# Explain American Football to someone who is basically ignorant of it **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [January 4, 2017, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-american-football-to-someone-who-is-basically-ignorant-of-it/776302 "2017-01-04T11:34:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2017, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-american-football-to-someone-who-is-basically-ignorant-of-it/776302/61 "2017-01-07T17:05:17Z")
> [@Arcite](#): > > So the quarterback can’t start rushing and then pass? He can run around behind the line of scrimmage (and a lot of quarterbacks do this). But, once he crosses the line of scrimmage, he cannot legally throw a forward pass. If he does so, it’s a penalty (illegal forward pass). > [@Arcite](#): > > Wait, so neither team is eligible to pick it up {an incomplete pass}? If a forward pass hits the ground before being legally caught, it’s a dead ball. So, no, neither team can pick it up. The play is over, and the next play starts at the same place as the previous play. > [@Arcite](#): > > I also never knew this. What is this penalty called? Ineligible receiver. It rarely happns (most passes aren’t thrown anywhere near the area where the linemen are), so it’s a penalty you very rarely see called. > [@Arcite](#): > > It seems like the quarterback always looks like he’s doing a handoff, and everyone else watching except me can somehow intuitively tell whether it was a real handoff or a fake one. I’ve never understood how they could tell; maybe this is it. A passing play in which the quarterback fakes a handoff to a running back (often hiding the ball behind his back hip as he does it) is sometimes called a “play-action” pass. Some quarterbacks are very good at selling this fake, so much so that even the TV cameramen follow the fake runner for a few moments. \* Edit: pulykamell is faster than me!\* ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2017, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-american-football-to-someone-who-is-basically-ignorant-of-it/776302/62 "2017-01-07T17:11:29Z")
[Here’s a little more in-depth explanation of running out the clock.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Running_out_the_clock) That’s why you will see teams celebrating a victory sometimes with less than two minutes left on the clock. If the other team is out of timeouts, the offensive team can basically run off 40 seconds of clock time on each play by simply snapping the ball and kneeling to keep the clock running. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2017, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-american-football-to-someone-who-is-basically-ignorant-of-it/776302/63 "2017-01-07T17:13:54Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > A passing play in which the quarterback fakes a handoff to a running back (often hiding the ball behind his back hip as he does it) is sometimes called a “play-action” pass. Some quarterbacks are very good at selling this fake, so much so that even the TV cameramen follow the fake runner for a few moments. > \* > Edit: pulykamell is faster than me!\* A bit tangential, but one of my favorite fake-outs from the past few years (and it got the cameraman, too, which is why your post reminded me of it) was [this punt.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fioVbt7eF8) Watch all the way through to understand what is happening–you can’t really see it from the initial coverage. (You can, but unless you know what you’re looking for or are unusually observant, you’ll miss it.) ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2017, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-american-football-to-someone-who-is-basically-ignorant-of-it/776302/64 "2017-01-08T01:57:06Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > Ineligible receiver. It rarely happns (most passes aren’t thrown anywhere near the area where the linemen are), so it’s a penalty you very rarely see called. A more common call is Ineligible Receiver Downfield. The offensive linemen aren’t allowed to go past the line of scrimmage on a pass play unless they are actively blocking someone. The eligible receivers can go past the line of scrimmage on a pass play even if they are blocking but the o-line must remain back until the ball is thrown. ---
**Author:** ![justmeetee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/898d66/32.png) [@justmeetee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/justmeetee)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2017, 8:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-american-football-to-someone-who-is-basically-ignorant-of-it/776302/65 "2017-01-11T08:06:38Z")
> [@Arcite](#): > > Interesting thread for me. I’m American and my father watched football when I was growing up, but I was nerdy and unathletic and never had any interest in sports.\* So I never learned anything about football beyond the basics of scoring. Watching football is pointless for me, because I have no idea what’s going on, and I don’t ask others because at this point I don’t think anyone wants to hear a 40-year-old guy repeatedly asking “what just happened? Why’d he do that?” I go to Super Bowl parties if I’m invited, so as not to seem unsocial, but I just eat the wings, drink the beer, pretend to be looking at the screen, and hope no one tries to engage me in discussion about the actual game. You should be asking. It will get you excited about watching and open a wonderful new social world. Most people I know have no problem answering questions about what just happened and why. Discussions about the previous play are a major part of the shared viewing experience. The people that are annoyed with banter during a game watch games alone. I am part of a group that rotates watching “our team”\* between five households and there are always questions and debates. I have been explaining football to my lady since 1988 and I absolutely love it. You will probably be suprised and find someone that will be delighted to pass on some of their love for and knowledge of the game. - “Our team” happens to be the Green Bay Packers, the only publicly owned team in the NFL and between us have 7 shares of stock, which truly makes them “our team”. ---
