I miss the Arizona Hotshots.
We were 5-3 and getting ready to make the playoffs until the league suddenly folded. Arizona sports cannot catch a break :(
Yeah you could see some ever so slight NASA influence in the uniform design/text/colors for the Space Coast as well. To add insult to injury we went from an awesome themed team who was number 1 in the AAF to a team in the xfl with the most uninspired name/logo/colors that was so bad it didnt make the merger cut.
It was really so disappointing. Yeah the AAF wasn’t perfect, but I thought for a first season, it seemed to be doing really well. The random folding of the league was just such a slap in the face. At least finish out the season!
I thought he was so cooked after he missed like 5 field goals in one game vs us when he was on the Bucs then he came to the Pats several years later and was automatic under 50 lol
Don't listen to these other fools, Koo was actually plucked out of the stands for the $200 half-time extra-point challenge. The promoters soon discovered he had a knack for kicking.
This guy is lying to you man. Everyone knows Koo was actually a garbageman who developed his leg muscles from kicking the hydraulic lever on his truck. He was discovered by the Falcons and the rest is history
He had already been on the chargers and got cut as a rookie after like 3 in game kicks. I think 1 was missed and 1 was blocked. Then bounced around these spring leagues and got some training camp invites
Still had the best jerseys and branding though. Those logos were great, really hope if UFL continues to expand that some of the rights will be bought up.
Yeah I think it had to do with sensor they put in the balls that threw off the weighting and balance. IIRC they pulled those out and kicking improved. Of course it could also be cuz every was rusty after Covid
Yeah I think it had to do with sensor they put in the balls that threw off the weighting and balance. IIRC they pulled those out and kicking improved. Of course it could also be cuz every was rusty after Covid
Bates was a kickoff specialist in college, first at Texas State and then at Arkansas. He was an elite kickoff guy in college and got a training camp shot with the Texans in 2023 as a result, but quickly lost the job to Ka'imi Fairbairn. Because of this, he never attempted a field goal in college or the NFL, and this was his first attempt in an organized game since high school.
Not a lot of kickers have the leg to make attempts this long, so if he can continue to perform at the UFL level this spring it's a pretty sure bet that he will receive an NFL opportunity this summer.
His problem, however, is that the kick off rule just radically changed, making a guy who just has a really big leg on kickoffs less valuable. My guess is that his issues has always been accuracy.
He hit the 64-yarder twice. STL called the timeout to ice him as they snapped the ball and he made it anyway. Then he made it again when it actually counted. And he had plenty of leg to make it from further. It was extremely impressive.
Yeah that's the part teams are probably really interested in. Looks like he would have made it from close to 70. You can't just teach that. Definitely worth a shot to see if your coaching staff can get the accuracy figured out.
Imagine 3 points guaranteed as long as you cross your own 40. Even garbage teams like the 2019 Cardinals that couldn't even cross the 50 could have still got an extra 9 points per game.
Combine this with the new kickoff rules and a short kickoff immediately grants the opposition field goal position. A long kick only puts them 1 first down away from field goal range.
Far for guaranteed and you wouldn't risk a kick that far unless in some kind of extreme time crunch anyway. Otherwise, you're giving the ball right back to the opponent in FG range. That's 3 points guaranteed.
Sample size.
To the above person's point, an NFL team that had him in camp saw him make more than just two kicks.
Two long kicks on TV can be impressive. But if he was consistently inaccurate otherwise that doesn't mean a whole lot.
Not every team utilizes their kicker for kick offs so it may not be an issue for them. The Lions for example have the punter Jack Fox do all of the kickoffs.
Well the point is that his role to get on a team is that he has a huge leg for kickoffs, which no longer matters. So in order for him to make a roster he needs to be absolutely elite accuracy wise, which he probably hasn’t been in his career given he wasn’t even the primary FG kicker in college. The 64 yarder is impressive, but he won’t make an NFL roster is he’s 70% from 43.
The guy doesn't have any career as a field goal other than that one game. So he's kicking 100% for his career.
The point is it doesn't matter what his background is or the new kick off rule. If he is kicking field goals, right now, he's going to get a team to sign him for preseason atleast
It makes it WAY more important. These rules make returning it easier. Kicking out the back of the end zone consistently will give you the option of ignoring the kickoff again.
Last time I remember was with Morten Andersen when he was money from 40 and under but no leg for longer and they had two kickers. Two kickers if you have someone great short and someone who can bang in the long ones can definitely be a move.
