Thursday, June 29, 2006
Freeney or Henry? Battle of the Atlantic?
I was listening to two of my roommates drunkenly argue (a complete rarity, you can bet) when an interesting conflict arose. A UEFA match was on TV, and it showed Arsenal's Thierry Henry streaking down the pitch. My one roommate, gridiron-loving 100% pure beef N. American Kyle McKenzie, thinks that Indianapolis Colts' DE Dwight Freeney would beat the Flying Frenchman in a 10-yard dash. The other dude, Mexican physics geek and lover of the Score's "Sportsworld" Dwane Francisco Valenzo, thinks McKenz is an idiot, and Henry would easily beat Freeney. Anyone care to weigh in here?
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3 comments:
Man, you've got a blog now too, Hayesy?
Hayes, how long has this blog action been going for? Why didn't I know about this?
Anyway, as far as the question goes, I'm not exactly sure, though I would lean toward Freeny if it's only ten yards. Most of Freeny's training would involve reaching peak explosiveness over roughly a ten-yard span -- he only needs to reach the QB as quickly as possible (and he's damn good at it).
A soccer player, on the other hand, isn't as concerned with such a reckless burst of speed over such a short distance (I would think). Rather, you'd want to concentrate on being able to operate at a fairly quick speed at all times while maintaining balance and control (so you can control the ball and avoid defenders).
I understand soccer players use explosion too (like when trying to run past defenders on a break), but I think it's probably far more emphasized and focused on by football players, especially a speed-rushing defensive end like Freeny.
It's a tough call, but I tend to agree with Hurky and McKenzie - in a ten yard dash, Freeney has the edge; he's the most explosive player in "American football" - a sport that emphasizes quickness. The longer the race was, the more likely I'd say Henry would pull away, but in a short distance like ten yards, I give it to the Indy sack man.
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