Deion Sanders Upset Being Ranked 34th On Top 100 NFL Players List! "Whoever Made This List. You Should Be Slapped With Baby Powder In Your Hands"

Future Hall of Fame cornerback Deion Sanders has always had a mercurial personality, though the people who have played with him over the years will tell you that "Prime Time" is actually a lot more humble and hardworking than people may think. As Sanders will tell you, there's Deion and there's "Prime Time"; we know which one showed up on Thursday's "Total Access" show on the NFL Network to air a grievance about his place on NFL Films' "Top 100 Players of All Time" series. Prime was No. 34 overall, (who voted on this thing???), but he begged to differ just as I do:
Hilarious to be sure, but I'll side with Prime. If he was the best cover corner in the history of the game at his peak for a sustained period of time (and I don't think anyone who saw him would even debate that), and there are 22 players on the field at any given time, why wouldn't the best at one position be higher?

The problem is that this is a Top 100 overall -- the best, the most important, the guys who had the biggest impact in the sport. And I'm not sure how much Deion really changed the game because his skill set was virtually unrepeatable. It's all well and good to say, "I want to shut receivers down just like my hero, Deion Sanders," but unless your name is Darrelle Revis (who's done it for just the one season so far -- that's how hard it is to play at that level at that position), it just ain't happening. I'm with Prime and we are unhappy that the list is weighted to the offensive side of the ball, but that's the way it goes.

Atlanta Falcons Falcons to induct Deion Sanders into Ring of Honor

We had to post this in it's entirety, thanks ajc.com


October 22, 2010, by D. Orlando Ledbetter

FLOWERY BRANCH – Deion Sanders, the most entertaining and flamboyant player in team history, will be inducted into the Atlanta Falcons’  Ring of Honor.
Sanders, nicknamed “Prime Time” for his style of play, was with the Falcons from 1989 to 1993 after being drafted No. 5 overall out of Florida State.

Deion Sanders strutting his stuff during his time with the Falcons. He is set to be inducted into the franchise's Ring of Honor.

The Atlanta Falcons announced that cornerback Deion Sanders is the latest inductee into the team’s prestigious Ring of Honor. Sanders was named the eighth member of this exclusive club by a vote of a local media selection committee.

Sanders said he was trying to convey a positive message with all of his bling, but the message got lost.

The induction will take place at halftime of the nationally-televised Thursday night game between the Falcons and Ravens at the Georgia Dome on November 11.
“When I was dreaming as a kid, I couldn’t often times share those dreams because I thought they were so out of the box. Never would people think that a kid from Ft. Myers, Florida, who was small in stature, but big on confidence, would ever have his name recognized in a stadium in the only place he played in which he called home,” Sanders said.  “I want to thank Falcons Owner Arthur Blank and the organization (ironically 21 years later from the year I was drafted) for making my dreams come true.”
Sanders is a first-year eligible candidate for the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s class of 2011. He is on the preliminary list of 113 modern-era candidates.

During his five seasons with the Falcons he established a new standard for the cover cornerback and was also an electrifying kickoff and punt returner.

Deion Sanders with the 49ers.

He had 24 interceptions over his Atlanta career even though teams elected to stay away from his side of the field.   He averaged more than 20 yards each season on kickoff returns and returned three kickoffs and two punts for touchdown.
In 1994, Sanders signed as a free agent with San Francisco. He would go on to also play for Dallas, Washington and Baltimore during the outset of the free agency era. He played 14 seasons in the NFL and won Super Bowl rings with San Francisco and Dallas.

Sanders was selected to eight Pro Bowls, including in 1992 and 1993 as a member of the Falcons.
Tommy Nobis, Steve Bartkowski, William Andrews and Jessie Tuggle were in the first class of Ring of Honor inductees in 2004.  Mike Kenn, Claude Humphrey and Jeff Van Note are also members of team’s Ring of Honor. Kenn and Humphrey were the last players to be inducted by the team in 2008.

The Falcons Ring of Honor was established to honor retired players who made significant contributions to the franchise during their playing careers.

 Sanders with the Dallas Cowboys.

“Deion Sanders is widely regarded as one of the best cornerbacks in the 91-year history of the National Football League,” Falcons owner Arthur Blank said. “He epitomized excellence on the playing field and was a tremendously gifted athlete who possessed great speed. Deion excelled as a defender, kick returner, punt returner and on offense on his way to establishing 12 club records.”

 
Deion Sanders visited the team facilities with his youth football team this summer.

We LOVE Deion!

RANDY MOSS 200,000 EXTRA BONUS!

Wide Receiver Randy Moss just got a $200,000 bonus for being picked up by the Tennessee Titans ... courtesy of his new state government.

It all comes down to state tax -- back in Minnesota, the former Viking had to set aside 7.85% of his multi-million dollar salary to pay the state income tax.