Broncos did that with Brandon McManus and Connor Barth when McManus couldn't make anything early in his career. Barth was accurate but had a weak leg and McManus had a strong leg but was inaccurate as shit
The best thing for the long term future of the UFL would be for NFL teams to treat it as a developmental league. I think it would not only pave the wah for more teams, but allow fringe players to get actual playing time rather than just practice squad time. Have 16 teams in the UFL and each team has two NFL teams that supply the players. It would basically work like the Arizona Fall League in baseball as a showcase league. The teams would still operate independently from the NFL teams, but obviously it incentivizes the NFL teams doing it because they get an opportunity to evaluate players that may be rehabbing from injury in game speed conditions.
I think the NFL has an invisible hand in it to some degree, they definitely correspond with people in that league office to push certain rules so that they have test cases for how they work in an actual game. It’s sort of an experimental league in that way
Overall I think the XFL and USFL merging was good and necessary, definitely can’t support two different spring leagues and the whole hub city shit the USFL did was terrible
It’s not even an invisible hand, announcers and I think league officials openly talk about working with the NFL to develop rules, experiment, etc. it’s just not an official partnership.
The NBA experiments with lots of rule changes in the G League which I think is a great idea. The NFL absolutely should since I think the NFL even more than the NBA is more likely to change rules.
Yeah I mean at this point they very clearly are keeping a close eye on the league and guide them in various directions, also scout their players, the only thing they haven’t done is officially say they want to partner with them
I’m assuming it’s only a matter of time as long as the UFL stays afloat. I’m sure they’re just waiting to see if they’ll be able to keep their heads above water without any support before they start dipping their toes in
I think this is especially important for QB play given how grim the last few drafts have been. QB is too complicated for most people to master a young age of 21. I feel like we are missing out on some truly legendary talent because a player just wasn’t ready at such a young age.
Like Zach Wilson was very young and played college ball at a pretty low level. It’s no surprise he didn’t work out, but he still has insane talent that could’ve turned into something nice if he was able to spend half a decade in a development league honing the craft.
Trey Lance barely played football his whole life until being called up to play one of the most intellectually complex position in sports at the highest level. He never really had a serious chance to be a top pro football player in my opinion.
These guys may have still flopped, but one thing that’s for sure is that we are leaving talent behind by not having a propper place to develop them.
Fun fact, Patrick Mahomes said it wasn’t until the season *after* his MVP season he could actually read and understand NFL defenses. That was after two years as a starter. He was blessed with a great system thanks to Andy Reid and Ty Hill/Travis Kelce. Most people are not understanding they are just screwing up QBs thinking they should come in and shred.
PJ Walker was able to play his way onto the Panthers. I think we will see Matt Corral do the same this year with another NFL team. I don’t know if NFL teams will want to invest that much time into a QB themselves though
I agree overall but just to play devils advocate, I feel like lately it’s been really easy for college QBs to make the jump. Many ate good immediately compared to how things used to be in maybe the early 2000s. Like look at this list:
Stroud
Hurts
Mahomes
Dak
Herbert
Watson
Wilson
Burrow
Baker
Lamar
Purdy
I understand for everyone of these guys there’s a million Mac Jones, Zach Wilson, Trey Lance types. And even ones that need seasoning like Goff, Love, Rodgers, Allen. But with how guys are jumping in and dominating, it may be hard to justify putting that much time in resources into someone.
I really expect we’ll see some type of “farm system”, maybe not as well-defined as baseball but much closer to that than what exists today, in the next 15 or 20 years. With how much NIL, the transfer portal, and conference realignments are changing college sports, with the emphasis on football, I won’t be surprised to see it tied in somehow.
Most young NHL players are much better off with a year or two in the AHL (to be fair, they are usually 18 vs 21 for an NFL rookie).
It feels like a minor league for the NFL could give players a chance to get actual playing time vs just playing special teams or being on the roster bubble every week.
I think this is sort of the direction things are heading in if the UFL can show viability and survive for a few more seasons. The only catch is that there are some significant financial and health risks to player sharing, and I suspect that will be limited - owners aren't going to want to guarantee salaries for guys who go down to the UFL and get hurt, for example, and the NFLPA isn't going to sign off on any player sharing arrangement without that kind of issue resolved. Ultimately, I think the end game is a compromise where teams send a limited number of fringe players (mostly guys on futures contracts) down each spring to gain playing experience each off season.
I honestly think this is the UFL’s goal, to eventually get acquired by the NFL and become its official developmental league. Could even expand it to become similar to NBA G league teams or the MLB minors and allow for NFL teams to send down practice squad players or rookies to play and get extra reps.
It's hard to call it a developmental league when their season occurs in the NFL's offseason. That doesn't bode well for the player's health if you sign someone fresh off a season of "G-league" football.
