Tag: football

One line to fool them all – 12.14.15

Sports talk is frequently used as a common language but it’s far from universal. If you’re someone who doesn’t follow or even understand sports, you can find yourself at a disadvantage in common small-talk situations like in an elevator, waiting for a bus, sitting at a bar, or around the proverbial water cooler at work. Even if you are a sports fan, it’s impossible to watch everything and know everything. To help in these situations, we provide lines to use when engaged in a conversation about all of the high profile sporting events of the day, plus explanations of what they mean.

NFL Football

Detroit Lions 14, St. Louis Rams 21

Line: We’ve gotten to the point in the NFL season when there are games no one cares about, not even fans of the teams involved. This was one of them.

What it means: Okay, sure, maybe some of the fans of these teams cared about this game. Surely, the players and their families at least cared about getting through the game without injury. But with both teams either mathematically eliminated from playoff contention or all but, this was at its heart, an uninteresting affair.

Atlanta Falcons 0, Carolina Panthers 38

Line: Soul searching time for the Falcons.

What it means: The year started out so well for both of these teams, who play in the same division. After five weeks, both teams were undefeated. Heading into this game, the Panthers were still undefeated but the Falcons had lost all but one of the intervening games. That’s a bewildering fall from grace and being shut out by a division rival won’t help anything. It’s hard to think of anyone on the coaching or managerial staff whose job is or should be safe.

Washington Redskins 24, Chicago Bears 21

Line: And that’s why we still call it football. Two games in a row for the Bears.

What it means: The Chicago Bears have now lost two games in a row thanks in large part to their field goal kicker, Robbie Gould, missing two late-game field goals last week and this week. In this game, the Bears had a chance to tie the game in the last minute but couldn’t get it closer than the 32 yard line before turning to Gould to make a 50 yard field goal. That should be within his range, but he kicked it wide. This leaves Washington still in first place of their division and Chicago eliminated.

Buffalo Bills 20, Philadelphia Eagles 23

Line: Doesn’t it seem like Rex Ryan’s teams always kill themselves with penalties in big games?

What it means:  This was a big game for both teams in terms of playoff positioning, but it was also an emotional game thanks to a blockbuster trade between the two teams during the offseason which left hard feelings on both sides. The Buffalo Bills coach, Rex Ryan, is said to believe in encouraging his players’ emotions. Sometimes this works well — it may give them confidence they wouldn’t otherwise have — but it can also backfire if the players get too emotional to play well. One sign of that is the total number of penalties the team takes. The Bills took 15 penalties, which is an enormous and damaging number, in this game.

San Francisco 49ers 10, Cleveland Browns 24

Line: Johnny Manziel, blah blah blah.

What it means: Television networks and other sports media outlets love to make a big deal about Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel, who has been in and out of the starting lineup as many times as he’s been in and out of trouble with his team and in and out of rehab. Alcoholism is no joke, but it’s also not a particularly compelling story, especially when tied to a team as bad as the Browns. Boring!

New Orleans Saints 24, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 17

Line: Brees and Peyton playing out the string may still be better than the Buccaneers trying to make the playoffs.

What it means: This season will probably be the end of an era for the most successful coach/quarterback combination in New Orleans Saints history. Coach Sean Payton and quarterback Drew Brees have been together for a decade and were able to win a Super Bowl in their time in New Orleans. Now Brees is getting old and Peyton seems to have lost his edge. Most people expect Peyton to be fired or to leave voluntarily during the offseason. Brees may stay, but his time is certainly limited at this point. Still, for one day at least, the old guys had enough in their box of tricks to beat the up and coming Buccaneers. Tampa Bay’s playoff hopes were severely reduced by losing this game.

Seattle Seahawks 35, Baltimore Ravens 6

Line: It’s old hat by now, but the Seahawks are in the playoffs and you don’t want to see your team playing them.

What it means: After a 2-4 early season start, the Seahawks have only lost a single game. Thanks to this convincing win, they’ve clinched a spot in the playoffs. They’ll try to make the Super Bowl for the third straight year, something they’re giving every signal currently of being good enough to do. If you’re a fan of another team, the last thing you want to see is the Seahawks as your team’s opponent in the playoffs.

San Diego Chargers 3, Kansas City Chiefs 10

Line: The first chink in the Chiefs armor in many weeks. They almost let the Chargers tie this game in the last minute.

What it means: Like the Seahawks, the Chiefs have looked to be a team that started out slow but has been rounding into shape as one of the best teams in the league. There’s a cliche that suggests that it’s a good sign when a team wins despite not playing their best, but Chiefs fans would still like to have seen their team look more convincing. The Chargers are one of the most injured, and therefore worst teams in the league.

Indianapolis Colts 16, Jacksonville Jaguars 51

Line: It’s hard to say which division is worse, the AFC South or the NFC East. At 5-8, the Jags may still have a shot at the playoffs.

What it means: The best team in a division in each of the NFL’s eight divisions gets an automatic place in the playoffs. That makes it really noticeable when a division has four sub-par teams. That’s true for two divisions this year, the high-profile NFC East, and the division both these teams are in, the AFC South. If the Texans lose against the Patriots tonight, no team in the AFC South will have a winning record, and the 5-8 Jaguars will only be one game out of first place.

Tennessee Titans 8, New York Jets 30

Line: A win the Jets had to have, and had to have comfortably to feel good about.

What it means: The Jets are currently in the playoffs. They are one of three teams, along with the Steelers and Chiefs, to have an 8-5 record. Given how the Chiefs and Steelers are playing, the Jets may need to win all their remaining games to make the playoffs. That’s a big task, given their upcoming opponents, but their fans were given confidence by how easily the team beat the Titans today. A close win, while just as good for the quantifiable standings, would have felt qualitatively way, way worse.

Pittsburgh Steelers 33, Cincinnati Bengals 20

Line: The Bengals lost a whole lot more than just the game today.

What it means: In the first ten minutes of this game, the Cincinnati Bengals lost their starting tight end for the game with a concussion and their starting quarterback with a fractured thumb on his throwing hand. Losing to the Steelers is never fun, but the real panic among Bengals fans surrounds the loss of these two key players to injury.

