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Game Play Thursday : All About Clocks

You’re watching a game. There are 12 minutes left in the 4th quarter. But while the quarterback is making changes at the line before the snap, there is a little clock that is ticking down a dwindling number of seconds. The game clock says 12:00, but the other clock is counting down 5…4…3…2…before the quarterback motions for the snap and the play begins.

So, what gives?

There are two clocks running during every football game, and they each calculate different expanses of time. Just to make life more interesting.

The clock that counts down the time remaining in each quarter is the game clock. There are 15 minutes in each quarter. Once started, the game clock only stops:

when an incomplete pass is thrown
when a player with the ball runs out of bounds
at the end of a kicking play, a scoring play, or a quarter
when an official review is needed (measurement, replay, challenge, etc)
when a penalty is called
when an injury occurs
when a timeout is called (um, duh)

The game clock does not run during extra point attempts, even if a team decides to go for two.

*There are a few caveats to the main clock-stoppage plays as described above, but those are the primary plays in which the clock will be stopped.

The play clock counts down the amount of time a team has to get a play started. You usually only see it (up by the scoreboard or electronically placed on the field) when time is close to running out. A team has 40 seconds from the end of a previous play to start the next play, unless it is one of the following situations, in which case the play clock is set to 25 seconds:

a change of possession
a charged team time out
the 2-minute warning
the end of a quarter
a penalty is called
an extra point attempt
a free kick

So unlike the game clock, the play clock does run during extra point attempts. It’s helpful to note that the game clock and the play clock are not always running at the same time.

Just in case you wanted to be thrown for another loop, here’s this: For most of the game, the play clock stops when a player goes out of bounds and is restarted once the officials spot the ball at the correct yardage marker. But during the last two minutes of the first half and the last five minutes of the second half, the play clock stops when a player goes out of bounds and doesn’t restart until the ball is snapped on the next play.

The NFL: Making Life Complicated Since 1920.

Need help remembering all of this?

The game clock keeps time for the game as a whole, and only starts and stops – the length of time isn’t added to or subtracted from (unless there’s an error).
The play clock keeps time in between plays and is almost always running – the length of time it’s set to (25 or 40 seconds) can change depending on the play.

So what’s up with the mini clock that’s counting down quickly when there’s still 12 minutes left in the game? That’s the play clock. If the offense doesn’t get the ball snapped before the time on the play clock expires, they will be charged a delay of game penalty, which is a 5-yard penalty.

Make sense?

This is where clock management comes into play. In a nutshell, clock management is using the time on the clock effectively – the game clock and the play clock – to put your team in the best position to win. The responsibility of clock management falls mainly on the quarterback, through the leadership/play calling of the head coach. If there are only 10 seconds left on the play clock, the quarterback needs to call out the play and get everyone set on the line of scrimmage immediately before the clock runs out. It’s each player’s responsibility to get the play and get lined up effectively, but the quarterback needs to orchestrate that sequence.

Have you ever heard commentators talking about a “2-minute drill”? That’s clock management as well. If a team is behind with a short amount of time left in the game – about 2 minutes or so – they usually have a set plan for how to proceed in a way that will lead to a win. That’s not to say that it will work, but the 2-minute drill is practiced every week to ensure that everyone is on the same page for clock management and play calling at the end of the game.

Clock management isn’t just for teams that are losing at the end of the game. Teams also practice 4-minute drills to run out the clock at the end of the game if they’re on top so that the other team doesn’t have a chance to get the ball back with a lot of time left to work with. Running time off the clock usually entails a lot of running plays – they take more time off of the clock because they are often short-yardage plays in which players stay in-bounds, so an effective running team can take lots of time off of the clock by slowly but surely plowing down the field.

You’ve surely also heard this at the end of almost any game: “And with that, the (insert team here) can run out the clock,” and this signals that the team will win the game without running any more plays, besides the quarterback kneeling down in victory formation several times. Why?

Two minutes = 120 seconds, right? You know what also equals 120 seconds? Three expirations of the play clock. 40 seconds x 3 downs = 120 seconds. So if the team in possession of the football at the 2-minute warning has the lead and a first down and the other team is out of time outs and therefore can’t stop the clock, the team with the ball can take a knee three times to “run out the clock” and win the game.

But let’s be clear: clock management isn’t just for the end of the game! In last week’s Ravens at Patriots Conference Championship game we saw the Patriots practice terrible clock management skills at the end of the first half. Head coach Bill Belichick and QB Tom Brady uncharacteristically mismanaged time by calling a quarterback sneak – a play that tends to stay in-bounds – with about 20 seconds left on the clock. Then, instead of using their last time out of the half, they tried to get to the line of scrimmage in time to clock the ball (taking a quick snap and downing it right at the line of scrimmage to stop the play clock and prepare for the next play) and try for a touchdown pass on the next play. But they couldn’t get everyone to the line before time expired, so they missed an opportunity for that touchdown try – or a field goal at the very least.

