It turns out I haven't posted for almost four months...oops. Sorry! Life (and baseball) got in the way. That may be controversial, as I understand that people tend to like football or baseball, however I love both, and I'm quite glad as it means I have entertainment all year round!
Anyway, my fantasy team is drafted and the first NFL game is this evening! The Seahawks take on the Packers. It's going to be a bit late for me to watch, but I can't wait until Sunday night football, when we can watch games from about 6pm UK time. So so excited!
Thursday 4 September 2014
Monday 19 May 2014
Time to check in
Wow, how have over two weeks gone by since I last posted? Time flies when you're having fun... or just generally extremely busy!
So the draft has been and gone! I was really excited to get up the morning after the draft and find out who had been picked. It started too late for me to want to watch it live, although we did record some of it to watch later. I can't really provide much of an opinion on the picks as I don't know enough about the players to do so. However, we did watch the beginning of the draft on tape a few days afterwards, and I found the whole process really interesting to watch. The first round is pretty entertaining, with interviews, a presenting panel, and a few random celebrities thrown in for good measure.
At the same time, I'm reading Next Man Up by John Feinstein. It follows the Baltimore Ravens from about 2004, and as well as providing insight into how that specific team works, and how the specific people there think and what they're like, it's providing me with more general information about the world of NFL and how it functions.
Anyway, I'm off to read some more now, but figured it was about time I checked in!
So the draft has been and gone! I was really excited to get up the morning after the draft and find out who had been picked. It started too late for me to want to watch it live, although we did record some of it to watch later. I can't really provide much of an opinion on the picks as I don't know enough about the players to do so. However, we did watch the beginning of the draft on tape a few days afterwards, and I found the whole process really interesting to watch. The first round is pretty entertaining, with interviews, a presenting panel, and a few random celebrities thrown in for good measure.
At the same time, I'm reading Next Man Up by John Feinstein. It follows the Baltimore Ravens from about 2004, and as well as providing insight into how that specific team works, and how the specific people there think and what they're like, it's providing me with more general information about the world of NFL and how it functions.
Anyway, I'm off to read some more now, but figured it was about time I checked in!
Sunday 4 May 2014
War Room Book Review
I finally finished reading War Room, by Michael Holley, this morning. I know, it took me long enough. The ridiculous amount of time it took is a reflection of my lack of time, rather than the book. I really enjoyed the book - I think it's my favourite of the three I've read so far and mentioned on this blog. It has a lot more detail than Patriot Reign, I think mostly because it focusses on the construction of NFL teams, including the draft process, rather than being a more general overview of the Patriots. It was also a lot less 'bitty' and much easier to read than The Draft. I think this was because it focusses on one team to start with (moving on to three teams, but only because it's following the same people) and it is written sequentially as well. With The Draft was harder to keep track of what was happening when, and where.
The book is an absolutely fascinating insight into how Bill Belichick thinks about building a team, how he sees things in players that other people don't, and how he prioritises differently. For example, many people will look at prospective players and see the obvious things - speed, agility, the clear skills required for their position (throwing, catching, blocking, running) - but not necessarily consider other factors that aren't so obvious. Little things about the way players move can determine their ability as much as their catching skills. Likewise, players need to have the right mentality. I also was really impressed with the way Holley captures Belichick's ability to balance the needs of the team with the players available. So you might be able to get a first round draft pick with all the skills you need, but if you can get one who is almost as good in the third round, whilst paying lots less (and potentially gaining more draft picks if you trade your high ones for more lower ones), you can help yourself deal with the salary cap whilst getting a great player. As I've mentioned before, Tom Brady (picked 199th over, in the sixth round) is proof of this! If you can get several lower round draft picks and get several great players, instead of one potentially amazing player (who could turn out to be a bust anyway), surely that's a no-brainer?!
It's also incredibly interesting to learn how Belichick essentially developed an entire new scouting system (admittedly with help from others) and how this has pretty much spread to other teams, mostly due to his former colleagues now working elsewhere. I know that the book is somewhat biased, and obviously I now have more knowledge about the New England Patriots than other teams, but I do love that their owner has a vested interest in the franchise other than its business and financial aspects - he is, first and foremost, a Patriots fan.
After reading the book, I'm now pretty excited and curious for this year's draft, which starts in four days (NFL.com has a countdown to the start time!). I've never watched a draft before, and whilst it's unlikely I'll watch much in real time (it starts at about midnight our time, and I very much need to be sleeping soon after that, if not before it even starts!), I intend to tape it and watch some. I'm not sure what I expect from it. I kind of expect some of it to be boring, as it does go on a long time. At the same time, I'm really interested to see what it's like, what the atmosphere is like, and which teams pick which players. In the meantime, I'm going to start reading Next Man Up by John Feinstein - the next book on the 'recommended reading list' (as specified by my other half!).
