GumboBC

I consider myself to be pretty knowledgeable about the game of football.

I keep pretty up to date on things. I read countless articles on a variety of football subjects. I can explain in detail what a cover 2, or even cover 3 defense is.

In other words, I like the technical side of football. I like to study the complex schemes and really try and understand what's happening on the field.

Knowing the technical side of the game is nice!!

HOWEVER !! I believe some fans get caught up in that stuff way too much. They get caught up in it so much that they can't see the forest for the trees.

Some fans hear the name "West Coast Offense" and they become obsessed with how they think it should work. And when it doesn't work good enough, they start to analyze and determine what the problems are.

You'll hear stuff like:

A. The QB is making the wrong reads.
B. The coach is just terrible at calling plays.
C. Some player doesn't fit the system.


The list is endless. Believe me!!!

And many of these folks are convinced they know exactly what the problems are. It's SO obvious to them.

But, hey, that really doesn't bother me. I do that some myself.

What I really have a problem with is fans who talk endlessly about the QB and the COACH. And blame just about everything on them.

Remember, those folks who usually only blame the QB and the coach are usually those same folks who consider themselves to be very knowledgeable about the technical aspects of the game of football.

But boy those trees keep getting in the way of them seeing the forest.

They lose sight of minor things ... like the offensive line. Or dropped passes. Or presnap penalties. Or poor tackling.

Oh, they notice these things from time to time.

But they just can't see past those dang trees.

What they fail to do is realize that all those things add up and are usually the MAJOR problem.

They see a game where the problem goes a way and they forget about it. But they always see that coach and QB. And to them, that's the problem. That stupid coach and QB. Fire 'em both!!

Football still comes down to blocking, tackling, passing, and running.

But it doesn't end there. Believe it or not but penalties can be the death of a team. It can create problems so large that it causes very good players to struggle.

Same thing with dropped passes, missed tackles, etc., ect...

And when you add all of that stuff up, it makes the QB and the coach look like bumbling idiots.

Bill Parcells will tell you all about that.

I won't lie. I don't think too much of those folks who complain over and over about the coach and the QB and try and pin everything on them. It's foolish!!

Sure, you can pin everything on the coach if you want. The coach is the top man and the buck always stops with him.

And the QB is boss when he's on the field. Now, how he can get players to quit commiting penalties is beyond me. Can he help? Sure. You betcha!! But he can't force them to. But those fans still blame the QB and the coach for those penalties.

While I know I'm not going to get those fans to actually see the forest, I just can't help but to wonder how some fans can watch football for so many years and still understand very little.





[Edited on 22/1/2005 by GumboBC]