Oakland Raiders 15, Denver Broncos 12

Line: Now the Broncos will really have a controversy on their hands.

What it means: As long as legendary quarterback Peyton Manning was injured OR the Broncos kept winning without him, the team was insulated from having a difficult and controversial decision to make. With this loss, the controversy will begin. Although privately, the Broncos probably still think that Brock Osweiler is a better fit (i.e. he takes orders from the coaches and doesn’t make as many brutal mistakes) for the team than Manning, it will be interesting to see how firmly they hold to that conviction.

Dallas Cowboys 7, Green Bay Packers 28

Line: I know I’ve said this about a dozen times before, but this time, I think the Cowboys season is really over.

What it means: The Cowboys inability to win football games this year has almost been matched by the inability of any of the other teams in their division to win. So much so, that each time we were ready to write the Cowboys off, they’d get some help in the standings from all the other teams losing as well. Now, finally, with the Cowboys two games back of the division lead with only two games to go, we can truly say that they’re done.

New England Patriots 27, Houston Texans 6

Line: It’s hard to believe that the NFL is improving on concussions when one of the quarterbacks in a nationally televised game gets obviously concussed, goes back in the game for two more possessions, fumbles twice, and only then is taken out of the game.

What it means: The NFL is supposed to have improved their ability to identify concussions and respond appropriately to them by getting the injured player out of the game and keeping him out. In this game, it was pretty obvious to television viewers that Texans quarterback Brian Hoyer was stunned after a hit. He went back into the game but kept messing things up (no surprise if he had actually injured his brain.)

One line to fool them all – 12.7.15

Sports talk is frequently used as a common language but it’s far from universal. If you’re someone who doesn’t follow or even understand sports, you can find yourself at a disadvantage in common small-talk situations like in an elevator, waiting for a bus, sitting at a bar, or around the proverbial water cooler at work. Even if you are a sports fan, it’s impossible to watch everything and know everything. To help in these situations, we provide lines to use when engaged in a conversation about all of the high profile sporting events of the day, plus explanations of what they mean.

NFL Football

Texans 21, Bills 30

Line: Neither team is all that good, but the Bills needed this one more.

What it means: After this game, both teams have won six games and lost six. The difference is that the Bills are in the same division as the 10-2 New England Patriots, and therefore will need to get a wildcard spot to make the playoffs. The Texans are tied for the best record in their division with the Indianapolis Colts and are therefore still very much in a good position to claim a playoff spot by winning their division title.

Ravens 13, Dolphins 15

Line: It’s hard to admit for Ravens fans, but they’re probably better off having lost this game.

What it means: The Ravens have been a consistently good team over the past decade. This year, they couldn’t get things together and then, while they were falling apart, they broke. What does that mean? Well, they weren’t winning many games and then all their good players got injured. Now, it’s probably best for them to lose their remaining games and get the best draft pick in this year’s draft as possible.

Bengals 37, Browns 3

Line: I guess the common/uncommon opponents theory of the Bengals doesn’t hold for the Browns.

What it means: The Bengals have been an excellent team for most of this season. Some smart football analyst out there noticed though, that when they struggle, it’s often in games against teams that are used to playing them, especially if they have played them recently. The Browns, who are in the same division as the Bengals, and who have already played them this year, are a perfect example of a common opponent, who the Bengals might struggle against. The only problem? The Browns aren’t very good. Sometimes the even simpler answer is the correct one.

49ers 26, Bears 20

Line: Oh 49ers fans, Blaine Gabbert is doing just enough to reel them in.

What it means:  The 49ers have had an incredibly bad season. They lost their coach and several important defensive players before the season. They benched their starting quarterback, Colin Kaepernick, part of the way through the season, and will probably let him leave as a free agent this summer. You’d think they would be looking for a new young quarterback in the draft but the backup quarterback, a guy named Blaine Gabbert who failed spectacularly with his previous team, has done just enough that the 49ers might be able to convince themselves to trust him with their future. It probably won’t end well.

Jaguars 39, Titans 42

Line: Whoa! Dear Sports Fan’s NFL Forecast was right!

What it means: When the formulas that run my NFL Forecast told me that this game was going to be one of the top games of the week, I thought seriously about arguing with it. “No way,” I thought. These teams suck! Suck they may, but apparently they are bad in ways that match up perfectly to create an entertaining football game. These teams play in the same division, so with luck, we’ll see lots of similarly exciting games in the future from them.

Seahawks 38, Vikings 7

Line: Uh oh, the Seahawks appear to have returned.

What it means: The Seahawks have made the Super Bowl in the past two seasons, winning two years ago and losing last year on a fluky play right at the end of the game. From their poor play at the start of this season, it seemed like they were not going to be returning for a third year. Now, after a dominant win against a very good team, the Seahawks have

Jets 23, Giants 20

Line: This one was way more than the battle of New York.

What it means: The easy narrative about this game is that it was a rare (once every four years) game between the two teams who claim to be from New York and play in New Jersey. Neither of these teams cared about that narrative. The game was too important to both teams in terms of their chance to win their division (Giants) or make the playoffs as a wildcard (Jets.) The Jets win gives a significant boost to their playoff chances.

Cardinals 27, Rams 3

Line: Ho, hum.

What it means: Nothing to see here, really. A dominant team beat a team they were expected to beat. The world continues to turn.

Falcons 19, Buccaneers 23

Line: Ugh. I guess it’s time to admit that Jameis Winston is good at football.

What it means: The number one overall pick from this year’s draft, Jameis Winston, the quarterback of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, is an impossible player to root for. Alas, that doesn’t mean he’s bad at football. Apparently, he’s actually pretty good at it. Damn.

Broncos 17, Chargers 3

Line: Doesn’t look like Peyton Manning’s getting his job back.

What it means: With every Broncos win under understudy quarterback Brock Osweiler’s leadership, the odds of once-legendary quarterback Peyton Manning getting his job back get longer and longer. Longer odds mean something is less likely. Manning lost his job ostensibly because of injury, but even if he could play, it looks like Osweiler is simply better.

