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Zebra Talk : Ten Common Penalties (Part I)

Here’s the post a lot of you have probably been waiting for most in this series: ten common NFL penalties explained in terms that won’t make you want to poke your eyes out. This should prove to be tremendously helpful the next time a whistle blows and a yellow flag hits the turf.

Originally I put all of this info into one post…but it got so long that I feared it might make you go back on the statement above and actually poke your eyes out. So let’s tackle this over the course of two days!

We’ll start with these pre-snap penalties…or several variations of the same foul with the same penalty with four different names because why not make life complicated?

False Start (offense – 5 yards, replay down)

Players on the offensive line have to come to a complete stop for at least one second before the ball is snapped. When a player on the offensive line crosses the line of scrimmage or makes any sudden movement prior to the snap of the football, it’s a false start.

*One member of the offense is allowed to be “in motion” prior to the snap. You’ve seen this happen when a running back or wide receiver runs across the back of the formation to take a new position – totally legal. However, if he moves forward prior to the snap after arriving at his new position, it’s an illegal motion penalty.

Offsides (defense – 5 yards, replay down)

For nearly all intents and purposes, offsides is a false start call on the defense. If any member of the defense moves suddenly or crosses the line of scrimmage prior to the snap, it’s an offsides penalty. (To remember which one goes with which side, associate the “start” part of false start with the offense, since they are the ones “starting” the play.)

Encroachment (defense – 5 yards, replay down)

Encroachment is when a defensive player crosses the line of scrimmage prior to the snap and makes contact with an offensive player. One would think that a foul that is slightly different from the offsides call would also carry a slightly different penalty, but one would be wrong.

Neutral Zone Infraction (defense – 5 yards, replay down)

You know when someone jumps over the line and both sides are pointing to the other side to assign fault? That’s ~~funny~~ usually a neutral zone infraction: when a member of the defensive line moves offsides and causes a member (or members) of the offensive line to false start.

*Just a note: the offense can, and often will, try to do a legal version of this to draw the defense offsides. It usually happens in a critical 3rd or 4th down situation. The quarterback will fake like he’s about to take the snap in an attempt to get one of the defensive linemen to jump offsides. As long as none of the members of the offensive line false start, this act is as legal as the day is long.

Those four are the most likely offenders prior to the snap – tomorrow we’ll get into the wild world of live action penalties. It’s going to be a blast! See you all then!!!

At the Water Cooler : Week 4

It was another wild week in the NFL. Here’s what you need to know to keep up at dinner tonight!

San Francisco 49ers at St. Louis Rams (49ers won, 35-11)

This easy win for the 49ers was sponsored by the Rams, who had anything but an easy night.

Baltimore Ravens at Buffalo Bills (Bills won, 23-20)

This win was sponsored by Joe Flacco and his 5 interceptions.

Cincinnati Bengals at Cleveland Browns (BROWNS WON, 17-6)

Perhaps every struggling team should trade their best player and see what happens? It’s clearly working for the Browns.

Chicago Bears at Detroit Lions (Lions won, 40-32)

Well, the NFC North just got interesting.

NY Giants at Kansas City Chiefs (Chiefs won, 31-7)

When the schedule came out over the summer, did anyone think the teams in this game would come out on the other side 0-4 and 4-0…and it would be the Giants who were winless and the Chiefs who were undefeated?

Pittsburgh Steelers at Minnesota Vikings (in London) (Vikings won, 34-27)

If you look into Mike Tomlin’s eyes at his postgame presser, you can almost see the flames. One can assume there were no happy campers in that London locker room.

Arizona Cardinals at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Cardinals won, 13-10)

Carson Palmer is looking legit. Having Larry Fitzgerald to toss the ball to doesn’t hurt, either.

Indianapolis Colts at Jacksonville Jaguars (Colts won, 37-3)

It never really gets easier to be a Jaguar. Another week, another beat down.

