In this thread I will explain to you how to play American Football

I realize this site has many people from countries other than the United States, who may not understand the basic object of the game or the basic rules of American Football. Hopefully this will give you a little better understanding of what you are watching if you ever catch a game on TV.

So here is a standard NFL football field. It is 120 yards long by 53.3 yards wide (109.7 by 49 meters). It is similar in size to an Association Football pitch, which is 115 yards by 74 yards (105 by 68 meters). So roughly the same length, but a good bit narrower than an Association Football pitch:

Here is the same image with several labels:

A football field is 100 yards long from goal line to goal line. The field is marked every 10 yards with a number marker (50 yard line, 40 yard line, 30, 20, 10 yard line). Each yard is marked off with a hash mark. Mid field, aka the 50 yard line, splits the field into two 50 yard sides. Each end zone is 10 yards deep, making the field a total of 120 yards.

The big yellow structure at the back of the end zones are the goal posts, which the ball can be kicked through to earn points.

Now, let's talk about the actual object of the game.

The team with the ball is the offense. The object of the offense is to get to the goal line of the other team, in order to score points. The team trying to stop them is the defense. Each team has 3 teams within their team. So for example, the Baltimore Ravens have an offensive team, a defensive team, and a "special teams" that handles kicking situations.

Games are started with a coin flip at mid-field to see which team will get the ball first:

The winner of the coin toss gets to choose whether they want the ball to play on offense first, or play defense first.

The game starts with a kickoff with the special teams on the field. Remember, the special teams handle kicking situations. The team who will play defense first must kick the ball to the team that will play offense:

For the purpose of this post, I'm going to use the teams from this past Super Bowl: the Ravens and the 49ers. Let's say the Ravens kicked the ball to the 49ers.

The team that catches the kickoff (the 49ers) can run with it until they are stopped by getting tackled or pushed out of bounds. They are trying to reach the end zone to score points.

So let's say the player on the 49ers who caught the kick runs, and gets tackled at his own 25 yard line. Now, the special teams of both teams leave the field and the offensive and defensive teams come on the field. It is now "1st and 10" from the 25.

The offense of 49ers and the defense of the Ravens come on the field, and the teams each call a play and line up:

Now, the object of the offense is to take the ball all the way across the field and into the end zone. But there is a mini objective: Go 10 yards. You have 4 chances to advance the ball 10 yards. If you do so, you get another 4 chances... or "downs". Each time you go 10 yards, you complete a first down.. meaning you get 4 new downs. The defense has to stop the offense from going 10 yards by tackling the person with the ball. So, for example, on 1st down, say the 49ers gain 2 yards. Now it is second down and 8 yards to go. On second down, they gain 4 yards. Now, it's 3rd and 4. 3rd down and 4 yards to go. Say they gain 2 yards. Now it's 4th and 2.

Now this is a choice the coach has to make. The 49ers can "go for it" on 4th down, meaning they will try another play to gain the 2 yards. BUT, if they fail to reach it, the Ravens get the ball right where the 49ers had it. So since the 49ers are deep in their own territory (on their own 33 yard line after gaining 8 yards from the 25), this would not be smart because the Ravens could get the ball very close to the end zone and score points easily:

Red line is where the 49ers started with the ball after the kickoff. Yellow line represents the 10 yards they must reach to get a fresh set of downs. Blue line is where they reached to make it 4th and 2. They can try another play to gain the 2 yards, but if they fail, the Ravens get the ball, and now they have to go only 33 yards to reach the 49ers end zone.

So most of the time, on 4th down teams will punt. Punting is when the team will kick the ball down the field to the other team. Basically like clearing the ball in association football and clearing the puck in hockey. You kick the ball out of your own territory and deep down the field into the opponents territory.

Now, when the Ravens catch punt, they can run with it until they are stopped.

And now it is their turn to try to get a first down.

Now, there are two basic ways to advance the ball down the field on offense.

Running:

Or passing:

Now, the offense is doing everything in their power to move the ball down the field in one direction. And the defense is doing everything in their power to stop them. The offense wants to move all the way down the field and cross the goal line and get into the end zone.

When a team gets to the end zone, they get 6 points, called a touchdown.

Now, let's say the Ravens went all the way down the field and reached the end zone and scored a touchdown.

After they scored the touchdown, the ball is then placed on the 2 yard line, and the Ravens get a chance to gain more points. They can kick the ball into through the goal posts for 1 "extra point". This is almost automatic for kickers. Very easy. But a team can also run a play to try to get the ball into the endzone. This is worth 2 points, and called a 2 point conversion. This, however, is much more difficult, so teams simply kick the extra point the vast majority of the time.

