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Review & Preview : Week 1 Edition

We’re really going all-out over here with new features for the 2013 Season, but this one might be my favorite: a quick review of what we’ve learned this week and a preview of the weekend action that’s about to unfold. A perfect weekend read!

Let’s dive in!

Review

Safety: A defensive score, worth 2-points. (From Monday’s post)

Offsetting Penalties: When each team gets called for certain penalties which nullify, or offset, one another. Keep in mind that not all penalties are created equal (or worth the same amount of yardage), and therefore not all penalties will offset one another. (From Tuesday’s post)

Dead Ball Fouls: Penalties that occur when the ball is not longer “live” or in play (from Tuesday’s post)

Offsetting Dead Ball Fouls: Offsetting penalties which result in the loss of a down, not replaying the down (from Tuesday’s post)

Drive: a new offensive possession (from Wednesday’s post)

Offensive Possession: the term used to describe having control of the football on offense (from Wednesday’s post)

Touchback: a ruling that occurs when the ball is downed in the end zone or outside of the end zone and results in a drive which begins at the 20-yard line (from Wednesday’s post)

Taking a Knee in the End Zone: when a receiver catches the kickoff in the end zone and kneels down for a touchback (from Wednesday’s post)

Fantasy Football: a season-long game in which a participant competes against a group of other participants by drafting and fielding a fantasy “team” each week (from Thursday’s post)

Preview

Normal Girl Game of the Week:

Broncos at Giants, 4:25 EST on CBS

The Manning Bowl is always a must-watch, especially since it will be the first time Eli will face Peyton as a Bronco, not a Colt. Peyton has the upper hand in W column: he’s won both of the past two face-offs. He’s also coming off of a game in which he threw 7 touchdowns and zero interceptions, which is essentially the opposite of the night Eli had with the Giants last Sunday.

Also On The Radar:

1. Are the Bucs really as bad as they looked last Sunday against the Jets? It will be tough to find out the true answer to that question, as they face a fierce NFC South rival this Sunday – the back-and-better-than-ever Saints.

2. How will the rookie quarterbacks in the AFC East (Geno Smith for the Jets, EJ Manuel for the Bills) fare in Week 2? Both were impressive in their debut games, but can they maintain that level of composure and confidence as the weeks wear on?

3. Who will emerge as the powerhouse in the NFC West after a veritable clash of the (non-Tennessean) titans on Sunday night: the Seahawks, or the 49ers?

And that’s a wrap! What are you all looking forward to this weekend? Any game in particular stand out?

YOUR Questions : What’s Fantasy Football?

Another day, another new feature: YOUR Questions! This site is for all of you, and I want to provide information that you actually want to read to help you out each weekend! Please feel free to ask any and every question you might have in whatever way works for you – comment on a post, shoot me an email, post it to the Facebook page, send a tweet – pick your poison! I’m always ~~happy~~ overjoyed to get questions from you guys, so please send them in as they come to you!

The question of the year so far seems to be Fantasy Football – what is it, how do you play it, and why does it matter? GREAT questions, and very relevant to this era in football fandom. Let’s go through each facet:

What is Fantasy Football?

Fantasy football, in it’s traditional form, is a season-long game in which a participant competes against a group of other participants by drafting and fielding a fantasy “team” each week. A draft – much like the NFL draft (minus NYC, plus pizza) – is held prior to the season, and each participant is tasked with drafting a “team” of starters and alternates – usually between 15-18 components. Each week, the fantasy participant will select players to form his team for the week, which consists of one quarterback, two running backs, two wide receivers, one tight end, one kicker, and one defense/special teams unit. Those components will earn fantasy points based on their performance on the field. Specific amounts of points and terms of winning are determined differently in different types of leagues, but generally, the participant with the most points at the end of the season wins.

There are also other Fantasy Football-esque style games, like Knockout/Survivor/Elimination Leagues (in which participants pick one sure bet to win each week and are eliminated as their picks are eliminated) and Pick’Em Leagues (in which participants pick the winner of each game and receive points based on correct picks). These are a lot of fun to play if you don’t have the time or emotional energy it takes to maintain a successful Fantasy Football roster.

How do you play?

Round up a group of friends and family and decide on what type of league you want to play in (and for most websites, even though Week 1 is over, you can still create a new league). The Yahoo! Survivor and Pick’Em Leagues are linked above. For traditional Fantasy Football, a few popular options are Yahoo!, ESPN, CBS, and the NFL. If none of your friends or family members want to play or if you just want to fly solo and compete anonymously, most fantasy leagues have a “public league” option in which you can compete against strangers on the internet. (But if you can, play with people you know. It’s so much more fun that way.)

