# NFL Week 3 2011 **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [September 25, 2011, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-3-2011/597569 "2011-09-25T17:04:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Cumbrian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ce7236/32.png) [@Cumbrian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cumbrian)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2011, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-3-2011/597569/81 "2011-09-26T15:41:00Z")
Thanks both - I’ll bet the pointiness of the ball is probably the key variable. I’d imagine that, if you’ve reached the NFL level, you should be used to the limitiations of the equipment you wear by then. I thought you could kick a drop goal with an American Football? Didn’t someone do it on the Patriots in the not too distant past (like in the last 10-15 years)? ---
**Author:** ![Quercus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/7ab992/32.png) [@Quercus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2011, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-3-2011/597569/82 "2011-09-26T15:50:21Z")
> [@Cumbrian](#): > > Thanks both - I’ll bet the pointiness of the ball is probably the key variable. I’d imagine that, if you’ve reached the NFL level, you should be used to the limitiations of the equipment you wear by then. > > I thought you could kick a drop goal with an American Football? Didn’t someone do it on the Patriots in the not too distant past (like in the last 10-15 years)? Drop kicking is legal, and as you correctly recalled, even currently possible. It’s been getting harder though as balls have gotten much more pointed over the last hundred years. And of course, drop-kicking, where you can control the drop of the ball so it lands and bounces exactly how you’re expecting, is way different than grabbing a randomly bouncing ball, where the pointy ends make it very unpredictable. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Scud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Tom\_Scud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Scud)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2011, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-3-2011/597569/83 "2011-09-26T15:55:06Z")
> [@Cumbrian](#): > > Thanks both - I’ll bet the pointiness of the ball is probably the key variable. I’d imagine that, if you’ve reached the NFL level, you should be used to the limitiations of the equipment you wear by then. > > I thought you could kick a drop goal with an American Football? Didn’t someone do it on the Patriots in the not too distant past (like in the last 10-15 years)? Doug Flutie drop-kicked an extra point more or less as a stunt in 2006. ---
**Author:** ![Quercus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/7ab992/32.png) [@Quercus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2011, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-3-2011/597569/84 "2011-09-26T15:55:51Z")
> [@AlsoNamedBort](#): > > Maybe it’s just confirmation bias, but it seems like there has been a lot of crappy calls this season so far. And that last one was just bizarre. It’s like the ref didn’t understand how the play worked, so he just threw a random flag. Which play? My referee complaint is wondering whether anybody really knows what roughing the passer really is. Yeah, I live in New England, but I’m still wondering why NE gets flagged for roughing because the defender committed to a classic shoulder tackle (no contact with either player’s helmet) before the ball was thrown. I mean, it’s not that one call (though it did cost the game); it’s that I think a defender could bring a tire iron onto the field after the pass was thrown, caught, tackled and the ball was being spotted for the next play and start beating Vick with it, and there still wouldn’t be a roughing call. Are NFL referees all dog-lovers, or what? ---
**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 26, 2011, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-3-2011/597569/85 "2011-09-26T16:02:18Z")
> [@Cumbrian](#): > > I thought you could kick a drop goal with an American Football? Didn’t someone do it on the Patriots in the not too distant past (like in the last 10-15 years)? You _can_, people just _don’t_, because you have to drop it almost flat which makes it tricky to get your foot under it. ---
**Author:** ![panamajack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/47e85d/32.png) [@panamajack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panamajack)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2011, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-3-2011/597569/86 "2011-09-26T16:16:56Z")
> [@Quercus](#): > > Which play? > > My referee complaint is wondering whether anybody really knows what roughing the passer really is. Speaking as a Raider fan, there was a call of that on the Jets that was pretty terrible. The guy practically came through, shook Jason Campbell’s hand and patted him on the back for throwing the ball away, and they called it. So to make up for it, they call a nonsensical “intentional grounding” to offset it (about ten seconds _after_ making the first call) and gave them a do-over. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2011, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-3-2011/597569/87 "2011-09-26T16:18:51Z")
> [@Cumbrian](#): > > Thanks both - I’ll bet the pointiness of the ball is probably the key variable. I’d imagine that, if you’ve reached the NFL level, you should be used to the limitiations of the equipment you wear by then. > > I thought you could kick a drop goal with an American Football? Didn’t someone do it on the Patriots in the not too distant past (like in the last 10-15 years)? Try it sometime. it really is not that hard to do. But kicking from a hold, by a soccer kicker ,gets more distance and accuracy. ---
**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 26, 2011, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-3-2011/597569/88 "2011-09-26T16:41:23Z")
> [@Quercus](#): > > Which play? Pretty sure he’s referring to the Bears awesome trick punt return TD against the Packers. It worked perfectly and when everyone was standing around confused and not doing anything the ref threw a random flag at a guy standing by himself in the middle of the field. Then he called holding on a number who doesn’t exist and left everyone baffled. I’m really pissed about this one. ---
