Bryan wrote:
I'm not really an advocate of NFL player memories. They are usually wrong. My favorite player memory is an NFL Films clip of Bob Lilly describing the 1972 divisional playoff comeback win over the Niners, with Lilly attributing the game-winning TD reception to Lee Folkins instead of Ron Sellers. Folkins was Lilly's teammate for 3 years...in the early 1960's. As Larry Cole once said, "Anybody can have an off-decade" or something like that.
Relatedly, I'm not sold on fan's memories as valid for things like HoF cases. You know, the layman's argument sometimes seen of "I saw every game he played, and he looked like a HoFer to me," or "He didn't pass the smell test for me."
Watching a game is not the same as film study. My understanding is that the latter requires real discernment skills and good knowledge of the game. When just watching a game, there's the following to consider:
-chances are good what's seen are what the skill position player with the ball and the tackler did -- and not much else.
-distractions are all over the place, both at the game and at home: hot cheerleaders, mugging mascots, folks you're watching the game with, munchies and going to get them, that fourth beer buzz (not to mention that jaunt to the bathroom later). Who's going to be seriously breaking down what the nose tackle or left guard are doing under those circumstances?
-most casual game watchers likely wouldn't know a blown assignment or splendid coverage if it bit them on the behind.
-if you're watching on TV, a decent amount of what's going on gets cut off. And if you've got anything less than a prime seat at the game, you're not going to see everything.
