The death of Steve Sabol, President and co-founder, with his father Ed, of NFL Films,
provides an apt moment to consider the one of the most successful
marriages between sport and media. No league documents and
mythologises itself like the NFL does. If Ed Sabol was a genius for the idea, Steve was the artistic genius who drove that idea forwards
for 50 years.
Seeing the league's
history in incredible detail has led to not only a greater
understanding of the game, but it has immersed fans in the world of
the NFL, and has undoubtedly helped the league's appeal. Imagine
being able to hear what Alf Ramsey shouted to his players from the
touchline, or what Bill Shankly said in his team talks. Those
memories are only available to the few who were present, but in the
NFL, documentaries like America's Game allow anyone to see Vince Lombardi or Bill Walsh run training sessions or shout in-game
instructions.
In an era when many
live sports broadcasts were not recorded for posterity, NFL Films
created a perfect record of the league's modern era, in contrast with
other competitions around the world. Footage of the greatest
individual performance in the history of the NBA, Wilt Chamberlain's
100 point game in 1962, does not exist, but every significant moment
in NFL history since that same year that has been captured.
This remarkable archive
allowed Steve Sabol and his colleagues to consistently produce
revealing and insightful programming in quantities that other sports
could not match. The detailed in-game footage has allowed pundits
(for example on NFL Playbook) to provide in-depth technical analysis,
that has led to an informed fanbase.
However, the output of
NFL Films is not simply a record. Technical achievements aside, its
biggest legacy is the creation of league's legend. Creative use of
music, narration, and camera angles help not just replay matches, but tell stories. These techniques are standard today, but began with NFL
Films. The use of film, rather than videotape, gives the action a
cinematic quality, and the all-round effect is to make the NFL
iconic.
If all this sounds
self-important and overblown, that is also sometimes true, as it is
of most sports broadcasting, but Sabol's work was not without a sense of humour.
What is most surprising
about NFL Films is that more have not copied them. Today there are a
few similar ventures, but none with the level of access, depth of
archive footage, or artistic outlook. Few sports have the
understanding of their own history that the NFL does. The lack of a
quality record, and the lack of quality storytelling across other
sports is part of the problem, and shows just how revolutionary and
comprehensive Steve Sabol's achievements were.
Seven months after
Super Bowl XLVI, the NFL returns, as the New York Giants, dramatic
winners that night in Indianapolis, kick the season off tonight
against divisional rivals the Dallas Cowboys.
As ever, the NFL is
difficult to predict, as parity measures mean that talent is spread
around, and the playoff system ensures that the end of season is
always surprising. Twelve of the 32 teams have a realistic shot at
the title, and six more will feel that they are genuine contenders,
albeit that they are probably outside shots at this stage.
Contenders: New England
Patriots, New York Giants, Dallas Cowboys, Philadelphia Eagles,
Baltimore Ravens, Pittsburgh Steelers, Chicago Bears, Green Bay
Packers, New Orleans Saints, Atlanta Falcons, Houston Texans, San
Francisco 49ers.
Outsiders: New York
Jets, Detroit Lions, Carolina Panthers, San Diego Chargers, Kansas
City Chiefs, Denver Broncos.
If 2011 was hard to
predict because of the lockout that deprived teams of valuable
offseason time to install systems and work with rookies, this year it
feels like there are even more unknown factors, not least the number
of new faces. There are ten first or second year quarterbacks
starting in 2012, of whom only two (Carolina's Cam Newton and
Cincinnati's Andy Dalton) have significant playing time under their
belts. Seven teams have new head coaches. Most are unlikely to make
the playoffs, though Romeo Crennell's Kansas City Chiefs could win a
mediocre division if he continues where he left off as interim coach
last year, and Greg Schiano's Tampa Bay Buccaneers could be a
surprise wild card if his disciplinarian approach galvanises a
talented roster in the manner of Jim Harbaugh in San Francisco.
