NFL Division 1 2025

[thewobbler]

Whichever team comes up with some good innovative ways to use (and abuse) the new rules will win the All-Ireland.
It's unlikely to see too much innovation or success in year one.
It took 100 years to come up with mass defence coupled with lightning fast mass counter attack.

In 1979 the 3 pointer came into the NBA and it took until the 2015 Golden State Warriors as the first winners of the NBA Championship with 3 pointers as the predominant tactic. GSW themselves had 4 years of using the tactic before success came.

2 untapped areas I see:

1. Once in the lead, playing keep ball for 5+ minutes. So easy with the new rules with 6 less players in the half and 12 v 11 players.

2. Kickouts.
Doesn't have to be contested kickouts. The arc is 83 metres in length and only 20 metres from the kickout spot. Surely quite easy for a player to make a run into space somewhere along the arc and the goalie kick a 21 metre chest pass?

If coaches are not already plotting how to stop no.1 then they're not going to last as coaches. Eg The trailing team's keeper goes to the full back position. The full back goes to mark the opposition keeper.

Of course a clever opposing FF could drag the GK out some 60m and leave his goal completely exposed. But if the man up advantage only exists in the opposition half, then there won't be that much room for him to manoeuvre into.

[JoG2]

Whichever team comes up with some good innovative ways to use (and abuse) the new rules will win the All-Ireland.
It's unlikely to see too much innovation or success in year one.
It took 100 years to come up with mass defence coupled with lightning fast mass counter attack.

In 1979 the 3 pointer came into the NBA and it took until the 2015 Golden State Warriors as the first winners of the NBA Championship with 3 pointers as the predominant tactic. GSW themselves had 4 years of using the tactic before success came.

2 untapped areas I see:

1. Once in the lead, playing keep ball for 5+ minutes. So easy with the new rules with 6 less players in the half and 12 v 11 players.

2. Kickouts.
Doesn't have to be contested kickouts. The arc is 83 metres in length and only 20 metres from the kickout spot. Surely quite easy for a player to make a run into space somewhere along the arc and the goalie kick a 21 metre chest pass?

Even in perfect conditions there is very little space to hit unless a team sits a bit deeper for a spell, which a good few teams have done when playing against the wind.

The risk of being turned over that far up the pitch has increased with the longer distance required to kick to. Add in the fact that the opposition can have men stationed inside the 20m line, then you're risking alot by going short.

With the keeper not allowed on the ball you'll have the opposition either going man to man (even numbers) or going zonal where they can react left or right around the arc.. So again, very risky going short.

So all in all risky, now add in windy and / or wet conditions. This is the reason a huge percentage of kickouts are going long.. Then it's into the lap of the gods alot of the time who wins possession

[Smokin Joe]

Whichever team comes up with some good innovative ways to use (and abuse) the new rules will win the All-Ireland.
It's unlikely to see too much innovation or success in year one.
It took 100 years to come up with mass defence coupled with lightning fast mass counter attack.

In 1979 the 3 pointer came into the NBA and it took until the 2015 Golden State Warriors as the first winners of the NBA Championship with 3 pointers as the predominant tactic. GSW themselves had 4 years of using the tactic before success came.

2 untapped areas I see:

1. Once in the lead, playing keep ball for 5+ minutes. So easy with the new rules with 6 less players in the half and 12 v 11 players.

2. Kickouts.
Doesn't have to be contested kickouts. The arc is 83 metres in length and only 20 metres from the kickout spot. Surely quite easy for a player to make a run into space somewhere along the arc and the goalie kick a 21 metre chest pass?

The big issue with the chest pass along the arc is the kicking team has to wait outside the arc on the ball to come to the kickout target, but the forward marking him can step in front of him into the arc to intercept the chest pass.
This is why there are so few short kickouts getting away unless they are conceded.  If they go wrong there is a good chance of conceding a goal, and they are easy enough to intercept.  This is why we are seeing long kickouts which results in 26 breaking balls in the Galway v Tyrone game on Sunday.  That can't be what we want?

[Rossfan]

And why not?

[Smokin Joe]

And why not?