After signing up for a league…what do you do? I’ll let the experts advise you on that. Here are a few resources to get you started:

Matthew Berry (just listen to everything he says…he’s a fantasy genius)

How to Play Fantasy Football for Dummies

Fantasy Football 101 (from the NFL)

Why does it matter?

If you’ve never played fantasy football before, you’re probably wondering this. Why does everyone care about a fake game when there are REAL games being played?!

Mostly, because Fantasy Football will turn you into a points-crazed fanatic, and will completely change how you watch football games. There are good and bad components to this, in my opinion.

On the good side, playing Fantasy Football in any capacity makes you more attuned to the week’s on-field action. If you play in a traditional league, you are much more aware of specific players and positions, and that works wonders for your NFL know-how. If you play in a Survivor or Pick’Em league, you are keeping a constant eye on the outcomes of each game, which helps you to become more invested in following each week’s games. It helps football fans, casual or crazed, become involved in the game in a way that they have a hand in controlling, which adds an enjoyable (and otherwise impossible) sense of ownership to fandom.

On the bad side, playing Fantasy Football can make you forget that there are real games being played by real players who are out there for the love of the game to win the game, not to earn more fantasy points for your fantasy team. I think former Patriots and Chiefs General Manager Scott Pioli said it best in his article on the MMQB:

A large number of fans want NFL teams to be built “fantasy style” with top name players and top stats players. Over the last 10 years, I can’t tell you how many times I have heard comments from fans about the lack of opportunities that “their” players were getting. I’m sure Fantasy Football is good for the business of football, but it’s not good for players to hear they should be getting the ball more—or for teams just trying to do whatever it takes to win a game, not just compile stats.

He hit the nail right on the head. There are aspects of Fantasy Football that are great for football, but as a whole, it can at times detract from the real sport of football rather than add to it.

Do you guys play Fantasy Football? Have you noticed a change in how you watch or follow games because of it?

5-Minute Football : Touchback

Here’s another new feature for the 2013 Season: 5-minute Football: a quick lesson to help you better understand one part of the game. Today’s lesson? All about touchbacks.

First and foremost, what’s a touchback?

A touchback happens most often during kickoffs. You know when the receiver in the back of the field catches the ball in the end zone and takes a knee? That’s a touchback, and you’ll often hear it referred to as “taking a knee” in the end zone. But it’s only once instance of a touchback ruling, because a touchback is not a specific play. It’s a ruling in which the ball is brought out to the 20-yard line to start the next drive. (Also: drive = new offensive possession.)

There are several other instances in which touchbacks are ruled. Have you ever seen a kicker boot the ball into/out of the end zone on a kickoff? That’s automatically ruled a touchback, and the offense will start their drive on the 20-yard line as a result.

Here’s a tricky touchback situation: when the offense fumbles the ball into the opposing team’s end zone (the end zone the offense is trying to score in) and a member of the defense recovers the ball in the end zone or provides the impetus for the ball going out of bounds in the end zone, it’s ruled a touchback, and the opposing team will get the ball at the 20-yard line. This also works in reverse, as we witnessed last Thursday night.

For those of you who are keen observers of Week 1 action, you may recall the play. Broncos linebacker Danny Trevathan intercepted Baltimore QB Joe Flacco and ran it into the end zone…but got a little overzealous in his celebration and dropped the ball prior to crossing the goal line for the touchdown. (It would have been a touchdown, not a touchback, had he crossed the goal line into the end zone because it was the offense’s end zone, not his own end zone.) (Let’s talk about end zones next week, shall we?) Instead, since the ball went out of bounds in the offense’s end zone and Trevathan, the defender, was the impetus, it was ruled a touchback for the Ravens, who went on to score on their next offensive drive.

In (very) short form: touchbacks occur when the ball is downed in the end zone or outside of the end zone and results in a drive which begins at the 20-yard line.

Make sense?

(Have a suggestion for a 5-Minute Football lesson? I’d love to hear it!)

Wait…What Happened? : Offsetting Dead Ball Fouls

We did a bunch of these posts last season, and I’m bringing them back again this season because I found them really helpful! I hope you do, too!

Each week, something weird happens in an NFL game. So each Tuesday, we’ll review what happened and break it down in Normal Girl terms. This time around the bend we’ll be talking about the snafu with the refs and the Packers over the weekend.

And it’s not even 2012!

Somehow, someway, the Packers always seem to be on the bad end of a bad call by an officiating crew – regular, replacement, the guy next door – doesn’t matter! These calls have a way of finding the Packers. It’s a hoot.