Seattle Seahawks at Houston Texans (Seahawks won, 23-20 OT)

Someone has to start beating the Seahawks on the road if the rest of the NFC wants a shot at the Super Bowl. Because who is beating them at home in the playoffs?!

NY Jets at Tennessee Titans (Titans won, 38-13)

Hated to see Titans QB Jake Locker go down with a nasty hip injury. He was having a great start to the season.

Philadelphia Eagles at Denver Broncos (Broncos won, 52-20)

There’s the NFL…and then there’s Peyton Manning. He’s in a league of his own.

Dallas Cowboys at San Diego Chargers (Chargers won, 30-21)

The Chargers tend to find themselves on the losing end of close games in the 4th quarter, but they pulled this one out – thanks in part to recovering a late fumble by the Cowboys.

Washington Redskins at Oakland Raiders (Redskins won, 24-14)

It looked like this one was going to be all Raiders early on, but the Redskins came back to get their first win of the season.

New England Patriots at Atlanta Falcons (Patriots won, 30-23)

Remember that league Peyton Manning is in? Tom Brady hangs out there, too. It’s the only explanation for how the Patriots are undefeated right now.

Miami at New Orleans (Monday night on ESPN)

This is the beauty of the NFL: a game that was initially seen as a bit of a snoozer is now a compelling match up between two undefeated teams. Hard to say which way this one will go, but the Saints might have the edge at home.

Bye (Off) Week: Green Bay Packers, Carolina Panthers

Review and Preview : Week 3

Review

Foul: When a player or coach does something against the (lengthy) NFL Rulebook (from Tuesday’s post)

Penalty: The consequence for committing a foul, usually in the form of lost yardage and/or downs (from Tuesday’s post)

Red Zone: The 20-yards prior to each team’s end zone, named in dramatic fashion due to the high potential for scoring to occur (from Tuesday’s post)

3rd down conversion: Successfully gaining the yardage needed on 3rd down to earn a new set of downs. (From Wednesday’s post.)

4th down conversion: Successfully gaining the yardage needed on 4th down to earn a new set of downs. (From Wednesday’s post.)

Turning it over on downs: Attempting to gain the needed yardage on 4th down and failing, therefore giving the other team possession of the ball at their current position on the field. (From Wednesday’s post.)

2-point conversion: When a team elects to “go for 2” after scoring a touchdown instead of kicking the standard extra point. The ball is placed at the 2-yard line and the offense is required to get the ball into the end zone and will earn 2-points for successfully doing so. (From Wednesday’s post.)

Downs: The number of chances the offense has to gain 10-yards total. The offense gets four tries, called downs, to advance the ball 10-yards down the field. If they do, they get a new set of downs. If they don’t, they have to punt, kick a field goal, or go for it and try to get the needed yardage on 4th down (if they don’t, the other team gets the ball right where they are, which is called “turning it over on downs”). (From Thursday’s post.)

Line of scrimmage: The imaginary line where the players line up and the play begins (from Thursday’s post)

Tackling: The act of a defensive player stopping the progress of an offensive player by forcing him to the ground in a legal manner (from Thursday’s post)

Illegal Contact: A penalty called when a defensive player (usually a cornerback or safety) messes with an offensive player (usually a wide receiver) after the receiver is 5-yards away from the line of scrimmage and before the ball is in the air. (From Thursday’s post.)

Pass Interference: A penalty called when an offensive or defensive player inhibits another player’s ability to do his job after a pass has been thrown. (From Thursday’s post.)

Home Field Advantage: The unique ability for the home team to play better and have a higher win percentage at home than they do on the road. (From Thursday’s post.)

Preview

Normal Girl Game of the Week

Miami Dolphins at New Orleans Saints, Monday at 8:40pm on ESPN

Who would have guessed at the start of the season that this Monday nighter would be so compelling? Both the Dolphins and the Saints have begun 2013 in perfect form, so it’ll be a battle of the undefeated’s in New Orleans on Monday.

