The Situation
It’s Super Bowl Sunday, and once again, you’ve been invited to a multitude of Super Bowl parties, where there’s the promise of manly food like wings and nachos and lots of couchside coaching and yelling at the TV. If you don’t understand the game of football, however, a Super Bowl party can become a loud foreign land and you’re stuck there without a map.
Wish you could join in rather than stand all night grazing through the buffet of high calorie and heart-burn inducing party food?
Consider this your playbook for the game of football and Super Bowl XLIV. (That’s 44th, by the way ...)
Penalties
If you’re a fledgling football fan or are considering following the game and/or a team, be prepared: Penalties will drive you crazy.
Your favorite team might be extremely talented, but can make itself into a bad team by committing foolish penalties that erase scoring chances or increase scoring opportunities for opponents.
An official throws a yellow flag on the field when he spots a penalty.
There are a ton of infractions that can be called for violating the rules during a game, but here are 10 of the most common:
1. False start
A false start occurs when an offensive player is in his set position and moves before the ball is snapped.
Penalty: 5 yards
2. Offside, encroachment or neutral zone infraction
To completely understand this penalty, you have to know what the “neutral zone” is. The neutral zone is defined by the NFL as “the space the length of a ball between the two scrimmage lines. The offensive team and defensive team must remain behind their end of the ball.”
Offside occurs when a defender is lined up in or moves into the neutral zone and is still there when the ball is snapped.
Encroachment occurs when a defender moves across the neutral zone and makes contact with an offensive player before the ball is snapped.
A neutral zone infraction occurs when a defender moves into the neutral zone before the ball is snapped and causes an offensive player to move prematurely.
Penalty: 5 yards
3. Holding
Offensive players are not allowed to block defenders by grabbing body parts or equipment such as jerseys or helmets or by wrapping arms around a defender. When this occurs, a holding penalty can be called.
Defensive players are allowed a little more freedom with their hands, but still are not supposed to impede offensive players (other than the ball carrier) by grabbing body parts or equipment.
Penalty: 10 yards for offensive holding; 5 yards and automatic first down for defensive holding.
4. Pass interference
Here’s the rulebook definition of pass interference straight from the NFL: “It is pass interference by either team when any player movement beyond the line of scrimmage significantly hinders the progress of an eligible player of such player’s opportunity to catch the ball. Offensive pass interference rules apply from the time the ball is snapped until the ball is touched. Defensive pass interference rules apply from the time the ball is thrown until the ball is touched.”
In other words, defenders can’t grab or shove a receiver before a thrown ball arrives in order to keep the receiver from catching it. And a potential receiver can’t shove away a defender in order to create greater separation between himself and the defender.
Penalty: For defensive pass interference, the ball is placed at the spot of the foul and the offense is awarded an automatic first down. If the foul occurs in the opponent’s end zone, the offense is awarded a first down at the 1-yard line. For offensive pass interference, the penalty is 10 yards from the line of scrimmage.
5. Illegal contact
This is one of those nitpicky penalties that can drive a team — and its fans — crazy.
It’s third down late in the game and your team just stopped the offense and is about to get the ball back down by only three points.
But wait — there’s a flag and the referee says, “Illegal cont-
act, number 42, defense.”
On pass plays, defenders are allowed to shove and make contact with receivers — provided it’s before the ball is thrown and it’s within 5 yards of the line of scrimmage.
But outside of those parameters, such contact is illegal even on a passing play where the ball might not be thrown, or even if the ball is thrown to the opposite side of the field from where the foul occurs.
Penalty: 5 yards and automatic first down.
6. Facemask
This one is pretty self-explanatory. No player — offensive or defensive — is allowed to grab an opposing player’s facemask. Ball carriers are allowed to stiff-arm a would-be tackler by putting an open hand on the facemask and shoving the defender away, but are not allowed to grasp the facemask.
Penalty: 15 yards. The penalty is enforced from one of two spots, depending on the result of the play. It will either be enforced from the line of scrimmage (if the infraction is against the offense or if it is against the defense and occurs behind the line of scrimmage) or from the spot where the ball is at the end of a play when the offense advances the ball beyond the line of scrimmage. If the penalty is against the defense, it also carries an automatic first down.
7. Roughing the passer
Defenders aren’t allowed to hit a passer too late after he has thrown the ball.
