Dragons Football

[Uppercut]

Wow, somewhat entertaining but I think LSU would have crushed them.

[c_hawkbob]

Their game wasn't televised here but I just watched the highlights. It's a little odd (particularly special teams wise) but it is entertaining. They were 9.5 point underdogs sp that they lost shouldn't come as a surprise, and those last two scores they gave up were on a 4th down conversion that they let go for a 31 yd TD and a pick 6 that only happened because the WR slipped at the top of his route. It looked like they could easily have won that game ... not that it matters much but it's what Jimmy Z is doing now, so I'll give them a look see when they are televised here.

[RiverDog]

I just watched a quarter of the NY/DC game. I thought that due to the 25 second play clock vs. the NFL's 40 that the pace would be noticeably faster but it doesn't start at the end of the play like it does in the NFL, it starts 5-7 seconds later when the ref marks the ball ready for play. Kickoffs are weird to watch as players can't move until the returner catches the ball.

My impression was that the quality of play is quite a bit lower than major college football, but it's still pretty early in their season. It will be interesting to see how they improve over the season.

Seattle is expecting a crowd of 30,000+ and they had to open up more sections at the stadium for this afternoon's game. I checked their website and the lowest single game ticket sells for $24. They play on both Saturdays and Sundays and select games are carried on both Fox and ABC, so although they'll never challenge the NFL, I think that they have a better chance than any professional league since the AFL to cut out a niche for themselves.

For the lack of nothing better to do, I might drive over to Seattle and check them out. Weather up in the pass is still pretty dicey so I doubt that I'll go to next weekend's game, but perhaps I'll go to one of the two home games in March.

[Rambo2014]

LMAO

That Silver guy you have at QB is horrid

[jshawaii22]

...so you say just as he hits Keenan Reynolds (good for him, too -- he's a great person) in stride for 65 yards and a TD. So it looks between Pac10 and Mountain West at times, who cares, it's football. I also like the KOffs and point(s) after a TD 1, 2, 3 plan.

A comment on Vince "The Hulk" McMahon, the $$$ owner from the WWE. At least he's not out there on a microphone trying to hype up the crowd and just making it worse and allowing names (remember "he hate me") and other ignorant, loser ideas, like he did in the first incarnation a decade ago. It actually looks serious with Oliver Luck in charge, they have a chance. Needs to get the 3rd year this time.

[RiverDog]

I watched most of the Tampa Bay-Seattle game and was a lot more impressed, obviously since our team won. They had just under 30K, which is about twice the fan base that the Chargers put in their stadium, and from the accounts on the field, the crowd made some pretty good noise despite the fact that the stadium was well under 50% capacity. Nice start and a solid statement for professional football in the Northwest.

As far as the game itself, it was a defensive struggle with just one offensive touchdown between both teams, but that was fine by me. The difference in the under 2 minute game and play clock sure makes a difference in game management. Timeouts aren't as valuable, at least not on offense, as the clock stops after every play and doesn't restart until 5 seconds after the ball is spotted ready for play, giving the offense plenty of time to get set for another play. It's consequently more difficult to protect a lead as the Dragons found out at the end of the game.

One of the things I liked about the televised aspect was the ability to listen into the discussion between the replay official and the crew chief. One of the things I didn't like was the sideline interview of players during the game.

In any event, I was pleasantly surprised at the entertainment I derived from it and will more than likely tune in again. I have my recording device set to record all XFL games.

[obiken]

Sorry I just cant get into the whole XFL thing. However, I havent set down and watched a game, so to be fair I suppose I should.

[trents]

I like some of their rules and think the NFL would do well in adopting some of them. I watched a little of the game between the DC Defenders and the New York Guardians. I wasn't impressed with the play but I was impressed with the head coach of the Defenders. He really looked like he knew what he was doing.

