Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2010 December 4

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December 4

why does the defensive line engage the offensive line in american footbal?

I am trying to understand why the defensive line in american football engages the offensive line right after the snap. Since the offensive line cannot move past the line of scrimmage until the ball does, shoudln't the defensive line just stand there and wait for the offense to make the first move? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.20.116.255 (talk) 01:57, 4 December 2010 (UTC)

The defensive line not only wants to block the offensive line, but also seeks to get into the backfield and attack the quarterback and/or running backs who have the ball. By moving first, even if by a fraction of a second, they can sometimes get some momentum before the offensive line moves. There is more at our article on American football positions. (By the way, the offensive line can move across the line of scrimmage as soon as the ball is snapped. They don't have to wait for the ball to cross the line of scrimmage.) — Michael J 02:10, 4 December 2010 (UTC)

Blitz 75.41.110.200 (talk) 02:18, 4 December 2010 (UTC)

Re: linemen moving past the line of scrimmage; you may be thinking of the Ineligible receiver downfield rule and penalty. All offensive linemen must wait until the ball passes the line of scrimmage or is tipped before being allowed to move downfield (i.e., past the line of scrimmage). See also Eligible receiver.Xenon54 (talk) 02:21, 4 December 2010 (UTC)

Let's look at the two generic offensive scenarios, rushing and passing, separately.

• Rushing: There is no prohibition about offensive linemen downfield. If the defensive line waits (or worse, actively avoids engagement), then the offense sets up their blocking scheme as they like and will generally be highly successful. Engaging the offensive line allows defenders to disrupt blocking schemes and tackle the running back sooner.
• Passing: Here's the "no linemen downfield" scenario. Why bother attacking the offensive line? Because linemen are generally not all that effective in pass coverage, and limiting the offense's time to pass is strongly in the defense's favor.

Naturally, exceptions and counter-exceptions exist. Is the defense declining to pressure the quarterback, substituting pass defenders for linemen, the offense can start rushing out of nominally passing formations. If the defense is overemphasizing the pass rush, the offense can use screen passes to bypass those defenders. A great many more such examples are prevalent. — Lomn 03:04, 4 December 2010 (UTC)

• That's the beauty of the game, don'cha know. :) ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 04:38, 4 December 2010 (UTC)

There are actually many different ways defensive schemes use defensive linemen. There are two basic schemes for defensive lines. In one-gap schemes, the linemen lineup in the spaces between the offensive linemen. In two-gap schemes, the D-linemen lineup directly over the O-linemen. Furthermore, some defenses use their linemen to occupy the O-line so the blitzing linebackers can get a free shot at either the QB or the running back in the backfield; many 3-4 defenses are actually based on this principle. Some 4-3 defenses also run on this; they key is usually if the team identifies one of its defensive linemen as a "nose-tackle". The role of the nose tackle is to line directly over the center and then knock him over as soon as he snaps the ball; in 1-gap defenses the player is usually listed as a "defensive tackle" rather than a "nose tackle". The dispute this past year between the Washington Redskins new head coach Mike Shanahan and his all-pro defensive lineman Albert Haynesworth was actually largely over Haynesworth's role in Shanahan's 2-gap 3-4 defense. Haynesworth always played as a 1-gap pass-rushing defensive tackle in a 4-3 (a role Warren Sapp made famous). When Shanahan wanted to make Haynesworth the nosetackle in his 2-gap 3-4 defense, it would have drastically changed Haynesworth's role on the team from a guy who went after players in the backfield to a guy who "took up space" and occupied offensive linemen while the linebackers got all the backfield tackles. In some schemes, the defensive line actually doesn't actively engage the offensive line, instead tries to sneak past them. The New England Patriots in recent years have been known to run defensive schemes without any defensive linemen at all, playing with 5 linebackers and 6 defensive backs, relying on speed to get past the offensive line and get to the ball carrier. --Jayron32 06:38, 4 December 2010 (UTC)

