Examples of Butterfly Effect in football?

[MWil23]

If Drew Henson doesn’t get drafted in the first round by the Yankees, a backup Michigan quarterback and never starter Tom Brady loses the starting job (again) to Henson and goes on to be a moderately successful insurance salesman after going undrafted.

[Apparition]

2 hours ago, MWil23 said:

If Drew Henson doesn’t get drafted in the first round by the Yankees, a backup Michigan quarterback and never starter Tom Brady loses the starting job (again) to Henson and goes on to be a moderately successful insurance salesman after going undrafted.

This is pretty revisionist. Henson only ever played because there was a lot of external pressure on the coaching staff to play him because of his recruiting status. He never properly beat out Brady for the job, and whenever they split reps, Brady was clearly the superior QB. 

[MWil23]

15 minutes ago, Starless said:

This is pretty revisionist. Henson only ever played because there was a lot of external pressure on the coaching staff to play him because of his recruiting status. He never properly beat out Brady for the job, and whenever they split reps, Brady was clearly the superior QB. 

It’s not revisionist at all. I’m a diehard OSU fan. Henson was the starter, they split reps, and Brady couldn’t beat out the underclassmen regardless of the reason. Fair or not, Henson isn’t drafted and TB12 never exists in the NFL. Fact

[Warhorse]

Colts Steelers 1995....

"With Neil O’Donnell scrambling to find an open receiver on a third-and-goal play in the final minute of the first half, Stewart fought through double coverage near the rear of the end zone. As he ran by safety Jason Belser, Stewart’s left foot clearly came down out of bounds."

 

Colts Steelers 2005...

"The play: Bettis runs to the right and has the ball knocked out of his hands by Colts linebacker Gary Brackett. It ricochets backward, bounces twice and is scooped up on the run by Harper, who takes off for what many expect to be a sure game-winning touchdown. He has one man to beat, but that man is Ben Roethlisberger. And somehow, someway — maybe because Harper isn’t as nimble after, you know, being stabbed — Big Ben makes an incredible shoestring tackle at the Indy 42-yard line."

 

Historically, the Steelers have owned the Colts...especially in important games. These two events don't happen, and the view of the two teams history against each other changes dramatically. Likely 2 more SB appearances for the Colts

 

Hey....it's my freaking butterfly Effect

[Apparition]

24 minutes ago, MWil23 said:

It’s not revisionist at all. I’m a diehard OSU fan. Henson was the starter, they split reps, and Brady couldn’t beat out the underclassmen regardless of the reason. Fair or not, Henson isn’t drafted and TB12 never exists in the NFL. Fact

Leaving aside that this is a really weird definition of "starter", especially given that Brady, as a senior, had 3x the reps Henson did (which by any conceivable definition makes him the starter), it leans heavily on the assumption that Brady wouldn't have gotten a shot as a UDFA anywhere, which makes no sense however you slice it. 

[french t0ast]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJPf4h9GZvg&ab_channel=NFL

If the Giants had not allowed this miracle punt return touchdown, I think the Giants would've made it to the Wild Card, thus the Packers wouldve missed the playoffs-- meaning Aaron Rodgers wouldnt have gotten his one Super Bowl appearance and win!

[7DnBrnc53]

2 hours ago, Warhorse said:

"With Neil O’Donnell scrambling to find an open receiver on a third-and-goal play in the final minute of the first half, Stewart fought through double coverage near the rear of the end zone. As he ran by safety Jason Belser, Stewart’s left foot clearly came down out of bounds."

You are right, but the officials also missed a pass interference call earlier in the game that would have given the Steelers the ball around the Colt 2 yard line.

 

5 hours ago, MWil23 said:

backup Michigan quarterback and never starter Tom Brady

Never started? Didn't he start for Michigan in 1998?