But now that he's employed in the state of Tennessee -- where they don't have a state income tax -- multiple finacial experts tell us that extra $200,000 Moss was planning to kick over to MN, could now remain in his own pocket. He's really smiling at the Vikings now.

*CHA-CHING!*

Common Rules & Penalties

So there is this book. I call it it The Most Boring and Outright Ridiculous Book of Crap. Others call it the NFL Rulebook.
I cut and pasted it into Microsoft Word for a little light researching one day. It was over 24 pages long. Single spaced. I lost interest after the table of contents. So instead, I will just give you a few of the most common.

For even more rules, head to NFL Rules at Football.com

One quick thing before I dig into this. Sometimes after a foul you hear the refs say
“The Penalty is declined.”
I never could understand that!  If the other team f’ed up, don’t you want them punished? Here’s the deal: For every foul–rule breaking–there is a penalty attached to it. When there is a foul called on one team, the other team has the option of accepting or declining the resulting penalty. For example, let’s say it’s third down and the Cardinals are on the 50 yard line. The Steelers rough up Cardinals QB Kurt Warner and gets a roughing the passer call. That’s a no-no and they would get a 5 yard penalty—meaning the Cardinals get to move 5 yards closer to the goal and get to redo the 3rd down.
Great! Who would decline that? You avenge your QB and move closer to scoring!
Well, see, sure he got beat up BUT on the same play, Kurt Warner completed an amazing pass 15 yards down the field to Larry Fitzgerald.

• If they accept the penalty they would be on the 45 yard line but it would be third down.
• If they decline the penalty, they would be  on the 35 yard line and it would be first down.

Does that help at all? If not feel free to email me for more details. Or go look it up somewhere else!
_________________________________________________________________________________

Penalties:

Against the offense: the yardage is now attached to their original goal. Meaning if they were first and ten and got a five yard penalty, they are now first (or second) and 15.
Against the defense: the yaradge is now taken away from the offense’s original goal—or they get to move farther down the field.

Holding (offense or sefense): 10 yard penalty
Literally holds the other player so he can’t move, block a play, catch a pass.
Pass Interference (defensive, usually): Automatic first down.
The defense touches, tackles or in any way impedes an offensive intended receiver from receiving a catchable pass before the ball has not yet been touched by any other player. If the ball has been touched—all players are fair game!
False start (offensive) 5 yard penalty
Once the players are in position on the line of scrimmage, the offense is not allowed to move or “fake out” the defense until the ball is snapped. If they do, they get a false start. If they were first and ten before the foul, they would now be first and 15.
Offsides (offensive or defensive) 10 yards, automatic first down.
Each play the players form the line of scrimmage with offensive line on one side and defensive line on the other. The space between the two lines is the neutral zone and any player that enters that zone before the ball is “snapped’ is offsides.
Encroachment (defensive) 5 yard penalty.
Same as offsides but the defensive player has contact with the offensive player before the start.
Intentional Grounding (offensive): 10 yard penalty and loss of down.
When a quarterback gets scared is about to be sacked, sometimes he tries to throw the ball away so no one else gets it–without an intended receiver in the area. I have no idea why this is a no-no.  But its not so good. If they were first and ten, now they are second and 20. This helps QBs suck it up, be a man and run the damn ball themselves. Big Babies.
Roughing the passer and roughing the kickers: (defensive) 15 yard penalty
Do not get me started on this. This is when a defensive player makes contact with the quarterback or kicker after the ball has been thrown or kicked.
Face mask (offensive or defensive): 5 yard penalty.
Dangerous play where the opposing player grabs the facemask of the opposing player to stop him
Ineligible receiver (offensive): 5 yard penatly.
Offensive lineman are not allowed to catch passes. Why? No idea. But they are supposed to only be there for decoration to block.  If they do catch the ball, there is a penalty.
Unsportsmanlike Conduct (offensive or defensive): 15 yard penalty.
Taunting, gesturing, abusive language, making snow angels, celebrating too damn hard……This is a very vague rule. Needs to be explored!
NFL Rules at Football.com
From Super Bowl XLIII
Chop block (defensive): 15 yard penatly
tackle from behind, and hits them below the knee

What does 4-downs mean?

Baby, Are you Down, Down, Down Down, Down?
In American football, each team has four downs (plays, attempts) to move the football 10 yards down the field.
Each down begins with a snap or a kick, and ends when the ball or the player in possession of the ball:

• is declared down by an official,
• a team scores,
• or the ball or player in possession of it leaves the field of play.

