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American Football Is Chess On A Playing Field

The NFL season is now in full swing. Week four has just been completed. If you have some interest in American Football but just don’t what the heck it is all about read on. This article discusses the strategies employed in an American football game.

Cricket was once described as Chess on a Playing Field. Although they are two very different games, the same should be said of American football. This game is most often defined by the sheer physical nature of its play, but it is first and foremost a game of strategy.

Strategy is key to the game, both offensive and defensive. The entire focus is to outguess the opponent, thereby finding a weakness to exploit. Each team has its own style of playing, often determined by the individual strengths of its players. Some emphasize a defensive strategy while others accentuate the offense, which has two components, the running and the passing game.

The passing game strategy is currently more popular and quite often more spectacular for the fan. Each team develops a playbook of plays for different situations that they can execute well. These plays vary in the element of risk, from those that are very conservative and will reliably garner short yardage, by either rushing or a short pass, to high risk long yardage passes. Every playbook contains a version of the desperation play, the “Hail Mary” wherein every eligible receiver runs downfield and the quarterback throws the ball as close to the endzone as possible.

The players, with the aid of coaches, devise a gameplan for each different opponent. This is carefully formatted by reviewing hours of the team’s own games to determine which plays are working well, and hours of footage of the opposing team’s games to find a flaw in there defense. Rushing and passing plays are usually alternated and disguised to look like the other type of play to throw the defense off guard. However, the defense has a playbook all its own and will try to read the calls or guess the next play. When the defense perceives a pass, it will “blitz” or rush at the quarterback. The defense is not allowed to hit the quarterback while he is in the motion of throwing, the blitz often interferes with the time necessary for the receiver to get into place and the quarterback is unable to complete the pass. The best scenario of the blitz for the defensive team is when the quarterback is downed for a loss or yardage or “sacked”.

When all else fails the strategy in American football is to use the punt. It is used on the third down when the offensive team feels it cannot get enough yardage to secure a first down (teams need to advance 10 yards to get a first down) and decides to kick the ball downfield to salvage the situation and ensure their opponent’s offense will begin play deep in its own territory. It is becoming popular to line up as if to punt and then either perform a running play or an onside kick, both with the hope of getting the first down afterall. This is a risky strategy that heightens the game’s drama. When it works, it is brilliant. With failure, the opponent takes over the ball possession with very favorable field position and may even score.

The most time honored strategy in football is ball control and time of possession, both of which correlate highly with winning games. The best offense is a good defense, as the saying goes, and it is logical that if a team has the ball the other team cannot score. But this is being challenged by the newer styled, high-powered long pass offenses that can score a touchdown in virtually no time at all.

Hope this helps with your enjoyment of the game.

FireMillen.com members and staff glad to see Matt Millen gone from Detroit Lions

Matt Millen has been relieved of his duties from his President and General Manager positions at the Detroit Lions. The group behind the FireMillen.com website could not be happier. They have been campaigning for his sacking for years.

FireMillen.com released a press release pointing out the failures of Detroit under the management of Millen. They say he was the worst general manager in professional sports history. I don’t know if that is true. If you look at the record of the Detroit Lions under Millen they went 31-82. In the press release FireMillen.com goes onto to say only the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the mid 1980’s had a worse record in modern NFL history.

With the draft system you would have to agree that it is a poor record. If you are bad for long enough normally the draft will help a team move away from the bottom of the ladder.

Will the sacking of Matt Millen be a turning point for the Detroit Lions? The last time the team saw playoff action was back in 2000 when they lost the first round of the NFC playoff against Washington on 8 January 2000.

During the Millen era Detroit did set NFL records, unfortunately they were the wrong kind. They set the record for the most consecutive away game losses in the 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004 seasons. They had a record NFL losing streak of 24 away games. It finally came to an end when the Lions defeated the Chicago Bears 20-16 on September 12, 2004 at Soldier Field. The 2001, 2002, 2003 away losing record was also the first time a team had gone three seasons without an away win.