I actually saw a college team try the strategy suggested in the question once. The defensive linemen backed up a couple of feet and then stood around. The quarterback was so flustered, he threw the ball away. But you couldn't do this as a regular strategy. On run plays, the offensive line and running back would have all the momentum, and the defenders would get bowled over. On passing plays, the QB could just sit back forever and wait for a receiver to get open. -- Mwalcoff (talk) 02:29, 6 December 2010 (UTC)

Its a clue based question

The question is....' Am a building. Myself is not existing....Am a ten letter word. Find out me... —Preceding unsigned comment added by Sreedevi.gv (talk • contribs) 11:51, 4 December 2010 (UTC) — Sreedevi.gv (talk • contribs) has made few or no other edits outside this topic.

Do you have any more information to share? Where did you see or read this? Was it in English, or have you translated it? The odd syntax indicates a foreign-language riddle to me, in which case, I'm not sure the answer will still be ten letters long in English. -FisherQueen (talk · contribs) 13:04, 4 December 2010 (UTC)

Unfortunately, a good riddle with a unique answer is a very rare thing. Skyscraper is one possible solution, as it is not possible for something to exist that literally scrapes the sky.--Shantavira|^{feed me} 16:53, 4 December 2010 (UTC)

The Ref. Desks are not intended for playing a Riddle game, especially when IT'S wrongly spelled and the OP presumably already knows the answer. Cuddlyable3 (talk) 17:09, 4 December 2010 (UTC)

Shazam! Nobody else noticed that!!! ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 17:12, 4 December 2010 (UTC)

And you know this how? Cuddlyable3 (talk) 23:23, 4 December 2010 (UTC)

My answer was meant to gently indicate, 'did you find this in a book? If so, you might find the answer in the back. Did you find it on a web site? There may be a link labeled 'answer' where you can find the solution.' -FisherQueen (talk · contribs) 17:15, 4 December 2010 (UTC)

I don't understand Baseball Bugs' post. --PalaceGuard008 (Talk) 15:15, 6 December 2010 (UTC)

Well, I think he was being a little sarcastic, and justifiably so. No doubt various people noticed what Cuddlyable3 commented on, but he was the only one to think it worthy of mention. This, despite being asked a number of times not to make an issue of minor spelling or grammatical errors. Hence Baseball Bugs's retort. -- Jack of Oz ... speak! ... 09:21, 8 December 2010 (UTC)

radiography postgraduate

Hi I'm currently Sports Science student and wishing to get into radiography. i was looking up courses and wanted to do a two years masters but there seems to be just 3 or 4 year basic bsc drgrees. i would have covered alot of material such as anatomy, physioligy etc so wouldn need to do these areas. I'm looking for a more clinical based program. they have certain ones in america but was looking for one in ireland or uk. thanks Sean —Preceding unsigned comment added by Seanmaro (talk • contribs) 15:55, 4 December 2010 (UTC)

Here are some UK M.Sc. courses, but they seem to assume that you already have a degree in Radiography. You would need to discus with the individual institutions whether they would recognise your existing qualification (I assume you expect to achieve at least an upper second in Sports Science?) They may possibly allow you to attend some additional radiography courses for one year, then go on to your masters, but you will need to discuss this because your route will be unusual. Dbfirs 16:29, 4 December 2010 (UTC)

And get the careers office at your current uni to help you with this; that's what they're there for. Itsmejudith (talk) 17:43, 4 December 2010 (UTC)

protect my business idea

i have a business idea,but not having enough money to start.i would like to sell idea for some multinational company.(now i am searching of a good buyer).then how can i protect my business idea till it sell. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 117.201.245.82 (talk) 18:20, 4 December 2010 (UTC)

Firstly, and most importantly, don't tell us what it is! Sorry if you know this already, but I've seen people do just that. If you publish it (which is what posting it here would do), you could find it very hard to patent. I'd have a look at the patent article, in particular the external links. We can't give legal advice here, so you'd be better off looking at them I'd think.

