This might come as a surprise to many of you, but I’m as big a football fan as I am a Star Wars fan. If there wasn’t this big Star Wars event I’d still be watching the game tonight. As a huge Washington fan, I’ll be holding my nose and rooting for the Eagles, only because it’s not possible for both teams to lose, and I think Philadelphia winning is the best option. Alas, I digress.
My real purpose here is to let you know what to expect from the game in terms of when we might see the trailer drop and tickets for The Force Awakens go on sale.
A football game is played in four 15 minute quarters with a 12-minute halftime between the second and third quarter. Now the uninitiated might think that since the game starts at 8:30 pm Eastern, halftime will be at 9:00 pm Eastern. That would be an incorrect assumption.
Original Photo Source: gottabemobile.com
There are a number of ways in which the game clock can and will be stopped during the course of a quarter. Incomplete passes, penalties, injury timeouts, team timeouts, television timeouts so the network can make money, players running out of bounds with under two minutes left in the first half, a change of possession, or the two-minute warning so the network can make more money.
The teams playing into tonight’s matchup are the New York Giants and Philadelphia Eagles; division rivals who don’t like each other very much. In Star Wars terms, they’ve been represented as the Kuat Walkers (New York) and the Dagobah Yodas (Philly).
Make no mistake. The Eagles are not the light side here. During halftime of a cold and snowy December game in 1968, the Eagles fans booed Santa Claus and pelted him with snowballs. Veterans stadium, where the Eagles used to play their games, had a jail to lock up unruly fans. And don’t get me started about 1983 when after losing to Washington, Philly fans sent Chief Zee, Washington’s unofficial mascot, to the hospital with a broken leg. Again, I digress. Let’s cut to the chase here and figure out just how long the first half of the game will be.
Both New York and Philadelphia are passing teams, and both teams’ defenses are getting thrown on more than run on this year. This means lots of passing by both teams and a higher probability of incomplete passes and lots of plays where the clock will stop.
Penalties are way up this year. In the first three weeks of the season, there were a total of 873 flags thrown. The clock stops regardless if a penalty is accepted or not. The referees are calling every ticky-tac foul under the sun, and this game will be no exception. These two teams are committing and an average of seven penalties per game, and their opponents are averaging eight penalties per game. Fouls will be committed and the clock will be stopped.
The clock stops on the change of possession. Think punts and turnovers here. The Giants have only turned the ball over three times this year, whereas Philadelphia has turned it over nine times. Both teams have gotten their fair share of turnovers as well. Expect a turnover or two in the first half, and for the clock to stop on the change of possession.
Instant replay isn’t just for fans to watch those great plays over and over again. The NFL uses it as a tool to ensure they make the correct call on the field. Every turnover and scoring play is reviewed and each team is allowed to challenge three calls per half. The Giants have scored 12 touchdowns this year, and given up 11. The Eagles have scored 13 touchdowns and given up nine. Both teams can and will score, plays will be reviewed and the clock will be stopped.
Bottom line, I would not expect this to be a quick half of football and I wouldn’t be surprised if it were closer to 10:30 pm Eastern when the game reaches halftime. The only chance for a quick half is to hope that the Giants and Eagles are huge Star Wars fans and have planned a lot of running plays in the first two quarters.
The Cantina Cast
The wretched hive your Jedi Master warned you about!
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