Football for Normal Girls - Page 13 of 67 -

At the Water Cooler : Week 8

Carolina Panthers at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Panthers won, 31-13)

Who would have guessed at the start of the season that at the halfway point the Buccaneers would still be winless? It’s probably safe to say that things will probably get worse before they get better.

Dallas Cowboys at Detroit Lions (Lions won, 31-30)

I was watching the end of this game, rejoicing in the winning pick of the Cowboys that would give me the edge in our family fantasy league and an NFC North team loss, when the Lions charged down the field to score and win in the final minute of regulation. It kind of took the wind out of my sail…but mostly, it was awesome. That’s why we love football.

Cleveland Browns at Kansas City Chiefs (Chiefs won, 23-17)

Hail to the Chiefs, who remain unbeaten and are making a legitimate run at taking the AFC West title from the reigning Broncos.

Miami Dolphins at New England Patriots (Patriots won, 27-17)

Apparently Tom Brady started celebrating Halloween early with a freaky right hand. But because of his year-round magical powers, it didn’t seem to hinder him any.

Buffalo Bills at New Orleans Saints (Saints won, 35-17)

The Bills almost gave the Saints a run for their money there at the beginning, but the Saints are so hard to beat at home. Especially when the “limited” Jimmy Graham plays like a beast.

NY Giants at Philadelphia Eagles (Giants won, 15-7)

The Giants and Eagles practiced solidarity in this one. No one really felt like scoring offensive touchdowns, so they let their defense and special teams do all the scoring. Someone probably needs to go get Giants’ kicker Josh Brown an ice pack.

San Francisco 49ers at Jacksonville Jaguars (49ers won, 42-10)

We’re sorry, London. That was a rough one.

Pittsburgh Steelers at Oakland Raiders (Raiders won, 21-18)

Raiders QB Terrelle Pryor now owns the record for longest touchdown run by a quarterback with his 93-yard touchdown run on Sunday. He has taken this starting job…and is literally running with it.

(I’m sorry. I had to.)

NY Jets at Cincinnati Bengals (Bengals won, 49-9)

More Halloween fun in the AFC. This time, slaughter-themed.

Washington Redskins at Denver Broncos (Broncos won, 45-21)

This one was really close until the Broncos opened up a little slaughter fest of their own and scored 38 unanswered points in the second half in Coach Shanahan’s return to Denver.

Atlanta Falcons at Arizona Cardinals (Cardinals won, 27-13)

Even more surprising than the Bucs fall from grace is their fellow NFC South team’s demise. It’s shocking to see the Falcons at 2-5 on the season.

Green Bay Packers at Minnesota Vikings (Packers won, 44-31)

Watching Aaron Rodgers throw a ball is an exercise in leaving your mouth hanging ajar. He’s just so good.

Seattle Seahawks at St. Louis Rams (MNF on ESPN)

Rams second strong QB Kellen Clemens will be meeting the Legion of Boom tonight. Chances are he won’t be looking to repeat the introduction anytime soon.

Bye: Chicago Bears, Tennessee Titans, Indianapolis Colts, San Diego Chargers, Baltimore Ravens, Houston Texans

Review and Preview : Week 7

Review

On Monday: We reviewed all of the injury-laden activity from Week 7.

On Tuesday: We talked about the controversial call that decided the Jets vs. Patriots game on Sunday afternoon.

On Wednesday: We answered three of your questions about real games.

On Thursday: We broke down the question you didn’t even know you had: the difference between vs. and at.

Preview

Normal Girl Game of the Week

Let’s call a spade a spade. Week 8 looks a little sparse as far as wow-factor goes. There isn’t really a marquee matchup, so I’ll vote for the game I have the most vested interest in: Green Bay at Minnesota, or the Greg Jennings reunion game.

Also on the Radar

1. This week we’ll all get to play the guessing game Who’s Under Center? because there are so many quarterbacks either benched or sitting out injured. For all we know, Brett Favre really will be out there on Sunday.

2. The Giants play the Eagles in Philadelphia on Sunday. The Giants would love another win, especially in-division, and the Eagles would love to break their 9-game losing streak at home. Surprisingly, seeing as how neither of these teams have looked anywhere close to good so far this season, there is lot at stake in this NFC East in this matchup.

3. One would think that the Broncos will easily bounce back from the loss at Indy last week in this week’s home game against the Redskins, but it’ll be an interesting game to keep an eye on all the same.

5-Minute Football : The Difference Between Vs. and At

Here’s a lesson that is going to be one of those, “Oh…duh” moments as soon as you finish reading this post. But it’s something that I didn’t always know, and I figured a few other normal girls might be interested in knowing it, too.

How can you tell whether a team is playing at home or away, just from the listing? And what’s the right way to use vs. and at as it relates to home or away?

Ok, ready? This is so easy it’s stupid. Really.

Vs. = the first team listed is playing at home.

At = the first team listed is playing away.

