Ron78

1 hour ago, ClaytoAli said:

says you

 

You can find gifs that make absolutely anyone look foolish (even if they're not really relevant to the subject matter).

The DC Defenders have finalized their final 52-man roster:

https://www.sportingnews.com/us/nfl/news/xfl-rosters-2020-here-are-the-52-man-rosters-for-all-eight-teams/gdlifutwxnsv1x41iejvex9h1

D.C. Defenders roster

The first promotional commercial for the XFL aired during the NFL playoffs:

16 hours ago, TheDoyler23 said:

I think the rules are intriguing without being too gimmicky (besides the two forward pass rule as long as the first is backward...little weird) 

 

Instead of avoiding returns (NFL) or eliminating them (AAF) they're going to try to make them safer than old school NFL. 

 

The 1-2-3 extra point adds strategy and means that a 9 point lead it still a "one possession" game. 

 

I'm going to check it out. Spring football in DC is a little dicey with the weather but we'll see. 

 

 

I think you misunderstood the double-forward pass rule somewhat.  The first pass can go forward, it just has to be behind the line of scrimmage.  The purpose of this rule is to eliminate flags.  In the NFL, two forward passes is illegal, so the ref has to make a judgement call about whether or not the first pass went lateral or went forward.  The XFL's double pass rule makes the ref's job easier and makes gadget plays less risky for the offense.  So, the main point of it is to reduce flags that stop the game and to increase offensive production.  It's not a bad rule once you fully understand it.

6 hours ago, Springfield said:

But are the rules more of a gimmick or no?

For the most part, no.  They are mostly designed to reduce flags and referee judgement calls, speed up the game, and make plays a little less dangerous for the players.  The rules are definitely offense-friendly though and will probably lead to higher scoring games.

5 minutes ago, Mr. Sinister said:

The 1-2-3 pt play seems ****ing ingenious. Allows for more strategy and drama.

 

Right now it's either anticlimactic or an abject disaster if its missed. Vinnie Mac might have something here. Just need one totally unexpected signing that no one saw coming, or an uber talented collegiate cat that maybe wants to play two sports, or practice law in his downtime or something,  and he may really have a league that can stay afloat

Budgeting is important for a Spring start up league though.  The USFL paid big money for "star players" and ended up about $300 million in the red.

Cardale Jones is our quarterback, and he is probably the most talented quarterback in the league.  Cardale will continue to build his own brand in the XFL.

18 minutes ago, Mr. Sinister said:

Those rules sound... Awesome?

The idea is to minimize flags and delays and make the game safer for players.

Update 1/7/19: XFL official rule changes have been announced.

https://www.espn.com/espn/story/_/id/28438441/xfl-rule-changes-focus-faster-pace-more-excitement

Quote

• A kickoff designed to discourage touchbacks and increase the likelihood of a return: The ball will be kicked off from the 30-yard line, but the coverage and blocking teams will line up at the receiving team's 35- and 30-yard lines, respectively. Only the kicker and returner can move until the ball is caught, or three seconds after it hits the ground. A touchback will be spotted at the 35-yard line. Kicks out of bounds will go to the 45-yard line.

• Players can't leave the line of scrimmage on punts until after the kick. Any kicks that go into the end zone or out of bounds will be marked at the 35-yard line or wherever the ball went out of bounds, whichever is better for the receiving team. The idea is to discourage fair catches and "coffin corner" kicks, while providing more incentive to go for it on fourth down.

• Three options after scoring a touchdown: a 1-point play from the 2-yard line, a 2-point play from the 3-yard line or a 3-point play from the 10-yard line. There is no option to kick an extra point.

• A shootout-style overtime: Each team will get five single-play possessions from the 5-yard line. If the game is still tied at that point, the rotating possessions will continue until there is a winner. The XFL hopes that overtimes will be rare, in part because of the multiple options for points after touchdowns.

