football Archives - Page 17 of 66 - Football for Normal Girls

At the Water Cooler : Week 3

If you like turnovers, sacks, penalties, and upset victories…this week was for you! Here’s a recap of the Week 3 action thus far:

Kansas City Chiefs at Philadelphia Eagles (Chiefs won, 26-16)

It was a great night for Andy Reid and fans of the Andy Reid Eagles era. It wasn’t such a great night for current Eagles fans.

Green Bay Packers at Cincinnati Bengals (Bengals won, 34-30)

I don’t want to talk about it.

St. Louis Rams at Dallas Cowboys (Cowboys won, 31-7)

There was a blatant foul on one of the Cowboys’ touchdowns so the score shouldn’t have counted, but even still, it was a convincing win for the Cowboys.

San Diego Chargers at Tennessee Titans (Titans won, 20-17)

Titans QB Jake Locker has waited a long time for a game-winning drive like the one he had on Sunday. Great win for the Titans.

Cleveland Browns at Minnesota Vikings (BROWNS WON, 31-27)

Who saw this one coming?

Tampa Bay Buccaneers at New England Patriots (Patriots won, 23-3)

We all saw this one coming.

Arizona Cardinals at New Orleans Saints (Saints won, 31-7)

I think it’s safe to say the Saints are back in business. They’re off to a 3-0 start.

Detroit Lions at Washington Redskins (Lions won, 27-20)

This might have been a loss for the Redskins, but RGIII looked much more like himself which is a win for them in the long run.

New York Giants at Carolina Panthers (Panthers won, 38-0)

There are no words for this year’s Giants team. All I can do is offer apologies to my home state.

Houston Texans at Baltimore Ravens (Ravens won, 30-9)

I’m similarly stymied over this year’s Texans team. What happened, guys?

Atlanta Falcons at Miami Dolphins (Miami won, 27-23)

This was a statement win for the Dolphins, who went into the game as the Vegas favorite but no one credited as the actual favorite. The dolphins (the DOLPHINS) are 3-0!

Buffalo Bills at New York Jets (Jets won, 27-20)

I’d comment on this game but I think they’re still out there on the field picking up the surplus of yellow flags.

Indianapolis Colts at San Francisco 49ers (Colts won, 27-7)

Colts QB Andrew Luck returned to California and put up impressive numbers against his former college coach and current 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh.

Jacksonville Jaguars at Seattle Seahawks (Seattle won, 45-17)

I’m actually surprised that this wasn’t a more traumatic experience for the Jaguars.

Chicago Bears at Pittsburgh Steelers (Chicago won, 40-23)

This game proved something we already knew: the Bears are good. The Steelers are not.

Oakland Raiders at Denver Broncos (Monday at 8:40pm, ESPN)

This has the potential to be ugly for the Raiders.

50’s the Mike: A method of calling out protection assignments for the offensive players by pointing out “the Mike” on defense. Usually the Mike is the middle linebacker, but during these calls the Mike is the player on defense who the offense identifies as key to their protection assignments. (From Tuesday’s post.)

Referee (or Head Official): The referee signals and announces penalties and has the final say on all rulings on the field, what the down and distance is, and how the rules are interpreted in any given situation. He’s also the guy who will go under the hood to watch replays to confirm rulings on the field, and also watches the quarterback to monitor any illegal activity by/to the quarterback. He is easily identified as the official wearing the white hat. (From Wednesday’s post.)

Umpire: The umpire monitors the offensive and defensive lineman at the line of scrimmage. The umpire also records the score, winner of the coin toss, and keeps track of timeouts, and is in charge of making sure the players are dressed according to league rules. (From Wednesday’s post.)

Head Linesman: The head linesman is the official who watches the neutral zone for false start or offsides penalties. He also rules on all out of bounds plays on his side of the field, and has the task of placing his foot wherever forward progress ended after the play is whistled dead. (From Wednesday’s post.)

Line Judge: The line judge’s most important job is supervising the timing of the game. He also assists the head linesman in several rulings and is positioned on the opposite side of the field, but along with all of those duties, he is also responsible for being the right hand man of pretty much every other official on the field. (From Wednesday’s post.)

Field Judge: The field judge stays on the same side as the line judge, but 20 yards deeper. He keeps an eye on the wide receivers on his side of the field and monitors illegal activity by/to them and also rules on whether or not catches are made or interfered with. He is also charged with determining whether or not a player is in or out of bounds during plays occurring in his section of the field. (From Wednesday’s post.)