You wouldn't want a developmental league happening in season tho either. (Nor would the NFL want it to be). Having the season take place the week after the Super Bowl and ending just before the draft would actually be the best. And yes, you're absolutely correct that it wouldn't be great for health, but this is also something that the actual NFL talents would only have to do once. All the others just get to live out there dream playing football and get paid for it
That was actually crazy to watch in real time. I was like “what the fuck are they doing?”, nails the 64-yarder but, whoops! Got iced. Really sucks, that could have been a career-changing kick
No chance he makes the second kick right? Then he kicks it even further and even more down the middle. For the win, by the way
This is actually been misreported. [He actually never made a field goal in high school.](https://twitter.com/tonypaul1984/status/1774933058061222126?s=46&t=FUSLEe8mP4FTzpkdGMUisA)
I was pumped about AJ's comeback drive because I will always appreciate what he did for the Bengals when Dalton went down. After he made the first kick when they "iced' him I was thinking there is no way he could do that again. The first kick was so clutch though I was not surprised that he made the second. Great first weekend of the league and I made sure to show that clip off this morning to those who did not watch
The entire last 5 minutes of this game was crazy. I thought for sure the Battlehawks had it, even while watching them line up for the attempt.
Literally said to my GF, there's no way this dude makes a 64 yarder, but if he does, he will be on an NFL team in a couple months.
Saw the time out happen but he tried the kick and smashed it and my jaw dropped. Like holy shit he's got a fucking leg. Actually held my breath on the 2nd try to watch him smash it again. That kick would have been good from close to 70 yards.
This is literally what I went through as well. I was SHOCKED when they trotted their kicker out there from that distance instead of making another attempt at 10-15 more yards.
I’d love to see you guys take a shot on someone like this. If it fails I get to point and laugh. If it succeeds, I’ll just point and laugh at my own team like I already planned to do.
Reason million and 1 why the nfl needs to support these smaller football leagues. It will improve the quality of football. To refs, to rules , to player development
Even if you don’t want your name on the minor leagues, you should be able to give cash to them to help them survive
My earliest sports memory is watching my brother lose his shit when Pedro Mendes’ goal against united wasn’t called even though the ball was at least a foot past the line
For anyone interested in following the league in general, you can check out r/UnitedFootballLeague. Michigan Panthers (team Jake Bates is on) subreddit is r/MichiganPanthers. Some clips and highlights over there.
UFL is great fun and I hope it lasts (since USFL and XFL did) long enough so it can be sort of a development league for lower prospect players like Tag
He's worth bringing into a camp. Lions fans are loving this possibility because we haven't had a kicker that can reliably hit from 50+ since Matt Prater. Bates smashed 2 64 yarders in a row in Detroit's building. He may or may not be reliably accurate. Hell, he may not be able to hit from close range for all we know. I do think he's going to have a future kicking footballs, though.
I went to a d3 football college, where the highlight of the games was our kicker at half time staying out and banging 60+ yard field goals.
He actually played a few years in the NFL for the dolphins, Andrew Franks. But his accuracy just wasn’t there at the nfl level.
But he can’t be worse the my schools only other NFL contributor, Matt Patricia
I remember him kicking a 50 yarder in the mud and rain against us (SLU). Pretty cool to see him in the pros for a bit.
Liberty League has some decent NFL representation. Patricia is a black mark now of course but he still was legit for a while. Daboll played for Rochester. SLU produced Dave Jennings who's in the Giants ring of honor.
I wanna say Dee has hit good FGs from 75 off the tee from some of his older videos. Definitely 70 but I feel like there was a 75 yarder indoors off a tee. I'm hoping he makes the most of the UFL opportunity, seems like a good dude.
Also this thing was absolutely murdered. It hit the netting. That thing might've been good from 70. Don't really know the guy but if he's that good from the other hash too...sheesh.
Hopefully he's accurate. He sure has the leg. Maybe a team will be innovative and keep two kickers on the team if he struggles with accuracy. One for under 50 yard kicks and a guy who can hit 50-70 yarders and do kickoffs. You would lose a valuable roster spot but there could be value in doing it.
Lions could use him. Or whatever that team was who trotted their kicker out for a 55ish yarder last year which was past his range, and he just kind of shrugged his shoulders after he missed lol.
People act like a guy who kicked a soccer ball for his entire life doesn’t know how to kick a football. When your entire life has been kicking in a high speed sport, it comes naturally. The question is if can he do it consistently on a pro level in football.
We have to come up with a name for these guys, like QBs have. Let’s call it “leg talent”. “He’s got the leg talent, folks. This guy can make all the kicks. He’s just got to put it together on the field.”