• A rule that allows two forward passes on one play, providing the first doesn't go past the line of scrimmage. The purpose is to encourage creative trick plays without the risk of losing possession of a lateral or backward pass, which is a live ball if it hits the ground.

• A requirement for only one foot to be in bounds for possession. XFL director of football operations Sam Schwartzstein said the change is easier to officiate quickly. It also is better for player safety, Schwartzstein said, because players take more unbraced falls while trying to place both feet in bounds.

• A total of nine officials on the field, one of whom will be dedicated solely to spotting the ball to minimize downtime between plays. XFL head of officiating Dean Blandino said most XFL officials have experience at the Division I college level. Blandino, the former NFL officiating chief, has been consulting with the XFL for more than a year. He performed a similar function for the Alliance of American Football (AAF) last spring.

• A video official who can intervene on significant non-reviewable plays when involving player safety, or on any calls inside of five minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. There will also be booth-initiated reviews of traditionally reviewable plays using Hawk-Eye technology that ingests video directly from the broadcast truck.

• Allowing offensive linemen to be up to 2 yards downfield when a pass is thrown, with the hope of minimizing flags on run-pass option plays.

• A series of tweaks that the XFL hopes will cap game times at 2 hours, 45 minutes. (NFL games typically run about 3:06.) The tweaks include a running game clock that won't stop after incomplete passes or when players go out of bounds, except inside of two minutes in each half. Additionally, there will be a 10-minute halftime, two timeouts per team per half and no coin tosses. The home team will always make the choice to kick, receive or defer to start the game. The visitors will make that choice to start overtime.

•  

On 12/5/2019 at 10:13 AM, ClaytoAli said:

Wouldn't be a great stick it to him movement for Skins fans to start wearing Defenders jerseys around town.....and it became extremely common to see?

 

 

https://www.xfl.com/teams/washington-dc/defenders-sweepstakes/defender-for-a-day-sweepstakes

 

'DEFENDER FOR A DAY' SWEEPSTAKES

 

HERE'S WHAT YOU COULD WIN 

Free entry. One (1) randomly selected Grand Prize Winner* will receive:   

One (1) personalized official DC Defenders authentic football jersey

Two (2) suite tickets to the home opener of the DC Defenders’ 2020 XFL season (scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 8, at 2 p.m. ET)

Special gameday access opportunities

Fill out the form below by 11:59 p.m. ET on Dec. 18, 2019, to enter: 

Jerseys for all 8 teams sold out within 24 hours of being posted, so there are a number of "Defenders" jerseys out there at the moment. 

https://xflnewshub.com/xfl-news/xfl-replica-jerseys-sell-out-within-hours/

On 11/27/2019 at 1:04 PM, thebluefood said:

Vince McMahon's pretty high on my **** list for the way he's treated his workers over the years so I'm nearly as loathe to give him money as I am Dan Snyder. 

 

Having said that, the league created a health advisory board over the summer so hopefully, this league won't go out of its way to be as cartoonishly violent as last time (though I'll wait to see how this plays out). Would be hilarious if the Defenders find a way to overtake the 'Skins as the most popular football team in the area, though. At least that will be worth a few laughs. 

Vince has said player safety is a priority this time around.  I am sure he wants to minimize any problems that arise from CTE-related injuries.

"Overtaking" the Skins right now shouldn't be so hard.  Snyder has run the team into the ground.

Uniforms have been released.

On 11/27/2019 at 8:53 AM, MarkB452 said:

I think they are going to have a rough go when they have to go up against the NCAA tournament in March.

 

Any word on ticket prices?  

I think they are going to have a rough go when they have to go up against the NCAA tournament in March.

 

Any word on ticket prices?  

The lowest single ticket prices are $20, so its $100 for all 5 home games of the regular season.

The NCAA tournament in March destroyed the original XFL in the ratings in 2001.  They had a big drop off in ratings in March of 2001, and I am sure that is part of the reason. 

The new XFL footballs were released.  They appear to be team specific and are packaged like Turkey's for the holiday.