Side Judge: The side judge is the field judge, but on the head linesman’s side (with a few slight variations). (From Wednesday’s post.)

Back Judge: The back judge and the field judge are most famous for their work at the field goal posts; they are the two officials who stand on either side of the field goal post and rule whether the kick is good or no good. The back judge also takes a position 25 yards downfield, usually on the tight end’s side, and keeps an eye on all deep mid-field action on both sides of the ball. He’s also in charge of keeping track of the time on the play clock and the time elapsed over halftime. (From Wednesday’s post.)

Ashley’s Rookie Season: A new feature for all you Normal Girls out there! Over the course of this season, Ashley will be asking any question that comes to mind while watching a football game and I’ll be answering them here on a weekly/biweekly basis. (From Thursday’s post.)

Preview

Normal Girl Game of the Week

Kansas City Chiefs at Philadelphia Eagles, Thursday at 8:25pm EST on the NFL Network

Andy Reid will be returning to Philly for the first time on Thursday night after having spent the past 13 years as the Eagles head coach. It’s a big night for Reid and Eagles fans everywhere, as former Eagles’ QB Donovan McNabb’s jersey will be retired at halftime. It’ll be one big Eagles love fest regardless, but Eagles fans will be most pleased if the night results in a win under new Eagles head coach, Chip Kelly.

Also on the radar:

1. The 0-2 Giants need a win. So do the 0-2 Panthers. They play each other in Carolina on Sunday afternoon.

2. Two perennial AFC powerhouses, the Ravens and the Texans, have looked a little less-than-powerful so far this season. They’ll meet in Baltimore on Sunday in what could be a playoff preview.

3. Keep a close eye on RGIII in the Lions at Redskins game on Sunday. He’s had a rough start thus far and it isn’t looking to get any easier against a (very) physical Detroit defense.

Ashley’s Rookie Season : Introduction

Last week I noticed my friend Ashely’s Facebook status:

attempting to watch a football game…. giants v cowboys…. (its the only one i could find) i have no idea whats going on…. thank goodness for Beka Watts and www.footballfornormalgirls.com

And that gave me an idea, because it made me wonder how many other normal girls are out there watching games and wanting to learn but not knowing where to even start asking questions. So I asked Ashley if she would be interested in being recruited for a rookie season at Football for Normal Girls…and she said yes!

What does that entail? Over the course of this season, Ashley will be asking any question that comes to mind while watching a football game – literally ANY question – they are all fair game. I’ll be answering them here on a weekly/biweekly basis, and I’m sure we’ll all learn a whole lot. I’m hoping this is especially helpful to those of you who, like Ashley, want to learn about football in an effort to not feel completely overwhelmed by confusion while watching it on Sundays. There’s hope! You can make it through your rookie season, too!

Ashley is pretty awesome, so I wanted to give you guys a chance to get to know her a little better before we dive into game questions. Here’s a quick Q&A with the lovely and talented Ashely!

Age: 24 and 352 days

Occupation: Office Assistant at BikeWorldUSA, and owner of Weds and More by Ash (event planning, DIY wedding/event decor)

Hobby: Scrapbooking, photography

Coffee or Tea? I love the smell of coffee, but don’t like the taste of either!

Favorite way to spend a weekend: I love crafts, so sewing, scrapbooking, and any other crafty projects I can find on Pinterest.

Do you have a favorite football team? No.

When you think about football, you think: If the point is to get to the end zone with the ball, why does this game confuse me so much?!

What about football makes you feel frustrated or confused? Honestly, I feel like I don’t know where to start learning. There seems to be lots of rules that either apply or don’t depending on the situation.

Why do you want to learn more about football? This is probably a little superficial but, so that one day, I might actually know what my future husband and his friends are talking about. (Watch me end up with someone who hates football…)

Goal for the 2013 season? Choosing a favorite team and being able to watch the Super Bowl knowing more than what “1st down” means…and even that is still a little iffy.

Welcome to the Football for Normal Girls family, Ashley! We’re so excited to have you on our team this season!

Zebra Talk : Those Guys in Stripes

Oh yes…buckle up for two MORE new features this week, because there’s just so much good content to cover in the NFL. Today we’re going to be diving into a new series on a subject which, at first glance, might want to make you poke your eyes out. But in the long run you’ll be glad to know this stuff. (I promise!)