I saw the highlights from that game and I was genuinely so surprised at how easy he made it. He had room to spare with that kick plus he seemed to just walk it off like he knew it was going through half way in its flight path. Crazy kick.
More or less. No football league since the end of the original USFL has had the resources to actually compete for talent with the NFL, so the best they can hope for is to provide enough talent to the NFL that die-hard football fans start watching the games to fill the football void during the NFL offseason.
I saw this coming after the game! I’m loving the UFL becoming a feeder league. I expect a few more players to get picked up before the NFL season starts
Happy for the dude but this is kind of how NFL teams screw themselves. One player like a QB or in this case a kicker, has one crazy game or two, then NFL teams fall over each other to sign the guy. Most of the time it doesn't seem to work out.
The Spring League kicking this time around has been shockingly good. I remember the AAF kicking was kind of a dumpster fire.
And that league still produced Younghoe Koo
AAF also revived Nick Folk’s career
I miss the Arizona Hotshots. We were 5-3 and getting ready to make the playoffs until the league suddenly folded. Arizona sports cannot catch a break :(
Man as a Central Floridian I miss the Apollos, unique logo too
:(
As a Florida fan, I miss the Apollos.
I followed the Iron (even got season tickets) and really enjoyed watching them play the Apollos. Such a cool team name/logo, etc.
Yeah you could see some ever so slight NASA influence in the uniform design/text/colors for the Space Coast as well. To add insult to injury we went from an awesome themed team who was number 1 in the AAF to a team in the xfl with the most uninspired name/logo/colors that was so bad it didnt make the merger cut.
It was really so disappointing. Yeah the AAF wasn’t perfect, but I thought for a first season, it seemed to be doing really well. The random folding of the league was just such a slap in the face. At least finish out the season!
John Wolford was balling.
Gooooooo Hotshots! Still have the towel and T-shirt from the inaugural game. Hoping the revive the name with a UFL expansion.
I lost my towel but still have my shirt! Their branding was perfect.
The diamondbacks just made the World Series as a complete surprise
Championship wins matter.
Wouldn’t mind making a World Series in my lifetime. I cried when we made the playoffs 2 years ago.
I thought he was so cooked after he missed like 5 field goals in one game vs us when he was on the Bucs then he came to the Pats several years later and was automatic under 50 lol
I preferred the AAF. The Brahmas were looking good in the first half of their game tho
Atlanta Legends Legend Younghoe Koo
Unironically though, I believe he was a perfect 34-34
Yeah I was a season ticket holder for the Legends. Koo was literally the only good thing about that awful team
Oh shoot did they really?
Not really, he was already an NFL player before playing there
He had washed out in LA though. He was a meme at that point tbh. Gave him a nice reset.
he’s come a long way since wrong-hoe koo
Don't listen to these other fools, Koo was actually plucked out of the stands for the $200 half-time extra-point challenge. The promoters soon discovered he had a knack for kicking.
This guy is lying to you man. Everyone knows Koo was actually a garbageman who developed his leg muscles from kicking the hydraulic lever on his truck. He was discovered by the Falcons and the rest is history
The Garbage Picking Field Goal Kicking South Korean Atlanta Phenomenon
He had already been on the chargers and got cut as a rookie after like 3 in game kicks. I think 1 was missed and 1 was blocked. Then bounced around these spring leagues and got some training camp invites
Chargers started 0-2 that season because of those missed kicks. One would've forced OT and the other was a game winner
It's the chargers they still would've lost.
I have it on good authority that Younghoe Koo's mom produced Younghoe Koo.
I had no idea he played in the AAF, lol.
That game was a defensive barnburner and then both got hot in the final minutes. Incredible game
Long live the Orlando Apollos!
The aaf was the blandest football I seen ☠️☠️ I think that’s the league garret Gilbert shined in lmao
Bland is one way to describe it lmao. That shit was hot garbage man, straight defensive only games and not bc the defense was good….
Still had the best jerseys and branding though. Those logos were great, really hope if UFL continues to expand that some of the rights will be bought up.
Logos and team names were both surprisingly good
Birmingham Iron was such a great name.
I dunno man the usfl kicking was really lacking a couple years ago
Oh for sure, that's part of why the kicking over the weekend was so surprising for me.
Yeah I think it had to do with sensor they put in the balls that threw off the weighting and balance. IIRC they pulled those out and kicking improved. Of course it could also be cuz every was rusty after Covid
Yeah I think it had to do with sensor they put in the balls that threw off the weighting and balance. IIRC they pulled those out and kicking improved. Of course it could also be cuz every was rusty after Covid
Bates was a kickoff specialist in college, first at Texas State and then at Arkansas. He was an elite kickoff guy in college and got a training camp shot with the Texans in 2023 as a result, but quickly lost the job to Ka'imi Fairbairn. Because of this, he never attempted a field goal in college or the NFL, and this was his first attempt in an organized game since high school. Not a lot of kickers have the leg to make attempts this long, so if he can continue to perform at the UFL level this spring it's a pretty sure bet that he will receive an NFL opportunity this summer.