Again from the NFL: “No defensive player may run into a passer of a legal forward pass after the ball has left his hand. The referee must determine whether the opponent had a reasonable chance to stop his momentum during an attempt to block the pass or tackle the passer while he still had the ball.”
Defenders also are not allowed to tackle the quarterback in the area of the knees or below the knees from any direction. And any contact to the quarterback’s head after he has released a pass, no matter how slight, can be deemed roughing the passer.
Penalty: 15 yards and automatic first down.
8. Roughing/running into the kicker
Defenders are not allowed to make contact with a kicker after he has kicked the ball, unless the kick is blocked. The referee determines the severity of the infraction, whether it is the lesser “running into” violation or the greater “roughing” violation.
Penalty: 5 yards for running into or 15 yards and automatic first down for roughing.
9. Intentional grounding
Quarterbacks who are facing pressure from defenders often simply throw the ball away to avoid being tackled for a loss of yardage.
In some cases, this is legal. To understand when it is and is not legal, you have to know the definition of the “pocket area.”
Courtesy of the NFL: “Pocket area: Applies from a point two yards outside of either offensive tackle and includes the tight end if he drops off the line of scrimmage to pass protect. Pocket extends longitudinally behind the line back to offensive team’s own end line.”
If the quarterback, in an attempt to avoid being tackled, moves outside the pocket area, he can legally throw the ball away either out of bounds or to a point within the field of play where no one can catch it. In order not to be called for intentional grounding, the thrown ball must make it to or beyond the line of scrimmage.
If the quarterback is still in the pocket area and throws the ball away to an area in which there is no eligible receiver, he can be penalized for intentional grounding.
Penalty: 10 yards from previous spot and loss of down or loss of down at the spot of the foul if the passer is more than 10 yards behind the line of scrimmage.
10. Illegal block in the back
This penalty most frequently occurs on kick returns but can also happen on any play.
In most instances, a player is not allowed to block a defender from behind.
Players are allowed to block opponents in the back in the area between the positions normally occupied by the offensive tackles, extending 3 yards on each side of the line of scrimmage.
Penalty: 10 yards from the spot of the foul. If the illegal block occurs below the waist, it is called “clipping” and is a 15-yard penalty.
Keep in mind:
-- Other than defensive pass interference, no infraction can be penalized more than half the distance to the goal line in either direction. For example, if an offensive team has the ball at its own 10-yard line and commits a holding infraction, the offense is penalized 5 yards. Or if an offense is on the defense’s 5-yard line and defense is called for offside, the official marks the penalty 2 1/2 yards closer to the goal line.
-- Teams have the option of declining the enforcement of most penalties and accepting the result of the play.
-- On occasion, there will be penalties called against both teams on the same play. In almost every instance, the penalties offset each other and the down is replayed.
Coaches’ challenges
In some instances, a team’s coach can challenge an official’s call by throwing a red flag onto the field.
Each team is allowed two challenges per game. If a team uses both challenges and both are successful, that team is awarded an extra challenge.
Any time a challenge is unsuccessful, the team is charged one of its three timeouts. So if a team has used all its timeouts, it is not allowed to challenge a play even if it has not used either of its challenges.
Not everything is allowed to be challenged. Generally, penalty calls (and non-calls) are not allowed to be challenged. Some of the most common challenges occur on calls to determine whether a receiver who catches a pass comes down with both feet in bounds; whether a player recovers a fumble before it goes out of bounds; whether the ball actually brakes the plane of the goal line when a player is attempting to score a touchdown; or whether a quarterback who loses the ball fumbles or is attempting a forward pass.
When a play is challenged, the referee goes to the sideline and watches replays on a video monitor to determine the correct call.
In the final two minutes of a half or in overtime, coaches are not allowed to challenge. In those cases, all stoppages of play for a replay review are initiated by an official watching monitors in a booth above the field of play.
The basics
Down and distance
The team with the ball (the offense) has four downs (or regular plays) to advance the ball 10 yards and earn another set of downs.
When a team is facing fourth down, several factors help determine whether that team decides to try to earn a new set of downs or kick the ball.
A team might “go for it” if the distance it needs is short — usually a yard or less — and it is in favorable field position, usually on the opponent’s side of the 50-yard line.
If a team is on its own end of the field, it will usually punt, a kick that willingly gives the ball to the opposing team, instead of risking not making the necessary yardage and turning the ball over relatively close to its own goal line.