I think one thing to keep in mind is that it takes time for the players and the teams to get in sync and develop some polish and consistency in their performance. It all looks kind of rag tag right now but that should improve with time. And how many hours (compared to the NFL teams) are these XFL players practicing each week? I mean it looks a little like the early days of the NFL when the Green Bay Packers worked day jobs in the meat packing plant.

[RiverDog]

I like some of their rules and think the NFL would do well in adopting some of them. I watched a little of the game between the DC Defenders and the New York Guardians. I wasn't impressed with the play but I was impressed with the head coach of the Defenders. He really looked like he knew what he was doing.

I think one thing to keep in mind is that it takes time for the players and the teams to get in sync and develop some polish and consistency in their performance. It all looks kind of rag tag right now but that should improve with time. And how many hours (compared to the NFL teams) are these XFL players practicing each week? I mean it looks a little like the early days of the NFL when the Green Bay Packers worked day jobs in the meat packing plant.

Yup. We have to remind ourselves that we're essentially watching 8 expansion teams as this is the first year for the entire league.

This is a nice fit as it starts after the Super Bowl and winds up a month before the CFL gets started. I think that the league has a chance of sticking at least for a few years. It's also a strong statement for Seattle-area professional sports teams with the continued fan support for their dead-from-the-neck up MLB franchise, an almost instant sell out of season tickets for the yet to be named NHL team, and now the initial success of the Dragons, not to mention our Seahawks. Are you listening, NBA?

[TriCitySam]

Posted this elswhere, but I really liked Ricky Proehl when he was a Hawk, and its great to see his son playing for the Dragons.

[trents]

I'm not crazy about the sideline interviews of the players during the game either.

One thing I really like is that on every down you get to hear the offensive plays called from the booth. I think that's a nice touch as it educates the fans with regard to play calling jargon and gives them insight into what to look for as the play is unfolding.

In general, I think the XFL is trying to establish a connection between the fans watching the game and those playing and managing it.

[RiverDog]

I'm not crazy about the sideline interviews of the players during the game either.

One thing I really like is that on every down you get to hear the offensive plays called from the booth. I think that's a nice touch as it educates the fans with regard to play calling jargon and gives them insight into what to look for as the play is unfolding.

In general, I think the XFL is trying to establish a connection between the fans watching the game and those playing and managing it.

I'm not all that enamored with being able to tune into the play calling and the subsequent communication of that play to the players on the field, but I suppose if you're really into it, it can be an interesting aspect. Each team has their own language so for the most part it's pretty difficult to understand what they're talking about. As one commentator put it, it's like listening to an air traffic controller.

But as my wife, a relative stranger to the game, pointed out, it's of no interest to the novice fan, who stands to benefit from a good color commentator breaking down the situation, like a Tony Romo, which is what they're sacrificing when they introduce all that static noise into the broadcast. It appears to me that the XFL is going after the football junkies that can understand and appreciate those conversations vs. the NFL's trying to expand their audience to those that barely know the basics.

One thing that I do like is being able to tune into the replay booth and hear the conversation between the booth and the crew chief. I don't think it's necessary to hear it live, but on a close play, it would be interesting to hear the conversation replayed so we could get an idea as to why they ruled in a certain manner.

[HawkDawg]

A friend of mine (Hawk season ticket lifer) attended the game and had a very interesting take. It came down to this...the dollar value of the experience.

NFL $400/ticket = 99% enjoyment rate

XFL $35/ticket = 89% enjoyment rate

From a cost perspective as a patron, you still get a lot of the "things" we all love about the atmosphere of a game, for a fraction of the price. The smell of a stadium, the excitement, the camaraderie, dogs, beer, pre & post funk, etc. I know it's not quite the same, but from the "Let's Go See a Game" perspective it might be worth it.

My budget allows me one Hawks game a year, with travel, hotel, food, etc. (worthy of another thread). But geez, if I could get close to the same experience and save $350+. It has me thinking.

Obviously watching a game on TV is a different thing. I'm more concerned with the price point/value of buying a ticket and attending.

Let me know what y'all think!