In this edition, the Packers had a hand in their own demise. Let’s recap the situation:

Packers linebacker Clay Matthews body slammed Niners QB Colin Kaepernick to the ground…out of bounds. That’s clearly going to draw a flag for unnecessary roughness. The unfortunate move by Matthews ignited the fury of Niners offensive lineman Joe Staley, who had a few choice words for Matthews on the sidelines (who, honestly, had it coming, and probably should have been flagged again rather than Staley). That was enough for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for the 49ers. Having two penalties of certain kinds (but not all kinds) can be like multiplying two negative numbers: they negate each other. It’s called having “offsetting penalties,” and that’s what happened on Sunday: Unnecessary Roughness (15 yards) x Unsportsmanlike Conduct (15 yards) = offsetting penalties.

So the refs replayed the down – meaning that everything was reset as it was before the penalties – the Niners were back at Green Bay’s 10-yard line, 3rd and 6. And Kaepernick proceeded to throw a 10-yarder to Anquan Boldin. Touchdown Niners.

However…

Mike Pereira, ruler of all things officiating, commented during the game that offsetting penalties on dead ball fouls (penalties that occur when the ball is not in play) should result in a loss of down, not replaying the down. So because Kaepernick gained 4-yards before getting WWF’d by Matthews, it should have been 4th and 2 from the Green Bay 6-yard line. Which likely would have meant a field goal try for the Niners, not a touchdown attempt.

Head official Bill Leavy acknowledged the mistake after the game, and another acknowledgement from the NFL ~~a year too late~~ could also be forthcoming.

But, as noted above, the Packers had a hand in creating this situation. For one, the hit by Matthews never should have happened. They deserved to be penalized for that – even if it was by a bad call. Also, football is like life: you do your best with the hand you are dealt, whether it’s “fair” or not. The Packers defense was to blame for allowing the proceeding TD to Boldin, not the bad call. The kicker is that the play that caused all the hoopla never would have happened if Packers head coach Mike McCarthy had declined the penalty from the previous play (a 5-yard illegal formation call on the Niners). If he had, it would have forced the Niners into a 4th and 1 (the next down) rather than the 3rd and 6 (5-yard penalty, replay down).

Coach McCarthy was none too pleased with the prospect of discussing the aforementioned decision making sequence:

“We went for third-and-6. Obviously, the play went into another sequence of plays where there were two fouls called. I don’t really think that even factored in the game. So if that’s your criticism, then that’s fine.”

And really, the man’s got a point. Again: football is like life. The what-if’s will drive you crazy if you let them.

But really…what does a team have to do to get a good call around here?!

At the Water Cooler : Week 1

Welcome to a new feature here at Football for Normal Girls: At the Water Cooler, a one-sentence(ish) highlight from each NFL game over the weekend (plus a preview of Monday night’s game). Just enough information to help you through any water cooler/grocery store/dinner table football conversation!

Here’s what you need to know about Week 1:

Denver Broncos vs. Baltimore Ravens (Broncos won, 49-27)

If there were any doubts that Peyton Manning is back and better than ever in his second year post-surgeries with the Broncos, his record-tying seven (SEVEN) touchdowns on Thursday night’s opener against the Ravens quieted them.

Buffalo Bills vs. New England Patriots (Patriots won, 23-21)

Buffalo would have won this game were it not for earning 10 penalties for a whopping 75 yards – it was the mistakes that killed them, not lack of ability to win the game.

Chicago Bears vs. Cincinnati Bengals (Chicago won, 24-21)

It’s been said that more NFL games are lost than won and that was certainly the case with the Bengals on Sunday, who gave up a big lead late in the second half to lose to the Bears, who actually didn’t look too shabby in their first game under rookie head coach Marc Trestman.

Cleveland Browns vs. Miami Dolphins (Miami won, 23-10)

Sorry, Browns fans. I was wrong.

Detroit Lions vs. Minnesota Vikings (Lions won, 34-24)

The story of the game for me is from the reigning league MVP, Vikings running back Adrian Peterson, who ran in a 78-yard touchdown…on his first carry. He wasn’t much of a factor for the rest of the game, but what a way to start the season.

Indianapolis Colts vs. Oakland Raiders (Colts won, 21-17)

This game should have been a blowout, but the Colts needed to return to their 2012 ways as the comeback kids to win this one and start the season 1-0.

New Orleans Saints vs. Atlanta Falcons (New Orleans won, 23-17)

Welcome back, Sean Payton! And holy passing attack, NFC South: Saints QB Drew Brees and Falcons QB Matt Ryan combined for nearly 700 passing yards and 4 touchdowns.

