Author: Beka

What To Know : After Week 7

Here’s the important info to know about Week 7 in the NFL:

Who’s Back:

  • Terrell Suggs was back in the lineup for the Ravens. Although unfortunately it didn’t help much in their 13-43 loss to the Texans.
  • Vilma was back for the first time this season for the Saints…possibly for the last time this season if his case is heard and the suspension upheld this week.

Who’s Out:

  • Charles Woodson, Packers Cornerback, broke his collarbone in the 4th quarter of the game against the Rams. This is bad news for the Packers, whose defense has not been stellar so far as it is. Woodson will be out for at least 6 weeks.
  • The Jaguars. Or, at least two of the more effective players on their roster: Blaine Gabbert, QB, likely out for this week, and Maurice Jones-Drew, RB, likely out for awhile with a foot injury.

What’s Good:

  • SO MANY awesome endings. The Jets/Patriots and Jags/Raiders games went into OT simultaneously, while earlier in the day at least four games were decided on the final drive: wins by the Saints, Giants, Titans, Cowboys. Amazing.
  • RG3 vs. Eli. Man, that was a great game – and promises to be a great NFC East matchup for years to come.

What’s Bad:

  • The Panthers, with so much hope invested in Cam Newton, are kind of falling apart. So much so that they just fired their GM. Bad news.
  • I continue to be hopeless in our family fantasy football lead. I didn’t even pick this week…I left it completely to chance: a quarter for the wins/losses and random.org for the confidence points. And I still lost by double digits. It’s like I’ve never seen a football game before.

Wait…What Just Happened? : Illegal Touching of a Forward Pass

And here we welcome in a new feature: Wait…What Just Happened? Because something weird happens every week in the NFL, and learning about it will help us be able to spot it again the next time it happens.

This week, it’s the case of the Illegal Touching of a Forward Pass penalty that ended the Saints vs. Creamsicles Bucs game. Here’s the play:

Here’s the breakdown of why that didn’t count as a touchdown…it’s an explanation with several moving parts and it’s truly one of the more ridiculous NFL rules:

Step 1: Josh Freeman left “the pocket” – the imaginary box marked off by where the five offensive lineman are playing. Because Freeman was operating outside of the pocket, the Saints defender (Robinson) shoved the receiver (Williams) out of the endzone legally. I’m not going to pretend to know why that’s defined as a legal move, but it is. Let’s just go with it.

Step 2: Williams came back into the endzone after being pushed out of bounds. He caught the touchdown with both feet in bounds, but because he was the first player to touch the football after re-entering the field of play, it was an offensive penalty. Specifically: an Illegal Touching of a Forward Pass penalty.

Here’s the technical explanation from Rule 8, Section 1, Article 8 of the NFL’s official rule book:

Illegal Touching of a Forward Pass. It is a foul for illegal touching if a forward pass (legal or illegal), thrown from behind the line of scrimmage:

(a) is first touched intentionally or is caught by an ineligible offensive player; or

(b) first touches or is caught by an eligible receiver who has gone out of bounds, either of his own volition or by being legally forced out of bounds, and has re-established himself inbounds.

So, basically, a receiver can’t come back in bounds after being out of bounds and be the first person to touch the football. Incidentally, if the pass had been tipped and then caught, it would have been a legal touchdown.

This is the type of stuff that makes football an endeavor in lifetime learning. (And this is why the replacement refs had such a hard job…can you imagine learning all of the rules and all of their odd nuances in just a few weeks?! Tall order.)

What To Know : Week 7

It literally pains me that we’re already at Week 7…the season goes by so fast! At any rate, here’s the need-to-know info for this week:

GAME OF THE WEEK: I’m tempted to go with the battle of the 3-3’s: The 3-3 Patriots vs. The 3-3 Jets, both of whom are fighting with the also 3-3 Bills and 3-3 Dolphins for 1st place in the AFC East. But the Houston/Baltimore game is more compelling, I think. Houston is coming off a confidence-shaking loss to Green Bay on Sunday night, and Baltimore just lost several of their best players to injury. It’s an interesting AFC match-up – of the only AFC teams who actually have winning records right now (both are 5-1).