Also on the radar:

1. A game that already happened: The Niners at Rams game. It’s always a good matchup between these two NFC West Rivals, but this one was especially intriguing given that neither team had won since Week 1 and both were in a three-way tie for second place in the NFC West (the ‘hawks are 3-0, everyone else was 1-2). The Niners came out (decisively) on top, but the real story of the night was the surprisingly lackluster Rams. They have some work to do.

2. The 0-3 Giants are desperate for a win and have to face the 3-0 Chiefs…in Kansas City. It’s not looking so good for the G-men.

3. The Patriots face their first real competition of the season on Sunday night against the Falcons (apologies to the Bills, Jets, and Bucs). Playing the Falcons at home is always a tall order, especially since the Falcons are coming off of a last-minute loss in Miami.

Ashley’s Rookie Season: Downs, Tackling, Contact, and Home Field Advantage

If you missed the scoop on Ashley’s Rookie Season, check out this post!

Ashley got this party started in great style; she came up with a bunch of great questions! Here’s our first round of questions and answers from her rookie season as a football fan.

Q. Whats the deal with downs? Is it really that the team has to move 10 yards in a certain number of tries – its 4 tries right?

A. This has to be the question that haunts most football rookies – what the heck is a down, and why is it so important?!

For starters, Ashley’s right – it’s 10 yards in 4 tries. But here’s an in-depth explanation from the Basics of Offense post:

The offense has four chances, called “downs,” to advance the ball ten yards. If they do, they receive a new set of downs and the opportunity to continue trying to reach the end zone to score.

Once the offense starts their drive, they have four chances, called “downs,” to move the ball 10 yards from where they started (this place is called “the line of scrimmage”). Each play is then calculated by what chance (down) the offense is on and how many yards they have left until they reach 10 yards total. Once they reach or exceed the 10 yards in one set of downs, they get a new set – four more chances to move the ball 10 more yards.

Stay with me! Here’s an example!

Let’s say the offense is starting their drive on their own 20 yard line (a very common occurrence). (Just a note – the 50 yards of field from the offense’s end zone = their “own” side of the field. The 50 yards of field on the defense’s side of the end zone = the defense’s territory.) The ball will be placed on the 20 yard line, and the imaginary line extending from the ball to both sidelines is the line of scrimmage. The offense needs to reach or exceed the 30 yard line, which means they’ve gained at least 10 yards total from where they began (at the 20 yard line), over the course of the next 4 downs to receive a new set of downs and therefore another opportunity to score. You will know how far the offense needs to go to gain a new set of downs thanks to the magic of technology: they need to reach or exceed the bright yellow electronic line on the field, which indicates how far the offense has to go to get a first down.

The first play is called “1st and 10,” because it’s the offense’s first down (chance) and they still have 10 yards to go to get a new set of downs. Let’s say they hand the ball off to a running back and gain 3 yards. The next play would be called “2nd and 7,” because it’s their second chance and the running back gained 3 of the 10 yards needed for a new set of downs, so the offense still has 7 yards left to go before they earn a new set of downs. 10 – 3 = 7. See! 1st grade math! You can do this!!!

Ok, so it’s now 2nd and 7. Since the offense started at the 20 yard line, we know that they are now at the 23 yard line because they gained 3 yards on the last play. Let’s say the quarterback throws a quick pass out to a wide receiver who catches it and gets tackled at the 25 yard line. It’s a 2 yard gain. So what’s the new down and distance?

It you answered 3rd and 5, you’re right! It’s now the offense’s 3rd chance, and they’ve gained 5 total yards (3 on 1st down, 2 on 2nd down), so 10 – 5 = 5 yards left to go.

So it’s 3rd and 5. The quarterback drops back to pass, but he doesn’t find anyone open. He sees a small hole in the defense and keeps the ball himself, trying to run through the hole to gain at least 5 yards. But he’s tackled at the 29 yard line. He only gained 4 yards.

