XFL 2020 Season

[Red Comet]

1 hour ago, Ferdinand Cesarano said:

 

Sad but true. Once Reggie Fowler pulled out of the AAF, the league was a house of cards, as Charlie Ebersol alone had no means of funding one season, let alone the three that he had promised players, coaches, advertisers, and vendors.

 

This left the league dependent on rescue by some angel investor. But Tom Dundon turned out to be much more vulture than angel; and so away went the league, leaving mountains of unpaid bills and many stranded players — not to mention an unfinished history. (The only semblance of closure on the historical question was provided by a popular sports betting company, which paid off on bets on Orlando to win the league's inaugural championship.)

 

You'd think a guy who made his billions as a used-car salesman would've set off at least a few red flags.

[GDAWG]

1 minute ago, Red Comet said:

 

You'd think a guy who made his billions as a used-car salesman would've set off at least a few red flags.

 

The NHL didn't think so.  

[Sec19Row53]

1 hour ago, Cujo said:

 

Quoting myself here, since apparently you skimmed over: ONE OF THE KEY FACTORS

We're in closer agreement than it appears. I figure money was the only/main factor. I'm not sure either one of us is wrong, and AAF is gone anyway.

 

[High Five]

[Red Comet]

2 minutes ago, GDAWG said:

 

The NHL didn't think so.  

 

I guess, technically, he wasn't a used-car salesman, he was a subprime lender for people to buy used cars. Actually, a subprime lender combined with a used-car salesman sounds even more skeezy now that I think about it.

[McCall]

My takeaways from the first 2 weeks.

 

- Although not College or NFL quality, this is still some good football to watch. As mentioned, some of these players may be in NFL camps this summer. Which may be a good sign for the league. If they can provide an opportunity for players to show their skills to the NFL, then players out of football are gonna keep showing up to play. And maybe they can eventually do what Polian had talked about with the AAF, where NFL teams send players after the season to get some playing time. Maybe backups or practice squad players.

- The in-game interviews have got to stop. They are annoying, gimmicky and quite honestly ruin the experience. Makes it feel to much like a reality show or a fictional game in a movie/tv series.

- I like the kick-off. Still feels a bit awkward, but I think that's just because it's new. Don't know if there's any alterations that can be made. Not a negative, by any means.

- I like the extra points, but would make the 1-point just a kick. I could see the NFL eventually adding a 3-point conversion, but the PAT kick won't change. And I think it would be better here as well. So you kick for 1, 2 from the 5 yd or 2 yd, and 3 from the 10 yd.

 

All in all, this league just might stick around for awhile.

[GDAWG]

1 minute ago, Red Comet said:

 

I guess, technically, he wasn't a used-car salesman, he was a subprime lender for people to buy used cars. Actually, a subprime lender combined with a used-car salesman sounds even more skeezy now that I think about it.

 

I am of the belief that Ebersol thought that Dundon would add credibility to the league because he owns an NHL team.  

[Red Comet]

Just now, GDAWG said:

 

I am of the belief that Ebersol thought that Dundon would add credibility to the league because he owns an NHL team.  

 

Well, yeah. It's clear from Reggie Fowler that Ebersol's idea of a background check was to ask people how much money they had and that's about it. 

[GDAWG]

I wonder what the ratings are going to be for this weekend, especially going up against the Daytona 500, with that being delayed to today.  

[Gothamite]

That’s the irony - the AAF seemingly presumed that the NHL must have properly vetted its ownership.  

[GDAWG]

All is not lost for a lot of people who were in the AAF though.  Some have moved on to other jobs in Football.  Hines Ward is an assistant coach with the Jets.  Jennifer King, an assistant coach with the Arizona Hot Shots is an offensive assistant with the Redskins.  Troy Palomalu is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.  Birmingham Iron Head Coach Tim Lewis is coaching DB's in St. Louis.  Commanders Head Coach Mike Riley is with the Seattle Dragons.  The XFL has quite a few AAF players.  

[SFGiants58]

10 minutes ago, Red Comet said:

 

Well, yeah. It's clear from Reggie Fowler that Ebersol's idea of a background check was to ask people how much money they had and that's about it. 

 

Imagine if they were hiring for a youth employment center!

 

"Mr. Patterson, you've got the job. We're just curious, what exactly are you planning to teach these young teen guys?" 

 

[GDAWG]

Vince McMahon clearly has the money, but whether or not he's mentally stable (and judging how he books WWE every week, that's debatable) is another story for another day.  