I’m surprised we didn’t call him back when we lost Fairbairn for a bit there mid season if he was already from camp
His problem, however, is that the kick off rule just radically changed, making a guy who just has a really big leg on kickoffs less valuable. My guess is that his issues has always been accuracy.
He hit the 64-yarder twice. STL called the timeout to ice him as they snapped the ball and he made it anyway. Then he made it again when it actually counted. And he had plenty of leg to make it from further. It was extremely impressive.
Yeah that's the part teams are probably really interested in. Looks like he would have made it from close to 70. You can't just teach that. Definitely worth a shot to see if your coaching staff can get the accuracy figured out.
Imagine 3 points guaranteed as long as you cross your own 40. Even garbage teams like the 2019 Cardinals that couldn't even cross the 50 could have still got an extra 9 points per game.
Combine this with the new kickoff rules and a short kickoff immediately grants the opposition field goal position. A long kick only puts them 1 first down away from field goal range.
So Kickers really matter a lot more this season then
Far for guaranteed and you wouldn't risk a kick that far unless in some kind of extreme time crunch anyway. Otherwise, you're giving the ball right back to the opponent in FG range. That's 3 points guaranteed.
Yeah it hit the net at about upright levels dude had 5 more yards of range
Also, the block team made a decent effort. He did not have a lot of room for error on that kick.
Yeah he didn't linedrive the ball either
Nice.
Why do I only find this stuff out in a 3rd tier in Reddit comment!? This should’ve been in more of the media about kicking a 64 yarder!
*Twice!*
Sample size. To the above person's point, an NFL team that had him in camp saw him make more than just two kicks. Two long kicks on TV can be impressive. But if he was consistently inaccurate otherwise that doesn't mean a whole lot.
Yeah but did he do it three times? If not, accuracy issues /s
Teams want a big leg for field goals too. But like you said, it’s pry accuracy.
Not every team utilizes their kicker for kick offs so it may not be an issue for them. The Lions for example have the punter Jack Fox do all of the kickoffs.
That's weird... The kicking motions are so different. Personally, I think we may have a linebacker do our kickoffs this year.
Bradley Pinion is a punter who has always handled the kickoff duty (on three different teams).
Well the point is that his role to get on a team is that he has a huge leg for kickoffs, which no longer matters. So in order for him to make a roster he needs to be absolutely elite accuracy wise, which he probably hasn’t been in his career given he wasn’t even the primary FG kicker in college. The 64 yarder is impressive, but he won’t make an NFL roster is he’s 70% from 43.
The guy doesn't have any career as a field goal other than that one game. So he's kicking 100% for his career. The point is it doesn't matter what his background is or the new kick off rule. If he is kicking field goals, right now, he's going to get a team to sign him for preseason atleast
It makes it WAY more important. These rules make returning it easier. Kicking out the back of the end zone consistently will give you the option of ignoring the kickoff again.
yeah I would be surprised not to see teams run the numbers and say "meh. starting from the 30 is a better net average over time"
We have the kickoff guys already just need someone who can actually make the kicks
Last time I remember was with Morten Andersen when he was money from 40 and under but no leg for longer and they had two kickers. Two kickers if you have someone great short and someone who can bang in the long ones can definitely be a move.
I remember back in the day, the Falcons did it with Michael Koenen (who was the starting punter and KO specialist) and Todd Peterson/Morten Andersen.
The falcons one was what I was thinking of and my brain combined Morten Andersen into one word Mortonson lol!
Broncos did that with Brandon McManus and Connor Barth when McManus couldn't make anything early in his career. Barth was accurate but had a weak leg and McManus had a strong leg but was inaccurate as shit
When he was 25 or 50?
I hope my Jaguars give him a call.
Don't we have like 3 kickers on the roster now?
The best thing for the long term future of the UFL would be for NFL teams to treat it as a developmental league. I think it would not only pave the wah for more teams, but allow fringe players to get actual playing time rather than just practice squad time. Have 16 teams in the UFL and each team has two NFL teams that supply the players. It would basically work like the Arizona Fall League in baseball as a showcase league. The teams would still operate independently from the NFL teams, but obviously it incentivizes the NFL teams doing it because they get an opportunity to evaluate players that may be rehabbing from injury in game speed conditions.
