NFL 2021 - Great Chefs make Big Bucs while Forgetting the Titans

[steveeeeeeeee]

Bloody hell!

[steveeeeeeeee]

Holding?

[steveeeeeeeee]

Outstanding game, best team won. I loved it.

[Hot Pepsi]

Bills could have easily tied it with a field goal and gone to OT, most likely, but chose to go for it on 4th and 1 and fucked up.

[Sporting]

Teams have the option of kicking for one point or running a play from 2.5 yards out for two points

Buffalo chose the latter and converted

Are there stats on the percentage of 2 point attempts which are successful? And whether they are at all common in early stages of the game?

(There must be.)

[Simon G]

Originally, a touchdown wasn’t worth any points. It just gave the team a free kick. That’s why the extra-point or two-point score is called a “conversion.” Originally it just meant the team “converted” their chance.

Also why a Try in rugby is called a Try - because it gave the team a chance to try at goal.

[ursus arctos]

Are there stats on the percentage of 2 point attempts which are successful? And whether they are at all common in early stages of the game?

(There must be.)

In the NFL, since 2015 (when the length of the kick for one point was moved from 12.5 yards to 25 yards),
teams have converted roughly 94 percent of one point conversions and about 49 percent of two point conversions.

From a pure mathematical point of view, teams should try for 2 points more often, but gridiron is a very conservative sport and coaches are not comfortable doing so, particularly early in the game. There are also significant differences among clubs as to their propensity to go for 2 points (the Eagles and Steelers to have around three times as many attempts as other Bengals and Jets).

[Hot Pepsi]

There was a fad for going for two earlier in the game a while ago, but "chasing points" like that fell out of fashion because over the course of the game, it usually makes more sense to take the easy one point.

At least that was true in college and the NFL pre-moving back the extra point. The calculus may have changed since they moved it back in the NFL.

And of course, in high school football, no kick is close to a sure thing, so going for two might always be the better idea.

It's a bit like stealing bases in baseball. It turns out that most of the time, it's not worth it, except late in a close game where it's more likely that one run will be the difference.

[steveeeeeeeee]

Here is the 2 point play from last night, if you didn't see it:

Final request for advice from the Ursus and Hot Pepsi: What are the best non-paywall sites to find out information about upcoming US sports games (Baseball, NFL, Soccer, College Football, Basketball, Ice Hockey), to see the league tables and read game reports?

I enjoy the College Football when I put it on, but just don't have a clue who is in which league or who to root for.

Overall, having only watched a bit of American Football highlights, or attempted to watch a Superbowl (never made it past first quarter), I'm surprised how much I like American Football on TV, given I hate rugby union (but can happily watch a game of league if nothing else is on).

As I frequently mentioned, last night's game flew by, I always thought American football was stop start stop start, with massive breaks between plays, but at times last night's game was so fast moving I was missing bits of it.

[steveeeeeeeee]

Final, final question...

In the build up to last night's game, they were saying that the Bills brought so many supporters to Nashville that 60% of the crowd in the stadium were Bills supporters.

So what happens when the Titans aren't playing the Bills, is the stadium half empty?

[lambers]

I've just watched the "game in 40" (essentially lengthy highlights), and I have to say you were treated to an exceptional game steveeeeeeeee, not all of them contain so much back and forth and spectacular plays, but these types of games are why I got so into the NFL.

I'm not really a fan of any other American sports, but for NFL their official website is pretty good with lists of fixtures (including match reports) and up to date tables. The main issue I have with the match reports is the auto playing videos, but the actual information is good and generally even handed.

[caja-dglh]

The NFL has likely enjoyed a little resurgence in watchability based on it dovetailing really well with the ability to look at your phone during the frequent breaks of nothing much happening.

It works better than baseball as anything can become big in baseball, whereas the probabilities and need to pay attention in the NFL are easier to work with.

[Simon G]

I've always liked NFL, but sometimes struggled to get into it. Redzone is what really cemented my love for it because when there's 8 games on at one time there's rarely any deadspots. Perfect ironing watching.

Regarding your question about support steveeeeeeeee I can only speak from my WFT following and you're basically bang on. When WFT is struggling they will struggle to get crowds in, and when they play the bigger teams such as Dallas and the Giants, then their home fans will often be outnumbered if they're playing particularly poorly. I guess it's more to do with the way teams are supported in the US - locality isn't necessarily a main factor. Plus, I assume there's more migration to the main cities.

