# 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:** 7
**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 20, 2017, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-american-football-to-someone-who-is-basically-ignorant-of-it/776302/121 "2017-01-20T01:41:09Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > I knew about the “free kick for a field goal after a fair catch” rule, but then, I’m an NFL nerd, and a kicking-game nerd in particular. Yes, it’s an incredibly rare play. 🙂 FWIW, it seems the announcers are saying that even the players are confused about this rule. Anyhow, I guess where it’s useful is pretty rare, but this should mean that a field goal record should be quite smashable in this type of situation, right? I mean, you basically have a free, unobstructed shot at the goalposts, no defense to deal with, no distractions, pretty much free to kick it at whatever angle you want, not having to worry about the defensive line. Is there something I’m missing here? I would think at some point, a 70-yarder would be attainable in this type of situation. Also, would it count as a field goal record, or is there a separate stat for this? ---
**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 20, 2017, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-american-football-to-someone-who-is-basically-ignorant-of-it/776302/122 "2017-01-20T01:44:44Z")
Also, do the Madden games let you do this? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2017, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-american-football-to-someone-who-is-basically-ignorant-of-it/776302/123 "2017-01-20T01:53:34Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Also, do the Madden games let you do this? 🙂 “If it’s in the game, it’s in the game!” :dubious: ---
**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 20, 2017, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-american-football-to-someone-who-is-basically-ignorant-of-it/776302/124 "2017-01-20T03:39:46Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Anyhow, I guess where it’s useful is pretty rare, but this should mean that a field goal record should be quite smashable in this type of situation, right? I mean, you basically have a free, unobstructed shot at the goalposts, no defense to deal with, no distractions, pretty much free to kick it at whatever angle you want, not having to worry about the defensive line. Is there something I’m missing here? I would think at some point, a 70-yarder would be attainable in this type of situation. Yes, it should be a bit easier than a traditional field goal from the same distance, due to the lack of a rush by the defense. The big reason why I think it’s such a rare play is that you need the exact right situation. Almost every long field goal attempt is made at the end of a half, or when the kicking team is desperate for those three points (i.e., to tie or win a game as time expires), because the downside of a missed field goal is that you give the other team the ball, with great field position, if your kicker misses (and he’s likely to miss). And, in this case, you also need to be receiving a punt at or very near the end of a half, and to have had the foresight to have your returner make a fair catch. I’m not certain, but I suspect that you would need to make the free kick from the spot where the fair catch was made (or at the hashmark, if the catch was made outside of the hashmarks). > [@pulykamell](#): > > Also, would it count as a field goal record, or is there a separate stat for this? I believe that it’d be scored as a field goal, but if it were at a record distance, it’d likely be given an asterisk and a footnote for “free kick.” ---
**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 20, 2017, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-american-football-to-someone-who-is-basically-ignorant-of-it/776302/125 "2017-01-20T04:03:13Z")
The main complication is that it’s just plain really, really hard to make a field goal at that distance, even without defenders. ---
**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 20, 2017, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-american-football-to-someone-who-is-basically-ignorant-of-it/776302/126 "2017-01-20T04:41:24Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > The main complication is that it’s just plain really, really hard to make a field goal at that distance, even without defenders. Well, sure, but you see kickers doing 70+ yards in practice (and I seem to remember 80+, Sebastian Janikowski after looking it up) , so I’m not sure that’s the main complication, so much as opportunity to try. ---
**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 20, 2017, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-american-football-to-someone-who-is-basically-ignorant-of-it/776302/127 "2017-01-20T04:46:11Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Well, sure, but you see kickers doing 70+ yards in practice (and I seem to remember 80+, Sebastian Janikowski after looking it up) , so I’m not sure that’s the main complication, so much as opportunity to try. There are a fairly small number who really have the leg to pull that distance off with any semblance of accuracy – Janikowski, Justin Tucker, and probably only a handful of others. ---
**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 20, 2017, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-american-football-to-someone-who-is-basically-ignorant-of-it/776302/128 "2017-01-20T04:50:31Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > There are a fairly small number who really have the leg to pull that distance off with any semblance of accuracy – Janikowski, Justin Tucker, and probably only a handful of others. Well, I’ll stand corrected. I was under the impression that 70 yards was attainable for most NFL kickers, but the limiting factor was the angle at which they had to kick the ball to get over the defense. But you would certainly know better, as you’re the only kicking-game nerd I know. 