Chiefs 34, Raiders 20

Line: That’s six in a row for the Chiefs and four of the last five for the Raiders.

What it means: After a terrible start, the Chiefs have won six games in a row. Meanwhile, the Raiders, who had a good first half of the season, have lost four of their last five games. It’s a tricky stat though, because they won the two games before their last five. So… you could equally say that the Raiders have won three of their last seven games. That doesn’t sound nearly as convincing though, so sports blogs (real ones, that is) won’t admit it.

Panthers 41, Saints 38

Line: The Panthers proved they can win even when their defense plays badly. Watch out NFL.

What it means: The Panthers are the last undefeated team in the NFL this season. They’ve done it to a large degree because they have one of the best defenses in the league. That defense played unexpectedly bad today and the Panthers still found a way to win. They’re still not getting as much press as they probably deserve. I think the Panthers have a legitimate chance to win the Super Bowl.

Eagles 35, Patriots 28

Line: With all their injuries, the Patriots need to play close to a perfect game in the other two phases to win. They didn’t come close.

What it means: People talk about their being three phases to a football game: offense, defense, and special teams. The Patriots are missing a lot of important players on offense because of injury. They can still score, but perhaps not as prolifically as before. This means that their margin of error on defense and special teams is narrowed. They lost this game largely because of mistakes on special teams and their defense wasn’t good enough to make up for it.

Colts 10, Steelers 45

Line: Uh… I think the Steelers are going to win the Super Bowl.

What it means: They’re not the team with the best record in their division — that’s the Bengals. They’re not even a lock to make the playoffs — although this win makes it much more likely that they will. But the way their offense plays when it’s playing well, it just doesn’t seem possible to beat them.

Why does an NFL ref throw his hat on the field?

Dear Sports Fan,

I was watching the football game between the Detroit Lions and Green Bay Packers last night and noticed that a ref had thrown his hat on the field. I know what i means when refs throw yellow flags, but why does an NFL ref throw his hat on the field?

Thanks,
Ana

Dear Ana,

Being an NFL ref is not a full-time job but it can be fun — for one thing, they do get to throw a bunch of different objects! As you mentioned, the most common thing for a ref to throw is a yellow flag. This symbolizes a foul that he has seen and intends to call. At times, you may also see refs throw a small, blue bean bag onto the field. No, it’s not the 1990s again, the ref isn’t about to sit down on the bean bag! The bean bag is thrown to the spot where a change of possession happened, because a penalty called after that time will often refer to that spot – i.e. five yards from the spot of the interception, fumble recovery, or kick return. Throwing things is fun, as is explaining why NFL refs throw things, but you didn’t ask about flags or bean bags, you asked about hats. Let’s get down to the hat.

The simplest reason for a ref to throw her hat is because she’s already thrown her flag! That’s right. Instead of carrying a backup flag, if a ref sees a second penalty to call after throwing his flag for the first one, his only recourse is to throw his hat. This is simply a brilliant move. Not only is throwing a hat a fun thing to do, but it’s also what cartoonishly angry people do in old comedies or cartoons to show their anger. I love thinking about the original ref who believed so firmly in law and order that he got super angry at seeing a second (a second!!) foul on the same play that he threw his hat in anger… and it became the standard for dealing with that situation. You might ask what happens if a ref sees a third foul. I don’t know, but Jerry Markbreit and Alan Steinberg’s book Last Call: Memoirs of an NFL Referee suggests an amusingly scatalogical solution.

Seeing two fouls on one play does happen, but more frequently the cause for an NFL’s hat throwing is something different. Football players are expected to stay on the football field while play is going on. This is not normally a problem, except perhaps with very young children who are prone to wandering. Sometimes though, a player running down the sideline, especially someone on the offense who is trying to get in position to catch a pass, will step out-of-bounds inadvertently or in an attempt to get around a defender. When this happens, that player becomes ineligible to catch the ball. Just stepping out-of-bounds is not against the rules, so no flag should be thrown, but if the player who goes out-of-bounds catches the ball, then there’s a penalty. So, in order to help remember that the player has gone out-of-bounds, the ref watching him throws his hat to the ground and later, if the catch is made, throws his flag. The one exception to this rule is if the offensive player has been pushed out-of-bounds by a defender. In this case, he is allowed to catch the ball as soon as he re-establishes himself in bounds by touching the field with both feet or some part of his body other than his hands. No hat need be thrown in this situation.

What other sport requires their officials to throw so many things! Ah, football.

Thanks for reading,
Ezra Fischer

A Thanksgiving 2015 NFL football preview

For many people, football is a part of Thanksgiving as much as the turkey, the stuffing, or the pie. For others, it’s a foreign addition to the meal, like corned beef and cabbage or Chinese food (both of which my family has cooked for past Thanksgivings, but that’s another story…) Sometimes, those people sit down at the same table. When that happens, it’s important for the football fans to realize that not everyone shares their passion. Sports fans need to make an effort to talk about other things sometimes. Then again, if those other things are going to be politics, religion, or money… maybe it’s a good idea for the non-sports fans to brush up on their football. For the sake of peace and good will at the Thanksgiving table, here’s what you need to know about the three NFL football games on Thanksgiving Day, 2015.

Philadelphia Eagles at Detroit Lions, 12:30 p.m. ET on Fox

The Lions are one of two teams that traditionally host Thanksgiving games. Most years, their fans have very little to be thankful for. This year was shaping up to be much the same after the team lost seven of its first eight games. Then the Lions went on the road to Green Bay, where they had not won since 1991. They won! Riding that wave of generational positivity, (yes, even for a 2-7 team,) the Lions won their next game against the Oakland Raiders. That was just last weekend. With the playoffs only the most pipey of pipe dreams, this Thanksgiving game will be the biggest game for the Lions for the rest of the year, simply because of the national spotlight playing on Thanksgiving gives the franchise. Their opponents in this game, the Philadelphia Eagles, are in even greater disarray. Unlike the Lions, the Eagles were supposed to be good this year and to challenge seriously for their division title. They’ve only won four games of their first ten and are hanging on to playoff hopes solely because their division is so bad. The best record in the division is only 5-5. The Eagles have lost three of their last four games and they and their egomaniacal, unorthodox, coach and general manager, Chip Kelly seem to be headed toward a sloppy divorce.

