BUFFALO BILLS WIN THEIR FIRST GAME

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Ready for your update? Well here it is!

The Buffalo Bills played their third season game this week, and they walked away winners after they crushed the Arizona Cardinals 33-18 this Sunday. The fans went wild after this game as the Bills were not expected to win at all. LaSean McCoy, Tyrod Taylor, and Aaron Williams led the Buffalo Bills to the win by scoring the 33 points with touchdowns and field goals after fans were starting to get worried since the team had lost their first two games.

While this is all very exciting stuff, I realized this week that watching football is just not as fun when you're not physically at the stadium. Maybe because it's not as obvious when you're supposed to cheer for the home team, but while this game was certainly exciting, I did not find myself loving it while watching. Growing up playing hockey, I have certainly noticed a difference in terms of enjoyment levels between watching and actually playing the sport, as playing the sport is way more fun than watching it, so I am hoping there is a little bit of that kind of notion happening with my levels of engagement in football.

I think for my genius hour movie trailer I will try throwing a football around to work on my spiral and aim when throwing the football, and hopefully this will be more enjoyable than watching the game on television! Nevertheless, I will continue to follow the Buffalo Bills, and to build my understanding of positions, plays, and fundamentals.

This week I am also going to look into the various offensive positions in NFL football and discuss certain plays that work at certain times!

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The offensive line generally consists of one center, two offensive guards, and two offensive tackles. The center's job is to snap the ball back to the quarterback (who is part of the backs and receivers category), and they usually set up smack dab in the middle of the offensive line. On the Bills, the Center's are Eric Wood and Lewis Patrick, and they have the responsibility to block defensive players and calling out blocking assignments. 

The offensive guards line up directly on either side of the center and their job is to block both running and passing plays, and they can also sometimes be referred to as a 'pulling guard'. The offensive guards on the Bills are Ryan Groy, Gabe Ikard, Richie Incognito, and John Miller. 

The two offensive tackles play on either side of the offensive guards and they are to also block both running and passing plays, and to protect the quarterback and is usually the most skilled player on the offensive line. These players need to have quick footwork skills, and on the Bills they are Cordy Glenn, Cyrus Kouandijio, and Jordan Mills.

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The backs and receivers are the players that line up outside or behind the offensive line, and there is a quarterback, running backs, wide receivers, and tight ends. The quarterback is the player that receives the ball from the center and is the most important position on the offensive side because they are responsible for setting up the play, and communicating it with the team from the coach's orders. They can be lined up in 3 positions which are 'under centre' (a hand-to-hand pass from the center), 'shotgun' (a distance back from the center), or 'pistol formation' which is in between those two. The quarterback can either run or pass the ball once they get it, and on the Bills he is Tyrod Taylor, EJ Manuel, or Cardale Jones.

The wide receivers are the pass-catching people who are to get open for a pass from the quarterback. On the Bills they are Robert Woods, Sammy Watkins, Brandon Tate, Greg Salas, Walter Powell, and Marquise Goodwin.

Genius Hour Reflection #1

OSKEE WEE WEE 

I really dove into my Genius Hour project this week head on and went to a Hamilton Tiger-Cats game with my brother and my boyfriend! After watching a few NFL games now that it is back on, it was super interesting to see the differences in the rules between the two different leagues. While my knowledge of the rules of both leagues is still a bit rusty, and definitely still needs some work, I thought going to a Tiger-Cat game would be a great opportunity to dive into this project! 

The first thing I noticed about the differences between the CFL and the NFL is that in the CFL, the goal posts are at the front of the end zone instead of on the very edge of the field. Here is a photo of the end zone, this was the most obvious difference that I first noticed! The end zones are also deeper by about 10 yards! 

Personal Collection

The CFL field is also longer by 10 yards and wider by 5 yards than the NFL fields, so while the CFL fan-base might not be as large as the NFL, the fields are certainly bigger! With these bigger fields, Canadian football teams get to have 12 men on the field rather than 11, and this player can be either offense or defense, there are no rules to regulate this other than if they are offensive, they must be in a backfield position (anywhere behind the line of scrimmage). Coupled with a bigger field, there is one less down in the CFL to gain 10 yards, instead of 4. After discussing with the gentleman in front of me at the game what this would mean for the game, I found out that having one less down makes it more of a passing game, whereby players running the ball to the next yard line isn't as viable as there are not as many chances to move the ball, and there is usually lots of open space! 