Clock management – though critical at the end of each half – is something that both teams manage well for the entire game, not just when it matters most.

Who knew clocks could generate such a long post? But now you should feel comfortable with the ins and outs of clock management in all its crazy glory. Questions, comments, or anything I missed? Leave ’em in the comments!

Wait…What Just Happened? : Catch?

Late in the Niners at Falcons game last night, Falcons receiver Harry Douglas kept the Falcons Super Bowl hopes alive with a big catch late in the game.

Or was it?

It’s one of those plays that is virtually impossible to call, especially since what defines a “catch” has changed in recent years. In days gone by, a catch wasn’t a catch unless the ball was completely controlled by the receiver. If there was any movement and it looked like the ball hit the ground, it was probably going to be ruled incomplete. But recently, it seems like the calls tend to favor the receivers.

Be that as it may, here’s what happened:

Douglas appears to have control of the ball all the way to the ground. Once he goes to the ground…it’s unclear. While the ball does move around a bit, his left hand seems to cover the ball at all times, indicating that he never lost control of the ball. Consequently, the refs called it a catch.

Jim Harbaugh subsequently flipped out, which is so out of character for him. He then threw the challenge flag.

One thing to note about challenged calls – there has to be indisputable evidence that the call was wrong to be overturned. In the face of mediocre (aka: inconclusive) evidence, the call is going to stand every time.

Since there wasn’t clear evidence that the ball came out and hit the ground while outside of the receiver’s control, the call stood.

Luckily, Jim Harbaugh didn’t lose his cool.

It ended up not giving the Falcons an advantage anyway though, since the Niners got a huge fourth-down stop and the Falcons turned the ball over on downs.

What do you guys think? Catch or not a catch?

Game Play Thursday : Forward Progress

So you’re rooting for a team. Let’s say, the Packers. (Total coincidence.) And they’re playing the Bears. It’s 3rd and 5 at the Bears 35 yard line, Bears on offense. They need to get to the 40 yard line (3rd and 5 = 5 yards) to get a first down.

Cutler throws a pass out to Marshall, who catches it at the 40 yard line but gets tackled mid-catch and brought back to the 35 yard line.

So what just happened? Is it a first down? Or was there no yardage gained on the play?

If you guessed first down, you are right! If you think that’s weird and goes against everything you know about football, you are also right! That’s why today, we’re going to talk about our friend Forward Progress.

*Now, let’s pause for a mini rant. I just Google searched “forward progress” to come up with the actual rule/definition…and nearly an hour later, I just found it by manually going to the 100+ page NFL rulebook and finding it myself. Why this didn’t occur to me initially is a subject we can tackle at a later date…but seriously?! This is case in point why I created this website. Because it’s entirely impossible to find solid basics quickly…or, you know, at all. Moving on.

Here’s what the NFL rulebook has to say:

And here’s what that means:

1. When being spotted on the field, the football is placed lengthwise (with the tips pointing toward the end zone).

2. If a player, while catching a ball, is pushed backwards by a defender, the ball will be declared dead. This means that it’s no longer “live” or in play at the spot where the player was pushed backwards. Instead, “forward progress” is awarded, which means that the ball will be spotted wherever the player established control, not where he was pushed backwards.

And here’s the even easier version:

Guys who tackle are no joke. So at the risk of anyone who goes up for a ball never gaining actual yardage because of getting pushed back by defenders while they’re still in the air, forward progress comes into play to speak on behalf of inertia. Forward progress is the advocate for where the ball would have been spotted had it not been for a tractor trailer of humanity coming full steam ahead.

You may also have seen this rule come into play on running plays, when a running back charges ahead and then is pushed back several yards when a swarm of defenders descends upon him and forces him back. The ball will be spotted at the furthest point forward in which the running back had control of the ball and forward momentum.

There are also other variations of the rule, which seem to surface whenever refs feel like spotting the ball in a place where it did not actually land. But basically, if you have control of the ball and you are moving/attempting to move forward, you’re going to be awarded the spot that is most advantageous to your progress, even if you were pushed several yards back by defenders. That’s why you’ll see players stretch the ball out as far as they can, tuck it back in to their bodies, and still be awarded the spot farthest away in the name of forward progress.

This rule just seems weird to me, based on the fact that this is football, not golf. It’s a contact sport. So it’s odd that there are rules in place that negate the effects of said contact. The rules for player safety make sense. I think those are completely reasonable and necessary. But forward progress isn’t about safety, it’s about giving advantageous placement of the ball to the ball carrier, which just seems contradictory to the competitive nature of the game, in my opinion.