So let's say the Ravens choose to kick the extra point and make it. They now have 7 points. It is 7-0 Ravens. Now, to start play again, the Ravens must kick the ball off to the 49ers, just like the kickoff at the beginning of the game. Kickoffs happen to start the game and after teams score points.

There are other ways to score other than a touchdown. A team can decide to kick a field goal. A team can kick the ball through the goal posts whenever they'd like. A field goal is worth 3 points. This is usually done on 4th down when a team is deep in the opponent's territory, and there isn't much to gain from punting the ball away, but you don't want to risk going for it on 4th down.

Another way to score is to tackle the opponent in their own end zone. If you do this, it is called a safety, and it's worth 2 points.  Plus, they have to kick the ball to you. So you get 2 points plus the ball.

The defense can score points, too. If the offense drops the ball while running, it is called a fumble. It is a loose ball, and anybody can pick it up and run with it, including the "defense". If they run it all the way to the end zone, they score a touchdown. So the defense can score touchdowns, too.

The defense can also intercept passes that the offense throws. If they run it all the way to the end zone, they score a touchdown.

Interception:

If the defense takes the ball from the offense through a fumble or interception, but they are tackled before they can score, then their offense now comes on the field and now they get a chance to score. The ball has changed possession.

So if that wasn't too confusing, maybe you now have a basic understanding of the game of football.

And I fully expect this thread to get very few, if any, replies. :)

I don't think anyone cares. If they like football, they already know how it works

you must be really bored 

anyone that cares, knows how to play.  Or at least knows enough.

Well done making this thread. Very informative for those who don't know about the sport.

I already knew most of this information and still don't like it. Sorry, OP.

you must be really bored 

rocinante_

 I doubt anyone outside the USA/Canada, would even care. :(

Good job though

You just gotta hit the Tecmo Super Bowl muzak.

Thank you for this.

Well before I even consider reading this I'll just say it probably don't matter to me. I saw one game and they stood around "preparing & planning" for longer than they actually played. It's so anti climatic. It's like... "Oh here they go and -- It's over". *spends long time preparing* "Oh well this time, now they're off and he does this and -- Oh wait it's over."

May I ask, TC, what you hoped to accomplish with this?

I commend you for taking the time to gather and organize the information, but I don't think anyone would care to read such a long post.

1. Download American Football

2. Press play

3. Enjoy American Football

I really don' t care about American Football but it' s good to know about it nonetheless.

lol. This is probably one of the worst threads somebody actually put a lot of effort into.

tl,drMrGeezer

lol

When Mr. Geezer says tl;dr, you know your thread is too fvcking long.

The only thing that sucks more then american football are the people that like american football.

 

Now, let's talk about the actual object of the game.

 

BMD004

Everyone knows the object, advertising.

I know all I need to know about American Football from watching some games.

The most important thing I know about American Football is that I find it very boring to watch, and that's all I really need to know about it.

you must be really bored 

rocinante_

Yeah, because there's something called and Encyclopedia, and something called Wikipedia.

All I know about American football is that quarterbacks get all the cheerleader pvssy.GazaAli

not if you're Tim Tebow

Don't think you communicated the chess like aspects. Every player has specific movements and roles to play like a chess piece. Except all the chess pieces are moving simultaneously each play. Like chess you are trying to get a positional advantage somewhere on the board each turn.

It isn't like soccer which is a much more fluid game, instead it is turned based. But each turn is a complex movement of pieces. As far as sports goes, football may require the most team intelligence to play especially at the quarterback position.

I don't think anyone cares. If they like football, they already know how it works

lostrib

Well done making this thread. Very informative for those who don't know about the sport.

Aljosa23

Don't think you communicated the chess like aspects. Every player has specific movements and roles to play like a chess piece. Except all the chess pieces are moving simultaneously each play. Like chess you are trying to get a positional advantage somewhere on the board each turn.

It isn't like soccer which is a much more fluid game, instead it is turned based. But each turn is a complex movement of pieces. As far as sports goes, football may require the most team intelligence to play especially at the quarterback position.

SUD123456

I don't think anyone cares. If they like football, they already know how it works

lostrib

Not really. I love football and I'm still trying to figure out whether or not the ball is half-deflated.

May I ask, TC, what you hoped to accomplish with this?

worlock77

Christ TC, just how bored were you?chessmaster1989

Good effort. If this was a sports forum I'd want it to be stickied.