[quote=“maroonandwhite, post: 888378, member: 1406”]My take on that is this. Theres no lower division gridiron (bar canada, arena etc) , nothing similar to junior hurling or triple a baseball, so only a tiny percentage of players play past high school, a few go to college, far fewer go pro. So the number of players who make it to the nfl is quite limited. Through contacts and general nous they obviously pave the difficult road for their offspring, i think freakonomics did a piece before on the massive statistical advantage of having a father who plays a particular sport at an elite level if you want to play it to that level(iker casillas’ eight day old son getting signed by real is an extreme example)
While the nfl is popular all over america now, the majority of players still come from areas where its played ‘seriously’ or at a very competitive level in high school, mainly texas and the south, with a few from the likes of ohio, wisconsin, pennsylvania thrown in (california has the population and climate to be over represented in every sport) plus theres no real international element, unlike nba, mlb and especially nhl.
All this creates a tiny pool of players and coaches, a clique almost, very hard to break into that, however if your father can teach you the game at an elite level, and get you a start, you have a massive chance, and most take it.[/quote]
Good points. I think it’s even more pronounced for coaches because there are even fewer opportunities to be around the pro game so if you grow up in a family of coaches you have a huge advantage over someone trying to learn the complexities from playing the game in school and watching it from the sidelines.
I’d also like you to address the misstatement in your last sentence. Most sons of coaches or players don’t become pros. It was a well constructed argument you presented, but significantly undermined by a sloppy conclusion.
[quote=“Rocko, post: 888384, member: 1”]Good points. I think it’s even more pronounced for coaches because there are even fewer opportunities to be around the pro game so if you grow up in a family of coaches you have a huge advantage over someone trying to learn the complexities from playing the game in school and watching it from the sidelines.
I’d also like you to address the misstatement in your last sentence. Most sons of coaches or players don’t become pros. It was a well constructed argument you presented, but significantly undermined by a sloppy conclusion.[/quote]
Obviously most was an exaggeration, but if you re read it i say most that get a start in the game take that chance, i wasnt suggesting the majority of coaches kids have careers in the game. But it was still a dramatisation.
[quote=“Gman, post: 888357, member: 112”]
great news!
[/quote]
Is Sanchez back next year?
Speaking as someone with only a rudimentary knowledge of gridiron is it me or do a huge percentage of QBs in the NFL come from either Texas or California?
All i have is a rudimentary knowledge too to be honest, but california is a major provider to all sports for two reasons, it has a population of 40 million which is way more than an other state, and its the perfect climate for sports, dont know have you ever been there but i was there this summer and while you bake in arizona, nevada or inland california, the coast is lovely, warm but mild and sunny, and is most of the year, perfect for young lads playing sports.
Texas considers itself the home of football from what i gather, it prides itself on high school football and football in general (from what i read, ive never been there) and is obsessed with the game and with the cowboys, bar a pocket around Houston. The amount of starting qbs from there is amazing alright. I find you have to keep an eye on where lads went to school, a lot are born elsewhere and move around, kaepernick for example is often stated as being from wisconsin, but he was only born there, he played all his football in california. A lot went to school in texas although you might only hear their birthplace and college on a broadcast.
Of course another way of looking at it is getting back to bandages original point. Due to it being a bit of a clique at the top, and the amount of texans playing and involved overall, it’s probable that Texan schools and colleges are over scouted. Drew Brees and Nick Foles met in the playoffs and both went to the same high school in Austin. Now regardless what clown is qb in that school this year he’s going to get looked at by the university of Texas and probably a few more. A more talented youngster in somewhere like Connecticut might struggle to get that attention.
Anyway,
Pats by 6
Niners by 2
They are the two most populous states, so it would hardly be shocking. I’m a bit bored so I’ll do a list of current NFL starting QBs and where they are from.
Carson Palmer - California
Matt Ryan - Pennsylvania
Joe Flacco - New Jersey
EJ Manuel - Virginia
Cam Newton - Georgia
Jay Cutler - Born in Georgia but reared in Indiana
Andy Dalton - Texas
Jason Campbell - Mississippi
Tony Romo - Born in California reared in Wisconsin
Peyton Manning - Louisiana
Matt Stafford - Born in Florida, spent time in Georgia but has to be considered a product of Texas
Aaron Rodgers - California
Matt Schaub - Pennsylvania
Andrew Luck - Born in Washington DC, traveled to Europe as his da was involved with the World league of American football but settled in Texas eventually.