So let’s look at tonight’s game. The Panthers are playing the Buccaneers in Tampa Bay. So the Panthers are away and the Buccaneers are at home. As a game listing this looks like:

Buccaneers vs. Panthers

Panthers at Buccaneers

If I’m right, I believe the “correct” way to write it out is the first way – home team vs. away team. But one way or another, it’s helpful to know that the vs. and at designations aren’t arbitrary. They sensibly denote which team is playing at home and which team is playing away.

And now, collectively:

“Oh…duh.”

YOUR Questions : Three Game Play Scenarios

One of the most exciting parts of running this website is getting quality questions from readers about things that happen on the field. It’s helpful for me to learn more about what happened and then explain it, and hopefully helpful to all of you to have some questions answered. If you want to join in on the party, feel free to send in questions (by email, Facebook, Twitter, comment, carrier pigeon) anytime!

Here’s the most recent roundup of great reader questions:

Jens, all the way from Germany, asked:

I think there was an interesting situation in [the Packers vs. Lions] game when the last TD by Jones was reviewed and ruled an incomplete pass. As I understood, the pass receiver must take 2 steps inbound the field before he becomes a runner and only then its sufficient that the balls crosses the goal line without the runner needing to have both feet in the end zone. But Jones second step yesterday was already in the end zone and so he stayed a receiver which had to have both feet on the ground which he didn’t have. Did I understand that correctly?

This goes hand in hand with something we talked about last week in Ashley’s Rookie Season – what constitutes a touchdown? In this scenario, it was a little unclear at first whether James Jones was running into the end zone as a runner or catching the ball in the end zone as a receiver. He caught the ball right at the edge of the field and was kind of in no man’s land.

As a runner entering the end zone from the field, a player has to take two steps in bounds to establish himself as a runner and then get the football across the goal line to score a touchdown. As a receiver catching the ball in the end zone a player needs to have planted both feet in the end zone after catching the ball for a touchdown.

In the replay the officials saw that Jones tok one step inbounds on the field…and one step in the end zone. So he was neither an established runner getting the ball across the goal line or a receiver catching a pass with two feet in bounds.

But the best part of the play was the denial that happened in the stands before this touchdown was recalled. Poor guy can’t catch a break!

Michelle asked:

We’re watching the Saints-Patriots game… at the end, they weren’t even really lining up. What are the rules in terms of having a distinct line of scrimmage where people can’t move (in case of false start) vs what was happening in the last minute and a half of the game?

This is something we’ve all seen before: in the last few minutes of the game when the offensive is rushing to get down the field and score players line up haphazardly and get the play off quickly.

While it looks a little sloppier, the rules are still there. The line of scrimmage is still an impassable line, the offense still has to have 7 guys on the line, and they still have to set up and pause for 1 second, but it looks much less “set” because it happens so quickly and the defense usually doesn’t set up, either – hence not really lining up.

In the Patriots at Saints game specifically, both teams play a fast offense. Tom Brady drove the ball down the field at lightening speed in what was likely a pre-planned, pre-rehearsed 2-minute drill. The offense knew how they had to set up, the defense had to cope. As per Rob Ryan’s face after the game, we all know how well that went.

Erin asked:

I’m currently watching the Bills [vs. Bengals] game and there was some discrepancy about whether or not a touchback ruling would stand – the refs were reviewing the play to see if the ball hit the pylon (?) or if it was out of bounds (and therefore dead). Can you clarify a) what the pylon is and b) where the ball has to be to to be “dead” and c) what out of bounds is?

Ok, so here’s the situation: when a team is kicking off (to start a new drive) and the kick goes into the end zone or out of bounds beyond the end zone, it’s ruled a touchback (a ruling in which the ball is brought out to the 20-yard line to start a new drive). If the kick goes out of bounds prior to the end zone it’s downed at the spot where the kick landed.

In Buffalo, if the kick had gone out of bounds at the 1-yard line (or between the 1-yard line and the end zone), it would have pinned the Bengals all the way back to that 1-yard line – they would have had to start the drive barely a yard outside of their own end zone. If the kick hit the pylon – the orange cone indicating where the end zone begins – it would have been ruled a touchback, and the Bengals would have started on the 20-yard line.

So a) the pylon is the orange cone that indicates where the end zone begins, b) the ball is dead when it hits out of bounds, and c) out of bounds is anywhere outside of the field of play, which is outside of the white lines that run along the perimeter of the field.

Thanks for a great round of questions, everyone! Keep them coming!

What Just Happened? : Jets Game-Winning Penalty

There was a penalty involving “pushing” called during a failed field goal attempt in the waning minutes of the Patriots at Jets game on Sunday afternoon, a penalty that directly resulted in the Jets getting significantly better field position and kicking a closer field goal for the win.

So, what happened? Isn’t “pushing” happening on every play?

No. And yes. But not legally. But let’s talk about it.

