Is having the playbook really that big of a deal.

[iowajerms]

I'm no pro, but I always figured teams make adjustments to plays all the time during games. And just because they know the play doesn't guarantee they can stop it. I think of 4th and 1 play in a situation where a team needs a 1st down. A high percentage of the time, it is going to be a run up the middle. Everybody knows the play. Everybody knows how to stop the play, and yet, many times the team still gets the 1st down.

 

[gohusk]

It helps but I don't think it's that big of a deal. They have tons of game film and their heads are stuffed with their own playbooks to begin with. It's not like they're only going to run one play out of a particular formation either.

 

[night]

Yes because the diction of each play call is different from team to team even if they're using different words for the same formation. The player needs to be accustomed to the lingo - so to speak.

 

[cdumler7]

I would bet at this point in the NFL with all of the technology and how many players change from one team to another plus coaching changes that most teams have a very good idea what is in the playbooks of every team. Now some of the lingo will change of course from year to year but for the most part I would bet most teams have a pretty good idea what is going on for certain formations and plays.

 

[ATL96Steeler]

I'm no pro, but I always figured teams make adjustments to plays all the time during games. And just because they know the play doesn't guarantee they can stop it. I think of 4th and 1 play in a situation where a team needs a 1st down. A high percentage of the time, it is going to be a run up the middle. Everybody knows the play. Everybody knows how to stop the play, and yet, many times the team still gets the 1st down.

It matters...not so much because of the plays themselves...it's the terminology...nothing new under the sun applies here imo as most teams run the same routes, and the same running plays.

The difference is the talent at certain positions and more importantly the play caller. When you call the play is probably as important as what you call.

But a big reason DIV games are tougher is b/c they know your terminology, tendencies, etc.