So, yes, these teams are not very good. On the other hand, because of that, the game could go in almost any direction. If you care about either of these two teams — for rooting, gambling, or fantasy reasons — then there’s a lot of suspense to be found here. The Lions could win by twenty. The Eagles could win by twenty. The game could be high scoring or low scoring. It could go into overtime or be over by the time your doorbell rings announcing your first guest. No one really knows. And that makes it kind of fun to watch.

Carolina Panthers at Dallas Cowboys, 4:30 p.m. ET on CBS

Alas, the most intriguing game of the day happens in the time least likely to be convenient for watching. 4:30 is pretty much dinner time on Thanksgiving, at least on the East Coast. Both teams, the visiting Carolina Panthers and the host Dallas Cowboys will be trying to do something for the first time ever. The Carolina Panthers have already set a record for the best start to a season their franchise has ever had. At 10-0, they are one of only two remaining undefeated teams in the league. Only 11 teams have ever started a season with 11 straight wins, and the Panthers will be trying to join that group on Thanksgiving. The team is led by three incredible players. Cam Newton is their leader on offense. A 6’5″ 250 lb behemoth, he’s the rare NFL quarterback who has the ability to run the ball almost as well as he can throw it and the build to hold up to the hits he takes when running. On defense, the Panthers are led by two players who are both near the top of their positions: Luke Keuchly at middle linebacker and Josh Norman at corner back. As for the Cowboys, they’re trying to do something which no NFL team has ever done before — make the playoffs after a 2-7 start. There are two things that give them hope in this audacious goal. The first is that all of their losses this season came while quarterback Tony Romo was injured and most while their best wide receiver, Dez Bryant, was injured as well. The second hopeful factor is that they are in the same division as the Eagles — the NFC East — and at 3-7, they are only two wins behind the division leading New York Giants.

One curious feature of this game is that the Cowboys are favored by a point. This means that people betting on the Cowboys need them to win by more than one point in order to make money while people betting on the Carolina Panthers would win even if the teams tied. It’s fairly extraordinary for a 10-0 team to be an underdog against a 3-7 team. This is partially because home teams tend to do a little better than visiting teams and because the Cowboys are notoriously a public team. Whatever the reason for it, you can be sure that the Panthers will use being an underdog as motivation, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they beat the Cowboys soundly.

Chicago Bears at Green Bay Packers, 8:30 p.m. ET on NBC

The nightcap of the football schedule is a perfect game for sitting on the couch, enjoying a nightcap of your own or even some leftover pie or turkey sandwiches. The Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers have played against each other more times than any two teams in NFL history. They are two classic franchises, and watching them play, especially late in the season, is like taking a trip back in time. By the time the game starts in Green Bay, the wind will be blowing around 15 mph, it will be right around freezing, and there’s a 90% chance of precipitation. There’s nothing better than watching football in bad weather… from the comfort of your couch.

As for the football game, the jury is out on whether Green Bay is an elite, championship contender this year. In Aaron Rodgers, they have the world’s best quarterback (with the possible exception of Tom Brady) but the question is how much quality he can wring out of the team’s group of less talented wide receivers. At times this season, the Packers offense has looked as good as ever, but in other games it has had periods of profound helplessness. Profound helplessness is pretty much the norm for Chicago Bears fans. Their team seems locked in an endless cycle of almost getting good and then falling apart again. This season has been a microcosm of that experience. The Bears started the season with three wins. Then they clawed their way back to reasonableness with two wins. Then they lost two more games to place them firmly in a bad place. Then, after their fans had given up a second time, they won two more games to go to 4-5 on the year, one game away from .500. A close loss last week to the Denver Broncos makes this game close to a must-win if the Bears have any hope of reaching the playoffs this year.

I fear that this game may get out of hand early if Green Bay gets out to an early lead. That would really be a shame, because this has the potential to be the coziest, most enjoyable football game of the day.

What is a squib kick in football?

Dear Sports Fan,

I was watching football this weekend and I thought I heard one of the announcers say something about a “squid kick.” Turns out, it was a “squib,” not squid. What is a squib kick in football?

Thanks,
Samantha

Dear Samantha,

Oh, I really wish there was something in football called a squid kick! What would the squid kick be? Maybe one that utilized a formation with a few people close together and then a bunch of people trailing behind them? Alas, what you did hear was squib kick. A squib kick is kickoff play in which the kicking team intentionally kicks the ball close to the ground and about half as far as they normally would on a kickoff.

The primary reason for using a squib kick is that it limits the likely range of outcomes from the play. On a normal kickoff, the returning team will get the ball close to or in their own end-zone. If the player who gets the ball tries to return the kick, he usually has about five to ten yards of space before the players on the kicking team who are “covering” the kick are able to reach him. This gives him some time to pick up speed, choose a direction to run in, and have his teammates set up to block for him. If everything goes well, he’s able to weave his way between all the players trying to tackle him and sprint down the field for a touchdown. More often, he gets brought down between the 15 and 25 yard line. Sometimes, trying to return a kickoff is a terrible idea and the return man gets tackled right near his own end zone. The range of outcomes from a normal kickoff is quite big. A squib kick shrinks this range. The ball doesn’t go so far down the field, and instead of flying through the air in a nice, easy to catch arc, it bounces around of the ground. This means that by the time someone on the receiving team corrals the ball, they’ve got little to no time and space to try to return it. They usually get tackled almost as soon as they touch the ball. As a bonus, since the best returners are set up at the back of the receiving team’s formation, the player who catches a squib kick is usually bigger, slower, and less used to returning kicks. The downside is that the ball doesn’t go as far, so the receiving team cannot be tackled close to their own goal-line. But they’re also very unlikely to return the kick for a touchdown.