New York Jets vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Jets won, 18-17)

There likely isn’t a guy in the NFL who feels worse waking up this morning than Tampa Bay linebacker Lavonte David, who had a late hit on Jets QB Geno Smith which gave the Jets easy field goal position for the win in the final seconds of the 4th quarter.

Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Tennessee Titans (Titans won, 16-9)

This one was all ugly. But despite their only offensive score not coming until the 4th quarter, the ugliest part for the Steelers was losing center Maurkice Pounce, who may have a torn ACL.

Carolina Panthers vs. Seattle Seahawks (Seattle won, 12-7)

A win’s a win, but it was a little surprisingly to see everyone’s #1 pick, Seattle, struggle to win this one in Carolina.

Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Kansas City Chiefs (Kansas City won, 28-2)

Even if NFL Europe doesn’t take off and the Jaguars don’t move overseas, Jacksonville may vote them off the ~~island~~ peninsula after scoring zero offensive points in their home opener on Sunday.

(Confused about why the Jaguars didn’t score any offensive points and yet still scored 2-points? That’s a safety, a defensive score, and you can read all about it in this post.)

St Louis Rams vs. Arizona Cardinals (Rams won, 27-24)

The Cardinals may have lost (another one of those games lost rather than won), but Larry Fitzgerald is one happy wide receiver: he finally has a dependable quarterback (Carson Palmer) who shows off what Fitzgerald is really capable of – 2 touchdowns on the day, for starters.

San Francisco 49ers vs. Green Bay Packers (49ers won, 34-28)

I said it all offseason and I’ll probably say it all of this season: Anquan Boldin, new 49ers wide receiver acquired from the Ravens, was the best move of the offseason.

Dallas Cowboys vs. New York Giants (Cowboys won, 36-31)

At the end of the first half Giants head coach Tom Coughlin reportedly told his team that he had never seen a worse half of football…which is probably because he hadn’t seen the second half yet (or because he missed last year’s Jets at Cardinals game).

Washington Redskins vs. Philadelphia Eagles (Monday night, 7:10pm EST)

You might want to do a few jumping jacks to get warmed up before this one. It promises to be wild, blazingly fast ride.

San Diego Chargers vs. Houston Texans (Monday night, 10:20pm EST)

You might be ok to go to bed before this one gets started. It promises to be a fairly easy win by the Texans (sorry, San Diego).

How did you all make out this weekend? Any highlights that weren’t covered here?

10 Things You Need to Know to Watch an NFL Game

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On Sunday, there will be football. There will be football…and lots of it. This causes me to rejoice in ways that are too over-the-top for words. I literally cannot contain my excitement. However, I know that there are plenty of other women in the world who do not share those sentiments, and, in fact, harbor the exact opposite sentiments to the beginning of the 2013 NFL season.

If that’s you, I’m begging you: don’t spend this Sunday or any other Sunday starring blankly at the TV, hating your life. Come join us at Football for Normal Girls! You’ll learn some new things, laugh a ton, and the prospect of in-season Sundays will no longer make you panic and/or mourn. This can be FUN. I promise!

Just test it out today. Start with this post, print or pin or save the little cheat sheet above – whatever floats your boat – and see if it makes your weekend any easier.

And then come back on Monday. Because if you can’t beat the NFL season, you might as well join us over at Football for Normal Girls!!!

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10 Things You Need to Know to Watch an NFL Game

1. 3 Units: Offense, Defense, Special Teams

The offense is the unit with the ball. See the quarterback? He’s on the offensive side. The defense is the unit on the other side. See all of the burly men running towards the quarterback/ball carrier? That’s the defensive unit. Special teams is the unit that comes out for kickoffs, extra points, and field goals.

Need more? Check out the Basics of Offense, the Basics of Defense, and the Basics of Special Teams.

2. 11 men on the field for each unit

Each unit is only allowed to have 11 men on the field at all times – having more than that on the field will earn a penalty. If you see a player sprinting off the field prior to the snap, chances are a whistle and a flag will soon be following him (unless he makes it off in time).

3. The offense’s job is to score

The offense is the unit with the ball. Their job is to score points, which they can do by running the ball into the end zone for a touchdown, passing it into the end zone for a touchdown, or kicking a field goal.

4. The defense’s job is also to score

The defense, contrary to popular belief, is not just trying to stop the progress of the offense. That’s actually their second job. Their first job is to get the ball away from the offense and score points. They can do this by forcing and recovering a fumble (where the ball carrier loses the ball) or by an interception (where a defender catches a ball intended for an offensive player) and then running the ball into the end zone for a touchdown. (Don’t fry your brain, but the defense can also force a safety, which is worth 2-points.)

