Seeing so many Americans posting on lrz socials saying he's going to regret his choice when he gets tackled for the first time. Americans think their athletes are somehow super soldiers compared to the rest of the world. They can't comprehend that sportsmen can be equally as tough, resilient, and strong as their own guys. LRZ difficulties won't be in the physical aspect of the game. He needs to get up to speed with the intricacies of American football, and he will do well. Physically he will be completely fine, he's use to it
It's not the quality of the athletes, themselves that will pose challenges. Elite gridiron football players and world class ruggers are very similar. He will have three challenges to overcome. First: as you correctly point out, the learning curve is extremely steep. In broad strokes, American football is a simple game. One team tries to cross a line while the other attempts to stop them. Simple. But in reality, it is extraordinarily complex. Both the game's rulebook, and his team's playbook are like a large city's telephone directory - and he'll have to know both intimately in order to be of any use at all. Second: he will have to alter his training habits in order to maximize his God-given talents which are well suited for the NFL. He has spent his life playing a sport which requires exceptional cardio fitness. That cardio comes at the expense of sudden explosiveness. In gridiron football, explosiveness is far more important than cardio fitness. We see that deficiency of explosiveness in his leaping ability - which is on the low end of acceptability for NFL players at his positions. The good news - it's fixable. Finally, he will have to attenuate to a smaller, more congested playing surface, tighter marking, and off-ball contact. A gridiron field is nearly 25 meters narrower than a rugby pitch. Those long, sweeping, slow-developing touch line runs which he's enjoyed in rugby, will be unavailable to him. Unlike many of my more jingoistic countrymen, I actually believe that he's got what it takes to make it. I furthermore believe that he's in the perfect situation. The Chiefs are noted not just for being the best team in the NFL, but also for innovative and unorthodox play design. If anyone can find a way to capitalize on the unique skills of an elite rugger, it is Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes. I'm rooting for the young man.
@kentgrady9226 I would add a 4th he needs to unlearn and relearn a lot of detailed instinctive behaviour. For example running down the lines, going out of bounds in a tackle is a bad thing in rugby and a good thing in American football. But that will impact how you prepare for and recieve a tackle I'm sure there are many other examples.
American and chiefs fan here: I don't know d*ck about rugby and I'm not going to pretend to. However, anyone saying he isn't capable, at all, of transitioning... for any reason... are delusional. After only watching rugby highlights (his and compilations), for an hour. I am very confident he is extremely qualified physically to keep up with ANYONE in the NFL, in any stance. There are probably many others as well that would be able to, from what I can suffice. America can't get out of its own way with xenophobia sometimes, and it's unfortunate. Our NBA is a perfect example of that, our last 6 mvps have been Europeans. Some of our pundits like former NBA player Gilbert Arenas have even suggested "getting rid of europeans". While spewing hateful comments that have no evidence behind them. Luckily as a Chiefs fan, this is not our first time with an outsider. In the 90s we brought the first Nigerian to the NFL (Christian Okoye) which paved a way for not only Nigerians, but other foreign players to be accepted as well. I hope this young man is successful, because it could end up being bigger than all of us.
Yea I agree he’s literally taking hits to the ground and other players he seems extremely durable and has great vision and explosiveness I’m impressed I think he will be a big part of kc in a year or 2
Can see him being a valuable Steve Tasker like special teamer for the first couple of years , then develop to something on offense. A bit like Jesse Armstead though he went to the other side of the ball.
His dominating speed seems to be what works best for him in these highlights; but his speed will not be as noticeable in the NFL. I think his overall talent might be enough to find a spot with the Chiefs. Who knows? He might even become a special talent given some time, it's hard to say. Wishing him the very best.
Width of pitch in rugby 70m. Width of pitch in NFL 49m. A lot less space and will be much closer marked in NFL. Won't be seeing these type of runs in NFL with acres of space like in rugby. He has 5 months before official season kicks off to try learn and master the Chiefs 50 000 page playbook of tricks. Good luck LRZ. Rooting for him to make the 53 man active roster. NFL is everyman for himself mentality, not teamwork like rugby. Listening to former NFL players saying they'd rather lose games and have good individual stats than win games and have poor individual stats. Your place and survival on the team week by week depends on your individual stats. Having a 3 year contract means squat. They can still cut you from an active roster or practice squad the very next day after you sign a 3 year contract if it suits them. Players get cut, resigned, poached, traded left right and centre. It's a cut throat sport. The NFL is no place to try learn the sport from scratch. I am happy they signed him but at the same time super surprised they did after only 10 weeks of preparation at the IPP academy. He is listed as a running back on their official website. The 2 positions in NFL listed as having the shortest careers are running back and wide receiver. Maybe he can specialise on special teams as a punt returner.
Theres also 4 more people on a rugby pitch so the question is can 4 more people cover that 21 meters? I think so. But still good points, adjustments to make, and excitement for the world to watch
@alunmorgan2352 wondering if they intend trying him at running back as they officially have him on chiefs website as running back. Best running back according to many was barry sanders and he was only 5'8" 200 pounds but an absolute machine and nightmare to tackle with such a low centre of gravity. His career highlights were insane.
@@user-nk9cw5md8l don't know enough if I'm honest but I know how good he is. Kick return will be similar to what he's used to so has to have a chance at that. WR will probably be most difficult due to the difference and number of calls but by all accounts he's been very good at that. Given time I think he'll make it somewhere though
@@trumpfailedhaha816 no I’m not gonna stop if we talking about speed Louis Rees zammit is nothing special in rugby if you wanna see speed search up Rupeni Caucaunibuca grant williams or Brian habana they are all way faster
