NFL Coaches and Quarterbacks on Spinning It

Or how to throw a football spiral, brought to you by NFL Films

 

You can read more about the physics behind throwing footballs here.

Basketball’s Artistic Merit

The Fung Bros.’ video on NBA Moves got me thinking about the artistic nature of the athletic performance of basketball moves and scoring.

Even though the ultimate goal is to win by outscoring one’s opponent, it isn’t enough that the players just get the ball into the hoop as many times as possible.  Methodology necessitates that players try to keep the other team from scoring by getting the ball back or “fouling” them.  In baseball, the pitcher strikes out the batters; in football, the defense keeps the other team from getting another set of downs, sacks the quarterback, or intercepts the ball; in hockey and futbol, and I imagine to a similar extent basketball, each team tries to get the puck/ball to score.  Hence, the back-and-forth quality of these three sports compared to baseball and football, where the former is more stationary and the latter consists of a series of stop-and-go’s.

In addition to the technique and skills required to put the ball in the hoop, though, does a player have to execute these plays with ostensibly intentional rhythmic and complex footwork?  Is the footwork a byproduct of trying to get the ball close enough to the hoop to dunk?  The more I watch a variety of basketball plays, the more I see artistry in the physics of that choreography no matter how (co)incidental.

Basketball game-play impresses me as being more unpredictable than football.  The gridiron is a much larger stage and the fluidity of certain plays contributes to the notion that every outcome is planned.  It seems that basketball invites and involves more improvisation down the court.

Off Topic: Today’s Verse 90

I decided that I would write a poem every day for a year starting on my birthday, which was a week before the Super Bowl.  I have written a poem every day so far on my creative writing tumblr, including one that was inspired by the outcome of the game:

And if it wasn’t planned

PED #9 2017

It’s how you planned it, wasn’t it?
You gave me five miles ahead
you somehow couldn’t keep up
But then when it mattered for the both of us
You sprinted forward like a young prince
chased by vixens and stable boys.

And then you overtook me,
left me in the dust
and I wondered if my success wasn’t deliberate
or you just got very lucky when I fell.

– yiqi 6 february 2017 7:47 am

Super Bowl LI: Patriots pinch the Falcons

The New England Patriots and the Atlanta Falcons converged in Houston, Texas today to see who would take home NFL Championship bragging rights.  Broadcast on Fox and narrated by Joe Buck and Troy Aikman, Super Bowl LI started with the Patriots on offense (the Falcons won the coin toss but they decided to save it for the third quarter).

Neither team gained much on offense on their first possessions.  Patriots quarterback Tom Brady did get sacked twice in back-to-back plays with five minutes left in the first quarter. The second quarter, however, revealed some Patriots’ offensive momentum…until the Falcons linebacker Deion Jones forced a fumble and his teammate corner back Robert Alford recovered it.  A few plays later, running back Devonta Freeman ran five yards and leaped into the end zone.  Atlanta 7 and New England 0.  By the end of the second quarter, the Falcons increased their lead by two TDs, courtesy of Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan connecting with tight end Austin Hooper and Robert Alford intercepting Tom Brady’s pass.  He ran eighty-two yards into the end zone.  The Falcons defense was able to keep the Patriots from getting into the end zone, but New England did put up a field goal.  Atlanta 21 and New England 3.

I’ve seen the Patriots come back from being outscored in the first half of a game to winning the whole thing; it’s not impossible for Tom Brady to do (as Joe Buck remarked as much before the first half ended).  Of course, I hoped it wouldn’t happen today.  About halfway into the third quarter, Matt Ryan threw a TD pass to running back Tevin Coleman.  Atlanta 28 and New England 3.  In the bottom of the quarter, the Patriots finally put up a TD via running back James White but the extra point was no good.  Atlanta 28 and New England 9.

And then came the fourth quarter and the Patriots’ offense game was shining more as they’d made it down the field even when Tom Brady was sacked twice by Falcons defensive tackle Grady Jarrett and they had to settle for a field goal instead of a TD.  Matt Ryan was sacked and the Patriots recovered the loose ball.  They got into the end zone (thanks to wide receiver Danny Amendola) and went for a two-point conversion.  Atlanta 28 and New England 20.   Would the Falcons be able to put more points on the board or keep the Patriots from scoring with less than two minutes left in the game?  The Patriots were able to tie the game with a TD (another James White) and a two-point conversion.  Atlanta 28 and New England 28.

And the first time the Super Bowl ever went into overtime would be today.  The Patriots won the OT coin toss.  And they got into the end zone (another James White).  New England 34 and Atlanta 28.  Final Score.  The Patriots have won Super Bowl LI.

Get game summary, stats, and play-by-play here.

 

Observations & Other Miscellany:

~ Luke Bryan sang the National Anthem.  Tom Brady got a close-up during the few lines of the song; he was mouthing the lyrics and looking up to screen left (possibly at the jumbotron?)  Matt Ryan then got a medium close-up at the “and the home of the brave” part.  He was looking very stoic.

~ George Bush and Barbara Bush helped with the coin toss.  As they made their way to mid-field, the camera cut away to Mike Pence for a few seconds.

~ Three defensive holding calls on the Falcons in one drive at the bottom of the second quarter?!  Yep.

~ A tap/slap of the helmet means “good job, teammate!”  Where does at tap/slap land if one did a bad job?  Punch to the forearm?

~ Lady Gaga performed during the Half Time Show.  She started off with some patriotic tune excerpts.  Her “Poker Face” may be the only one that Westerners know, but the “Poker Face” I know first will always be Ayumi Hamasaki‘s.

~ Footage of the crew taking apart Lady Gaga’s stage sped up made them look like ants disassembling an insect.

~ Is Joe Buck trying to grow a beard or was he pressed for time and thus didn’t shave?

~ Patriots defense coordinator Matt Patricia reminds me of actor Josh Radnor.

~ Favorite Superbowl Commercial: the new Evony mobile game.

~ The sounds of a football hitting the uprights makes a distinct sound.  It’s a metallic thud…with notes of “whoomp.”

~ Matt Ryan went into Super Bowl LI as the MVP of the 2016 season.

Matt Ryan is really tall

NFL Films and the sounds of the NFC Championship — Matt Ryan looks so tall on the sidelines.