Each time one of these three things happens, it is declared a “first down,” “second down,” and so on and so forth. Although it doesn’t seem like much, it is actually normal for teams to advance only about three to four downs on each play!
On each play, the offensive team must get the ball 10 yards downfield (toward the goalposts), from the start of play – this is called “1^st and 10.” If the next 10-yard line is less than 10 yards downfield they are to achieve “1^st and goal.” If the offense moves the ball past that line, they make a new first down.
If a team achieves 10 yards in four plays or less, it has another four attempts – a new set of downs – to cover the next 10 yards, and they just keep going this way until:

• a touchdown is scored
• they scrimmage the ball to get the first down again
• they kick the ball (either by punting or making a field goal attempt)

If after four downs, the team is unable to gain 10 yards or score a touchdown, it must give up possession of the ball to the defensive team, and the action on the field then shifts direction. The line of scrimmage (where play begins) for the next play will be determined by the position of the ball when it is downed. A constant back-and-forth. Reminds me of Capture the Flag – did you play that growing up too?
There you have the basics of the four downs. Since this is Football 101, we’ll stop there for now. Stay
tuned for more football basics. In the meantime, does anyone else have the Jay Sean song featuring ‘Lil Wayne in their heads now??

How to read a football field.

I don’t know about you, but there are a few things I think of when I hear the word “hash:”

• My favorite Chicago brunch – a scrambled egg skillet with potatoes!
• Something I may or may not have tried in college…
• A tool used in social networking– truly the best way to label your topics in Twitter.

But only recently did the word “hash” make me think about football…Let’s start from the beginning.

The Football Field
From grade school up through the NFL, a regulation football field measures a little more than an acre – 100 yards long and 53 yards wide. The look of the field is also pretty standard with the exception of team logos and designs spray-painted in the end zones and on the field.  The Boise State Broncos even have blue Astro Play turf on their field, the only stadium in the world!
Oh, and those colorful logos and lines that appear during live games, yep, only on the screen.  That’s ok, I thought they were real too for a few seconds…
At both ends of the field are white lines to mark the end zone, which extends 10 yards on each side to the back line. By the way, get to know the end zone – this is where the magic happens (scoring). And finally, a thick white line borders the whole field to mark the boundaries.

Other white lines run parallel to the end zone lines and cross the field at 5-yard intervals with the 50-yard line in the center. These lines are crisscrossed by two rows of dashes that run parallel to the sidelines known as hash marks! So, there you go – a new use for “hash.”
These marks help the players, officials, and the fans keep track of the ball. Before each play, officials place the ball between these rows closest to where the previous play ended.
Goalposts with 10-foot vertical poles topped by 18.5-foot horizontal crossbars sit in the middle of each end line at the back of each end zone. Vertical poles extend from either end of the crossbar to provide a target for kickers attempting a field goal or an extra-point conversion.
And that, ladies, is Football Field 1o1.

What are Special Teams?

As we already know, there is the defense, offense, and now we add in Special Teams? What makes them so “special’?
Honestly, at the end of the day, not much. Special Teams are used during unique plays like kick-offs at the beginning of a quarter, after their team scores, receiving kick-offs, field goals and blocking field goals. Lots of kicking involved here. If there is a kicker on the field, it’s a good bet that this is a Special Team.
These plays can be really exciting if the player who is back to receive the punt is able to get past the defense and run all the way for a touchdown. In the 1983 season Tony Dorsett ran back a touchdown for the longest run from scrimmage in NFL history. I was jumping up and down hollering like a crazy lady on that play!
But, oftentimes punts are caught and the receiver “takes a knee” which means he didn’t see any benefit of running down field. Taking a knee automatically places the ball at the 20 yard line, which is much safer than running down field and risking a fumble or injury.
In the last two seasons a lot of teams started using a “wildcat offense” which means they are in essence tricking the defense by hiking the ball to a player other than the quarterback. This throws the defense into a scramble and, if successful, can lead to big yardage.

What are the Defensive Linemen’s job?

The Defensive Line are the BIG GUYS who’s job it is to tackle, sack and basically crush the quarterback. Although they are huge and scary, they are also very quick which is often missed when you are watching the game on TV.
As we learned in our quick overview of the Defense, there are three rows in a defensive line. There are 4 Defensive Linemen who are on the line of scrimmage (first row of defense), two Defensive Tackles in the middle and two Defensive Ends to the left and right. More men, linebackers, may be brought to the line of scrimmage if they need to protect their goal by creating a barrier wall.
Although the quarterback and the wide receivers get most of the glory, the Defensive Linemen are famous for their quarterback sack dances and beating their chests after a big play. Check out Jared Allen of the Minnesota Vikings rodeo dance after a big play. It’s like he is tying up a baby calf with a rope. These mean truly embody the animalistic aspects of the game. Don’t be afraid, embrace the gorilla tendencies of these men, it’s their job, they are having fun, and it is hilarious!

What is the Defensive Line?

