Could the average NFL fan make it to 20 carries in a game??

[JaredL]

[ QUOTE ]
if you have to try to gain yards, no, you'll get hurt really bad the first time any defender gets a clean shot at you, which given your speed/moves/agility/vision, will not take very long at all. I'm not sure you could do 5 carries in a row.

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The thing is if you are as slow as most people are then even if you are trying to go as far as you can most likely no defender will get a clean shot at you in 20 carries. The line would have to open up a serious hole that would stay open for long enough for you to get through to the linebackers who would be unblocked. I think most people would probably get hit by defensive linemen who are big but wouldn't put a monster hit on they would just put a lot of weight on you. Just having a 350 pound guy fall on you 20 times should be doable for most people.

[MicroBob]

Pros vs. Joes is a pretty stupid concept for a show.
I don't think the people at Spike are dumb enough to show something like this.


As for the original question:
What about the possibility of really protecting yourself kind of curling into a ball as you try to barrell into the line (or the theoretical hole in the line assuming you could find it)?

If you stay upright and try to speed your way to a 10-yard carry every time then you are going to get clobbered and MIGHT last 3 carries before you just can't breathe from having the wind knocked out of you.

But your chances of doing this should be better if you bunch up a bit and stay really low to the ground.


These guys are freaking huge and strong though so I think even trying to employ such a survivor-strategy your everyday Joe still isn't going to last very long.

[Anacardo]

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Sure, he has to be trying. But he doesn't have to gain yards, right? I think you are vastly overestimating the average NFL tackle. Yea, the hardest of hits would damn near cripple most people but an average person would never get hit that hard. Most tackles would be them barely touching you and you falling immediately.

[/ QUOTE ]

This isn't really how it works. Football is nearly unique among sports in that, if you play it badly, you don't just embarrass yourself, you get badly hurt.

As a ballcarrier, avoiding killshots is a function of talent, skill and experience, just like every other aspect of play. Players avoid punishment by having the moves to make guys miss and avoid direct hits, or by being big and powerful enough to administer, rather than absorb, punishment. If you're small, slow, have no footwork or moves and poor peripheral awareness, you are going to take some hellacious hits.

Plus it should go without saying that violent collisions are something that you have to acclimate your body and mind to. Even for fit people, to step out of normal life and start taking full-speed hits from 240 pound professional killers is bound to be pretty traumatic. I certainly don't think I could do this.

[BillNye]

the avg dude has no chance at 20 carries. Pro players know how to prevent themselves from getting completely crushed. The avg person has no clue what to do, he would get leveled.

Edit: Anacardo pretty much said exactly what I mean.

[Cornell Fiji]

I am surprised by the responses so far.

I think that most men aged 20-30, who are in decent shape (ie, anyone who runs in the morning, plays pickup bball, or goes to the gym,) would not only survive twenty carries but they would also run for positive yardage. I am 5'7" 140 and I am confident that I would run for positive yardage over 20 carries.

You will still have an offensive line and a fullback and you will still be wearing a full set of pads. Obviously the team would not call many pitch or screen plays and as long as you don't break a run open there won't be any big open field tackles.

Yes, these guys hit really hard. But their priority is to stop the running back and not to murder him. I think that there would be a lot of hits that had guys seeing stars but there should not be many torn muscles or broken bones. I say 15-25% of fans could make it 20 carries

[traz]

uhh, if you're seeing stars, are you really going to keep getting up and doing it again, until you hit 20?

I think this question is probably hard for someone to answer if they've never played football. Having played before, you KNOW that a regular guy hitting you can hurt alot. Now multiply that by like 50 since it's in the NFL, and you'd probably realise that 20 hits will probably hurt enough to injure or demoralise the vast majority of people

[Kneel B4 Zod]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
if you have to try to gain yards, no, you'll get hurt really bad the first time any defender gets a clean shot at you, which given your speed/moves/agility/vision, will not take very long at all. I'm not sure you could do 5 carries in a row.

[/ QUOTE ]

The thing is if you are as slow as most people are then even if you are trying to go as far as you can most likely no defender will get a clean shot at you in 20 carries. The line would have to open up a serious hole that would stay open for long enough for you to get through to the linebackers who would be unblocked. I think most people would probably get hit by defensive linemen who are big but wouldn't put a monster hit on they would just put a lot of weight on you. Just having a 350 pound guy fall on you 20 times should be doable for most people.

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I think you're overestimating how holes stay open and how slow Dlineman are, b/c of how fast NFL RB's are. I played RB in high school, and for fun when I watch an NFL game sometimes I try to picture how I would have done if I was running the ball.

I would say the EV of KBZ running the ball is getting a concussion or broken ribs or something really bad behind the line of scrimmage, and I'm 5'10, 210 lb's, and ran the 100m on my track team. (I'm not saying to brag, just giving some perspective).

[BillNye]

[ QUOTE ]
I am surprised by the responses so far.

I think that most men aged 20-30, who are in decent shape (ie, anyone who runs in the morning, plays pickup bball, or goes to the gym,) would not only survive twenty carries but they would also run for positive yardage. I am 5'7" 140 and I am confident that I would run for positive yardage over 20 carries.


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positive yards wouldnt be nearly has hard as lasting 20 plays.

[splashpot]

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the avg dude has no chance at 20 carries. Pro players know how to prevent themselves from getting completely crushed. The avg person has no clue what to do, he would get leveled.

Edit: Anacardo pretty much said exactly what I mean.

[/ QUOTE ]
I just think that while Pros are better at avoiding disaster hits, their skill also puts them in more danger to begin with. If the average guy just tried to fall in a safe way every time, I don't think he would get hurt that bad. I admit I could be completely wrong about all of this.

[solids]

[ QUOTE ]
I am surprised by the responses so far.

I think that most men aged 20-30, who are in decent shape (ie, anyone who runs in the morning, plays pickup bball, or goes to the gym,) would not only survive twenty carries but they would also run for positive yardage. I am 5'7" 140 and I am confident that I would run for positive yardage over 20 carries.

You will still have an offensive line and a fullback and you will still be wearing a full set of pads. Obviously the team would not call many pitch or screen plays and as long as you don't break a big run open there won't be any big open field tackles.

Yes, these guys hit really hard. But their priority is to stop the running back and not to murder him. I think that there would be a lot of hits that had guys seeing stars but there should not be many torn muscles or broken bones. I say 15-25% of fans could make it 20 carries

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Exactly. These aren't the 'Ray Lewis, open field decleating, put me in a coma' tackles. Think about it. Also, a quarter of the runs will likely be stacked up at the line.