Guys, come on. The top overall pick for the skill position draft was Rashard Davis, who bounced around from practice squad to unemployed to practice squad for a couple years in the NFL. That tells you the talent disparity between the leagues.

I’d like to see the DC Defenders challenge the Redskins to a game, maybe for a preseason scrimmage.

I’d bet that particular talent gap isn’t as huge as some think. Now if we’re talking about the Patriots, that’s a different planet.

(10-17-2019 08:58 AM)jmuwyhamhgawd Wrote:  Guys, come on. The top overall pick for the skill position draft was Rashard Davis, who bounced around from practice squad to unemployed to practice squad for a couple years in the NFL. That tells you the talent disparity between the leagues.

Yeah, I was trying to be nice but this isn’t even worth debating. If you have any question about the skill gap take a few minutes and look at the profiles of the players drafted. If it isn’t clear after that then I don’t know what to tell you. It isn’t even close in skill comparison. I’m happy for our guys but let’s not pretend like this league is something it isn’t.

(10-17-2019 08:00 AM)doubleduke2016 Wrote:  If you consider that none of the players in the XFL would be starters or likely 2nd string in the NFL it is tough to imagine an XFL team beating a NFL. I think a few players could be 3rd string and with some experience move up into a 2nd string or starting role but the big question is how much of a difference is there between a 2nd string NFL guy and a practice squad guy (which is what a lot of XFL players are)? Is the NFL guy a 8.5 and the XFL guy a 8.3 or are they 8.5 and 5.0 (made up numbers that mean nothing) I would guess the biggest difference between NFL and XFL will be the measurable difference between the stars but I would guess the difference between the middle of the pack is not too far off.

I think these are below current practice squad players as I'm guessing anyone that is currently on a practice squad will be signed to a futures contract once the NFL regular seasons ends, meaning they cannot play in XFL. I think the majority of the league will be from practice squad last year or the year before (i.e. Rashad Davis), or a "vet" that wasn't worth/capable to demand a vet minimum on an NFL teams (i.e. Trent Richardson / Jacoby Ford), or a practice squad caliber person that has been up in Canada. None of which are going to beat* any NFL team, especially given the drop off in QB play from a NFL starter to a non-practice squad guy. To make up some more numbers, Tom Brady is 10, Roethlisberger is 8.5, Mason Rudolph is 7.5, Devlin Hodges is 6, NFL practice squad is 5 and XFL QB is 4. Other positions will have more parity in the middle of the pack as you noted but any NFL QB starter would shred the XFL defenses.

*You would have some upset at some point but I have to think even Miami or Redskins are a 2-3+TD favorite over any XFL team.

(10-17-2019 09:29 AM)JMURocks Wrote:  I’d like to see the DC Defenders challenge the Redskins to a game, maybe for a preseason scrimmage.

I’d bet that particular talent gap isn’t as huge as some think. Now if we’re talking about the Patriots, that’s a different planet.

Back in the days of the USFL the Stars would’ve beaten the Philly Eagles soundly. Then again the USFL had some high end HoF talent, these new leagues don’t.

(10-17-2019 12:27 AM)bcp_jmu Wrote:  

(10-16-2019 11:08 PM)Longhorn Wrote:  

(10-16-2019 08:52 PM)Purple Wrote:  

(10-16-2019 04:27 PM)Anders Wrote:  

(10-16-2019 03:49 PM)Purple Wrote:  I'm sure that had at least something to do with the Defenders picking players who played their college ball in the region, knowing that many fans of the players' former colleges are going to become Defenders fans just to watch players from their favorite college teams (alma maters in most cases) play locally.

How much better do you all think an average NFL team is than an average XFL team? I don't think it is a lot.

Not sure if this is joking but a whole lot better. Like a lot. From the coaching to the players. 2nd string of an average NFL roster would still crush an average XFL team. I think the talent level will be pretty comparable to the AAF.

Yeah, that's what everyone said about the AFL compared to the NFL in the 60s.

I was thinking the same thing.

Well, the AFL did have about 10 years before any type of parity emerged....NFL 3RD string would beat xfl in year 1 id guess...sounds like a great farm league for them, thrilled for our guys!

Negative. The AFL and NFL were peers much earlier, facing off in this new-fangled thing they called the Super Bowl when the AFL was only six years old. The AFL won, I believe, 11 of the first 15 Super Bowls. So, the talent level was much more equal than some think.

The talent level is even more equal today.

Case in point: Khalid Abdullah is a tremendous running back. Who knows why he didn't stick in the NFL? Could be coaches were comfortable with who they had, could be he didn't have great tryouts in the minutes and hours he had to perform, could be a lot of things, just circumstances. None of that changes the fact that he is a tremendous running back. Don't take my word for it, read the smelly Bisons board. They still talk about Khalid like he is a cross between Jesus and Jim Brown. If you happen across a smelly Bison at a tailgate, just whisper "Khalid" and watch him begin to tremble uncontrollably.

Consider this: Many high school kids don't get noticed in that all-important junior year of high school, usually because of injuries. Thus, they don't appear on the college scouts' radar, so their senior years go unnoticed. Latrele Palmer is one such kid. He was injured most of his high school junior year. Had his junior year been crazy good like he was fully capable of and like his senior year was, he would be a P5 player today. Instead, he slipped under the P5 radar and a very shrewd recruiter (Cig) picked him up and the rest is history (look for Latrele to play on Sundays).