Typical Football Defensive Lineup

Okay ladies, let me start with this: I have been watching football for 2+ decades, and until I started to read up on the Defensive Line, I had zero idea who’s who and what’s what. So, let’s learn together!
In general there are 3 layers of defensive players
1. Defensive Linemen (first layer with 6 men)
2. Linebackers (second layer with 3 men)
3. The Secondary (it’s called the “secondary” but it’s the 3rd row with 2 men, I know, it’s meant to confuse us)

The primary function of the Defensive Line is to stop the Offense; stop the running game, stop the throwing game and if possible, strip the ball away from the Offense resulting in an interception and getting the ball back for their team.
Here is the breakdown of positions:
LB= Linebacker
DE= Defensive End
DT= Defensive Tackle
CB= Corner Back
S= Safety

Now, these guys are generally the biggest men on the field. HUGE scary men! They rip and roar their way towards the Quarterback, throw down a Receiver like a sack of potatoes, and do a “Lights Out” dance on top of it. There is a fantastic Nike commercial by the Creative Artist Agency on youtube featuring Shawne Merriman of the San Diego Chargers. You get the idea of how tough these guys are. The “Lights Out” dance is when a Defensive player hits an Offensive player so hard you can hear and feel it and you cringe!
Look for a deeper breakdown of all of the Defensive Player positions from the 101 Women soon! Till then you can check out the NFL’s football basics and if you have little ones at home who want to learn the game the NFL has a Muppet puppet video featuring Coach Zuff (that’s the puppet) that breaks down the player positions.

What is the Offense?

There are two sides to every story, and in football, the offense and defense have very different perspectives. We started with the defense. Now, we’ll share a basic overview of the offense and in separate posts, break down each position. Hike!
The offensive unit is on the field when its team has the ball. As with the defense, there are generally three layers of players:
1. Offensive Backfield (the quarterback is the centerpiece of this 3-man unit)
2. Offensive Linemen (center line at the line of scrimmage, 6 men)
3. Wide Receivers (2 men off the side of the offensive line)
Here is the breakdown of positions:
QB= Quarterback
RB= Running Back
C= Center
G= Guard
T= Tackle
TE= Tight End
WR= Wide Receiver
Some refer to the offense as the celebrity side of football. These are the players that do most of the scoring and end up in many of the headlines. Think Terrell Owens or Chad Ocho Cinco.
There are many different offensive strategies to each game and to truly understand individual plays, it’s important to understand the big picture. Let’s start with the basics.
Running the Ball
A team’s running game is an offensive strategy based on running the ball down the field to gain yardage (remember our lesson on the field). Running the ball is considered a “conservative” approach to offense – it focuses on limiting turnovers and penalties. The overall strategy is to tire out the opponent’s defensive unit.
Passing the Ball
The passing game is an offensive strategy based on running the ball down the field to gain yardage. If you can throw the ball, you can strike from anywhere on the field, forcing an opponent to play catch up ball. Passing the ball is considered a finesse type of football, meant to keep the defense on its heels. This strategy is generally more exciting for fans!
So, there you have it. That should get you started. Stay tuned for a more detailed breakdown of each of the Offensive Player positions from the 101 Women soon! Until then, check out NFL’s beginner’s guide to football.

What or Who is the Quarterback?

The quarterback is the leader on any football team. Although it is a team sport, if you had to pick THE guy who is responsible for his team’s success week to week, it would be the QB. Why? Well, for one, he is the only player on offense who touches the ball on every down, or offensive play. Second, he calls the shots. Although these days the coaching staff generally decides the next play, the QB has to use his judgment and make a quick assessment about whether that play will actually work with the current defensive alignment. Or, make a last-second adjustment, or audible, if he makes a different call.
The role of a quarterback has such prominence that its language has made its way into our everyday conversation. Oftentimes, politics will speak of leaders “quarterbacking” their constituents to success. And I can’t tell you how many times I’ve “Monday morning quarterbacked” at work – second-guessed or analyzed a decision or plan with the benefit of hindsight.
What makes a good quarterback?
Coaches and fans have different opinions but here are some winning characteristics:
•    He has good gut instincts
•    He has a strong arm, is able to throw far
•    He has an ACCURATE arm
•    He is flexible, able to play a good running or passing game
Here are five NFL quarterbacks who are taking the 2009-2010 season by storm:
•    Drew Brees of the New Orleans Saints
•    Brett Favre of the Minnesota Vikings (he has only lost one game this season and is 40!)
•    Peyton Manning of the Indianapolis Colts
•    Matt Schaub of the Houston Texans
•    Donovan McNabb of the Philadelphia Eagles

What Do the Jersey Numbers Mean?