What do you guys think? First and foremost – does the rule make sense? And if so, do you like it?

Wait…What Just Happened? : The Packers Total Meltdown

This week’s What Just Happened comes with the free inclusion of weeping and gnashing of teeth, since today we’re going to be talking about what went wrong in the Packers loss to the 49ers on Saturday night. In 16 years of Packers fandom, I don’t know that I’ve ever seen a more thorough beating in the playoffs. It was 18 kinds of ugly.

For my sanity’s sake, we’re only going to talk about 5 of them.

1. What Just Happened to the Packers Defense?

Game Changer: The Packers defense played an exceptionally terrible game.

When you allow an opponent to gain nearly 600 yards on offense…you’re going to lose the game. You just are.

The Packers defense, and defensive coordinator Dom Capers, were rolling at the end of the 2010 Super Bowl season. They could do no wrong. Then 2011 came…and all they could do was wrong. This season has been much better by comparison, but as noted in the weekend preview post, the Packers defense hasn’t seen a whole lot of the type of offense the Niners run. And the Niners ran that offense all over the Packers.

It’d be somewhat like speaking Spanish and being expected to proofread a book written in Italian. It’s similar, sure; but you’re going to have a hard time being proficient, let alone excellent, when it comes time to turn in the assignment.

Aside from being unfamiliar with the offensive system (which shouldn’t be an excuse for any NFL team), the Packers dug their own grave by playing terrible fundamental football. Missed tackles, blown coverage, and puzzling play calls were the name of the game.

This video basically sums up the Packers night on defense:

2. What Just Happened to Being Bold (Or…Normal) With Play Calls?

Game Changer: The Packers didn’t trust their offense to do what they do best…or at least try.

This is a team that makes unconventional calls like they’re going out of style. Fake punts, onside kicks, the whole shebang. So when the Packer punted on 4th and 4, down by 14 points with 11 minutes to go in the 4th quarter…it felt a little like a white flag. To not go for it with your MVP QB at the 50 yard line that late in a playoff game? Mind-boggling. Plus, it’s not like the defense was inspiring confidence all night, either. The punt call wasn’t so much staying conservative as it was admitting defeat.

3. What Just Happened to Running the Ball?

Game Changer: The Packers reverted back to a pass-only offense and missed out on a potential running game.

The 2010 Packers were pass-happy for most of the year, but they got a good running game going at the end of the season. The 2011 Packers forgot what rushing was. These Packers have had a productive running game ever since early December and the addition of DuJuan Harris. But Harris was hardly seen on Saturday night, as the Packers struggled to get into rhythm on rushing downs. Consequently, they went primarily with the pass…and that wasn’t working for them, either.

4. What Just Happened to Fielding a Punt for the Love of all that’s Holy?!?!

Game Changer: When special teams is bad, everyone is bad.

The Jeremy Ross muffed punt was bad enough. But the inability to field a punt without bobbling it after that was just shy of incomprehensible. It was the embodiment of the complete collapse that was Saturday night.

5. What Just Happened to the Preseason NFC Super Bowl Pick?

Game Changer: There’s a new favorite in town.

At the end of the day, the Packers got schooled by a superior team and coaching staff. As per Survivor, the Niners outplayed, outwitted, and outlasted the Packers. The Niners were the better team in every aspect of the game. They deserved to win.

I’ll be crying into an empty gallon of ice cream until further notice.

Game Play Thursday : Onside Kick

Something you are likely to see over the course of the next few weeks is an onside kick or two. These usually occur near the end of the game or any time a team is desperate for a touchdown. Here’s what to know:

We know that normal kickoffs look like this:

photo credit

The receiving team’s special teams unit is near their own endzone, but spread throughout their own territory, waiting to receive the kickoff. The kicking team’s special teams unit is lined up in a single line, evenly spaced, and will block and tackle the kickoff return.

An onside kick attempt looks a little different. You’ll know it as soon as you see it:

photo credit

See how much closer the two units are to each other? And how nearly everyone on the receiving team is up front waiting to receive the kick? That’s an onside kick formation.

When you see a team lined up for an onside kick (and don’t worry – the commentators will alert you that the kicking team is attempting an onside kick if you’re unsure), here’s what they’re trying to achieve:

In a normal kickoff situation, the kicking team kicks to the receiving team. Wherever the receiving team fields the ball is where the offense starts their drive. So, hypothetically, if the returner caught the kick and was tackled at the 10 yard line, the offense would start at their own 10 yard line. (If a kickoff is caught in the end zone and the returner kneels down, that’s called a touchback. The ball is automatically brought out to the 20 yard line in a touchback.)
If a team is behind by several scores, they don’t want to kick the ball off to the other team and give them a chance to score AGAIN. So what they might do instead is an onside kick.
If the kicking team recovers the onside kick (we’ll talk about the logistics of the kick in just a second), they get possession of the football and start their drive wherever the ball was recovered.
If the kicking team does not recover the ball and the receiving team recovers it instead, they get the ball where they recovered it, and that’s usually a heck of a lot closer to the end zone than they would have been on a normal kickoff. But, it’s a risk that is sometimes necessary to take.

