Defenses also have play calls and after a first down, or any positive play, in a hurry up situation, communicating those play calls can be difficult. Especially in a loud environment. A lot of big plays in hurry-up are because the defense was disorganized. As an offense, you want to maximize that possibility. Keep them “on their heels” so to speak.
Spiking the ball is essentially a short time-out and allows the defense time to communicate, organize, and sub fresh players in.
I heard Eli Manning says on the Mnaningcast that in any 2 minute drill he would first go for a short completion just to get some momentum and be able to run the next play w/o the defense being able to set up. This helps set the tone for the rest of the drive.
Baker Mayfield as wolverine fits so well
I think more teams SHOULD do this, because they are disorganized with getting lined up for a rushed play or semi-huddle which wastes time. Other teams are more proficient at running the drill.
There is also the issue of a play ending “near” the line to gain, and the officials aren’t clear with the down, so having another play ready eliminates this concern.
So does Doug Pederson make it back to the US still with a job? Post London games seems to be a popular time to fire coaches.
Article on Roger Goodell’s efforts to increase the value of NFL franchises. He has been amply rewarded ($50 million+ per annum compensation package) but hard to argue with his financial success.
Canadians
Thanks. Corrected it. My spell-check must have been Canadian and changed it to NHL. Goodell has certainly done nothing to help the NHL!
The cowboys circus is in full force!
Yes, Jerry - everyone thinks you’re an idiot, which is why we hope you stay in charge of the team for 100 more years, and maybe 100 more after that.
All that will be left of him by that stage is a brain in a fish bowl that communicates by text. But how will we know that it’s not somebody else’s brain (answer - cowboys keep losing)?
Still early but NFC North looking strong.
Yes I just saw a Forbes article on it…
The Packers Are Trying To Survive The Historically Good NFC North
The AFC North became the first division in 88 years to have every team finish above .500 last season.
The quartet of Baltimore, Cleveland, Pittsburgh and Cincinnati went a combined 43-25 — an impressive .632 winning percentage. The Ravens, Browns and Steelers all reached the playoffs, as well.
Don’t look now, but the 2024 NFC North might be even better.
Granted, we’re just more than one-third of the way into the season. But the North is off to a remarkable 17-5 start — an insane .773 winning percentage.
No division in football has ever placed all of its teams into the postseason, largely because it was an impossibility due to the previous playoff format. But the NFL expanded to seven playoff teams per conference in 2020, making it possible for all four teams from one division to qualify for the postseason.
Currently, all four teams from the North would either be in the playoffs or tied for the final postseason spot. Yes, it’s early, but the dominance of the North has been astonishing.
“Man, it’s crazy,” Packers defensive tackle Kenny Clark said of the North’s dominance. “You know, they’re playing good football. All the other teams are and we are too.
“It’s definitely going to come down to the end, but we’ve just got to keep taking it week to week. I mean, it’s a week to week league, we just got to keep playing and see where we come out at the end. Yeah, it’s going to be a tough division. It ain’t been like that for a while, so it’s going to be tough.”
The North is the first division since realignment in 2002 to have all four teams with at least four wins through six weeks.
Minnesota, which had a bye Sunday, is 5-0 for the first time since 2016. The rest of the North would probably enjoy knowing the last time the Vikings started 5-0 they went 3-8 over their last 11 games.
Detroit (4-1) looks like a legitimate Super Bowl contender, with three straight wins including a 47-9 dismantling of Dallas on Sunday. The Lions are at Minnesota this week.
Chicago (4-2) has also won three straight games by an average of 17.0 points per game. While all three wins have been against sub-.500 teams, those are games recent Chicago teams would have lost.
And Green Bay (4-2) has won two straight games and is beginning to look like the Super Bowl team many believed it could be back in August. The Packers survived a tumultuous start to the season in which quarterback Jordan Love missed time with a sprained MCL and wide receiver Romeo Doubs went AWOL and was suspended.
But the Packers played their most complete game of the year in rolling past Arizona, 34-13, Sunday.
“I think we’ve just got to keep building upon it, you know?” Love said of Green Bay’s solid outing Sunday. “Build off this win, this performance, go back, handle business this week throughout practice and we’ve got a really good team coming in here next week (Houston). Just getting back to work and handling business. Definitely got to build on this momentum and keep this rhythm going we’ve got.”
They’ll have to if they want to survive the North.
To date, there’s been just one game played between division teams — as Minnesota defeated Green Bay, 31-29, on Sept. 29. Instead, the North has feasted on out of division foes early.
The North plays every team from the NFC West and the AFC South this season. To date, NFC North teams are 7-0 against the NFC West and 4-2 against the AFC South.
The North has always been one of the NFL’s marquee divisions, with legendary matchups across the board. This could be the best the division’s ever been, though, which will make for thrilling football the final 2 ½ months of the season.
“This is a tough division, probably the toughest it’s been since I’ve been here,” Packers center Josh Myers said. “And it just makes those games that much bigger. Most of them are still coming and they’re going to be huge.”
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This explains a lot of it, at least logistically.
Yes, I predict that, on average, the nfc north will only achieve a winning rate of 0.500 when they play other nfc north teams. If they were actually any good they could do better than that.
Isn’t nfc north the home of Lake Wobegon, where all the children are above average?
I wonder what the other 3 teams are trying to do
Or when you just wanna watch someone else score again, and again, and again, and again…