Millen received plenty of criticism for his draft failures. Three of particular note were the draft picks of quarterback Joey Harrington, chosen third overall in the 2002 draft. Charles Rogers the wide receiver chosen second in the 2003 draft. Mike Williams was another failure picked my Millen. He was 10th overall in the 2005 draft and after only making eight catches in eight games he was traded in the 2007 draft.

Martin Mayhew will assume the role of general manager for the Detroit Lions.

Will the change at the top have any short term effect on the team? Or is it a long road ahead the the Lions? Have your say and leave a comment below…

The Important Role of a Sports Coach

Sports Coaching is a rewarding experience. In the past I have coached at beach volleyball clinics and coached a junior girls volleyball team. More recently I have turned to coaching my daughter at tennis. It is a good feeling knowing you are helping others get enjoyment from sport.

Even though most state that sports coaching is simply to teach others how to play a game, it is much more than this. The effects that coaching can have on a young child or youth, can help them to gain some important tools that they can keep for the rest of their lifetime. The tools that you will be teaching to your players will help them to grow and flourish, no matter what turn they make in their lifetime.

The first major lesson that individuals can learn from playing on a team that you are coaching comes from the relationships that they build with each other. When one is able to work with a team, no matter what the project, and learn how to compromise and fit into the bigger picture, it makes it easier for them later on. The youth and children that are involved will grow up with ideas about what it means to help others as well as take on their own leadership roles. They will also be able to see these same relationship values coming from the leadership role that you present.

For the individual child, participating in sports can have the same major effect on them. This first begins with the child having the ability to understand the importance of health and exercise in order to stay at their best. Recent studies have shown that adults that played sports when they were younger are much more active and exercise as adults up to three times more than other average adults.

Beyond this, children and youth will gain insights into which they are as individual players. Not only does their physical health improve, but their mental health will as well. Once a child or youth understands the game and begins to get positive feedback from the moves that they make, they are likely to also get a good boost of self-esteem. This doesn’t just happen with self-esteem, but also with perceptions of themselves, such as body image. The attitudes that the children learn with positive outlooks on their mental and physical health, will eventually carry over into how they see themselves in the future and as adults. The foundation begins when they are young and playing on any type of field.

What does all of this mean to you as a coach? The basic rule is that you should have the ability to coach right. You are not just playing a game. You are also building a foundation for them. This foundation includes personal changes that are important to the child as well as a building of who they are mentally, physically and relation to others. If you want to play a good game as a coach, it means making sure that everyone starts off on the right foot.

If you are interested in becoming a coach or already a coach and want to learn more then the Australian Sports Commission is a good place to visit. They have many useful articles relating to coaching.

The Advantages Of Sports In Reducing Stress

I know from many years of participating in sport at all levels just how beneficial it can be to reducing stress. The enjoyment factor is one thing there are also the health benefits that come by taking part in some form of sport. For me more recently it is just a regular hit of tennis with my wife and daughter.

The world we live in is growing increasingly fast-paced, stressful, and filled with responsibility. Because of this, everyone needs some time to relax and have some recreation. Our modern way of life also tends to be sedentary, and the meals we eat are often not very healthy. Exercise is a very important component in renewing us. For these reasons, sports recreation activities are some of the best recreation we can choose. There are many options for hobbies to provide sports recreation. You may even want to learn some new recreational sports skills.

Courses to learn new sports recreation skills can be found online and in larger cities. You can learn and participate in team sports through the local Y and other organizations. Team sports recreation activities you might like to participate in include softball, baseball, basketball, and sometimes soccer for younger people. Another team sport you might enjoy is bowling. Regardless of your skill level you can find a bowling team to have fun with.

Individual sports recreation activities you can learn and participate in include golf, tennis, running, aerobic dance, gymnastics, and horseback riding. Don’t overlook bicycling and weight training too. Many of these sports can be learned at the local Y as well. For some of these, you’ll want to have a friend to play against or share the experience with. Many runners, for instance, like to run with a friend. And games like tennis and handball really need cooperation for best results.