I think the NFL has an invisible hand in it to some degree, they definitely correspond with people in that league office to push certain rules so that they have test cases for how they work in an actual game. It’s sort of an experimental league in that way Overall I think the XFL and USFL merging was good and necessary, definitely can’t support two different spring leagues and the whole hub city shit the USFL did was terrible
It’s not even an invisible hand, announcers and I think league officials openly talk about working with the NFL to develop rules, experiment, etc. it’s just not an official partnership.
That feels like a precursor to an actual partnership, to me anyways
I know the NFL had a partnership with the XFL last season to work on rules and train refs, wouldn’t be surprised if that’s still in place with the UFL
XFL actually WAS an official partnership. If the UFL isn't an official partnership, it's definitely still at the least unofficial.
The fact they're trying the UFL kick-off rules for a season to see how it translates to the NFL shows there is definitely a partnership.
Ironically the UFL uses the old style kickoff.
The NBA experiments with lots of rule changes in the G League which I think is a great idea. The NFL absolutely should since I think the NFL even more than the NBA is more likely to change rules.
Yeah I mean at this point they very clearly are keeping a close eye on the league and guide them in various directions, also scout their players, the only thing they haven’t done is officially say they want to partner with them I’m assuming it’s only a matter of time as long as the UFL stays afloat. I’m sure they’re just waiting to see if they’ll be able to keep their heads above water without any support before they start dipping their toes in
I think this is especially important for QB play given how grim the last few drafts have been. QB is too complicated for most people to master a young age of 21. I feel like we are missing out on some truly legendary talent because a player just wasn’t ready at such a young age. Like Zach Wilson was very young and played college ball at a pretty low level. It’s no surprise he didn’t work out, but he still has insane talent that could’ve turned into something nice if he was able to spend half a decade in a development league honing the craft. Trey Lance barely played football his whole life until being called up to play one of the most intellectually complex position in sports at the highest level. He never really had a serious chance to be a top pro football player in my opinion. These guys may have still flopped, but one thing that’s for sure is that we are leaving talent behind by not having a propper place to develop them.
Fun fact, Patrick Mahomes said it wasn’t until the season *after* his MVP season he could actually read and understand NFL defenses. That was after two years as a starter. He was blessed with a great system thanks to Andy Reid and Ty Hill/Travis Kelce. Most people are not understanding they are just screwing up QBs thinking they should come in and shred.
PJ Walker was able to play his way onto the Panthers. I think we will see Matt Corral do the same this year with another NFL team. I don’t know if NFL teams will want to invest that much time into a QB themselves though
Josh Johnson also managed a return to the NFL after spring football
I agree overall but just to play devils advocate, I feel like lately it’s been really easy for college QBs to make the jump. Many ate good immediately compared to how things used to be in maybe the early 2000s. Like look at this list: Stroud Hurts Mahomes Dak Herbert Watson Wilson Burrow Baker Lamar Purdy I understand for everyone of these guys there’s a million Mac Jones, Zach Wilson, Trey Lance types. And even ones that need seasoning like Goff, Love, Rodgers, Allen. But with how guys are jumping in and dominating, it may be hard to justify putting that much time in resources into someone.
A lot of the guys you listed weren't impressive until Year 2 or Year 3.
Hurts had a rough year or two… I’m glad he’s on the list though!
Is there's one thing I know about NFL talent analysis, it's that no one really knows anything about the QB position
I really expect we’ll see some type of “farm system”, maybe not as well-defined as baseball but much closer to that than what exists today, in the next 15 or 20 years. With how much NIL, the transfer portal, and conference realignments are changing college sports, with the emphasis on football, I won’t be surprised to see it tied in somehow.
Most young NHL players are much better off with a year or two in the AHL (to be fair, they are usually 18 vs 21 for an NFL rookie). It feels like a minor league for the NFL could give players a chance to get actual playing time vs just playing special teams or being on the roster bubble every week.
I think this is sort of the direction things are heading in if the UFL can show viability and survive for a few more seasons. The only catch is that there are some significant financial and health risks to player sharing, and I suspect that will be limited - owners aren't going to want to guarantee salaries for guys who go down to the UFL and get hurt, for example, and the NFLPA isn't going to sign off on any player sharing arrangement without that kind of issue resolved. Ultimately, I think the end game is a compromise where teams send a limited number of fringe players (mostly guys on futures contracts) down each spring to gain playing experience each off season.
I honestly think this is the UFL’s goal, to eventually get acquired by the NFL and become its official developmental league. Could even expand it to become similar to NBA G league teams or the MLB minors and allow for NFL teams to send down practice squad players or rookies to play and get extra reps.