Marcus Mariota is also such a player. I lived a couple of miles from where Marcus played his high school ball (St. Louis High School) in Hawaii. He was not a big prep star because he played in the shadow of another quarterback (Jeremey Higgins, who got all the press). Thus, Marcus didn't start until his senior year. It was only a matter of luck that a University of Oregon assistant coach was at St. Louis looking at another kid in the summer before Marcus' senior season. He was watching Marcus practice and was flabbergasted. He immediately called Oregon's head coach and said that they should offer Marcus, who had received no offers and no attention, a full ride to be the back up to their incoming phenom Johnny Manziel. So, they did. Well, Johnny bailed on Oregon, went to A&M, and the rest is history. Heisman Trophy-winner Marcus is now starting in the NFL for the Tennessee Titans.

My point is there is a whisker of difference in the talent level of the top players at any position. The AFL proved it in the 60s. It is even more true today. And there are who knows how many thousands of kids who are being overlooked and are just looking for a chance.

So, don't dis the XFL because they aren't getting the top names. A lot of times, it is just that, a name.

love khalid..we won a championship in large part because of him (and wow v NDSU....)

but we do know why he didnt stick in the NFL - he dropped around 50% of the dump off passes that came his way. NYG loved him...but this became unforgivable..hoping he has a great XFL career

Bryan Schor no longer listed on the Ottawa Redblacks roster? Anyone have news on that?

I have to chuckle at posters using the fact that AFL was competitive with the NFL as some argument that XFL will be competitive with an NFL squad.

You realize the local football team to many of us (Redskins) had to have their arm twisted by DC government to force them to sign their first black player in 1962? We don't need to go down this rabbit hole but its safe to say that NFL teams weren't exactly always signing the best player back in the 60s.

Also there were only 13 NFL teams in 1960 with a max roster size of 38. This means EVEN IF the NFL signed the best players, the 495th best player in the nation is available for an AFL team. Today, you have 2,016 players on active rosters or practice squads. Without even considering the CFL, the XFL is left signing the 2,017th best player.

Digging into those numbers further, assuming each team only has 22 positions (kickers aren’t people) this means the 495th player in 1960 could loosely be considered the 22nd best RT in the nation (494 NFL players spread amongst 22 positions means 22 players per position in the NFL). The 22nd best RT blocking for the AFL team was only going against the 7th best LE on average (13 starters at LE). Conversely, you have the 92nd best RT in the XFL going against a LE that is on average the 16th best in the nation. There is a big difference taking the 22nd RT vs 7th LE and the 92nd RT vs 13th LE.

I think we would all agree that there is a clear difference between the top 5 QBs in the NFL and the bottom 5 (#27-32). You have ~3 QBs per team, so the best QB left for the XFL is the 96th best QB in the nation. If there is that big of a drop off from the 5th best QB, to the 16th, to the 32nd; imagine the 104th best QB starting for a XFL team playing against an NFL secondary.

Admittedly, I can’t find anything out about pay from the 1960s for either AFL or NFL, but I see multiple stories about NFL players in the 1960s working second jobs. I cannot be sure, but I’m going to assume that guys were not taking huge pay cuts to choose the AFL over the NFL. Conversely, the NFL MINIMUM is $495k, the XFL average is $55k and that is assuming win bonuses. Nobody is choosing the XFL over the NFL.

Please stop the comparison, it’s silly.

^^^^^
Holy crap. That hurt my head after 3 paragraphs. I say you win just for figuring all that out. Who cares if it makes sense or not.

(10-17-2019 09:29 AM)JMURocks Wrote:  I’d like to see the DC Defenders challenge the Redskins to a game, maybe for a preseason scrimmage.

I’d bet that particular talent gap isn’t as huge as some think. Now if we’re talking about the Patriots, that’s a different planet.

Yeah, that's what I think, too. Some on here are misinterpreting what we are saying. They think our for-fun comparison is a claim that XFL teams are as good as NFL teams. That isn't at all what we are saying. At least, that isn't what I am saying. Sure, generally, NFL teams are better than XFL teams, but my question was "how much better?" Give the Defenders a season or two to gel and build some chemistry and how many people would be shocked that they could play with the lowly Foreskins, maybe even beat them, maybe even beat them badly! (no beating your Foreskin jokes, please)

Josh Norman is not playing for the Redskins today, expect Jimmy to get a bunch of reps today.

Jimmy is playing.

And Norman may be moved by the upcoming deadline.

Not sure if this is old?


Aaron Wilson
‏
@AaronWilson_NFL

Titans worked out Jeff Badet, K.J. Brent, Rashard Davis, Taylor Heinicke, Josh Johnson, Chase Litton, Marcus Marshall

1:51 PM - 29 Oct 2019

(10-29-2019 06:33 PM)2Buck Wrote:  Not sure if this is old?


Aaron Wilson
‏
@AaronWilson_NFL

Titans worked out Jeff Badet, K.J. Brent, Rashard Davis, Taylor Heinicke, Josh Johnson, Chase Litton, Marcus Marshall

1:51 PM - 29 Oct 2019

Does this mean Marshall is no longer on the Chiefs practice squad or are p-squad players allowed to attend tryouts? Also would not be a good look for the XFL if the number 1 skill player draft pick jumped shift to the NFL before the season starts

Edit: Found the answer to my first question
https://chiefswire.usatoday.com/2019/10/...ice-squad/

Saw in the Washington Post this morning that Rashard Davis has been signed to the Titan's practice squad.

Brian

(11-06-2019 11:55 AM)ParentofJMUMRDs Wrote:  Saw in the Washington Post this morning that Rashard Davis has been signed to the Titan's practice squad.

Brian

Thanks Brian:
https://www.cbssports.com/fantasy/footba...ice-squad/