**Author:** ![Cugel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cugel/32/1199_2.png) [@Cugel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cugel)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2017, 8:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-american-football-to-someone-who-is-basically-ignorant-of-it/776302/66 "2017-01-11T08:31:43Z")
I’ve seen the occasional game here and there, and wondered: Why isn’t there more passing (laterally, of course) to a teammate prior to, or during the tackle? Is there some other rule preventing it? I’m not suggesting always trying to squeeze out silly passes under a mountain of defenders, but it seems to me, the opportunity for lower risk offloads - as they’re called in rugby league - are there. A successful pass would mean the addition territory (hopefully), and if the defenders are forced to recognise to possibility of such a play, it would draw heat from the ball carrier. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2017, 11:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-american-football-to-someone-who-is-basically-ignorant-of-it/776302/67 "2017-01-11T11:19:57Z")
> [@Cugel](#): > > I’ve seen the occasional game here and there, and wondered: Why isn’t there more passing (laterally, of course) to a teammate prior to, or during the tackle? Is there some other rule preventing it? You can lateral at any point in a play, as long as it’s backwards. But since a dropped lateral is a live ball the consequences of dropping it around a bunch of fast and aggressive DBs are great. Most NFL teams won’t do this because the occasional gain of a few yards doesn’t outweigh the risks of losing the ball. The defenses are just too fast. ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2017, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-american-football-to-someone-who-is-basically-ignorant-of-it/776302/68 "2017-01-11T12:04:03Z")
Multiple lateral plays don’t happen in American football for three good reasons. First, unlike Rugby, the forward pass is legal in American football. This means that, on any given play, there will be three or four players who have gone downfield either to provide passing targets, or to fake doing so on running plays (where they then block as needed). Second, in American football, the specialization of players, especially those who play in the offensive line (the blockers) further limits the options for a lateral; you do not generally want a 350 pound offensive lineman trying to gather in a lateraled ball and run with it. Since there are only 11 players on the field for the team on offense (as opposed to 13 for Rugby League and 15 for Rugby Union), this leaves only a couple players available for a lateral. The third reason has to do with the difference between the two games as to how possession is yielded. In American football, possession must be given up whenever four downs have occurred without accomplishing the gain of 10 or more yards. Thus, emphasis is placed upon gaining the most yards per attempt, without risk of going backward. In Rugby League, possession is surrendered whenever six successful “tackles” have occurred, IIRC, without regard to forward distance covered, so avoiding a tackle is paramount. In Rugby Union, possession is contested after ANY successful tackle (ruck or maul), so avoiding a tackle is even more important. In both cases, passing the ball backward to avoid a tackle is more important than maintaining the forward progress obtained. In the older days of football yore, especially in the college game, running plays often depended upon the option of at least one lateral, from the quarterback to one of his running backs. Google “wishbone” and “sweep” for information. These days, neither is used much because of the size, strength and especially agility of modern defensive players. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2017, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-american-football-to-someone-who-is-basically-ignorant-of-it/776302/69 "2017-01-11T15:08:47Z")
I’ve never once been to any Superbowl party without at least one party-goer who didn’t care about the game at all and who was just there for the food and the funny commercials. And that person has never been a pariah. Don’t be afraid to admit that you’re that person; there’s nothing wrong with it. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2017, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-american-football-to-someone-who-is-basically-ignorant-of-it/776302/70 "2017-01-11T15:22:55Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > You can lateral at any point in a play, as long as it’s backwards. But since a dropped lateral is a live ball the consequences of dropping it around a bunch of fast and aggressive DBs are great. Most NFL teams won’t do this because the occasional gain of a few yards doesn’t outweigh the risks of losing the ball. The defenses are just too fast. The fairly rare situation in which you _do_ see multiple laterals on a play is at the very end of a game. If the team which is behind has the ball, and needs to score a touchdown to win (or tie), their players may keep latertaling the ball, in order to keep the play alive, since a tackle would end the game. The most famous example of this was the 1982 Cal / Stanford college football game, known as “The Play”: Cal executed multiple laterals while returning a kickoff, but the reason why the play is memorable is that the Stanford marching band had (mistakenly) come onto the field early, and the Cal players with the ball had to weave through band members (and use them as cover) on their way to the end zone. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/mfebpLfAt8g/hqdefault.jpg "Cal Bears Football 82: The Play") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfebpLfAt8g) ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2017, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-american-football-to-someone-who-is-basically-ignorant-of-it/776302/71 "2017-01-11T17:32:41Z")
Upon reading the rules it appears that any player on the offense can receive a lateral, not just the eligible receivers. Is that correct? ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2017, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-american-football-to-someone-who-is-basically-ignorant-of-it/776302/72 "2017-01-11T18:20:29Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > Upon reading the rules it appears that any player on the offense can receive a lateral, not just the eligible receivers. Is that correct? Yes. And any player on defense, too. As long as the lateral is not forwards. ---
**Author:** ![puddleglum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puddleglum/32/137_2.png) [@puddleglum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puddleglum)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2017, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-american-football-to-someone-who-is-basically-ignorant-of-it/776302/73 "2017-01-11T19:12:24Z")
> [@Cugel](#): > > I’ve seen the occasional game here and there, and wondered: Why isn’t there more passing (laterally, of course) to a teammate prior to, or during the tackle? Is there some other rule preventing it? > > I’m not suggesting always trying to squeeze out silly passes under a mountain of defenders, but it seems to me, the opportunity for lower risk offloads - as they’re called in rugby league - are there. A successful pass would mean the addition territory (hopefully), and if the defenders are forced to recognise to possibility of such a play, it would draw heat from the ball carrier. There is a play called the hook and ladder that calls for a receiver to lateral the ball to another receiver right after catching it. IMHO, it should be used much more than it is but when it is used big things can [happen](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=knuRQVsBtY4). ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2017, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-american-football-to-someone-who-is-basically-ignorant-of-it/776302/74 "2017-01-11T19:14:12Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > Yes. And any player on defense, too. As long as the lateral is not forwards. Yes, this as I understand it. One issue that teams run into when running fancy / trick plays involving laterals is when the “lateral” actually does go forward (which is nearly always illegal – the only time it wouldn’t be is when a forward pass would also be a legal play). For example, the “[Music City Miracle](http://https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_City_Miracle)” kickoff return by the Tennessee Titans in 2000, in which Titans player Frank Wycheck threw a lateral across the field to Kevin Dyson, who then ran for a touchdown. The Titans had obviously designed the play to be a lateral / backwards pass, but, due to the locations of the two players at the moment of the lateral, it was _very_ close to being a forward pass, so much so that the instant replay review took some time, and Bills fans (among others) insisted that it was a forward pass. Here’s the original broadcast of the play; even in the moment, the announcer says, “That looked like a forward pass.” [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pfz4JViRkoA](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pfz4JViRkoA) ---
**Author:** ![Cugel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cugel/32/1199_2.png) [@Cugel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cugel)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2017, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-american-football-to-someone-who-is-basically-ignorant-of-it/776302/75 "2017-01-12T01:21:41Z")
> [@DSYoungEsq](#): > > you do not generally want a 350 pound offensive lineman trying to gather in a lateraled ball and run with it. Heh, I hadn’t thought of that. I think in my mind it was those guys who move toward the ball carrier after the play had started, with the aim of providing a possible outlet for an offload. > [@puddleglum](#): > > There is a play called the hook and ladder that calls for a receiver to lateral the ball to another receiver right after catching it. This is the sort of thing I had in mind, which appeared to me as if it could be applied in other situations. However the guy who gets the final pass, are the defenders allowed to interfere with him prior to him getting the pill? If so, it would cruel the whole scheme. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2017, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-american-football-to-someone-who-is-basically-ignorant-of-it/776302/76 "2017-01-12T01:34:16Z")
