Dan Connolly is the B-17 of football.
by SlotMachinePlayer on Dec 20, 2010 7:33 PM EST
in Opinion/Analysis
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I had an interesting conversation at work today that sparked a thought. With me, that's kind of a dangerous proposition, so let's see where this goes.
For those of us that didn't live through World War II (yes, that includes me, Ninja), there was this nifty plane called the B-17 flying fortress that was used during the war. Now bombers aren't particularly fast, especially when fully loaded like they are on the way to the target, so pretty much they're easy targets for fighters. The reason it was called a fortress is that there were gun turrets all over it to try to protect the plane (that's like the stiff-arm in the NFL). The problem was with the belly gunner. You fly under the bird, nail that guy, and the plane was pretty much a sitting duck from the bottom.
Enter the P-51 Mustang. This speedy little fighter could fly over with the bigger B-17 and take out the bad guys first (like blockers in the NFL).
Where am I going with this? As Dan was running, guys were flying around him making blocks all over the field. Some guys made a couple blocks in different areas of the field because they were fast enough to keep up with Connolly. My buddy said, "It kind of makes sense. Why use the fastest guy on the team who can outrun all of his blocks? Why not use the fast guys to block for the slower guy that can defend himself?" That's when it hit me that Dan Connolly was a B-17, and our special teams players were P-51s clearing the way for the guy that's carrying the payload.
While I loved the play and was laughing myself silly, the reason it worked wasn't just because Dan is a stud (though he proved that he is). It's because of all the Patriotic little mustangs that cleared the path for him. That was team play at its best.
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Sergio Brown and Sammy Morris got in a few blocks
and more impressively, Sergio Brown held off hitting one guy and made sure he got around into a non-penalty-inducing position before he was tempted to block. If he’d been flagged, he might’ve stripped 40 yards from the return, but he held off and showed veteran-like savvy. Impressive for a rook.
Token southern hemisphere guy - 14,688km from Foxboro. That's 9128 miles, for you heathens.
Contributing Writer at PatsPulpit
Sammy had one hit that looked like it might have been a block in the back, but it wasn't a critical block.
My life has been a trivial pursuit. Trivia: where three roads meet.
The more you know, the more you know that you don't know.
by SlotMachinePlayer on Dec 20, 2010 7:51 PM EST up reply actions
I saw that too
Right at the end though, so even with the penalty we’d be starting inside their red zone.
Deep in enemy territory
lol...i didn't say you were that old lol
one of my best friend’s grandpa flew the flying fortress.
Non Sibi Sed Patriae &I love my ZX-6r Kawasaki.
I bleed Scarlet and Grey...A Buckeye for Life
Toy Story wears no. 39 100x better than D.D.R
Pat McAfee -Colts punter-"@StampedeBlue I hope your website gets exposed for a complete joke. There’s no reason for you to do that, and its completely ridiculous."
"Stampede Blue-North Korea of SBN"-Colt's fan
Just had my WWII final for History 369 the World at War
I had to write an essay on the allied air strategy in the west against the Germans. That test was exactly one week ago. I won’t forgive you for bringing this back to my attention, although had I had my football metaphor ahead of time, I may have been more interested in the subject material once the test came around.
Some facts:
two weeks after the distraction of D-Day, Operation Bagration (Soviet offensive) destroyed an entire German Army Group (Centre/Mitte).
D-Day was nice, but it was icing, not cake.
by quadruple option on Dec 20, 2010 11:49 PM EST up reply actions
Rommel’s Afrika Corps was sitting very near Normandy during the invasion. They couldn’t move because Rommel and Hitler were unavailable to issue orders. If they had, they could have inflicted much heavier casualties, if not repelled it completely.
Russia’s attack was good and all but a war on two fronts is what sealed the deal. That and Patton’s fake army holding lots of troops in Norway :P
Might we also add
That while Rommel was an extremely good commander, Hitler had basically tied his hands. While he was a great leader of men, he was totally inept at military command. I believe he had ordered Rommel to move the majority of the tanks up to stop that feint of the Allies. Rommel didn’t like the idea, but he did it anyway. The rest is history.
Not to mention Hitler tried to invade Russia and didn’t do it soon enough. No one wins in the Russian winter.
I thought it was
“Never go in against a Sicilian when death is on the line!” [laughs maniacally and then falls over dead]
My life has been a trivial pursuit. Trivia: where three roads meet.
The more you know, the more you know that you don't know.
by SlotMachinePlayer on Dec 21, 2010 4:48 PM EST up reply actions
have fun stoymin tha castle.
you should also never tangle with a haitian sicilian
for what its worth....
Hitler had to try and suppress a revolt in Greece immediately before invading Russia (Mussolini’s fault) pushing back the Russian invasion by 6 weeks.
You're welcome.
My life has been a trivial pursuit. Trivia: where three roads meet.
The more you know, the more you know that you don't know.
by SlotMachinePlayer on Dec 20, 2010 10:34 PM EST up reply actions
Hey Greg VERY odd question but did you ever read anything on the Luftwaffe by a guy called Joel Hayward? He’s an ex-Kiwi.
by quadruple option on Dec 20, 2010 11:49 PM EST up reply actions
Yeah, he had his Kiwi surgically removed.
Still has the scar to prove it. ;-)
My life has been a trivial pursuit. Trivia: where three roads meet.
The more you know, the more you know that you don't know.
by SlotMachinePlayer on Dec 21, 2010 1:04 PM EST up reply actions
That P-51A wouldn’t be escorting B-17s over Germany considering its range… find a D.
by quadruple option on Dec 20, 2010 11:48 PM EST reply actions
p-38's did
Non Sibi Sed Patriae &I love my ZX-6r Kawasaki.
