Young people and Today's NFL (This is not a Dak Thread)

[CowboysFaninHouston]

Chill out, Grandpaw.

You miss the generation of players who would smoke cigarettes at halftime?

Those players were tough -- but they failed to monetize their worth -- that sort of means they were stupid as well. So many lived and died in desolation because they played a game that broke them physically and mentally but didn't provide much support after they left the league.

How many of those players died by suicide or other stuff that was akin to suicide?

Get a grip, man.

how do they monetize their worth? its the league!! even owners back then didn't make anything close to what they do today. are those owners stupid!!! sounds like you need to look in the mirror to find stupidity!

all sports in general start that way, then it becomes big TV deal. right now there are a lot of water polo players, who are great athletes. why aren't they monetizing their worth? if in 30 years, water polo becomes a big sport, are you going to critize today's water polo players for not monetizing their worth and calling them stupid?

chill out grass hopper, you got a ways to go....and pull up your pants

 

[CowboysFaninHouston]

I'm 38.

I have my old man moments also when I see youngsters talking about late 90s/early 00's NFL. Just talked about it in another thread, actually.

So I can sympathize.

With that said, we all would acknowledge that Prime Derrick Henry or Saquon would probably have 400 yard games if you teleported them back to the 60s.

So while human limits are largely the same, we all inherently understand the business and culture of football in America is now regularly maximizing athletic potential, while the X's and O's are also being refined over time.

But I'm also not going to pretend that Walter Payton wouldn't be successful in today's NFL. He may not be as successful, but he wouldn't be out of his depth.

I think the gap is in the averages. The average NFL player now is better than the average NFL player of the 80s and early 90s. 2000s? Maybe not.

that's apples and oranges....derrick henry was groomed as a football player probably from Jr. High. there are now specialty businesses focused on developing kids in highschool and its become big business. there is a lot more available to today's athletes than back then, specialists, nutrition, etc....give players back then the same thing and probably they will be just as big and fast. take today's athletes and put them back then, without any of the stuff they had access to for a decade and they probably are smaller, slower, etc. ...dorsett was fast. ran a 4.3....4.3 is 4.3 today, in the past and in the future.

and to counter what you said, take Earl Campbell, give him today's sports science and he would be literally unstoppable. henry or barkley couldn't touch is jock.

 

[Nova]

that's apples and oranges....derrick henry was groomed as a football player probably from Jr. High. there are now specialty businesses focused on developing kids in highschool and its become big business. there is a lot more available to today's athletes than back then, specialists, nutrition, etc....give players back then the same thing and probably they will be just as big and fast. take today's athletes and put them back then, without any of the stuff they had access to for a decade and they probably are smaller, slower, etc. ...dorsett was fast. ran a 4.3....4.3 is 4.3 today, in the past and in the future.

and to counter what you said, take Earl Campbell, give him today's sports science and he would be literally unstoppable. henry or barkley couldn't touch is jock.

No offense but I think you missed the point of the post, or just didn’t read all of it.

We agree. Human limits haven’t changed. Motivations, sports and recovery science, and the general culture of American football have.

 

[Rockport]

Yeah I don’t find the soccer product entertaining at all I just love that environment and crowds. But we all have our preferences.

The flopping in soccer is what is so disappointing. It’s happening in the NBA now as well more and more.

 

[Rockport]

No offense but I think you missed the point of the post, or just didn’t read all of it.

We agree. Human limits haven’t changed. Motivations, sports and recovery science, and the general culture of American football have.

Human limits are being beat every day. Someone just ran a sub 2hr marathon recently. World records get set every year as the human limits get exceeded every year.

 

[Nova]

Human limits are being beat every day. Someone just ran a sub 2hr marathon recently. World records get set every year as the human limits get exceeded every year.

Yea but it’s a software thing, not a hardware one.

Yes records are being broken, but it’s more seizing opportunity than human evolution.

Same reason 100m and 40yd dash times aren’t drastically different

 

[Rockport]

Yea but it’s a software thing, not a hardware one.

Yes records are being broken, but it’s more seizing opportunity than human evolution.

Same reason 100m and 40yd dash times aren’t drastically different

You’re not serious are you? And what is this “software thing”? Also, records in the 100m and 40yd dash are minimally lower because they’re 100m and 40yd races! It’s hard to improve on a 9.58 100 meter dash by much. In your words, minimally.

 

[CT Dal Fan]

And those same rules probably would have prevented him from getting the concussion in the first place. He didn’t get it from a TV falling in his head. Lol.

Actually I think a defender tripped, fell down, and ending up hitting Aikman in the head with his knee in the 93 NFC Title game. Aikman had a lot of concussions in his career but that one was under the "fluke" category.

 

[Arkyvarminter]

Aikman had a concussion and continued to play...WHen they watched film the next week he didn't remember anything about that game..that is what he said..

 

[big dog cowboy]

Aikman had a concussion and continued to play...WHen they watched film the next week he didn't remember anything about that game..that is what he said..

To this day he still says he doesn't remember some games!

 

[Nova]

You’re not serious are you? And what is this “software thing”? Also, records in the 100m and 40yd dash are minimally lower because they’re 100m and 40yd races! It’s hard to improve on a 9.58 100 meter dash by much. In your words, minimally.

Hardware = Body/physiological
Software = Mental aspect

There are physical limitations and there are mental ones as well.

What you’re describing is the point I’m trying to make. 100m dash times can’t feasibly get much better because we’re nearing what’s humanly possible.

The world records improving over time (though gradually) are because the pools are getting bigger and the training is getting better and is not evidence of the body, or hardware, evolving.

 

[conner01]

I was talking about the NFL with some young, mainly Cowboys fans, and they really think players today are far superior to those of the 60s, and 70's. Even some had questions about some 80's players like Tony Hill or Dupree. They were very knowledgeable about the players today though and across the league. I know that players today are much faster and athletic but when they say Rice isn't even close to Moss I disagree. I think that it is debatable but to say it isn't close is false. They have Never heard of Tony Hill and Dorsett would be average at best in today's game. This coming from Cowboys fans. I don't think it was because they didn't see the players of yesteryear, I think its because they just haven't done their research and are listening to each other.

I don't hang around young people much but my boys, who are 22 and 29, have buddies around me and I talk with them because most are NFL fans. I know that those like me that started watching Dallas in 76 have a great admiration for players like Pearson, White and Staubach where they really don't. If I had to pick one Dallas QB to build a team around it would be Staubach but it is close.

In the earlier years it could be brutal on the field and QB's weren't protected. Alot of activity after the play and during. It seems to me you HAD to be really tough back then but I'm not discounting todays players like they did the old guys...I don't know how you compare them to be honest....

It was a different game but young people not knowing the stars is just an age thing. People know what they know

 

[Rockport]

Hardware = Body/physiological
Software = Mental aspect

There are physical limitations and there are mental ones as well.

What you’re describing is the point I’m trying to make. 100m dash times can’t feasibly get much better because we’re nearing what’s humanly possible.

The world records improving over time (though gradually) are because the pools are getting bigger and the training is getting better and is not evidence of the body, or hardware, evolving.

We can agree to disagree.