the problem when you suggest Brian Sipe is a 5,000 yard passer. He wasn't THAT freaking awesome then. Why would he rewrite record books now? He wouldn't, is the correct answer. Sure, his average yards per year might increase, but that would be a function of passing more and running less. But to avoid turnovers (no sane coach accepts 1:1 TD/Ints in the new millenium), he'd cut down on some of the longer passes, the riskier throws, which would reduce his yards per catch and yards per attempt.

Whatever -- if you want to think that every QB stat from 1970-1990 can just be increased by 50% if you put that same guy into the league in 2015, go for it. But even now only 8 times has the 5,000 yard mark been broken -- and the names of those guys are Stafford (once, thanks Megatron), Brees, Manning, Marino and Brady. Even Aaron Rodgers hasn't done it, but sure, Sipe would do it repeatedly. or whatever.

[DaneMcCloud]

Originally Posted by Amnorix

That's kinda ridiculous. First, I would disagree with the concept that Marino would top 6,000 or 7,000 per year. Maybe ONE year.

Even if it was only year, it's still something that no one today could accomplish.

Originally Posted by Amnorix

Or do you really think that Marino is like 50% better than Rodgers/Manning/Brady/Brees? It's ludicrous.

I think that Dan Marino is the best QB I've ever seen and it's not even close.

Originally Posted by Amnorix

And second, you are highlighting the problem when you suggest Brian Sipe is a 5,000 yard passer. He wasn't THAT freaking awesome then.

Brian Sipe in a Coryell or Chip Kelly offense would be insane. He played on a some bad teams with even worse head coaches, yet his numbers, when healthy, were great.

Originally Posted by Amnorix

Whatever -- if you want to think that every QB stat from 1970-1990 can just be increased by 50% if you put that same guy into the league in 2015, go for it. But even now only 8 times has the 5,000 yard mark been broken -- and the names of those guys are Stafford (once, thanks Megatron), Brees, Manning, Marino and Brady. Even Aaron Rodgers hasn't done it, but sure, Sipe would do it repeatedly. or whatever.

Hyperbole Planet. Welcome.

I never said 50% nor did I say "every". But I'd certainly take many of the QB's of that era, an era of stickum and mugging WR's, over most of the QB's today.

Russell Wilson and Alex Smith are just two current starters have never eclipsed 3,500 yards in this era.

[Amnorix]

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud

Even if it was only year, it's still something that no one today could accomplish.

I think that Dan Marino is the best QB I've ever seen and it's not even close.

Marino was an unbelievably awesome quarterback, there is no doubt. The Patriots had to deal with him twice a year. Clayton and Duper were pretty damn good, but nobody would ever confuse them with a Jerry Rice or a Randy Moss. He had some other talent around him, but really never anything that would blow you away. He was amazing.

But I'm not even sure he could do 7,000 yards today. I'd need to do some serious studying in terms of what that means for attempts, yards per attempt, etc. Ultimately, unless you speed up the game (say, shorter play clock), you only get so many snaps per game.

Brian Sipe in a Coryell or Chip Kelly offense would be insane. He played on a some bad teams with even worse head coaches, yet his numbers, when healthy, were great.

Some mediocre years there in Cleveland, to be sure. Some others were pretty good. Obviously Sipe's breakout years starting in '79, and the dramatic increase in the team's performance, were partly due to Kellen Winslow, who was an awesome TE, joining the team.

Sipe was pretty decent, but couldn't stay healthy, and his numbers were up and down. I could describe quite a few other QBs who sort of fall into that general category.

I never said 50% nor did I say "every". But I'd certainly take many of the QB's of that era, an era of stickum and mugging WR's, over most of the QB's today.

Russell Wilson and Alex Smith are just two current starters have never eclipsed 3,500 yards in this era.

Yes, partly because of the sea-change in mentality -- AVOID INTERCEPTIONS. That is rule number one. It didn't used to be. Sipe's 1:1 TD/INT ratio would NEVER work today. If he can't fix that, he isn't going to see the field. And to fix that he will throw safer passes, and that is going to affect his YPC and his total yards.

I watched football back then too. Greatness is a combination of things that transcends eras. Brady would be great in 1960 just as he is now. Otto Graham would be great now just as he was then.

Averageness is also going to transcend eras by and large. Unless there is some reason to think that football WAS far more popular in the youth/high school era than it is now, so that the field of potential NFL quarterbacks was much, much deeper then that now, there is no reason at all to think that for some unknown reason the average QB then was better htan he is now.

Average is average. Brian Sipe, GIVEN THE SAME TALENT AROUND HIM, is going to do about the same. Because he was decent, but not awesome, outside of one or two years.

[Amnorix]

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud

I never said 50% nor did I say "every". But I'd certainly take many of the QB's of that era, an era of stickum and mugging WR's, over most of the QB's today.

Side note that the WRs also used stickum back then -- see Jerry Rice.

[beach tribe]

Originally Posted by Amnorix

Side note that the WRs also used stickum back then -- see Jerry Rice.

Catch rate
Jerry Rice 89' - 64%

Antonio Brown 14' - 71%