Quarterbacks throw the ball with their hands, receivers catch it with their hands, and runners carry it in their hands.
The game is all about using your hands. That's why there's no such penalty as illegal use of the midriff.
Most of the game is about hands, anyway. But if you watched any NFL games last weekend, you know why, despite all these guys using their hands, the sport is called is called football.
Last week, field-goal kickers played a key role in a half-dozen games. It started on Thanksgiving Day when Dallas kicker Billy Cundiff missed a routine fourth-quarter kick to allow its game to reach overtime, where Denver's Jason Elam drained a three-pointer to win it.
It continued Sunday morning, when Tampa Bay's Matt Bryant shanked a 29-yard field goal with less than three minutes left against the Bears that would have tied the game. Chicago held on to win by three.
In Houston, St. Louis Rams kicker Jeff Wilkins connected on a 47-yard kick in the waning seconds to tie their game against the Texans. The Rams scored a touchdown in overtime to win.
In Washington, the Redskins' John Hall came up short on a 52-yard attempt with 35 seconds left that would have given the home team a victory. Instead, LaDanian Tomlinson scored a 41-yard touchdown in overtime for a San Diego win.
And in the Sunday night game, Mike Nugent's 53-yard attempt sailed just underneath the crossbar, securing New Orleans' 21-19 win over the New York Jets.
But none of that compares to the kicking frenzy in the New York Giants-Seattle Seahawks game. Fast forward to the fourth quarter, when the Giants successfully execute a two-point conversion with 1:59 left to tie the game.
Seattle is forced to punt, and New York mounts a potential game-winning drive. With four seconds to go, Jay Feely trots onto the field to try a 40-yard kick.
Why not? He had already hit two field goals in this game and had only missed twice all season.Feely's kick sails wide left, however, and the game heads into overtime. Strike One.
The Seahawks punt on their first drive in the extra period, and the Giants work their way into position again. On comes Feely, for a 54-yard effort. The kick falls short and overtime continues. Strike Two.
Seattle fails on its possession again, however, and punts the ball again. New York drives downfield. Sound familiar? Charlie Brown-Feely lines up from 45 yards. Wave your arms, ref. No good. Strike three.
At this point I believe the Seahawks even began to feel for Feely. Hoping to save him the embarrassment of another failure, Seattle drove deep into Giants' territory and Josh Brown finally ended the madness, converting on a 36-yard boot, putting the Seahawks a leg up on home-field advantage in the NFC.
Lance Burton (19-17)
Falcons +3 at Panthers
Raiders +11 at Chargers
Seahawks -4 at Eagles
Danny Gans (18-18)
Jets +10 at Patriots
Raiders +11 at Chargers
Vikings -3 at Lions
Oscar Goodman (16-20)
Bengals +3 1/2 at Steelers
Vikings -3 at Lions
Cardinals -3 at 49ers
Clint Holmes (15-19-2)
Bengals +3 1/2 at Steelers
Buccaneers -3 1/2 at Saints
Redskins -3 at Rams
Kevin Janison (20-16)
Panthers -3 vs. Falcons
Rams-Redskins under 45
Browns-Jaguars under 34
Mark & Mercedes (17-17-2)
Bengals +3 1/2 at Steelers
Vikings -3 at Lions
Dolphins -3 1/2 vs. Bills
Wayne Newton (24-11-1)
Cardinals-49ers under 44
Eagles +4 vs. Seattle
Ravens -7 1/2 over Texans
Penn & Teller (15-21)
Steelers -3 1/2 vs. Bengals
Patriots -10 vs. Jets
Giants -3 vs. Cowboys
Rita Rudner (18-15-3)
Steelers -3 1/2 vs. Bengals
Redskins -3 at Rams
Lions +3 vs. Vikings
Sal DeFilippo picks Bills +4, Packers +7, and Giants-Cowboys over 42 this week.