Chad Henne - Pennsylvania
Alex Smith - Born Washington State, reared in California
Ryan Tannehill - Texas
Matt Cassel - California
Tom Brady - California
Drew Brees - Texas
Eli Manning - Louisiana
Geno Smith - Florida
Terrelle Pryor - Pennsylvania
Nick Foles - Texas
Ben Roethlisberger - Ohio
Philip Rivers - Alabama
Colin Kaepernick - Born Wisconsin, reared California
Russell Wilson - Born Ohio, reared Virginia
Sam Bradford - Oklahoma
Mike Glennon - Virginia
Ryan Fitzpatrick - Arizona
Robert Griffin III - Born Japan, reared Texas
I make that 7 Texas and 6 California. Pennsylvania next with 4.
[quote=“Sandymount Red, post: 888479, member: 1074”]They are the two most populous states, so it would hardly be shocking. I’m a bit bored so I’ll do a list of current NFL starting QBs and where they are from.
Carson Palmer - California
Matt Ryan - Pennsylvania
Joe Flacco - New Jersey
EJ Manuel - Virginia
Cam Newton - Georgia
Jay Cutler - Born in Georgia but reared in Indiana
Andy Dalton - Texas
Jason Campbell - Mississippi
Tony Romo - Born in California reared in Wisconsin
Peyton Manning - Louisiana
Matt Stafford - Born in Florida, spent time in Georgia but has to be considered a product of Texas
Aaron Rodgers - California
Matt Schaub - Pennsylvania
Andrew Luck - Born in Washington DC, traveled to Europe as his da was involved with the World league of American football but settled in Texas eventually.
Chad Henne - Pennsylvania
Alex Smith - Born Washington State, reared in California
Ryan Tannehill - Texas
Matt Cassel - California
Tom Brady - California
Drew Brees - Texas
Eli Manning - Louisiana
Geno Smith - Florida
Terrelle Pryor - Pennsylvania
Nick Foles - Texas
Ben Roethlisberger - Ohio
Philip Rivers - Alabama
Colin Kaepernick - Born Wisconsin, reared California
Russell Wilson - Born Ohio, reared Virginia
Sam Bradford - Oklahoma
Mike Glennon - Virginia
Ryan Fitzpatrick - Arizona
Robert Griffin III - Born Japan, reared Texas
I make that 7 Texas and 6 California. Pennsylvania next with 4.[/quote]
I’d still consider Texas to have a proportionally high representation, you could have put Christian ponder in there too perhaps. Considering New York, Illinois,Florida have large populations and very poor representation on that list. But I think it’s over scouting and focus on youth players in Texas that has them top.
Yeah my point was more in general terms over the last 30 or 4o years as opposed to QBs currently playing
Ponder has been benched for good IMO, Jake Locker was another who could have been mentioned, Washington State btw.
It’s interesting though that over half of the starting QBs in the league come from just three states.
You can fuck right off if you think I’m going to research that 
I think the Texas dominance of QBs is a relatively new phenomenon. They’ve always produced plenty of NFL players, but their recent production of QBs is off the charts.
This looks to be from about 3 years ago but it’s an interesting map of QB hometowns.
Not technically a state, but the deep south states like Louisiana and Georgia where the bulk of the SEC is based I would have thought has a very high representation too. I’d bracket it into 3 sections, Cal, Texas and Deep south states. outside of there would be low enough.
Pennsylvania?
I’d include Florida in that first category too.
3 of the 4 in that list would be in doubt for next season IMO. I think the SEC dominance of the last few years will start reflecting more and more in the next few years in NFL rosters.
BOSTON (CBS) — At this point, if you live in New England, you almost have a routine when it comes to preparing for the AFC Championship Game. Perhaps you head to the same friend’s living room or basement, make the same snacks, drink the same beer and shout the same expletives at the TV screen as the Patriots try to earn a trip to the Super Bowl. Seemingly every year at this time, the Patriots find themselves still alive in the postseason, still fighting for a Super Bowl berth and, ultimately, a championship.
As great as that is, and as much as I don’t want to put a damper on what should be a celebratory week in New England, I do suggest that you enjoy Sunday as much as humanly possible. Because this may be it.
Frankly, it’s nothing short of a football miracle for the Patriots to be here in this position right now. Even with one of the greatest coach-quarterback combinations in the history of the sport, it’s still astonishing for the Patriots to have overcome the loss of their top five receivers last season, avoided the distraction of their star tight end being brought up on murder charges, and to have competed despite injuries to arguably the two most important players on defense. These are events that derail most teams — even Patriots teams in recent years — yet here they are, 60 minutes away from playing in another Super Bowl.
