Surviving the Super Bowl : Test Your Knowledge

Ready to test your newly acquired skills? Here’s a quiz to review everything you’ve learned over the past 3 days; answers will be posted tomorrow. Good luck and have fun!

1. What’s a snap?

  1. That noise you make with your fingers and thumb
  2. The button thing on your vest
  3. The exchange of the football from the center to the quarterback
  4. The exchange of the football from the quarterback to the center

2. What’s a drive?

  1. A collection of plays that results in the scoring of a touchdown
  2. A team’s complete collection of plays during one possession of the football
  3. When a defensive player tackles the quarterback
  4. The way a team travels from the hotel to the stadium

3. There are 6 players on offense who stay constant, 5 who are interchangeable. Which of the following is a constant on offense?

  1. Tight End
  2. Center
  3. Wide Receiver
  4. Running Back

4. Which of the following is NOT an offensive lineman?

  1. Right Guard
  2. Left Tackle
  3. Center
  4. Linebacker

5. What does the phrase “3 and out” mean?

  1. A team did not convert on it’s first 3 downs and has to punt
  2. A team has 3 players out on injury
  3. A team is sending 3 wide receivers running out routes down the field
  4. A team did not convert on it’s first 3 downs and is kicking a field goal

6. It’s 2nd and 12 at the offenses 30 yard line. Which yard line do they need to reach to earn a first down?

  1. The 40 yard line
  2. The 42 yard line
  3. The 20 yard line
  4. The 18 yard line

7. A team has 4 chances, called downs, to gain 10 yards. So why wouldn’t most teams run a play on 4th and 1 from their own 20 yard line instead of punting it away?

  1. It’s against the rules
  2. They’re going to kick a field goal instead
  3. They have to punt at least 10 times per game
  4. They’d be risking turning the ball over to the other team and putting them in scoring position

8. The two sections of defense are:

  1. The defensive starters and the defensive backups
  2. The defensive front and the defensive backs
  3. The defensive offense and the defensive defense
  4. The defensive red zone and the defensive end zone

9. Which of the following players does NOT play in the defensive front?

  1. Ends
  2. Tackles
  3. Linebackers
  4. Safeties

10. The single tackle in a 3-4 system is called the:

  1. The front tackle
  2. The main tackle
  3. The nose tackle
  4. The head tackle

11. The defensive backs are also known as the:

  1. Primary
  2. Secondary
  3. Tertiary
  4. Quad Unit

12. The defense brings 8 players into the box. What type of play are they anticipating?

  1. Punt
  2. Field Goal
  3. Run
  4. Pass

13. One linebacker goes out, one defensive back comes in. What package is the defense using?

  1. Penny
  2. Nickel
  3. Dime
  4. Quarter

14. Kickoffs occur:

  1. At the beginning of the first half
  2. At the beginning of the second half
  3. After scoring plays
  4. All of the above

15. It’s 4th and 1. The offense is on the defense’s 20 yard line and decides to kick a field goal instead of going for it. What will the total field goal distance be?

  1. 2 yards
  2. 20 yards
  3. 30 yards
  4. 37 yards

16. What does it mean to “go for 2″?

  1. Run a 2-pt scoring play instead of kicking for an extra point
  2. Run 2 players into the end zone and have both of them score separate touchdowns
  3. Kick a field goal for 2 points
  4. Kick an extra point for 2 points

17. When can a team go for 2?

  1. After an extra point
  2. After a field goal
  3. After a touchdown
  4. After a kickoff

18. If a team is down and needs to get the ball back quickly, what type of kick might they try?

  1. A kickoff
  2. An onside kick
  3. A fair catch kick
  4. All of the above

19. True or False: Offensive and defensive players can also play on the special teams unit

  1. True
  2. False

20. True or False: You are SO PREPARED to Survive the Super Bowl!

  1. True
  2. False

Film Room : Name That Player

We’re going back in time in today’s film room post to further break down film we’ve already broken down. Because we’re just that intense! We’ll be taking a closer look at the first four weeks of film and identifying two players in each big play using the lessons we learned in Monday’s fundamentals post.

And because it’s been far too long since we’ve had a good old fashioned quiz around here, we’re going to up the ante and do questions today, answers tomorrow.

Gazelle-like intensity, I tell ya.

Ok peeps, here we go. In each video, I’m going to ask you to identify a specific player on the offense and defense. Use the workflow we talked about on Monday to figure it out: uniform number, context, roster. Watch the video, jot down your answers to the question, and check back tomorrow to see if your answers are correct.