I have also seen a play where the quarterback throws a lateral to the running back, who runs a couple yards, then throws a lateral back to the quarterback, who then throws a forward pass to a receiver. It’s all done to trick the defense and buy time for a receiver to get downfield to catch a really long pass. And then there was the play this year where Russell Wilson (the quarterback for the Seahawks) threw a lateral to Doug Baldwin (a receiver) who then threw a forward pass to Wilson who got a touchdown. Yes, the receiver threw a touchdown to the quarterback. That was a fun play! ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2017, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-american-football-to-someone-who-is-basically-ignorant-of-it/776302/77 "2017-01-12T01:59:45Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > I have also seen a play where the quarterback throws a lateral to the running back, who runs a couple yards, then throws a lateral back to the quarterback, who then throws a forward pass to a receiver. It’s all done to trick the defense and buy time for a receiver to get downfield to catch a really long pass. AKA - The Flea Flicker ETA – the whole “buying time” explanation above is also accomplished but the play-action pass, where the QB fakes a hand-off to the RB, but then ends up throwing to a receiver - the goal being to make the secondary (the guys defending passes downfield) to abandon their coverage and charge the runner. (Sorry, I don’t know if the the play-action pass has been covered here … I just kinda skimmed the thread.) ---
**Author:** ![kurtisokc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbce88/32.png) [@kurtisokc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kurtisokc)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2017, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-american-football-to-someone-who-is-basically-ignorant-of-it/776302/78 "2017-01-12T02:05:32Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > Upon reading the rules it appears that any player on the offense can receive a lateral, not just the eligible receivers. Is that correct? A couple of points about passing which are taken for granted by American football fans, but may not be so obvious to someone who is unfamiliar with the game. Under the rules, any pass with a forward trajectory relative to the line of scrimmage, however slight, is a “forward pass.” Any other pass is, somewhat confusingly, called a “lateral.” So when you hear “lateral” think “backwards pass.” Almost all rules pertaining to “passing” apply only to forward passes, not to laterals. There is no limit to the number of lateral passes on a given play. There is no restriction on which offensive player may receive a lateral. Unlike a forward pass, a lateral need not be thrown behind the line of scrimmage, and may even be thrown by the receiving team after a punt or kickoff, or by the defensive team after a turnover. A incomplete lateral pass does not stop the clock, but is instead treated the same as a fumble and can be recovered by any player on either team. As has already been mentioned, laterals are fairly rare, except in desperate situations, because of the danger of turning over possession of the ball. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2017, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-american-football-to-someone-who-is-basically-ignorant-of-it/776302/79 "2017-01-12T02:42:31Z")
> [@Cugel](#): > > Heh, I hadn’t thought of that. I think in my mind it was those guys who move toward the ball carrier after the play had started, with the aim of providing a possible outlet for an offload. Almost no one on the offense is moving towards the ball carrier after the play has started. Either they are blocking in front of him, or running a pass pattern to decoy other defenders. > [@Cugel](#): > > This is the sort of thing I had in mind, which appeared to me as if it could be applied in other situations. However the guy who gets the final pass, are the defenders allowed to interfere with him prior to him getting the pill? If so, it would cruel the whole scheme. They can’t interfere with them before a forward pass, but once the ball carrier has passed the line of scrimmage or a forward pass has been made then everyone is fair game for blocking. The scheme doesn’t work in American football except in carefully designed plays or in desperation because it’s not rugby. ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2017, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-american-football-to-someone-who-is-basically-ignorant-of-it/776302/80 "2017-01-12T13:38:54Z")
> [@puddleglum](#): > > There is a play called the hook and ladder that calls for a receiver to lateral the ball to another receiver right after catching it. IMHO, it should be used much more than it is but when it is used big things can [happen](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=knuRQVsBtY4). Slight nitpick: it’s properly called a “hook and lateral.” The play involves the receiver running what was originally called a “buttonhook” route, later shortened to “hook.” He catches, then laterals the ball. The term has morphed to “hook and ladder” as a result of people misusing that substitution. See: [Hook and lateral](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hook_and_lateral), and [Button hook route](https://www.sportingcharts.com/dictionary/nfl/button-hook.aspx). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-american-football-to-someone-who-is-basically-ignorant-of-it/776302.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-american-football-to-someone-who-is-basically-ignorant-of-it/776302.md?page=5)