[7DnBrnc53]

On 6/26/2021 at 4:18 PM, ronjon1990 said:

One of my favorites is 2009 in Carolina. Jake Delhomme was playing like garbage before he goes down. With 5 games left, Matt Moore, an undrafted free agent plucked from Dallas' waiver wire 2 years prior, comes in and goes 4-1 while playing reasonably well, as he often did throughout his career. 

If Carolina starts him sooner, it's fairly likely they avoid their 4-7 start under Delhomme. They were 3 games back from making the playoffs (Philadelphia was the 6th seed at 11-5). 

Do they make the playoffs? Does Moore's increased body of work lead the Panthers to not taking Jimmy Clausen? Does it buy Moore an extra year? Moore got hurt early on, and Clausen stunk up the joint. What if Carolina had a more capable backup to fill in? Does Carolina still wind up drafting Newton? 

It's often understated, but I think Carolina's decision to stick with Delhomme's terrible play through most of 2009 really changed the landscape quite a bit. Moore spent a long time as one of the league's top backups amd rarely embarrassed himself. If someone other than Miami comes knocking of he's still made available, does he ever stick to being Miami's backup? Plenty of reports of him being sought after are out there. At that point, the possibilities are nearly endless.

Fox probably doesn't pull him unless he is hurt, but if he gets hurt a few weeks earlier, and Moore leads them to a winning season (maybe 10-6 and one game out of the playoffs), you would have to say that he gets more of a look the next year, and maybe they don't draft Clausen.

In 2010, the Panthers missed DeAngelo Williams for ten games (in 09, Williams and Stewart both went for over 1,000 yards), and the defense went from 9th in points allowed to 26th. So, they may end up at 6-10 with Moore all year as opposed to Clausen only having one win in ten starts.

Since they had a winning team in 2009, and didn't do real bad in 2010, maybe Fox isn't fired, and Denver has to look somewhere else for HC. They would have had the #1 overall pick that year (since Carolina has four more wins in this world).

Luck wanted to return to Stanford, but if the Broncos and new GM John Elway can convince Harbaugh to come to Denver and bring Luck, does Andrew change his mind (maybe playing for a legend makes the difference. Also, there were rumors that Luck just didn't want to play in Carolina, although Andrew has denied those).

Edited July 6, 2021 by 7DnBrnc53

[Norm]

On 7/1/2021 at 9:09 PM, MWil23 said:

It’s not revisionist at all. I’m a diehard OSU fan. Henson was the starter, they split reps, and Brady couldn’t beat out the underclassmen regardless of the reason. Fair or not, Henson isn’t drafted and TB12 never exists in the NFL. Fact

You can put "Fact" behind a bunch of bull****, but it's still a bunch of bull****.

[Mazrimiv]

On 6/29/2021 at 12:33 PM, SteelKing728 said:

If Percy Harvins touchdown stands against GB (which i believe the NFL stated they were wrong on calling it back), Minnesota beats GB and GB doesn't advance to the playoffs that year, ultimately winning the Superbowl.

There were several unlikely events that all aligned to send GB to the playoffs that year.

[7DnBrnc53]

There are times that an event in one sport can have a butterfly affect on another.

Let's go back to 2003, and the Steve Bartman game.

We all know what happened there. However, what if Bartman doesn't interfere (and Alou catches the ball)? Or, what if Alex Gonzalez doesn't make the error, and the Cubs get the double play (and go on to win in the ninth)?

Obviously, the Cubs go on to the Series against the Yanks (and probably lose). However, Bartman's life isn't nearly as hellish, and a certain NFL game may have went differently.

Let's go to October 19, 2003. Week 7 of the NFL season. That week, the Dolphins hosted the Patriots.

With 2:00 left in regulation, Olindo Mare missed a 35-yard FG that would have put the Dolphins up by 3. Then, in OT, he missed another 35-yarder that would have won the game.

Both of those FG's were in the baseball infield dirt. If it wasn't for the Bartman incident, and if the Cubs make the WS, that would have been filled in, and his chances of making the first kick (and the second if needed) improve greatly, giving the Dolphins a win, and eventually putting them in the playoffs (they ended 10-6, but missed out on a tie-breaker).