If you’d rather, you can learn about sports recreation skills online. You can find courses to teach almost any sport or activity you can think of including underwater hockey, fly-fishing, and para-gliding in the Alps! Of course, unless you can get some hands-on experience you’ll only have the theories of the sport. Still, online courses are a good way to get a taste of different sports and recreational activities you might someday want to try out.

A really fun sports recreation game you might get a chance to play is ping pong. Ping pong, or table tennis as it is sometimes called, is played on a table with rubber coated paddles and extremely lightweight plastic balls. You must hit the ball with your paddle so that it strikes the table and clears the net before your opponent strikes it and bounces it back to you. One way to become more adept at ping pong and increase your chance of winning is to sometimes hit the ball harder than at other times. This keeps your opponent guessing what you will do next.

Sports recreation activities are a great way to get exercise and relieve stress. They are also a lot of fun. Whether with friends or alone, everyone needs a favorite sports recreation to take part in.

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Lance Armstrong to return to cycling in Australia’s Tour Down Under

In good news for Australian cycling fans, Lance Armstrong will get back into professional cycling as he take his place in the Tour Down Under. The race takes place in South Australia and will run from January 20-25, 2009.

Armstrong recently announced he would make a comeback to cycling with the aim of winning his eighth Tour de France. He is also cycling once again to promote the fight against cancer worldwide.

Armstrong is himself a cancer survivor having overcome testicular cancer in the 90’s before going on to win his first of seven Tour de France titles in 1999.

The inclusion of Armstrong in the Tour Down Under is a huge boost for Australian cycling. Armstrong does have plenty of star appeal and his participation is great news.

Cameron Smith suspended for two games from NRL

Was there any doubt that Cameron Smith would be found guilty for his alleged grapple tackle. It seems that the Melbourne Storm skipper had been found guilty be anyone in the game that had a say. I even heard that Cronulla coack Ricky Stuart had a comment to make about the case.

I guess it is the job of the press to highlight important issues in the game, but it seems that Smith had no chance thanks to so many league experts highlighting the case before he even was asked to appear before the judiciary on Wednesday night.

The outcome of the judiciary case was that Smith was found guilty of the grade one contrary conduct charge for unnecessary head or neck contact on Brisbane’s Sam Thaiday. The finding resulted in a two game ban for the Storm captain and Australian hooker. To make things worse for the Storm he is also the main goal kicker for the club.

Amongst all this I thought it was not appropriate for Ricky Stuart to be commenting on the case. It is his team afterall that will play the Storm this weekend for a spot in the grand final.

The Melbourne Storm will now be without Cameron Smith, Jeremy Smith and Ryan Hoffman. Jeremy Smith was suspended for one game for his “chicken wing” in the same tackle Cameron Smith while Hoffman is out for the season following ankle surgery.

Do you think the Melbourne Storm can still defeat Cronulla this weekend despite losing three top quality players? Leave your comments below…

Individual volleyball drills you can do at home

I played indoor and beach volleyball over a 16 or so year period. As I was always looking to improve my fitness or skills I would quite often train on my own.

Recently I was asked about some volleyball drills that someone could do by themselves.

Here are some of my suggestions:

If you are doing this indoors at home you can sit on a chair and set to yourself. Try to vary the height of each set. Before you start swing your arms and do a few stretches for your shoulders and neck.

Once you get good at just setting to yourself while seated for an extra challenge you can try doing the drill while doing slow situps. This is great for your setting control and for your core strength.

To help improve your spiking style you can practice your swing in front of a mirror. If you have room do the full run up and jump. If space is limited just do it standing. Make sure you do a full swing and use your legs.

Your vertical jump is important when playing volleyball. If you have some space you can do spike run ups and also block jumps against the wall. Always try to use good technique when doing both skills. I suggest sets of ten for each. Start with one set and try to build up to about five sets over time.