The new down and distance? 4th and 1.

Are you still with me? Because we’re going to make things a little more complicated now that we’ve reached 4th down. Re-read that last section again and then meet me at the next paragraph.

Ready? Let’s move on to 4th down!

When a team reaches 4th down, it’s not as simple as trying one last time to get a first down. If the offense tries and fails on 4th down, they surrender possession of the football right where they are – no kicking or punting – to the other team. So in this situation, if the offense were to go for it on 4th and 1 at their own 29 yard line and the quarterback throws an incomplete pass for no gain, that means the other team would take over at the offense’s 29 yard line, giving them excellent field position to score. They’d already be within field goal range and aren’t even 30 yards away from the end zone. Unless a team is desperate, you’d rarely see an offense “go for it” on 4th down when they are so deep in their own territory.

What you’d normally see in this situation is the offense punting the ball – kicking the ball to the other team – to start the other team’s new possession. This is what we call a “3 and out.” The offense tried to advance the ball 3 times, failed to get a first down, and then had to punt the ball away.

Let’s switch things up for a moment and pretend that the offense isn’t on their own 29 yard line, they’re on the other teams 29 yard line. In that situation, the offense has two options on a 4th and 1 play: they can try for a field goal, which would be kicked from the 46 yard line (because you have to add 17 yards to the line of scrimmage to account for the length of the end zone and where the players line up), a fairly standard field goal attempt. But the offense might also try to go for it on 4th down to try and gain the one yard they need for a new set of downs. This makes sense for 2 reasons: 1. If they make it, they’re in great field position to try and score on the next set of downs. 2. If they don’t, the other team gets the ball right where they are, on the offense’s 29 yard line, which isn’t giving them too much of an advantage in terms of field position.

Let’s review. When 4th down comes to call, a team has these options:

1. PUNT. This happens most often when a team is on their own side of the field (the 50 yards connected to their own end zone) or fairly close to it.

2. KICK A FIELD GOAL. This happens most often when a team is within field goal range (30-50 yards is typical length for NFL kicks) and doesn’t want to give the other team the ball where they currently are. (Although it should be noted that if the offense misses the field goal, the other team gets the ball at the spot of the kick (not at the 4th down line of scrimmage), unless the kick is from the 20 yard line or closer, in which case the other team would get the ball at the 20 yard line.)

3. GO FOR IT. This happens most often when the yardage is short (4th and 1 or 4th and inches) and the team believes they can either convert (get the 1st down) or hand the ball over on downs without sacrificing too much field position.

I know that’s a lot to swallow on the first question, but if you can get the whole downs concept, your whole football watching experience is going to improve dramatically. For real.

Q. Why is tackling important/necessary?

A. Let’s start from scratch: tackling is the act of a defensive player stopping the progress of an offensive player by forcing him to the ground in a legal manner. The art of tackling has been lost in recent years; you see a lot of guys arm-tackling – just grabbing at ball carriers with their arms as they pass by – instead of tackling with their whole bodies.

Good tackling is essential in the NFL. Why? Because without it, ball carriers run amok all over the field, scoring points at will. Football would be pretty boring if not for tackling.

Q. What is illegal contact?

A. GREAT question. Illegal contact is when defensive player (usually a cornerback or safety) messes with an offensive player (usually a wide receiver) after he’s 5-yards from the line of scrimmage and before the ball is in the air. Defenders can “jam” (or try to block) receivers at the line of scrimmage, but once the receiver has advanced 5-yards away from the line, it’s hands-off. Defenders also can’t interfere with receivers while running routes down the field in an attempt to catch a pass. Contact after 5-yards and before the ball has been thrown = illegal contact.

What’s the difference between illegal contact and pass interference, you might wonder? Pass interference is a penalty that can be called on offensive or defensive players, and it occurs after the ball is in the air.

Got it?