Over the next few weeks, we are going to be breaking down NFL rules – what all the penalties are, how they are enforced, and how coaches handle them throughout the course of a game. But before we get started with the rules, we need to know who the rule enforcers are (the guys in stripes).

An officiating crew is not just a handful of refs. It’s actually assembled much like a team; there are different positions for different purposes. I’m going to try to make this as simple and painless as possible, so just stick with me as we go over each official and his (or her!) job description:

The Referee (or Head Official)

The referee is the head honcho, the guy who calls the shots. Have you ever seen Ed Hochuli and his guns call a holding penalty? That’s the referee. Not only does he signal and announce penalties, he also has the final say on all rulings on the field, what the down and distance is, and how the rules are interpreted in any given situation. He’s also the guy who will go under the hood to watch replays to confirm rulings on the field. Last but not least, he’s the official who watches the quarterback to monitor any illegal activity by/to the quarterback.

Dead Giveaway: He’s the only guy out there with a white hat on.

Umpire

Most of the umpire’s duties revolve around the line of scrimmage. He watches offensive and defensive lineman to monitor any illegal activity going on there. The umpire also records the score, winner of the coin toss, and keeps track of timeouts. Finally, he’s in charge of making sure the players are dressed according to league rules. (Random job: he also dries the ball off in rain/snow situations. Just in case you were wondering who does that. The eternal question: now answered.)

Head Linesman

The head linesman is the official who watches the neutral zone for false start or offsides penalties (which we will talk more about in the coming weeks). He makes the calls on any infraction occurring prior to or during the snap. He also rules on all out of bounds plays on his side of the field, and has the task of placing his foot wherever forward progress ended after the play is whistled dead. The head linesman and the line judge (who we will discuss next) work together on opposite sides of the field and confer on illegal motion and illegal shift calls.

Line Judge

The line judge’s most important job is supervising the timing of the game – the end of quarters, the 2-minute warning, getting back on the field after halftime – the line judge is in charge of signifying these events and any others involving time-keeping. As mentioned above, he also assists the head linesman in several rulings and is positioned on the opposite side of the field, but along with all of those duties, he is also responsible for being the right hand man of pretty much every other official on the field. This dude’s busy.

Field Judge

The field judge stays on the same side as the line judge, but 20 yards deeper. He keeps an eye on the wide receivers on his side of the field and monitors illegal activity by/to them and also rules on whether or not catches are made or interfered with. He is also charged with determining whether or not a player is in or out of bounds during plays occurring in his section of the field.

Side Judge

He’s the field judge, but on the head linesman’s side (with a few slight variations).

Back Judge

You are most familiar with the back judge because of his collaboration with the field judge; they are the two officials who stand on either side of the field goal post and rule whether the kick is good or no good. The back judge also takes a position 25 yards downfield, usually on the tight end’s side, and keeps an eye on all deep mid-field action on both sides of the ball. He’s also in charge of keeping track of the time on the play clock and the time elapsed over halftime.

This list is certainly not an exhaustive list of all of the responsibilities of each official, but it’s a good start to know the basics of who each guy is, where he stands, and what he does. (For a complete list of duties, check out the NFL rulebook.)

Does that make sense? Any questions or comments? (I won’t even throw a yellow flag at your for asking!)

What He Said : 50’s the Mike

Here’s yet another new feature for the 2013 season: What He Said, an explanation of something that is routinely said during game broadcasts either by announcers or players. Today we’re talking about something that is said prior to every snap of the football, either by the center or the quarterback.

You’ve probably seen this situation: The offense lines up at the line of scrimmage, and right before the ball is snapped someone is pointing to defenders and yelling out, “50’s the Mike! 50’s the Mike!”(Note: The number of the player isn’t always 50; that’s just a common example.) That’s an important part of every offensive play, and our good friend Brian Billick is back to help us learn why that is.

There’s a whole bunch of football jargon in here, but don’t worry; we’re going to break it down completely afterward! Let’s get started!

For starters, the player being identified (in most cases) is the Mike, or middle linebacker, and the point of calling him out is to call out protection assignments for the play.

First we start with a simplified version of how this works: In a 4-3 front, each of the offensive lineman except the center are usually assigned to block the defender directly in front of them. Calling out the Mike on defense tells the center and the other offensive blockers (running backs, tight ends) who they are responsible for picking up.