If an offensive team is close enough to the opponent’s goal line on fourth down, it might elect to try a field goal for three points.
Ways to score
Touchdown: A player advances the ball across the opponent’s goal line for six points. The ball, not the player, is what is important. It is necessary only for any part of the ball to be on, above or beyond the goal line in order for a touchdown to be awarded.
Field goal: A score worth three points made on an ordinary down by place-kicking or drop-kicking the ball over the crossbar and between two goal posts.
Point after touchdown: After scoring a touchdown, a team tries what is commonly called the extra point. The ball can be kicked just like a field goal for one point, or it can be run or passed into the end zone for two points.
Safety: A safety can be scored only by the defense and is worth two points. It can occur in several ways: when a player with the ball is tackled behind his own goal line; when a blocked kick or a fumbled ball goes through and out of the offense’s own end zone; or when the offense is called for a penalty and the infraction occurs in its own end zone.
Super Bowl XLIV
New Orleans Saints
The Saints, representing the National Football Conference, were founded in 1967 as an expansion team.
They played their home teams at Tulane Stadium through the 1974 season before moving into the Louisiana Superdome.
The Saints went more than a decade before they managed to finish a season with a .500 record, two decades before having a winning season, and didn’t win their first playoff game until beating the St. Louis Rams after the 2000 season.
This is the team’s first Super Bowl appearance. The Saints reached this point by going 13-3 in the regular season, claiming the conference’s top playoff seed. They beat the Arizona Cardinals in a divisional playoff game and the Minnesota Vikings in the NFC championship game.
Indianapolis Colts
The Colts were originally founded in Baltimore in 1953 and were the Baltimore Colts until 1984, when the team moved to Indianapolis.
While in Baltimore, the team won NFL championships in 1958, 1959, 1968 and won Super Bowl V in 1971 over the Dallas Cowboys.
The Indianapolis Colts won Super Bowl XLI over the Chicago Bears in 2007.
This year, the Colts went 14-2 to earn the American Football Conference’s top playoff seed. They beat the Baltimore Ravens in a divisional playoff game and the New York Jets in the AFC championship game to earn a berth in Super Bowl XLIV.
KEY PERFORMERS
Colts
-- Coach Jim Caldwell — Relative unknown to those outside of the organization when he took over for Tony Dungy this season. Only fifth rookie coach in NFL history to lead his team to Super Bowl.
-- QB Peyton Manning — Premier quarterback won his record fourth MVP award this season and is having a better postseason than when he led the Colts to the title in 2007. He is completing 67.5 percent of his throws for 623 yards, five touchdowns and one interception.
-- TE Dallas Clark — Manning’s safety valve had one of his best seasons with 100 catches and 10 touchdowns. Will likely be covered by Darren Sharper, which will be one of game’s top matchups.
-- C Jeff Saturday — One of the unsung heroes in the Colts’ success. Responsible for making the protectiion calls so Manning stays upright during a game.
-- DE Dwight Freeney — Indy’s top pass rusher likely won’t play today but is doing everything possible, including sleeping in a hyperbaric chmber and other treatments. If he can’t go, expect to see a lot of Raheem Brock.
-- LB Gary Brackett — One of the underrated linebackers in the league. Slowed by injuries this year but still is one of the team’s top playmakers.
-- CB Kelvin Hayden — One of the heroes in the Colts’ last Super Bowl win, returning a 56-yard interception for a touchdown. Will have hands full with Saints receivers.
Saints
-- QB Drew Brees — Decision to pick New Orleans over Miami might have turned the franchise around. Has thrown for 4,388 yards passing, his fourth consecutive 4,000-yard season and topped league with career-high and franchise-record 109.6 rating.
-- RB Reggie Bush — Has come on during the postseason with two touchdowns in the game against the Cardinals and one in the NFC Championship against the Vikings. Need a big game from him to take pressure off Brees.
-- WR Marques Colston — Hasn’t put up the big numbers in years past but is the Saints’ top receiver over the last two years.
-- DE Will Smith — Second in NFC with 13 sacks. Will need to put pressure on Manning if Saints are going to be successful.
-- LB Jonathan Vilma — Led team in tackles with 110 but has been quiet this postseason with six. Will be playing in city where he starred in at college.
-- S Darren Sharper — Veteran tied for league-lead with nine interceptions, including returning three for touchdowns. He is heart and soul of de-
fense, which forced 39 turnovers.
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