The word squib comes from the world of explosives. In explosive terms, a squib is a device that resembles dynamite but packs a much smaller punch. It’s been used for controlled explosions in mining, film stunts, and even devices like automobile air bags. The difference between a squib and a dud is that a squib’s meekness is intentional. You can understand how this meaning came over to football. The squib kick is not as strong and doesn’t travel as far as a regular kickoff.

There are two main situations when teams will use a squib kick. The first is situational – if the kicking team is winning and would only really be threatened by a return touchdown, they may choose to use the squib in order to reduce the likelihood of that happening. The second is based on personnel – if the returning team has a supremely good kick returner, the risk of having the return any kick for a touchdown may not be worth the opportunity to trap them close to their own end zone. In this case, a team may squib every kickoff during a game.

Thanks for reading,
Ezra Fischer

One line to fool them all – 11.22.15

Sports talk is frequently used as a common language but it’s far from universal. If you’re someone who doesn’t follow or even understand sports, you can find yourself at a disadvantage in common small-talk situations like in an elevator, waiting for a bus, sitting at a bar, or around the proverbial water cooler at work. Even if you are a sports fan, it’s impossible to watch everything and know everything. To help in these situations, we provide lines to use when engaged in a conversation about all of the high profile sporting events of the day, plus explanations of what they mean.

NFL Football

St. Louis Rams 13, Baltimore Ravens 16

Line: With wins like these, who needs losses?

What it means: You know the expression, “with friends like these, who needs enemies?” It’s a clever way of complaining that your friends are treating you as poorly as you’d expect from an enemy. Well, in this case, the Ravens win treated them as poorly or more poorly as almost any loss. The Ravens won the game but their starting running back broke his arm and their starting quarterback tore his ACL. Ouch.

Washington Redskins 16, Carolina Panthers 44

Line: I know the Redskins aren’t much, but this is still impressive. I think the Panthers are starting to convince me.

What it means: The Carolina Panthers are one of only two undefeated teams left in the NFL this season but because of their lack of well-known players and a schedule that’s matched them up with mostly bad teams, people haven’t yet really accepted that they are a truly great team. Despite the Redskins fitting the bill as yet another bad team, the way the Panthers dominated should convince some people.

Denver Broncos 17, Chicago Bears 15

Line: I’m not sure we’ll ever see Peyton Manning play again.

What it means: Although he didn’t play today, or perhaps especially because he didn’t play today, the biggest story of this game is Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning. He’s had a wonderful career but his play this year has been dreadful. He was finally pulled from a game last week and he sat this week out with a foot injury. The question is, with the Broncos looking better and playing more successfully without him, will he ever get back onto the field?

Dallas Cowboys 24, Miami Dolphins 14

Line: Tony Romo is still undefeated on the year…

What it means:  The Cowboys won their first two games of the year before losing starting quarterback Tony Romo to a broken collar bone. He missed seven games. The Cowboys lost seven games. This week, he finally returned, and the Cowboys won again. They’re lucky that the division they play in has not great (or perhaps even good,) teams, and they still have a shot at making the playoffs. They’ll need to be almost perfect from now on though.

Oakland Raiders 13, Detroit Lions 18

Line: Now that’s the Raiders we all know and love. What the heck happened to them? Things seemed like they were going so well.

What it means: For all but a few years of my life, and certainly my football watching life, the Raiders have been a laughingstock. They’ve been consistently one of the worst teams in the league. Finally, they seemed like they were going to be a good team this year, maybe even one that would be close to making the playoffs. Now they’ve lost three straight games, including this one to the even sorrier, more laughingstocky Lions.

New York Jets 17, Houston Texans 24

Line: Sure, the Texans won, but aren’t these teams essentially the same? Good enough to make you sweat but not good enough to win the whole thing?

What it means: The New York Jets and Houston Texans are both 5-5 (five wins, five losses) and in quite similar situations. Both teams have assembled strong defenses and good “skill position” players (running backs, tight ends, and wide receivers.) The missing piece for both teams is the quarterback. Neither team has a very good quarterback and that holds them back. The only real difference is that the Texans are in a division with no great team this year while the Jets are in a division with the undefeated Patriots. That makes it a more fun time to be a Texans fan — there’s more hope.

Indianapolis Colts 24, Atlanta Falcons 21

Line: Forget about Tony Romo, you know who else is undefeated as a quarterback this year? Matt F. Hasselbeck!

What it means: When I first saw a stat posted by Matt Hasselbeck this year, I thought it was a mistake. There was no way that the 40 year old quarterback, who led the Seattle Seahawks to the Super Bowl in 2005, ten whole years ago, when he was already a veteran player, could still be in the league, could he? He is. And now he’s starting for the Indianapolis Colts thanks to a lacerated kidney to Andrew Luck. So far, the super-veteran is 3-0 and looking just fine in a Colts uniform. Hooray for old guys!

Tampa Bay Buccaneers 45, Philadelphia Eagles 17

Line: The Chip Kelly unemployment watch is officially on.

What it means: Chip Kelly, the coach and general manager of the Philadelphia Eagles, has been a polarizing figure throughout his entire NFL career. First the question was whether his college football system would work in the NFL. Then, once he had proven that it would basically work, the question became his increasingly weird personnel moves. His trades and free agent signings were so odd that some of his former players suggested they were racially motivated. Whatever the motivation, they don’t seem to have worked and soon, Kelly may be out of a job.

Kansas City Chiefs 33, San Diego Chargers 3

Line: The Chargers can’t get to Los Angeles soon enough.

What it means: The Chargers are one of three teams rumored to be moving to Los Angeles in the near future. The Chargers are the only of the three whose play this year seems affected by the rumors. The fans in San Diego are upset and the players seem to be too. Nothing is going right for this franchise, and losing 33 to 3 to the Chiefs isn’t going to help.

Green Bay Packers 30, Minnesota Vikings 13

Line: R-e-l-a-x r-e-d-u-x!

What it means: In the middle of last year’s NFL season, the Packers were struggling and their fan-base was in a state of worried excitement. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers told them to relax and actually spelled the word out for them. This year seems like a photocopy of the same scenario. The Packers had lost three games in a row before this one and put a serious fright into their fans. Rodgers didn’t tell them to relax this year but he might as well have. He was masterful in this victory.