During the play in question (a field goal attempt) one of the Patriots’ defenders came from behind and pushed another Patriots defender forward into the offensive line. The goal of this action is to break through the offensive line and disrupt the kicker. The NFL rule used to be that defenders couldn’t come from the second level – linebackers or defensive backs behind the defensive line – and push a fellow player forward. The new rule, which made it’s stunning and game-deciding debut yesterday, is that no player can come from behind and push another player forward. It’s a safety issue. The penalty was called as unsportsmanlike conduct for pushing (15 yards) and put the Jets in much better field position to kick a game-winning field goal, which they did.

The irony in this situation (other than having an NFL penalty called for pushing, which seems funny to me considering the much more violent acts that routinely occur on a football field) is that pushing frequently occurs on the offensive side of the ball, even though it’s illegal there too, and it is never, ever called. Case in point: every quarterback sneak ever played. There are always players pushing the quarterback forward in that scenario.

That being said, the safety issue is much more apparent in the field goal situation than it is in the QB sneak (or any offensive pushing) situation. So it was kind of like the Patriots got caught going 46 mph in a 45 mph work zone. It’s more dangerous than speeding in regular traffic, but no one is going to call you out on it. Until you get a speeding ticket. And technically, a mile over the limit is still breaking the law. That’s pretty much what happened to the Patriots on Sunday. It was a tough break for them since this all went down in overtime, but it was still a good call.

Make sense?

At the Water Cooler : Week 7

Would you like your Week 7 with a side of injuries? Or maybe you’d like to make them your main dish? No problem. The NFL was awash with big ticket injuries this week – along with a bunch of great games. Here’s the recap!

Seattle Seahawks at Arizona Cardinals (Seahawks won, 34-22)

The Seahawks are rolling, that’s for sure. The Cardinals? They’re hanging in there.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Atlanta Falcons (Falcons won, 31-23)

A win is a win, even if it comes against a winless team. And the Falcons certainly needed a win.

Cincinnati Bengals at Detroit Lions (Bengals won, 27-24)

Another week, another game-winning field goal by Bengals kicker Mike Nugent. He’s incredible.

Houston Texans at Kansas City Chiefs (Chiefs won, 17-16)

The Chiefs squeaked by the Texans to remain unbeaten. The good news for Houston: Case Keenum, rookie starter at QB, looks like the real deal. The bad news for Houston: Brian Cushing broke his leg and tore his ACL and, clearly, will be out for the rest of the season. A crushing blow considering Cushing mised almost all of last season with a torn ACL on the same leg.

Buffalo Bills at Miami Dolphins (Bills won, 23-21)

AFC East Shakeup: Part I. The Bills win in Miami with standout defense.

New England Patriots at NY Jets (Jets won, 30-27 OT)

AFC East Shakeup: Part II. The Jets win in overtime at home against the Patriots with standout defense…and an odd, but correct, penalty call at the end of the game.

Dallas Cowboys at Philadelphia Eagles (Cowboys won, 17-3)

The Eagles score also indicates the number of the quarterback they’re on at this point: QB 3, Matt Barkley, rookie out of USC. Vick and Foles are both injured.

Chicago Bears at Washington Redskins (Redskins won, 45-41)

Now, who predicted this one? A high-scorer with the Redskins coming out on top in the final seconds? It’s this sort of craziness that makes us love the NFL. Bears QB Jay Cutler may not love the NFL all too much right now – or at least not the groin injury that sidelined him in the middle of the game and looks like it might keep him there for a few weeks.

St. Louis Rams at Carolina Panthers (Panthers won, 30-15)

It’s not a happy Monday morning for the Rams or their fans. Franchise QB Sam Bradford was having the best season of his career thus far and will now miss the rest of the season with a torn ACL. Huge blow for him and for the Rams, who only have one other quarterback (Kellen Clemens) on the roster and will definitely be hiring another this week.

San Diego Chargers at Jacksonville Jaguars (Chargers won, 24-6)

I was wrong. My upset pick upset me.

San Francisco 49ers at Tennessee Titans (49ers won, 31-17)

Let’s just say it was a rough welcome back for Titans QB Jake Locker, who returned after missing several weeks with a hip injury.

Baltimore Ravens at Pittsburgh Steelers (Steelers won, 19-16)

Interesting stat on this rivalry: the last 6 regular season games in Pittsburgh against the Ravens have all been decided by 3 points. It’s always a good time when these two teams get together.

Cleveland Browns at Green Bay Packers (Packers won, 31-13)

Glad to see my ~~construction workers~~ Packers won this one.

Denver Broncos at Indianapolis Colts (Colts won, 39-33)

What a NIGHT. It was an emotional return to Indy for Peyton – and for everyone watching the game ~~and crying on their couch~~ as he ran in to overwhelming cheers. Even though it was a rough start for the Broncos and he nearly engineered a signature Manning comeback win, the Colts were the better team on the field last night. They look like the real deal.

Minnesota Vikings at NY Giants (Monday night on ESPN)

Both of these teams are desperate for a win, but I’d venture to say the Giants are more desperate. In every way.

Bye Week: Oakland Raiders, New Orleans Saints