# NFL Week 1 **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [September 5, 2013, 8:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-1/668059 "2013-09-05T08:18:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2013, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-1/668059/141 "2013-09-09T17:13:54Z")
He doesn’t lead with the crown of the helmet. He leads with his shoulder. Romo’s body moves because he’s being hit from the other side; nothing Kiwanuka can do about that. Between those pictures a fraction of a second elapsed. It’s not enough time for him to pull off, or hit him with a pom-pom, or do pretty much anything. Neither Al Michaels nor Cris Collinsworth said anything about the hit, and I didn’t see any Cowboys protesting. You are making up a controversy. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2013, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-1/668059/142 "2013-09-09T18:46:46Z")
> [@Omniscient](#): > > The Bears forced a 3 and out in the Bengals last possession with 8 to go and then held the ball for the last 6:30 of the game, mostly running against that D Line, but it was the call against Maualuga that cost you the chance to tie? :rolleyes: > > Also you have some serious revisionist history going on with your description of events. > > The Bengals only had 4 2nd half possessions, a 80 yard TD drive following the kickoff, a 3 and out where they punted from their own 29, a 3 plays and a fumble by Sanu on the Bears 19 and then the last 3 and out. Not sure where you’re getting twice in FG range unless you are suggesting giving the opening TD back. > > And on that last personal foul. > > [Rey Maualuga Just Cost the Bengals a Chance to Win the Game With a Stupid Personal Foul](http://thebiglead.com/2013/09/08/rey-maualuga-just-cost-the-bengals-a-chance-to-win-the-game-with-a-stupid-personal-foul/) > > Rey got driven out of the play, he got pissed about being embarrassed and did that. > > It was all luck, that ball must have had some snot on it, that’s why Sanu fumbled. The Bears have been the “luckiest” team in the league for quite a while now. Eh, I apologize for my tone, **Omni**. The way the Bengals lost was pretty upsetting to me. Of course I wasn’t blaming Maualuga for the loss, but his penalty nullified a slim chance at the end of the game where the Bengals defense had engineered a stop. Man, that Sanu fumble really turned the game, but that last exchange at the end of the first half was so badly managed by the Bengals on so many levels. Playcalling NOT to run out the clock after the first down run was stuffed for a loss, shanking the punt, then adding a personal foul (that shouldn’t have been called, IMO) to get the Bears within reach of a long FG that should have never happened. Ugh. And that was the margin in the game, too. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2013, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-1/668059/143 "2013-09-09T20:42:09Z")
> [@etv78](#): > > Haven’t seen it addressed, so I’ll ask now: Why did the Pats take a knee with 30 seconds left and 3 timeouts? All I can say is they are damn lucky it didn’t come back to bite them in the ass. It would be interesting to know if anyone schooled in probability has ever crunched the numbers, but the Patriots must have figured their best chance to win was to do it the way they did. If you keep running plays, lots of things could happen. Maybe you’ll fumble, or throw an interception. Maybe you’ll score a touchdown immediately and the other team will have time to move the ball downfield and score one of their own. But a field goal from that distance is probably \>90% successful. Those are pretty good odds. As I remember it, the Patriots got within easy field goal range, then Brady ran a play where he dived to his right (not quite the same as taking a knee), let the clock run down to nine seconds, called time out, then kicked the field goal. The dive play was to position the ball as near the middle of the field as possible. That way, the next play (the field goal attempt) would take place in the middle of the field. I don’t know how much of a difference that really makes; the effective width between goal posts can’t be more than a couple inches less if you’re kicking from the hash marks. I’ve always wondered if maybe the kicker can line things up better by starting on the center line and knowing the ball has to stay between the hash marks. The dive play also lets the clock keep running. If you know you’re going to attempt the field goal anyway, you’d probably like it to be the final play so the other team has no time to stage a miracle comeback. In practice, 9 seconds gives you two chances. If something happens on the first try, like the holder bobbling the ball, the team can keep the ball and try again from a few yards further back. ---
**Author:** ![etv78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@etv78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etv78)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2013, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-1/668059/144 "2013-09-09T21:04:37Z")
**Robot** -Sorry I forgot to mention it, but I meant at the end of the 1st half. ---
**Author:** ![steatopygia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steatopygia/32/3132_2.png) [@steatopygia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steatopygia)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2013, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-1/668059/145 "2013-09-09T22:34:12Z")
Redskins, RGIII, and MNF in 30 minutes! WOO HOO! ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2013, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-1/668059/146 "2013-09-09T23:17:15Z")