Now for some drills you can do if you have a yard or suitable place outdoors.

Something I liked to do to work on my setting and bump skills was run up and down a 5 to 10 yard area as I set or bumped the ball to myself. You can either run continuously or stop each set and bump. You mix the height and also how far in front of yourself you send the ball.

Once again you need to work on your jump so using the outdoor space practice a spike run up. Take three steps and jump, run backwards to your start position and repeat for 10 jumps. As you do this more often or if you are already fit do around 5 sets or build up to 5 over time.

Do the same for block jumps however pretend you are doing a middle block and then use a crossover step to get to the outside block. Do 5 of the double jump for a total of 10 jumps.

Next practice some movement. You can pretend you do a block and then sprint backwards to get into a position to receive a spike. Make sure you get down low with arms spread in a defensive position. It is easier to come up than go down so always start low.

If this is not enough you can find a wall to practice your bumps and setting against. With the bumps or digs sometimes you can throw the ball against the wall to get a different flight path before you dig it.

If you are looking for some extra fitness work you can do some short sprints. Sprint about 10 to 20 yards and then jog back into position and start again. Do about 10 or if you are really keen why not try 50?

Of course when doing all this type of training make sure you warm up properly and get checked out by a doctor if you have any medical concerns.

Hope you enjoy this.

Do you have any drills you can share with the readers. If you do leave a comment below.

Hamilton Belgian formula one GP result stands

Lewis Hamilton has failed in his bid to have the penalty from the Belgian Grand Prix overturned. The FIA’s International Court of Appeal has handed down its decision stating that the McLaren appeal was inadmissible.

As a result of the ruling there will be no change to the points in the driver’s championship in formula one heading into the Singapore gp. Hamilton leads the championship and is one point ahead of Filipe Massa.

motorsport photo
Hamilton was appealing the steward’s decision to deal out a post race drive-through penalty of 25 seconds which saw his first place result at Spa drop to third after he received the penalty for cutting the chicane. The penalty was applied even though Hamilton allowed Raikkonen to re-take the lead after Hamilton had gone to the lead by taking a straight line through the chicane.

The Court rejected McLaren’s right to appeal, citing Paragraph 5 of Article 152 of the International Sporting Code, which states: “Penalties of driving through or stopping in pit lanes together with certain penalties specified in FIA Championship regulations where this is expressly stated, are not susceptible to appeal.”

“People will probably expect me to be depressed about today’s result, but that isn’t me,” Hamilton said in a statement. “All I want to do now is put this matter behind me and get on with what we drivers do best: racing each other.”

Hamilton gets his chance to race again this weekend as the grand prix circuit makes its debut in Singapore. The Singapore grand prix follows the recent trend of more races in Asia. The Singapore f1 race is the first of three consecutive Asian grand prix. Following Singapore the drivers go to Japan and China before the f1 season concludes in Brazil.

The Singapore race promises to be an exciting event as it will be the first street race in Asia and also the first ever night race in the history of formula one. I am looking forward to watching the cars wind their way through the streets of Singapore. The circuit is 5.067kms. The race starts at 20:00hrs on Sunday in Singapore.

Tennis Elbow prevention is better than cure

My wife was unable to play tennis for an entire summer thanks to a tennis elbow injury. As I told her prevention of a Tennis Elbow injury will always be so much better than a cure.

Here are some tips to prevent a tennis elbow injury.

There are several things you can do which will dramatically lessen your chances of having a tennis elbow injury which incidentally afflicts thousands of players every year.

The selection of the right equipment is right up there in order to prevent injury. There are guidelines that need to be followed when selecting your tennis racquet, and this especially applies to the vast majority of players, who never play in a tournament, but equally suffer the greatest number of Tennis elbow injuries.

You should endeavour to test as many racquets as possible before choosing the right one for you. Seek advice from your coach, if you have one or a qualified salesperson before making your final purchase decision!.

