I'm not a football guy but I play one on TV...

Was just thinking about some of the great posters that we have on the site and being a less than knowledgeable x's and o's poster here, I'm really curious to know more about people's background with the game.

Personally, I have always been a "follow the ball" guy when I watch a game and have very little understanding of the complexities regarding personnel / alignment and how they're defended/attacked. Since joining the site and reading many of the posts from people like Kearly, Scotte, DavidSeven, (not Roland), etc., I've learned quite a bit more and I thank them for taking the time to do it.

Hoping people might like to share a little bit about their experience and how they've come to know the game (to whatever extent that they do). If not, all good but you have my thanks for educating the rest of us.

Avid fan, recreational player . . . but I've learned bunches from reading about the game. Coaching books, biographies, websites, etc.

Best one ever . . . The Packer Way by Ron Wolf. Everything you ever needed to know about scouting.

I'm not elite. No offense, but I dislike terms like that. Obsessed maybe. I will watch the same all-22 play 10 times to see what everyone else on the field was doing. It's probably unhealthy.

Anything I see that you didn't only means we look at things differently. There are things you see that I don't. I'm left handed, right brained. I don't how much that matters, but right brained people tend towards the abstract. I tune in to this place especially to get different views of things because I know my view has it's own, not always correct, slant.

The thing I love the most about all-22 is there is no sound, no announcer telling me what to think on a play or about a play. I highly recommend the all-22 purchase for you geeks out there.

I played WR for SFU up here in Canada for a year before getting blown up in a game.

Not surprisingly, I always followed offensive side of things closer. Always find it hard to watch on TV because Im watching WRs and the backfield all the time. TV just follows the ball.

However, Pete has converted me to his way of thinking. I think we're seeing a major shift in the game under his leadership.

Northhawk":2ir404t4 said:

I played WR for SFU up here in Canada for a year before getting blown up in a game.

Not surprisingly, I always followed offensive side of things closer. Always find it hard to watch on TV because Im watching WRs and the backfield all the time. TV just follows the ball.

However, Pete has converted me to his way of thinking. I think we're seeing a major shift in the game under his leadership.

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Ah, that's rough man. Sorry to hear it. How'd you find yourself rooting for the Hawks, proximity?

Scottemojo":2ir404t4 said:

I'm not elite. No offense, but I dislike terms like that.
...

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Not sure if you're responding my my OP or a deleted post, Scotte. Never used the term.

All 22 is incredible.

I got it for one year, and it changes the way you look at things. As for following the ball on TV, it's tough not to. Unless I am looking for something specific, I tend to do the same thing on the first look. On replays I'll have something else in mind and check that out.

I'd like to have it all the time. I love dissecting football. It's complex yet can be incredibly simple.

This is a very good book by pat kirwan with a forward by Pete Carroll on how to watch football, it goes over a lot of the basics and schemes and things. It does a nice job building on the information so you're not too overwhelmed if you don't have a football background.

http://www.amazon.com/Take-Your-Eye-Off ... f+the+ball



I learned a lot playing madden my whole life. I know some people scoff at that but it's an excellent way to learn the game (even if playing online is dumb because there is always a way to exploit a video game in some form or another).

The entire male population of my family are football coaches. I can draft lengthy breakdowns of plays and player profiles, but that's not why I come here. I DO read everyone else's lengthy breakdowns and love doing so...But I kind of like being the Jar Jar Binx of .net. I just make dumb jokes and casually tell people to calm down.

Like the OP, I appreciate everyone else's input and take. I'd be lying if I said I didn't take some things from here to the field...

I started watching in 2002, was invited to a party didn't know it was a football gathering to watch a Seahawks game. Then life took over but followed the team and finally was able to watch a few seasons during the 2004 and 2005 years. More drama and life stuff kept me from watching the rest of the season until 2009 when I was actually at a stable resident. Ever since 2009 I've been on it, watching every game up to the present.

I was never into the X's and O's of football but after the first Year with Tarvaris I started researching more about each positional group and the basics of football. Then I started playing fantasy football, it actually helped me quit a bit about learning about other players on other teams and their schemes. Since the Tarvaris year I would go on here (more of a lurker at the time before being a member) and Fieldgulls to further my knowledge of the game.

I just love the strategic part of the game. Most people think it's all grown men out there hitting each other, the mental side of the game is what really got me interested, whether it's on the field or during draft, it's war, it's like "The Three Kingdom".

The All-22 really put alot of things in perspective, I don't have it but heard and seen articles done about some of the plays we went with.

I played up through high school AND coached peewee football....so there ya go!

