PromoTheRobot Posted December 6, 2013 Share Posted December 6, 2013 http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-shutdown-corner/rugby-nfl-daniel-adongo-debut-colts-sunday-194821813--nfl.html Never played football until he was signed to the Colts practice squad. 13 week crash course in the sport, he debuts Sunday. PTR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sodbuster Posted December 6, 2013 Share Posted December 6, 2013 I can't be the only one who thinks these kinds of ideas are terrible. I have no doubt that, physically, he is up to it. But onfield experience helps develop instinct and an inherent feel for the flow of play. If you don't have that feel, you're liable to get your head ripped off out there. I'm not saying that NFLers could just go play rugby either. These aren't two sports that you can seamlessly transition from one to another. But who am I to tell an NFL GM or coach what to do with their players? Maybe this dude just gets the game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NFL95MelGrayDomination Posted December 6, 2013 Share Posted December 6, 2013 I think training a rugby player ST first would be a heck of a lot easier than LB. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drop Kick Flutie Posted December 6, 2013 Share Posted December 6, 2013 The pats have a safety that was on the us national rugby team, mostly plays st Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Posted December 6, 2013 Share Posted December 6, 2013 These guys are tough as you get. If he can pick up the game itself, it could be interesting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wayne Cubed Posted December 6, 2013 Share Posted December 6, 2013 Looks like he was formerly playing Rugby Union. It's Rugby League, that more closely resembles American Football, except no forward pass. His transition will be a bit tough, I think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CodeMonkey Posted December 6, 2013 Share Posted December 6, 2013 (edited) I can't be the only one who thinks these kinds of ideas are terrible. I have no doubt that, physically, he is up to it. But onfield experience helps develop instinct and an inherent feel for the flow of play. If you don't have that feel, you're liable to get your head ripped off out there. I'm not saying that NFLers could just go play rugby either. These aren't two sports that you can seamlessly transition from one to another. But who am I to tell an NFL GM or coach what to do with their players? Maybe this dude just gets the game. I think if this guy is intelligent as well as having the physical attributes, be could pick up LB pretty quickly. Outside of QB, football is not that difficult to grasp, as witnessed by the relative intelligence of the average football player. 13 weeks should be plenty of time to learn the LB position. This is an interesting experiment at the very least and could open up a untapped, and I'm guessing largely unregulated, source of potential players for the teams to sign without a draft. If it works, be prepared for other teams to follow.. Edited December 6, 2013 by CodeMonkey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mannc Posted December 6, 2013 Share Posted December 6, 2013 I can't be the only one who thinks these kinds of ideas are terrible. Please explain how this is "terrible". I don't understand. What's wrong with giving athletes from different backgrounds and experiences the chance to play football? Was it a terrible idea for the Chargers to sign a college basketball player to play tight end? Or for track athletes to give the game a try? What's your objection? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoSaint Posted December 6, 2013 Share Posted December 6, 2013 (edited) I think training a rugby player ST first would be a heck of a lot easier than LB. id assume 99% of his snaps this december will be ST. i doubt he gets on the field on defense outside of injuries, or highly specialized packages that allow simplified reads. (heck, the article says as much now that i finished it) I think if this guy is intelligent as well as having the physical attributes, be could pick up LB pretty quickly. Outside of QB, football is not that difficult to grasp, as witnessed by the relative intelligence of the average football player. 13 weeks should be plenty of time to learn the LB position. This is an interesting experiment at the very least and could open up a untapped, and I'm guessing largely unregulated, source of potential players for the teams to sign without a draft. If it works, be prepared for other teams to follow.. 13 weeks is almost certainly not enough time to get any real playing time in the defense, but its atleast a nice reward for his hard work and the next step in his development for the long term Please explain how this is "terrible". I don't understand. What's wrong with giving athletes from different backgrounds and experiences the chance to play football? Was it a terrible idea for the Chargers to sign a college basketball player to play tight end? Or for track athletes to give the game a try? What's your objection? no, but gates also had played football before and actually was planning to in college before nick saban told him he would have to give up basketball to play for him. its a tough sport to pick up fast, and teams usually cant afford long windows to develop guys. i wont argue its bad to give them a shot, but it can be a tricky balance. good for this guy making it this far. id have to assume the other posters knee jerk negativity to it was directed more towards the crowd that thinks any and every PF can play TE, than meant to so that no PF can play TE... atleast id hope that was the cause, otherwise he was way off base. Edited December 6, 2013 by NoSaint Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cvanvol Posted December 6, 2013 Share Posted December 6, 2013 Would be great for special teams, need a lot of practice and pre season to get a feel for the game Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wooderson Posted December 6, 2013 Share Posted December 6, 2013 I think if this guy is intelligent as well as having the physical attributes, be could pick up LB pretty quickly. Outside of QB, football is not that difficult to grasp, as witnessed by the relative intelligence of the average football player. 