My projection for Super Bowl XXXIX

[richlevy]

It was a great Super Bowl, a nail-biter down to the end. A lot of slippage on the field though. The Eagles may be the next dynasty.

[404Error]

Eh. Good game and I'm happy New England won but The Simpsons episode after the game was a lot more entertaining.

[richlevy]

Originally Posted by 404Error

Eh. Good game and I'm happy New England won but The Simpsons episode after the game was a lot more entertaining.

With 0-0 going into the first quarter and 7-7 going into the half, it was the closest Superbowl I can remember.

[superbaton]

mmm, not american so..please explain:
1) Football, do they ever get to touch the ball with their feet?
2) how many passes you can do throwing the ball backwards?
3) same as above but forward
4) is it really necesary to have like 8 referees?, what do they measure with those huge orange targets tied by a chain?

thanks for your help.

[404Error]

Originally Posted by richlevy

With 0-0 going into the first quarter and 7-7 going into the half, it was the closest Superbowl I can remember.

If I remember correctly, last years game was just as close going into the first quarter.

I know you probably meant going into the second quarter but I just couldn't resist.

[vsp]

Originally Posted by superbaton

mmm, not american so..please explain:
1) Football, do they ever get to touch the ball with their feet?
2) how many passes you can do throwing the ball backwards?
3) same as above but forward
4) is it really necesary to have like 8 referees?, what do they measure with those huge orange targets tied by a chain?

thanks for your help.

In order:

1) Yes, though it's usually restricted to a couple of specialists.

Placekickers boot the ball down the field from a stationary position at the beginning of each half and after each major score. After a touchdown, placekickers can try to kick it through the uprights from 20 yards away for one point. If it's done without a touchdown being scored, it's a field goal, worth three.

Punters catch long snaps and boot the ball downfield, done when the team will not reach the first-down marker. This is done to give the opposing team much worse field position than if a fourth-down conversion fails.

In theory, just about any offensive player can punt a live ball, but it's exceedingly rare.

2) Backward passes (laterals) are unlimited, but typically limited to backfield pitches from the quarterback to a running back. More than one lateral on a play is very, very rare.

3) There can only be one forward pass on any given play. More than one is an infraction.

4) Yes, that many referees are needed, as each watches a certain area of the field and certain types of players for infractions.

The measuring sticks have a ten-yard chain between them. The offensive team has four downs (attempts) to move the ball ten yards forward; if they do so, they get a fresh set of four downs. When the ball is spotted very close to the ten-yard mark, the sticks are brought out to verify whether or not the full ten yards have been reached.

[wolf]

Once again the Eagles snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. In sports, Philadelphia is often the bridesmaid, sometimes even the maid of honor, rarely the bride.

It was nice to watch the game with moderate emotional investment. The Eagles are here, and all, so I dutifully purchased a hat and teeshirt that I will not wear again for a while, and can go back to my usual response of not paying much attention to anything that is not involving daBears.

So, did anyone switch over to QVC to watch people pay obscene amounts of money for Patriots collectibles?

[Undertoad]

The unfree world settled on football, a game where there are about 6 rules.

America, the land of the free, settled on American football, a game with a rule book as thick as your arm, and one which is completely regulated in every single way.

[Kitsune]

The unfree world settled on football, a game where there are about 6 rules.

America, the land of the free, settled on American football, a game with a rule book as thick as your arm, and one which is completely regulated in every single way.

Amusing consideration!

...but the important part is that American football isn't boring as all hell. Sure there are commercials and some downtime, but those are scheduled breaks for refreshing chips and finding more beer. They're needed and you won't miss anything.

Footba-- err, "soccer", on the other hand, might be won by the single goal scored in the first minute of the game. From there out, its just nothing but miles and miles of running back and forth. Yawn.

Gooooaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaal! Gooooooooooooooaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaal!

[Telefunken]

[wolf]

Speaking of the commercials ...

I loved the "Starting tomorrow, we're all undefeated again" ad for the NFL featuring all kinds of big, burly, tough guys singing "Tomorrow" from Annie.

Ordinarily that song makes me want to rip my ears off, but in that particular context (didn't they run a similar ad last year?) it's funny as hell.

Perhaps daBears will remember how to play football next season.

I can always hope.

[Trilby]

Originally Posted by KitsuneFootba-- err, "soccer", on the other hand, might be won by the single goal scored in the first minute of the game. From there out, its just nothing but miles and miles of running back and forth. Yawn.

[i

Gooooaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaal! Gooooooooooooooaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaal![/i]

Reminds me of an amusing Simpson's episode where a riot breaks out during a soccer game only because the fans were bored out of their minds. The Simpson's....is there anything you don't know?

[wolf]

Work has been busy and I haven't been able to follow the news coverage very well ... is it true that Philly fans in Jacksonville behaved like they were at home and beat the shit out of Pats fans?

[Griff]

I dunno, I didn't see anything about that.

Are McNabb and the coach catching any heat for the slow down during their two minute drill? I'm going to have to give the Patsy's secondary a little more respect. I really thought it was just Ben's rookie status that made them look solid against Pitt.

[Undertoad]

Cheaters

Sheldon Brown and the Eagles hoped a blitz would rattle Tom Brady.

One problem: Every time the Eagles rushed Brady in the Super Bowl, the Patriots nullified the defensive attack with screen passes. Lots of them. On almost every play defensive coordinator Jim Johnson called for a blitz, the Patriots used the short pass to confuse the Eagles.

After the Patriots beat the Eagles 24-21 in 2005 to win the Lombardi Trophy, Brown thought the Patriots beat them with nothing but sharp offensive playcalling. Now, he's not so sure.

With spying accusations leveled this week against the Patriots, some of the Eagles left from the NFC title team are wondering if New England used bootleg film to their advantage in the Super Bowl.

"Do I think about it? Mmm hmmm," said Brown, their starting cornerback. "It's crazy. I just don't know how far back it goes. Something's not right about that."

Pro Bowl safety Brian Dawkins found the accusations troublesome. "Now there's always going to be questions about the situation," Dawkins said Thursday. "Was it great adjustments at halftime or what?"

Pittsburgh wide receiver Hines Ward said this week that he suspected the Patriots had some type of inside information on the Steelers before at least one of the teams' two AFC championship game matchups since the 2001 season.