In the game of American football, numbers are very important. And not just in scoring. The number of yards covered, how many downs a team has, the number of players on the field (one extra man = you have a penalty!) And then there’s the jersey numbers.
According to official NFL Rule 5, Section 1, Article 4, players must wear numerals on their jerseys. Personally, I think this is a great rule because 1) once you learn what they mean, it’s much easier to follow what’s happening on the field and 2) can’t you just see some players coming up with some quirky sayings or flair to distract their opponents? I can…
On April 5, 1973, a jersey-numbering system was adopted by the NFL where each position on the football field is given a range of numbers for each player in those positions to choose from.
Who wears what?

• 1-9 Quarterbacks and Kickers
• 10-19 Quarterbacks, Receivers, Tight Ends, and Kickers
• 20-49 Running Backs and Defensive Backs
• 50-59 Centers and Linebackers
• 60-79 Defensive Linemen and Offensive Linemen
• 80-89 Receivers and Tight Ends (or 40-49 if those ranges are taken)
• 90-99 Defensive Linemen and Linebackers

There are a few exceptions to the rule.
What happens if a player changes his position during his NFL career, moving him into a new category? Rare, but in that instance, he must be issued an appropriate new jersey number.
During the preseason period when rosters are larger, the NFL will allow some duplication and changes from the norm, but the rule must be followed during the regular season and postseason.
Still having trouble identifying which player is which as the chaos that is football takes over the screen? Try body type. Read our individual player posts and learn more about their roles and build. And if you’re still confused, that’s alright. Practice, read and watch. We’re here to help!

Starting the game Part 2

We’ve reviewed the basics of the game and the offensive line, and in this issue we wrap up the series with defense and special teams.

Defense exists to stop the other team from scoring by tackling their runners, deflecting passes, or making a player on the other team fumble (drop the ball). The best thing the defense can do is making the offensive team lose control of the ball, usually by intercepting a pass targeting a player on the other team. This is called a turnover and the ball is now in the possession of the defensive team and they will now bring out their offense to try to score. If your team can’t stop the other team from scoring, they stand a good chance of losing the game, so it’s all about the defense baby!

The defense team has the following key positions:

Defensive Tackle
Depending on the defense strategy, one or two defensive tackles play. These guys on the defensive line are responsible for stopping the offensive charge. The right tackle generally has the tight end alongside of him, so he’s operating in a more confined area and he’s generally going against the strongest run defender (of the two defensive ends) but the weaker pass rusher. The left tackle is generally going against the speed rusher, a guy whose responsibility is to rush the quarterback. He’s generally operating with a lot more room because there’s no tight end on his side.

Defensive Ends
The bookends of the defensive line, these guys stop the outside running game of the offense and fight through blockers, rushing the quarterback to get a sack. There are always two defensive ends and their main goal is to sack the quarterback! Defensive ends are usually a little smaller and faster than defensive tackles.

Linebackers
These guys need to be versatile and tough to stop both running and pass plays. Linebackers are the big guns and they line up a few yards behind the tackles and the ends. During a blitz they will rush the quarterback.

Cornerbacks
Lined up opposite the wide receivers, cornerbacks stop the running game and cover the receivers along with the linebackers. There are usually two cornerbacks.

Safeties
Lined up 8-10 yards from the line of scrimmage the safeties are responsible for extra support in pass coverage to prevent the offense from gaining long yardage and are the last line of defense. Usually two safeties play. Free safeties are often not assigned to cover a particular player and are free to follow the play wherever it goes. Strong safeties cover the tight end on passing plays.

The Special Teams
Special Teams are responsible for kicking a ball or returning a kicked ball from the other team, and are frequently labeled kicking teams, or receiving.
• Kickoffs — start the game; start the second half; start play after team scores.
• Field-Goal Attempt — an effort by the offensive special team to score 3 points by kicking the ball between the goal posts.
• Punt — an exchange of possession in which the offensive team tries to pin the ball in the defensive team's end of the field.
• Kick Returns — after the receiving team attempts to catch the ball and advance as far as possible toward the opposite end zone.

Now you have the basics! To have more fun with the game try:
• Listening to the lingo used by announcers and "Joe Football" sitting next to you!
• Listening to stories told before and after the game by avid fans!
• Pick one team and a few players to follow and watch them for the entire season, no matter how painful it gets.
• Learn what team are your teams’ longstanding rivals and hate them with a passion!
• Attend a game in person and try a pregame tailgate party!

Starting the game

Starting the Game

Before each game, the captains from each team and the referee meet at the center of the field for the coin toss.
• The winner of the coin toss has the option of starting the game by kicking the ball to the other team or receiving the kickoff from the other team.
• The game begins when one of the teams kicks off to the other.
• The receiving team must catch the ball and try to advance it as far forward toward the kicking team as possible.
• The play ends when the player with the ball is knocked to the ground (tackled), runs out of bounds, or makes it all the way to the kicking team's end zone (touchdown).
• The spot where the kick returner was tackled becomes the line of scrimmage. The line of scrimmage is a term for the place the ball is spotted before a play is run.
• Once this starting point is established, the offensive squad of the receiving team will come in and try to move the ball toward the opposition's end zone.

