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Did You Know...

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 02:59:42 +0000

Herb Adderley was an All Big-Ten offensive star as a running back at Michigan State University before becoming a first round draft pick of the Green Bay Packers in 1961. As a rookie in the Packers training camp, he competed against future Hall of Fame running backs Jim Taylor and Paul Hornung, but head coach Vince Lombardi decided to try the former Spartan as an emergency replacement for injured starting cornerback Hank Gremminger... and the rest, as they say, is football history! Read more...

Did You Know... originally appeared on About.com Football on Friday, November 6th, 2009 at 02:59:42.

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NFL Tiebreaking Procedures

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 02:54:12 +0000

As we prepare to enter the second half of the NFL season and the playoff races start to heat up, NFL tiebreaking procedures are sure to come into question. This reference page provides the list of tiebreakers the NFL now uses for divisional races and Wild Card races as well as for ties between two, three, and more teams. For future reference, this page will be listed in the Football 101 section with other informative pieces such as:

How to Calculate a Quarterback Rating
Common NFL Defensive Formations
Uniform Numbering System
Officials, Referees, and Umpires... What's the Difference?
NFL Scheduling Procedures

NFL Tiebreaking Procedures originally appeared on About.com Football on Thursday, November 5th, 2009 at 02:54:12.

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Did You Know...

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 00:00:11 +0000

The penalty flag was first used in the NFL in a game between the Green Bay Packers and the Boston Yanks on September 17, 1948. More football firsts...

Did You Know... originally appeared on About.com Football on Sunday, November 1st, 2009 at 00:00:11.

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The History of Grass... Artificial That Is!

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 00:29:34 +0000

Ever wonder where Astroturf came from or how it has evolved over the years? Inventors Guide Mary Bellis looks at the history of phony grass.

The History of Grass... Artificial That Is! originally appeared on About.com Football on Saturday, October 31st, 2009 at 00:29:34.

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Officials, Referees, and Umpires... What's the Difference?

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 20:40:36 +0000

Football officials... they're the men on the field we all love to hate and complain about. But without these keepers of the rules, a football game could not progress with any sort of structure or sanity.

Officials play a very important role in the game, from keeping things moving along to making sure the athletes don't unnecessarily hurt each other. Officials are responsible for monitoring the game clock and play clock, enforcing the rules of play, and recording all rule infractions.

You often hear them referred to by the general term of referee, but there is actually only one referee on the field during a game. Each official (usually seven in college and NFL games) has his own title and assigned responsibilities. Read more...

And if you've ever wondered what it takes to become an NFL official, we have all the details.

Photo: Eliot J. Schechter / Getty Images

Officials, Referees, and Umpires... What's the Difference? originally appeared on About.com Football on Wednesday, October 28th, 2009 at 20:40:36.

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Zorn in No-Win Situation

Sat, 24 Oct 2009 12:50:31 +0000

If recently emasculated Redskins head coach Jim Zorn has any sense, he'll seriously consider packing his belongings and taking the next flight out of D.C.. The situation in Washington, unfortunately, is looking more and more every day like a disaster just itching to unfold. And Zorn seems to be in a position now that he can't win no matter what he does.

With Zorn being stripped of play-calling duties and replaced in that capacity by a guy who has been out of the game for years and whose last big gig included calling Bingo games, it seems the coach's days are numbered. If the Redskins don't turn things around, Zorn is as good as gone, that's fairly obvious.

But here's the catch. If they do manage to somehow climb back into the playoff hunt, the credit won't go to Zorn. Read more...

Zorn in No-Win Situation originally appeared on About.com Football on Saturday, October 24th, 2009 at 12:50:31.

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Top NFL Draft Prospects for 2010

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 22:25:45 +0000

I know, I know... it's way too early to start talking about the 2010 NFL Draft, and any speculation at this point is subject to huge revision six months from now. Regardless, I've put together a very premature collection of the top 32 draft prospects as I see them right now.

At this point, I have Oklahoma defensive tackle Gerald McCoy listed as the top prospect overall, assuming he opts to turn pro following the season. Along with McCoy there are a number of underclassmen, as always, in our initial release of the rankings. In fact, they make up half of the top ten.

More often than not a quarterback like McCoys' Sooner teammate Sam Bradford hears his name called first on draft day. At this point, however, any one of a handful of players could be the guy. Check the list...

The individual position rankings are coming soon!

Top NFL Draft Prospects for 2010 originally appeared on About.com Football on Thursday, October 22nd, 2009 at 22:25:45.

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What is the Wildcat Offense?

Sun, 18 Oct 2009 15:25:19 +0000

It's no secret the NFL is a league of copycats. If one team finds success with a new wrinkle, you can bet other teams will attempt to duplicate it.

The latest big fad spreading through the league involves the Wildcat offense. Perhaps more appropriately referred to as the Wildcat formation or Wildcat package since no NFL team runs it as their primary offense, the non-traditional attack has caught on with several teams and been very effective in some cases.

So what is the Wildcat offense and what are its advantages?

What is the Wildcat Offense? originally appeared on About.com Football on Sunday, October 18th, 2009 at 15:25:19.

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Bored By Office Pools? Try Something New!

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 01:38:41 +0000

Getting tired of the same old office pools that pop up each year with the opening of the football season? Why not try something different this year like a prognostication pool?

What is a prognostication pool?

It can be a one-time thing or a weekly contest featuring your favorite team, or perhaps pick the top match-up of the week. The idea is to successfully predict the outcome of a series of questions based on the anticipated results of a particular football contest. Questions can be as simple as who will win the game and as obscure as which quarterback will post the highest passer rating. Each question, generally anywhere from 10-20 total, gives the participant the opportunity to register one point each by correctly predicting a certain outcome. The player who makes the most correct predictions is that game's winner, or you can accumulate points over an entire season to determine a champion.

Here's an example of a prognostication pool...

Bored By Office Pools? Try Something New! originally appeared on About.com Football on Tuesday, October 13th, 2009 at 01:38:41.

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About.com Looking for Freelance Writers

Fri, 09 Oct 2009 11:16:30 +0000

The About.com Contributing Writers program was created to help us cover topics that may not be broad enough for a full GuideSite. Contributing Writers work alongside our Guides, covering specific subtopics that fall within the larger topic areas of our GuideSites. They are responsible for producing a certain amount of content (articles or blog posts) per month on that subtopic. They are not responsible for managing or maintaining a full GuideSite.

We are currently evaluating candidates to write on the following topics:

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If you get the Playing and Coaching position, you'll get to work with me!

About.com Looking for Freelance Writers originally appeared on About.com Football on Friday, October 9th, 2009 at 11:16:30.

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