Tag: football

What To Know : After Week 11

Let’s just start by saying: I love the NFL. All weeks, but especially this week. And here’s why.

  1. THREE GAMES went into overtime at the same time on Sunday. I mean, come on. Does it get any better?
  2. Um, yes. It does. Because we get to talk about it.

So, let’s categorize:

OVERTIMES:

  1. Who thought the Texans would need to go into OT against a woeful Jags team? Especially when the Jags starting QB, Blaine Gabbert, went down with an injury mid-game? That they pulled it out in the final minutes of OT on a courageous 4th down attempt by the Jags speaks volumes about the Texans…and not necessarily in a positive way. But a win’s a win! And the Texans steam roll on.
  2. Lesser surprise but still surprising in it’s own right: the Cowboys going into OT with the Browns, who truly had a chance to win this game. But this week, instead of finding a way to lose, the Cowboys found a way to win.
  3. Unsurprising but exciting: the Bucs winning in OT over the Panthers. Watch out for the Bucs, people! They mean business.

QUARTERBACKS:

The Good:

  1. RG3. Holy goodness, did he ever have a game against the can’t-buy-a-break Eagles.
  2. Matt Schaub threw for over 500 yards on Sunday. Is that even human?
  3. Aaron Rodgers. Even when the offense is having somewhat of an off day, he’s still able to thread the tiniest of needles through practically invisible holes.
  4. Tom Brady. For being Tom Brady.
  5. Ditto, Peyton Manning.

The Bad:

  1. Phillip Rivers, what happened? I don’t understand?
  2. Five interceptions, Matt Ryan? Really?
  3. The entire Cardinals QB lineup. Sorry, guys.
  4. Ditto, Kansas City.

The Ugly:

  1. Nick Foles. The Eagles in general. What a terrible season.

INJURIES: 

  1. Biggest injury: Rob Gronkowski out for at least the rest of the regular reason with a broken forearm. Bad break (pun intended) for the Patriots, since Gronk is the core of the offense.
  2. Second biggest: Willis McGahee out for the foreseeable future with an MCL tear. Unfortunate for the Broncos, who have really been humming on offense.
  3. Ala Chandler, Could Pittsburgh be more injured? Along with the rest of their roster, backup QB Byron Leftwich is also going to be out for a few weeks with broken ribs. Hello, Charlie Batch!
  4. It’s so odd to not talk about the Packers in this space, but I think they survived a game sans-devastating injury for the first time in forever (Raji ankle injury notwithstanding…let’s hope it’s inconsequential).

Wait…What Just Happened : Touchdown?

If you are trying to learn what constitutes a legal touchdown, the final scoring play of the Chargers/Broncos game was probably less than helpful.

Chargers WR Danario Alexander caught the ball on the 3 yard line and made an excellent effort to dive into the end zone, which he did. But while he was in the process of falling into the end zone, he lost control of the football on the ground before recovering possession again at the end of the play.

Now, in games past, this has been ruled as an incomplete pass. It’s weird, but so are a lot of things about the NFL. We just go with it. As per the NFL rule book,

If a player goes to the ground in the act of catching a pass (with or without contact by an opponent), he must maintain control of the ball throughout the process of contacting the ground, whether in the field of play or the end zone. If he loses control of the ball, and the ball touches the ground before he regains control, the pass is incomplete. If he regains control prior to the ball touching the ground, the pass is complete.

Since the ball touched the ground on this play, it should have been ruled an incomplete pass. Since this play was reviewed after the fact and the commentators explained the rule and Twitter erupted in “No TD” tweets and the coaches and players on the Chargers sideline all looked dejected knew the original TD call was going to be called back…it even more so should have been ruled an incomplete pass. And yet, the ruling on the field stands: touchdown.

Sometimes, there are no explanations.

What To Know : Week 11

Here’s your go-to guide for Week 11:

GAME OF THE WEEK: Colts at Patriots. Who thought that this would be a great game against two 6-3 teams? Survey says the Pats will come away with the win at home, but you can never underestimate the power of an emotionally charged team. On the other hand, you can never underestimate the power of the Hoodie.

PLAYER TO WATCH: Nick Foles, Eagles backup quarterback. Philly fans were clamoring for him to start anyway, but he’ll be starting for sure on Sunday due to Michael Vick’s concussion. Time to sink or shine!

STORYLINE TO KNOW: The battle of the backups. There are lots of guys out with concussions this weekend, which is a little troublesome for the NFL since they’re actively trying to change the culture of those types of injuries. Nonetheless: Michael Vick, Alex Smith, Jay Cutler, and Ben Roethlisberger (the rib/shoulder injury) won’t be playing. The Monday nighter between the Bears and the Niners takes on a whole new meaning with two backups playing in a big game; great chance to evaluate how the teams respond, and it should still be a competitive game.

RECIPES TO MAKE:

(Thank you, Pinterest, for these many gifts.)