I bleed Scarlet and Grey...A Buckeye for Life
Toy Story wears no. 39 100x better than D.D.R
Pat McAfee -Colts punter-"@StampedeBlue I hope your website gets exposed for a complete joke. There’s no reason for you to do that, and its completely ridiculous."
"Stampede Blue-North Korea of SBN"-Colt's fan
acc to CS's secret source
Designed and built in just 117 days, the Mustang first flew in Royal Air Force (RAF) service as a fighter-bomber and reconnaissance aircraft before conversion to a bomber escort, employed in raids over Germany, helping ensure Allied air superiority from early 1944
Non Sibi Sed Patriae &I love my ZX-6r Kawasaki.
I bleed Scarlet and Grey...A Buckeye for Life
Toy Story wears no. 39 100x better than D.D.R
Pat McAfee -Colts punter-"@StampedeBlue I hope your website gets exposed for a complete joke. There’s no reason for you to do that, and its completely ridiculous."
"Stampede Blue-North Korea of SBN"-Colt's fan
Yes, but not the -A. they switched engine and got a big range increase.
the -A was a dog. the -D was a beast
in terms you’d understand: P-51A = derek anderson P-51D = tom brady
by quadruple option on Dec 21, 2010 12:15 AM EST up reply actions
nice
Non Sibi Sed Patriae &I love my ZX-6r Kawasaki.
I bleed Scarlet and Grey...A Buckeye for Life
Toy Story wears no. 39 100x better than D.D.R
Pat McAfee -Colts punter-"@StampedeBlue I hope your website gets exposed for a complete joke. There’s no reason for you to do that, and its completely ridiculous."
"Stampede Blue-North Korea of SBN"-Colt's fan
of course the Yak-3 was like barry sanders. so agile you couldn’t touch it.
by quadruple option on Dec 21, 2010 12:22 AM EST up reply actions
whereas the Il-2 shturmovik would be… hrm… maybe emmitt smith. just keep pounding away. very hard to bring down. could take a licking and keep on ticking.
by quadruple option on Dec 21, 2010 12:23 AM EST up reply actions
Actually Derek Anderson would be a Ju-87 Stuka. When he started he seemed unstoppable but they worked him out pretty quick and made him largely worthless.
by quadruple option on Dec 21, 2010 12:23 AM EST up reply actions
Kevin Faulk is your Lysander… little bit of everything… can get a lot from a very short run… and when you absolutely needed to get into a postage stamp space, he’d do it.
by quadruple option on Dec 21, 2010 12:24 AM EST up reply actions
I can't believe none of you reference Kellen Winslow Jr here.
I mean after all, he is a soldier…..with a man purse
r….with a man purse
Military history thread?????
WTF????
"Perhaps it was the Noid who should have avoided me." Mayor Adam West
by insertscreenname on Dec 20, 2010 11:54 PM EST reply actions
sshhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!
Non Sibi Sed Patriae &I love my ZX-6r Kawasaki.
I bleed Scarlet and Grey...A Buckeye for Life
Toy Story wears no. 39 100x better than D.D.R
Pat McAfee -Colts punter-"@StampedeBlue I hope your website gets exposed for a complete joke. There’s no reason for you to do that, and its completely ridiculous."
"Stampede Blue-North Korea of SBN"-Colt's fan
IMO, the greatest plane ever built.
I know if I were DC, I would be proud to be compared to it.
I was absolutely giddy when the big guy took off. My wife thought I had lost my mind because I was shouting “GO! GO! GO!” at the top of my lungs. I loved the run. I just wish he could have scored.
"Pain heals. Chicks dig scars. Glory...lasts forever."-Shane Falco, "The Replacements"
Naww. Greatest plane ever is the DC-3.
may not be sexy, but biggest influence
by quadruple option on Dec 21, 2010 1:20 AM EST up reply actions
I relate football to life.
…in new and interesting ways. ;-)
My life has been a trivial pursuit. Trivia: where three roads meet.
The more you know, the more you know that you don't know.
by SlotMachinePlayer on Dec 21, 2010 10:12 AM EST up reply actions 1 recs
Was it over when the German's bombed Pearl Harbor?
Not really going anywhere with this, it just seems appropriate.
Hmmmmm what's that from?
rings a bell, but can’t place it…
To GOOGLE!!!!!!!!!!!!
"Perhaps it was the Noid who should have avoided me." Mayor Adam West
by insertscreenname on Dec 21, 2010 10:10 AM EST up reply actions
Of course, Animal House.
Awesome movie.
"Perhaps it was the Noid who should have avoided me." Mayor Adam West
by insertscreenname on Dec 21, 2010 10:12 AM EST up reply actions
"He's on a roll."
My life has been a trivial pursuit. Trivia: where three roads meet.
The more you know, the more you know that you don't know.
by SlotMachinePlayer on Dec 21, 2010 10:13 AM EST up reply actions
More like a Swiss Army Knife
Versatile, always there when you need it, and pocket-sized. :-)
Fenway: "An alternate and better universe, disguised as a ballpark." --Thomas Boswell
Which planes did the Black Sheep fly?
TT bashers - turning my stomach since 2005!
The glass is still more than half-full!
Many different ones. Currently Harriers, but you're probably thinking about the WW-II version that flew Corsairs.
Have a Wiki
My life has been a trivial pursuit. Trivia: where three roads meet.
The more you know, the more you know that you don't know.
by SlotMachinePlayer on Dec 23, 2010 11:04 AM EST up reply actions
would have been the Corsair.
My life has been a trivial pursuit. Trivia: where three roads meet.
The more you know, the more you know that you don't know.
by SlotMachinePlayer on Dec 23, 2010 3:31 PM EST up reply actions
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