Just to clarify: if the defense recovers possession of the football via a fumble or an interception and they don’t score any points right then and there, their team’s offense takes over and tries to score the same as they would in any other offensive possession.

5. 2 halves // 4 quarters // 15 min each

NFL games consist of four 15-minute quarters. There are 2 quarters per half. Halftime is the break in between those halves. (I’m going to go out on a limb and guess that you probably could have come up with that on your own.) Common misconception: each team doesn’t have their “own” end zone that stays the same for the entire game. Teams switch sides of the field at the end of the first and the third quarter to create fair playing conditions for both teams. Also, play continues as normal at the end of the first and the third quarter – so if a team ends the first quarter with a 1st down at the 40 yard line, they’ll start the second quarter with a 1st down at the 40 yard line (on the other side of the field, because the sides have been switched). But at the end of each half, play stops. At the start of the second half, the team that didn’t kickoff to start the game kicks off to start the third quarter after halftime and a new drive ensues. At the end of the second half…the game is over (another helpful hint! this website rocks!) – unless the score is tied, in which case it’s time for #10 (!!!).

6. Game clock + Play clock (both matter)

The game clock keeps track of how much time is left in the 15-minute quarter. The game clock stops for many reasons, including but not limited to: time outs, penalties, and change of possession. The play clock keeps track of how much time the offense has left to make a play – either 25 or 40 seconds, depending on the situation (this post all about clocks will help tremendously). Mostly, just know that the offense has a limited amount of time from the end of one play to start the next play, and the play clock accounts for that.

7. It’s all about the downs

Once the offense starts their new possession, 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.

Here’s an example: it’s the start of a new drive (possession) for the offense. That means the down and distance is 1st and 10 (1st down and 10 yards left to go). On the first play the quarterback passes the ball to a running back who gains 4 yards. The new down and distance is 2nd and 6 because it’s the 2nd down and there are 6 yards left to go until the offense reaches 10 yards gained total (10 needed – 4 gained = 6 left). On the next play the quarterback throws the ball to a wide receiver who catches it and gains 3 yards. Now the down and distance is 3rd and 3 (10 needed – 7 total gained = 3 left). On the next play the quarterback gets pressured and tries to run. He gains 2 yards. Down and distance: 4th and 1 (10 needed – 9 total gained = 1 left).

4th down throws everything into a ruckus. Let’s talk about that.

(If you are still unclear about this whole down situation, check out this post.)

8. 4th down options

Teams try to avoid 4th down situations, because, as aforementioned, 4th downs cause anxiety and intensity. Ideally, a team would like to earn a new set of downs before arriving at 4th down. However, at 4th down, the offense has three choices: punt, kick a field goal, or try one more time to earn a new set of downs. How do they decide what to do? It depends on where they are on the field and what the game situation is.

The offense will usually punt when on their own side of the field (the 50 yards connected to their end zone) or fairly close to it. They will usually opt for a field goal if they are within range (30-50 yards is typical for an NFL field goal attempt). They’ll usually try to get the remaining yards needed for a new set of downs (or “go for it”) 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 – because if they don’t get the 1st down, they give the other team the ball right where they are.

None of those situations matter if it’s late in the game and the offense needs to score to win the game. In that scenario, no matter where they are on the field on 4th down, they’ll likely go for it. These are usually “Hail Mary” plays.

9. Touchdowns are not worth 7 points

True story. Touchdowns are worth 6 points; the extra point (or PAT, Point After Touchdown) is kicked from the 2-yard line and is worth…you guessed it!…1 extra point. Teams can also opt to go for 2 by running or passing it into the end zone from the 2-yard line. Also, field goals are worth 3 points. Just throwing (or kicking) that out there.

10. We live for overtime

Overtime is when all that is good in the world gets even better. Overtime is a nail-biting, heart-racing, pull-all-of-your-hair-out ode to competitive sports at it’s finest. In overtime, if the team on offense scores a touchdown on their first possession, they win. Game over. But if they either don’t score or only score a field goal, the other team has a chance to possess the ball and score. After both teams have had a chance to possess the ball (unless, of course, the team who had the ball first scored a touchdown), the next score wins – any score, not just a touchdown. If the 15-minute overtime period ends and the game is still tied…that’s it. Tie game. (This is where we all write to the NFL and petition for a rule change because if overtime is the apex of all that is good in sports, ties are the wettest wet blanket in all of sports.)

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Got it?! Of course you do!!! But if you do have any questions between now and Sunday, flip through the Archives, the Glossary, follow FNG on Twitter and Facebook, or shoot me an email! I’m always happy to help.

Thanks for stopping by today! Go have a GREAT weekend!!!