Someone suggested you watch a few games, but you said you don’t have TV. You might be able to watch games live on http://www.espn360.com/ (it’s free, but only works in certain areas) and there are even some games on Hulu that you can watch. Those are all college games (for NFL, they seem to only have clips, not full games) but the rules are mostly the same.
Why is it that when someone asks about a sport, people jump right to the action? There’s things that need explained before the stadium evens opens its doors. When amateurs teach chess, for some reason they jump right to how the pieces move and skip even more basic things. So let’s back up and cover the most important aspect of the game, because without it, no game could happen. Let’s talk about the field.
The field is a rectangle 120 yards long and roughly 53 yards wide. It’s 100 yards in the middle and is bookended by two 10-yard-long zones called endzones. These are also referred to as the teams’ goals.
The entire area is bounded on all sides by **boundary lines ** of white chalk. The internal area is called “in bounds” and the external area is called “out of bounds”. The side boundaries are called sidelines. The line separating the endzone from the rest of the field and running width-wise is called the goal line. The center of the field is the 50-yard line. It’s usually marked with some team color of paint and usually has a team logo on it. From the center to each goal line, the field is marked off in 1-yard increments referred to as yardlines. Every 5 yards, you’ll see one solid line running the width of the field. Every in-between yardline is marked with a hash mark on each sideline, and a pair of hash marks near the middle of the field. So to reiterate, there is one 50-yard line and there are two of every other yard line, such as the 45-yard line. The two 20-yard lines are important for various reasons, so they often get painted with some extra-bold color.
The two halves of the field are referred to with respect to the two teams. A team tries to go away from “their” endzone and “their side” of the field, cross the “opponent’s side” and enter “the opponent’s endzone”. You’ll hear announcers often say something like “The Colts are on their own 40 yard line”. That means they’re on the side they want to leave. It would be better for the Colts to be on “their opponent’s 40-yard line” for example.
In the back of each endzone are the U-shaped goalposts, or simply the posts. The lower crossbar is 10 feet off the ground, and the two uprights extend another 20 feet above that. The two uprights are 18.5 feet apart. Teams try to kick the ball between the two upright posts to score points.
That’s all I can come up with for now to describe the field.
One other point that I don’t think anyone has touched on directly: It’s not enough to move the ball down the field, you need to move it down the field under your team’s control. This means that either one of your guys is running down the field while carrying the ball, or the quarterback throws the ball down the field and one of your guys catches it. If the quarterback throws the ball into the end zone and nobody catches it, that’s an incomplete pass, and doesn’t do your team any good at all (and in fact hurts you, since it uses up one of your downs). You only get a touchdown if one of your players, while in the endzone, catches the ball, or if one of your players, while carrying the ball, runs across the goal line.
And just a side note for any foreigners who don’t like the name: It’s not called “football” because of the kicking, which is actually a fairly small part of the game. It’s called “football” because it’s played on foot, as opposed to horseback like polo.
Maybe take several steps back and go with the ultra-basics.
Football is unique among major sports because it is a game of capturing and holding territory, like war. Other sports are about nonstop action, like soccer, hockey, rugby, even basketball. Not football. Football is about doing things slowly, methodically, thoughtfully, and with tremendous violence. Baseball also has an element of gaining and holding territory. American sports seem to be infused with this type of Manifest Destiny mentality, which should be no surpise considering they were invented in the late 1800s.
Basically, the 11 guys on offense work together to get the ball 10 yards down the field in 3 tries so they can start again with another 3 tries. If they fail to gain 10 yards in 3 tries they will punt it away in order to force the other team to travel a longer distance. After every play the offense regroups and comes up with a new play to run. You can gain ground by running or passing, but not kicking. When passing, you can’t let the ball touch the ground or it doesn’t count. (But you still lose the play.)
On defense, stopping the run is all about recognizing that the offense is, in fact, running the ball. If they are, everyone tries to tackle him. But the offense is sneaky, and they’ll pretend they’re running but really they’re passing. To stop the pass you have two basic choices: “pressure” the passer or “pressure” the receivers. Pressuring the passer is pretty simple: run straight at him as soon as the play starts and try to knock him on his ass. Pressuring the recievers can be done in two ways. First is to grab him as soon as the play starts and don’t let him run downfield. The second is to light him up by leveling him with a big hit as soon as he touches the ball.
Both methods are cumulative. Hit the passer enough times and he’ll start getting jumpy and won’t be able to pass very effectively. Hit the receivers enough times and they’ll stop wanting the ball thrown their way. Bump them on the line enough times and they’ll start to get frustrated and won’t be as effective.
To be clear, punting is optional. Realistically, teams do usually choose to punt on fourth down, but they don’t have to, and sometimes it’s better to take one last try at getting the first down, or (if you’re close enough) to try to get a field goal.
You didn’t start with the #1 basic:
1. The object of the game is to score more points than the other team.
You score points by:
Scoring a Touchdown - 6 points. This is acheived by carrying the ball through the other team’s end of the field into the “end zone.” You can carry it in, or catch a pass while sta nding in it.