In our first film room post we learned how the Falcons worked together to create Roddy White’s phenomenal catch against the Panthers.

Question 1: Identify the following players and their position: 84 (Falcons), and 43 (Panthers)

The following week we moved on to the Patriots vs. Broncos and saw the Patriots do what they do: turn a 3rd and 17 into a first down.

Question 2: Identify the following players and their positions: 39 (Patriots), 25 (Broncos)

Next, we moved onto my favorite film room week: the big Packers victory over the Texans on Sunday Night in Week 6.

Question 3: Identify the following players and their positions: 75 (Packers), and 99 (Texans)

Finally, we went back to the Creamsicle game.

I’m sorry.

Question 4: Identify the following players and their positions: 44 (Bucs), and 50 (Saints)

Ok, gang! Hop to it! See you all back here tomorrow for the answers.

(You’ll all be 4 for 4, I’m sure!)

Pop Quiz!

What's more invigorating than a quiz on a Monday morning? Grab a cup of coffee and let's chat about that.What’s better than starting a Monday off with a Pop Quiz style bang?

A lot of things, probably.

BUT, not in the case of this pop quiz! There’s a great Fundamentals post coming your way tomorrow that was originally intended for today, but once I uploaded an illustration of basic offense and defense I realized I couldn’t not quiz you guys on all of it first. I mean, come on. What kind of blogger am I? But if you’ve been following along, you’re going to rock it. And then once you conquer a Football for Normal Girls quiz you’re going to be so ready to roll with the rest of this week feeling all accomplished and knowledgable, and really, isn’t that a great way to start a Monday?

I think so too.

Ready?

Take a look at the picture below and identify the following:

  1. All of the players on the field (there are two potential tricks here)
  2. The strong side and weak side of the field
  3. What formation the offense is in
  4. Where the quarterback will take the snap from
  5. What personnel group is on the field
  6. What formation the defense is in
  7. What techniques the defensive line players are lined up in
  8. The Sam linebacker
  9. The Will linebacker
  10. What type of coverage the corners are playing

GO!!!

basic, football, offense, defense

Need a minute to think it over?

Don’t worry, I’ve got you covered.

(For the record, it’s late on Sunday night and I worked all weekend. My humor meter is running dangerously close to the “everything’s funny!!!” line. My apologies in advance.)

Ok, time’s up! Here are your answers (not in the form of questions):

  1. I’m going to inspire a little confidence in you all right here, right now. I KNOW you know what players are on the field, so I’m not even going to list them all. But in the event that you don’t know them or need a hand with a few, there’s no shame in that! Double check the glossary or read this post for extra help,. Now, the two that I thought might stump you are the illusions to the safeties way back in the defensive secondary. There wasn’t room to illustrate them correctly (my bad), so I just made them ghosts of letters without color-blocked squares hanging out behind the linemen. Poor safeties. A good clue that something was up was the fact that there were only 9 squares on the defensive side, and each side always fields 11 players. 
  2. The strong side is the side of the field where the tight end is lined up. The weak side, as you might imagine, is the side of the field without the tight end. In this example, the strong side is the left side and the weak side is the right side.
  3. The offense is in the I-formation – nice and easy since we can clearly see the line that looks like an “I” in the backfield. We learned about that one, and a bunch of other formations, in this post about formations.
  4. The quarterback is going to take the snap from under center. We know this because he is lined up directly behind the center. If he were 5-7 yards further back, he’d be taking the snap from the shotgun. Check out this post about snaps for more information.
  5. We’re dusting the cobwebs off with this question! The personnel group lessons were eons ago so if you didn’t quite remember, don’t sweat it. You can reread those two posts here and here. But if you do remember (great job!), you’ll know that the 11 personnel group is on the field – 1 running back, 1 tight end.
  6. I think we’ve probably hammered this lesson home hard enough that you answered without hesitation: this is a 3-4 defense. (But if you need a refresher, check out any of these posts.)
  7. Thanks to last week’s Fundamentals post, we know that the DT is lined up directly over center and is therefore playing 0-technique, and the ends are lined up directly over the tackles so they are playing 5-technique.
  8. The Sam linebacker is the strong side linebacker, or the linebacker on the tight end’s side. In this case, he’s the one on the left.
  9. The Will linebacker is the weak side linebacker, or the linebacker on the opposite side from the tight end. In this case, he’s the one on the left (or RIGHT! – just checking to see if you are still paying attention).
  10. The cornerbacks are lined up directly across from the wide receivers. Thanks to this post, we know that means they are probably playing man coverage. (Although the left corner might play zone with that wide receiver a few yards off the line.) (You’d think I would have a plan in place, since I drew up the play.) (That’s not the case.)