Offense
The offense is the team that has possession of the ball and is trying to score by moving the football down the field towards the end zone. There are two ways to move the football: running or passing. The offensive team has four attempts, or chances, to move the ball ten yards. These attempts are called downs. Once the ball has moved ten yards or more from the starting point of play, the team gets four new downs to try to move the ball another ten yards. If the ball doesn’t move ten yards forward in four downs, the other team gets possession of the ball (the offense also has the option of kicking – punting – the ball to the other team on the fourth down).

There are two ways to score points while on the offensive side of the ball. One is to kick the ball through the goal posts at the back of the other team’s end zone, which is called a field goal, and the other is to run or throw the ball into the end zone, which is called a touchdown. A field goal is worth three points and a touchdown is worth 6 points. Immediately following a touchdown, the team gets to attempt a kick for an extra point. This is similar to a very short field goal. Following the kick, the possession of the ball moves to the other team.

The offensive team has several players in different key positions:

Quarterback
The quarterback is the team leader who really gets the offense moving. He is the only player that touches the ball on every offensive play, regardless of running or passing strategy. He throws the ball for a pass or hands it off for a running play. Sometimes the quarterback will even run with the ball himself. Quarterbacks don’t have to be large, but most have magnetic personalities and display clear leadership qualities.

Wide Receiver
This position is mostly used to catch passes from the quarterback. They don’t need to be big, but they definitely need to be fast. Jerry Rice is probably one of the most famous wide receivers in football and he could certainly teach the energizer bunny a thing or two about staying power.

Running Back
It’s a dangerous job, but someone’s gotta do it! Running backs take the hand off from the quarterback and run as far as they can before getting tackled by the thugs on the other team’s defense. Their goal is to gain yardage and they take a beating doing it.

Full Back
These guys are crucial to a good running game. They can run like a running back, or block for the running back, giving him a chance to get further down the field. Just like the running back, these guys take a pounding.

Tight End
To clear up a common female misperception, this position has nothing to do with the fit of the uniform. Tight ends are multitalented players who block, catch passes and provide protection for the quarterback.

Offensive Line
There are usually five players on the offensive line. The typical offensive line has a center in the middle who hands the ball through his legs to the quarterback at the start of each play. There are two guards, one on each side of the center, and two tackles who play on the outer edges of the offensive line and are usually the biggest players. The offensive line’s mission is to block for the running back on a running play or protect the quarterback from the defense on a passing play. These are the big guys on the offensive team who usually weigh in at around 300 pounds.

Football 101 - What's in it for you.

Can I tell you how tired I am of single women complaining about how hard it is to meet a decent man? The problem is not a dearth of quality men. In fact, I know quite a few single gems. The problem exists where the ladies are looking. You aren’t going to find the right man in a sleazy bar or pick-up joint. If you want a man who values integrity, honor, and good sportsmanship, then you have go where the real men are. In the fall, that means your local sports bar.

Football is the all-American game. If you can’t get into the game, you are shunning some of the best guys in town. Here you will find men that truly believe in honor, both on and off the field. Football players aren’t stereotypical big dumb jocks. They have had to work incredibly hard to get where they are, and there are no NFL players who haven’t made a true commitment to the game. The fans are equally committed to the game and their teams. So much for the common complaint that "it’s impossible to find a man who can make a commitment"!

Personally, I’m hooked on the game itself. I love the strategy, the element of surprise, and the emotion (and I’m not terribly opposed to cute butts in tight football pants, either). You may or may not develop your own passion for the game, but you need to garner a basic understanding of how it works if you don’t want to come off like a fool. Guys can spot a fraud miles away, so it’s better to admit your ignorance and ask questions, rather than try to pretend you know the game. Of course, this only works for so long and you need to bone-up on football if you want to hang with the boys. Start with the basics – you need to know what teams are playing, and it really helps to have a favorite. I’m a tried-and-true Raiders fan myself, but they aren’t for the weak-hearted, being the only team in the NFL that has to play against both the opposing team and the selectively-blind referees (personal quibbles aside, of course).

If you don’t have a favorite team in mind, you could simply go with your hometown team. Be it the town you live in now, or the one from which you came. If that doesn’t work for you, then you probably come from Cincinnati or Cleveland, and should pick a random team. I know women who made their selection based on which jersey color looked best on them, which logo they liked best, or which team their despised ex-boyfriend hated the most. However, you make your selection, choose your team, and stay with them through the good times and the bad.

Start reading the sports page. You need to understand what is going on in the football world. At first, very little might make sense, but keep reading and you’ll be surprised at how much you can actually learn. For a high level overview, listen to the sports segment on your local network news. ESPN has a great web site where you can always find the latest stats on all the teams. At the very least, try to know the latest disputed calls, injuries and controversies.