The Extra Point or a Two Point Conversion - 1 or 2 points. After legally scoring a touchdown a team may elect to make a very short kick through the goal posts for one point, or try to get the ball into the end zone again for two points.
The Field Goal - 3 points - If a team possesses the ball within kicking range and feels it can’t score a touchdown, it may elect to have its kicker try to drive the ball through the goal posts.
The Safety - 2 points. This is a very, very unusual play that you won’t usually see, but if the team that possesses the ball is tackled or driven out of bounds while in its own end zone, the other team gets 2 points.
The game is NOT won by the team that “captures the most territory” or gets the most first downs. It’s won by the team that scores the most points.
On the scoring note, it should be noted that, first, teams almost always choose to go for the single extra point rather than the two-point conversion after a touchdown, and second, that extra-point attempts are almost always successful. So in practice, a touchdown usually works out to be worth 7 points, not 6, and final scores are often a multiple of 7.
Good point (pun intented).
An extra-point kick will have a success rate of over 95%, while a two-point conversion has a success rate of something around 50%.
Teams will generally only try a two-point conversion if gaining 2 points instead of one makes a difference. For example, let’s say that a team trails by 11 points, and scores a touchdown (reducing their deficit to 5 points). They might try a two-point conversion in this case, because 2 points would reduce their deficit to 3 points (which means they could tie the game with a field goal).
If you have more access to a computer than a TV to watch the game, you can try and get a feel with a simplified old video game, Tecmo Super Bowl.
While it won’t cover every option available, it does give a feel for the game. When you have the ball, you choose a play (pressing the buttons underneath the picture). As defense, you also choose one of the offense’s plays to try to stop. If the defense chooses the same or a similar type of play, they stand a good chance to stop it. But you also have control of your player in case things don’t go as planned, and the balance between planning and on-the-fly adjustment is a good portion of the real game itself.
(To start that game, hit Enter twice to Start. Then press ‘X’ to choose a preseason game, MAN vs. COM, and choose two teams[sup]*[/sup] to go against each other. ‘X’ will get through most screens and start plays on offense. On defense, you’re trying to catch up to the guy with the ball. If something happens that you didn’t expect, try to pay attention to the information on the screen, e.g. the clock or the down/yards to go indication in the corner.
*One thing of note - this game in particular was an early attempt to model actual players of the time, which results in vastly different team qualities. Try playing the New York Giants (good all-around) or Chicago Bears (excellent defense) if you want to not be beaten so much.
I disagree. I described the basic, fundamental concepts in the game of football in broad strokes. The posts subsequent to that have described minutia in excruciating detail.
With due respect, your first line was “Football is unique among major sports because it is a game of capturing and holding territory, like war.” Football is not a game of capturing and holding territory; that’s like saying basketball is a game of setting picks or baseball is a game of throwing strikes. The object of football is to score the most points. It is very common for the team that “captures the most territory” to lose the game, and I give you last week’s Jets-Chargers game as a classic example. Who gained the most territory? Who won the game?
Having established that the game is a game of scoring points, I would think the next topic is the concept of downs and possession, which are unusual to football (so far’s I’m aware - I can’t think of an equivalent sport, except rugby.)
POSSESSION:
In football, the ball is said to be “in possession” of one team or another. When a team has possession of the ball, it has the right to run plays to advance the ball down the field. The team in poession of the ball is the offense, and the team trying to stop them is the defense. Each play is called a “down.” When a team first takes possession of the ball they has four chances to advance the ball ten yards. If they succeed in doing so then the four downs start again, and the team must advance the ball ten yards from their last point of advancement. Downs do not accumulate; you can never have more than four plays to get your ten yards.
Possession of the ball can be achieved in a number of ways:
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Receiving a kickoff. At the commencement of the game, at the commencement of the second half, and after every time a team scores a touchdown or field goal, a team must kick the ball to the other team. The team receiving the kicked ball can catch the ball and try to return it as far as they can, and they begin their possession at that point, or the ball might go out of bounds or be touched by a member of the kicking team, and the possession commences at that spot. The ball could also go into the end zone and be downed there, in which case possession commences at the twenty-yard line.
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Receiving a punt. If a team gets to its fourth down and has little hope of advancing the ball further or scoring it can elect to punt - an open-field kick. The team receiving the punt gets the ball as per the rules (more or less) concerning a kickoff.
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Possession on downs. If a team exhausts its fourth down without getting ten yards, the other team is awarded possession of the ball at the ball’s last position on the field.
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Turnovers. It is possible for a team to accidentally lose possession of the ball before their four downs are up. This generally happens in two ways:
a) Fumbles. If an offensive player carrying the ball drops it before he is legally tackled (I’ll explain tackles later) then the ball can be picked up by anyone. If a defensive player succeeds in doing so then his team is now in possession of the ball, and gets a fresh set of downs.
b) Interceptions. If the offensive team attempts a forward pass and the ball is caught **in the air **by a defensive player, then the defensive team has gained possession of the ball.
That’s a very, very basic rundown of the concept of possessions and downs. I’d think the next step is to explain the concept of a play from scrimmage. Who wants to do that?
Yes, it is. That’s the most fundamental building block of football. That’s what makes football not rugby.