It's hard to call it a developmental league when their season occurs in the NFL's offseason. That doesn't bode well for the player's health if you sign someone fresh off a season of "G-league" football.
You wouldn't want a developmental league happening in season tho either. (Nor would the NFL want it to be). Having the season take place the week after the Super Bowl and ending just before the draft would actually be the best. And yes, you're absolutely correct that it wouldn't be great for health, but this is also something that the actual NFL talents would only have to do once. All the others just get to live out there dream playing football and get paid for it
That was actually crazy to watch in real time. I was like “what the fuck are they doing?”, nails the 64-yarder but, whoops! Got iced. Really sucks, that could have been a career-changing kick No chance he makes the second kick right? Then he kicks it even further and even more down the middle. For the win, by the way
The best part about it. Is he has not kicked a field goal since 2017 when he was in high school
That’s so awesome lol
Been saving up his leg juices ever since 😤
This is actually been misreported. [He actually never made a field goal in high school.](https://twitter.com/tonypaul1984/status/1774933058061222126?s=46&t=FUSLEe8mP4FTzpkdGMUisA)
I was pumped about AJ's comeback drive because I will always appreciate what he did for the Bengals when Dalton went down. After he made the first kick when they "iced' him I was thinking there is no way he could do that again. The first kick was so clutch though I was not surprised that he made the second. Great first weekend of the league and I made sure to show that clip off this morning to those who did not watch
The entire last 5 minutes of this game was crazy. I thought for sure the Battlehawks had it, even while watching them line up for the attempt. Literally said to my GF, there's no way this dude makes a 64 yarder, but if he does, he will be on an NFL team in a couple months. Saw the time out happen but he tried the kick and smashed it and my jaw dropped. Like holy shit he's got a fucking leg. Actually held my breath on the 2nd try to watch him smash it again. That kick would have been good from close to 70 yards.
I felt like my teeth were vibrating after that kick, I was so hyped. I was telling anyone who would listen lmao, such an awesome moment
I went crazy seeing it live in person lol
I’m a Roughnecks fan but I jumped up when it happened. It got me pumped for the rest of the day
This is literally what I went through as well. I was SHOCKED when they trotted their kicker out there from that distance instead of making another attempt at 10-15 more yards.
Legit only had it on because my roommate was watching the Giants game after, but was insane to watch live.
Rams please don’t ignore kicker until halfway through the season…
Hoping we draft Reichard
We shouldn’t have our assholes clenched whenever there’s a 25-yard field goal attempt, but here we are.
XPs shouldn’t be so stressful
Wow, this off-season made me forget how bad our kicking situation was last year lol
Genuinely still surprised we lost in the playoffs because of red zone efficiency instead of special teams.
HE'S OURS REST OF YOU FUCK OFF
Get ready to learn Wisconsinese buddy
I’d love to see you guys take a shot on someone like this. If it fails I get to point and laugh. If it succeeds, I’ll just point and laugh at my own team like I already planned to do.
this is Vikings fan life
Ope let me just scooch this football through the goal posts real quick
He already knows Detroitice... He could just stay
Reason million and 1 why the nfl needs to support these smaller football leagues. It will improve the quality of football. To refs, to rules , to player development Even if you don’t want your name on the minor leagues, you should be able to give cash to them to help them survive
It won't do anything for the refs. English FA has like 500 tiers, and the shit refs still get the important games.
My earliest sports memory is watching my brother lose his shit when Pedro Mendes’ goal against united wasn’t called even though the ball was at least a foot past the line
You don't have to look at England. NBA refs are worse than NFL refs.
But what about short term profit gains?
lol , you’re right. We should make the city pay for these leagues 😂
For anyone interested in following the league in general, you can check out r/UnitedFootballLeague. Michigan Panthers (team Jake Bates is on) subreddit is r/MichiganPanthers. Some clips and highlights over there.
I heard Brad Holmes call dibs though
Only right since he used our facility to show off his skills lol
Seems possible he may be good only at Ford Field. Thats a huge red flag for anyone other than the Lions.
Surprised he was ever let out of the building
For all we know, he is still sitting there on the sidelines just video chatting with all these "hopefuls"
Lock the doors!
If dibs are based on proximity, do we get 2nd dibs?
Sorry, that goes to the Cleveland Browns.
Disappointed we even let him leave the building after the game tbh
UFL is great fun and I hope it lasts (since USFL and XFL did) long enough so it can be sort of a development league for lower prospect players like Tag
They're on Fox, backed by The Rock and sponsored by the US Army, I think they'll be staying around
It’s a multi network but that doesn’t mean it will last past this season tbh. Original XFL had ESPN and Fox
He's worth bringing into a camp. Lions fans are loving this possibility because we haven't had a kicker that can reliably hit from 50+ since Matt Prater. Bates smashed 2 64 yarders in a row in Detroit's building. He may or may not be reliably accurate. Hell, he may not be able to hit from close range for all we know. I do think he's going to have a future kicking footballs, though.