San Francisco 49ers 13, Seattle Seahawks 29

Line: Unless you’re a fan of the Seahawks (or zombies,) this season is like a zombie movie. They just won’t die.

What it means: The Seahawks have been the most powerful team over the past two years, going to the Super Bowl in both seasons and winning once. This year, they’ve played poorly enough to be left for dead several times. But just like the bad guy in a zombie movie, they keep walking and moving toward their goal, which in this case is playoffs, not brains, but still.

Arizona Cardinals 34, Cincinnati Bengals 31

Line: Okay, the Bengals still didn’t win in primetime, but did they play well enough to banish the monkey?

What it means: Don’t worry, “banish the monkey” is not any kind of sports phrase that you should know. Here’s the deal. The Cincinnati Bengals have been a consistently excellent team over the past four years. Their only problem has been that they seem to have some kind of mental blocks in big games. They can’t seem to win in the playoffs or even at night in the regular season, when the games are on a bigger stage because they’re televised nationally. Last night was another opportunity to shed that reputation and they came very close to doing it. It’s not clear whether coming close against a very good team is enough to make them and their fans relax in the next big game.

What is icing the kicker? Why do football coaches do it?

Dear Sports Fan,

What is icing the kicker? Why do football coaches do it? I saw a game the other day where the coach took two time-outs right before a field goal by the opposing team. They made it anyway! What gives?

Thanks,
Terry

Dear Terry,

Close football games often come down to a last-minute or last second field goal kick. If the team attempting the kick makes it, they win. If they miss it, they lose. The defending team has very few options in this situation. Their ideal tactic would be to block the kick but unless you’ve got Jamie Collins on your team (and he gets pretty lucky,) blocking a field goal is virtually impossible. Unfortunately, there aren’t really any other options the defense has. Either the field goal kicker is going to make the kick or he’s not. Without any realistic options, many football coaches are left grasping at straws. And that’s when they ice the kicker.

Icing the kicker is when a coach takes a time-out right before the opposing team’s kicker attempts a field goal. The theory is that this will unnerve the kicker, particularly when the kick is very important, like in the scenario we set up above. The kicker, left to think about nothing but the kick at hand (or should it be at foot?) will start to think about the criticism he’ll face if he misses — will he be lambasted in the media? will he still have a job if he misses? will his teammates hate him? — and, because of that, he’ll panic and miss the kick. It doesn’t work. No, really, it doesn’t work. I promise. And really, why would it work? Professional field goal kickers already spend all game and all week and all year thinking about kicking field goals. Another 30 seconds isn’t going to matter. They know they’re always a missed kick from losing their jobs. The 32 who have made it into the NFL are the ones who thrive under those circumstances.

So, why do coaches persist in doing something that doesn’t work? It’s not because they’re stupid. I think it’s because there’s a strong human preference for action over inaction and also for delaying the inevitable. In our last second field goal scenario, taking a time-out doesn’t help the defending team, but it doesn’t hurt them either. So, perhaps the better question is, why not do it? Especially if no one thinks it’s going to win, they’re not going to criticize a coach for trying. It’s like the old joke about the scientist with a horseshoe on his door who answers a colleagues question about why he bothers hanging it there since he obviously doesn’t believe in superstition. The scientist replies, “well, it can’t hurt.” If you ice the kicker and it doesn’t work, well, we all know it doesn’t work — there’s no regrets. If you don’t ice the kicker and he makes the kick, maybe you wonder if the tactic would have worked, if only in that specific setting. Even if a coach truly doesn’t believe in icing the kicker, he probably doesn’t want to lose more than he doesn’t want to ice the kicker. For the next thirty seconds, at least, icing the kicker is a way to avoid losing.

Thanks for your question — and one last note. In the NFL, coaches aren’t allowed to take two time-outs before the same play. Maybe the coach took a time out, then a play was run, and then he took another time-out right before the kick?

Ezra Fischer

What constitutes offensive illegal motion in football?

Dear Sports Fan,

I’m confused over what constitutes offensive illegal motion in football. Rule 7 – Section 7 states, “No player is to be moving toward the line of scrimmage when the ball is snapped.” Does this mean there’s a brief wait period before a backfield player can advance after the snap?

Look forward to your answer,
Dennis

Dear Dennis,

From your reference to Rule 7 – Section 7 in your question, I’m going to assume that you’re interested primarily in the National Football League, not any other type of football. Rule 7 – Section 7 in the NFL rulebook corresponds to illegal motion, a very specific violation of a general rule. In this post, I’ll explain the general rule, then write about the specific violation called illegal motion, and quickly touch on the other common penalties that are similar to illegal motion. At the end, we’ll return to your question about whether a backfield player must wait briefly before advancing after the snap.

The general rule which underpins the illegal motion penalty is that offensive players should be still when the ball is snapped. Although this sounds mundane, it’s actually one of the primary things which separate football from the rest of the popular sports. As opposed to a fluid, constantly shifting game like basketball or soccer, football is a series of set plays, almost like moves in a turn-based board game. The game stops, the teams set up, they go like demons for a short period, and then the pattern repeats. All the stopping and starting can make football seem boring to new fans and lead to the common criticism that football games only have 11 minutes of action but it’s actually the key to football being the most tactically complex and suspenseful sport. When I think about how I watch a football game, the moment between when an offensive team has set up to begin a play and when they snap the ball is the moment when my brain is most active. I’m trying to figure out what’s going to happen – is the offensive team going to run or pass? Will they be successful? Who is going to be involved in the play. Having the offense pause before the play starts facilitates more than just fan interest, it also gives the defense a chance to adjust their formation and plan to match the offense’s. This is essential to keep things somewhat balanced between offense and defense.

