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How are NFL players able to memorize plays and recall them during games?
Posted on 10/9/14 at 5:20 pm
Posted on 10/9/14 at 5:20 pm
If history is anything to go by, NFL players don't seem to be a very bright bunch for the most part - OJ, Aaron Hernandez, Adrian Peterson etc.... the list goes on... What surprises me the most is that these players who seem to lack basic common sense and intelligence when they do stupid shite off the field are able to memorize hundreds of pages of playbook and are able to recall each one of them instantaneously when the QB calls them out in the heat of the moment in a game. How are they able to do that? Does the NFL train these players on their memory development and powers of recall? I'm kinda curious to know. Their stupidity off the field seems to be at odds with the brain power they display on the field.
This post was edited on 10/9/14 at 5:23 pm
30
Posted on 10/9/14 at 5:20 pm to hikingfan
quote:
How are NFL players able to memorize plays and recall them in the heated environs of the g
I get your post, but WAT….and to answer your question, only a select handful can be a QB which requires you to know where everyone is at all times…it's not anymore difficult than taking a comprehensive college final…study a bit and you got it.
This post was edited on 10/9/14 at 5:23 pm
Posted on 10/9/14 at 5:21 pm to hikingfan
They've played football for 20+ years dude..
This post was edited on 10/9/14 at 5:23 pm
Posted on 10/9/14 at 5:22 pm to hikingfan
It's not that hard.
Posted on 10/9/14 at 5:22 pm to hikingfan
Repetition
Posted on 10/9/14 at 5:23 pm to hikingfan
It's their job. I assume in they study and watch film almost all of the time.
The good ones anyway.
The good ones anyway.
Posted on 10/9/14 at 5:25 pm to hikingfan
Other than QB, I think they only have to memorize their part in a particular play, which is only a small part of the overall play terminology. A RB only has to know which hole to hit, or where to block, etc. A WR only needs to know his routes.
Also, football is really all they ever do or think about.
Also, football is really all they ever do or think about.
Posted on 10/9/14 at 5:26 pm to hikingfan
I never played football, so I don't know how extensive their playbooks are, but I did work at a sandwich shop in high school with some of the dumbest people on the planet.
And amazingly, they were able to memorize the menu and know everything that came on the multitude of sandwiches on the menu.
Every sandwich came with a different dressing, combination of vegetables, meats, cheeses, etc.
It just takes time and even morons can memorize stuff.
And amazingly, they were able to memorize the menu and know everything that came on the multitude of sandwiches on the menu.
Every sandwich came with a different dressing, combination of vegetables, meats, cheeses, etc.
It just takes time and even morons can memorize stuff.
Posted on 10/9/14 at 5:27 pm to hikingfan
That's all the know.
Posted on 10/9/14 at 5:28 pm to hikingfan
The plays aren't random combinations. There is a structure with the play call nomenclature. One part of the play call always indicates personnel, then the formation, the actually play, the motions, the snap, etc. They are then combined in different ways to form a "language" of sorts, that becomes interchangeable. Not very difficult if you speak/read/watch it every day.
This post was edited on 10/9/14 at 5:28 pm
Posted on 10/9/14 at 5:29 pm to hikingfan
Easy, flash cards.
Posted on 10/9/14 at 5:32 pm to hikingfan
My high school basketball team had 70+ plays my senior year and we all had them memorized practicing 2 hrs/day. These guys practice WAY more than that, plus film, advanced stats, position coaches, ect...
It's not that hard
It's not that hard
Posted on 10/9/14 at 5:33 pm to schexyoung
But how are they able to adapt so quickly to another team when they are traded mid-season for example when the playbooks and the nomenclature are obviously different? I've seem guys play one week for another team and then for a different team the following week and they seem to do fine.
Posted on 10/9/14 at 5:34 pm to hikingfan
Magic.
Posted on 10/9/14 at 5:38 pm to hikingfan
Football players don't really switch teams from week to week
Posted on 10/9/14 at 5:41 pm to hikingfan
If they paid you 1 million a year to memorize 100 plays, you're gonna memorize the plays. It's not like you're studying astrophysics.
Posted on 10/9/14 at 5:41 pm to hikingfan
quote:
But how are they able to adapt so quickly to another team when they are traded mid-season for example when the playbooks and the nomenclature are obviously different?
There aren't that many different playbook "languages". The transition is relatively easy if moving across similar systems, i.e. a west coast play book like Walsh's is/was the base for many teams.
Posted on 10/9/14 at 5:41 pm to hikingfan
Depending on the complexity of the offense and the intelligence of the player and the position, it can take a full year. Linemen can learn more quickly because there are only so many blocking schemes. But receivers and running backs have to learn a myriad of route combinations.
Pierre Garcon did not play outside of special teams his rookie year because it took him a full year to learn the playbook of the Colts. His second season was 2009 when he was pivotal in helping the team to the super bowl. He led the league in receptions last year.
The Broncos used their 2nd round pick on a Demaryus Thomas clone in Cody Latimer, but the guy has yet to take a single offensive snap and has been a healthy scratch for weeks. The reason is that he still has not learned the playbook.
Brandon Cooks must be smarter than most or they really simplify his responsibility for him to be such a cog in the Saints offense already.
Pierre Garcon did not play outside of special teams his rookie year because it took him a full year to learn the playbook of the Colts. His second season was 2009 when he was pivotal in helping the team to the super bowl. He led the league in receptions last year.
The Broncos used their 2nd round pick on a Demaryus Thomas clone in Cody Latimer, but the guy has yet to take a single offensive snap and has been a healthy scratch for weeks. The reason is that he still has not learned the playbook.
Brandon Cooks must be smarter than most or they really simplify his responsibility for him to be such a cog in the Saints offense already.
Posted on 10/9/14 at 5:42 pm to hikingfan
quote:
I've seem guys play one week for another team and then for a different team the following week and they seem to do fine.
Have you ever seen a high level QB do this?
Other positions are much more interchangeable. Dive right or a post pattern is the same on every team
Posted on 10/9/14 at 5:44 pm to LeonPhelps
It is not that simple as some posters would lead you to believe because some offenses are extremely complex and require the receiver to adjust his route mid-route based on what the defense is doing (option routes). The Broncos have lots of these, and the receiver has to be on the same page as Peyton or it is interception time. It takes a while for the game to slow down enough for a receiver to be able to read a defense and make the proper adjustment on his own.
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