Also, if NE doesn't pull that game out, maybe they don't have the magic going in subsequent games that they pull out late, like against Denver and Indy, and they end up coming up short of a SB (which puts a crimp in any dynasty they try to have).

 

Edited July 12, 2021 by 7DnBrnc53

[otg]

If John Elway doesn't refuse to play for the Colts would the Colts still be in Baltimore, the Browns still be in Cleveland? Does Camden Yards get built?

With Elway on board it's possible that his presence could have built enough interest to upgrade Memorial Stadium which would have kept the Colts in town.

With an improved Memorial Stadium Camden Yards or anything like it might not have been built. Removing the inspiration for other baseball teams to build their own retro style ballparks.

Elway's Broncos beat the Browns in the conference championship 3 times. If not for that would greater success been enough to motivate funding for a better home for the Browns, keeping them in Cleveland?

If Baltimore had still had a team, would another city have courted the Browns?

 

Backing up a step before the draft...

If Houston had lost their lone win or if Baltimore had won one of their three 1 TD loses (idk if any of the games were as close as the scores indicate) and Houston gets the number one pick are the Oilers, Colts, and Browns still in their respective cities today? Instead of being the saddest boy in Houston is ET completely insufferable due to the success of his Elway led Oilers?

If there was a game turning play in any of those four 1982 regular season games that decided the winner then that play is one of the most influential moments in all of sports.

 

TL;DR

John Elway single handedly ended the Cleveland Browns and might have killed ET's dog.

[7DnBrnc53]

Speaking of the Colts, here's another moment in another sport that probably affected NFL history.

In 1977, Pacers coach Slick Leonard and his wife were in Hawaii at some pre-draft tournament or something when his wife got a call from someone in the Pacer front office. She was told that the team was going bankrupt, and the Leonard's rushed back to Indiana to deal with the situation.

What did they do? They decided to have a telethon to raise money to save the Pacers, and it was successful.

However, what if it failed? What if the Pacers folded after one year in the ABA?

Well, that probably takes Indy down a few pegs as far as pro sports is concerned. I don't think the Hoosier Dome gets built. And, if there is no shiny new building to go to a few states away, maybe Irsay ends up having to deal with an eminent domain situation, and maybe Rozelle and the league finally decide to get involved to resolve the conflict (Colt GM Ernie Accorsi went to his office and begged him to help the Colts, saying that Irsay is a loose cannon).

[INbengalfan]

Been on vacation two weeks and ignored all news.  But after reading about Sherman, I feel like there is a butterfly effect brewing from Super Bowl 49.  Carroll calls a pass, leads to Butler's INT.  Defense enraged (remember Sherman's sideline reaction?).

Team falls apart on defense, specifically the LOB, which had nothing to do with the play.  They move on.

Browner in prison for attempted murder.

Earl Thomas inexplicably loses it mentally (ADHD has no bearing that I'm aware of)

Now Sherman basically attempts suicide in a drunken stupor.

 

 

Time will tell, I suppose.

[7DnBrnc53]

54 minutes ago, INbengalfan said:

Been on vacation two weeks and ignored all news.  But after reading about Sherman, I feel like there is a butterfly effect brewing from Super Bowl 49.  Carroll calls a pass, leads to Butler's INT.  Defense enraged (remember Sherman's sideline reaction?).

Team falls apart on defense, specifically the LOB, which had nothing to do with the play.  They move on.

Browner in prison for attempted murder.

Earl Thomas inexplicably loses it mentally (ADHD has no bearing that I'm aware of)

Now Sherman basically attempts suicide in a drunken stupor.

 

 

Time will tell, I suppose.

This is why Carroll and Schneider should have been fired after the 2017 season. You couldn't fire them in 2015 and 16 because the Seahawks were contenders. However, 2017 was a losing year, and would have been the perfect time to move on and wash your hands of that debacle.