On 10/16/2019 at 10:10 AM, -JB- said:

I’d MUUUUUUCH rather go to a DC Defenders game at Audi Field than the Redskins at that DUMP Fed Ex Field.  It’s not even close!  And I also think the Defenders have the best logo in the XFL by far! Lol

The full game schedule was released today:

On 10/16/2019 at 7:43 AM, KDawg said:

i don't know why people seem so negative on the XFL.

 

I think it's a great premise, backed by a billionaire, with games broadcast on ESPN and FOX. And, this time around, they are taking it very seriously. 

 

I like the salary cap structure, the draft structure, the timing, etc.

 

Their coaching staffs are pretty solid. Logos are meh  but we can't have everything.

 

The OT rules are interesting.

 

Worst case scenario, it gives the NFL some things to think about. Best case is we have football in a season we usually don't and it serves as a minor league type of system with the NFL. It may also force the NCAA to do something about how they exploit student-athletes.

 

Also, the Defenders' roster is solid.

Agree with most of that.  Production value of the broadcasts will be high.  I don't think the logos are so bad.  Some of the NFL logos are pretty bland, but they are revered because of their longevity.  Imagine how Cleveland sports fans felt when they found out their football team was going to be called the "Browns." 

On 10/16/2019 at 10:10 AM, -JB- said:

I’d MUUUUUUCH rather go to a DC Defenders game at Audi Field than the Redskins at that DUMP Fed Ex Field.  It’s not even close!  And I also think the Defenders have the best logo in the XFL by far! Lol

Completely agree.  If you have never been to Audi Field, this is a good opportunity.  It is a super nice stadium, and there are a lot of good restaurants and bars built up in the area now.

This is the final team after the draft:

1 minute ago, PokerPacker said:

Kyle Murphy and Jon Toth are two guys I took in the ES fantasy draft a couple years ago.  I don't understand how Murphy doesn't have an NFL job even as a backup right now because he played really well in GB when he was healthy and given a chance.

NFL scouting is not a perfect science and sometimes guys simply get squeezed out of the rankings either because of salary cap reasons or because they have been replaced by a draft pick.  Sometimes teams are more inclined to keep a guy they picked in the draft over a veteran because they don't want to think they wasted that draft pick.  The XFL can capitalize off of some of those players.  But, there are also probably guys you have never heard of that will end up surprising you.  

On 8/21/2019 at 4:28 PM, Cooked Crack said:

We defending against lightning?

We're defending against crackheads.

The results of the first day of drafting are below.  Cardale Jones was our allocated starting quarterback.

Team branding/names will be announced on Wednesday.

Kurt Gouveia is the linebackers coach for XFL DC.

https://xflnewshub.com/xfl-teams/redskins-kurt-gouveia-xfl-dc/?fbclid=IwAR3F6Xa4a0bjzuCbz47gVzq8e1fF6SCAwHo8e-_HU9WzuCygVZmGpFxRfrs

On 5/6/2019 at 11:30 AM, Dan T. said:

 

Will we have to wait while the officiating crew runs back and forth the length of the field to monitor both sets of plays?  And will the officials have a crash cart on the sidelines for the inevitable heart attacks induced afterthe 4th or 5th round?

No.  They will be splitting the the officials into two groups of four, and the teams will alternate attempts.

On 5/6/2019 at 2:03 PM, Warhead36 said:

It's gonna be a disaster.

 

I can't wait to watch.

On 4/9/2019 at 4:32 PM, clietas said:

 

Uhh that's gon be weird. Split screen OT?

I suspect even though all of their players will be ready, and on the field at the same time, they will still only be playing one at a time (the "shoot-out" alternating between the two teams will just be expedited by the fact that both teams area already out there).  Team "A" will take five shots at one end zone, and then team "B" will take five shots at the other end zone until one team outscores the other on conversions.