A graphite racquet is preferable because it will lessen vibration and give you better torque control.

Don’t get sucked in by an oversized racquet because although the sweet spot might be bigger, the area outside the sweet spot is very large and you will more likely experience side-to-side twisting of the racquet which increases the likelyhoot of a tennis elbow injury.

A racquet with a more flexible frame will reduce your chances of a tennis elbow injury.

A heavier racquet will vibrate less, but stay away from a racquet with a heavier head because they increase the risks. A heavier handle is OK. Overall what you are looking for is a racquet with a high sweet spot, light head and good balance.

Make sure that the string tension is at the lower end of the specifications, and use synthetic nylon, making sure you get a re-string every few months.

Another tip is that when you are playing, especially on clay do not allow the balls to get heavy. This has the potential to cause tennis elbow, so change them often, also when it is damp.

To avoid learning bad habits or to remove them from your game it is a good idea to get some lessons from a qualified tennis instructor. Make sure you ask them to pay particular attention to your technique.

This applies particularly to weight transfer while ensuring your chest neck and shoulder are being kept stable. This will help so that your shot making is better and there isn’t too much muscle tension.

Warm up properly before you begin, doing gradual stretching exercises for the wrist. If you have a coach ask them about the best exercises.

When you are out on the tennis court start your backhand from the shoulder not the forearm.

Bend your forearm on your forehand shots, so your biceps and shoulder take the force of your swing rather than your elbow .

Whatever you do, bend the arm when you serve. A straight arm and rigid wrist means the elbow takes all the shock of contact.

The last tip is don’t put too much topspin on the ball when you play a ground stroke.

If you take all of this into account then chances are you will dramatically reduce your potential for a tennis elbow injury. As mentioned at the start of the article it is always better to prevent an injury rather than cure it after the event. A good fitness program is key to being able to better perform in any of your sporting events including competitive tennis or hit and giggle tennis.

Disneyland or the sideline of a pre-season NFL match?

Many years ago now I was in San Diego training for the upcoming beach volleyball season in Australia. Unfortunately I spent most of my time sitting on the sidelines recovering from a broken ankle. While spending my time waiting for matches at Mission beach I met Jim L Mora of NFL coaching fame.

Back then he was a secondary coach for the San Diego Chargers who also happen to be my favorite NFL team. Jim enjoyed playing beach volleyball at Mission beach in his time off. He was a reasonable player but not great. As the best teams always got to stay on the court he was quite often on the sideline’s with me.

After spending many days down at the beach we would talk about his job as an NFL coach. This was pretty amazing for me. I must say it all was pretty cool spending time at Mission beach as the USA indoor players would quite ofter also go down for a hit. Mike Whitmarsh was another guy I met there. Back then he was was just getting into beach volleyball after a basketball career. He would later go on to star in the AVP and took silver at the Atlanta Olympics.

The time was 1989, and getting back to my mate Jim Mora, he invited me to watch a pre-season match that the Chargers were going to play in August of that year. As it turned out on that same weekend I had a trip up to Disneyland and Yosemite planned with some Aussie friends of mine that were staying with me in San Diego.

Now a tough decision had to be made. I have to say after growing up watching Disneyland every Sunday night it was a big thing for me to visit the Disneyland. Also being a huge sports fan the offer of going to the Chargers game was pretty special. Did I mention I was able to go down on the sideline close to the action?

If you are an NFL fan you would know that Jim L Mora is the son of famous NFL head coach Jim E Mora. Jim L was head coach of the Atlanta Falcons for several years and is now an assistant head coach and defensive backs coach for the Seattle Seahawks.

Getting back to my decision where I had to choose a two day trip to Disneyland and a visit to Yosemite with a group of Aussies or a match on the sideline for the San Diego Chargers.

What would you do? Love to hear your comments.

I will tell you what my decision was after someone leaves a comment…

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