The first televised pro football game of the season is usually the Hall of Fame Game in Canton, Ohio. The game is always a big event in our household. My husband is a serious student of the game, but until now, I have been more of a dilettante.
I know that the object of the game is to take the oval shaped ball down the field to cross your opponent’s goal line, that a touchdown is worth six points, a point-after kick is worth one, and that you can, if you choose, “go for two” after the touch down instead. A lot of the finer rules escape me. I know it is a bad thing if anyone moves (besides the one special dude who gets to run the width of the field) before the ball is snapped, but I continually get lost between false start and encroachment. The difference is whether the defense or the offense breaks the rule, but I get the names confused.
I know the names of certain positions, but not all. I can tell you who the quarterback, center, running back and wide receiver are, but I really couldn’t tell you the difference between a nose guard and a tackle (although I should be able to). I am confused by the tight end, because he seems to be sort of a running back, receiver, and member of the offensive line all rolled into one.
There are certain key points of the game that are hard to miss. In particular, I think that a good offensive line is probably even more important overall than a star quarterback, running back, wide receiver – none of the last three can do what they need to do if the offensive line isn’t in the trenches slugging it out for them. I think the star quarterback, running back, and wide receiver would agree with me. The same is true also of the defensive line. The winner of a game is usually the team that wins the battle between the lines.
Starting this year, I am going to learn more about this sport that I love to watch, the rules and the history. I hope you come along with me and enjoy the ride.
Oh – and just to help y’all out, I intend to post each week’s NFL and SEC television schedules. I wish I had time to post all the college conferences’ schedules, but just like you, I have to work for a living too!