You seem really focused on the bookkeeping aspects of a sport as if that’s somehow the the most basic part of it. It’s not.
Is the OP thoroughly lost and frustrated by now?
I think we should go into penalties a little bit. Y’all feel free to fill in things that I forget.
PENALTIES
As noted, when a referee throws a yellow flag, he has seen a penalty. These are some of the more common penalties you’ll expect to see during a typical game.
Holding: this will usually be called against the offensive team. “Holding” is when one player, usually an offensive lineman, is gripping a defensive lineman in some way that’s against the rules. You don’t really need to know all the specifics about what is or isn’t allowed; as said earlier, holding occurs on nearly every play to one degree or another. A holding call against the offense results in the ball being moved backwards 10 yards from the spot of the foul, which is normally the offensive line, and the down is repeated. So, a holding call on 1st down with 10 yards to go (“1st and 10”) invalidates the play, and the next down will be 1st and 20. Holding can be called on the defense, but it’s not common; usually, it’s called when a defender holds onto a wide receiver too long and keeps him from running. Against the defense, it’s a 5 yard penalty.
False Start: always against the offensive team. This means that someone on the offensive line made an illegal movement before the ball was snapped to start the play. The referees will stop the play to call the penalty. The offensive team loses 5 yards and will repeat the down.
Offsides: the flip side to False Start, this happens when someone on the defense crosses the line of scrimmage, illegally getting too close to the offensive line before the ball is snapped. Unlike a False Start, the referees usually will not stop the play for an Offsides call. The offense is awarded 5 yards, and if the yardage awarded results in a first down, the next play will be 1st and 10.
Pass Interference: one of the most disputed calls you’ll see. Most commonly, Pass Interference occurs when a defensive player contacts or restrains an offensive receiver while the ball is in the air, on its way to that receiver. If the player could have caught the ball but for the interference, the penalty is called. It’s also possible to see Offensive Pass Interference, when an offensive player interferes with a defensive player who is trying to intercept the ball, but that’s much more rarely called. Note that, if the defensive player is looking for the ball and trying to catch it, Pass Interference may not be called. Defensive Pass Interference results in the ball being placed at the spot of the foul (as though the ball had been caught) and an automatic first down, but if it happens in the end zone, it’s 1st down and the ball is placed at the one yard line; the offense still has to earn the touchdown. Against the offense, Pass Interference is a 10 yard penalty.
Illegal Block: you’ll see this one a lot on punt returns. It normally takes the form of a member of the receiving team shoving a player on the kicking team from the back. The receiving team is penalized 10 yards from the spot of the penalty, which can really hurt if they have a great return.
Intentional Grounding: this happens when the quarterback, trying not to be tackled (sacked) for a loss, throws the ball away. To call Pass Interference, three criteria must be in place: 1. the quarterback must be trying to avoid a sack; 2. the quarterback must be in the pocket (if he runs out of the pocket, he may throw it away); 3. there must be no eligible receiver in the area where the ball is thrown. The penalty for Intentional Grounding is 10 yards and the loss of the down, basically treating the offense as though a quarterback sack had occurred.
Delay Of Game: always against the offense. There’s a play clock that requires keeping the action moving. If the offense doesn’t snap the ball before the play clock expires, they’ll be penalized 5 yards and repeat the down.
Personal Fouls: there are a number of these, which may be called on either team, and unless something really outrageous is going on, the penalty is a loss of 15 yards against the team that committed the penalty. Common Personal Fouls include the Late Hit (hitting a player after he’s already out of bounds), Unnecessary Roughness (usually hitting after the play is over), Unsportsmanlike Conduct (can take many forms), Face Mask (grabbing the face mask in a way that is more than incidental contact; any grab that causes the head to turn will be called a Personal Foul), Horse Collar (grabbing the rear collar area of the pads to tackle), and Roughing The Kicker (hitting the kicker in a way that could cause injury, such as going after his planted leg). If the defense committed the Personal Foul, it’ll be an automatic 1st Down for the offense.
There are of course many other penalties, like Illegal Formation and Illegal Shift, but they’re relatively rare and you don’t need to understand them to enjoy the game; just bitch about them if they’re called against your team. That’ll satisfy anyone nearby. Bitching about the officiating in general seems to be a safe bet for any sport, really.
Totally useless nitpick: The defense can be called for delay of game for purposefully disturbing the ball after it’s been spotted.
I can’t imagine why not. He’s just been downloaded with enough information to make him never want to turn the television on again in his life for fear of accidentally seeing a sporting event and causing a short in his brain.
These really need to be step-by-step Q&A session threads, rather than a “connect your spinal uplink cord to this packet of data” threads.
Part of the problem with that idea is that, in this case, the OP can’t watch games at his house.
I’d offer to help, as I think Red is in the Bay Area, but I doubt my wife would approve of inviting an internet stranger to my house for such a purpose when she hates football in the first place.
I think the main problem is that the OP never returned with follow-up questions, so we really don’t have any way to see what he understood or didn’t. The forum structure just doesn’t lend itself very well to this sort of thing.
Well, how did it go?