The book is an absolutely fascinating insight into how Bill Belichick thinks about building a team, how he sees things in players that other people don't, and how he prioritises differently. For example, many people will look at prospective players and see the obvious things - speed, agility, the clear skills required for their position (throwing, catching, blocking, running) - but not necessarily consider other factors that aren't so obvious. Little things about the way players move can determine their ability as much as their catching skills. Likewise, players need to have the right mentality. I also was really impressed with the way Holley captures Belichick's ability to balance the needs of the team with the players available. So you might be able to get a first round draft pick with all the skills you need, but if you can get one who is almost as good in the third round, whilst paying lots less (and potentially gaining more draft picks if you trade your high ones for more lower ones), you can help yourself deal with the salary cap whilst getting a great player. As I've mentioned before, Tom Brady (picked 199th over, in the sixth round) is proof of this! If you can get several lower round draft picks and get several great players, instead of one potentially amazing player (who could turn out to be a bust anyway), surely that's a no-brainer?!
It's also incredibly interesting to learn how Belichick essentially developed an entire new scouting system (admittedly with help from others) and how this has pretty much spread to other teams, mostly due to his former colleagues now working elsewhere. I know that the book is somewhat biased, and obviously I now have more knowledge about the New England Patriots than other teams, but I do love that their owner has a vested interest in the franchise other than its business and financial aspects - he is, first and foremost, a Patriots fan.
After reading the book, I'm now pretty excited and curious for this year's draft, which starts in four days (NFL.com has a countdown to the start time!). I've never watched a draft before, and whilst it's unlikely I'll watch much in real time (it starts at about midnight our time, and I very much need to be sleeping soon after that, if not before it even starts!), I intend to tape it and watch some. I'm not sure what I expect from it. I kind of expect some of it to be boring, as it does go on a long time. At the same time, I'm really interested to see what it's like, what the atmosphere is like, and which teams pick which players. In the meantime, I'm going to start reading Next Man Up by John Feinstein - the next book on the 'recommended reading list' (as specified by my other half!).
Wednesday 16 April 2014
Patriot Reign
I didn't realise just quite how long it has been since I last posted - time flies when you're having fun (or when you're just incredibly busy). Anyway, I have been continuing to learn by reading interesting books about NFL. The Draft was really good as I had no real idea of what is involved in the draft process. My other half suggested that I read Patriot Reign by Michael Holley next, as it's a fairly easy but interesting read.
Full disclosure before we go any further: I would consider myself a Patriots fan. This is mostly due to the influence of my other half, and having read Patriot Reign, I can totally understand the reasons for choosing to support this team. I'm sure there's a chance the author is a little biased - he is from Boston, so is probably likely to show more favour towards the Patriots than other teams. However, Holley goes into a lot of detail about Bill Belichick and his staff, their way of thinking and doing, and how that is different from what a lot of teams do, and it is clear that Belichick is extremely intelligent and has the ability to see things in non-conventional ways. It is very interesting to understand how players that might not fit into another NFL team would fit into the Patriots team, and vice versa. I get the impression that the Patriots' management is ruthless but fair, giving players a chance even if they don't fit the traditional or conventional criteria used to determine whether they would be good players. Shorter than they 'should' be? Maybe it doesn't even matter - the player might be stronger, or faster.
What I also find amazing is the time and effort put into studying and learning about other teams and how they play, and how to play to beat them. It shouldn't really be surprising, but the fact is that they work incredibly hard. I also love how he seems to find management/coaching teams that gel, how nice Belichick just seems to be, and how much they all really love the game.
It's interesting to learn about how they had to change tactics in order to bounce back from a terrible season and then won a Super Bowl. One of those things that could bring a tear to your eye!
I am trying to keep up with some current NFL affairs as well, reading news on NFL.com. However, with it being off season and me not really knowing a lot about the current college football players, I'm spending most of my NFL learning time reading material such as Patriot Reign in order to better understand the sport, some teams and their processes as a whole. Next up is War Room, also by Michael Holley and mostly focussing on Bill Belichick again. Onwards!
