XFL BattleHawks have Iowa ties
- Thread starter Zstatman
- Start date
hawkeyes87
Well-Known Member
So is this really where Chuck's career path has lead- XFL rb coach? Or is this just for grins?
koralakers
Well-Known Member
Sweet. 2 great Hawkeyes. Appropriate team name! My new favorite XFL team!
D
DDThompson
Guest
I should trademark
ST LOUIS ARCHERS
It seems too obvious to nickname a pro team HQd in St Louis.
ST LOUIS ARCHERS
It seems too obvious to nickname a pro team HQd in St Louis.
Motigerhawk
Well-Known Member
I may get season tickets now. I didnt realize Hayes and Long were on staff.
haha, I have to say you might be right, I dont know anything about this league, but are you always this much of a downer? A lot of people probably thought Arena Football wouldnt make it one season but I think it is still going. Did you think Reeses Pieces would take a nosedive after the movie ET was in theaters?
These are just people trying to be entrepreneurs and create a product.
SteveGarvey1
Well-Known Member
If the XFL stays in its lane and basically operates as a minor league feeder system to the NFL, it could survive.
Fryowa
Administrator
More power to them, but history says they're gonna close up shop.
The AAF was the best shot anything had at a supplementary league and they lasted two months. That league had the support of the NFL, major network support, it had the best level of player talent outside the NFL, and it totally flopped. It even addressed a lot of people's gripes about slow play, etc., and it still didn't fly.
There are two kinds of football people want to watch in the US: P5 college ball and NFL. College because it's a generational tradition for folks going back to the 1800s, and the NFL because it's the pinnacle of talent. With the NCAA you're also going to see those players transition into pro ball as well. Vince McMahon isn't out there for an arena league with a bunch of break even teams and some cable access broadcasting, he wants it to be a prime time thing.
For something prime time to make money, people have to watch it so advertisers will spend money on it. The XFL failed the first time, the AAF failed, the UFL, PIFL, IPFL, FXFL, and those are just in the last 15 ish years.
People just don't want to watch one of the big three sports in the US unless it's their favorite college team, or it's the top level of talent. You can make a league survive, sure...there are indoor football leagues, smaller pro basketball leagues, etc., but none of those go beyond small regional followings and most importantly they aren't seen on TV which is what everything hinges on today because ad revenue is by far and away what keeps things afloat.
Vince McMahon could probably get something going like an arena league that would stand a chance of breaking even. But that's not what he's shooting for and he won't settle for that. He's shooting for the stars and it ain't gonna happen. The major sports leagues have become an enormous oligopoly and there's no breaking into those markets anymore, no different than if Bill Gates said he wanted to start making cars to compete with Ford or GM.
Gotta admit after how the other outfit collapsed after barely starting I'll be pessimistic about the viability of this league doing well... Time will tell. I'm still surprised Wadley hasn't caught on somewhere. There's been RB injuries all over the league. Maybe his agent is asleep at the wheel. He may not be bell cow material in the NFL but if guys like Akler, Sproles, Lindsay now in Denver all smaller guys that have carved out significant roles for themselves then Wadley could be take on 10 touches a game or so and be effective
Fryowa
Administrator
They've already said they don't want that.
Plus, it'll never have an association with the NFL because of their crazy rule set of not allowing fair catches, all passes are considered lateral allowing double passes, offensive players can be in motion towards the LOS, continuous clock, etc. The NFL wouldn't associate with a league that's rules didn't align with it's own, and they're going to end up being a hybrid between American and Canadian football. XFL has also come out and said it's forcing players to stand for the anthem, not allowing political statements, etc. which I don't give a shit about, but the NFL does.
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Fryowa
Administrator
Wadley was absolutely, positively, 100% born for the CFL. He could have been one of the greatest players in the history of that league and made tons of money had he gone there after school.
He's the guy that league and rule set was made for. Three downs instead of four and a much wider field mean there's tons of short option passing out of the slot and guys like Wadley absolutely thrive there. All offensive players can be in motion, and WRs can only be blocked one yard out from the LOS. I think everyone's dream is the NFL, though, and that probably took over in his mind rather than having a more guaranteed successful career somewhere else.
I read an interview with Faith Ekakitie about that and how he was happy for the CFL chance, but still haunted by not being able to see if he could make the big time.
No doubt. Tevaun Smith is up there doing well now. Living up there is a lifestyle commitment and those guys aren't making 6 figures either... I can only assume Wadley is doing what he wants and not taking bad advice but I'm with you career wise I'd rather be doing that then either of the Podunk leagues that started here anyway. I still think with 32 NFL teams most of them all using 2 or 3 RBs consistently that Wadley could have a job. He's a willing special teams guy too. Just makes me scratch my head
Fryowa
Administrator
Yeah, there must be something going on. I did read from some KC paper or website when they were talking to Niemann he mentioned how the NFL game is way faster, but even tougher is the mental part. He said you basically have to learn everything 100% perfectly within a couple days or you won't get a look. Sounded like a couple blown coverages or missed routes in camp and you're down the road. Rookies are expected to cram the entire playbook, and it's survival of the fittest. Thinking about it from a coach's perspective I kind of understand it...at that level you're really not coaching skills anymore, you're directing execution. You have seven days between games in a cut throat pro league, you don't have time to be trying to get someone to hone their fundamentals or remember plays
Not saying that's Wadley's issue at all, just that maybe there's something beyond the physical stuff. Who knows.
Regarding the CFL, Smith and Ekakitie are from Canukistan originally, so I'm sure that helped make their decisions.
You know it really is amazing when you think about how teams like NE who constantly plug new players in yr in and yr out sometimes week in and week out how well they do. You'd think all across the league with all that the coaches demand from them on the mental side of it that you'd see more QBs turning the wrong way to hand off or you name it kind of mistakes both pre and post snap. And if you struggle with it early it'd be a hell of a hole to dig out of reputation wise to get more chances.
smitharooney
Well-Known Member
What about crack back blocks ? Helmet to helmet? Are these penalties or they going old school?
ssckelley
Well-Known Member
I think it's crazy they are bringing back the XFL, if the Vince McMahon original version could make it none of them can. The NFL doesn't need a "minor league", careers of football players are much shorter than baseball and basketball. College football serves as a development league so unless the XFL can draw in high school talent there really isn't a good function for it.
It's neat to see Jonathon Hayes and Chuck Long back coaching. It sucks they wound up in St Louis as I hear it's boring there.
It's neat to see Jonathon Hayes and Chuck Long back coaching. It sucks they wound up in St Louis as I hear it's boring there.