13 weeks should be plenty of time to learn the LB position. This is an interesting experiment at the very least and could open up a untapped, and I'm guessing largely unregulated, source of potential players for the teams to sign without a draft. If it works, be prepared for other teams to follow.. Yeah, maybe somebody who's followed football before. Peter King wrote a story about him and his only exposure to the game was playing the Madden video game. He didn't know what a "crash blitz", "zone blitz" "cover 3" were when he was playing the game, he said it just sounded like a good play. If you've never played or watched a lot of football, it's an extremely hard game to pick up. Think of all the things he has to learn--- plays, formations, penalties, rules, tackling form, technique, leverage, play-action, angles, coverage zones, etc. I'm not saying he's not capable of learning all of that, but to say that 13 weeks should be "plenty" of time to learn LB at the professional level is crazy. Not to mention, I think there's certain CBA rules about practice squad contact and hitting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. WEO Posted December 6, 2013 Share Posted December 6, 2013 What--no dwarves available? Who's their GM now, Bill Veeck? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoSaint Posted December 6, 2013 Share Posted December 6, 2013 Yeah, maybe somebody who's followed football before. Peter King wrote a story about him and his only exposure to the game was playing the Madden video game. He didn't know what a "crash blitz", "zone blitz" "cover 3" were when he was playing the game, he said it just sounded like a good play. If you've never played or watched a lot of football, it's an extremely hard game to pick up. Think of all the things he has to learn--- plays, formations, penalties, rules, tackling form, technique, leverage, play-action, angles, coverage zones, etc. I'm not saying he's not capable of learning all of that, but to say that 13 weeks should be "plenty" of time to learn LB at the professional level is crazy. Not to mention, I think there's certain CBA rules about practice squad contact and hitting. definitely. even if you can learn a good chunk of it on a textbook level, putting it into practice at an nfl level on the field is a whole different beast. something a lot of guys with years of playing time struggle to piece together. but like the article says, hes only playing special teams, which is much more of a "go get that guy" mentality than the complex reads at linebacker. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drinkTHEkoolaid Posted December 6, 2013 Share Posted December 6, 2013 Would be very interesting if he has success. Rugby is a man's game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FLbills Posted December 6, 2013 Share Posted December 6, 2013 Anyone know the name of the Bills waterboy??? In all seriousness, I hope it works out for him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buffaloboyinATL Posted December 6, 2013 Share Posted December 6, 2013 (edited) This is the same team that is giving Da'Rick Rogers a chance as well, so we shouldn't be surprised they are willing to take chances. http://allfortennessee.com/2013/12/05/darick-rogers-starting-soon-colts/ Edited December 6, 2013 by buffaloboyinATL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Campy Posted December 6, 2013 Share Posted December 6, 2013 I can't be the only one who thinks these kinds of ideas are terrible. I have no doubt that, physically, he is up to it. But onfield experience helps develop instinct and an inherent feel for the flow of play. If you don't have that feel, you're liable to get your head ripped off out there. I'm not saying that NFLers could just go play rugby either. These aren't two sports that you can seamlessly transition from one to another. But who am I to tell an NFL GM or coach what to do with their players? Maybe this dude just gets the game. Given that American football is an offshoot of rugby, why not? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HankBulloughMellencamp Posted December 6, 2013 Share Posted December 6, 2013 This is the same team that is giving Da'Rick Rogers a chance as well, so we shouldn't be surprised they are willing to take chances. And so it appears as though this rugby guy is already showing more promise as a LB than Kelvin Sheppard!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Original Byrd Man Posted December 7, 2013 Share Posted December 7, 2013 And so it appears as though this rugby guy is already showing more promise as a LB than Kelvin Sheppard!!! You beat me to the punch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big C Posted December 7, 2013 Share Posted December 7, 2013 You beat me to the punch. Me too! My first thought when I saw this thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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