Looks incomplete. Interesting to see the Philly offense looking so good to begin with. Big Chip Kelly fan, but utterly baffled at Pat Shurmur at OC. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2013, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-1/668059/147 "2013-09-09T23:18:11Z")
Heh, holy crap. The slowest part of the game so far was the 90 yard lateral return. Now that gassed Washington D has to go right back out there. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2013, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-1/668059/148 "2013-09-09T23:18:29Z")
Looks backward to me. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2013, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-1/668059/149 "2013-09-09T23:19:29Z")
That isn’t going to stand is it? ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2013, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-1/668059/150 "2013-09-09T23:20:41Z")
Different angles, looks more like a lateral now. ---
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2013, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-1/668059/151 "2013-09-09T23:28:18Z")
> [@Hamlet](#): > > Sometimes I think you and I watch different Bears games, maybe in different universes. > > The Bengals looked, and played, like the Bungles of old. They turned the ball over three times, they had next to no running game to speak of, and their offense consisted of “Throw it to that guy who is amazing”. They committed 8 penalties, including a couple complete boneheaded plays that gifted the Bears points, and had to burn through their time outs because they couldn’t get the right number of people on the field. > > The Bengals were nearly the exact opposite of “sharp”. Credit to the Bears for winning the game, but let’s not pretend the Bengals played a good game. What I was trying to communicate was that the Bengals executed well. They made lots of mental mistakes, but their play-calling kept the Bears off-balance, they generally ran good routes and converted on 3rd down consistently. They made a lot of mental mistakes which always happens to Bears opponents, but those tended to not happen between the whistles. A quote from the ESPN game recap to back this up. > [@ESPN](#): > > The Bears simply failed to pressure Dalton, who despite throwing two interceptions, finished the first three quarters with a passer rating of 97.2. Chicago didn’t register a single hit on the quarterback in the first three quarters, as Dalton carved up the secondary for 257 yards on 23-of-29 passing. That’s what I call sharp, there’s a reason the Bengals were up 11 on the road. > [@](#): > > Tillman’s first interception was damn impressive (although Dalton should have never thrown the ball). He jumped the slant, and fought Green for the ball. Not lucky at all. But the second interception bounced off Green’s hands and straight into Tillman’s. That play was at least in part, lucky. Lucky that Green dropped a ball, and lucky that the ball happened to fall into Tillman’s hands. > > That’s how the NFL is, some turnovers are great plays, and some are simply taking advantage of the mistakes of the opposing team. The ones in the latter category are much more about luck. They haven’t posted the drop statistics for this game yet, but I’m pretty confident that the Bengals and Bears numbers will be very similar and fairly low as a whole. Balls tend to bounce off players hands when the QB is forcing the ball, the WR is hearing footsteps or trying to make a big play. Players make mistakes when put in difficult positions and the opponent forces them into those positions. Also, it’s not luck that the Bears secondary is constantly catching these dropped and batted balls. They practice it, draw they scheme up to ensure that players are in position to capitalize on these mistakes (not blitzing, cover-2, playing soft man coverage, maintaining downfield, outside position etc.) and they draft players with good hands and ball skills. Discount it if you want, but remember next time you see a batted ball skip helplessly to the ground our bounce off a DBs hands why you constantly claim the Bears are “lucky”. As you noted, the Bears were awfully “lucky” for 16 games last season and here again in week 1. They must be harvesting rabbits feet every Saturday night at Halas Hall. ---
**Author:** ![Jules\_Andre](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jules_andre/32/9334_2.png) [@Jules\_Andre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jules_Andre)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2013, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-1/668059/152 "2013-09-09T23:46:17Z")
> [@SenorBeef](#): > > Big Chip Kelly fan, but utterly baffled at Pat Shurmur at OC. Pat Shurmur is more a consultant than a real OC. Kelly calls plays, that much is obvious. Shurmur was brought in just to be a West Coast consultant and give Kelly a different voice in play design. ---
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2013, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-1/668059/153 "2013-09-09T23:47:40Z")