Full disclosure before we go any further: I would consider myself a Patriots fan. This is mostly due to the influence of my other half, and having read Patriot Reign, I can totally understand the reasons for choosing to support this team. I'm sure there's a chance the author is a little biased - he is from Boston, so is probably likely to show more favour towards the Patriots than other teams. However, Holley goes into a lot of detail about Bill Belichick and his staff, their way of thinking and doing, and how that is different from what a lot of teams do, and it is clear that Belichick is extremely intelligent and has the ability to see things in non-conventional ways. It is very interesting to understand how players that might not fit into another NFL team would fit into the Patriots team, and vice versa. I get the impression that the Patriots' management is ruthless but fair, giving players a chance even if they don't fit the traditional or conventional criteria used to determine whether they would be good players. Shorter than they 'should' be? Maybe it doesn't even matter - the player might be stronger, or faster.
What I also find amazing is the time and effort put into studying and learning about other teams and how they play, and how to play to beat them. It shouldn't really be surprising, but the fact is that they work incredibly hard. I also love how he seems to find management/coaching teams that gel, how nice Belichick just seems to be, and how much they all really love the game.
It's interesting to learn about how they had to change tactics in order to bounce back from a terrible season and then won a Super Bowl. One of those things that could bring a tear to your eye!
I am trying to keep up with some current NFL affairs as well, reading news on NFL.com. However, with it being off season and me not really knowing a lot about the current college football players, I'm spending most of my NFL learning time reading material such as Patriot Reign in order to better understand the sport, some teams and their processes as a whole. Next up is War Room, also by Michael Holley and mostly focussing on Bill Belichick again. Onwards!
Sunday 6 April 2014
Drafts
As mentioned in my previous two posts, I've been reading The Draft by Pete Williams. I'm probably about two thirds of the way through now - work and general life make progress slow!
It finally settled into the 'year inside the NFL's search for talent' that the front cover promised. I suppose some background knowledge is required at first, hence lots of information about other draft years and how it used to work. It follows 2004-5, and now that I'm a good way through the book I can see which players it was actually following as well.
The outcome of the draft that year hasn't yet been fully revealed, and it's something I have no prior knowledge of. I'm interested to find out what happened (yes, I know I could look it up on the internet but it's not the same). Some of the players I'd heard of and I know they are current NFL stars, but there are plenty that I hadn't heard of, and now I'm not sure whether they a) didn't get drafted, b) got drafted and flopped, c) got drafted and are just 'okay' players who don't have a lot of hype surrounding them or d) got drafted, are pretty good players but have never been in any of my fantasy teams, thus drastically reducing the chance of me having heard of them.
I knew that college football is a big thing in the States, and I assumed that scouting for the NFL would therefore involve watching a lot of college games. What I didn't know is just how much work goes into scouting on the NFL teams' part, how much work goes into recruiting on agents' parts, and how much preparation is involved for the players themselves. I guess I'd figured that scouts turn up to college games and then pick the players they like (providing they're still available at the time of the team's draft pick). I never realised how much the players are 'shown off' in the pro bowl, senior bowl, pro days etc and had never heard of the combine or the Wonderlic. It's pretty interesting to gain more understanding on how teams/scouts assess players, and how much difference to the players' ratings certain scores are (for example, how quickly they can run forty yards). It's fascinating how tiny, tiny differences in times (fractions of seconds) have such an impact on a player's appeal. Learning things like that make me understand why the money is such a big deal - agents spend thousands of dollars getting their players trained up enough that they put on a good show, with the aim of getting them drafted as high as possible - higher draft picks mean higher signing on fees, which means more money for the agents. And the differences between the first round and even the second round are huge.
So there's still so much to learn. Luckily it's fascinating!
It finally settled into the 'year inside the NFL's search for talent' that the front cover promised. I suppose some background knowledge is required at first, hence lots of information about other draft years and how it used to work. It follows 2004-5, and now that I'm a good way through the book I can see which players it was actually following as well.
The outcome of the draft that year hasn't yet been fully revealed, and it's something I have no prior knowledge of. I'm interested to find out what happened (yes, I know I could look it up on the internet but it's not the same). Some of the players I'd heard of and I know they are current NFL stars, but there are plenty that I hadn't heard of, and now I'm not sure whether they a) didn't get drafted, b) got drafted and flopped, c) got drafted and are just 'okay' players who don't have a lot of hype surrounding them or d) got drafted, are pretty good players but have never been in any of my fantasy teams, thus drastically reducing the chance of me having heard of them.
