Level 5
ProjectVRD wrote:
xLegioNx wrote:
AAAAAAAARRGH wrote:I think its worth pointing out that there is a big difference in the tackling. NFL players' feet often leave the ground and they fly in at speed with all of their bodyweight aimed at different parts of the opposing players body... whereas a rugby players feet rarely leave the ground with their tackles mainly aimed at the midriff.
A lot of the hits in the NFL are illegal in rugby. Padding became mandatory because of high injury turnover. Helmets became mandatory in the 1950s because several quarterbacks were actually being killed by shots to the head.
While the offensive/defensive linemen are pretty fat, they are also still very strong and surprisingly fast. All players go through a intensive training regimen in the offseason and during the regular season. The wide receivers, cornerbacks and safeties are some of the most athletic and powerful athletes around.. many are over 6ft and 220 pounds of solid muscle.
Funny thing is, for all the comparisons with rugby, quite a few American football players actually have played rugby at college level. To suggest that guys like Ray Lewis and Troy Polamalu wouldn't be able to cut it in rugby is kinda amusing.
Very well said. Infact, they have so many rules to try and reduce the injury list (Which doesn't work) because of how dangerous it is. The number of concussion cases there have been in the past few years says it all. I would definitely rather be hit by a Rugby player using some of his weight, as apposed to being hit by a full 200-300 pounds with equipment.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3aAXTOs9pL8&feature
=related
I really think it's worth giving it a few attempts to watch and understand the game as I did. I used to make ignorant statements about Rugby vs American Football too.
Also, Troy Polamalu and Ray Lewis are beasts
I have watched NFL, I still think the Super Rugby (as it is now called) in the Southern Hemisphere is tougher on the body and filled with bigger, faster, stronger and better athletes.
250lbs of muscle, running at insane speeds is norm there... it is almost as if NFL fans in this thread think Rugby players are small or something. They ain't, these guys are monsters. 40 yard dash? So what, let's see them do the real hard test... the 100m. Jacaby Ford is the only one I regard as truly fast, but then again... he is tiny. One hit in Super Rugby and he would out for a month at the very least.
Rugby players being small was never mentioned in this thread and it has never crossed my mind. But saying an NFL player can't take a hit from a rugby player is quite amusing. A guy who has spent his entire life getting hit for fun will not simply roll over because he doesn't have pads on.
If you think only Jacoby Ford is fast you must have only watched him play or looked on google for the fastest NFL players. Look at Mike Wallace, Desean Jackson, Chris Johnson, Devin Hester and for his size Calvin Johnson to name just a few.
Level 8
Yup, nobody is saying anything negative about rugby players. A few people felt some need to come into a thread about the superbowl to make the same old ignorant posts about the NFL and its players, how they're all sloths and how they wouldn't last very long in rugby.
We're merely trying to point out that many American football players are just as healthy, athletic and strong as rugby players.That's all. 
I don't normally care for these kind of arguments as I have an appreciation for both sports. I haven't seen the super rugby league, so I can't comment on it. Pretty much the only rugby I get to see these days is the Heineken Cup.
Level 5
As far as athleticism goes, it's debatable who is the superior athlete. As I've said before and posted videos of, the NFL players on multiple occasions have been tested and put up in comparison to athletes across different sports and the gifted ones match up to the abilities of other sports specialists and with good reason. They deserve more credit for what they're capable of than most people in this thread are willing to give them.
Also Project, Jacoby Ford is pretty far down on the list in terms of speed. And (I'm guessing) even further down if you consider a speed to weight ratio.
Level 5
ProjectVRD wrote:
lol.. I started in jest but then for some reason a defensive shield was put up, I assumed it would be easy to tell that I started this not in troll mode, just banter mode. Granted others came in and made it worse....
But guys, Ford is by far the best runner in NFL, at least he is the only one who seems comfortable giving a 100m time anyway. It shows a rediculously good mix of speed and stanima because there is a massive difference between 40 yards and 100m as far as the aerobic nature of it goes. Ford's superiority in that sense appears off the charts in NFL simply because he is willing to show it while don't, more of those guys in the sport need to show their 100m times. How many are capable of doing his time in that length?
I guess being a fan of NFL people always find themselves having to defend it because Rugby 90% of the time will be brought up with some kind of ignorant statement. And that was before you said anything about rugby. It was because of other peoples posts.
Back to the (off) topic thoug that does change things a little bit because they are usually tested in 40m sprints which is the most likely scenario on a week to week basis in the NFL. But I would still feel pretty comfortable saying he's not the quickest though. A few of the NFL Wide Receivers come from other professional sports like NBA and a large number of them ran track (some nationally, some at college level) before going into American Football. I can give a few examples though.
To help compare Jacoby ran 10.01 over 100m and is 5'9. In the 2010 Combine where all these numbers are backed up Jacoby wasn't even the fastest of that even! Trindon Holiday beat him with 10.00
Other examples.
Herschel Walker: 10:22 in 100m. He wasn't as big, just 6'1.
Vernon Davis (tight end)10.7 in 100m. He is 6'3
Michael Bennett (running back) 10.18 He's 5'9
Reggie Bush (running back) 10.4 He's 6'0
Calvin Johnson (Wide Receiver) is 6'5 and runs a 10:23 100m sprint. Also a 4.35 40m sprint.. He's considered a bit of a freak athlete though for some of the things he's capable of. If you're interested, here's his lab tests http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9d8oDYNurqM.
The reason I mention height is because the speed to weight/height ratio is a good way to tell athleticism. He's definitely one of the fastest over 100m. But definitely not the most athletic if you consider the ratio.
There are a few more examples that could be dug up, but it's more than likely he still wouldn't figure in the top 10 athletes. Bar 1 player all the ones I've mentioned are current players. There's most likely more if I go further back in time.
Level 5
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