Bacon, Egg, and Cheese Crescent Wrap

Chocolate Peppermint S’mores

Giant Salted Pumpkin Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Peanut Butter Chocolate Christmas Bark

Twix Cookie Dough Cheesecake Bars

Game Play Thursday : The Pocket

Let’s talk about what it means for a quarterback to be “in the pocket.” Which, like many phrases in football, doesn’t make a whole lot of sense until you understand what the theory behind it is. So let’s dive in!

The quarterback plays behind the offensive line.

Who is the offensive line, you ask?

All of you training camp pros already know the answer! But just as a refresher, the offensive line is a five man wall. The offensive line is NOT everyone on the offense who is on the line of scrimmage. There will be seven players lined up there, five linemen and two skill players, usually wide receivers. The offensive line consists of the Center, who is, understandably, in the center of the line. He’s the one who snaps the ball to the QB. On both sides of the Center are the two Guards, the Right Guard and Left Guard, respectively. The Right and Left Tackles play outside of the Guards. So your offensive line looks like this from left to right: LT LG C RG RT. Got it?

The offensive line is generally stocked with huge guys, 300 lbs and above, and their sole initiative is to block the defensive players in front of them. Not only does this allow the quarterback time to read the defense and decide where to go with the ball, it also gives him protection from defensive players whose sole initiative is to knock him flat on the ground. Thus, on most occassions, it’s best if the QB stays in the pocket, the area behind the line of scrimmage that spans the offensive line from Left Tackle to Right Tackle.

So, quick review: when a quarterback is “inside the pocket” he is behind the wall of protection formed by his five offensive lineman. You’ll also hear that a quarterback is “stepping up into the pocket,” which means he is stepping up to throw the ball from within the protection of the pocket. When a quarterback leaves the pocket, not only is he in open danger of getting sacked by a defensive player, he also needs to be sure not to throw an illegal forward pass by throwing the ball while standing in front of the line of scrimmage, which is where the offensive line originally lined up.

Now that you know a few things about the pocket, let’s look at this illustration. What’s wrong with it?

image0.jpg

photo credit : football for dummies

The Tight End! I know you got it right!

Technically, the pocket is defined as the wall built by the offensive line, from the left tackle to the right tackle. So even though tight ends (TE) can and often do block as part of the offensive line, he’s not really part of the classic pocket. If his assignment is to block: great. He’ll help protect the QB and be part of the pocket for all intents and purposes on that play. But if his assignment is to run a slant route to the sideline or block a linebacker further up the field, he won’t be anywhere near the offensive line once the ball is snapped and therefore won’t be used as part of the pocket.

Don’t you feel so much smarter already?!

If there is ever a topic you’d like to discuss on Game Play Thursday (or any time!) please just leave a comment or send me an email through the contact form! I’ll be happy to learn more about it and help us all get a better understanding!

Player Profile : Ben Roethlisberger

It was revealed today that along with suffering a separated shoulder in Monday’s game against the Chiefs, Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger also sustained a dangerous injury to his ribs which has the potential to be life-threatening if aggravated.

And this is where most sports writers move on and say what a deadly blow this is for Pittsburgh.

People, let’s regroup: this is a LITERAL DEADLY BLOW for Ben.

Perhaps the underreaction is due to the fact that Roethlisberger is one of the more injury-prone quarterbacks in the NFL. That’s not to say he isn’t tough…I still have an all-too-clear mental picture of his bloody, broken nose getting pushed back into place on the sidelines during a game against the Ravens in 2010. It’s just that he’s a frequent flier on the team’s weekly injury list. (Seriously…look at that list.)

Roethlisberger was also involved in a serious motorcycle accident in 2006 which left him with severe head and facial injuries (he was not wearing a helmet). And yet, after fracturing his jaw, losing some teeth and undergoing a 7 hour surgery, he still returned to play in the Steelers preseason games just two months later.

So, clearly, this isn’t his first ride on the injury wagon…but it’s certainly one of his scarier go rounds.

What To Know : After Week 10

What to know this week? That in the NFL, no one really knows anything. Thus, this:

  • The Dolphins, looking like they could be a playoff threat last week, lose 37-3 to the Titans, who lost 51-20 to the Bears the week before.
  • The Patriots win a nail-biter…against the Bills. Final score: 37-31.
  • Kickers who never miss…missed. When it counted. And the result was a tie: Rams 24, Niners 24.
  • The Giants, who never look great in November but always retain a glimmer of Super Bowl hope throughout, looked particularly ungreat in a 31-13 loss to the Bengals.
  • The Jets…are the Jets.
  • The Steelers, overwhelmingly favored, had to go into overtime to win against the Chiefs, 16-13.

This is why we love the NFL…you never know what’s going to happen.

(And this is also why I am spectacularly failing in our Pick ‘Em league this year. Unpredictability: 1, Beka: 0.)