Oh, I thought we wanted high fielding.  Not requiring a kickout to go 40m will increase the amount of high catching as teams will be spread from the old D outwards, this will lead to more 1 on 1 aerial battles.

If it is chaos we want we should use an oval ball as that introduces a whole other level of unpredictability.

[JPO]

Its only chaos at present because, with a few notable exceptions, most players are unable to field a high ball from a kickout. Perhaps this skill could be taught again at underage level across the clubs? It seems beyond the capability of senior footballers

[Captain Obvious]

Its only chaos at present because, with a few notable exceptions, most players are unable to field a high ball from a kickout. Perhaps this skill could be taught again at underage level across the clubs? It seems beyond the capability of senior footballers

How many references to catching/high fielding have you given in your 43 posts now?

[JPO]

A lot I guess. It is one of the basic skills in gaelic football, as is kick passing, The new rules were introduced to encourage it because it made football entertaining. 

[Smokin Joe]

Its only chaos at present because, with a few notable exceptions, most players are unable to field a high ball from a kickout. Perhaps this skill could be taught again at underage level across the clubs? It seems beyond the capability of senior footballers

It's pretty hard to catch a ball when the opposition's 6ft 5 midfielder is intent on just driving his fist through the ball.  This is what happens on the vast majority of long kickouts this year.

[JPO]

I agree with you however that's a result of modern coaching I'm afraid. I know of club managers instructing their players Not catch the ball but to "smash" it .If The oppositions 6ft 5 midfielder is able to drive his fist through the ball then he is surely able to catch it instead?

[lenny]

I agree with you however that's a result of modern coaching I'm afraid. I know of club managers instructing their players Not catch the ball but to "smash" it .If The oppositions 6ft 5 midfielder is able to drive his fist through the ball then he is surely able to catch it instead?

Absolutely no idea what you're watching because I've seen loads of high fielding in the league so far and loads of contests.

[Armagh18]

I agree with you however that's a result of modern coaching I'm afraid. I know of club managers instructing their players Not catch the ball but to "smash" it .If The oppositions 6ft 5 midfielder is able to drive his fist through the ball then he is surely able to catch it instead?

You're bound to be trolling, but surely you know it's a lot easier to break a ball that catch it, not least because you can reach higher with one hand than with two.

[tbrick18]

I think there was as much high fielding in the league last year as there has been this year.
The Mark was introduced to encourage kicking and catching - are they now admitting that it doesnt work?
Too many rules introduced at the same time with the reasoning not that good in my opinion.
If the main aim of the exercise is to speed up the game, the solo-and-go rule would have been a good first step.
Why didn't they introduce that one rule and see what the impact of that was?

The main difference in the game now, is that it's more chaotic and it games are more likely to have results influenced by weather conditions.

The hooter rule, I thought I liked but actually, I'm coming to realise that not knowing exactly when the game was going to end gave games an air of excitement coming up to the end. So now I'm torn on that one.

[Milltown Row2]

I think there was as much high fielding in the league last year as there has been this year.
The Mark was introduced to encourage kicking and catching - are they now admitting that it doesnt work?
Too many rules introduced at the same time with the reasoning not that good in my opinion.
If the main aim of the exercise is to speed up the game, the solo-and-go rule would have been a good first step.
Why didn't they introduce that one rule and see what the impact of that was?

The main difference in the game now, is that it's more chaotic and it games are more likely to have results influenced by weather conditions.

The hooter rule, I thought I liked but actually, I'm coming to realise that not knowing exactly when the game was going to end gave games an air of excitement coming up to the end. So now I'm torn on that one.

It's funny how the hooter is being received, the amount of people complaining about the ref 'adding' time to the game before the hooter and now when it goes, it is a bit flat, think most people will know that teams that can control the ball will run the clock down and more as they can see the time on the screens now at the county grounds 

[Rossfan]

Some people looking for 2 pointers to be from play only and not from frees.
Wouldn't that lead to an awful lot of fouls between the Arc and 45 or beyond?
As an aside - Should frees for fouls on the ball e g touching on ground, 2 hops etc be only 1 pointers while fouls on the man remain 2??