Get a good pal to tutor you in the basics of the game. I recommend choosing a male friend, not boyfriend, who is a patient soul. Also, you are best learning from a taped game, so that he already knows the outcome and won’t mind stopping the tape to explain what just happened. I was totally anti-football until a good friend sat me down with a taped game and a few brews. Thanks to his patience and understanding of the game I’m now a regular Sunday inhabitant of the sports bar. Don’t forget to check among your gal pals; you may have a hidden football fan in your midst. The bonus is not just a great lesson, but also a buddy to join you in your foray into NFL Sundays at the sports bar and football fan

Football: Terms to Know In This Game

“In football the object is for the quarterback, also known as the field general, to be on target with his aerial assault, riddling the defense by hitting his receivers with deadly accuracy in spite of the blitz, even if he has to use shotgun. With short bullet passes and long bombs, he marches his troops into enemy territory, balancing this aerial assault with a sustained ground attack that punches holes in the forward wall of the enemy’s defensive line.” — George Carlin in Baseball vs. Football

Funny yes, but what does it all mean?
By looking at a football game, it seems so easy. The technical objective is to score more points than your opponent but really, it’s just to beat the crap out of all the other players on the field, sometimes including those on your own team! (Hard to tell who is who when everyone jumped in a big pile and your helmet is in the way!)
The other day, for research purposes, I decided to watch a game and ignore any football knowledge I have accumulated over the last decade or two. And, wow, it’s actually a pretty complex sport with lots of terms and rules and stuff that gave me a headache!

This is Part 1: Very Basic Terms to Know before attempting to read on let alone watch a game! I know that there are a lot technicalities within each term but I don’t want to confuse anyone. Namely, myself.

First, the Pigskin: Yeah, that’s the football.

The Playing Field:

The Gridiron: the football field. My fascinating fact: comes from the word Griddle, like the frying pans! If you look at a griddle they have parallel lines to cook on and that’s what the gridiron means,: a surface with parallel lines. Mmm..pancakes sound so good right now. Oh right, football. Blah.
Yard: Equivelant to 3 feet or 36 inches. It is the unit of measurement of the field. Why? I have no idea. The field itself is 100 yards (120 with both end zones).
End Zone:  This is the spot that the teams are trying to get the ball to. There is one on each end of the field and it’s where the big goal posts live! Get the ball into the end zone and you score points! Yay!
Line of Scrimmage: I knew this one till I read the definition. It was so wordy it confused me. In football there are two lines, offensive and defensive.  This refers to the spot where the both lines, well, line up with the ball in the middle to get ready to start the next action-packed sequence.

Scoring:
There are two ways to score: Touchdowns and Field Goals
Touchdown: When a team scores by “touching down” the ball in the end zone, meaning carried in or caught. It is worth 6 points and then the scoring team gets to try and kick the ball for an extra point. Not really sure why it’s worth 6 whole points. Most sports you get 1. Basketball has a 3-point shot. Maybe thats why. Because they had to bring the ball so far down the field, it’s worth more? Hmm…. But in that case if someone runs the ball all the way from the other end zone, shouldn’t it be worth like 12 points?
Field Goal: You know those big goal posts at the end of the field? When a team kicks the football into the middle of them they score 3 points!
Field Kick: The kick that gets them those 3 points. Duh.
Extra points: After a touchdown, the scoring team gets to kick the ball into the goal posts to attempt to gain an extra point, bringing their score from 6 to 7 points. Or they can try to run it in again for 2 points.
Quarterback: The QB! He tends to be the team’s leading star. Feel free to correct me if I’m wrong here but it doesn’t seem like a team can be successful without a great quarterback. He pretty much puts the football in play from throwing passes or handing off the ball.
Objectives:
The second objective of football, besides scoring points, is to achieve the 1st Down. :
Downs: Yeah…really, really don’t want to explain this because it’s just one of those weird football things that are so essential to the game, yet so WEIRD! I’m sure you have heard it: 1st down, 2nd down, 3rd down, 4th down…..
The offensive team gets 4 chances to move the ball ten yards down the field. Each chance is a “down.”  If they don’t advance 10 yards in 4 tries, the ball goes back to the other team. Kinda like baseball: you have three outs per side before you give the ball back to the other team.
Downs & Yards, i.e, First & Ten, Third and inches, Third and Goal.
This means it’s the First Down, or chance, and the offense needs still needs to move the ball 10 yards.
Third and inches means its the third chance and they only have a few inches to go to hit the 10 yard mark!
Third and Goal means that it’s the third chance and they are within 10 yards of the end zone, aka the goal.
**There are markers on the side of the field to help determine if the down was made. Sometimes it really does come within inches. Watching a televised game? They have a a digital line to show viewers at home where the first down is! Great technology!

the magic yellow first down line used for t.v.