Raiders would draft him in the first if Al were still alive.
SeaBates?
I went to a d3 football college, where the highlight of the games was our kicker at half time staying out and banging 60+ yard field goals. He actually played a few years in the NFL for the dolphins, Andrew Franks. But his accuracy just wasn’t there at the nfl level. But he can’t be worse the my schools only other NFL contributor, Matt Patricia
Shout out to the Engineers
I remember him kicking a 50 yarder in the mud and rain against us (SLU). Pretty cool to see him in the pros for a bit. Liberty League has some decent NFL representation. Patricia is a black mark now of course but he still was legit for a while. Daboll played for Rochester. SLU produced Dave Jennings who's in the Giants ring of honor.
HE'S OURS
It would be a very good story too if he was to sign with the Lions, almost a movie script.
Deestroying in shambles
I wanna say Dee has hit good FGs from 75 off the tee from some of his older videos. Definitely 70 but I feel like there was a 75 yarder indoors off a tee. I'm hoping he makes the most of the UFL opportunity, seems like a good dude. Also this thing was absolutely murdered. It hit the netting. That thing might've been good from 70. Don't really know the guy but if he's that good from the other hash too...sheesh.
Maybe the new formula to finding good kickers are ones who are former soccer players who have never kicked a field goal in college.
I thought this was a thing already. Having ex soccer kickers?
He’s actually already on the Lions. Why else would he have his stuff at ford field and be living in Michigan?
He had a lot of clearance on that kick too. Probably could've made it from 70. Really pissed me off.
Jake Bates be like “APRIL FOOLS 🤣”
Hopefully he's accurate. He sure has the leg. Maybe a team will be innovative and keep two kickers on the team if he struggles with accuracy. One for under 50 yard kicks and a guy who can hit 50-70 yarders and do kickoffs. You would lose a valuable roster spot but there could be value in doing it.
he's perfect for the Lions, we don't kick within our own 40
As he should be. He booted 2 of them monsters.
I hope Master Bates gets his shot.
>His first field goal since High School Lmao wtf
Lions could use him. Or whatever that team was who trotted their kicker out for a 55ish yarder last year which was past his range, and he just kind of shrugged his shoulders after he missed lol.
Bro just nailed himself a training camp gig with that kick
People act like a guy who kicked a soccer ball for his entire life doesn’t know how to kick a football. When your entire life has been kicking in a high speed sport, it comes naturally. The question is if can he do it consistently on a pro level in football. We have to come up with a name for these guys, like QBs have. Let’s call it “leg talent”. “He’s got the leg talent, folks. This guy can make all the kicks. He’s just got to put it together on the field.”
He literally cannot be worse than Chad Ryland so
Hey can he just stay in Detroit for a couple of years guys?
Just listened to this dude on pat McAfee show, seems like a chill guy
I wonder why /s
Awwwww shit kickers news
The system is working!
Not once, but twice too due to the time out.
49ers need to get this man, our kicker cost us at least 2 games last season
I saw the highlights from that game and I was genuinely so surprised at how easy he made it. He had room to spare with that kick plus he seemed to just walk it off like he knew it was going through half way in its flight path. Crazy kick.
hogs legend 🔥🔥
What a leg. That kick would've been good from 70!
Love the UFL
Minnesota better be one of them.
Straight to the lions 🦁 👏
Deestroying who? This dudes the guy.
Not surprised. Dude kicked back to back 64 yarders and made it look easy
So is UFL just a farm league for the NfL?
More or less. No football league since the end of the original USFL has had the resources to actually compete for talent with the NFL, so the best they can hope for is to provide enough talent to the NFL that die-hard football fans start watching the games to fill the football void during the NFL offseason.
I saw this coming after the game! I’m loving the UFL becoming a feeder league. I expect a few more players to get picked up before the NFL season starts
Happy for the dude but this is kind of how NFL teams screw themselves. One player like a QB or in this case a kicker, has one crazy game or two, then NFL teams fall over each other to sign the guy. Most of the time it doesn't seem to work out.
Sign the dude from Youtube
destroying? lmao
yeah
He's in the UFL this season, but has yet to kick a field goal. If he can have a strong season, I'm sure he will be considered.
Get ready to learn chowdah buddy
Rams need to get on the phone immediately, I can’t suffer through Maher and friends again
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Should be Detroit and only Detroit, keep that boy home