At one point in the 2019 season WFT tickets were available for $8 because of how poor the team was. FedEx Field has a capacity of 82,000. The podcast I listen to said there was about 40,000 in there against the Saints.

[ursus arctos]

Final request for advice from the Ursus and Hot Pepsi: What are the best non-paywall sites to find out information about upcoming US sports games (Baseball, NFL, Soccer, College Football, Basketball, Ice Hockey), to see the league tables and read game reports?

Yahoo Sports is pretty good for this and also has an app. Google can be your friend if you are looking for a specific competition. The league sites tend to be overwrought and too video laden and the rights holders sites want you to stream stuff, not get information,

So what happens when the Titans aren't playing the Bills, is the stadium half empty?

No, they draw well for other opponents. This just gave season ticket holders and locals the chance to sell their tickets to Western New Yorkers happy to pay well over face value.

[Hot Pepsi]

ESPN.com and the leagues' own sites have all the basic information and a lot more. If you want more on hockey, TSN.ca has a bit more than ESPN.com.

I don't know how well the Titans are drawing these days, but the official data says they're doing fine. The Bills have a loyal fan base and they're excited for their team for the first time in a long time, so I'm not surprised they travelled well. And Monday Night games can be a tough sell for the regular local fans. If you're a season ticket holder and want to skip a game, that's the one to skip. It's just such a hassle to get to with workday traffic and you'll get home very late. But for Bills fans, it's a vacation.

College football is bewildering. I could tell you who to support, but I could not, in good conscience, set somebody up for so much heartbreak.

I recommend getting into Canadian football. It's more exciting.

[steveeeeeeeee]

Thanks for the website recommendations, that's really helped a lot.

Didn't go to the baseball in the end, I think I'm going to wait until Jalisco's game schedule moves to the weekend. I'm also coming to the end of my monthly spending money and beers in the stadium here are stupidly expensive by Mexican standards (roughly £4 a pint).

[Billy Casper]

So, Kayvon Thibodeaux then...

How can a team be so bad for so long? The first time the Jets have conceded 54 points since the seventies.

[ursus arctos]

Truly incompetent ownership can do it

Just ask fans of the Knicks

[ursus arctos]

Injuries don't help either

https://twitter.com/rapsheet/status/1452375354073624587?s=21

[jason voorhees]

The Falcons have snuck back into the picture in the South.

Poor Jared Goof. 0-6, losing to his old team with their hot new girlfriend they they dumped him for.

Cinci hath arrived. Burrow to Chase appears as if it will be giving dynasty fantasy owners smiles as they check their phones and the AFC North heartburn for at least a decade to come. Goodbye Ravens Super Bowl aspirations. Right on time for the Chef's collapse as well.

Have no idea how the Jints' D looked like 86 (other than the one-trick pony still being too injured to do the trick in C McCaf,) but they did for an afternoon.

[caja-dglh]

Wentz v Garoppolo in insane rain really goes to show how small the difference is between being a big money QB and a disappointing QB in the NFL. The vast majority of the time it is simply your coach and the methods / way they want to play. Which is in part why good players with high turnover coaching positions appear to underperform.

[ursus arctos]

Our Jets fans may want to look away at this comparison of their passing game with last season's

W-L	0-6	1-5
OFF PPG	11.5	13.3
Cmp-Att	123-217	124-213
Cmp %	56.7%	58.2%
Yd/Att	5.5	6.4
Pass TD	4	5
INT	5	11
Passer Rtg	68.7	63.7
EPA/Play	-0.24	-0.19
Explosive Plays	31	32
16+ Passes	21	24
12+ Rushes	10	8

[jason voorhees]

In the end, I don't know any real fan or owner who would say this out loud at the very least, much less actually believe it.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/gameo...-jets/1606177/

[blameless]

Twenty-five years ago, who would have throught that Jets or WFT fans would now be looking back at the tenures of Leon Hess and Jack Kent Cooke and saying, "you know, he wasn't so bad really".

[jwdd27]

The Bengals were rather impressive in thrashing Baltimore on their own patch, which almost never happens. Burrow on top form and Ja'Marr Chase again impressive.

Looks like I could be in for another good season followed by a comprehensive shitting of the bed in the first play off game. Just like the "glory days" when I first started following them.