Now, is it possible for the universe to seemingly conspire against the rest of the league to propel the Patriots to championship weekend next season or in the years that follow? Sure, but if you’re a gambler, that’s a bet you probably wouldn’t want to make.
And really, the need to appreciate New England’s current position has as much to do with the nature of the league as it does anything that has to do with the Patriots themselves. This is the Patriots’ eighth trip to the AFC Championship Game in the last 13 years. In that same span, the Steelers and Eagles have earned the second-most trips to their conference championship games with five apiece. Three teams — Indianapolis, Baltimore and San Francisco — have three championship game appearances since ’01, and no other team has more than two. In fact, 10 of the 32 teams in the NFL have zero championship game appearances in that time span.
And in those championship games, the Steelers are 3-2 and the Eagles are 1-4. The Patriots are 5-2, and they have the chance to make it 6-2 on Sunday.
It’s been remarkable, and given the consistency of Tom Brady at quarterback and Bill Belichick on the sideline, it wouldn’t be a shock to see the Patriots return to a title game in the near future. Still, future success is never guaranteed in the NFL. Given how quickly things can change, and given how fortunate the Patriots are to have held it all together through an overwhelming flood of adversity this year, that is especially true.
That’s not to send a message of doom, gloom or impending football death. It’s just a matter of reality: Teams don’t win this much. Teams don’t reach their sport’s final four this often. Football teams don’t have the same quarterback and coach for this long. But the Patriots do.
“To get out there and play 16 weeks and really see where you stand at the end of those 16 weeks – getting to the playoffs, play the best teams and see if you can advance — it’s certainly not easy to do,” Brady said on Thursday. “It’s very challenging. I think it’s the mental toughness of the team and the willingness to do whatever it takes to win. We’re challenged here on a daily basis by Coach Belichick to show up, do the right thing, always put the team first and I think that’s what this team has always been about.”
As long as Brady is at QB, that mentality figures to be pervasive throughout the team. And hey, with a potentially healthy Rob Gronkowski back in the mix next year, there’s no reason the Patriots should be counted out next season. And they won’t. But what if Brady’s statistical drop this season had as much to do with getting a half-step slower as it did with incorporating a new receiving corps? Would it really be right to expect a 37-year-old to get back to the days when throwing 35 touchdowns every year was the norm? It might be more fair to expect a decline — slight as it may be — as Brady inches closer toward 40.
Again, there’s a chance he pulls a Peyton Manning and sets all of the NFL records at 37 years old, but yet again, I wouldn’t wager much of my salary on that happening.
It’s become a bit taboo around here to celebrate and fully appreciate any season that ends in anything short of a Lombardi Trophy. And with reason — the Patriots established a lofty precedent by winning three Super Bowls in four seasons, and they’re held to the very standard they created. But it often gets overlooked just how much had to go the Patriots’ way for that to happen. There is, obviously, the “Tuck Rule,” but also an impossible 45-yard field goal through the driving snow byAdam Vinatieri to force overtime in 2001. And there was Drew Bledsoe the following week, playing for the first time in four months and quarterbacking the team to an AFC title.
There was Drew Bennett dropping a pass that hit him in the chest late in the divisional round in ’03, when a catch would have set up the Titans to either tie with a field goal or win with a touchdown. And there was John Kasay’s kickoff sailing out of bounds in Super Bowl XXXVIII, giving Brady and Co. a golden opportunity on the 40-yard line with a chance to win the game.
Far too much focus has been placed on the losses in ’07 and ’11 when you consider the simple fact that winning a Super Bowl takes a tremendous surge of solid play, smart decisions and — as much as anything — a run of good luck. David Tyree’s helmet and Wes Welker’s receiver gloves can be put on display as a reminder of that.
If the Patriots are fortunate enough to have some luck on their side this weekend in Denver and again in New Jersey in early February, then bully for them. But if they come up short, whether due to getting outplayed or being on the wrong side of a bounce, it would be foolish to say that this year’s team has disappointed.
Will the unparalleled run of success continue for Belichick, Brady and the Patriots beyond this year? That’s impossible to predict, but the odds will continue to be stacked against them. For now, we know they have this AFC Championship Game. And at some point on Sunday afternoon, we’d all be wise to take a moment to appreciate what we’ve been privileged enough to witness for the past 13 years. It will be over much sooner than later, and it most certainly will never happen quite like this ever again.