Q. Why is it basically impossible to beat the Seahawks at home?

A. The Seahawks have harnessed the power of home field advantage, the unique ability for the home team to play better and have a higher win percentage at home than they do on the road. In Seattle, the structure of the stadium and the dedication of the fans (deemed the “12th man” for being an extra presence on the field) (each unit is only allowed to field 11 players, hence the “12th man” nickname) have created an atmosphere which even the best road teams find nearly impossible to overcome.

Just how powerful are the Seattle faithful at CenturyLink field? As per Peter King’s MMQB column the game against the 49ers, “got to 136.6 decibels in the third quarter, 16.6 decibels louder than the sound generated by a jet engine on an open runway.” At that noise level, the opposing team can’t think straight, let alone hear calls from the quarterback or the sidelines.

That’s a wrap for the first round of questions! Rookies: how did you do? Was this helpful? Be on the lookout for another round next week!

What He Said : Conversions

Have you ever watched an NFL game and heard the announcer say something to the effect of, “the Jets have yet to convert on 3rd down this game,” or “the Chargers 3rd down conversion rate is through the roof this season”? It might have made you wonder…what the heck is a conversion, and why does it happen on 3rd downs?

From our Basics of Offense post we know the deal with 3rd downs: it’s crunch time. On 3rd down the offense either earns a new set of downs (by advancing at least 10-yards down the field from where they started) or has to decide what to do on 4th down if they come up short (punt, kick a field goal, or go for it).

Teams want to earn a new set of downs by gaining the needed yardage on 3rd down. Doing so is called “converting” on 3rd down. The team had a 3rd down situation and they converted it into a new set of downs. A team with a high 3rd down conversion rate does this consistently.

Let’s add in an example. Say it’s 3rd and 4 on the offense’s own 40-yard line. It’s late in the game and they are down by 12 points. The quarterback throws a short pass out to a receiver who advances it up the field by 5-yards. Since the down and distance was 3rd and 4, we know that he earned enough yardage for a new set of downs (he needed 4; he got 5). It’s now 1st and 10 on their own 45-yard line.

That’s an example of converting on 3rd down.

But conversions don’t only happen on 3rd down. They can happen on 4th down, too.

We’ll stick with our first example – only this time, the receiver came up short and was tackled after gaining 2-yards. The new down and distance is 4th and 2. Since it’s late in the game and the offense is down by 12 points, they decide to go for it on 4th down. The quarterback hands the ball off in the backfield to a running back who finds a hole and gains 5 yards. The new down and distance? 1st and 10 on their own 47-yard line (since they were back on the 40 when we started this example and have gained 7 yards since – kudos to the imaginary offense).

That’s also an example of a conversion, only this time it happened on 4th down. That’s called converting on 4th down, or a 4th down conversion.

One last thing: Let’s say our fake team wasn’t so lucky and came up short yet again on 4th down. Since they did not convert, the other team would gain possession of the ball right where is was, which is called turning it over on downs.

And side note: You may also be familiar with another type of conversion called a 2-point conversion. This happens when a team elects to “go for 2” after scoring a touchdown instead of kicking the standard extra point.

Zebra Talk: Things to Know About Penalties

Let me tell you first that writing this post gave me a whole new level of appreciation and sympathy for last year’s replacement refs. The NFL rulebook is a JUNGLE. Seriously. Just take a look at this thing. (And if you’re really brave, download the complete 120 page PDF at the bottom.)

Last week we learned a bit more about which officials are on the field and what they do. This week, we’ll tread lightly into murky waters: the penalties themselves and the consequences that go with them. If I were a ref, I think flat out remembering which foul goes with which penalty would be the hardest part of the job.

Things to know about penalties

Penalties are enforced when players or coaches do something (called a foul) that is against the NFL rules. It seems so simple. We’ll soon learn that it is not. Grab your Tylenol and we’ll dive in!

Penalties generally result in a loss of yardage, but not all penalties are created equally. Illegal motion or illegal substitution will run you 5 yards. Deliberating kicking a loose ball just for fun (or even not for fun!) will cost 10. Taking your helmet off while still on the field? It’s like speeding in a work zone: 15 yards.