PLAYER TO WATCH: Jonathan Vilma, linebacker for the Saints, might get to play in his first game this season after coming off of the Physically Unable of Perform list this week. If you’re wondering how he can play since he’s technically still serving a year-long suspension for his alleged involvement in the Saints bounty program – don’t worry, I was wondering the same thing. But since Vilma’s case is still under appeal and will be subjected to ruling by the federal judiciary system sometime soon, the suspension is not currently under effect.

STORYLINE TO KNOW: The face-off of the two surprisingly good teams: the Minnesota Vikings and the Arizona Cardinals. Both teams are 4-2, and neither were expected to be anywhere near that number at the beginning of the season. But intrigue: John Skelton, the Cardinals original starting QB who was injured and lost his spot to Kevin Kolb who is now also injured and could potentially lose his spot, again, to Skelton, is starting this week. He’s under a lot of pressure to play well – to earn his spot back and to redeem an ugly loss to Buffalo in OT last week. Minnesota is also trying to come back from last week’s loss to the Redskins. It’s not being billed as a great storyline, but if you can, watch this game. It’s sure to be a good one!

RECIPES TO MAKE:

apple snicker nachos

peanut butter filled devil’s food cupcakes

pumpkin crunch cake

reese’s peanut butter white chocolate bark

snickers caramel cheesecake cookies

What To Know : After Week 6

I left you guys hanging on Friday without a What to Know in Week 6 post…I’m sorry! Here’s a quick recap of what happened in Week 6:

  • Sad news for Ray Lewis and the Ravens, he’s out for the rest of the year with a torn tricep. This is a HUGE loss for the Ravens – he’s their main emotional leader as well as an on-the-field powerhouse. And it’s a huge disappointment for Lewis, who is nearing the end of his playing days as is.
  • Surprise, surprise. #1: The Bills upset the Cardinals in overtime. Biggest surprise: Jay Feely hit a field goal from 61 yards earlier in the game…and missed a chip shot to win in overtime. #2 The Seahawks upset the Patriots. Biggest surprise: bad decision making from the Patriots…who never make bad decisions.
  • Two high profile clobberings: The Giants dismantled the 49ers in a huge road win, and…my Packers! My Packers took apart the formerly undefeated Texans. Big, big win for the Packers – but big loss as well with two more out-for-the-season injuries: linebacker D.J. Smith and running back Brandon Saine.
  • RGIII dominated after coming back from a nasty concussion last week. A lot of people (myself included) didn’t think he should play, but the doctors cleared him and he took full advantage, tearing up the field.
  • And…Dallas continues to struggle.
  • And…so do the Eagles.

So! Did you watch any games over the weekend? Which ones? Questions, comments, concerns? Let’s talk about it! That’s what the comments section is there for! See you there :)

Final Exam Answers!

Here are the answers to the final exam! Thanks for playing along, Mary; you did a great job! Your package will be on it’s way ASAP :)

1. True or False: Each team plays the other teams in their division twice every season.

  1. True 
  2. False

2. Where is the red zone?

  1. The end zone
  2. Out of bounds
  3. The 20 yards prior to the end zone
  4. The spot where a penalty occurred

3. It’s half-time. Your team ended the half with the ball on the other team’s 1-yard line. What happens at the beginning of the next half?