**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 26, 2011, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-3-2011/597569/89 "2011-09-26T17:38:17Z")
Here’s a video of the play for anyone who missed it. [http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/football/bears/ct-spt-0926-bears-side-defense-special-teams--20110926,0,6025170.story](http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/football/bears/ct-spt-0926-bears-side-defense-special-teams--20110926,0,6025170.story) ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2011, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-3-2011/597569/90 "2011-09-26T17:47:28Z")
Yesterday is the kind of day when I cry that I am not able to get the NFL package this year on DriectTV. I am stuck watching a horrific Bengals/49ers game while there are awesome Bills/Pats, Saints/Texans, and Lions/Vikings games going on. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2011, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-3-2011/597569/91 "2011-09-26T17:56:19Z")
> [@Tom\_Scud](#): > > Doug Flutie drop-kicked an extra point more or less as a stunt in 2006. Beat me to it. Chargers, with the game already won IIRC. . ---
**Author:** ![Bearflag70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Bearflag70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bearflag70)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2011, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-3-2011/597569/92 "2011-09-26T18:12:27Z")
> [@TreacherousCretin](#): > > Beat me to it. Chargers, with the game already won IIRC. Dolphins. [Video](http://youtu.be/P0Jsz-fSNd4). [Article](http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2277308). First NFL drop kick since 1941. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2011, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-3-2011/597569/93 "2011-09-26T18:22:22Z")
> [@Gangster\_Octopus](#): > > Yesterday is the kind of day when I cry that I am not able to get the NFL package this year on DriectTV. Can you just get the Red Zone? It does a passable job of switching back and forth between the most sensational of the current games. ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2011, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-3-2011/597569/94 "2011-09-26T18:23:46Z")
> [@lieu](#): > > Can you just get the Red Zone? It does a passable job of switching back and forth between the most sensational of the current games. No, believe me I checked. ---
**Author:** ![JSexton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@JSexton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JSexton)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2011, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-3-2011/597569/95 "2011-09-26T18:25:06Z")
> [@Omniscient](#): > > Here’s a video of the play for anyone who missed it. > > [http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/football/bears/ct-spt-0926-bears-side-defense-special-teams--20110926,0,6025170.story](http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/football/bears/ct-spt-0926-bears-side-defense-special-teams--20110926,0,6025170.story) Did you read the article you linked to? Here’s what the guy who actually got the flag said: > [@](#): > > “It’s unfortunate that something we worked so hard on would be called back because of a play by me,” he said. "It was maybe 30, 40 yards away from the play. It wasn’t blatant but it was just a bad play by me. I should have just let him go, just don’t even touch him. He had nothing to do with the play. He admits he held. It was probably a ticky-tack call that shouldn’t have been made, given what was happening (although the refs were probably just as fooled by the play) but the way you characterized it is just not at all true. ---
**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 26, 2011, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-3-2011/597569/96 "2011-09-26T18:56:07Z")
> [@JSexton](#): > > Did you read the article you linked to? Here’s what the guy who actually got the flag said: > > He admits he held. It was probably a ticky-tack call that shouldn’t have been made, given what was happening (although the refs were probably just as fooled by the play) but the way you characterized it is just not at all true. I explained this in the NFC north thread, but the upshot is that this is how the Bears operate. They always take blame and never point fingers or blame refs. It’s a Lovie Smih thing with them. If something bad happens 9 guys step up and take ownership. The line is tripping over themselves to take blame for Forte’s rushing numbers and Forte is tripping over himself to own it and say the line did a great job. It’s kind of maddening. Just watch the video. Corey Graham, number 21, is on the Bears right side. You can see him throughout the play. When the flag comes out he’s literally 5 yards from the nearest person. ---
**Author:** ![MOIDALIZE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e274bd/32.png) [@MOIDALIZE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MOIDALIZE)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2011, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-3-2011/597569/97 "2011-09-26T19:38:05Z")
I was at the Browns game yesterday. Beautiful weather, beautiful finish. Browns are second in the NFL right now with 11 sacks. The D-line is for real. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2011, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-3-2011/597569/98 "2011-09-26T20:12:34Z")
Rumor has it there’s a game tonight. Any thoughts? ---
**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 26, 2011, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-3-2011/597569/99 "2011-09-26T20:19:34Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > Rumor has it there’s a game tonight. Any thoughts? Not really. NFC East games rate just above a root canal on my interest meter. ---
**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 26, 2011, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-3-2011/597569/100 "2011-09-26T21:22:20Z")
> [@MOIDALIZE](#): > > Browns are second in the NFL right now with 11 sacks. The D-line is for real. Wait, what? No way! That can’t be right… …well I’ll be damned. But you bring up their D-Line. How do you suppose they’re second in sacks when only two players are in the top 40 in sacks in the league (both tied for 15th with 2.5)? Strange. Good on them. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-3-2011/597569.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-3-2011/597569.md?page=6)