Review
Foul: When a player or coach does something against the (lengthy) NFL Rulebook (from Tuesday’s post)
Penalty: The consequence for committing a foul, usually in the form of lost yardage and/or downs (from Tuesday’s post)
Red Zone: The 20-yards prior to each team’s end zone, named in dramatic fashion due to the high potential for scoring to occur (from Tuesday’s post)
3rd down conversion: Successfully gaining the yardage needed on 3rd down to earn a new set of downs. (From Wednesday’s post.)
4th down conversion: Successfully gaining the yardage needed on 4th down to earn a new set of downs. (From Wednesday’s post.)
Turning it over on downs: Attempting to gain the needed yardage on 4th down and failing, therefore giving the other team possession of the ball at their current position on the field. (From Wednesday’s post.)
2-point conversion: When a team elects to “go for 2” after scoring a touchdown instead of kicking the standard extra point. The ball is placed at the 2-yard line and the offense is required to get the ball into the end zone and will earn 2-points for successfully doing so. (From Wednesday’s post.)
Downs: The number of chances the offense has to gain 10-yards total. The offense gets four tries, called downs, to advance the ball 10-yards down the field. If they do, they get a new set of downs. If they don’t, they have to punt, kick a field goal, or go for it and try to get the needed yardage on 4th down (if they don’t, the other team gets the ball right where they are, which is called “turning it over on downs”). (From Thursday’s post.)
Line of scrimmage: The imaginary line where the players line up and the play begins (from Thursday’s post)
Tackling: The act of a defensive player stopping the progress of an offensive player by forcing him to the ground in a legal manner (from Thursday’s post)
Illegal Contact: A penalty called when a defensive player (usually a cornerback or safety) messes with an offensive player (usually a wide receiver) after the receiver is 5-yards away from the line of scrimmage and before the ball is in the air. (From Thursday’s post.)
Pass Interference: A penalty called when an offensive or defensive player inhibits another player’s ability to do his job after a pass has been thrown. (From Thursday’s post.)
Home Field Advantage: The unique ability for the home team to play better and have a higher win percentage at home than they do on the road. (From Thursday’s post.)
Preview
Normal Girl Game of the Week
Miami Dolphins at New Orleans Saints, Monday at 8:40pm on ESPN
Who would have guessed at the start of the season that this Monday nighter would be so compelling? Both the Dolphins and the Saints have begun 2013 in perfect form, so it’ll be a battle of the undefeated’s in New Orleans on Monday.
Also on the radar:
1. A game that already happened: The Niners at Rams game. It’s always a good matchup between these two NFC West Rivals, but this one was especially intriguing given that neither team had won since Week 1 and both were in a three-way tie for second place in the NFC West (the ‘hawks are 3-0, everyone else was 1-2). The Niners came out (decisively) on top, but the real story of the night was the surprisingly lackluster Rams. They have some work to do.
2. The 0-3 Giants are desperate for a win and have to face the 3-0 Chiefs…in Kansas City. It’s not looking so good for the G-men.
3. The Patriots face their first real competition of the season on Sunday night against the Falcons (apologies to the Bills, Jets, and Bucs). Playing the Falcons at home is always a tall order, especially since the Falcons are coming off of a last-minute loss in Miami.