Motion is a technical term in football that provides one exception to the rule against the movement of offensive players when the ball is snapped. One player on the offensive team may be moving when the ball is snapped as long as that player is not moving toward the line of scrimmage and he is not a member of the offensive line. You see this somewhat commonly with wide receivers who move from one side of the formation to the other or running backs who move from one side of the quarterback to the other. Illegal motion is what happens when a team attempts motion and fails for some procedural reason. The two main types of failure are the player in motion mistakenly moves toward the line of scrimmage instead of just sideways and the player in motion being ineligible to be in motion because he was originally lined up on the line of scrimmage like an offensive lineman. In all cases of illegal motion, the penalty is five yards.

There are two other types of violations against the principle of offensive stillness. The first is an illegal shift and it’s very similar to illegal motion. Shifting is movement by offensive players before the ball is snapped (instead of during). More than one player is allowed to shift at the same time but they all have to come to a one second stop before the ball is snapped. The other violation is called a false start and it’s what happens when any of the players not in motion make a sharp movement before the ball is snapped. This is most commonly an offensive lineman starting to come out of his stance and move backwards to protect his quarterback.

To return finally to your question about whether the illegal motion rule means that a backfield player like a running back or quarterback has to momentarily wait after the ball is snapped before moving, it does not. Illegal motion only applies to players who were moving before the ball was snapped. As long as they are eligible to move and moving sideways or backwards, they are allowed to continue their motion through the snapping of the ball. All the other players, who were still before the snap, are allowed to start moving in any direction as soon as the ball is snapped.

Thanks so much for reading and keep the questions coming,
Ezra Fischer

One line to fool them all – 11.8.15

Sports talk is frequently used as a common language but it’s far from universal. If you’re someone who doesn’t follow or even understand sports, you can find yourself at a disadvantage in common small-talk situations like in an elevator, waiting for a bus, sitting at a bar, or around the proverbial water cooler at work. Even if you are a sports fan, it’s impossible to watch everything and know everything. To help in these situations, we provide lines to use when engaged in a conversation about all of the high profile sporting events of the day, plus explanations of what they mean.

NFL Football

Miami Dolphins 17 vs. Buffalo Bills 33

Line: Seems like the Bills just have the Dolphins number.

What it means: The Bills and Dolphins are in the same division, the AFC East division. This means that they play each other twice every year, which makes the games simultaneously more important and more tactically challenging. It’s hard to play a team that knows your tactics as well as a divisional rival does. This familiarity makes it possible, sometimes, for a team to seem like they’ve solved another team the way you or I would solve an easy math problem. So far this year, the Bills have beaten the Dolphins 41-14 and 33-17.

Green Bay Packers 29, vs. Carolina Panthers 37

Line: The Panthers survived, but if Rodgers had had five more minutes…

What it means: If you hadn’t followed this game (or had lines written for you by someone who did) you would have thought the story was the Panthers retaining their undefeated record by outscoring the Packers in a close game. That’s not really the story. The real story is that the Panthers got up to a big lead and then seemed unable to even slow the Packers down as they launched a furious comeback attempt behind their star quarterback, Aaron Rodgers. The Packers come very close to tying the game and given the momentum of the game, if it had been just a little longer, it seems like they would have found a way to do it.

Jacksonville Jaguars 23 vs.New York Jets 28

Line: Surprisingly entertaining for a game featuring Blake Bortles and Ryan Fitzpatrick.

What it means: Neither of the quarterbacks in this game are particularly well thought of among football fans. The Jaguars’ Blake Bortles is a young quarterback who has shown some potential in his time in the league but very little performance. The Jets’ Ryan Fitzpatrick is a veteran quarterback who has played well for several different teams but never well enough to secure a starting job for very long. Despite their lack of star power, both quarterbacks played well today and helped make this a good back-and-forth football game.

St. Louis Rams 18 vs. Minnesota Vikings 21

Line: Justice was served in this win, but the bigger question is when Teddy Bridgewater can come back.

What it means: The Vikings quarterback, Teddy Bridgewater, was knocked out of the game with a suspected head injury after being knocked unconscious a hit by a St. Louis Rams defensive player that most people thought was dirty. Bridgewater had already started sliding feet first when he was hit. When a quarterback (by rule any player but in reality only quarterbacks do this) starts to slide feet first, this signals that he’s voluntarily “giving himself up” or stopping the play. Once he’s started sliding, no one is allowed to hit him. In this game, someone did, and the results were pretty brutal.

Washington Redskins 10 vs. New England Patriots 27

Line: Another Pats win, but how many players can they afford to lose?

What it means: The Patriots are a perfect 8-0 so far this year, but they finished this game having lost their best running back, Dion Lewis, to a scary non-contact knee injury, and were reduced to playing a tight end in their offensive line because of all of the injuries they’ve suffered in that unit. It’s incredibly impressive that they can overcome so many injuries to key players and still win so easily, but fans of the Patriots (and maybe enemies too) suspect there’s a limit to how long the trend can continue.

Tennessee Titans 34 vs. New Orleans Saints 28

Line: Maybe the Saints would be better in the NBA?

What it means: The New Orleans Saints have scored an average of 34.5 points over the past four games, which is an absurdly high number for an NFL football team (okay, maybe not basketball high, but give me and yourself some poetic license!) but they’ve allowed an average of 31.25 points over the same period. That’s also an absurdly high number, and their shoddy defense is the reason why they lost this game today to the not-very-good Titans.

Oakland Raiders 35, vs. Pittsburgh Steelers 38

Line: Two questions: how good will these Raiders be in a couple years and how can the Steelers survive another injury to Big Ben?

What it means: Even in losing, the Oakland Raiders continued to impress neutral football fans and convince us that they’re a young team with limitless potential. The Steelers were built to win now, but they lost their star quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger, nicknamed Big Ben, who missed four games with a knee injury earlier this year and left this game with a foot injury. The Steelers are a markedly worse team without Roethlisberger. They found a way to win without him before, but that was before they lost their best running back for the year due to torn ligaments in his knee. It will be quite a feat if they can win without him some more.

New York Giants 32, vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers 18

Line: Either the Giants aren’t very good or the Buccaneers aren’t very bad — this game was closer than it looks.