One of the other major differences my boyfriend especially noticed as he is a huge NFL fan (of course, because he is American!) was that backs and receivers can move around the field wherever they want before the ball is snapped to the quarterback. In American football, only one player can go in motion at a time and only backwards or laterally. This means that in the CFL the receivers can get a running start well behind the line of scrimmage and cross the line when the ball is snapped, which can make it very difficult to defend! 

I have also added a few photos of the field and one of myself at the game, this was definitely an awesome and engaging way to get a head start on learning some of the basic rules of football and to experience Canadian football culture! I wish I started this project earlier in life!!!

Personal Collection

Personal Collection

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Personal Collection

SUNDAY FOOTBALL BEGINS

SUNDAY FOOTBALL BEGINS

Sunday, September 11, 2016 was a big day across America for many reasons, as it marked the 15th anniversary of the attacks of the Twin Towers, along with the season kickoff for the NFL. I was at my boyfriend's house in Buffalo for the kickoff, and the only comparison I could make regarding the level of excitement surrounding this sporting event was when Canada makes it to the Olympic finals in hockey during the Olympics. To say the least, I quickly discovered how much many Americans love football, and in particular, how much Buffalonians love Buffalo. Nevertheless, this made for a very exciting kickoff of my Genius Hour Project.

My Genius Hour project will surround the fundamentals, rules, positions and the meanings of stats in American football, and in particular the NFL. Football is a sport that I have gained more exposure to in the last year than ever before in my life, and I think it would be beneficial to start to try and understand the basics and some common knowledge surrounding the sport so that I can at least try to look like I know what I'm talking about when I am talking to other football fans.

I am going to do my best to watch all of the Buffalo Bills games this season, and follow a select handful of players on a fantasy league to gain more of an understanding on player roles and stat meanings. I think I may also try to learn and execute some fundamental concepts of football such as passing, running, and possibly some basic plays with my peers. I may also attend a Buffalo Bills game or a Hamilton Tiger Cats game to further my understanding of both the culture surrounding football, and to see the differences of rules between CFL football and NFL football.

I am going to dedicate at least one hour a week for this project, sometimes including game-watching time, sometimes for other research into positioning and rules. I am extremely excited about where this project will take me, and even more excited to be able to have knowledge and understanding of a new sport under my belt!

What I Have Learned About Copyright

A_Peach (March 31, 2013). Dog Face- What's Up? [Online Image] Retrieved from https://www.flickr.com/photos/a_peach/8631368705/in/photolist-e9J2cP-pzme9k-FAAAud-keFshf-dAsmE-3Pw8eN-b5yXo-nJKgUT-9pgKCb-ajibvo-eZyMAb-9YpP1Q-bngNfo-3b8e9-8odpPb-8oiqjq-bATasW-4FdhzB-8jJRyb-eZnrWK-dX66T5-9a1Na-43DUzo-bkPbyj-dbHKsY-dX66M9-a4BGg-9YmU7z-9aRtNF-4aAHoV-star-bnUE4w-HwidAd-apYgyS-HwhXXz-9CgWsh-7MoarF-3TA9D-9BtV9r-dp8PV-eZnrMP-649T9s-2phPP-J2PQZs-7JFNNF-9JYTEB-apVxVv-89PL6y-bnmdWh-8qMXP9#undefined 

Dudwnhahaha. (August 24, 2014). "Cute Dog" [Online Image]. Retrieved from https://pixabay.com/en/dog-puppy-smile-cute-pet-dogs-425067/ 

Today I learned about the different types of copyright laws regarding the use of digital images on the internet so that I could post these cute dog photos! Before starting this mini-mission I was aware that only certain photos were legal to publish and post on personal websites and blogs with credit given to the 'authors', but I was unaware that there were different rules for personal and commercial purposes. Additionally, I knew that the Creative Commons existed but I was unaware there were different levels of copyright embedded within these. For example, I knew that photos in the Creative Commons could be shared and redistributed, but I did not know this did not mean you were necessarily able to adapt these images or build upon them in any way. 

I believe these distinctions will be very important to teach to my students about copyright as they may observe me using copyrighted images, and I will need to be able to use them properly to set a good example. Most importantly, the most important thing I will need to teach my students about copyright is to always give credit to the authors of different works they are referring. Making a habit of giving credit to the original creator of work is a skill that is imperative in continuing education and when entering the workplace, as it is something taken very seriously in most professions, so to bring this into my classroom as early as possible is extremely important especially if I am going to be encouraging the use of technology.