(I see you posted the same question at Reference desk/Humanities. Please don't ask the same question in different places. This is probably a better place to ask). AndyTheGrump (talk) 18:57, 4 December 2010 (UTC)

It would depend on the laws of wherever you are, and we're not allowed to give legal advice anyway. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 19:10, 4 December 2010 (UTC)

One real practical question is whether there is a market for selling business ideas. I suspect not. There is a market for funding business ideas — e.g. venture capital, angel investors, etc. But do companies buy business ideas from guys off the street? I doubt it. I could be wrong about this, though. But I've never heard of it happening. Investors are already pretty suspicious even when someone is putting their own money on the line with an idea they believe in. It seems like it would be quite a stretch that they would be interested in paying much of anything for a completely untested, theoretical idea, that you have no real stake in, other than the (not exactly cheap) fees required for taking out a patent on it. --Mr.98 (talk) 19:41, 4 December 2010 (UTC)

Try to interest a partner in developing your idea. It is better not to reveal at first that it is your own original idea. Multinational companies virtually never buy an idea, they buy into a Business case (see article) that is usually prepared by several people. Cuddlyable3 (talk) 23:21, 4 December 2010 (UTC)

Ideas are the easy part- it's the execution of a good idea that is difficult. -FisherQueen (talk · contribs) 11:19, 5 December 2010 (UTC)

deep underground ownership.

can i build an underground fortress (200ft below surface and aprox 2 acres in area total) underneath someone elses property without property owners on the surface permission if it is "very deep" and the entrance is on my personal property? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.56.247.168 (talk) 18:55, 4 December 2010 (UTC)

I'm not sure of the relevant legal aspects, but they would be essentially similar as those involved with directional drilling (where I drill at an angle in order to get oil that is underneath someone else's property). It's not clear that property ownership extends infinitely downward or infinitely upwards in all jurisdictions. --Mr.98 (talk) 19:04, 4 December 2010 (UTC)

Searching around, the relevant term seems to be the doctrine of ad coelum. The more I look into this, the more complicated it appears. There are easement rights which prevent you from destabilizing another person's property. If you hit anything valuable while digging, mineral rights law comes into effect. In different jurisdictions, there are really very different interpretations of ad coelum. --Mr.98 (talk) 19:11, 4 December 2010 (UTC)

You would need to check with the laws in your own particular region. Also, this is a request for legal advice, and we aren't allowed to give legal advice. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 19:06, 4 December 2010 (UTC)

I am not sure that this is really being considered as a viable thing to do. I read it as a much more hypothetical question than a real legal one. Building "an underground fortress" would entail numerous practical difficulties and zoning requirements that certainly would require actual legal advice at numerous stages. --Mr.98 (talk) 19:15, 4 December 2010 (UTC)

It's at best a good fantasy. For the reality, he would need to consult a lawyer. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 19:19, 4 December 2010 (UTC)

In most countries today you would probable need planing permission and extraction rights ( to remove the material) plus the permission of the land owners etc. About the only time the land owner has no say is if the underground workings has received a government sanction or if he does not own the mineral rights. You would also be liable for any subsidance.--Aspro (talk) 19:12, 4 December 2010 (UTC)

I'm sure it gets complicated. Which is why he needs to talk to a lawyer. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 19:16, 4 December 2010 (UTC)

Sounds like the guy wants to build his own miniature NORAD. Maybe he should buy an abandoned mine. "Mr. President, we must not allow a mine shaft gap!" :) ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 19:18, 4 December 2010 (UTC)

Using the geolocation of your IP (California), almost certainly no. It's not only violating your neighbor's property, but good luck getting an excavation permit. Mr. 98 is right about the directional drilling analogy, which has an interesting history; early in the 20th century controversy regarding operators stealing oil from adjacent oilfield leases led to lawsuits and in some cases bloodshed. (This happened at the East Texas Oil Field among other places.) Antandrus (talk) 19:33, 4 December 2010 (UTC)

"I drink your milk shake!" -- There Will Be Blood (film). —— Shakescene (talk) 03:07, 7 December 2010 (UTC)

From a practical view, there seems to be an obvious snag anyway. If you can do it, presumably your neighbour can do the same thing. What happens when his tunnel hits yours? AndyTheGrump (talk) 19:37, 4 December 2010 (UTC)