So…how’d you do? Amazing, right?! I’m sure you did. Go forth and conquer Monday; you’re more than ready for it. See you all back here tomorrow morning for a Fundamentals post that you are already well-prepared for!

Surviving the Super Bowl: Test Your Knowledge

football, quizYou hung in there through offense. You breezed past defense. You even read the post about special teams and learned more than you ever wanted to know about kicking! But you’ll never know what you really know until you put your knowledge to the test. And that’s what this quiz is for!

The 20 questions below have all been taken from the Surviving the Super Bowl series of posts. Try to answer them on your own first, but if you need a hand, go back to the original posts for reference.

1. What’s a snap?

  1. That noise you make with your fingers and thumb
  2. The button thing on your vest
  3. The exchange of the football from the center to the quarterback
  4. The exchange of the football from the quarterback to the center

2. What’s a drive?

  1. A collection of plays that results in the scoring of a touchdown
  2. A team’s complete collection of plays during one possession of the football
  3. When a defensive player tackles the quarterback
  4. The way a team travels from the hotel to the stadium

3. There are 6 players on offense who stay constant, 5 who are interchangeable. Which of the following is a constant on offense?

  1. Tight End
  2. Center
  3. Wide Receiver
  4. Running Back

4. Which of the following is NOT an offensive lineman?

  1. Right Guard
  2. Left Tackle
  3. Center
  4. Linebacker

5. What does the phrase “3 and out” mean?

  1. A team did not convert on it’s first 3 downs and has to punt
  2. A team has 3 players out on injury
  3. A team is sending 3 wide receivers running out routes down the field
  4. A team did not convert on it’s first 3 downs and is kicking a field goal

6. It’s 2nd and 12 at the offenses 30 yard line. Which yard line do they need to reach to earn a first down?

  1. The 40 yard line
  2. The 42 yard line
  3. The 20 yard line
  4. The 18 yard line

7. A team has 4 chances, called downs, to gain 10 yards. So why wouldn’t most teams run a play on 4th and 1 from their own 20 yard line instead of punting it away?

  1. It’s against the rules
  2. They’re going to kick a field goal instead
  3. They have to punt at least 10 times per game
  4. They’d be risking turning the ball over to the other team and putting them in scoring position

8. The two sections of defense are:

  1. The defensive starters and the defensive backups
  2. The defensive front and the defensive backs
  3. The defensive offense and the defensive defense
  4. The defensive red zone and the defensive end zone

9. Which of the following players does NOT play in the defensive front?

  1. Ends
  2. Tackles
  3. Linebackers
  4. Safeties

10. The single tackle in a 3-4 system is called the:

  1. The front tackle
  2. The main tackle
  3. The nose tackle
  4. The head tackle

11. The defensive backs are also known as the:

  1. Primary
  2. Secondary
  3. Tertiary
  4. Quad Unit

12. The defense brings 8 players into the box. What type of play are they anticipating?

  1. Punt
  2. Field Goal
  3. Run
  4. Pass

13. One linebacker goes out, one defensive back comes in. What package is the defense using?

  1. Penny 
  2. Nickel
  3. Dime
  4. Quarter

14. Kickoffs occur:

  1. At the beginning of the first half
  2. At the beginning of the second half
  3. After scoring plays
  4. All of the above

15. It’s 4th and 1. The offense is on the defense’s 20 yard line and decides to kick a field goal instead of going for it. Where will the field goal be kicked from?

  1. The 2 yard line
  2. The 20 yard line
  3. The 30 yard line
  4. The 37 yard line

16. What does it mean to “go for 2”?

  1. Run a 2-pt scoring play instead of kicking for an extra point
  2. Run 2 players into the end zone and have both of them score separate touchdowns
  3. Kick a field goal for 2 points
  4. Kick an extra point for 2 points

17. When can a team go for 2?

  1. After an extra point
  2. After a field goal
  3. After a touchdown
  4. After a kickoff

18. If a team is down and needs to get the ball back quickly, what type of kick might they try?

  1. A kickoff
  2. An onside kick
  3. A fair catch kick
  4. All of the above

19. True or False: Offensive and defensive players can also play on the special teams unit

  1. True
  2. False

20. True or False: You are SO PREPARED to Survive the Super Bowl!

  1. True
  2. False

Final Exam!