[dfwabel]

Just one market as a sample for Saturday.

https://mobile.twitter.com/ChrisLezotte/status/1229441902078046208

 

Quote

last week, an #XFL game (in Milwaukee market) earned a 3 rating, (3% of households in the market watched). this week, a 2.3. Thus, it lost viewers. But, XFL still out-rated College Hoops, Premier League, NHL, and PGA (again, in the Milwaukee market).

 

[DDR]

Having Todd Gurley and Melvin Gordon at the Wildcats game reminded me a little bit of NXT events, where WWE stars/Hall of Famers show up to watch it live. It kinda legitimized the game in a way to me, and made it feel like the XFL was something to check out. Not to mention the Troy Aikmans and other retired NFL stars who've been shown/interviewed on camera.

 

I wonder if the NFL will nip that in the bud?

[Sykotyk]

1 hour ago, McCall said:

 

- The in-game interviews have got to stop. They are annoying, gimmicky and quite honestly ruin the experience. Makes it feel to much like a reality show or a fictional game in a movie/tv series.

- I like the kick-off. Still feels a bit awkward, but I think that's just because it's new. Don't know if there's any alterations that can be made. Not a negative, by any means.

- I like the extra points, but would make the 1-point just a kick. I could see the NFL eventually adding a 3-point conversion, but the PAT kick won't change. And I think it would be better here as well. So you kick for 1, 2 from the 5 yd or 2 yd, and 3 from the 10 yd.

1. Yes. At least figure out who makes a good interview and just stick with them. Funny or insightful. And give them at least a play to catch their breath. 

 

2. I love it because almost every kick is returnable. Yet without all the injury risk of the regular kickoff.  But yes it does feel a bit weird because everyone is just frozen waiting for the ball to be caught. 

 

3. Nah. No one would go for 2 or 3 unless absolutely necessary. Plus this makes 7 points not a given and there is more intrigue in the decision. If a kick is allowed it would always be the default and almost always made. 

 

 

Personally, I liked it when XFL 2001 introduced it for the playoffs. And was hoping for something even more.. Out there. 1 from the 2, 2 from the 5, 3 from the 10. And an extra point for every ten yards further back. It would keep games in play ever when they're statistically out of reach. Down 12? Still one score. Teams won't go easy if one td can tie it up even if extremely unlikely. 

[Sec19Row53]

1 hour ago, McCall said:

My takeaways from the first 2 weeks.

 

- Although not College or NFL quality, this is still some good football to watch. As mentioned, some of these players may be in NFL camps this summer. Which may be a good sign for the league. If they can provide an opportunity for players to show their skills to the NFL, then players out of football are gonna keep showing up to play. And maybe they can eventually do what Polian had talked about with the AAF, where NFL teams send players after the season to get some playing time. Maybe backups or practice squad players.

- The in-game interviews have got to stop. They are annoying, gimmicky and quite honestly ruin the experience. Makes it feel to much like a reality show or a fictional game in a movie/tv series.

- I like the kick-off. Still feels a bit awkward, but I think that's just because it's new. Don't know if there's any alterations that can be made. Not a negative, by any means.

- I like the extra points, but would make the 1-point just a kick. I could see the NFL eventually adding a 3-point conversion, but the PAT kick won't change. And I think it would be better here as well. So you kick for 1, 2 from the 5 yd or 2 yd, and 3 from the 10 yd.

 

All in all, this league just might stick around for awhile.

Eh - there was too much bad quarterbacking to keep me entertained. Heck, I even flipped on The Phantom Menace for better tv [true story]

[GDAWG]

31 minutes ago, Sec19Row53 said:

Eh - there was too much bad quarterbacking to keep me entertained. Heck, I even flipped on The Phantom Menace for better tv [true story]

 

What's wrong with that?  They all are auditioning to be the backup QB of the Bears and in order to get that job, one must be terrible so that Ryan Pace can justify his drafting of Trubisky.

[coogrfan]

17 hours ago, DNAsports said:

I can’t tell if he’s a poor man’s Lamar Jackson or a Mahomes-Jackson love child

 Imo, it's more accurate to describe him as a poor mans Deshaun Watson.

[dfwabel]

3 hours ago, GDAWG said:

I wonder what the ratings are going to be for this weekend, especially going up against the Daytona 500, with that being delayed to today.  

Even with a delayed start and the race, postponed until this afternoon, FOX saw those 20 laps with a 19% increase in ratings over 2019, per SBJ Motorsports reporter Adam Stern. That is 10.935M viewers.

The initial tune-in was 11.193M viewers, up 32% from last year.

 

 

 

[GDAWG]