Someone please explain these these in the NFL

Those these in the NFL refer to these those.

Sorry, typo. Meant to say, "these things".

football noob wrote:Also, when games are close with a minute or two left, the announcers always say "Tom Brady/Peyton Manning are always a threat to drive all the way down the field with a minute left". If they are so good at scoring all the way down the field in such little time, why can't they do this in the beginning of the game? Why do some games go scoreless in the first half, then all of a sudden they can score at will at the flip of a switch with a minute left in the game? Why can't they score 60 times in a game then?

Think of it like a strategic distance run. Its not always the best move to run the fastest splits you can from the very beginning. Similar in football. It often makes more sense to hold the ball and waste as much time as possible for the first 58 minutes. Then its time to kick.

Nobody stopped playing after the interception. The Patriots offense had to kill the clock to win the game.

football noob wrote:

Also, when games are close with a minute or two left, the announcers always say "Tom Brady/Peyton Manning are always a threat to drive all the way down the field with a minute left". If they are so good at scoring all the way down the field in such little time, why can't they do this in the beginning of the game? Why do some games go scoreless in the first half, then all of a sudden they can score at will at the flip of a switch with a minute left in the game? Why can't they score 60 times in a game then?

Risk and return. It would be stupid to risk an interception/3 and out/turnover on downs on your first possession. More risk is justified when you'll lose if you don't score on the current possession.

Might as well ask "if Rupp can run 54 flat for the last lap of a 10,000m race, why doesn't he just run that fast on the first lap?"

With a minute or two left in the game the defenses sometimes go to their "Prevent Defense."

They don't play the receivers as tight, not wanting to give up the big play.

A lot of times it allows the offenses to march down the field.

Try to keep up wrote:

Nobody stopped playing after the interception. The Patriots offense had to kill the clock to win the game.

They stopped playing with 17 seconds left. Go to 2:31:37. There are 17 seconds left, Pats snap the ball, and everyone stops playing. Why do they give up with 17 seconds left? Isn't that an eternity in sports? Remember when Larry Bird stole the inbounds pass from Isiah to win the game with 5 seconds left? Why couldn't the Seahawks try to get the ball back in those 17 seconds, when they are so close to the end zone? That's like a runner giving up with over 100m left in a race!

Here is the link I was referring to

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVkJ1tfalQM

If Brady took a knee or dove into the line to get out of the endzone, then the play is over. Then since the clock doesnt stop and the seahawks were probably out of timeouts the pats didnt have to run another play. Just another little devious wag Belichek twists the rulebook in his favor. Andas far as playing full speed the whole game, that's what philly claims they want to do, and you see how far that gets them. That last about two games into the season.

football noob wrote:

They stopped playing with 17 seconds left!

The play clock, how long they have to run the next play, is 45 seconds. If there is less than 45 seconds remaining and the defensive team is out of timeouts, there is no reason to run another play for fear of something bad happening. Both teams understood this, so play was finished.

You found another bit of Belichick/Brady chicanery that no one else noticed. Belichick hypnotizes the refs.

Fdhsjs wrote:

If Brady took a knee or dove into the line to get out of the endzone, then the play is over. Then since the clock doesnt stop and the seahawks were probably out of timeouts the pats didnt have to run another play. Just another little devious wag Belichek twists the rulebook in his favor.

Every coach at every level of football does this. Every 5th grader playing Madden on Xbox does it. Do you know what devious means? Have you ever watched a game of football?