Ok, ladies, here’s the deal: This final exam is a brief one, consisting of only TEN questions! But they are ten questions that, if you know the answers, you’ll know you are well on your way to understanding the basic ins and outs of the game.

So, ANYONE who completes this final and scores with a “passing” grade – 70% or above – will receive a nice little surprise in their mailbox: a congratulations packet for making it this far and encouragement to keep going!

To enter, just leave your answers in the comments section before MIDNIGHT ON SUNDAY, OCTOBER 14TH. Answers will be posted on Monday, October 15th! Good luck!!!

1. True or False: Each team plays the other teams in their division twice every season.

  1. True
  2. False

2. Where is the red zone?

  1. The end zone
  2. Out of bounds
  3. The 20 yards prior to the end zone
  4. The spot where a penalty occurred

3. It’s half-time. Your team ended the half with the ball on the other team’s 1-yard line. What happens at the beginning of the next half?

  1. Your team starts at the 1-yard line at the opposite end of the field
  2. Your team starts at the same place as when the first half ended
  3. The other team takes possession and starts at your team’s 1-yard line
  4. The team that didn’t kick off to begin the game kicks off now and a new drive begins

4. Which of the following actions will NOT stop the play clock?

  1. A complete pass is thrown
  2. An incomplete pass is thrown
  3. A player steps out of bounds
  4. A penalty is called

5. The offense is facing a “3rd and 9” situation. What does this mean?

  1. It’s their 3rd down and they have to move the ball one yard for a new set of downs.
  2. It’s their 3rd down and they have to move the ball nine yards for a new set of downs.
  3. It’s the 3rd quarter and they have nine downs remaining before time runs out.
  4. It’s the 3rd quarter and there are nine minutes remaining before the 4th quarter begins.

6. The regular season is how mnay weeks long?

  1. 15
  2. 16
  3. 17
  4. 18

7. If the ball is caught and downed in the offensive team’s endzone by a defensive player during kickoff it’s called a:

  1. Touchdown
  2. Turnover
  3. Touchback
  4. Turndown

8. The imaginary line where the players line up is called:

  1. The red zone
  2. The backfield
  3. The starting line
  4. The line of scrimmage

9. A safety occurs when:

  1. A player alerts a ref to a penalty on the field
  2. A player is awarded for being on the receiving end of a unnecessary roughness penalty
  3. An offensive player is tackled in his own endzone
  4. A defensive player is tackled in his own endzone

10. How many teams make it to the playoffs?

  1. 8
  2. 10
  3. 12
  4. 16

Leave your answers in the comments section, and come back on Monday for the results!

Our Training Camp : Week 7 Quiz

Another week, another quiz. Here’s Week 7!

1. Which of the following is not a former player for the Dallas Cowboys:

  1. Joe Buck
  2. Troy Aikman
  3. Emmitt Smith
  4. Michael Irvin

 

2. Victor Cruz celebrates touchdowns by doing what dance?

  1. The Breakdance
  2. The Chicken Dance
  3. The Meringue
  4. The Salsa

 

3. How many times has Andy Reid led the Eagles to the NFC Championship game?

  1. 0
  2. 3
  3. 5
  4. 7

 

4. Robert Griffin the Third is a rookie quarterback for the:

  1. Cowboys
  2. Giants
  3. Eagles
  4. Redskins

 

5. The two players who came down with the ball on Monday night’s controversial game-ending touchdown were:

  1. Greg Jennings and Golden Tate
  2. M.D. Jennings and Golden Tate
  3. Greg Jennings and Sam Shields
  4. M.D. Jennings and Sam Shields

 

6. Wide Receiver Golden Tate pushed off on Cornerback Sam Shields before jumping up to catch the ball. That’s called:

  1. False Start
  2. Defensive Pass Interference
  3. Offensive Pass Interference
  4. Roughing the Passer

 

7. Which one of the following players was part of the Greatest Show on Turf?

  1. Isaac Bruce
  2. Danny Amendola
  3. Sam Bradford
  4. Steven Jackson

 

8. True or False: The Seahawks were awarded a win for a game they had rightfully won on Monday night.

  1. True
  2. False

 

9. The 49ers have won every Super Bowl they’ve ever played in. How many Super Bowls have they won?

  1. 3
  2. 4
  3. 5
  4. 6

 

10. The Arizona Cardinals are currently:

  1. 3-0
  2. 2-1
  3. 1-2
  4. 0-3