What it means: At one point in the fourth quarter, the score was 20-18. Then the Giants scored two field goals — to make their lead 8, which is still a single possession game — before they scored a touchdown on the final play of the game. That last touchdown makes the score seem like one you’d find in a game with an obvious and convincing winner. This game didn’t really have that.

Atlanta Falcons 16, vs. San Francisco 49ers 17

Line: Not sure the fire everyone the week before the London game gambit is going to work for Jim Caldwell after this showing.

What it means: The London game, which is always followed by a bye week, has become an opportune moment for teams to fire their coaches. As if he knew that might be a possibility and wanted to cut it off at the pass, the Lions head coach fired most of his offensive staff the week before this game. After losing so badly to the Chiefs, this almost blatant attempt to buy himself some time, may not work. Head Coach Jim Caldwell might get fired anyway.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers 23, vs. Atlanta Falcons 20

Line: It’s hard to figure out what’s happening to the Falcons — no major injuries, no controversies, just sudden badness.

What it means: The Falcons won their first five games. And then lost three of the next four, including this one. Usually, when that type of fall from grace happens, there’s a clear reason, like an injury to a major player or several minor ones, or some kind of on the field or off the field controversy. None of these factors are present, at least that we know of, with the Falcons. They were good and then they sucked. It’s curious and we don’t have a good answer about why.

Denver Broncos 24, vs. Indianapolis Colts 27

Line: It may be too late for fantasy owners, but it’s not too late for the Colts, especially not in their stinky division!

What it means: The Colts players were popular fantasy commodities (in case you want or feel you need a primer on how fantasy football works, we’ve got one!) and have spent most of the season disappointing their fantasy owners by not accumulating good statistics in their real world games. They played so well today, against what many people think is the league’s best defense, that they looked like a completely different team. It may be too late for fantasy owners who relied on the Colts players for their fantasy teams (because the fantasy regular season is about 3/4 of the way done) but it’s not too late for the Colts to make the playoffs in the real NFL. This is particularly true because, despite their struggles, they’re still in first place of their division. Every other team in their division has lost more than they’ve won.

Philadelphia Eagles 33, vs. Dallas Cowboys 27

Line: And Tony Romo’s MVP case only gets stronger.

What it means: Tony Romo is the Cowboys starting quarterback, or at least he was until the second week of the season when he broke his collarbone. Since then, he’s been recuperating and confined to the sideline, and his team has lost six straight games. Saying he should be voted the league’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) is a little bit of a joke, since the award is really given to the player who has had the best year, for the best team (usually a quarterback), not someone who has had his value proven by getting injured and watching his team completely sink (and stink).

How can I still be a sports fan after Greg Hardy?

The sports blog Deadspin published an investigative story recently by Diana Moscovitz detailing the assault case against National Football League (NFL) player Greg Hardy. It’s a thoroughly dispiriting piece which describes and confirms many of our worst assumptions about human nature and the casual ease with which rich and powerful men in our society take advantage of their privileged positions. In case you haven’t read the piece, here’s roughly what we know:

  • Greg Hardy physically assaulted a woman, Nicole Holder, who he had been in an on-again, off-again relationship with for two years
  • Police were called onto the scene by two separate 911 calls, one from a witness, who was concerned about Holder’s well-being, and one from Hardy who claimed that Holder was assaulting him.
  • When the police arrived, they interviewed the people who were there, including Holder, Hardy, the witness who called 911, and other witnesses. They took photos of Holder’s injuries and also those of Hardy’s. These photos are available on Deadpin as part of their article.
  • The police eventually arrested Hardy and in 2014 he was convicted of assault.
  • Hardy later appealed the verdict and, largely because Holder refused to take part in the appeal process, eventually had his conviction overturned. The prosecutors suggested that Hardy had reached an undisclosed civil settlement with Holder in return for her silence in court.
  • Since then, Hardy has been reinstated to the NFL and signed as a free agent by the Dallas Cowboys. He served a four game suspension after his original 10 game sentence was reduced. He’s back on the field and playing well.

As a sports fan and as someone who spends a lot of time writing about sports for an audience of mostly non-sports fans, in addition to being totally disgusted by reading Deadspin’s article today, I found myself automatically thinking about what a non-sports fan might think about the article. The single biggest question that I imagined non-sports fans asking was, “how can you continue to watch football after reading a story like that?” My answer, and I assure you, I am not being glib at all about this, is that I am proud of sports today.

It’s good that sports are covered so vociferously by the sports media that stories like this are published. Players, coaches, and owners should be well aware of the fact by now that they can’t do something as awful as this and get away with it for long without it becoming known. Not every industry can say this. Take the restaurant industry, for example, which is just beginning to struggle with this issue in the workplace. What part of American life is more closely scrutinized than sports? Maybe politics or the music/movie/celebrity industry can rival sports, but most cannot. The close coverage of sports benefits society as a whole by surfacing a lot of issues which I believe are present in every walk of life.

  • Money and celebrity equate to great social power which can warp the way society treats a person, even to the extent of changing how police and the court system handle an illegal act.
  • Many domestic assault victims are vulnerable to private and public pressure that work against the punishment of their assaulter.
  • Many people are quick to disbelieve or blame a domestic assault victim and equally quick to excuse or forgive the assaulter. This is especially true in cases where the legal system has failed in convicting the assaulter, or even, as in this case, convicted him but lost on appeal.
  • The extent to which someone is forgiven or excused from having committed assault is affected by their real or perceived value to some element of society.

We need to find ways to break these patterns. How can we strengthen our ethical mores so that we don’t compromise our ethics, even for people who we venerate? How can we particularly empower our legal system to be invulnerable to the appeal of the rich and powerful? How can we ease or reverse the response to domestic assault victims so that we support their recovery and the punishment of their assaulters? How can we convince or force companies to hold employees to a higher standard than that of a flawed legal system without creating modern Red Scares or witch hunts? How can we apply forgiveness without denial and rehabilitate without letting people get away with crimes? How can we do this evenly across society?

We as a society need to answer all these questions together and, while I doubt that sports as a subculture is currently equipped to lead that movement, I am grateful to sports journalists who are at least bringing these problems to the surface persistently and eloquently.