Not all penalties are created in ways that make sense, either. Take these two: A “forward pass thrown from behind line of scrimmage after ball once crossed the line” is worth 5 yards. A “forward pass thrown from beyond line of scrimmage” is worth 5 yards and the loss of a down.

Why? Because. That’s why.

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For the most part, penalties come gift wrapped in two ways: Penalties that result in a loss of yardage (5, 10, 15 yards), and penalties that result in a loss of yardage and another bonus gift (automatic first down, loss of down, ejection from game, etc).

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There are also variations for offensive and defensive penalties. If there is an offensive foul, the penalty yardage gets added to their original down and distance. For example, a 5-yard penalty on 3rd and 10 now becomes 3rd and 15. Most (but not all) defensive fouls result in an automatic first down for the offense. In the event that the penalty does not result in an automatic first down or does and has additional distance added onto it (like a 15-yard penalty for unnecessary roughness), the offense gets to advance up the field at the specified number of yards. If there are both offensive and defensive penalties on one play that are worth the same amount of yardage, the penalties usually offset.

Also, as we learned in the offsetting penalty post, sometimes penalties result in the down being replayed (like when 3rd and 10 becomes 3rd and 15) and sometimes penalties result in a loss of down (like with offsetting dead ball fouls).

Things to know about penalties in the last 2-minutes of each half

As if the mix-and-match of fouls and penalties wasn’t enough, the rules change at different points of the game. (And you’ve wondered why you’ve found football so confusing.) Penalties that are one way at one point in the game are completely different in the final two minutes of each half. The way that penalties effect the time on the clock changes in the final 5 minutes of the game.

Why? Because. That’s why.

One odd thing to note about penalties occurring in the last 2-minutes of each half: some of them are accompanied by a 10-second clock runoff rule. This penalty is assessed if the offense is trailing or if the game is tied and the offense has no timeouts and commits one of the following actions: false start, intentional grounding, illegal forward pass, illegal backward pass thrown out of bounds (…really?), spikes of throws the ball after a play that is not a touchdown, anything else to intentionally cause the clock to stop.

Whoa.

It’s important to note that if there are less than 10 seconds left in the game and one of the above occurs, the 10-second runoff can end the game. It’s also important to note that games are not allowed to end on a defensive foul, unless the penalty is declined by the offense (we’ll talk about that next).

Does your head hurt yet?

Things to know about accepting and declining penalties

Just to keep life interesting, coaches have the option to either accept or decline the result of the penalties committed by the other team. “Why wouldn’t they automatically want the benefits of the penalties?” you might be asking. Good question!

Football is a game of strategy. All of that strategy comes into play with accepting or declining penalties.

Let’s consider this scenario: the offense is on the defense’s 20 yard line, which means they are in prime position to score (they are also in the “red zone” – the 20 yards prior to the end zone – while we’re talking about it). The down and distance is 3rd and 4. The offense gets flagged for a false start, which is a 5-yard penalty. The other team’s coach can either accept or decline this penalty. If he accepts the penalty, that means the down is replayed and the other team’s down and distance is now 3rd and 9, and they are still in good position to get a first down and/or score a touchdown. But if he declines the penalty the game just goes on, which means it’s now 4th down for the offense. More than likely they’ll kick a field goal instead of trying to go for it on 4th down.

So the coach has to decide whether he’d rather trust his defense to get a stop on 3rd and 9 or takes his chances with the other team’s offense trying a fairly average field goal attempt on 4th down.

Strategy.

As per above, it’s important to know that games can end with a declined penalty. We’ll wrap things up on this note:

“If the defensive team is behind in the score and commits a foul when it has no time outs left in the final 40 seconds of either half, the offensive team can decline the penalty for the foul and have the time on the clock expire.”

Now go stick your head into a bucket of cold water.