I knew that college football is a big thing in the States, and I assumed that scouting for the NFL would therefore involve watching a lot of college games. What I didn't know is just how much work goes into scouting on the NFL teams' part, how much work goes into recruiting on agents' parts, and how much preparation is involved for the players themselves. I guess I'd figured that scouts turn up to college games and then pick the players they like (providing they're still available at the time of the team's draft pick). I never realised how much the players are 'shown off' in the pro bowl, senior bowl, pro days etc and had never heard of the combine or the Wonderlic. It's pretty interesting to gain more understanding on how teams/scouts assess players, and how much difference to the players' ratings certain scores are (for example, how quickly they can run forty yards). It's fascinating how tiny, tiny differences in times (fractions of seconds) have such an impact on a player's appeal. Learning things like that make me understand why the money is such a big deal - agents spend thousands of dollars getting their players trained up enough that they put on a good show, with the aim of getting them drafted as high as possible - higher draft picks mean higher signing on fees, which means more money for the agents. And the differences between the first round and even the second round are huge.
So there's still so much to learn. Luckily it's fascinating!
Tuesday 1 April 2014
More Reading
I'm still working my way through 'The Draft' as mentioned in my last post. It's still a really enjoyable book, although little things about the amount of assumed prior knowledge annoy me. For example, there is no explanation of certain terms (such as 'redshirting' someone - although my other half informed me that it's a term used in numerous sports), yet when talking about certain people they are reintroduced each time they crop up. I'm assuming the chapters were written independently of each other, but I really don't need reminding each time that Al Groh was (during the years the book is describing) the head coach at the University of Virginia. I learned that the first time it was mentioned.
I guess that the book is written for an American audience which would explain the assumed prior knowledge - I would imagine that even if you don't like football or understand the ins and outs of it, you pick up a certain amount of knowledge just from it being so dominant and omnipresent.
On the whole, I'm still finding the book a great read - it continues to be incredibly interesting and I do keep wanting to find out more. So on I go!
I guess that the book is written for an American audience which would explain the assumed prior knowledge - I would imagine that even if you don't like football or understand the ins and outs of it, you pick up a certain amount of knowledge just from it being so dominant and omnipresent.
On the whole, I'm still finding the book a great read - it continues to be incredibly interesting and I do keep wanting to find out more. So on I go!
Thursday 27 March 2014
Background Reading
My other half kindly dug out a book for me to read to help with my quest. It's called 'The Draft - A Year Inside the NFL's Search for Talent' and is by Pete Williams.
I'm probably about quarter of the way through, and so far I'm really enjoying it. It's incredibly interesting, and whilst it may be called 'a year inside the NFL's search for talent', it actually goes back quite a way and covers a large time period, basically explaining how the NFL draft came to be what it is today. It's quite a good time for me to read it and learn about it, given that it's coming up to the draft time of year.
The book is really informative and mentions a lot of former and current players (sometimes I've even heard of them!), as well as a lot of teams, scouts, managers, rules, draft rule changes and so on. So I think I'm going to have to read it a second time once I'm done to make sure I take in as much as I can. I don't think that will be difficult though, as I've found the book to be very well written so far. It does assume some prior knowledge, so I do sometimes have to ask my other half for an extra explanation. However, that doesn't happen that often, and despite it not being a fictional tale that is supposed to suck you in, I do keep wanting to read more - it's incredibly interesting to learn how the draft develops.
I haven't been reading much of the current news at the moment, although I really should! However, time has been short and my 'learning NFL' time has been consumed by the book. Hopefully this weekend I'll be able to catch up on some of the goings on.
I'm probably about quarter of the way through, and so far I'm really enjoying it. It's incredibly interesting, and whilst it may be called 'a year inside the NFL's search for talent', it actually goes back quite a way and covers a large time period, basically explaining how the NFL draft came to be what it is today. It's quite a good time for me to read it and learn about it, given that it's coming up to the draft time of year.
The book is really informative and mentions a lot of former and current players (sometimes I've even heard of them!), as well as a lot of teams, scouts, managers, rules, draft rule changes and so on. So I think I'm going to have to read it a second time once I'm done to make sure I take in as much as I can. I don't think that will be difficult though, as I've found the book to be very well written so far. It does assume some prior knowledge, so I do sometimes have to ask my other half for an extra explanation. However, that doesn't happen that often, and despite it not being a fictional tale that is supposed to suck you in, I do keep wanting to read more - it's incredibly interesting to learn how the draft develops.
I haven't been reading much of the current news at the moment, although I really should! However, time has been short and my 'learning NFL' time has been consumed by the book. Hopefully this weekend I'll be able to catch up on some of the goings on.
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