On 2/7/2019 at 11:59 PM, Dont Taze Me Bro said:

 

XFL doesn't stand a chance now that the AAF has deals with CBS, TNT and the NFL Network.  I'll give it a shot, but I don't expect this to go more than two seasons.  Mainly because Vince's ego might make him take the financial loss to go more than one season this time.

Told you so.  Markets like Birmingham, Memphis, Salt Lake City, etc. are **** markets that don't generate enough revenue to support a professional football team.  They need revenue sharing from much bigger markets (like NYC, LA, and Chicago) in order to support the league.  Other sports leagues have learned that lesson, so I was surprised that the AAF was ignoring it.  The XFL may not have a chance either, but at least revenue potential in the markets they chose is very high.  The AAF was definitely doomed from the start.  They lost over $100 million.

On 2/8/2019 at 2:46 PM, Dont Taze Me Bro said:

 

The XFL is not a threat to the NFL.  It would take decades of success and expansion to become any sort of legit threat to the NFL.  

 

That at most likely will not happen.  For either league.  But since the AAF is taking a different path, it has the best potential (IMO as of now) to last longer.  

 

If if it is successful this year, it’s got an advantage over the XFL.  A year head start, partnership with the NFL (airing games for now) and possibly obtaining a new contract with CBS that shows live games on a major network each week in season 2.  

 

 

According to the article below, Vince is $1.5 Billion richer than he was a year ago, which is pretty significant.  The income he gets from the WWE will more than cover the expenses of the XFL for as many years as he chooses.  The AAF does not have that kind of backing.  Vince will end up crushing the AAF.

https://www.sportskeeda.com/wwe/wwe-news-vince-mcmahon-wealth-massive-increase-revealed

15 minutes ago, Dont Taze Me Bro said:

 

Exploitation?  Do you really think a kid straight out of high school should be playing with grown ass men and getting blown up by them?  End what chance they might have to make the NFL?  Purely speculation, but lets say that the XFL gets some former NFL players that played some or got cut along with college players that go undrafted. 

 

And you really want to see some 18/19 year old kid who hasn't developed and not been on a proper training regimen take the field and go up against former pro athletes and former college players (3-4 years experience)?  They will get blown the **** up and could risk serious injury.  For what, 75K?  If this were basketball, sure, there is no reason HS kids shouldn't be able to go straight to the NBA.

 

Professional football though?  No way, not even is a lower talent league like the AAF or XFL.  I don't agree with college athletes not getting paid, specifically in football and basketball, so I'm not defending the NCAA on that front, but money/talent evaluation aside, their bodies just aren't ready to go straight out of HS into pro football, IMO.

Based on what I have read so far, most XFL players will be making upwards of 100 K plus some rookies will be eligible for a signing bonus of up to 100 K.  It's the AAF that's paying their players about 80 K.  There is no way the XFL is going to put high school grads with no NCAA experience on XFL rosters.  I think they are probably more thinking about college sophomores they can snag before the NFL draft (and even then its probably a pretty select group they are looking at).

51 minutes ago, PokerPacker said:

This is exactly what I've been saying the XFL could do to take advantage of the NFL's little agreement to go along with the NCAA's exploitation of kids.  Why play in the NCAA for free AND not be allowed to even make money off your name, when you could instead join the XFL and get paid?  Great way to poach talent before it's even eligible for the NFL.

 

edit: Or maybe not quite what I was saying.  I guess this is more about guys entering the draft who don't get drafted, not guys still in college ineligible for the NFL.

The XFL has also stated they are not following the NFL's guidelines of requiring 3 years of NCAA experience to be eligible for the draft, so they are undercutting the NFL that way too.

It looks like the XFL will be making a play for NCAA rookies to snake them from the NFL...

https://www.actionnetwork.com/xfl/xfl-nfl-draftees-signing-bonuses-2019-darren-rovell?fbclid=IwAR3ajIlluJWYazTNO5ch4XOrtUyLoLBUraDZzQrJzSIegIecdq2FdlQjkv4

Gotta love Vince's ambition.