RESOURCES

On Football for Normal Girls

The Glossary contains all of the definitions we roundup in each Friday’s post.

The Archives lists all of the posts chronologically, which is helpful when you are looking for something specific and you know when it was posted.

The Sitemap lists all of the posts categorically, which is helpful when you want to know more about a certain topic, like Basics or Games.

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Other Websites to Stalk

MMQB has the best writing in all of sports – perhaps in all of anything. Everything (everything) here is good, but Peter King’s weekly column (Monday Morning Quarterback, hence MMQB) is an absolute must-read.

Quickish, now simply “the Q” has long been my favorite quick-hitting resource for the best news in sports…and now there is a version  just for the NFL! It’s like Christmas!

You can’t beat the statistical quality of the information over at Pro Football Focus. They do a “refocus” of each game every week, breaking it down by the numbers, which is tremendously helpful, and also award a PFF team of the week and “had a bad day” team of the week, both of which are just fun (and informative!) reads.

Helpful Apps

The Football Simplified app will help you break down the basics (and then some!) in short order. (For the Western New Yorkers in the crowd, there is also a hockey version of this app!)

I know from experience that the NFL Mobile app really does cure #FOMOF (Fear Of Missing Out on Football) because I traveled for the first 8 weeks of the season and often had to rely on radio broadcasts to catch games while driving. Much to the chagrin of the other drivers on the road, who must have thought I had severe road rage. Nope…just listening to the sound of Aaron Rodgers’ collarbone breaking. Nothing to see here.

I rely on Bleacher Report to send the first push notifications about breaking NFL news (somehow they are almost always the first to break news) and Packers news with the Team Stream app.

Educational Television Programming

My personal favorite is NFL Turning Point. Beyond getting an up close and personal look at the game, you also get substantial explanations of what happened, specifically, in several games each week that led to wins or losses. Airs: Wednesdays at 10:00pm and 11:00pm (NBC Sports Network) 

Similarly, NFL Matchup is one of the most insightful football shows out there, and definitely the best football programming on ESPN, in my opinion. It’s impossible to walk away from an episode without learning 87 new things about football and having an intel edge on the upcoming games that day. Airs: Sundays at 6:30am (ESPN) and 8:30am (ESPN2)

Even if you aren’t a football fan, chances are you’ll love the A Football Life documentaries. Each focuses on a prolific person in football history (even current history, with players like Michael Strahan). The stories are so well-produced and beautifully told. Airs: Wednesdays at 8:00pm (NFL Network). You can also buy Season One and Two on DVD.)

Podcasts

I’m including this section to highlight the only sports podcast I listen to (though I’m sure there are many other good ones out there): Tuesdays with Aaron. As a Packers fan, this podcast really can’t be missed. Because how often do you a) have the best quarterback in the league on your roster and b) get to listen to him talk and be a real person for a half an hour every week? Admittedly…this happens more often for the Packers than it does for other teams. Green Bay has been extremely fortunate when it comes to high caliber quarterbacks. But the Rodgers era is a golden one for sure, and this podcast is a great way to savor it.