Ok, so, what makes an onside kick different than a normal kick?

Remember how in the photo of the normal kick above the two units were pretty far away from each other? And in the photo of the onside kick they are much closer together? That’s because in an onside kick, the kicking team wants to give their own unit the best chance to recover the football. In order for that to happen, they try to kick it the shortest distance allowable (the ball has to travel at least 10 yards) and beat the receiving team players to the ball. That’s why the receiving team has moved from the endzone to just 10 yards away from the kicking team: they want to be as close as possible to try and get to the ball first.

So, regular kicks are as long as possible; onside kicks are as short as possible.

There are a few rules that govern an onside kick attempt:

The kick has to travel at least 10 yards. If it doesn’t, the receiving team automatically gets the ball wherever it’s downed (where the ball was when the whistle blew the play dead).
A member of the kicking team is not allowed to catch the ball before it hits the ground; once it hits the ground it’s fair game. (Kickers usually kick it so that it’s low and uncatchable – kind of like a skipping rock – so that’s usually not an issue.)
If the kicking team does recover the ball, they can’t advance it (try to pick it up and run with it to gain more yards).

It sounds like a good deal. Make a short kick, recover the ball, get great field position (usually around the 50 yard line) and then try to score. But are onside kicks successful?

For the most part: no. Not by a long shot (or, in this case, a short shot).

According to Pro Football Reference, there have been 59 onside kick attempts so far in the 2012 season. Out of those 59? Only 6 were recovered by the kicking team. And of those 6 recoveries, only 2 went on to win the game! So according to this year’s statistics, there’s a little over a 10% chance that the kicking team will recover, and even if they do, there’s only a 33% chance that they’ll win. That’s only a 3% chance that the kicking team will recover AND win.

Let’s remember that the onside kick isn’t a magical play that automatically evens the score; most teams only try it when they’re desperate. So the fact that 97% of onside kicking teams go on to lose the game isn’t the necessarily the fault of a blown onside kick, it’s that the team was already substantially behind. More often than not, it’s a last ditch effort. But the stats and the risk aren’t nearly enough to make trying an onside kick a foolish move that should never be attempted. Sure, it’s a last ditch effort, but it’s an effort, and it’s going to team a lot farther than watching the other team run out the clock to a victory.

The Saints notoriously used a surprise onside kick to their advantage in Super Bowl XLVI. They were down 10-6 to the Colts at halftime and were slated to kick the ball off to the Colts to begin the second half. But they successfully staged a surprise onside kick instead, followed that with a touchdown, and went on to win the Super Bowl.

Is an onside kick worth the risk? It depends on who you ask. In my own opinion, I think if you have about a 3% chance to win the game with an onside kick and about a 0% chance to win the game without one?

You try the onside kick. Never stop fighting.

What do you guys think?

Wait…What Just Happened? : Fumble Recovery

Another week, another chat about flaws in the Coach’s Challenge system.

Early in yesterday’s Colts at Ravens playoff game, Ravens running back Ray Rice fumbled the ball, the Colts recovered it, and then a Ravens player emerged from the pile with the football.

So, sequence: Ravens fumble, Colts recover, Colts lose possession, Ravens dig it out and re-recover it.

The official call: Colts football.

Now at first glance, this is a weird call. If a player emerges from the bottom of a pile with the football, you’d assume he had the final possession of the football. But more often than not things get ugly at the bottom of the pile and players scrap for the ball even after the play is dead (when the whistle has been blown) to try and get possession. So in that light, it would make sense that the official (Mike Carey) who called Colts ball saw more than we did on TV and knew that the Colts had possession of the ball when the play was over, not the Ravens.

However, on second glance, it looks like the original sequence was right on: Ray Rice fumbled, the Colts recovered but lost the ball, and the Ravens re-recovered the ball at the bottom of the pile. It seemed like pretty solid evidence that if reviewed, the ball would be given to the Ravens.

But Ravens head coach John Harbaugh couldn’t do anything about the bad call. Remember what we learned about the Coach’s Challenge system? There are a bunch of plays that coaches can’t challenge, including fumbles. So even though it was clearly a bad call, the Ravens just had to get over it and keep playing (which they did, to the tune of a turnover of their own later that drive).

Next week, we’ll talk about something other than the issues with the Challenge system. Promise.