🙂 ---
**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 20, 2017, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-american-football-to-someone-who-is-basically-ignorant-of-it/776302/129 "2017-01-20T05:05:59Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Well, I’ll stand corrected. I was under the impression that 70 yards was attainable for most NFL kickers, but the limiting factor was the angle at which they had to kick the ball to get over the defense. But you would certainly know better, as you’re the only kicking-game nerd I know. 🙂 Most NFL kickers are expected to be close to automatic from inside of 45 yards or so, and fairly accurate (that is, in the 60% or so range) out to 55 yards or so. It’s the uncommon kicker who has a leg much stronger than that, and most NFL kickers have career longs in the high 50s. Kickers will sometimes bomb longer FGs in practice or warm-ups, but there’s a level of showing off that goes on there, as well as it being a pressure-free situation with no rush. That, and they miss those kicks a lot. 🙂 And, yes, they have to kick at a lower trajectory for longer FGs – the traditional “set up” for the holder is 7 yards behind the line of scrimmage, but once it’s an attempt of about 50 yards or more, they now set up at 8 yards, to give the kick a chance at a little more height above the defense. Unless a team has a strong degree of confidence in their kicker’s leg power (like Janikowski or Tucker), they will rarely try a field goal of longer than 57 or 58 yards, unless it’s a desperate situation. A miss at that distance gives the opponent the ball at around midfield, and that’s a “giveaway” of about 30 to 40 yards of field position, compared to punting the ball from that point. ---
**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 20, 2017, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-american-football-to-someone-who-is-basically-ignorant-of-it/776302/130 "2017-01-20T05:09:18Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > Unless a team has a strong degree of confidence in their kicker’s leg power (like Janikowski or Tucker), they will rarely try a field goal of longer than 57 or 58 yards, unless it’s a desperate situation. A miss at that distance gives the opponent the ball at around midfield, and that’s a “giveaway” of about 30 to 40 yards of field position, compared to punting the ball from that point. Oh, sure. I would never send someone out for a 60-yarder unless it was a time-running-out in the half/game type of situation. And even so, if you’re the Packers with Rodgers, you just chuck it in the endzone as a Packer is sure to come down with it. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![OldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3bc359/32.png) [@OldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldGuy)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2017, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-american-football-to-someone-who-is-basically-ignorant-of-it/776302/131 "2017-01-20T05:17:40Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > In addition, the free kick after a safety is done as a punt, rather than a placekick. A free kick after a safety is usually done as a punt, but the rules allow you to make a placement kick instead. A punt is usually used because they have more hang time than placement kicks and allow the kicking team to get down field farther on coverage. I am pretty sure that a placement free kick after a safety can not score a field goal (unlike a free kick after a fair catch) but I am going on a long ago memory on that rule. Of course it would be next to impossible in any case as it would require a 90 yard field goal if done which is well beyond the record. ---
**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 20, 2017, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-american-football-to-someone-who-is-basically-ignorant-of-it/776302/132 "2017-01-20T05:18:21Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > And even so, if you’re the Packers with Rodgers, you just chuck it in the endzone as a Packer is sure to come down with it. 😉 Apparently, Rodgers has gotten some [advice on re-entry trajectories](http://www.space.com/35327-astronaut-mark-kelly-aaron-rodgers.html) on those Hail Mary passes. ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2017, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-american-football-to-someone-who-is-basically-ignorant-of-it/776302/133 "2017-01-20T18:33:52Z")
First of all, here is the NFL’s rule on the [“fair catch kick”](http://static.nfl.com/static/content/public/image/rulebook/pdfs/13_Rule10_CatchKick_FairCatch.pdf): > [@NFL Rules](#): > > PUTTING BALL IN PLAY AFTER FAIR CATCH > Article 4 After a fair catch is made, or is awarded as the result of fair catch interference, the receiving team has the option of putting the ball in play by either: > (a) a fair-catch kick (drop kick or placekick without a tee) from the spot of the catch (or the succeeding spot after enforcement of any applicable penalties) (3-9-1 and 11-4-3), or > (b) a snap from the spot of the catch (or the succeeding spot after enforcement of any applicable penalties). Note that the kick is not a “free kick”, but a “fair catch kick.” See NFL Rules, Rule 3 (Definitions), Section 8, Article 1 (defining “Free Kick Down” and “Fair Catch Kick Down”). The rules are consistent in using the the terms separately (for example, listing both in lists of types of plays to which certain penalties apply). The kick, if successful, is scored as a “field goal”, see NFL Rules, Rule 3 (Definitions), Section 11 (Field Goal). You know, the NFL Rules are easily available. Why don’t people make reference to them when answering questions about them? ---