I think the Refs blew that lateral-fumble-TD call. There wasn’t good evidence to overturn it, but if you look where Vick was standing and where the RB was standing (Vick on the 4, arm over the 5, and McCoy just in front of the 6 and running upfield) there’s no way that pass was backwards unless Vick was throwing it behind McCoy badly. Vick would certainly have led McCoy by at least a yard. It was only a matter of inches where Kerrigan swatted it, but that thing was probably moving ever so slightly upfield. > [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > Eh, I apologize for my tone, **Omni**. The way the Bengals lost was pretty upsetting to me. Of course I wasn’t blaming Maualuga for the loss, but his penalty nullified a slim chance at the end of the game where the Bengals defense had engineered a stop. > > Man, that Sanu fumble really turned the game, but that last exchange at the end of the first half was so badly managed by the Bengals on so many levels. Playcalling NOT to run out the clock after the first down run was stuffed for a loss, shanking the punt, then adding a personal foul (that shouldn’t have been called, IMO) to get the Bears within reach of a long FG that should have never happened. > > Ugh. And that was the margin in the game, too. No need to apologize, as far as pissy Sunday football posts go this was barely even worth noting around here! I know it was a 3 point game, but that second half field goal wasn’t the deciding factor. The Bears had the ball in FG range on the final drive and would have kicked a bunny to win it had it been tied (of course, the math is never that simple, butterfly effect and all). Also, Cutler threw a bad pick on the series before the Sanu fumble. You can play the what-if game all day long. Like I said, I think the Bengals are going to easily win the division. They Bears were a 10-6 team last year and got better in the off-season, losing on the road to a good team isn’t exactly a hard-luck situation. I think this game was the toughest match-up on paper in your entire season, the Bears are probably the best team you go on the road for (Ravens, maybe, Lions if you’re a little loopy). ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2013, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-1/668059/154 "2013-09-10T00:10:19Z")
Well, I was horribly wrong about Kaepernick but I might have been right about Griffin. Has he been as bad as the numbers suggest? ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2013, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-1/668059/155 "2013-09-10T00:16:05Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Well, I was horribly wrong about Kaepernick but I might have been right about Griffin. Has he been as bad as the numbers suggest? No idea, but Griffin could just be very rusty. That reminds me, I’ve got to save up for a Kaepernick jersey. I should have bought one when he was drafted like I wanted, now I seem like a bandwagoner. ---
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2013, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-1/668059/156 "2013-09-10T00:25:03Z")
> [@garygnu](#): > > No idea, but Griffin could just be very rusty. > > That reminds me, I’ve got to save up for a Kaepernick jersey. I should have bought one when he was drafted like I wanted, now I seem like a bandwagoner. Men shouldn’t wear QB jerseys. That’s Omni Rule #73. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2013, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-1/668059/157 "2013-09-10T00:27:38Z")
> [@Omniscient](#): > > I think the Refs blew that lateral-fumble-TD call. There wasn’t good evidence to overturn it, but if you look where Vick was standing and where the RB was standing (Vick on the 4, arm over the 5, and McCoy just in front of the 6 and running upfield) there’s no way that pass was backwards unless Vick was throwing it behind McCoy badly. Vick would certainly have led McCoy by at least a yard. It was only a matter of inches where Kerrigan swatted it, but that thing was probably moving ever so slightly upfield. > > No need to apologize, as far as pissy Sunday football posts go this was barely even worth noting around here! > > I know it was a 3 point game, but that second half field goal wasn’t the deciding factor. The Bears had the ball in FG range on the final drive and would have kicked a bunny to win it had it been tied (of course, the math is never that simple, butterfly effect and all). > Also, Cutler threw a bad pick on the series before the Sanu fumble. You can play the what-if game all day long. > > Like I said, I think the Bengals are going to easily win the division. They Bears were a 10-6 team last year and got better in the off-season, losing on the road to a good team isn’t exactly a hard-luck situation. I think this game was the toughest match-up on paper in your entire season, the Bears are probably the best team you go on the road for (Ravens, maybe, Lions if you’re a little loopy). Omni I was referring to the 58 yard FG that the Bears got at the end of the first half. It should have never happened. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2013, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-1/668059/158 "2013-09-10T00:32:51Z")
> [@Omniscient](#): > > Men shouldn’t wear QB jerseys. That’s Omni Rule #73. … does that include quarterbacks? ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2013, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-1/668059/159 "2013-09-10T00:34:42Z")
How did Desean Jackson get away with that? Now he’s going to be an even bigger punk than before, and that takes some doing. While the Reds obviously are suffering from RG’s lack of time under center, Philly looks good. Better than in years. ---
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2013, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-1/668059/160 "2013-09-10T00:38:27Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > Omni I was referring to the 58 yard FG that the Bears got at the end of the first half. It should have never happened. I know. I’m just saying that if it hadn’t happened - the Bengals burn the clock or Gould comes up short - that doesn’t mean it’s a tie game at the end of regulation. Assuming everything else that happened remains the same then the Bears have the ball with 6:30 left to go and still get into FG range with one of the best kickers ever having a chance to win it as time expires. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-1/668059.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-1/668059.md?page=9)