Miller time! Maybe the two of them could build a small theater together, so they could watch their favorite sports broadcasts in comfort and security after World War III happens. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 19:53, 4 December 2010 (UTC)

The relevant legislation was not specifically addressed toward "underground fortresses" because they are so uncommonly encountered. Any application of existing regulations about construction, excavation, mining/mineral rights, and property rights, would have to be heavily interpreted. As far as the practical problems, it would be difficult to prove that your underground fortress was actually under someone else's property - you might need to hire a geotechnical engineer to establish what surface-position corresponds to the at-depth construction. Nimur (talk) 19:56, 4 December 2010 (UTC)

I would love to have an underground garden like this one http://www.pbase.com/motorcyclist/fresno_underground_garden&page=1 so that I could be outdoors yet avoid the traffic noise and be very private too. If you lined the shaft of wells with mirrors, they should act as a light pipes and convey the sunshine down below. 92.15.23.156 (talk) 21:41, 4 December 2010 (UTC)

There's an underground bunker for sale in Scotland [1]filceolaire (talk) 00:17, 9 December 2010 (UTC)

Chinese revolution aftermath

I'm doing a project on the Chinese Revolution and need some good, correct info on major events that happened afterwards. Thanks, Steel Wool Killer (talk) 20:11, 4 December 2010 (UTC)

Start by reading Chinese Revolution and Chinese Civil War to understand the event. Make sure that you understand that the term "Chinese Revolution" can refer to many separate, but related, historical periods. (Presumably you mean the end of the Chinese monarchy, the political instability, and eventually the Communist victory, during the 1913-1949 era, but you might have some more specific time-period in mind). Then, check our "External Links" and "Further Reading" sections in the related articles. I can recommend some good additional reading material; but I'm not sure what depth or breadth of research you intend to pursue. The Red Book (Quotations from Chairman Mao) is a fantastic read, because (despite its popular appeal as a generalization of Socialist principles), it's actually incredibly specific to the events of the 1930s and 1940s, issuing edicts about various provinces and individuals. (In fact, it's so specific to the Chinese Revolution that despite its mass appeal as a hallmark of "profound" Communist ideology, the commandments it outlines are actually pretty irrelevant unless you are a peasant-soldier of the Red Army during the Revolution. As a whole, it's a lousy introduction to Communist ideology). But it is a fantastic primary source that provides great historic insight into the Chinese Revolution, and you can skim through a few sections to garner an understanding about the Revolution's leader and his ideas. Further, I recommend that you should never read Chairman Mao's writings without some historical context. So I also recommend a fictionalized novelization that will help fill out your understanding of the Revolution: Red Sorghum (novel) by Mo Yan depicts a graphic (but fictionalized) account of the impact of the Revolution and the Japanese occupation as it was experienced by the common people. It will help put the situation in perspective, with a little less rhetoric. Nimur (talk) 20:32, 4 December 2010 (UTC)

If the OP is thinking of the Chinese Cultural Revolution 1966-76, a significant aftermath was the arrest of the Gang of Four. Cuddlyable3 (talk) 23:29, 4 December 2010 (UTC)

Another good starting place is Five-Year Plans of China, which will give you the highlights from 1953 to 2010. DOR (HK) (talk) 07:00, 6 December 2010 (UTC)

Dry decals

What is the best way to apply dry transfer decals? Almost every time I try to apply them, some parts of the decal doesn't stick onto the plastic. 64.75.158.197 (talk) 20:55, 4 December 2010 (UTC)

Is this plastic meant to be painted (as in a model aircraft etc.)? Is it moulded plastic? It may well be you have not removed all traces of the release agent used in the moulding processes and that is stopping them from sticking.--Aspro (talk) 21:06, 4 December 2010 (UTC)

I already painted the model, and I suppose that parts that must be snipped off from tree frames must be molded. So how do I ensure that the release agent is completely removed (if it wasn't already completely removed before the trees were packed into the box)? 64.75.158.196 (talk) 07:55, 6 December 2010 (UTC)