David James on his way to the States

[CyphaPSU]

West Ham keeper David James is on his way to the USA....

...not to train with an in-season MLS side, but to train with an NFL club! He accepted the invitation from the Miami Dolphins to attend their training camp next week in Miami. It's not surprizing at all that he would accept an invitation to sunny and warm Miami.

NFL teams don't just ask anyone to come into their mini-training camps unless they have an invested interest in a player. I'm thinking the Dolphins want to see if he'd make a good kicker or a special teams player. But James seems to be there only to put himself "up against some of the best athletes in the world," and to "apply any tips or insights that I can gain to my career as a professional footballer.”


I just find this all kind of interesting. I wonder what will be made of his visit.

The story:
http://www.ussocceruk.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=296&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0

[Dr. Wankler]

He's coming here to work out, not to try out. That's the story, and that's about all I expect to be made of his visit. I mean, he said, as you noted, "American Football has always shown the way forward in terms of conditioning and performance and I am keen to apply any tips or insights that I can gain to my career as a professional footballer."... which sort of implies that he's not going to be switching sports anytime soon. If anything, it's going to be the equivalent of an NFL Fantasy camp, only a bit more strenuous.

[Golasso]

He can barely catch a round ball -- I'd hate to see what he'd do with an oblong one.

[whirlwind]

MLS doesn't need any backup goalkeepers anyway... :)

[pething101]

Actually, it is a devious plot by Steven Bywater to eliminate James from the number one spot. Throw one over the middle to James and let some middle linebacker take out the leg a la what happen to Danny in the Karate Kid at the Tournement.

Pretty clever if you ask me.

[Matt in the Hat]

Its not entirely out of the realm. Remember, Tony Meola was a punter for the NJ Jets for 2 years, I think

[rksehga]

Originally posted by Matt in the Hat
Its not entirely out of the realm. Remember, Tony Meola was a punter for the NJ Jets for 2 years, I think

wasn't it more like 2 games, of which bother were preseason. I thought he slipped on the opening kickoff and barely knocked the ball off the tee.

[NEKSoccer]

Originally posted by Matt in the Hat
Its not entirely out of the realm. Remember, Tony Meola was a punter for the NJ Jets for 2 years, I think
He was a kicker. I don't think he was ever a punter.

[billyireland]

Yea, like the Dolphins need a kicker... I mean, Olindo Mare SUCKS!

[subbuteo]

Originally posted by NEKSoccer
He was a kicker. I don't think he was ever a punter.
and he was only a kicker in the preseason. He never made their team.

[RoverMax]

James is coming to see new ways of working out or something like that. The Dolphins said they would work him at quarterback, kicker, and something else (I think linebacker). He is only coming for one day, and I think it is more of a publicity stunt than anything else. James says he wants to learn more about the game.

[CyphaPSU]

Yeah, just to work out. what I wonder is how did this even happen? I don't think an NFL team just sits around wondering "what foreign soccer player can we bring into camp for a day to have him work out for us?"

James must have had connections somehow with someone in the Dolphins organization.




Go Birds.

[patrickm]

what exactly is he going to do there? subject himself to having his head knocked off in a 7 on 7 drill? i think not. he will not participate in any way in actual american football related drills.by the way, for all of you dopes out there who compare american football to rugby- keep dreaming. american football is far more physical and violent. it is a game of violent high speed collisions. rugby is a tough game, but it not nearly as tough as american football.

[Mobile]

Originally posted by patrickm
by the way, for all of you dopes out there who compare american football to rugby- keep dreaming. american football is far more physical and violent. it is a game of violent high speed collisions. rugby is a tough game, but it not nearly as tough as american football.

Heh. That's true. You have to be really tough to wear those helmets and shoulder pads. Oh, and the tight shiny pants, let's not forget those.

[patrickm]

and that proves the point exactly. if they didn't wear the protection, guys would be getting killed/maimed on a regular basis. guys get paralyzed playing american football, unfortunately. guys get multiple concussions, major injuries to their legs, etc.how often do players truly get **********ed up playing rugby and/or aussie rules and/or gaelic football?

[patrickm]

the tackling in american football is far more vicious. in rugby the grab at each other and try to gently drag guys dow. in maeican football the tacklers often lead with forearms or their helmets, at high speed, to a probe player. a receiver, coming across the middle, for example, focusing on catching the ball while a linebacker or safety has locked on to him for a major shot. i've never seen that in any game other than american football or ice hockey, another man's game.

[jumhed]

Originally posted by patrickm
the tackling in american football is far more vicious. in rugby the grab at each other and try to gently drag guys dow. in maeican football the tacklers often lead with forearms or their helmets, at high speed, to a probe player. a receiver, coming across the middle, for example, focusing on catching the ball while a linebacker or safety has locked on to him for a major shot. i've never seen that in any game other than american football or ice hockey, another man's game.

Hmmmmm. It's true that Yank football hits hardest. But I feel that if the players didn't wear armour, they wouldn't be able to hit so hard. It's psychological. The worst fouls in soccer and rugby are those that aren't expected by the victim. He hasn't 'prepared' himself for the impact. In Yank Footie the players can expect to be hit from anywhere at almost any time, so they're in a constant state of alert. And the padding is a psychological (and of course, physical) help too. They know it's there.

The genesis of the sports is interesting. In Rugby, when players were getting seriously hurt they tweaked the rules (as they did in soccer), in Yank Footie they seemed to just pile on armour. It's a great sport, but I find it a little slow.

I hope David James is seriously injured....no wait! It might count him out of England, but then he won't play for Westahhmmmm either! Ooooh, dilemma!

And did anyone see us beat the Aussies on saturday? Ha ha! Great stuff!

[RichardL]

Originally posted by patrickm
in rugby the grab at each other and try to gently drag guys dow.
here's a man who clearly knows what he's talking about. Obviously played lots of rugby in his time.
There's a bit of debate in the game these days about the level of violence, but for many forwards having players stamp their studs (cleats for you) down on someone's head is just seen as being part of the game.
As for hockey, I've seen guys punch the hell out of each other for minutes on end, only for both to walk away unmarked due to the amount of padding. To be honest all the checking and fighting going on really ruins the sport as a spectacle, but it's 'exciting' for those lacking the attention span to wait the minute or two between each shot.

[patrickm]

i'm not referring too the stupid fighting in hockey. i'm referring to the checking. hockey is a very physical game, and by the standards of every other game i have seen, a very dirtyn game. few hockey players have many teeth, for one thing

[patrickm]

american football IS slow, i agree with that. stop and start, over and over. fortunately, it is a great televisionn sport because the 30-45 seconds between plays allows for replays and analysis