**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 20, 2017, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-american-football-to-someone-who-is-basically-ignorant-of-it/776302/134 "2017-01-20T19:16:40Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > Thanks. In the video, this Elway person seems to be in total control and dominated and dictated the gameplay throughout the near 10 minutes of the “drive”. Just to revisit this, drives like this happen every week in the NFL. This is a fairly normal course of action, it’s just that this one occurred on a big stage, under time pressure, with huge consequences. It was an excellent set of plays, but that in and of itself isn’t exceptional. While it was slightly different during that era, for the most part now all plays are called by the coaches on the sidelines (usually the offensive coordinator) and relayed to the QB via a radio in his helmet. QBs will often call an audible when they come to the line and change the play or pass routes in response to the defense they see. That’s what all the shouting is about before the play starts. You can see/hear the defensive captain on calling out the defensive play, and the QB or center calling out the Mike (middle linebacker) so everyone knows who to block based on the offensive blocking scheme. The QB may also point out to his receivers favorable matchups or change his route to react accordingly. ---
**Author:** ![unwashed\_brain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/a9adbd/32.png) [@unwashed\_brain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/unwashed_brain)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2017, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-american-football-to-someone-who-is-basically-ignorant-of-it/776302/135 "2017-01-20T20:11:45Z")
Just came into the thread to say that this is probably something better tackled in a YouTube video than a wall of text in a forum. Do a search for “NFL for dummies” or something like that. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Intelligently\_Designed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intelligently_designed/32/20957_2.png) [@Intelligently\_Designed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intelligently_Designed)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2017, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-american-football-to-someone-who-is-basically-ignorant-of-it/776302/136 "2017-02-01T00:45:00Z")
Well, to kick a very long field goal, the trick is simple: use [Flubber](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3c3PoAdpqsI) (video at 1:22:44). Ah, sweet memories of Sunday afternoons at the movies. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2017, 10:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-american-football-to-someone-who-is-basically-ignorant-of-it/776302/137 "2017-02-04T10:18:54Z")
> [@JoseB](#): > > … the only vaguely related knowledge I have dates from when I was a teenager and I used to play in a local rugby team. > … > The most surprising thing for me was to see that a team is allowed to throw the football forward (in rugby, the offside line is where the ball is, so you are not allowed to throw it at teammates ahead of you)… American football used to be like that too. It was changed (under government pressure) to make it safer. The forward pass as an alternative to scrimmage opens up the game, but it also reduced the number of fatalities. Because it was a change to the game, the rules for the forward pass don’t really have any traditional or obvious explanation: it’s invented rules. ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2017, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-american-football-to-someone-who-is-basically-ignorant-of-it/776302/138 "2017-02-04T11:26:22Z")
The forward pass had been tried before the official rule change, so it wasn’t like they plucked it out of thin air. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2017, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-american-football-to-someone-who-is-basically-ignorant-of-it/776302/139 "2017-02-04T11:37:02Z")
Unlimited forward passes? Or under certain circumstances? ---
**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:** [February 4, 2017, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-american-football-to-someone-who-is-basically-ignorant-of-it/776302/140 "2017-02-04T11:53:54Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > Unlimited forward passes? Or under certain circumstances? One per play, must be from behind the line of scrimmage, only designated receivers can catch the ball, allowed on any play except after kicks or other changes of possession. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-american-football-to-someone-who-is-basically-ignorant-of-it/776302.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-american-football-to-someone-who-is-basically-ignorant-of-it/776302.md?page=8)