About Passing:
Passing play: I read that this is “a play in which a forward pass is made.” Gee that’s helpful. That makes it sound like any time a guy hits on me in a bar.
Receiver: Player catching or receiving the pass.
Incomplete pass: A pass that goes awry. No one is able to catch the ball.
Interception: A pass that is sucessfully caught by the other team, aka intercepted.
Fumble: An, “oops, my bad.” When a player messes up with the ball and it fumbles around. Usually funny to watch.
Pass Interference: This is different than an interception because it’s an action that inhibits the pass receiver from catching the ball and it’s not allowed.
What is “Play Action” they are always talking about?
Play Action, or  Play Action Pass (PA for super short), is a fancy schmancy way of saying “fake out.” Basically the QB pretends to hand off the football so that the defense will then follow the guy with the pretend ball. This does two things.

1. It gives the quarterback more time to then pass the ball because no on thinks he still has the ball (and it’s a big no no to rough the QB after a pass).
2. Since the defense is following that guy with the pretend ball, it helps open up the field for a receiver to catch the pass.

Some other stuff:

football has a bend and snap too!

Football’s version of “the bend and snap” Oh that’s right, I just compared football to Legally Blonde! Yay!  Elle teaches us that Guaranteed Guy Getter is the “bend and snap” (aka bend forward to show your booty and then snap back up with your chest thrust forward) and football has the same move! The players bend over with their tushies in the air until the ball is “snapped” and then they too, all snap back and run, chest forward into the person in front of them!

:)

The Snap: When the Center (the player in the middle of the bending lineup) passes the ball between his legs to the QB or player behind him to start off each play with a snap!
The Play: The action-packed sequence that occurs after the snap until it is stopped (out of bounds, interception, tackle, fumble, score…till the next sequence begins)
False Start: Never really understood this one even though every game I’ve ever watched seems to have this happen. The best answer I could come up with was from wikipedia saying it’s “a sudden movement of the offense in an attempt to draw the defense offsides.” Freaking great. Still no idea what that means or why it’s bad. And no one seems to be able to explain it in logical words. Before the ball is snapped, some players on the offense try to fake out the defense to trick them into moving before the offense puts the ball into play. I think.
Kickoff: Used at the start of the game, halftime or after a score. One teams kicks the football off of a tee at their own 30-yard line as hard as they can. The other team catches it and tries to run it back as far as they can!
Punt: aka a drop-kick. Not kicked from a tee like the kick-off. Here, the kicker drops the ball to his own foot and kicks it as hard as he can down the field to make the players chase after it. (Next time you are “threatening” someone, instead of saying “I’m going to drop-kick your a$$,” try “I’m going to punt you.” See if it intimidates!)

look how funny he looks punting!

Manuevers
Blitz: When the defense rushes against the snap. Yeah, see what I mean: the definitions are often as ambiguous as the term itself. As soon as the ball is snapped and not even in the QB’s hands, the defense rushes forward hoping to take down the QB. What the difference is between this and a regular play….no idea
Sack: When the QB is tackled before he passes the ball off to someone else, behind the line of scrimmage. Wherever he was taken down, that’s where the offense has to start their next play. What this means: the offensive team now has farther to go for their first down.
Tackle: When a defensive player hurls his body against the player from the other team carrying the ball and knock him to the ground to end the play.
Blocking: Unlike tackling, this is used against the defensive players to try to stop them from getting to the guy carrying the football
Holding: Is the bad way of blocking and tackling. Apparently, you are not allowed to hold other players even though they are trying to kill the guy carrying the football. Go figure. There is offensive and defensive holding which we will get into later. In short, it’s holding onto the oppenents jersey or hooking around a body part…I don’t know. Just plain weird.

a big ole pile of men in a tackle

Flag or yellow flag: A lot of times you see the officials throwing something yellow on the field and say the announcers say “a flag on the play.” Uh huh, sure. It’s just a fancy way of calling it a foul or saying one of the players did something wrong. Then the officials usually give an explanation like holding of false start.

FOOTBALL 101

We've decided to do a sort of "Table of Contents" for latter days when newbies gravitate toward the knowlege of  America's Favorite Sport...FOOTBALL!

Basically all we're saying is here's FOOTBALL 101 in order.

 

Football 101 - What's in it for you

Football Terms to Know

Starting the game 

Starting the game Part 2 

What Do the Jersey Numbers Mean? 

What or Who is the Quarterback? 

What is the Offense? 

What is the Defensive Line? 

What are the Defensive Linemen's Job?

What are Special Teams? 

How to read a football field. 

What does 4-downs mean? 

Common Rules & Penalties  

Players & Positions

Cheat Sheet