  1. Your team starts at the 1-yard line at the opposite end of the field
  2. Your team starts at the same place as when the first half ended
  3. The other team takes possession and starts at your team’s 1-yard line
  4. The team that didn’t kick off to begin the game kicks off now and a new drive begins

4. Which of the following actions will NOT stop the play clock?

  1. A complete pass is thrown
  2. An incomplete pass is thrown
  3. A player steps out of bounds
  4. A penalty is called

5. The offense is facing a “3rd and 9” situation. What does this mean?

  1. It’s their 3rd down and they have to move the ball one yard for a new set of downs.
  2. It’s their 3rd down and they have to move the ball nine yards for a new set of downs.
  3. It’s the 3rd quarter and they have nine downs remaining before time runs out.
  4. It’s the 3rd quarter and there are nine minutes remaining before the 4th quarter begins.

6. The regular season is how many weeks long?

  1. 15
  2. 16
  3. 17
  4. 18

7. If the ball is caught and downed in the offensive team’s endzone by a defensive player during kickoff it’s called a:

  1. Touchdown
  2. Turnover
  3. Touchback
  4. Turndown

8. The imaginary line where the players line up is called:

  1. The red zone
  2. The backfield
  3. The starting line
  4. The line of scrimmage

9. A safety occurs when:

  1. A player alerts a ref to a penalty on the field
  2. A player is awarded for being on the receiving end of a unnecessary roughness penalty
  3. An offensive player is tackled in his own endzone
  4. A defensive player is tackled in his own endzone

10. How many teams make it to the playoffs?

  1. 8
  2. 10
  3. 12
  4. 16

Final Exam!

Ok, ladies, here’s the deal: This final exam is a brief one, consisting of only TEN questions! But they are ten questions that, if you know the answers, you’ll know you are well on your way to understanding the basic ins and outs of the game.

So, ANYONE who completes this final and scores with a “passing” grade – 70% or above – will receive a nice little surprise in their mailbox: a congratulations packet for making it this far and encouragement to keep going!

To enter, just leave your answers in the comments section before MIDNIGHT ON SUNDAY, OCTOBER 14TH. Answers will be posted on Monday, October 15th! Good luck!!!

1. True or False: Each team plays the other teams in their division twice every season.

  1. True
  2. False

2. Where is the red zone?

  1. The end zone
  2. Out of bounds
  3. The 20 yards prior to the end zone
  4. The spot where a penalty occurred

3. It’s half-time. Your team ended the half with the ball on the other team’s 1-yard line. What happens at the beginning of the next half?

  1. Your team starts at the 1-yard line at the opposite end of the field
  2. Your team starts at the same place as when the first half ended
  3. The other team takes possession and starts at your team’s 1-yard line
  4. The team that didn’t kick off to begin the game kicks off now and a new drive begins

4. Which of the following actions will NOT stop the play clock?

  1. A complete pass is thrown
  2. An incomplete pass is thrown
  3. A player steps out of bounds
  4. A penalty is called

5. The offense is facing a “3rd and 9” situation. What does this mean?

  1. It’s their 3rd down and they have to move the ball one yard for a new set of downs.
  2. It’s their 3rd down and they have to move the ball nine yards for a new set of downs.
  3. It’s the 3rd quarter and they have nine downs remaining before time runs out.
  4. It’s the 3rd quarter and there are nine minutes remaining before the 4th quarter begins.

6. The regular season is how mnay weeks long?

  1. 15
  2. 16
  3. 17
  4. 18

7. If the ball is caught and downed in the offensive team’s endzone by a defensive player during kickoff it’s called a:

  1. Touchdown
  2. Turnover
  3. Touchback
  4. Turndown

8. The imaginary line where the players line up is called:

  1. The red zone
  2. The backfield
  3. The starting line
  4. The line of scrimmage

9. A safety occurs when:

  1. A player alerts a ref to a penalty on the field
  2. A player is awarded for being on the receiving end of a unnecessary roughness penalty
  3. An offensive player is tackled in his own endzone
  4. A defensive player is tackled in his own endzone

10. How many teams make it to the playoffs?

  1. 8
  2. 10
  3. 12
  4. 16

Leave your answers in the comments section, and come back on Monday for the results!