Laloosh":1fvqvt3k said:

Northhawk":1fvqvt3k said:

I played WR for SFU up here in Canada for a year before getting blown up in a game.

Not surprisingly, I always followed offensive side of things closer. Always find it hard to watch on TV because Im watching WRs and the backfield all the time. TV just follows the ball.

However, Pete has converted me to his way of thinking. I think we're seeing a major shift in the game under his leadership.

Click to expand...

Ah, that's rough man. Sorry to hear it. How'd you find yourself rooting for the Hawks, proximity?

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Yup. Hawks were the first pro sports game I ever attended even before seeing the Canucks. That's kinda unpatriotic here in Canada but true.

Laloosh":3lg4923q said:

Northhawk":3lg4923q said:

I played WR for SFU up here in Canada for a year before getting blown up in a game.

Not surprisingly, I always followed offensive side of things closer. Always find it hard to watch on TV because Im watching WRs and the backfield all the time. TV just follows the ball.

However, Pete has converted me to his way of thinking. I think we're seeing a major shift in the game under his leadership.

Click to expand...

Ah, that's rough man. Sorry to hear it. How'd you find yourself rooting for the Hawks, proximity?

Scottemojo":3lg4923q said:

I'm not elite. No offense, but I dislike terms like that.
...

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Not sure if you're responding my my OP or a deleted post, Scotte. Never used the term.

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See? I can't even read correctly. Definitely not a great poster. Prolific? Yeah, I waste way too much time on here.

When I was a kid Madden helped me a lot with the X's and O's even though that may sound silly to some . I have been coming to .net since 2008 and probably did not post for years after that . Always enjoy reading lengthy write ups that take effort .

I grew up in NY. My dad was a Redskins fan , my brother a Vikings fan . I knew i didn't want to be a Jets/Giants fan. When i was 11 or 12 I tuned in to SNF and watched Alexander go absolute beast mode vs the Raiders . I believe he ran for 266 . I remember the next day trying to watch some highlights on SC and nothing. No word about the Seattle Seahawks. I've always rooted for the unpopular underdogs and basically became obsessed with trying to find anything Seahawk related. Its much easier now a days but 14 years ago we weren't on the map

What Scotte said near the top of the thread, including the right brain bit (I'm also an abstract lefty).

I actually possess far less football knowledge than many posters here, particularly guys like Scottemojo, Tical, and Absolute know way more than I do regarding X's and O's.

I do have some talent for expressing a feeling or idea, and as a right brain abstract type my thinking style is very different which might confuse some with brilliance. It's not, it's just different than what 95% of us are used to, like a knuckleballer in baseball.

I did play well in High School at OL/DL and was briefly part of a Divison II team. But that's only a very, very small part of how my opinions are formed. I am absolutely not an expert on anything. I think it's fun to come here and talk football. There are some very bright individuals here and it is a pleasure to hear their ideas and share with them.

I played WR/CB and gunner in high school, went to play in college and decided to pursue lacrosse instead.

While in college I got a minor in coaching with the hopes of coaching major college football. My ultimate dream was to be a defensive coordinator in the NFL. BUT I got married after college and had my first child and put my dreams on hold to get a career that will take care of them.

I still watch football from a coaching perspective, makes it tough when I watch the game with family members who yell at lynch for running it between the tackles and only gaining 3 yds. Have to explain its a science and not all plays are meant to be successful. Some plays are meant to set up other plays later in the game when it really needs to count.

swagcity21":kvh1jhj6 said:

I played WR/CB and gunner in high school, went to play in college and decided to pursue lacrosse instead.

While in college I got a minor in coaching with the hopes of coaching major college football. My ultimate dream was to be a defensive coordinator in the NFL. BUT I got married after college and had my first child and put my dreams on hold to get a career that will take care of them.

I still watch football from a coaching perspective, makes it tough when I watch the game with family members who yell at lynch for running it between the tackles and only gaining 3 yds. Have to explain its a science and not all plays are meant to be successful. Some plays are meant to set up other plays later in the game when it really needs to count.

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That is the kind of perspective this board needs during the season.

My football experience started when I was about 8 years old when Santa brought me one of those vibrating football games.

That was 58 years ago. I don't know much more today than I did back then.

Played a little high school football, CB, S, LB, WR but that was the days when dinosaurs were rooming the earth. 8)

I'm just a dam ugly cheerleader.
Unless of course, you like middle aged Italian dudes.

pmedic920":1mlaxb2x said:

I'm just a dam ugly cheerleader.
Unless of course, you like middle aged Italian dudes.

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That mustache tho...