Even the established
teams have question marks. Thanks to the bounty scandal, the New
Orleans Saints are without head coach Sean Payton for the season and
interim head coach Joe Vitt for half. The New England Patriots and
Green Bay Packers dominated the 2011 regular season by virtue of
their high-powered offenses, but ranked 31st and 32nd
respectively on defense. Both have new players on that side of the
ball, and if they produce right away, it might be enough to take them
to the Super Bowl. The reigning champions will start strong, but it
is easy to forget that the Giants were only 9-7 last year, and have
less weapons, whilst the problems on the offensive line and in the
secondary remain unresolved. Expect them to struggle to beat the
Eagles for a place in the playoffs.
The Houston Texans were
one of 2011's best teams after years of false dawns. Had quarterback
Matt Schaub not been injured, they might have progressed to the Super
Bowl. With Schaub fit again, they are a fashionable pick to get to
there this year. However, they have had a difficult offseason, losing
the right side of their offensive line, pass-rusher Mario Williams,
receiver Jacoby Jones, and tight end Joel Dreessen. This will make it
harder for them in 2012, especially without the element of surprise,
but being in a weak AFC South makes them a probable playoff team, and
once there, anything can happen.
In the NFC, the 49ers
are a similarly fashionable pick after their run to the championship
game last year. One of the NFL's best defences has managed to retain
all 11 starters, whilst on offense they have added Randy Moss, Mario
Manningham and Brandon Jacobs. Despite this, they too may struggle to
repeat their feats from a year ago. No-one is going to be caught by
surprise this year, and well as Alex Smith played in 2011, questions
remain about his ability to get the ball to his receivers. If he
cannot capitalise on the presence of his new deep threats, difficult
characters like Moss and Jacobs may begin to agitate, the fans will
get on Smith's back, and Jim Harbaugh will face difficult choices.
Then there is the
perennial impact of injuries. Michael Vick and Matthew Stafford both
have poor track records with fitness, and injury to either would
derail their teams. The Bears looked like contenders last year until
Jay Cutler and Matt Forte went down, whilst the Ravens start the
season without defensive star Terrell Suggs, and the Steelers have
problems on the offensive line.
Who then, will cast
these questions aside and win in New Orleans in February?
Unsurprisingly, the two most complete outfits appear to be Green Bay
and New England, as they were the two best teams in the 2011 regular
season, and the Patriots went to the Super Bowl. If they can make
stops on defense, it is hard to bet against either, although it is
rare for both top seeds to make it through. Nonetheless, the AFC is
weak this year, whilst the Packers have a point to prove after last
year's playoff failure, so Corinthian Spirit's pick for the Super
Bowl is for the Packers to beat the Patriots in another thriller
(there are no straightforward Super Bowl victories these days).
At the other end of the
scale, the race for next year's number one overall draft pick is
probably between the Arizona Cardinals, Oakland Raiders, Indianapolis
Colts and Jacksonville Jaguars. The Colts and Raiders have two of the
weakest rosters in the league, whilst the Cardinals have confusion at
quarterback, and the Jaguars' Blaine Gabbert looked like a rabbit in
the headlights last year. It probably comes down to the Raiders and
Colts, with a very real possibility that Indianapolis could be
picking at number one for the second year in a row.
Regardless of these
predictions, there are no dull moments in the NFL, and there are
plenty of other storylines to keep the fans entertained between now
and February. Will Peyton Manning be back to his best? How much of
Tim Tebow will we see? Which teams will be inexplicably bad, or
surprisingly good? The answers are only hours away.
Over at The Science of Sport blog, there an excellent breakdown of Oscar Pistorius' critical comments about his defeat by Alan Oliveira in the men's T44 200m. Based on this analysis (by a South African blog, no less), it seems that Pistorius was using flawed logic when he made his claims about the unfairness of Oliveira's stride length.
"So, a simple count shows that Pistorius has longer strides than Alan, and they are consistently longer -
on the bend, and in the straight, for those who are wondering. It's
Oliveira who "can't compete with Oscar's stride length". His faster
speed, then, is the result of faster leg movement, because speed, as you
will appreciate, is the result of stride length and stride rate."
It's an excellent and very detailed read, and worth looking at before diving into the debate that Pistorius has started.