But defenses are rarely that simple. In the video, Coach Billick talked about a situation in which the strong safety sneaks down into the box. That changes things, because now the safety is going to rush the quarterback like a linebacker. So instead of picking up the middle linebacker, the center will shift to the right and pick up the right side of the defense and the strong safety with help from the other linemen on the right side. The running backs (or other offensive blockers) will also shift their protections on the other side (or “back side” – the side opposite of where the action is coming from) of the play based on his film study and what he reads from the cornerback and linebackers.

All of the shifts in protection are based on two factors: a) what the offense reads on the field, and b) film study of how the defense usually acts in any particular look. Both sources of information are equally important in making protection calls at the line of scrimmage.

So next time you hear that someone is the Mike, you’ll know that he’s not involved in any sort of announcing or karaoke endeavor or just the guy on the other team named Mike; he’s the key to how to offense is going to shift their protection.

Got it?

At the Water Cooler : Week 2

Yesterday would have been the perfect time to be surrounded by a dozen TV screens, each with a different game. There were so many good, close games! Here’s what you need to know about those barn burners and every other game from Week 2 in the NFL.

NY Jets at New England Patriots (Patriots won, 13-10)

These aren’t the droids you’re looking for. Or at least, these aren’t the domination-style Patriots we’re used to seeing.

St. Louis Rams at Atlanta Falcons (Falcons won, 31-24)

The Rams might be this year’s comeback kids – despite the loss this week. They came back from a 21-point deficit to make the game competitive and did the same to win in their Week 1 victory against the Cardinals.

Carolina Panthers at Buffalo Bills (Bills won, 24-23)

Did you see Bills QB E.J. Manuel kneeling on the field in tears after throwing the game-winning touchdown? This is why we love the game.

Minnesota Vikings at Chicago Bears (Bears won, 31-30)

If you had this game on in your area, you were one of the lucky ones. What a great fight to the finish.

Washington Redskins at Green Bay Packers (Packers won, 38-20)

Aaron Rodgers threw for 480 yards and 4 touchdowns yesterday. Which was, in his words, not his best game. (But I think the rest of the world would agree that he’s doing just fine.)

Miami Dolphins at Indianapolis Colts (Dolphins won, 24-20)

Kudos to the Dolphins who held off the Colts in the 4th quarter – the time when they almost always charge from behind for the win.

Dallas Cowboys at Kansas City Chiefs (Chiefs won, 17-16)

It’s always nice to match your previous season’s win total in the first two weeks of the current season.

Cleveland Browns at Baltimore Ravens (Ravens won, 14-6)

This probably shouldn’t have been so much of a struggle for the Ravens, especially given that it was their Super Bowl welcome home opener. (Also, welcome to the world Baby Flacco. Perhaps you should work on your timing since Sundays aren’t so good for your dad.)

Tennessee Titans at Houston Texans (Texans won, 30-24 OT)

This is another one that probably shouldn’t have been as much of a struggle as it was for the Texans – and ditto to last week’s victory against the Chargers.

San Diego Chargers at Philadelphia Eagles (Chargers won, 33-30)

Reality check on all sides: the Chargers aren’t terrible and the Eagles aren’t infallible. This was a great road win for the Chargers after a tough loss last week to the Texans.

Detroit Lions at Arizona Cardinals (Cardinals won, 25-21)

Penalties got the Lions into trouble once again on Sunday, when a passing interference call set the Cards up for a successful touchdown run for the win.

New Orleans Saints at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Saints w0n, 16-14)

The Bucs definitely looked better than last week but couldn’t ward off a last minute touchdown drive by Drew Brees. (Don’t worry, Bucs; not many can.)

Denver Broncos at NY Giants (Broncos won, 41-23)

The Manning Bowl record stands in Peyton’s favor: 3-0. But this one was especially ugly.

Jacksonville Jaguars at Oakland Raiders (Raiders won, 19-9)

Sebastian Janikowski, Oakland’s kicker, earned his paycheck yesterday. He scored 12 of the Raiders’ 19 points.

San Francisco 49ers at Seattle Seahawks (Seattle won, 29-3)

It was a long night for the 49ers (literally, thanks to an hour-long rain delay). It’s pretty much impossible to beat the Seahawks at home.

Pittsburgh Steelers at Cincinnati Bengals (Monday at 8:30pm EST on ESPN)

This has the potential to be a painful night for the Steelers: facing a divisional rival on the road and also a former Steelers stalwart, James Harrison, for the first time, in an effort to prove they aren’t the Steelers we saw last week. Yikes.

Tag: football