The necessity of football knowledge, or lack thereof

I view it as a conversation piece, where you talk more than just “the Rams suck” with people who find out you’re a fan. In knowing WHY they suck makes it more hopeful when you see the draft and the free agency to put guys in place to bolster weaknesses. I’ve enjoyed watching them climb back to relevance because I know more about why they failed over the past several years.

Personally, I think it depends entirely upon the fan. If you want to know more, know more, but I don’t think it makes one person more of a fan than the other. To me, a fan ultimately wants to see his/her team win. It has nothing to do with how much you know, how often you see a game in person or how long you’ve been following the team (I do believe that such things as bandwagon fans exist, but I’d be stoked to have a bandwagon at all).

In short, passion for winning makes one a fan. Knowledge of the game just helps a person comprehend what is happening at a deeper level. You could be cheering for the running back or the offensive line, but they all wear blue and gold.

NO!

The playbook projector breakdown of the game is perfect for the fans that want “more”. If they don’t enjoy the the detail behind the post, then they don’t have to read it. I think it is great that TST takes to time to produce the quality of content that it does. Before, I found TST, I would bounce around from ESPN to Post Dispatch to Yahoo and anything else I could find. I have grown comfortable that TST supplies me with intelligently displayed information (most of the time).
I’m a firm believer that the cliche “knowledge is power” is very true. Playbook Projector is another tool that empowers the group from an educational standpoint.
Good shit 3K.

For one, if you want to be an opinionated fan, one that roams the internet or wants to be a go to guy for knowledge then yes it is important that this fan learn as much as possible. The articles on this site are fantastic for that.

The second fan, or the other fan, the regular fan doesn’t need to know this stuff. They are happy with their nightly news and sports stories and scores in their local paper. They don’t care about different schemes or sub packages or the route tree. They only care about the score and if their team won.

The problem though is when the regular fan tries to interject their opinion and tries to come off like a knowledgeable fan. I have run into a lot of these guys, they are usually the guy who says the Rams should draft Vontez Burflict in 2012 or that the Rams should try and trade for “OLB” Terrel Suggs or some other 34 OLB as if they can do the same thing in 43 defense. These are the same guys who don’t understand the difference between a 34 NT and 43 DT so they will say the Bronco’s should select Brian Price or Gerald McCoy in 2010. Usually I don’t even pay these types of fans any mind and just let them wallow in their ignorance.

It’s not like you can have a playbook projector and say:

The thing you’ll notice about Steven Jackson is that he is running and using both feet. You’ll notice that when he changes direction, his feet will also do the same. He also uses his hands to hold the ball in this play, as you can see here.

I’ll take a chance on it maybe eventually lessening my enjoyment.

I am a coach by nature (but not football) so I love all the ins and outs.

So I love these breakdowns and projector pieces. Keep it up!

There are far too many variations to adequately cover in enough detail (but please do try), and you can’t possibly over-teach because there’s so much ignorance it’s astounding (but please do try).
- Note that ignorance isn’t stupidity.

I only hope that guys don’t draw absolutes during your thing because that can be very misleading. Playbook Projector can be great when guys know it is examples and not law.

If someone were to say, for example, “In the Rams Defense, the Sam covers the TE”…
Does Sam cover the TE? Sure.
But does he have other things to do? Yes.
Do other guys cover the TE instead sometimes? Yes.

Some people realy think the Sam exlusively covers the TE. This is a great opportunity to expose the wrinkles and variations in various plays, in contrast to the absolutes that some people mistakenly think exist.

Your average fan watches sports for pure athletics.
Dan Marino’s quick release and accuracy
Barry Sander’s hips
Greg Maddox painting the plate
Babe Ruth’s Home Run
Michael Jordan’s fade away
Bobby Hull’s slap shot
Mario Andretti turning left
Tiger Woods third shot out of the ruff….etc, etc…
If they care enough to learn more, they will. If they don’t, it doesn’t make them any less of a fan.
 You’re a respected and knowledgable editor. If you have something constructive to write…post it.

3k wrote:
Which begs the question: how much do you really need to know to be a real fan?
Like you are full of yourself. That’s how. A person doesn’t need to know jack s**t to be a fan, or even a true fan. With enough interest anybody will know enough to determine if his team is doing well or poorly.

To carry on a conversation with like minded individuals is an entirely different matter. Similarly versed on similar topic individuals should get along very nicely.

it may be scripted free flow, but man, that offense just moves up the field like a feather in the wind.

I’m really excited for McDaniels to implement his offense with what the Rams are starting to put together. It may not be perfect, but it’s not going to be dull.

I’m almost 70 and used to post on CBS. I finally switched to TST A few months back and I am loving every minute. Learning is the ultimate empowerment.

I only know the smallest bit about each play and call, especially that trips whiz 28 hannah montana shit lol
All I get from that is its a trips formation, 28 may relate to a blocking assignment or route or snap count.

I don’t think a football fan NEEDS to know it, but it’s down to them to decide whether they want to or not.
I like to know stuff, so I’ll strive to learn it, but I’m also not gonna feel inadequate when I don’t know it.

I hope you don’t dumb stuff down too much in your posts 3k, everyone here is smart enough to understand or if they don’t post a comment to ask you what you mean, thats what is great about a blog.

It is frustrating when people don’t recognize simple aspects of football, but all you can do is try and teach them, if they don’t want to learn, don’t talk football with them lol

As a UK resident I have had to teach myself everything I know and I like to think I’ve done a good job of it. I understand assignments, the ideas behind route combinations, timing of certain plays, ball placement, even cadence and snap counts and home field advantage as well as others. It’s not a huge knowledge like others here, but it’s enough for me to engage in a conversation and I think thats all that is necessary.

there’s more detail in what you can enjoy, there’s more to see, there’s more you can feel sure about in your analysis and even more informed opinions.

Now guys might sit here and not realize that, or even care, but I think the truth is after they learn something they’ll end up enjoying fotball more afterward because, as I siad, they can see more.

But understand, no one has to have the intenion of learning (or even the desire to) in order to learn. Most people just want to be entertained. Mixing the two is win.